Picnic

Winter was in full swing, and it had started to snow. June was worried about the picnic that her son planned for his friends. Originally, they were supposed to have lunch at her house, but James was more popular than she thought. Their home wasn't small, but seven people would feel cramped in the space that they had available. James decided it would be better for everyone to meet in the park and have a picnic lunch instead. She was worried about the weather, but James said he would use magic to make things comfortable. That was what he was doing at the moment.

James hummed as he was marking out the corners of a barrier spell. Its purpose was to keep everyone inside warm and keep out the snow. He may not be a first tier mage yet, but he was close. A simple weather barrier like this was well within his capability. His mother seemed impressed at his spellcraft, and it made him smile. She was always supportive of his dream to be a valir, and he was always happy to show off his skills.

"Is it done yet, honey?" June asked her son.

"Just about." James stood up and held his hands out towards the symbols carved into the ground. He chanted a few words, causing an orange glow to spread from the four magic circles that marked the corners of a large square. The magic spread and connected the corner marks to each other. When they finished, a large magical box formed around the designated area. Focusing on the spell, James made the walls fade from sight. Then he walked to the center of the new barrier and pushed a glowing white crystal into the ground. "There, that should keep it powered while we're out here."

June watched proudly as James checked to make sure the barrier was working correctly. "That was wonderful." She walked into the barrier and felt the change in temperature instantly. "It's so warm." A smile spread across her face. "Will you go get our things from the car while I set up?" June sat the large basket she was holding down. Then she pulled out a large picnic blanket and started humming while she sat it down.

"Sure thing, mom." James started walking to the parking lot. He helped bring in supplies and prepare the picnic area. It was almost time for everyone to arrive.

____________________

Semara was watching the snow fall from inside the limo, "I think you should be a silver wolf like me. After all, Bianca already conned you into becoming a fox-kin for your adult form."

"I didn't con him into anything," Bianca retorted. "Zeph just knows the benefits of being awesome." She sent the young lord a smug look from the rearview mirror.

"Pshh, whatever. Besides, a fox-kin would draw attention. Bianca's the only one in Asperitus and all the others are stuck in the Beast Kingdom." Semara wanted Zeph to use a wolf-kin shifter form. It was mostly because she was being competitive with Bianca, but she also thought the boy looked really adorable as a silver wolf. There was an obvious bias, but she didn't care.

"I don't see what the big deal is. I could go as a tiger-kin or something. It doesn't matter to me." Zeph shrugged.

"No!" they both yelled in unison.

"Huh?" he asked, surprised by their rejection of the idea.

Bianca stared at his reflection from the front seat. "Zeph, I already lost paper rock scissors today. You need to pick fox-kin."

"No, pick wolf. You're always a cat or a fox, it's discriminatory." Semara crossed her arms and stared at him.

"Why are you two making this a competition?" Zeph was confused.

"Why not?" Bianca stated flatly.

"Yeah, what's life without a little whimsy," Semara smirked. "We're keeping score. Right now, cat is in the lead, with fox coming in second, and then wolf coming in third."

"Well I'm glad I seem to amuse you," Zeph said dryly.

"Yup, so please turn into a wolf-kin. At the end of the year, whoever has the highest score gets a prize." Semara gave him the puppy dog look. Her big shiny eyes broke through his layer of indifference.

"Fine." Two fluffy wolf ears popped out from underneath his hair as it turned silver. His tail emerged soon after. "There, you happy now?"

Semara nodded her head, while Bianca grumbled. Bianca was on the winning side of their exchanges more often than not. She did the best pranks, won the most bets, and beat them at most of the games they played. Zeph decided that taking Semara's side this time would help even up the score, even if it was only a little bit.

__________________

Relina and Eli were walking into the park with Lili and Ivy. "If you need us, Eli and I will be nearby having a picnic of our own. Bianca and Semara will be here soon with Zeph and they'll be on guard duty today," Relina said.

"Okay, grandma. You have fun on your date," Ivy waved at the spirit mage as the two elves went off in a different direction.

"See, I told you we wouldn't be late." Lili was holding a new hover-board and smiling. "We managed to get me a replacement board and still got here before Zeph."

"Try not to overload this one with magic to make it go higher." Ivy looked around to see if she could spot their friends. "I think I see Rebecca and Stacy over there." She pointed at a spot near some trees.

"I think Drew and Brent are there too." Lili pointed at the two boys helping James bring supplies from the parking lot. She started jogging to meet the group. Ivy followed after.

"Hi guys, how's it going?" Lili asked the boys.

"Not bad. This is the last of the stuff from my car. Now all we're waiting on is for Malston to get here." James said as they got closer to the barrier.

"Nice barrier," Ivy said as she entered. "It's warm and there's no wind."

"Thanks, it took me a few minutes, but it was worth it. Now we don't have to worry about the cold. Wind won't blow away our napkins or anything either." James said proudly.

"It's pretty good work. Keep it up, and you'll be a barrier expert in no time," Brent said as he patted James back.

"Yeah, you're the only one of us who's actually any good at these," Drew added.

"Hi, Lili and Ivy," Stacy yelled while coming up and hugging the two girls.

"Hello," Rebecca waved as she joined them.

June walked up to the Children. "Hello," she bowed slightly. "I am June Carver, Mother of James Carver. It is my honor to meet you."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Carver." Lili and Ivy said while making a slight curtsy.

"That was weird," Drew said.

"What?" Ivy asked. The others looked at Drew in confusion.

"I think that was the first time I've seen Lili act anything remotely like a noble. I mean it was just a simple greeting, but she actually seemed regal or something." Drew smirked.

