Lowen ducked as a barrage of arrows flew overhead and pushed his horse to go faster. Instead, his horse came to an abrupt stop and nearly catapulted him forward, the reins barely keeping his armored body mounted.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Lowen questioned. His horse nickered in response. Lowen peered over to see what his mount was so worried about. The scurry-haired cavalier gasped as he spotted a slender body with flowing lavender hair sprawled out on the ground in front of him, a lightning tome a few inches away.

He dismounted and quickly took the girl in his arms before putting her on his back and remounting his horse. Since they were in the thick of battle, he couldn't check for wounds or check for signs she was still alive, but he couldn't afford to spend any more time stationary, so he quickly made his way over to cover. Fortunately, Father Moulder seemed to be avoiding the battle from behind the stone wall as well.

The older priest was currently tending to a wound on Ogma's arm. Knowing the gladiator, he was likely itching to get back out onto the front lines.

Upon seeing the cavalier, Moulder took his eyes away from Ogma for a second, which allowed the mercenary to break away and return to the battle.

"Sir Ogma! I've yet to finish healing your wounds!" To no avail, and Moulder simply sighed and returned his attention to Lowen.

The cavalier gently put the girl on his back onto the dirt. "Father Moulder. I found Ilyana lying on her stomach. Is she…"

The priest examined the girl for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "Well, she is breathing, so there is no doubt that she is alive," He looked more closely. "In fact, I do not see any wounds."

Lowen put a hand to his chin. "Huh. How curious."

As the cavalier bent over to look more closely, a small sack filled with freshly cooked rabbit fell out of his noticeably large satchel.

WIth that, the young girl on the ground sniffed, and her eyes broke open. "Food. Where?"

Lowen and Moulder both flinched, astonished at the sudden resurrection. The girl sat up and identified the sack. She took it, curiously sniffed it, and opened it.

"F-food!" She exclaimed. The small girl set the sack down on the ground and stuffed her face with the small morsels.

Lowen scratched his head. "Uh, yeah. Didn't I see you at breakfast this morning?" How could she be this hungry? He silently thought to himself.
Ilyana ignored the question and spotted the satchel that the food had fallen out of. "Is there more?"

The cavalier blinked under his long bangs. "Oh, um, sure," The moment he opened his satchel, Ilyana jumped forward and looked inside. Lowen gently pushed her away. "Hey, easy there. I'm sure I have enough for you."

Ilyana wiped her mouth, some drool having escaped. "What is your name?" She asked.

"We've met before. My name is Lowen."

Ilyana intensified her stare. "Lowen. You're very nice. Lowen has food. I must remember that name."

"Uh, okay. Thank you, I suppose."

Moulder watched silently as the young mage ate whatever Lowen gave her ravenously.

Lowen rubbed his own belly a bit and grinned. "I have an idea! I have a lot of food with me. Why don't we have a picnic?"
"A picnic?"

"Yes! I could go for a quick bite, right about now. We can't fight on an empty stomach."

Moulder looked around. Another barrage of arrows had just sailed overhead. "Right here?" He asked.

The two of them ignored him as the cavalier set a blanket on the dirt below them. "These ingredients are from here in Askr, but I cooked them with my homeland of Pherae in mind," Lowen said. "Look at us! An outworlder eating food in this world, cooked by someone from another world. Isn't that just divine?"

Ilyana abruptly turned to Moulder, which caused him to flinch again. "Would you like to join us?" She asked.

The priest stared for a moment before regaining himself and clearing his voice. "Well, we are in the midst of battle at the moment. Are you sure this is a great idea?"

The two of them ignored him again. "What kind of food is your homeland known for, Father Moulder?" Lowen asked.

"Um, Frelia's seafood is highly regarded in Magvel. Our fish is considered a favorite of the Princess of the Theocracy of Rausten herself!" He proudly exclaimed.

"Wouldn't that be Princess L'Arachel?" Lowen asked.

Moulder put his hands together. "I guess you would be right. Still, it is a high honor for our food to be considered the best by another country's royalty." He stopped himself, embarrassed to have enthusiastically answered him despite the inappropriate scenario they've created in the battlefield.

Lowen turned to Ilyana. "How about you?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

The girl thought for a moment. "...Daein's fish isn't very bad, I suppose."

Lowen finished setting the food down, and Ilyana began eating before he could say anything. "We could just begin, I guess. Please, sit down with us, Father Moulder."

The priest looked around again. An Emblian soldier appeared in Moulder's line of vision. The soldier seemed shocked to find them having a picnic before an arrow to the waist brought him down. Moulder simply shrugged and joined them.

As they were nearing the end of Lowen's outrageously large banquet, the action around them seemed to calm down. Soon Anna called for all to leave the field of battle and return to the castle. A pity, they still had some food left. Moulder silently wondered how and why Lowen would carry this much food with him to battle.

A red figure appeared from behind the stone wall. He was carrying a sword and... was actually covered in blood. The three of them deflected in shock.

"Hey," It said. "Do any of you have something to eat?"

That sounded an awful lot like…

"Sir Ogma!" Moulder and Lowen exclaimed. It seemed that he'd ended up doing most of the work once they began their picnic. The two of them supported the mercenary as it seemed like he was ready to collapse. Upon closer inspection, the blood he was covered in apparently wasn't his own.

Moulder grinned. "Ironically enough we still have some food left here for you."

The three of them turned to the picnic blanket to see a slender body with flowing lavender hair sprawled out on the ground in front of them, containers filled with food just a moment ago now emptied.

This was originally just going to be Lowen and Ilyana, but Moulder somehow found himself becoming a part of it while I was writing.