Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, Saturday, All Day

[bigdamnprincipal]

In spite of the icon Wintertime had officially reached Fandom, and the chill in the air meant it was time for a combination picnic and bonfire! There might not be shirtless greetings today (or maybe there would be, such a diverse population was bound to have different freezing points), but there was plenty of warm food and drinks for everyone to indulge in as they welcomed the newest residents and celebrated the start of a new semester!

[Flying OCD-free since it's been working well. Have at it!]

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

If Arden was worried Steven would be upset at her swearing, he showed no sign of it.

"Oh I see," Steven said. "I thought perhaps to make the spell kick in or something. I'll be honest I've never seen it work. I only know one can't do violence while they're in there. So I thought, well, if he tried lighting the Dean on fire then the magic would make him stop? Sort of a safety feature in a way?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Ohhhhh," Arden said. "I thought you meant, like, some kind of fire suppression spell or something. But no, he didn't do that and I'm not sure I would have suggested it the other way around even if I'd known about the other spell."

[hasaknightjob]

"Probably for the best," Steven said. "Can't imagine a Dean would appreciate students trying to set him on fire, even if it was ultimately for safety."

And Steven didn't even know how grumpy Anakin could be as a rule!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"And I'm pretty sure I'd rather not get expelled," Arden said. "Or be arrested for arson. Even for a good cause."

[hasaknightjob]

"Well, if that did happen you do have a good in with the sheriff," Steven said. "Being that that's Llewellyn. Much better than some stranger from the mainland."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden looked thoughtful, as if that hadn't actually occurred to her...and as if she were extrapolating something from there as well. "Huh. I guess I would, wouldn't I?" she said. "Err, not that I'm in any more of a hurry to start committing arson now. But he'd at least probably listen to why I'd thought it was a good idea!"

[hasaknightjob]

"Precisely!" Steven said. Then, as it occurred to him, "Actually, you wouldn't even be the first person with arson concerns he's dealt with."

Maybe Arden would get accidentally given a pretzel too?

"You needn't worry about such things with us, by the way," Steven told her. "As far as staying, I mean. Marc and I have had our fair share of legal issues. And Llewellyn understands that not obeying certain laws doesn't necessarily mean you are a bad person."

He possibly understood that better than Steven and Marc did, considering the laws about homosexuality back in his version of Toronto.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"...That's weirdly comforting," Arden said.

Sure, she still wasn't going to talk loudly about the money and stuff she'd gotten looting the Walmart, but it was still comforting!

[hasaknightjob]

"We're an unusual family," Steven said. He meant it to agree with her, but then he wondered if that was perhaps the first time he'd referred to them all as family to someone else. It brought a smile to his face as he was briefly distracted by it.

Then he remembered not to get too lost in his thoughts. "Anyway. Hopefully sort of a feature of living in our place? No shortage of understanding for unusual circumstances."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

For a minute Arden smiled, big and bright - before realizing that, right. He meant him, and the Detective, and Marc, and the cat, and Midnight itself.

Silly Arden.

Still, she got to benefit, so no use complaining. (No use complaining even if she hadn't benefitted, it wouldn't change anything.)

"Definitely a feature," she assured him softly.

[hasaknightjob]

Well there were fish too but in fairness Arden might not even know about them...

Regardless, Steven caught the smile, and its fading, and tried to attempt to address what he thought might be the concern.

"We're glad to have you about," Steven said. "No matter what happens. Legally, money -" since Arden was often worried about money Steven suspected that might be the concern " - doesn't matter. Long as you'd like to stay with us you'll have a place, I promise. With no debts or obligations."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

How could she? They were on the family side of the building.

"I mean, you should maybe wait until you see how much of next year's rent I'm able to scrape up before saying that for sure," she said with a small laugh, not that that was already a concern or anything, perish the thought, "but...that's really nice to hear, Steven. Thank you."

[hasaknightjob]

"We'd find a way to work it out if you needed," Steven promised. "And wanted. But I'll say no more. No need to borrow trouble, as Llewellyn reminds me."