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

[bigdamnprincipal]

It always felt like a bit of a stretch to call an event in January a "picnic," and the weather today wasn't helping with how seasonably cold it was outside. Thankfully, there was plenty of warm food to keep everyone toasty, along with as many carafes as The Perk would offer, filled with hot water for tea, light and dark roast coffee, and hot chocolate.

It was time to welcome in another new semester, everyone!

[Going OCD-free this time, stay warm together!]

Comments

[thatsmysword]

Sleep still did not come easily to Henry. (What kind of husband would you make? You can’t sit still in one place for an hour at a time, Theresa's voice whispered in his ear.) He'd spent most of last night roaming around the island, too restless to go back to his room; soon enough it had been too late not to risk waking up Erasmus, and he'd wound up sleeping in the bloody barn with Pebbles and Mutt.

But it was morning now, and his growling stomach drew him out towards the dorms at last. "Are you as hungry as I am, Mutt?" he asked the brown-and-white dog at his side, and received an enthusiastic bark in return. "Right. Let's see if there's any sausages at the buffet."

And to the buffet they went, chasing distraction.

[thatwaslucky]

"Henry," Rey greeted him as she made her way over. "Good holiday?"

[heroic_jawline]

"Hello, Henry!" Steve said. "Are you wearing enough layers?"

He smiled at the dog. "Who's your friend?"

[sairis]

Sairis had been riding through the night to reach the capital. He was thankful for the saddle Merek had given him; the poor nag's spine would have drilled through his backside otherwise. He was also grateful for his raincloak keeping him dry through the miserable weather.

So when there was a sudden surge of magic, then it was suddenly daytime and not raining, he was on immediate alert. He looked around, his eyes going wide at the unfamiliar city around him. He scrambled down off the horse and quickly led it to a nearby hedge before anybody could notice it was dead. And hid himself behind it, too, so he could think for a moment.

This was not Chireese. He had no idea where this was. Lamont? Falcosta? Somewhere across the Shattered Sea? The first thing he had to do was figure out where he was. Preferably without anybody finding out there was a necromancer around.

He ordered the horse to stay between the hedge and the high wall it stood next to, then changed quickly into his master's nicest trousers, silk shirt, charcoal waistcoat, and black overcoat and rolled his cloak up around his own things. He took his coin and stuffed a few charms into his pockets. Then he patted the horse and headed out.

Just inside the gate to what looked like a large estate was...some sort of food setup. Sairis straightened and did his best to act like he belonged here while keeping a wary eye out for trouble and a hopeful one for a map.

[not_a_haint]

The brisk walk, uphill in the snow both ways had warmed him somewhat but Caleb was still so bundled up that all that was visible were his eyes as he finally reached the school.

No, the castle. Had he wandered into Camelot or something?

In one mittened hand was his suitcase, in the other the town map that had helped him get up here.

"Oh that's a lot of food."

[sairis]

Sairis heard him and cautiously came a little closer. "It's not normal, is it?"

[deathsmajesty]

"Huh." Liliana didn't bother using reins to control the zombie horse she was riding, a simple brush of her power was enough to make it obey her. Yet another new face that felt like death magic. At this point, necromancers might have made up the same percentage of the population as Jedi. "...You're not of the Golgari Swarm, are you?"

That would explain the odd threads of life mixed in with the death magic that suffused this boy.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey liked the picnics. She did not like the weather. She was too-bundled up and had a cup of very hot chocolate in her gloved hands, and she was debating how long she might stay out here.

It wasn't being a cold wimp when the weather was stupid.

[not_a_haint]

The idea of a buffet outside, in the dead of winter was so odd that seeing someone else dressed for the weather made Caleb feel a bit better about the whole thing somehow.

"Uh, I apologize if this is a rude question, but...do y'all do this a lot? Have picnics outside in the freezin' cold I mean? Or, are you new too?"

He had pulled the scarf away from his face so he could drink his own hot chocolate but otherwise every inch of him that could be covered, was.

[sith_happened]

Anakin came over, looking cold in his Jedi robes. "Rory has a hat for you," he said, handing it out.

[deathsmajesty]

"Ah, hello Rey darling," Liliana said. "Do you remember when we last met up? How we were warm and inside?"

She missed those times. You know, like three days ago.

[mindofageneration]

Well, Riri had survived all the weird shit of the holidays and randomly turning into a cat for a week. For reasons she couldn't figure out. And she'd honestly spent way too long trying.

But that was fine. And she'd also figured out a good system for making money again with, ah, only a tiny bit of academic dishonesty. Not important. The important thing was the free food and the decent weather.

