Strawberries in the Sun pv Mercy, Eliza, and Edme Closed

@Eliza Corrids @Mercy Tolman

Edme turned to the girl that had began walking up, alerting her with a comment on how beautiful the day is. Mercy had nice, cotton-candy pink hair. It seemed to shimmer in the sun, swaying lightly as she walked. It was messy, but in a way that seemed fitting with the nicely done braid. She wore navy blue pinafore dress with a beige, patchwork cardigan on top.

She sat down on the ground by Edme, her legs criss-crossed on the ground. She payed her thanks for Edme's invite.

"Oh, yes... well, I suppose it seemed appropriate, as we're sharing a dorm." Edme was sure her nerves were acting up, struggling to keep her composure with this new face, "Do you... have any allergies?"

The question wasn't stupid, as no one would be having an episode over peanuts on this picnic, but Edme still wanted to cringe as she said it. They began to realize it would have been easier and more convenient to ask through letter, and a million regrets swirled into her head. She feared the worst of this picnic, as maybe this girl wouldn't like her, or maybe she was a bully, who would steal her non-existent money and try to pick a fight.

Edme took a few deep breaths, trying to subtly regain composure. Of course she wasn't a bully, they had met at the dorms. They were just being over dramatic.

WC:286

The warmly cool fall air was blowing in the fields of rolling grass. The lake shimmered, and the sun was rippling and reflecting off of the water. The orange and yellow fall leaves were blowing past Eliza as she walked down the rocky beaches. She was invited to a lovely picnic by a small, pink haired girl. Of course, she didn't know her. She was invited in the middle of the hallway. Her and one other girl were going to dine on... well, she was not quite sure.

But no matter, she was going to have a great time with some new people. Again, she had straitened her hair and tucked the annoying strands back behind her head. She was wearing a black overcoat and a green and white stripey shirt.

About 100 feet away, two small girls were standing by the lake, making small talk. Liz hoped this was them, walking over. One was almost her size, with short, light brown hair. The other, the one who had invited her, had light pink hair that reached her shoulders. She walked over, clearing her throat. "H-hello!" She squeaked, smiling. "I-is this the picnic I was invited to?" Liz scratched her neck, fiddling with her fingernails.

Edme Achillean

As Edme grabbed a little box of strawberries, a ginger girl with a green and white striped shirt and black overcoat. Edme barely noticed the girl until she was right before them, wringing her hands and fidgeting as she asked if this was the picnic she was invited to.

Edme decided to asses the situation, looking around to see if there was another picnic going on. Quickly she realized that they were the only people with the idea of a picnic, as the other options were a couple of smooching 4th years and a wandering 1st year.

Well, if Edme didn't invite her, then Mercy did, and if Mercy did, then Mercy knew her, and if Mercy knew her, then it was probably no big deal. This was just a new person who was of no threat to the two of them and probably just wanted to eat strawberries and two day old cake.

"Oh, um..." Edme searched for some kind of words, greeting the most obvious, "Hello."

The heat had begun to get to her, and they shrugged off the brown, button up jacket. It fell to the grass in a quick motion, a soft sound of grass being tampered with. Small bits of the green had stuck to Edme's wool turtleneck, and she struggled to shake it off.

"You want a strawberry?" They asked weakly holding up the box for inspection.

@

Mercy mentioned her allergy to bananas, and Edme nearly sighed in relief at the statment.

"Lucky for you, I didn't pack any. I can't stand them." Edme laughed lightly, glad the tension was slightly lifted.

Mercy seemed to recognize the new girl, but only a little bit. It seemed she knew just as much about the girl as Edme did. It seemed Mercy almost looked guilty as she greeted the girl- or Eliza, as Mercy had called her. Edme felt a pang of guilt herself- maybe she should have greeted Eliza with more open of arms, rather than her poor excuse for a welcome.

"Well, I-" Edme wasn't able to finish whatever they were going to say, as a tug on their sleeve awoke her from her thoughts. Mercy pulled her to the side, excusing them from Eliza momentarily.

Once they were off to the side, she apologized for inviting someone else to- as she phrased it- "your picnic.". Edme felt horrible that Mercy felt as though this picnic was just made by Edme. They had intended for it to be a way to meet more of her housemates besides Eliphas. But it had proven a bit off course so far.

"Oh, no don't apologize! It's okay, I just..." Edme peered over at Eliza, waving lightly at her, "I just don't know her. I guess it was a little shocking, that's all. Anyone can come by the picnic. It's in the middle of a field for Merlin's sake!"

Edme smiled warmly at the other girl, patting her shoulder awkwardly. At that point, they had fallen off the mental script, and decided to leave the rest for Mercy.