Summer Picnic

[Paws]

It was a warm August afternoon, the perfect temperature for anyone to be out and about. On the lush field of a local park, three different creatures of three different species were setting up for a summer picnic, complete with food, field games, a fire pit to make bonfires, and a fireworks display at night. A small looking pony known as "Paws," furrier than others with webbed wings, an upturned nose and a leaf ear due to her bat genes, was busy hanging paper lanterns in the trees. A Dalmatian puppy with spots on her ears, legs, and chest, as well as with a blue collar around her neck, was helping the tall human boy, dressed in a sweater vest, shorts, and sneakers, spread out a few different blankets. Next to it were several coolers and baskets, filled with all different types of snacks, drinks, and games to play during the picnic.

"This is going to be a blast!" Clark McGregor exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his brow as he looked up at the pony-bat. "How're you doing with those lanterns, Paws?" he asked, watching her string up the remainder of them. She looked down at him and nodded, smiling. He looked down at Gay, the Dalmatian puppy wagging her tail as she put her forepaws on his leg and he scratched her between the ears. "Thanks again for helping me set up, both of you." Clark said, looking up at Paws once more and then down to Gay.

"No problem!" she barked back, wagging her tail even faster. "I'm so excited to play games with everyone!" Paws finished hanging her lanterns and fluttered downwards, sitting on the blankets and patiently awaiting the arrival of the other picnickers.

[Mizan]

"Well well well, isn't -this- a sweet getup." A third puppy approached the group, a confident smirk on his long muzzle. He had a large brown nose, oversized black ears, and dark blue eyes. Those eyes stole with devious confidence over the proceedings. "C'ld be better though." He really had no opinion on it in truth. He just wanted to be a pain in the butt. Pup of the spiky red collar trotted over to an unoccupied picnic blanket and plopped down on his rear, giving one of his black ears an easy scratch with his hind paw. "So what have ye got f'r me?" He asked with a grin, starting to pry open one of the picnic baskets with his paw. "Ah hope it's somethin' good. Like hot dogs, er hamburgers. No broccoli I hope." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. Broccoli gave him gas. It was a rather unfortunate and embarrassing problem he felt no desire to reveal to the others present.

[Angel]

(ooc: forgive me if I'm rusty with Lucky, okay? I haven't written him in forever ^^")

"Well, it's about time something happened around here," the next arrival was another dalmatian puppy, this one with a red collar, dark ears, and a distinctive horseshoe marking on his back. Lucky had been feeling particularly overlooked as of late, so when he'd heard of the picnic, the dal decided it was not an opportunity to be missed. The pup padded up and glanced at the others present. Used to seeing unusual creatures around by now, he didn't so much as bat an eyelid at Paws, instead turning to look at the other dal present.

"Hey... ah, I don't know your name," what began as a chilled-out greeting became an uncomfortable confession as the male squinted at Gay, flashing her a grin that came off as more awkward than cool. With ninety-eight siblings, he couldn't be expected to remember every name, after all. That was mom and dad's job; Lucky himself only knew about a third of them, and this girl wasn't one of that number.

"(=^ω^=) < 333333333!" A high-pitched squeal of excitement preceeded the next newcomer; a troll girl dressed in a grey dress shirt beneath an olive T-shirt, a short dark skirt, and with the unusual attatchment of a blue furry tail like a cat's. Meulin Leijon was sure that shipping opportunities would be plentiful at a gathering like this, and was clutching her tablet computer, fully prepared to jot down any developments of the heart that she noticed. "(^•ω•^) < I'VE NEVER B33N TO A HUMAN LAWNMEAL BEFUR! THIS IS GOING TO BE PAWSITIVELY WONDERFUL!" Deaf as she was, Meulin continued, blissfully oblivious to how loud she was actually speaking. Even more so to the fact that she was probably weirding out everyone else present. "(=˙•˙=) < AND ALL THE SHIPPING PURRTENTIAL! THERE WILL BE SO MANY F33LS! SO MANY OF THEM!"

[Phantom]

"The fun has arrived!"

The next to arrive was a little girl with candy sprinkled in her long, black hair. Vanellope's appearance practically screamed 'sweet', what with how her whole look was candy themed and all. She'd brought along a brown paper bag filled with candy, just in case the others wanted to share, and a big smile was on her face. A fun day was ahead of her and she couldn't wait to see how it all played out. If she was being honest, it was her first real opportunity to have a picnic with anyone. The majority of those present were strangers to her, though. She almost hoped Ralph or someone else she knew would show up to alleviate the awkwardness.

"I brought candy in case anyone wants any. ...This isn't everybody, is it? Pretty small group if it is," she said.

[Paws]

Clark looked over at the sound of voices, smiling in the direction of the strange crew that was showing up. Two more Dalmatians, like his friend, a strange-looking girl with horns and a tail, and an unusually small girl who's hair was garnished with different kinds of candy. He waved to everyone as Paws and Gay pressed to his sides, smiling as well.

"Welcome everyone, to the summer picnic!" he announced with a grin. "We'll wait for some others to show up and then we can get started. We've got fruit and vegetable platters out, as well as some other dry snacks and drinks. And later, I'll be grilling for dinner." He gestured to the coolers and baskets, then continued.

"We also have some games to play, such as Frisbee and horseshoes, for your entertainment." He then gestured to a few big bags with different toys and games sticking out of the top.

Gay's attention was immediately caught by the Dalmatian talking to her. She sniffed him over, recognizing the black ears, but her eyes caught the marking on his back. Could that be...?

"I know you!" she squealed, her typically shy nature being quickly bucked by excitement. "You're Lucky! I, uh..." Gay trailed for a minute, looking down at the grass and then back up to Lucky.