[stringstothesoul]

"How do people live like this?" Erasmus greeted Riri, and if his narrative elsewhere said the same thing, well, it was heavily on his mind right now.

[stringstothesoul]

Erasmus was freezing to death.

Yes, yes, he was bundled into a puffer coat and layers. He had a hat and gloves on. And he was dying. He was sure his teeth would start chattering at any moment. How did people live like this?

[thatsmysword]

Henry's arrival - a few steps away from the massive meal he'd just had - was announced by a loud barking, as Mutt raced forward towards the new human.

"Erasmus! Are you all-- Mutt, no! Sit!"

And there was Henry.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve was bundled all the way up, including an electric vest under his coat that had been a gift from Tony for Christmas.

It was still not his favorite weather, but he wanted to welcome the newcomers.

[throughaphase]

"How do I teach glitter," Kitty greeted him, and then added, "Hi."

[throughaphase]

Kitty had signed up to teach one class. Kitty had found out today that she was teaching a second class. About glitter.

So uhhh she was happy to talk to people especially if they had ideas on what to do for that.

[imafuturist]

"Kitty!" Tony was not an arts and crafts person, but he knew how to make a glitter bomb, did that help?

[stykera]

Stark was bundled up and wondering why these events couldn't be indoors in the winter.

He was clutching a hot chocolate for now and looking for new faces. Maybe one that looked like a Caleb. Not that he knew what Caleb looked like but then Caleb didn't know what Stark looked like, either, did he? Maybe the nametag would help.

[not_a_haint]

The nametag did help. Caleb had gone back over all the info he had last night so he knew to be looking for someone named Stark.

He did his best to ignore the mask. He figured the man might have been injured in the Great War but it would be rude to make a thing out of it.

"Sir? Mr. Stark? I'm Caleb, I understand your my faculty adviser?"

Though his canon name is Caleb Gibson, for the purposes of the in game narrative I've got going his official documentation lists him as Caleb Dooley, just in case that's relevant.

[imafuturist]

Tony wasn't doing as bad as Steve, but he was still bundled up in winterwear that was much more fashion than function. Because of course he was.

But he had a very large, hot coffee and that made up for so many things.

[deathsmajesty]

"You know, we could stage a coup next year and move the picnic inside the castle where it's warm," Liliana said, coming up beside him once the whole 'zombie horse' issue had been laid to rest.

(Yes, that was a necromancer pun. Shh.)

"Hello, Tony darling."

[sith_happened]

Anakin was one cold, cranky, desert-dwelling Jedi.

No, he hadn't been in the desert for forty years. He was still going to be a baby about this.

[stykera]

"Are you going to take us somewhere warm for the break?" Stark said.

"Why isn't this inside?"

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana had not expected to end up riding a zombie horse into the school picnic today. It wasn't even her zombie! For one thing, she never would ghoul such a run-down, spavined nag as this. She had pride, thank you. This was, of course, why she was concerned. Who the hell was ghouling horses on her the island? If they had come to cause trouble, they were certainly about to find it.

"Excuse me," she called, a touch of magic making sure she was heard across the lawn, "but whose horse is this?"

[sairis]

Shit.

Another magician, looking for him? That could not be good. Sairis reached for his invisibility charm automatically, then glanced at the other man he'd been talking to. Disappearing now would be a dead giveaway.

Instead he casually edged to put some people between him and whoever this woman was and hoped he wouldn't be noticed.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden was a sylph, which meant that she was perfectly capable of ignoring the weather so long as it wasn't a truly extreme temperature. That being said, weather was also a state of mind, and, like any true Southerner, her state of mind was most definitely negative about this level of cold. So she was bundled up, holding a cup of hot tea (there was no temperature low enough to make coffee a viable alternative) to keep her hands warm, and trying to figure out why a magic island would choose to stay here during the winter.

Snowbird off the coast of Florida like the rest of the Yankees, island!

[mindofageneration]

Pfff. Weak, hothouse flowers. Midwestern superiority up in this bitch!

"Are you dying like Erasmus?" Riri had to ask. Riri who had gone with a hoodie and a hat in deference to the cold.

[singlenakedwhat]

Unlike, it seemed, a large number of those attending the picnic, Henry was perfectly accustomed to cold weather, so here she was, beanie firmly planted on her head and fingerless-glove-clad hands clutching a cup of hot chocolate, taking a look around.

[giveittoyoursister]

Vi was, as was almost tradition at this point, wearing Steph's old Blackwell hoodie with one of the shirts she'd given her for Christmas under it, and was hanging around the buffet tables.