23rd ♫ | At the end of that nostalgic song I sensed the wings of magic

[mytarget]

[ It's a gorgeous day outside today -- birds are singing, the sun is shining and there's even a nice breeze keeping it from getting too clammy out. In short, it's the perfect day for a picnic. And evidently, someone else had this idea too because someone's actually gone to the trouble to set one up!

There's an absolute assload of food of all different kinds -- basically if you can reach enough to justify it being a picnic food, it's here. And whoever this kind soul with way too much money and time is, they've also put up a little sign encouraging people to sit down and eat. in any other situation this would be really suspicious BUT THIS IS JUST A THINLY VEILED EXCUSE TO HAVE AN OC MINGLE POST SO WHAT THE FUCK EVER LET'S DO IT ]

Comments

[kunstlerisch]

[ There's a little kid with bright red eyes, probably no older than seven or eight, wandering up and down the picnic blanket with wide, fascinated eyes. Every now and then she'll stoop a bit to peer at some of the food and sometimes scrunches up her face as she does so before carrying on.

... she's also being tailed by what looks to be a wolf, with a wagging tail and the doofiest ears you've ever seen with one straight up and one flopped. It stops when she does and occasionally gives her a little nudge with its head at which point she stops to administer all the pets before continuing.

You might even find her staring at you pretty intensely while you're eating, face scrunched up again. ]

[leftyandrighty]

[ And then there's this asshole, over here eating... yep, that's protein powder. It's not even mixed into anything.

She pauses in mid-mouthful when she notices she's being stared at. Also, the wolf. ]

Uhhhhhhhh... are you lost?

[kunstlerisch]

[ She just shakes her head, still staring. ]

I'm not lost.

[ Her voice is accented -- German, by the sounds of it but not quite as heavy as it could be. The wolf gives a little boff of a woof right in its chest and she rather casually sets an arm on its back and ruffles its fur. ]

What's that food?

[leftyandrighty]

[ HP notices the accent, but has no idea what to make of it, because she's never heard of Germany. She starts going over the things in her lunchbox. ]

This stuff is protein powder. These are energy bars, supplements, vitamins, energy shake... basically everything a body needs.

I guess you're supposed to mix the powder into drinks and stuff, but I like this kind on its own.

[kunstlerisch]

[ Krista wrinkles up her nose a bit. If she's eating it then it's obvious edible but she can't say that any of it sounds at all appetizing. It's a bit clinical sounding to be honest which puts her off in about every way possible. ]

Does it even taste good like that, though? It looks like chalk or something.

[ are you eating chalk, HP. are you. ]

[leftyandrighty]

[ She shrugs. ]

It gets the job done. If I feel like getting some kind of tasty thing, sometimes I throw in some almonds. I'd rather keep my body in top form than worry about what my lunch tastes like.

[ An ideal solution for HP would just be some kind of Nutrition IV that directly, steadily injects electrolytes and necessary chemicals directly into her bloodstream. Eating is overrated. ]

[kunstlerisch]

[ She's still got her face scrunched up and it's clear she's unimpressed by the answer. ]

But there's lots of food here that tastes better. Why not eat that?

[ Not that Krista's actually done any eating herself yet but she's been far too distracted with inspecting everything and giving everyone else's lunches a good staredown. ]

[leftyandrighty]

I mean, you can if you want? I don't... really care how food tastes, I just wanna take care of myself.

Is that your wolf?

[kunstlerisch]

Yeah!

[ That gets a little smile out of her which is a nice break from the lineface from before. The wolf chuffs rather happily and shoves its head under Krista's arm, tail wagging furiously as she pets away. ]

He's Dimwit. Papa made him.

[leftyandrighty]

That's an awesome name for a dog.

[ Dog, wolf, same diff, right ]

[kunstlerisch]

Right? I think he likes it too.

[ There's certainly a whole lot of furious tailwagging going on right now but that seems to be Dimwit's default state of being to be perfectly honest.

His eyes are on HP as Krista pets him and his ears are perked forward in an undeniably friendly way. In fact, he's paddling his paws like he wants to scoot over and say hello. ]

Some of the others have good names too but I like Dimwit's best.

[leftyandrighty]

[ Thinking back a second... ]

By the way, aren't dogs, like, born? I didn't know you could just make one.

[kunstlerisch]

[ She gives a little nod. ]

Yeah. Most of the time they're born but Dimwit's different. Papa made him and the rest of them for him and Howl to use on the ship.

[ she says all this incredibly casually like she just expects what she's saying to make immediate sense. ]

[leftyandrighty]

[ Wow, HP has no idea what this girl's talking about. ]

You're, uh... You're a long way from home, huh.

[kunstlerisch]

[ Nodding again. ]

Yeah. We're taking a break, but then we're leaving again. So I wanted to try the picnic and look around before we left.

[ ... so that's probably why she's been staring so hard at everyone. ]

[leftyandrighty]

Well!

Hope you find something tasty.

[lobisomem]

[Dogs? Not a problem. Never a problem. Luciana is used to dogs, she is different enough from a dog that they were easy to adapt to; she walks by dog parks on the regular and it isn't even a thing.

But there's a wolf here.

Some kind of domesticated wolf? It's someone's pet?? What the hell???? Wild wolves are one thing but this is somebody's pet holy shit????? Luciana is prepared for a lot of things but not this.

She's just sort of...watching the wolf from afar, wary in a way that could easily be mistaken for general wolf-related caution instead of internal oh god oh hell it's going to smell the werewolf on me goddamn it what happens if it thinks I'm a threat be cool be cool ACT NATURAL

um

your move, wolf friend]

[kunstlerisch]

[ The wolf seems pretty chill, all things considered. In fact it doesn't really show all that much interest in straying from the girl's side for more than a few moments at a time. It's quite happy to tail her as she wanders around and only takes notice of Luciana when Krista wanders over.

While Krista leans in to peer at a stack of tuna sandwiches (and actually picks one up to eat this time), the flop-earned wolf comes a-sniffing in Luciana's direction. Then it lifts and cocks its head at her, tail perked up in what looks to be friendly interest.

Still, though. That's totally a wolf. ]

[lobisomem]

[Okay, well, this could be going worse! That's totally a wolf but it doesn't see her as a threat or as encroaching on its territory; curious isn't the worst thing a wolf could be about her at all.

It's about now that the panic fades enough for Luciana to wonder what the heck this small child is doing running around all by herself except for her apparent pet wolf. So she pushes down the meet and greet instincts and smiles brightly at her from where she's sitting.]

Excuse me? Is he yours? [That is, the wolf.]

[kunstlerisch]

[ She looks up from her food and sort of. stuffs the rest of the sandwich into her mouth, chews determinedly and nods the whole time, her face scrunched up in focus. Once her mouth's finally clear she gives a smile and walks over to Dimwit's side, idly resting a hand on his back. ]

Yeah! His name is Dimwit.

[ and then she squints a little suspiciously at the wolf. ]

Did he try to take your food?

[lobisomem]

["Dimwit"... That's so rude. It's hilarious. She loves it.]

Not yet. [But she laughs, friendly and bright.] No, but really, he seems very well-behaved! [Buuut she's careful not to make any move closer to him or to the girl, since she is very clearly His Human.] He's not your only company here, is he?