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Doc’s favorite flowers were poppies.
Most were surprised he even had a favorite flower, seeing as most thought of Doc as a mysterious, sinister person. But he did have a favorite flower. And it happened to be poppies.
The only thing is, after finalizing the Poppy Technology, there was no real use for the poppies anymore. Of course, in his trial runs of Poppy Technology, he had gifted many of these flowers to other hermits. But he still had stacks and stacks of poppies left over. There was no use selling them. Many hermits had iron farms of their own, and no one needed mass amounts of poppies.
So, Doc did the only thing he saw fit. He traveled from base to base, leaving a bouquet of poppies on everyone’s front door. Why not, after all? It wasn’t like Doc was going to use them, and all of the hermits deserve some flowers, once in a while. So, he began making his rounds. Spawn was the ideal location. So many people were based there, it would be easy to get rid- I mean, gift flowers to his fellow hermits. As he was delivering flowers to the entrance of Giga Pies™, Doc’s partner from last season stepped into the entrance.
“Hey dude,” Ren greeted him with a smile, “What’s with the flowers?”
“I had a bunch of extra and decided to give them out to all the hermits.” Doc shrugged, pulling a bouquet out of his arms. “Want one?”
Ren, who clearly wasn’t expecting this, let out a hysterical laugh, prompting Doc to chuckle with him.
And just like that, like old friends meeting up again, Doc and Ren fell into a natural conversation, as if they had picked up just where they had left off in Season Eight. Jokes were made and troubles were shared as they absentmindedly strolled down the well-worn path that navigated spawn. Ren rolled his eyes as Doc told him about his game-breaking shenanigans and Doc congratulated Ren on what seemed to become a successful business.
They began to slow as their walk neared the end of the path, their conversation returning to a slow pace.
“The start of the season seems to be going quite well for you,” Doc remarked, switching his bouquets of poppies to his other arm.
Ren gave a quiet sigh. “It’s going great, I just forget how much work the start of the season is.”
Doc hummed an agreement.
The soft thuds of their feet echoed throughout the semi-silent spawn. Birds sang from Scar’s tree and the surrounding forest. The wind sighed, slightly blowing at the duo.
“I think we need a break.” Ren looked at Doc, puzzled. “Not just for us, but everyone. Starting a new season always comes with new stress, so it might be good for everyone to take their mind off of things, just for a night.” Doc proposed.
“That’s not a bad idea.” Ren thought it through, tilting his head to the side. “It sounds like it would be utter chaos.” Ren smiled, turning to Doc. “It’s perfect.”
One thing led to another, and somehow, a server-wide picnic was organized. An items-sign-up sheet had been plastered on iTrade, with a list of foods, materials, and other activities that needed to be brought. Within a few days, the list was overflowing with names and items. Everyone seemed delighted with the idea of an afternoon to relax after a stressful start of the season. They had decided on a place and a date, now they just had to wait.
As the day of the picnic drew closer, Doc spent quite a bit of his time working on an automatic flower farm. Call him cheesy, but Doc wanted to give each hermit a certain flower. Besides, it helped him think through his April fool’s prank. Iskall had given him one hell of a riddle, but that was never going to stop him.
Eventually, the day came. People filled the spawn area, the air buzzing with excitement. As Doc quickly refilled both of his stores, he observed many of the hermits doing hermit things. with people buying things last minute, friends meeting up to head to the designated location, and just general chaos. People were buying things last minute, friends were meeting up to head to the designated location, and just general chaos. Doc watched as Impulse dragged Tango and a half-asleep Zedaph from iTrade. Grian and Scar were walking together, Scar swinging a picnic basket along. The air was filled with the aroma of fresh baked goods, rockets, and roasting meat. Doc smiled to himself.
The location that they had chosen for the picnic was a flower field that was just a ways from Doc’s base. As more and more hermits gathered, the picnic began to take shape. Stress had made a massive picnic blanket, with more than enough space for all of the hermits. People had begun to gather around, many had started to group into clumps. Someone built a table, and food began to pile up. Doc could already see stacks of Ren’s pies, plates of Jevin’s pork, and a basket of Scar’s cookies on the table. Iskall was balancing a plate of Supper Tommy’s Carrots™ while talking with Stress. Laughter rang through the valley. Doc grinned as he was tugged from the outskirts of the chaos into a small clump with the NHO.
The sun had already passed its highest by the time that Xisuma asked for quiet.
“Everyone!” Xisuma shouted over the noise, waiting a minute as the conversations simmered out. “Seeing as we all seem to be here, there are a couple of announcements I would like to make before we all dig into the food. First of all, thank you to everyone who brought things for today.” Respective applause came from the small crowd. “Secondly,” Xisuma continued, “I would like to remind you all that this is a time to relax for everyone. And while I have nothing against some good humor, let's try to not cause any major chaos today.” A couple of snickers could be heard. “That includes-” Xisuma turned to stare pointedly at Grian, “causing any wars.” Doc could swear that he saw Grian roll his eyes. “Lastly, and probably most importantly,” the admin continued, smiling. “Have fun.” With that, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.
Food was distributed, as the Hermit spirit was in full swing. Someone had put down a jukebox, allowing everyone to listen to Otherside. Doc sat back and watched as Impulse and Tango attempted to dance. Gem and Impulse laughed as they spun in beat with the music. Laughter and conversations filled the air. There seemed to be a game of tag between Grian, Mumbo, Scar, and Iskall, all of which were attempting to rope Stress into their chaos.
~*~
The sun had begun to leave streaks of red and orange across the sky when Ren sat next to Doc. A comfortable silence fell between them as they sat back to observe everything that was happening. Doc turned to Ren, silently offering him a sunflower. Ren grinned before tucking the flower behind his ear.
“Looks like this was a good idea, dude.” Ren mused, turning towards Doc.
And as Jevin’s fireworks lit up the scarlet sky, Doc couldn’t agree more.