The Picnic of Champions!

((I think perhaps this should take place before the first task))

Oh, all this mystery surrounding the tournament. The rivalry, the secrets, the... just plain weirdness of it!

Danica disapproved. It was not nice to make this whole event about winning and losing, or to try to imply that whoever won was somehow "better" than the others. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, and this tournament, like life, would be just as much about luck as it would about skill. So.

So this morning, Danica had gone to the kitchen and asked the two house elves who'd been assigned to the ship ever so nicely to pack her a lunch so she could have a picnic with her friends. Of course, they were not her friends just yet, but that was only a matter of time. Then, she'd visited the Hogwarts owlery and used one of their school owls to send notes to each of the other girls in the tournament inviting them to meet her by the lake at lunch time.

Which was where she was now, spreading the blanket and unpacking the glasses and plates. Oh, and there was that nifty little spell for ant-proofing the grass she could try now!

Jack had almost considered not going. Not because she would get wrapped up in this whole school rivalry thing. She was competitive but she would not be uncivil unless she had to be, unless her honor called to have to be against the other competitors. No, she was just sick of people, and she was not in the mood for meeting new people. And she had always been paranoid about getting along with other girls. It seemed they all understood dating and clothes and makeup and the lingo was foreign to her.

But she also knew it would only cause her trouble not to go. She would then have two angry champions thinking she was plotting against them, and then she would probably have them plotting against her. No, it was best to just make an appearance, gauge their expertise, and leave. Plus, it was a picnic, which meant free food, which was really the only reason Jack went anywhere anymore.

She strolled down to the lake, her hands deep in her pockets, her red hair floating back a little bit. It was messy and tangled and her eyes blinked with boredom as she strolled forward, clods of dirt falling from her perpetually muddy sneakers. She reached the picnic place and grinned. "Hey Danica." They were all introduced since the weighing of the wands. She sat down on the opposite edge of the blanket. "So is Selene coming?" If not, perhaps Danica would take offense and sabotage the other girl before the first task. That would be helpful.

Well, at least one person showed up! The little red-haired girl sat down on the edge of the picnic blanket as though she was too timid to come any closer. Oh, Durmstrang had such a harsh reputation, but it did not deserve it at all.

Okay, perhaps just a little bit.

But still, Danica was not about to bite this poor girl's head off just because she came to a picnic she'd been invited to. That wasn't the idea. Although, it would have been a good idea, and very in keeping with her school's harsh reputation.

"Oh, Selene?" she bit her finger and then quickly stopped, remembering she was in charge of all this food. "I have no idea. She didn't say she wasn't coming, and I imagine their Headmistress would think very badly of her if she was impolite to us."

"Do you want something to drink? I found some elf wine aboard the ship."

Jack smirked at the girl, nodding. "Sure, I'll take some." She had never had elf wine. The only time she drank was when in the presence of Vito Dee Symons or when she was psychologically suffering with having ever met the moody poltergeist. She knew it to be usually high class wine, though she had had some rum, but she did not think she had ever had elf wine.

"Selene is probably getting all spiffed up for the occasion." Jack said, yawning and leaning back, deciding she ought to at least be comfortable. Her impression from Selene was that she was a bit of a girly girl, so Jack assumed she was primping or whatever girl's did when getting dressed up. Jack had little doubt that Selene would show up; this tournament was political, and the Headmistress would have it no other way. They were no longer champions, they were delegates.

Crap, a picnic? Now?! Selene flew a hairbrush through her hair and tried to pull on her shoes at the same time, and it wasn't working very well. She was never late for anything, EVER, but Selene had woken up late this morning, VERY late, and hadn't gotten the message until it was almost to late to join them. Finally getting the hairbrush through her hair she threw it on her bed, pulled on her shoes, and grabbed a cloak, no makeup today, but that didn't matter really. She grabbed the letter off her nightstand and went to her mirror, it wasn't until she looked at herself did she realize that her shirt was on backwards. "Yikes!"

Fifteen minutes later, a much more prepared Selene walked down the grounds, the note clutched in her hand. She had had to perform a spell to get rid of her sweating and to make sure her hair wasn't greasy or anything. After finishing her maintenance she had had to explain to the headmistress where she was going, and after being given the okay, she was hurrying down the lawns, hoping she had been able to catch them. Seeing a spot in the distance, she relaxed with relief, it was the Jack girl, heading to the picnic also. She wouldn't be to late then, only a little bit.

Selene finally let her mind wander to what the picnic would actually be like. First off they were probably talking about her right now, wondering if she was coming, and making fun of her for being more dressed up then them. At least Selene was refined, these other two seemed coarse at best, but better to not make an enemy of them. Selene hurried forward and finally came within site of the actual picnic. Danica and Jack were already there talking as she hurried up. "I am sorry I am late." She said with a small curtsy, which was more like a bob in front of them. "I'm afraid I woke up late zis morning, and 'ad to 'urry 'ere." She said with a small smile. "May I join you, it looks very nice." She said as she sat down on the edge of the picnic cloth, smiling at the other two girls.

Danica had never really thought of it like that. She took pride in her own looks and presentation, but she never really thought of it as getting dressed up. It was simply not pushing your horrible visage in others' faces. Did Selene try to get dressed up for occasions such as this? She would probably never know.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by that very person joining them.

"Oh, of course," she replied to the French girl's enquiry.

Danica got another glass from the picnic basket opened the wine bottle with her wand. So much easier than using a corkscrew, which often as not left tiny bits of cork floating in one's drink. She poured the drinks and handed one to each of the other girls.

"I must confess," she admitted, taking a sip of the drink, "I did have an ulterior motive for inviting you both down here."

Jack reached out and took the glass, sniffing at the wine as though suspicious of what it may be, though if Danica were trying to poison them, she would obviously use something odorless, so she would not really know, would she? Jack doubted Danica would be so thick as to poison them in such a public setting, however, and Jack had had a long week. She drank some of the wine.

It was rather good and immediately relieved some of the tension in Jack lower back and shoulders- this, perhaps, was the only reason she let herself drink. It was nice to shed some unwanted tension and this was the quickest way to do just that. At Danica's words Jack smirked and lowered the glass. "Ooh, ulterior motives. I love it." She grinned. She loved mischief.