The Picnic Open Reopened

The day was indeed great. Carina loved days like this, with the never-ending blue skies, the trickle of fluffy clouds, and the sun shining on her back, the kind of weather that made her want to fun on forever and ever to oblivion.

But of course she couldn't do that, she was stuck at school. It seemed like, though, that didn't stop anyone from being happy, and certainly not the Gryffindor she saw sitting seemingly alone. Carina was sitting on the stairs near one of the various entries into the castle, gazing around when she noticed the beginnings of a picnic in the distant. The thought of that made her hungry; would she attempt to join? It was too good of a day for anyone to be mean and say she couldn't.

Grinning, Carina leapt up, jogging casually towards the figure. Her short brown hair bounced, her blue eyes bright with ecstasy. She spun around a bit, nearly stumbling but feigned it off as being playful.

As she got closer she realized the person was a girl, and she recognized them as someone from their House. This made her feel more at ease with greeting herself.

“Hey, I'm Carina—er—” She sputtered, taking in anything, from the checkered blanket to all the food—which especially made her mouth salivate—to the girl with her long dark hair. “Sorry, I meant—I'm Carina! Can I join in? Sometimes I skip lunch, as you can see, a little.” She was a little skinny, but she did eat a lot. She just oddly skipped lunch today and was feeling especially hungry.

The girl had fortunately brought some shade, Carina gazing at the umbrella thankfully. She wondered what the girl didn't bring.

I was starled by the girl bounding toward me because usally Levi tells me when someone was coming. He is much more observeant than I am. So when she asked to join me I didn't know what to say.
"U-um h-hi" I felt my face go red as studdered. " S-sure m-my brother will be back soon s-so... I hope you don't mind"
I looked around for Levi hoping he was back by now but just my luck he is no where to be seen
"s-sorry I am a little shy..." 
Carina was really pretty. From her dark brown hair to her ocean blue eyes and it was just my luck that she was taller than me too. She seemed really nice so I let her join. I handed her a cookie and looked around for Levi again and lucky for me he was walking toward us.
"Levi! There you are what took you so long?" I asked relieved
" Sorry, someone moved it. But one question, who's that?" he asked a little confused 
" Oh yeah, this is Carina, Carina this is my twin brother Levi"  
As i said that Levi waved at her then tossed me the sunscreen.
"Oh yeah thanks Levi" I said as i started to spray myself then offered it to Carina "Want some?"

Eileen was out on the grounds taking a walk around. The day was too beautiful to stay inside all day! About half way through the walk her stomach started to growl, Eileen began to feel hungry. She started fantasizing about the food in the dining hall, the creamy mashed potatoes that seemed to melt in her mouth, the crunchy chips that came along as a side. Her mouth started to water and her pace quickened to head towards the castle. However, she was distracted by the beauty of the grounds. It all felt surreal. She had made a plan to grab some food and sneak it out where she could have her own little picnic outside. On her way back to the castle entrance, she had noticed three students sitting around with.... food!
Eileen’s stomach growled at her once more, so loud that she was afraid that the whole castle could hear her. She saw a familiar face, however, and she began to head in that direction. Maybe she wouldn’t have to go inside after all.
She approached the students and the girl from her dorm room and greeted them brightly. “Hello!” she said, cheerfully. Do you mind if i join you?” The thought that she might be intruding or inviting herself in escaped her. All she could think about was the food and a possibility of more friends. She stood, waiting for a reply.

Kaegen had been behind a tree. It was a pretty good tree, all things considered, and the young boy had begun to grow quite fond of it. He had been listening to the discussion going on with the girl and the picnic for a few minutes, considering the pros and cons of going over to say hello, and maybe retrieve some of the food. Kaegen Deathmote, Ex-Prefect of Ravenclaw, was hungy. Starving, even, but far too scared to go to the great hall.

Was there ever a moment in his life when he wasn't scared of something? Yes, he supposed. When he was playing with Eris, before he knew that he had screwed everything up. Before he had failed, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that it happened before he knew that he had failed.

