A Break From it All (Open to RK)

Now seemed to be among the best of times to incite a little bit of a small get-a-way for the whole bunch of Knights. With how things have progressed and had been expanding about, it could be more of a celebratory thing than simply a small field trip. Of course, that would require a bit more of a formal type of notice if any at all, but that just seemed to be something that was more to discuss. For now, an informal type would be a better way to handle things if any wanted more of a reason than "why not go?". Something else got to the bunny girl when it all came down to things; where to go for this? Anywhere in Era just seemed a bit crowded for a picnic and so the idea sprung in her head for a little trip out. Nothing too too far, but it would get everyone out in the fresh air, relaxing with one another and just having a chance to truly enjoy themselves for something outside of fellow men-in-arms. Or for some women-in-arms, but the point still stood.

Taking some time in advance, Gisen had headed off to the closest place she could think of in order to maybe work something out with them. The first place she came across had been Peace Village. It seemed to be something relaxed and left alone so much that having the worry of being attacked while off guard and enjoying themselves was only much simpler and easier. For a being whom prided herself on traveling by foot over taking a mode of transportation, it still hadn't taken her very long to trek down to the village where not only did they approve the idea, they had offered to help them get things set up. In an agreement to their idea, she'd gotten together to discuss the plans with both sides higher ups over the whole thing. It didn't seem to take very long to get the approval over everything, thankfully, but now they'd have to just get enough people to make it all worthwhile for the trip. Who knew how many stuck up "married to the job" types were in the place after all.

A few days passed and the day for the picnic had been fully arranged and prepared on both ends. In Era, a couple private carriages could take a few of the Knights together along within about an hours time each. Upon arriving, the village would look as though nothing special was going on, however down closer to the river bed had been a complete change. Multiple cloth covered picnic tables were decorated with trays of fruit and veggies; carrots being among the plentiful amount. Of course, these were simply a large amount of carrot sticks rather than just pulled from the ground type. Vases set with various colorful arrangements were centerpieces to each, leaving it to show, but not to seem too much as to block the view of others. Now patiently awaiting the arrival of others stood a normal looking woman with long, dark red hair cascading down her back and over her shoulders, bangs framing her face and pulling out the unique color of her eyes. Her clothes both casual and nice were fairly new for her, but the heels to her was nothing. If anything, her comfort laid more in those than anything else down to her bare feet.

"I. . . also brought meat." introduced a redheaded private as he approached the small ground of Rune Knights.

It was true, Doppo did indeed bring meat. But he also brought other things. He carried a Hexgrill four-burner propane gas grill on one shoulder and a transparent tub full of litanies of meat from both cows and chickens on the other. He hauled these two items over his shoulders like logs from trees and seemed completely unphased by it! If not for the items themselves, no one would ever be able to tell that he was lifting anything at all from his entirely indifferent, unreadable, and strangely worn expression. They also wouldn't be able to tell that he was accompanied by Joe Phacelia—or Beaux for those who didn't have such a horrible memory as Doppo did—as the effeminate man was dwarfed in the shadow the grill and tub cast behind Doppo. It didn't really matter how the private managed to bring these things with him, but all he could remember was how much of a hard time the drivers of the carriages gave him when they saw it.

The private wore a simple grey t-shirt with sleeves that ended just above his elbows, black dress pants and beige slip-on shoes with laces that didn't tie just to feel aesthetically pleasing to the naked eye. Despite his casual and appropriate attire, his blanched complexion and bedhead—while combed and brushed thoroughly every morning—never looking anything less of a mess no matter what rigorous routine Doppo might've considered trying. He looked like he jumped straight out of bed when in fact, he woke up early in the morning to secure this grill on short notice!

The people who were already there consisted of a tall, broad-shouldered blonde man and a woman who couldn't be anyone else other than General Ceostra of the Combat Corps. He knew that this was supposed to be an informal event, but he paused and dipped his head as far as he could in an attempt to create a makeshift salute, ". . . General Ceostra." Doppo greeted her in his usual half-hearted softness.

Now a picnic was something he could deal with.

It wasn’t busy work, it wasn’t organizing papers and it wasn’t taking care of official Rune Knight business like every other aspect of his life had seemingly become. And when he wasn’t on professional business, he was busy scouring tomes and lore books to find out more about the Seals. His and Serilda’s issues with Faera and Kingdom Darkness seemed a trifle in comparison to the walking, talking, ever-annoying avatars of the God-created apocalypse. The emergence of Lux and Victoria had been yet another test in the maturity and growing of Mythal and Serilda, who were only recently starting to understand their feelings for one another and act upon them. The couple had seemingly become a foursome and an unwelcome one at that. Nonetheless, they had committed themselves to learning more about their genetic inheritances and how they may remove them.

But a break was certainly a welcome distraction. Mingling with the rest of the Rune Knights outside of an official capacity would sure be… unique but whatever it took at this point. Unlike Serilda, who had to take the time to dress down into more casual wear, Mythal was almost always in his normal outfit. As the General of the Special Operations, it was more beneficial that he didn’t look like a member of the Rune Knights, along with the rest of his division. The only time they were expected to dress accordingly was during special ceremonies – and this certainly wasn’t going to be anything like that.