"Now that you mention it, that was weird. It was like the air around her changed and became more solemn. Almost like she was someone else." Rebecca added. "I expected her to shout out 'Yo' or 'What's up' or something."

"Hey, I can act noble." Lili argued. "And my mom made me stop talking cool a while ago.

The group of children started to joke around with each other while June smiled. She was surprised when she found out that three of her son's friends were nobles. The boy had an intense dislike of people of people with high social standing. It was caused by her late husband's side of the family. Honestly, she was wary about meeting them, but James told her that Zeph, Lili, and Ivy were very casual. She still erred on the side of caution and greeted them in a semi-formal manner, so as not to offend the two girls.

June continued to watch James talk with his friends. A gentle smile graced her face. She was happy that her son managed to find some friends. For the last few years, he was buried in books and spending all his time on magic practice. He wasn't a genius or prodigy of magic, so he had to put in a lot of effort to maintain his scholarship to AVA Middle School. His hard work paid off, but she was worried that he was missing out on having a childhood and an active social life. A black and white blur suddenly flew past her, and she heard Ivy grunt as something landed heavily in her chest.

There was the cutest kitten she'd ever seen purring loudly in the little half-elf's arms. "Oh my, who is this?" June said with a hint of excitement while approaching Ivy and looking at Rin.

"That's Malston's cat, Rin." James looked off towards the parking lots, wondering which one he was coming from.

Ivy started petting the kitten as it purred loudly. It looked at her with big watery eyes, begging for something. "Let me guess, you want to play with Ethris?" Ivy asked.

"Nyaa!" Rin mewed.

Ivy held out her hand summoned the happy ball of light. "Alright, now you two be good and don't cause any trouble." Ethris looked at Rin and made a happy squeak. The two familiars darted off and started to chase each other.

"Well they seem energetic," June said as she watched the two play. If anyone listened closely, they would hear a hint of disappointment in her voice. She wanted to pet the kitten. Her attention was caught by the sound of someone yelling from behind her.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. My driver woke up late," Zeph said from atop a hover-board. He was gliding towards their group.

"About time, Malston. We were about to start without you." James yelled at the young lord.

June was surprised by the wolf-kin shifter wearing a backpack coming into the barrier. She was confused, because she saw Zeph's picture in the newspaper. The boy looked similar, but his hair was different and he wasn't human.

"Hi, you must be Jim's mom." Zeph reached out a hand.

June looked at Zeph blankly for a second. "Uhm, I'm sorry. Yes, I am James mother." She started to bow, but was stopped by Zeph.

"Don't worry about all that etiquette stuff. You're my friend's mom." Zeph said with a smile. June looked at the young lord who still had his hand out for her to shake. He gestured with his eyes for her to shake his hand, so she did. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Carver."

"Yes, It's an honor to meet you too, my lord," June said awkwardly, not really sure how to act.

"Call me Zeph." He stepped off of his hover-board and set it to the side before waking further into the picnic area. "Just treat me like a regular person, don't worry about offending me or anything."

"If that is what you wish." June was a little dazed by Zeph's casual attitude, even more so than Lili and Ivy's. She watched as the other children greeted him. Then she heard the sound of a loud click and a flash of light.

"What was that?" Zeph asked looking to the side.

Stacy smiled mischievously, "I decided to take a picture. There are a few girls at school that would pay pretty good money for a picture of you as a silver wolf-kin."

"Crap, he is a wolf-kin this time." Drew brought out a digital notepad on his tablet. "Oh well, cat form is still in first place, so I'm good."

"Wait, you're in on that bet too?" Zeph was surprised.

"Yeah, Lili told us all about it. She and Rebecca picked fox. Stacy, Ivy, and I picked cat. Brent and James picked wolf." Drew explained.

"Do you guys have any idea what the winners get, or why this silly competition exists in the first place?" Zeph asked.

"Uncle Bernard started it. He said he'd have a surprise for the winner at the end of the year." Lili said with a smile.

"I guess I'll have to ask him why he did that." Zeph made a mental note.

"I'm sorry, but I'm a little confused," June said. "What is going on?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Malston has a changeling ancestor so he can shape-shift a little bit. I'm not sure why he's doing it now though." James explained.

"I figured it would be a good idea, since my picture is in the paper and stuff; didn't want anyone interrupting our get together for an autograph or anything," Zeph told them.

"Little conceited there, aren't you buddy?" Brent said in good humor.

"It's not my fault that I'm cool," Zeph said, drawing a few amused looks from his friends. "Speaking of cool," Zeph pulled out from some necklaces from his backpack. "These are the holo-pendants I told you guys about." He handed everyone one a pendant.

"What's this?" June asked.

Lili scooted next to her. "It's like a CV projector and personal tablet mixed together." She put her new model Holo-pendant around her neck. "See, you can bring up video and stuff. Just like a regular tablet, but they are projected in front of you." A display appeared in the air in front of her. "Oh look! It already has a video in the library." The curious girl tapped it.

A video of Zeph on a hover-board in his backyard appeared in the air. He was gliding smoothly until he suddenly lurched forward and fell into the dirt. Everyone watched and there was an awkward silence for a few seconds. The video continued and showed Zeph fall again and again. It was a video clip of Rin messing with him while he was on the hover-board.

When it was over, Jim started cracking up. The rest of his friends joined in the laughter. June smiled, and chuckled a bit. Seconds later, Jim brought the video up on his own holo pendant. "Oh man, I'm going to get a lot of mileage out of this."

"It's the gift that keeps on giving," Drew said as he watched the video again.

Zeph's brow furrowed. "Damnit grandpa," he whispered to himself.