"I'm Gay. Pleased to finally, er, be talking to you!" She smiled warmly, her tail wagging at a brisk pace.

Paws, however, was hovering in the air, approaching the troll girl curiously. Although her loudness was a little intimidating, Paws had noticed immediately that she looked different, just like her. She landed on the grass, looking up at Meulin curiously.

"H...hello..." Paws said, raising one of her hooves up slightly. "Who are you?"

[Angel]

"Yep, that's me," Lucky grinned at her cockily. Far from making him ashamed of not knowing her name, the fact that she knew his simply helped Lucky to jump to the conclusion that Gay must be a fan of his. Well, that was alright by him, just so long as she didn't get all clingly like Dumpling had. "You must be a fan? Nice to be still be appreciated in that way." He strolled across the picnic blankets, snagging a sausage from one of the baskets in passing and settling himself down slightly away from the others to enjoy it. Well, not quite all the others... he waved Gay over to join him, if she wanted to.

"You are one of my siblings, right? I can't keep track of them all, but I think I've seen you before."


Given that she hadn't been looking in the pony's direction, it took a few moments for Meulin to realise that she was being addressed by her; at least until the kitty shipper girl turned and caught sight of Paws' lips moving and quickly realised what she was asking. "(=^•ω•^=) < I'M MEULIN! I'M FROM ANOTHER UNIFURSE, A PLANET CALLED BEFORUS," she explained, suspecting that the humans and what she assumed must be their lusii might have been wondering. "(^•ω•^) < AND YOU, YOU'RE SOME KIND OF HOOFBEAST?" she enquired, as curious about Paws as the other seemed to be about her. Curiosity might have killed the proverbial cat, but Meulin didn't see anything wrong with it herself. "(=^•^=) < MY MOIRAIL HORUSS IS CATPTIVATED BY YOUR KIND," she added. An understatement, really; Horuss believed that he actually was a horse, but there was no point going into all the details here.

[Phantom]

Upon not receiving an answer to her question, Vanellope just shrugged a little and looked over the group present again. Puppies seemed to be the prominent residents in the group, and two were already conversing. The other didn't really strike Vanellope as someone she wanted to speak to. If anything, he gave off an air that made her feel a little uncomfortable. The sort of air that Taffyta and the others had held when they had been under Turbo's influence. So, she decided not to speak to Arrow for the moment. She took the time to look Clark's way instead and waved a little at him. She thought he might provide some interesting conversation.

"So, what's your name?" Vanellope asked. It certainly was better than nothing in terms of conversation.

[Paws]

Clark looked around immediately at the sound of a voice, only to see the little candy-haired girl addressing her. He smiled and bent down slightly, getting to eye level with the enthusiastic glitch.

"Hi! I'm Clark." He stuck out his hand so she could shake. "It's nice to meet you!"

Gay followed the horseshoe-spotted pup willingly, almost captivated by his excessive charm.

"Yeah," she said, her eyes once again darting around and then back to him. "One of the eighty-four that was nabbed by that devil woman and her goons." She rubbed a paw against the back of her blue collar. "Not like I see you around much, anyway, but I definitely knew who you are, right off the bat." Gay flashed a smile, her tail picking up in a wag.

Paws was startled, fluttering up in the air at Meulin's loudness. When she felt her heart rate slow, she looked up at the kitty again and nodded.

"Uh...uh-huh. I'm a mix between a pony and a bat. A-are you some kind of cat?" she asked, tilting her head a little. The girl was indeed strange-looking, and from the way she was talking, Paws could immediately recognize that she was not of this world. "Are you an alien?" she asked again, still a little afraid.

[Angel]

"(^•o•^) < ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Oblivious deaf girl was oblivious to her volume, so had no reason to associate it with Paws' sudden reaction. Meulin actually glanced around to see if she could spot what had startled the hoofbeast hybrid, but came up with nothing. She looked briefly puzzled at the term 'pony'; then dismissed it. A type of hoofbeast, clearly, just not one she was familiar with. These Earth names for creatures sure were confusing.

"(=^ω^=) < I'M NOT ACTUALLY A CAT, BUT MY LUSUS WAS, SO I FELINE USING CATPUNS IS A PURRFECT WAY TO REMEMPURR HER. A LUSUS IS LIKE A CATMOM IN MY CASE," she added, culturally sensitive enough to at least realise that humans and Earth-beasts didn't understand the concept of lusii quite the way her species did. "(^•ω•^) < AND I AM AB ALIEN, BUT NOT ONE WHO GIVES A LICK ABOUT TAKING OVER YOUR WORLD LIKE IN ALL THOSE HUMAN MOVIES. LICK BEING A SUBTLE CAT PUN," she added, just in case Paws had missed it.


"Heh, being the most well-known pup on the farm does have its perks," Lucky flashed Gay what he clearly thought was a winning grin, but just came off looking concieted. She was actually quite pretty, all things considered - not Two-Tone-level pretty, of course; but certainly not unattractive either. How had he not noticed her before? Well, other than he'd been entertaining fleeting crushes on about half the other girls on the farm for most of that time. None of those had really lasted, though - most not even long enough for him to date the girls in question - so he was a free agent right now. Nothing wrong with talking to a girl or two. Gulping down the remains of his sausage, Lucky regarded her with his clear blue orbs.

"Do you hang around with everyone else back on the farm, and just get lost in the crowd? Or do you more do your own thing?" he enquired, surprising himself by being genuinely curious about this girl. Something about her intrigued him - or maybe it was just the way she was hero-worshiping him that was making him interested in her.