Day One: Part 1

[Erza Scarlet]

It was not the first time today that Erza had walked this road, duffel bag on one shoulder and overly-large hunk of metal on the other. This time, though, daylight was beginning to blossom forth over the horizon, she had a hearty (if diminutive) companion, and a new weapon more her style rested on her shoulder. It was certainly heavier than the flak cannon - and for that matter, her original weapon, haphazardly stuffed most of the way into the bag, certainly wasn't any lighter either. But this time the weight, though more intense, was just that much more bearable. She hopped as she walked, shoulders shrugging to relieve the tension, and the duffel and Mjolnir bounced playfully up and down, the mighty hammer clanking satisfyingly with her breastplate.

She felt good. It was almost as though whenever she held Mjolnir, some of her innate magic, the stuff that wretched collar had been inhibiting, had been returned to her in the form of this cool-ass so-called "little package." In fact, it brought back fond memories of another giant hammer that had once been a part of her arsenal. Just touching the thing was... Almost addicting, really. A surge of energy and confidence that simmered below the surface as the pair continued

Of course, her companion was slightly less excited about the whole ordeal. She glanced back over to him, her long-lasted carefree smile disappearing as she witnessed his slightly gloomier disposition. Ow... Her face had been plastered in that general shape since their brief celebration of a victorious loot grab, through their silent travels, and undoing that caused the gouge in the side of her face to react painfully. In the excitement of her victory, she'd nearly forgotten her relatively minor but nonetheless painful wound. The high concentration of sea salt in the air certainly didn't help either. She brought her free hand to her face, absentmindedly rubbing the crude makeshift bandage. She'd had to give up a the bottom inch or two of her skirt to make it, but it wasn't like it was helping her all that much in the first place.

Alright. Mickey, you're too cheerful for this, and you're bad at hiding it. "Ah ha! It's getting light out! And, now that I think about it, I'm starving. Breakfast?"

The anthropomorphic mouse turned to Erza as she remained gazing onward, scanning over the coast and through the dense foliage ahead. Her smile had returned; She would put on a bit of a show if it would help Mickey get over what they'd witnessed acquiring their new toy. "You mean like a picnic?"

Erza's eyes lit up, this time entirely for real. "A picnic! I've always wanted to have a picnic!" She nearly dropped the priceless weapon as her hands shot up in the air with an inaudible but extremely obvious 'squee.' "Yes! Alright, it's settled, we're doing it. Right here, right now." She scuttled over to the side of the road and into a soft patch of short grass by the beach. "Perfect location, too!" The mouse could only grin in bemusement as he shuffled over to where Erza had succinctly plopped herself down, "Criss-cross applesauce," and was now spreading out her map face-down on the ground. "Picnic's gotta have a tarp, right?" Reaching under the temporarily-retired Flak Cannon and prying against its weight as only a starving child grabbing for Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes at Disney World could, she retrieved a rectangular brown baggie labeled "Porkchop with Gravy" and a bottle of Aquafina. Even the Pepsi branding couldn't keep her down right now.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Mickey stood for a moment, considering his limited options before giving in to the redhead's overflowing mirth and joining her at the makeshift table, pulling out his own pre-packaged meal. "Vegetarian red bean chili. It sure is an odd breakfast, but alright! Let's eat!"