As the door opened and the Field Marshall and Xiuhco made their way inside, Gren popped up from behind the desk. The once-pup had been growing rapidly in the last couple of months, now slightly bigger than his older sister. The white streaks that had once slid through his fur had faded as he matured, darkening and taking on an almost purplish sheen. But he was still as happy and energetic as possible, bounding over to the other Star Wolf and running circles around her and Serilda. Mythal was just finishing locking up some of his drawers as the Voidwalker asked if she’d missed anything in packing. “You know I ain’t gonna remember anythin’ like that. I was told to just bring myself and Gren if I wanted. So as far as I’m concerned, snacks is exactly what we were meant to bring,” he said with an amused smirk as he twisted the lock shut and pocketed the key.

“You’re sure not forgetting me!” Lux said, appearing out of thin air beside the Darkness King. He looked between Mythal and Serilda, grinning like a fox. “Get it? Because I’m stuck in his head? So you literally can’t forget me even if you wanted—“

“And time to go,” Mythal said, nodding to Serilda to confirm he was ready. Within a blink of an eye, they were at the Rune Knight hosted picnic spot and the first thing they caught sight of was Onida, the Engineering General, apparently preparing to pass out… condoms. While not nearly as floored as Serilda, the God Slayer sighed and shook his head. “I shoulda known somethin’ was gonna go like this.”

“Hey now, that chick’s apparently on the hunt for a good time. Yo Mythal, why don’t you go over and—hey! Hey!!” Before Lux could finish his sure-to-be perverted thought, Gren had walked over to Lux and brought up a single leg, ready to relieve his bladder on the leg of the Seal of Light. “No! Bad dog! Alright, I get it! Going!” As he proclaimed his defeat, Lux vanished just as quickly as he had appeared, fading into the light of the world around them.

Mythal snickered as he looked down at Gren, who was already putting his leg down and looking up like the triumphant wolf he was. “You get all the treats you want today, bud,” he said as he ruffled the hound’s head, earning an excited woof and tail wag. As Serilda went to find someone else to talk to, Mythal decided to play the part of investigator and walked up to Onida. “Hey uh… Onida,” he said, nodding to the bag that more properly deserved to be hung on a university health center’s door. “You uh… you sure those are proper items to bring to a picnic? It’s not like this is an orgy or somethin’. Picnics aren’t like… orgies where you come from, are they?”
.

After greeting his superior officer and reluctantly accepting it from another, the tiresome Rune Knight took his leave and headed for the nearest clearing from the group. It was a clearing with small patches of grass covering the ground and no trees in sight to catch fire.

Plump! Doppo placed his grill on the ground, dusted his hands off of each other, and nodded. It was time to get to work!

Pop! went the lid to the tub containing the litanies of meats. But it wasn't just the meat that was in that tub: mixing bowls, tongs, whisks, spices, cutting boards, and other important items for grilling. The tub was large, but not gigantic. Reasonably so, it was hard to believe that Doppo was able to fit all of these things in that one tub without any trouble.

The creaking sound of the grill's hood opening made it clear that the redhead carrying the enormous amount of meat was finally beginning to start his work. The fire was beginning to burn beneath as he pulled two whole racks of pork ribs and laid them out on a tray on an empty table nearby. They were wet and oozing with pig blood but glistening desirably. Next to them, he placed a large, white mixing bowl and an assortment of spices adjacent to it. The look in his eyes was that of raw determination if you could see them through his shock of red hair. Preparation had begun!

With incredible dexterity and precision, spices suddenly starting piling inside the bowl. All while Doppo was muttering something to himself. "One-fourth cup brown sugar, two teaspoons kosher salt, black pepper, smoked paprika. . . one teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder. . . a half teaspoon cinnamon, celery salt. . . a fourth teaspoon cayenne pepper. . ." the redhead glared at the bowl with such intensity that it almost looked malicious, murmuring these measurements without actually using any tools. Despite this, the amount he used for each of these spices looked to be correct, and together it made what Doppo considered to be the best dry rub for the ribs.

After mixing all of these spices together, he would pat the ribs dry and roll up his sleeves before completely submerging the racks in his rub. It was difficult to see his blue eyes through his messy hair, but if one caught a glimpse of them, it would show something akin to pure focus. Again, he began to mutter to himself as he covered the ribs in the dry rub, and, as it turns out, what he was muttering wasn't too far from what he was doing.

"Rub, rub, rub, rub, rub. . ."

Sheldon Stern, one of Doppo's closer friends in the Rune Knights. Doppo didn't look at him when he dragged a stool over to him and approached him. Instead, he continued to rub the racks of ribs with particular intensity and resolve.

"That's not very healthy, Sheldon. . . don't look for a stomach ache. . ." Doppo paused only for a moment to mumble his warning to him. He was strangely aware of Sheldon's dining capability but felt the need to warn him regardless, since he'd have to live with a guilty conscience if he hadn't.

The mixture began to clump on his fingers as he rubbed against the meat, making it difficult for the process to move along. Doppo would repeatedly clean off his hands and try rubbing it again until he got so frustrated that he was glaring at his fingers with angry bewilderment. He'd do this until he realized that Sheldon was present, and suddenly returned to indifference.

". . .Sheldon." he called to him quietly, looking at him and then at the grill. Doppo was a man of very few words and relied mostly on his colleagues' ability to interpret his gestures in order to effectively communicate. Regardless of how Sheldon might've received the message, it was clear that the redhead wanting him to help grill. "Do you wanna. . .?"