The Perfect Person's Perfect Pie

I frantically gathered together the ingredients for our pie. They had to be absolutely perfect; Perfect ingredients for the perfect person’s perfect day. I gripped my front talons to the bag I had slung around my neck, praying that none of the would contents spill out.

I had cashed in a few favors: pumpkins from one of the alchemists, some flour and sugar from a kind skywing, eggs from… actually I don’t remember where the eggs came from. I shook the thought from my mind and continued flying as fast as I could. The last thing I needed was some cinnamon, and I knew just the place to get it.

I swooped in to find the most pristine-looking cinnamon tree I could and peeled off some of its bark. I knew Haku-Jo worked with herbs a lot as a medic, so I had hoped that harvesting some cinnamon we could prepare together would impress him. I shoved what I could into the small bit of space I had left in my bag and took off back to the main camp. 

When I arrived, I started to look for Haku-Jo. I hadn’t even landed when I spotted him, and I could barely contain my excitement. I covered my mouth, do my best to not drip any of my acidic spit onto the ingredients. He noticed me and waved, and immediately I felt as if I was hit by cupid’s arrow. I may have seen him almost every week, but the way his grey stripes layered on top of each other was just something I could never get used to. They flowed perfectly with his neck, like a crystal clear stream. His stripes continued down to his front talons, the darker ones pooling to create a solid color across his warm, dark talons.

“Auberginesky!” He called out, waving me down. I was a little sad that he didn’t call me by the nickname he usually called me, but it only lasted for a second. The thought of Kujo calling out a nickname like ‘Moonpie’ in front of so many people was a little embarrassing, though not because of the nickname. It was more so a ‘look at that lovey-dovey couple’ kind of embarrassing. By the time I had landed my scales had shifted to a rosy pink. 

“So! I have all their ingredients and I wanted to impress you so I got some fresh cinnamon so that we could prepare it together, and then we can start baking our pie--” I stopped midway through my sentence when I saw Haku-Jo put his talon up. He took the opportunity in my pause to speak, his voice quiet and gentle, “Moonpie… You know it takes a few days for cinnamon to be prepared, right?”

My eyes went wide. “O-Oh?”

“Yeah, it can take anywhere from 4 to 5 days at least for cinnamon to dry.” My scales sunk into a deep blue color. “That doesn’t mean we can’t make cinnamon though!” Haku-Jo continued, waving his talons as he spoke.

“Well, we won’t have any cinnamon… but I have everything else!” I said, holding up the bag. The bag hung in front of my face, a ‘mystery’ liquid dripping through the bottom of the bag. “Oh no, the eggs!” I yelled out. The embarrassment I felt rang through my cry. I set the bag down on the ground. I stared at the mess I had created, the distinct smell of yolks and whites mixing in the air.

“You know what, how about we roast up the pumpkin with some of the sugar and nutmeg? It’s no pumpkin pie, but it could be good.” 

My ears perked up slightly. Haku-Jo continued, “The egg yolk might not even be that bad, kind of like an egg wash.” I chuckled. “I’m lucky one of us has some brain cells.”

“Give yourself more credit, Auberginesky, you’re plenty bright,” he said. He looked away, although I could almost see the blush on his face. He always got so flustered when giving compliments, it made me wonder if he did that with everyone, not that I had seen him compliment anyone else before.

“But I messed up your pumpkin pie!” I gathered up whatever was left of my egg-ridden bag. Roasted pumpkins didn’t sound bad, but my hopes for a perfect day were just as crushed as the pie eggs. 

  “The pumpkin pie isn’t what’s important to me,” he started. I could hear him mumble, but the words weren’t clear enough for me to understand. I leaned in and asked, “I’m sorry, what?”

“I just like spending time with you…” he said, just above a whisper. I pulled back, my ears perked up and my scales shifted to a yellow-ish color. Haku-Jo pulled back slightly. “I’m sorry, was that bad?”

“No, no, not at all! I like spending time with you too, silly,” I said, failing to contain a giggle. I watched as his posture softened. He let out a bit of a relieved sigh. “So, how about that roasted pumpkin then?”

“I would love to, Kujo.” I smiled and we headed into the kitchen, to make our roasted pumpkin.