Submission (#3824) Approved

Utherwan watches as his babysitters, Nephele and Mneme unfold a blanket out onto the grass. The air is warm, and the sun filters through the pink foliage above to dance upon the small wildflowers that pop up between bunches of grass. It’s afternoon in Elenion, and they’ve gone to a park to have a picnic. 

Chief had taken You with her for some mother daughter time, so Utherwan was alone today. Which was fine. He was perfectly capable of surviving without the trouble caused by his mother and sister. He was good. He leans over to sniff at a fluffy yellow flower, and promptly sneezes. So pretty, but man was that a strong smell!

“Wani! Come sit down!” Nephele calls to him, and so he trots over to plop himself down on the blanket. He gazes up at the flowering bunches of faerie shrouds that are intertwined amongst the branches overhead. They come in all colors of the rainbow, much like Utherwan’s own fur. 

Mneme opens up the basket, and starts to pull out their lunch. He’d helped to make the sandwiches they’d packed himself. His was a peanut butter and honey sandwich made on fresh baked bread! The honey in Faerindell was better than anywhere else in Eyre, honestly. The sheer abundance of flowering growth in the region made for a wide and excellent selection of honey. 

Utherwan often wondered what it might be like to be one of the beekeepers, although he was a little frightened of possibly getting stung, the bees seemed like such neat hardworking little critters. And the honey was a big draw.

He takes a big bite of the sandwich, enjoying the richness of the peanut butter contrasted with the sweetness of the honey. It’s so good! He takes another bite, and another.

Mneme laughs at him. “Slow down Utherwan! It’s not going anywhere!”

He’d respond, but the sticky sandwich has his mouth glued shut so he can only mumble. “‘Kay.”

It was so nice to be able to take a break. They’d been shopping in the morning, traversing up and down the rolling hills of the surrounding landscape as they’d traveled from shop to shop. First the bakery, then the market, then back to Nephele and Mneme’s home to make their lunch! Then up and down even more hills on their way to park.

He was tired! The grass felt nice on his paws after walking up and down the cobblestone roads all day.

Utherwan continues to munch on his sandwich, chasing it down with a cold tea sweetened with even more honey. He loved honey so much!

In fact, while they’d stopped at the bakery for bread for their sandwiches he’d managed to convince Mneme and Nephele to purchase an extra treat. 

The wind blows and jostles the faerie shrouds overhead, causing a gentle rain of petals to fall loose, and Utherwan has to gently remove a vibrant purple one from the last bite of his sandwich. It probably wouldn’t hurt to eat it, but he doesn't imagine that it’d taste very good!

They quietly make their way through all of the food they had prepared, sandwiches and fresh fruit from the local farms that dot the surrounding countryside, brought in the many farmers markets that pop up in the various neighborhoods of the Elenion. Then, finally, it’s time for dessert!

Mneme fishes out three slices of cake from the bottom of the basket. Two of them are beautifully decorated squares of cake, covered in pink frosting and topped with edible sugar flowers meant to mimic the faerie shrouds that Elenion is famous for. They are almost too beautiful to eat.

Mneme places one in front of herself, and the other infront of Nephele. Utherwan almost dances in his seat with impatience. He wants his cake!

Nephele takes the final slice of cake from Mneme and places it down in front of Utherwan. It’s a large slice of Angel food cake, topped with a mound of freshly made whipped cream and the best part- several chunks of honeycomb! Gosh, Utherwan really loves honey, and there was no better way to eat it than from the comb!

He immediately digs into the cake, the light fluffiness of the cake perfectly contrasted with the decadence of the whipped cream interspersed with the chunks of honeycomb.

It’s the best cake Utherwan has ever had. He’s tempted to shove it in his mouth as fast as he can but hesitates. He should savor it right? Who knows when he’ll be able to try another piece of such delicious cake!

So he goes slowly, taking one small bite after another, nearly wriggling in place with delight. His tail twitches, and he hears his babysitters giggling at him, but he’s too happy to care. It’s soooo yummy!

Finally he’s on his last bite, and he pops it in his mouth. He tries not to pout as he looks down at the empty container before him. He wants more!!!

Maybe he’ll be able to talk Chief and You into going back to that bakery one day. For now though, he is happy to enjoy the beautiful summer weather in the park, watching as a buzzing little bee lands on a nearby flower. He ponders back over the lunch he’d had, the peanut butter and honey sandwich and fresh fruit, the tea with honey, and finally that wonderful wonderful honey angel food cake! 

What a lovely day it was to have a picnic!