A Fall Picnic

It was a beautiful autumn day. A light breeze shook the branches of the surrounding trees, causing a number of their warm coloured leaves to flutter to the ground. A flock of birds could be seen overheard, gliding south to get away from the incoming cold winter fronts. It sure would be nice to be like a bird, and escape the snowy months every year, but then again, how could you appreciate the wonders of the fall season if you flew away from it?

Thoughts like this ran through Bennett’s mind as he laid on the plaid blanket he had sprawled out. They had set up an… outing, with their friend, Logic; a small fall picnic in the park. He suggested it since he believed it would help the two of them de-stress to get some fresh air and get a look at all the pretty fall colours splashed onto the trees. Bennett threw in the picnic idea because, why not, it seemed extra relaxing at the time. There was a bit of an oversight with that thought, however, as he insisted on making everything himself. Now, his eyes were drooping, reflecting his extreme-level sandwich making fest the night before. He had to make sure this day would be perfect, and he didn’t even realize how late it had gotten until he had finished. He wasn’t going to let his exhaustion ruin this day. It was going to be a perfect outing with one of his friends, and nothing would stand in his way.

He perked up instantly when he saw a figure approaching on the horizon. It took him no time to recognize them at all. Logic was approaching, her trademark tie had been swapped out for a small black scarf. Tagging along with her was Sirius, her magpie gachapanion, who had taken roost on the top of her head. Sirius was eyeing the ground, no doubt looking for shiny things to collect. Logic had locked eye contact with Bennett, and she had a small smile on her face.

“Logic! You made it!” Bennett beamed, his tiny wings fluttering.

“”Of course.” she replied, “we did make plans, after all.” Logic lowered herself down, laying across the blanket.

“Let’s eat then!” Bennett reached into the picnic basket in front of them, grabbing one of the sandwiches, with Logic following suit. They were all wrapped with wax paper and labeled with what they contained.

“This looks like it took a lot of effort.” remarked Logic as she inspected the food.

“I wanted today to be perfect. Oh! Which reminds me, I brought something extra too!” replied Bennett as he dug into the basket and produced a small resealable bag filled with trail mix. He had also pulled out a small paper plate, pouring the contents onto it, and pushed it towards Logic. It immediately caught the attention of Sirius, who jumped down from Logic’s head onto the blanket to begin pecking at it. “I made sure to bring something for him too.”

“That was very thoughtful of you.”

“Just wanted to give him a little treat before he migrates.”

The two just watched the bird eat the mix of seeds and nuts for a while. It would be sad for the both of them to not have him around for a number of months, especially on Logic, so it was important to take in the last remaining days of him being around.

 Logic took a bite of their sandwich. Their eyes sparkled instantly.

“This is excellent.” their voice was painted with wonder.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I think this is one of the best ones I have ever had.”

Bennett’s wings began to flutter at the praise. “Thank you, I really like making food, so it means a lot to me.”

Logic continued to eat her sandwich, and Bennett took notes of the large bites she had taken. It truly made him happy to see someone enjoy something he had made for them. He was also thankful they tasted alright, considering he did not get to try them beforehand. Maybe he should eat his now.

But he wasn’t hungry at all. An extremely large yawn erupted from his mouth. It caught the attention of Logic, who was going for a second sandwich.

“Sorry…” Bennett frowned. “I… didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Did you stay up making these?”

“Yeah… I lost track of time a bit… heheh…”

Logic took time to inspect the basket. There were at least 15 whole sandwiches in the basket, plus there were the two ones they had taken originally. It was, quite honestly, an excessive amount of food for just two people. Given that, as well as the factor that they were neatly wrapped and labeled, the dragon in front of them had probably worked himself to the bone for this day.

“You sure did make a lot of food.”

“I just wanted today to be relaxing for the both of us.”

“You don’t seem very relaxed right now.”

She was kind of right.

“Why don’t you rest?”

“But what about our picnic?”

“All the food will still be here, promise me. I don’t think I could eat this all, despite how good it tastes. Besides, don’t you think a nap in the park under all these leaves is rather relaxing?”

It really did seem like a great idea right now.

“... Alright. I’ll take a quick nap here. But when I wake up, we’re going to have a proper picnic, ok?” Bennett stuck out his paw, waiting for Logic to complete the deal.

“Of course.” She smiled, taking his paw on her own, and shaking it. “Now, just lay down and close your eyes. Don’t worry about a thing, and just rest.

Bennett’s eyes drooped, and he began to drift away into sleep, the sight of the warm coloured leaves, and the noises of the birds overhead were the last things his sense registered before he was lulled into a sweet darkness.