The chicken feed clinks around in your pail as you walk the forest path. It's calm in the forest today and aside from the distant clucking of chicken there's not a sound. The dripping dew on the leaves of the freshly rained on forest cools you off as you go by.
Beside you Muriel is carrying supplies to rebuild the chicken coop. That winter he had decided that the chicken's needed a warmer place to stay, not to mention larger as well, one of the chicken's eggs had all hatched a few days previous.
Muriel is looking thoughtful and you know he's thinking of ways to build the coop. You know he loves those chickens as much as he loves Inanna and even you.
You look over at Inanna, who is trotting happily beside you. In her mouth she carries the hammer for Muriel. You smile down at her and she looks up at you, peeking her ears.
"Good girl." You say to her softly and she wags her tail at you.
You glance back over at Muriel only to find he's looking at you as well, a small smile on his face. When you make eye contact with him he blushes, turning his head to look at the trail again.
Finally you both reach the chicken coop. The chickens are all excited to see you both, they know that you bring food. They gather at the coop door, clucking loudly in anticipation.
"Alright, move back." Muriel says softly to them and, surprisingly, they do. He opens the door and you both slip in.
While Muriel get to work with the improvements, you begin to scatter seeds onto the floor of the coop. The chickens make a mad dash for the seed, quickly pecking up every one you drop. Inanna sniffs curiously at the chickens. You start to hear the sound of a hammer against nails.
With the now empty pail you go to the chicken nests, where you find plenty of eggs for your's and Muriel's breakfast, along with a nest of baby chicks. They peep at you as you walk by and a protective mama chicken quickly comes over watch you carefully.
As you're grabbing eggs you suddenly realize you no longer hear the sound of the hammer. Just as you are about to turn around to investigate, you feel someone warm hug you from behind.
"Did you get enough eggs for omelettes?" A soft voice asks.
You smile, "I got enough eggs for omelettes AND scrambled eggs." You tell him, holding up the pail. "Good thing too, you're going to be hungry after all this hard work." You turn to face him.
He blushes, looking away, "Well, I'll need your help a little bit." You nod and he shows you what he's working on. It's an expansion of the inside of the coop. Muriel already had most of it done.
"I need you to hammer this while I hold it still." He instructs, holding the piece of wood. Lightly, you begin to hammer it.
"You can hit it harder." He assures you and you do. It's almost no time until you are both finished with the coop. It looks nice and gives the chickens plenty of space.
You look over at Muriel, "What do you think?" You ask.
He smiles, glancing down, "You're pretty good at hammering." He tells you.
Just then you hear a bark. You both turn to see Inanna in the coop, a chicken nestled upon her back. You and Muriel both laugh.
The three of you head back to the hut, you and Muriel holding hands. You swing your hands as you walk and discuss the chickens.
When you're finally back at the hut you start breakfast. Muriel makes the omelettes while you make the scrambled eggs. Your stomach rumbles as you work, you know there is nothing as delicious as Muriel's omelettes.
You add some spice to your scrambled eggs, it's the kind Asra got you when he was traveling. You don't know the name of the spice, but you know it goes really well with scrambled eggs.
Muriel looks up from where he is working, "That smells good." He says with a soft smile. You lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek, which makes him bite his lip and look to the side.
Muriel finishes up his omelettes and you both sit down to eat. Inanna sits by the table, eagerly waiting for scraps. Muriel, however, made an extra omelette just for her, and sets it down in a dish for her.
You take the first bite of the omelette and it's just as good as the first time you tried it. You look up at Muriel, "Do you remember the first time you made me omelettes?" You ask him.
He thinks for a moment, "Was it when you first moved into the hut?"
You nod, taking another forkful, "It was."
Muriel grins widely, looking at his plate, "You told me that you only wanted omelettes for breakfast from then on."
"And here we are, having omelettes for breakfast every morning." You say.
Muriel looks up at you, a gentle, loving look in his eyes, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
The two of you finish breakfast and the rain starts again. Knowing that there's not much you can do in the rain, you snuggle together by the fire, discussing your travels and your future. Your chest swells up with peace and happiness.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
