fandomhigh | Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part II

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!event: welcome picnic

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part II

So, the heat meant that many of the tables and chairs had been set up in the shade, and someone had found outdoor table umbrellas in blue and gold, god help us all. But hey, a little heat never hurt anyone who wasn't a vampire, right?

Ahem. The picnic was open for warm, sunny business.

[OCD is up! This is the picnic post for general mingling. Roommates, fake siblings and teachers are all here. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

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It had been years since Faith had actually climbed a tree. It was rare for her to even see trees, these days. Sometimes in the nicer districts she'd see fake ones, potted in little bowls of smooth, clean rocks and not a drop of soil.

But she couldn't stand to socialize on ground level with her head spinning the way it was, so she glanced around until she was pretty sure no one was looking right at her and scampered up the one that looked the easiest to climb - low, heavy branches, not such a big drop if she happened to fall.

She settled on the lowest branch and sat with her back to the trunk and watched. This was better. She could breathe up here.

[[Faith trying to hide doesn't mean she can't be noticed! Feel free to spot her.]]

"You're in my spot," Dante called from the ground.

To be fair, he had actually been in that tree... some picnic. He didn't remember which one. And it wasn't hard to notice a human being hanging around a tree, if you were bored, wandering around, and looking for something to do.

"I don't see your name on it," Faith retorted. It wasn't a great line, but she was off her game. "It's not like there aren't a bazillion more just like it to choose from in this park."

It was unsettling.

"Touchy," Dante commented. He leaned his back up against the tree, eyes still set on her. "Freaked-out newbie, huh?"

"No, I'm up here because I'm totally fine," Faith said. Her tone was flat, even though she was being sarcastic. But after a long beat, she was willing to admit, "I'm not really a big mingler."

"Big range between mingling and crawling up a tree," Dante pointed out.

"I didn't crawl, I climbed."

The distinction was in the agility involved, okay?

She exhaled sharply. "I figured up here I could see what was going on without being in it. Why do you climb up here?"

Since it was 'his spot,' and all.

"To be able to lay around while bothering whoever comes by?" Dante said, extending his arms, like that was a perfectly sensible bout of reasoning.

Faith rolled her eyes. "Seems like you can do that from ground level too."

Despite the harshness of the statement, her tone was more moderate, almost amused. Talking to him was actually a good distraction from the panicky feeling she was trying not to acknowledge.

"I'm Faith," she added by way of introduction. "And I've heard a lot of name puns so please don't try."

"Yeah, but it doesn't look as cool."

Which was clearly important.

Dante peered further up between the leaves. "Dante," he called. "And yeah, I know about the book."

He'd come up with a good name pun when she least expected it.

"That's true. You look pretty boring down there," Faith said, but she was apparently content to join the boring party because at that moment she decided to hop down from her branch. She landed perfectly on both feet, bending her knees just slightly as she hit the ground. "The only downside is not having easy access to the snacks."

Dante rolled his eyes at that first comment. "Welcome to the club," he said. "And that's why you get people to bring you stuff."

"It's not so easy to get someone to deliver your food when it's your first day and you've only met three people so far. Plus, isn't the story that if you bring me food, I can't eat it or I have to stay in hell forever?"

She was mixing up her myths, but then again she'd never been to high school.

Dante blinked, then let out a soft snort. "I know it's warm," he said, "But it ain't that warm. It's not hell, just high school."

Which was only like hell if you weren't used to worse.

"More similar than you'd think," Faith said after a moment's hesitation. Screw it, why not be transparent about why she was here? It wasn't like keeping a secret would make it any better. "The court sent me here so I could learn how to be an upstanding employ instead of a truant drain on society's resources or something. So the whole 'punitive' thing applies."

"Sent you to the wrong place, then," Dante said, voice jaunty as he pulled away from the tree. "We like our truant resource drains around here."

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2016]

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RE: Re: General Mingling [Fall 2016]

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Re: General Mingling [Fall 2016]

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Re: General Mingling [Fall 2016]

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Re: General Mingling [Fall 2016]

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When Ringo was on the ground, she spent a good portion of her time glancing upward. You couldn't find awesome new spots for AT riding if you weren't paying attention, after all.

Which meant she spotted Faith at some point, and headed over toward the other girl's chosen tree. "You're not stuck up there, are you?" she asked, expression and tone clearly teasing.

Ringo didn't really think that anyone could get, you know, stuck in a tree. Not that low in one, at least.

"No," Faith said, actually amused by the suggestion that she might be. "I just wanted to see better. Don't tell me this is your favorite tree too."

She didn't really want to move.

Ringo laughed, shaking her head. "Nah. Trees aren't really my thing. They're a little cramped for my tastes. Give me a good rooftop any day."

"Me too," Faith agreed immediately. "I mean. It's not as much fun being stuck between branches. I like being able to move."

Back home, that statement would be a dead giveaway of what Faith got up to in her free time. But no one here cared, right? Talking openly was kind of freeing.

"Exactly!" Ringo exclaimed with a huge grin. Clearly this girl got it.

"I mean, the little town on the island isn't bad, but it's not exactly exciting. There's some decent places across the causeway in Baltimore, but even that's nothing compared to back home."

"My... big sister," god that phrase felt uncomfortable in her mouth, "told me about Baltimore. She said the buildings are more like what I'm used to. Tall with flat roofs. I might go see them, sometime."

She felt too awkward to put her question into words, but what she really wanted was to invite Ringo along. Having someone who knew the layout would be helpful.

Perhaps fortunately, Ringo didn't need any hints to practically invite herself along to anything.

She grinned. "I could take you out sometime if you want. I mean, I'm not an expert, but I usually get out there a couple of times a month. You could come with, if you wanted."

"Yeah!" Oops, that had come out a little more enthusiastic than Faith had wanted to sound on her first day. "I mean, yeah. I'd love the company."

She chose that moment to slide out of the tree, landing neatly on both feet. "I'm Faith, by the way."

Ringo was watching the way that Faith moved more out of habit as anything else, but she started paying a bit more attention at that landing. This looked promising!

"Ringo." She stuck out her hand with a welcoming grin.

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