"Unfortunately though, Ysabeau didn't want to join. More like, she can't join with her condition like this," explained Baldwin, helping to unpack the large boxes.
"And why not?" asked Gillian, worried about his wife.
"She's been feeling nauseous when I saw her this morning. That's because she skipped breakfast. I thought the sickness would have vanished after a while, but it seems that Ysabeau was still vomiting all over the place. As such, she didn't want to join," reasoned Baldwin.
"I see. Perhaps I should return to her side to accompany her," said Gillian, preparing to leave.
"Are you sure about that? I thought you wanted to supervise the kids?" asked Z, helping to distribute the picnic.
All of them were sat in a circle with the food placed in the middle. Everyone had a small plate and was just within an arm's reach of the food. Lunch was mushroom ragout with broccoli, scallop, and stuffed tomatoes by the side. There was melted cheese and bits of bacon in the tomatoes.
The kids were all delighted to sit down and eat the delicious food in front of them. Midori and Duncan were sat next to each other. Next to Midori were Nasima and Circe. Beside Duncan was Amani. All five were talking amongst themselves as they tried out the food.
"These are so yummy!" exclaimed Nasima, stuffing her face with a tomato.
Circe smiled as she took a napkin to wipe off the youngest girl's cheeks.
"I know they are. But please do try to eat properly. Do not speak with your mouth full. We are in front of the adults, you know," said Circe, shaking her head.
"Oh, come on... You don't have to be so uptight when the adults are around. We're kids, after all. So cut her some slack, Circe," suggested Amani.
"It's still better to have table manners when eating... At least it shows we can stay with them..." answered Circe, looking down.
Rina heard the comment under Circe's breath and sat beside the child.
"Hey... Are you kids enjoying the food?" asked Rina, taking some vegetables.
Circe was shocked at first while the rest of the children yelled out their opinions.
"I love the ragout! It's super nice!" said Amani, with a big grin.
"The food is just wonderful! Especially the cheese... I love the cheese..." agreed Nasima.
"I like the way the ragout tasted. It's quite a good combination when I try dipping some broccoli into the ragout. Although, it is quite heavy on the tongue and filling as well. Not sure how I should feel about that," replied Midori, looking away from the Flower Mage.
"The food is good. Anything edible is good," added Duncan, taking another bite out of the scallops.
That kid was honest to a fault. And the polar opposite of his twin sister.
"That's good to hear. How about you, Circe?" asked Rina, smiling at the girl.
"It's terrific... I like it..."
Circe might be the bravest out of the five kids, but she certainly was scared of adults if in a peaceful setting. She didn't understand it herself as she had no trouble fighting head-on with Ashley earlier. Now, faced with an adult, Circe found herself tongue-tied.
"Well, I overheard you saying some things... Would you like to share it with me? It sounds like you were worried about us kicking you out," asked Rina.
Circe's face flushed beetroot red as Rina questioned her. The young girl feared that she would be in trouble.
"I just thought that if we weren't well-behaved at the table, we might get kicked out from the place... I didn't mean to offend anyone..." said Circe, shyly looking away.
"You're not offending anyone, but let me be clear with you. No one will kick you out if you have bad table manners. You guys are kids that we've managed to rescue from my old workplace. So I doubt that we'd be throwing anyone out soon," explained Rina, gently patting the girl's head.
Circe nodded as she continued eating in silence. Amani glanced at Circe and secretly sent her a snowflake to cheer her up. Meanwhile, Gillian was asking Baldwin about his wife's condition.
"It's not too bad, but Ysabeau can't move around much for today. There isn't a need to be alarmed. Your wife is a Bahamut after all," assured Baldwin.
"My wife's health comes first, so I better make a move on to be by her side. Besides, Z is right here; he can take my place. I'll see you lot at dinner or if a kid blows up the front lawn," said Gillian, waving goodbye to the group.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" grumbled Z, with a yawn.
"Nope, nothing. Why the question?" asked Gillian, oblivious to the Galaxian Mage's dark eye circles.