Arrivals And Introductions

       With an occasional sputter and spark, a very overloaded minivan pulls up to the picnic grounds and begins to disgorge passengers. It's almost like the van is eager to be rid of its cargo. :)

       Brian, the driver, can be heard all over the area as he's yelling at the two unicorns that are with him, "Damnit, I told you to put a rubber ball on the ends of those horns! Look what you did to the roof of my car! That's the third time this month and it's coming out of your pocket this time, not mine."

       The rest of the passengers, Kalindra and the rest of the Family nas Kan, seem to enjoy listening to Brian screaming. It's probably because he's not screaming at them for once. :)

       When everybody is out, Brian and Naldantis open the rear of the van and gently unload a large stainless steel tank using wooden poles. Pasted all over the tank in large garish colors are various biohazard signs and cryptic symbols designed to ward off noxious vapours. When they swing the tank around and begin to carry it towards the waiting tables, the words "Nas Kan Brand Chili" come into view.

       As the horde slowly decends upon the people already at the tables, a few things become apparent. There are two distinct groups here, and Brian is squarely in the middle.

       On one side is the original Family nas Kan; Kalindra, Lythandi, Naldantis and even Lan Louis is old enough to be tagging along now. They don't appear to have changed much over the last few years. A few more grey hairs then before, but Kalindra has been using Grecian Furmula to hide it. Lan Louis is bigger, but he still has that air of innocence about him that says "I'm still a kid at heart".

       The two unicorns walking on the other side of Brian though are both new and noticably different then the nas Kan crew.

       The male is a large black brute, dressed in black silk from head to toe and he has an aura about him that screams "Go ahead, make my day you bozo." His name is Kyrn, he's an assassin (retired), and he doesn't take crap from anyone.

       The female walking beside him though is the one that really gets the attention. She's a brilliant white, slender, and I suppose you could technically say "yes, she's dressed". Her clothing tends to be rather transparent in places, and annoyingly cloudy in others. Most males seeing her for the first time don't remember it very well, though they always smile when asked about it. The best description they can come up with for the feeling is "a heavy phaser set on stun".

       And with every step, it becomes more appearent why Brian is making sure he stays between the two groups ...

       "Trollop," mutters Kalindra as she looks at Kyri in disgust.

       "At least they find me worth looking at," replies Kyri with a smile that would never be considered friendly.

       "Remember, I won't charge for getting rid of vixens," says Kyrn to Brian in a whisper that was designed to be heard anyway.

       "How would you like that horn rearranged so it was stuck in your head point first," replies Lythandi with a low growl.

       Brian doesn't look real happy ...

       Picking out one of the tables, the group divides and the two halfs glare at each other while Brian undoes the safety seals on the chili. A momentary truce is called though when some of the escaping fumes causes the wood poles to catch fire. As soon as the fire is put out though, they go right back to glaring at each other.

       With the chili giving off an evil red glow from within the pot, Brian grabs a rootbeer from a nearby cooler and plops down on the picnic bench with a weary sigh.

       "Hi Louis, thanks for the invitation." *swig* "I don't suppose I could interest you in buying some characters I have for sale, I'll sell them real cheap."

       The pair of unicorns and the Velans all stop glaring at each other and start glaring at Brian instead.

       "Real cheap ..." mutters Brian as he takes another swig from his rootbeer.