Still, they sounded like students, not death witches. He didn't have any time to reminisce on times long past. The past wasn't going to hurt him now, the present was. And so he stepped out from behind the tree, and started slowly walking towards the group.

Kaegen did not look normal, or healthy. He barely managed to look human. His skin was beyond pale, verging into a sickly shade of grey that resembled a thin, and terminally ill, wonton wrapper. Huge dark shadows stood vigil under his bloodshot dark greyish blue eyes, framed by hair as black as black could possibly be. He was skinny, almost emaciated, a fact that was disturbingly obvious even under his large, faded and frayed black robe and soft grey scarf. Long thin fingers tipped with what looked to be dull claws completed his physical appearance, with a freakishly large umbrella the size of a walking staff strapped to his back at an angle over a black and blue splotched silk cape completing the true bizarre nature of the ravenclaw's appearance.

His voice was quiet and raspy, hoarse and just barely above a whisper. Like someone who had entirely decimated their throat with a horrible cough just hours prior.

"Hello."

I was more comfortable with Levi there but the problem was only that they might not have enough food I was worried that someone might not get food so I stood and said
“I will be right back but yall are welcome to join our picnic”
I walked away before anyone could say anything. As I walked I thought about that boy that had come over to others he my look sickly to me he looks like a vampire and I like vampires. I felt my face start to turn red just thinking about him. I ran to the kitchen to ask the house elves for some more food and thankfully they agreed. They gave me some bread and more sweets. I then thanked them and left. As I headed back I thought about what a good chance this would be. Me and Levi can make friends I am so happy. When I arrived back at the picnic I saw that everyone had sat down on the blanket. Levi then moved over some so that I could have a seat and the seat was right next to the boy from before so I decided to try and talk to him.
“S-so w-what is your name?” I said cursing myself for stuttering.

Eileen was joined by a shy sickly looking boy, dressed in blue robes. Eileen stared at him. Her mother always told her it was rude to stare, however, Eileen could not lift her eyes off of him. He looked awesome! Like some fictional character, Eileen would see on TV.
"I'll be right back but yall are welcome to join our picnic," said a young girl, about Eileen's age. Her hair was black and her skin pale, and a twin brother who looked the same. Eileen smiled and sat down eagerly, ready to start eating.
"Oh, I'm Eileen!" she said. "I'm a first year in Gryffindor, it's nice to meet you!" She put on the friendliest smile she could.
A few minutes of awkward small talk, the black haired girl came back with more food. She placed down the food and sat next to the sick boy. "S-so w-what's your name?" she said, cheeks red. Why was she stammering? Was she scared of him? But then why would she sit next to him? Eileen shrugged and grabbed a handful of food and stuffed her face. Eileen noticed that he didn't talk much, and wanted to hear him speak. Are you a Ravenclaw?" she asked with a mouthful of food. It was an obvious question, but maybe it would get him to talk.

§

Elena wasn’t sure what they were doing really, the picnic had looked nice from a distance, but then the insane half dead stabby kid showed up. Elena wasn’t sure whether to run or keep going. Since the picnic goers weren’t screaming, she decided fuck it. Picnic time it is. She waltzed along towards the group, recently coloured hair done up in a bun. The dark blue she’d rocked all winter had been replaced by cyan.

“More people enjoying the lovely weather on a day out?” Elena asked as she got closer. By the time she reached there, all the fear in her system was replaced with solemn exasperation as she could see Gryffindor blushing at Kaegen. At the walking corpse of a boy.

No accounting for taste, Elena supposed as she opened her box of deliciously ordered box of sandwiches, “I was planning on a lonely picnic for one, but this looks nicer. Good to see you again Kaegen, want some sandwiches? Hunting down all the monsters in a school this big must be tiring.”

Elena stated it all rather dryly as she sat down and offered the foretold sandwiches, “I’m Elly, by the way, for anyone wondering. Pleasure to meet you all, I’m sure we’ll either get along swimmingly or hate each other guts.”

