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

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!event: welcome picnic

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

Whoever worked the weather magic around here had done an excellent job to make sure things were nice outside for all the new (and old) residents of Fandom. It was warm and sunny, but not so humid that people would melt. There was plenty of ~~moddable~~ food and drinks, places to sit in the shade, and more than enough nametags to go around. It was time to celebrate the start of the summer!

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Hannibal had decided to come around and do some people-watching, but while he generally brought his own food, it had never occurred to him to actually cook up something at the picnic using its own ingredients.

So he was coming over to watch, and smell.

Senshi was currently sauteing some more of his scavenged ingredients, spinach, garlic, tomatoes, and some of the grilled vegetables from the table along with some of the bacon. The bacon had been pre-cooked to go on the minced beef patties, but a small pat of butter worked nicely. "Hello," he grunted, most of his attention on the food in the pan and not the Tall-Man next to him.

Once he was satisfied with how that was coming along, he pulled out a large earthenware bowl from his bag and a pair of chopsticks, as well as what appeared to be a snake egg about double the size of his fist.

"Hungry?"

"Curious," Hannibal answered. "What sort of egg is that?"

"Basilisk," he said, as if it were the most normal answer in the world. It was not, not even in his own, but he never paid that much mind. Rather than cracking it, he pulled out a beautiful knife from beneath a rag and delicately cut through the thick and leathery shell before pouring the contents into the bowl, along with some sugar and a liquid from an unmarked bottle and then began mixing them deftly with a pair of chopsticks. "I'm makin' Rolled Basilisk Omelettes to go along with my Minced Beef and Skinny Sausage Larb in Lettuce Cups."

Look, he'd had a weird day and cooking soothed him.

Hannibal nodded. "I've never eaten basilisk. How does it compare to chicken or duck?"

He was interested enough now to settle in the nearby grass (yes, even in his suit). He also pulled out his thermal bag. "Would you care for some coffee or finger sandwiches to go with that?"

"Well, it tastes like chicken, mostly, because a basilisk is a Tall-Man sized chicken with a snake for a tail," he said, setting the whisked eggs aside - Hannibal would have likely noticed there had been no egg whites inside the shell - and moved to stir the sauteed ingredients around a bit before putting them into a different earthenware bowl and removing the entire pot from the fire, replacing it with a small frying pan instead. A pat of butter and some salt and pepper went into the pan and he held it as it began to heat. "And some coffee would be great," he said. "What kind of sandwiches?"

Hannibal poured coffee into a mug and offered it up.

"Prosciutto, watercress, and fontina. That's a type of cured pork, a light green, and a mild cow's-milk cheese."

He was getting those out, too, just because.

"Ooh, those do sound good," Senshi said, spooning a small bit of egg in the pan. It sizzled, so he added a little bit more, enough to coat the bottom in a thin layer, moving the pan around to make sure the entire bottom was covered evenly. "Do they always do this kinda spread?"

He nodded at the table.

"Seems like some kinda celebration."

"It's to welcome new students and instructors," Hannibal said. "They do this each term. And occasionally for other events as well. Are you an instructor, then?"

He nodded his approval at Senshi's technique and set the sandwiches out.

Edited 2024-05-11 18:17 (UTC)

"That's what I've been told," Senshi replied with a sour look, not that that detracted him from putting precise amounts of the filling onto the egg. "I don't like that, since I just wandered outta the dungeon and over here but this morning, but I guess there's a class where I teach folks to survive in a dungeon by eatin' monsters and, well, that's what I do."

Left to his own devices, he absolutely would have volunteered to teach a class about that, he just didn't like whatever magic had been involved to make that happen.

He started to neatly roll the egg up, then added a bit more butter, waited for it to sizzle, and started making another layer. "Are you an instructor, too?"

"Ah, I believe I'll be taking your class," Hannibal said, smiling.

"I have been an instructor," he added, "but not presently. I have often taught cooking myself, but I'm intrigued by the idea of using different creatures I haven't heard of before."

"Ahh, not an adventurer?" Senshi asked, since most people who didn't go into dungeons didn't know much about the monsters found within them. "Glad you'll be in the class then. Most people have a prejudice against eatin' monsters, which is just plain silly, but then, most adventurers don't know a damn thing about nutrition either, and think they can survive days or even weeks on bread, hard cheese, sausages, and wine."

Hannibal grimaced. "Entirely too many people here live on food that's more chemical than natural. And it's gone out of fashion to eat more than a few meats - people are so unadventurous." Hannibal never asked pardon for any of his puns.

Senshi looked neither delighted nor appalled by them, just nodding his agreement. "I heard from Raiden that we can't even hunt the monsters that live on this level. Something about them being protected."

He shook his head, sadly.

Hannibal made a moue of disgust. "I've only done so once, and it was quite frankly disgusting, anyway." Also those clones of Pinky had been arguably sentient. "But there are thankfully a plethora of edible animals available to us. Particularly if you're not squeamish about things like entrails or insects." Or yes, sentience. Hannibal would save that for later.

"Some of the best eatin' in the dungeon's the Treasure Insects," Senshi said. "Hmm. That maybe might have to be a class, now that I think about it."

He added a third and fourth layer to the omelette, then removed it from the pan and started on a second. "Eat up," he encouraged. "It's much better when it's hot."

"Thank you," Hannibal said politely, using the chopsticks to get a bit of everything and chewing thoughtfully as he worked through the flavors. "That is lovely. The basilisk egg is quite rich."

"Very smooth and creamy," Senshi agreed. "I don't do much baking down in the dungeon, but it makes an excellent custard."

"I would be delighted to taste that," Hannibal said. "Do you have a decent kitchen to work with?" He waved at the current setup. "This is accomplished, but I doubt it lends itself well to baking."

You could, of course, but a good kitchen made it so much easier.

"Not really," Senshi said, though he didn't seem particularly upset about it. "My shelter back in the dungeon is more for storage and a place to sleep, I'm usually on the move takin' care of things on the third floor or huntin' monsters. So I cook where I can with what I've got on hand. Down on the fourth floor, there are some stoves and ovens, but I don't generally venture down that far."

"Fortunately, most accommodations here have adequate setups for cooking," Hannibal said, "and no need to go very far."

He pondered. "I haven't had a dinner party in far too long."

"A dinner party?"

Look, he'd been an orphan raised by miners who had come of age living by himself in a dungeon. Dinner parties were beyond his ken.

"A gathering where I cook for people and invite them over for conversation and various friendly pursuits," Hannibal clarified. "I used to hold them regularly."

"Mmm," Senshi grunted, with a nod. At no point in their conversation had there been any movement of his mouth or mustache under his helmet, or even much of a change in his expression, but now there was a hint of...sadness, maybe? Wistfulness? about his features. "Eatin' with friends sounds nice. Do other folks bring stuff along?"

"Occasionally," Hannibal answered. "Traditionally, no, but I have learned to appreciate the practice."

Because it was that or try to forbid Summer from doing something.

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

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