Elena wasn’t sure if she was saving the students, the stabby kid, or just coming to watch some chaos unfold.

The girl was sick, horribly sick. Kae scooted just a little bit further away from the clearly feverish girl. His immune system was running on suspiciously low amounts of energy, due to the horrible lack of sleep he had been suffering from. But what could he do about that? Sleep didn't come easy to the boy, it used to, he remembered. But not anymore. And that meant he had to be careful. The thought that perhaps the girl was just fine and healthy, but incredibly angry, also sprung to mind. She was stuttering, and angry people stuttered. Maybe she was angry because she was sick?

"Kaegen Deathmote, Fens-Born Scarf-Wielder. He who was called..."

The boy trailed off. His sole purpose in life for the past one and a half had been for nothing. A failure. Did he still have a name at all? Honestly, probably not.

"Kaegen. My name is Kaegen."

His tired eyes turned to look at the other girl, the one who had asked if he was a ravenclaw. The pupils were starting to expand, and they wiggled around the edges like living things trapped in his eyes, but didn't try to grow much further than that. It was emotional turmoil he was feeling, not rage. And while distress still agitated the monstrous blood coursing within him, it did not spur it to action.

"I live there."

He breathed in deeply, to try and clear his head more, to try and stay on edge just enough to not act irrational. It was fine, until he smelled something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He had smelled that same scent before, right? It was so familiar, but he could not place why. It made him nervous, worried. His pupils did a little pulsating dance before calming down, indicating exactly how unstable the ex-prefect really was.

The Cyan haired girl walked over, saying that it was good to see him again. Again? His nostrils flared, but all they registered now were the sandwiches. He didn't recognize her name, but she knew what he was trying to do, that couldn't be good. Right? He relaxed slightly when she firmly cemented herself as an idiot in his mind, after her declaration that it was either going to go well or go poorly. What a brilliant statement of the obvious.

He scooted a bit farther away from the angrily sick girl, considering what would be safe to eat. It seemed that a few of the others knew each other, which meant that the only safe food, the only food he knew he could eat was the food the other girl was taking. The next time Eileen reached for food, Kaegen would snatch it first, cramming it into his mouth, chewing once before swallowing it whole, assuming that feat is possible. If she grabs an apple that clearly won't happen.

@Luna Light

Clear, cloudy days had their way of attracting people outside, and he was no different.

The dreariness of the inside of a castle sometimes got to a person, and it was especially bad whenever he attended History of Magic, or even astronomy. Between the droning, lulling voice of Professor Barclay, coupled with his stern snaps, and the terrible dust coming from the history books, there was little entertainment to be found. The students kept everything amusing enough, but he still yearned for the outdoors. It was a part of him; flying, running, and chasing were heart-racing and thrilling and new.

Enchanted by the touch of wind on his hair and the freshness of the air outside, the Gryffindor wandered the massive grounds, walking barefoot on the grass and trying to avoid rocks. He had the faint idea of returning to the waterside to finally attract that giant squid he'd always wanted to see. But his plans were dashed.

There was a crowd, strangely enough. And Isaac knew, wherever there was a crowd, there was either trouble or something of great note. Skirting the trees, he decided to observe what the fuss was all about.

Spread out on a red, black and blue blanket was an overflowing abundance of food. Well, that explained it.

Pies full of fruit, steaks, salads, and even a cake lay out in the open air. A group of students sat clustered around the food, with two kids at the head. They looked similar, with black hair and blue eyes. Twins?

He looked at each of the students in turn, watching and listening carefully. Well, there was Carina. The kind-hearted girl had sat down and was asking if she could have food. But the others, he had never seen. A girl with a flash of turquoise hair caught his eye, along with a very strange boy. His skin was pale as a ghost, his body was thin and bony, and raven-hair fell over his face. For a second, he saw a slip of his eye, pale like his, but rimmed in shadows. He spoke in a quiet raspy voice...what was his name? Kaegen?

Well, he did want some cookies. Coming out from behind the trees, he strolled up to the twins. In his nicest voice, he asked, "Can I have a cookie?"