Crisp Morning Cookies Solo Errand Finished

[font=Comic Sans MS]It was early in the morning, with the sun only now peaking out from behind the horizon. Long shadows were cast on the ground, trying to fight the bright light of dawn. A shy wind rustled the leaves of trees and wove its way through the mainly blades of grass. It was only August, but the air already showed signs of winter. Wren had awoken very early that day, a smile on her face. Her brother, Merrick, was home for a little bit, and she didn't want to waste a single second. With ambitions as big as becoming an auror, he was rarely home. He was done with school, and so most of his time was spent trying to achieve his goal. This was the first time she had seen him in at least a year.

Running down the stairs so fast she almost almost tripped, she entered the kitchen to find her brother sitting at the table. Wren gave him a broad smile. They had decided that on their last day together, they would go exploring in the forest like they used to. But first... Last night they had gotten an owl from Gargott Dunaid. He was the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.

"Wren and Merrick Windgazer, I am sending this owl to tell you about the bake-off," Merrick had read aloud. The rest of the letter informed the two siblings that there was a baking challenge for the school. It was optional to participate, but it seemed like fun.

"We should do it! We haven't baked together in a while." said Merrick excitedly. Wren nodded.

"What kind of cookies do you think we should make?" she asked, turing towards her brother.

"You pick. I think the last time we baked together I chose, so it's your turn." Nodding, she thought for a moment. She liked most cookies, and so did Merrick. Snickerdoodles, pumpkin cookies, sugar cookies... there were to many types. Thinking hard about her options, it suddenly hit her. The very first time they had baked something together, they made chocolate chip cookies. Perfect! This could be their last time, so it felt right to make that kind.

"Chocolate chip cookies!" she announced. Merrick seemed to understand her reasoning behind it.

"That sounds great! Lets start baking." Wren quickly went to the pantry and started getting ingredients. Flour, sugar, vanilla... She checked off the things they needed in her head as she continued to grab certain things. Soon her arms were full with ingredients, all of which she placed gently on the counter. Merrick had gotten out a pan to bake the cookies on, a bowl to make the dough in, some measuring cups, and a spoon to mix everything together. They were all set to start. Pulling the bowl closer, Wren opened up the flour and began scoop some of it into the bowl. Merrick's laughter echoed in her ears as some flour flew up into her face. She pretended to be annoyed but it didn't last long. Soon she was laughing along with her brother.

They talked about all their times in the forest while they baked. It was a lot of fun talking about their old times together. The time they climbed the tallest tree in the forest, when they went swimming in the little lake, and when they met the hippogriff that lived there.

Soon they had put all the ingredients in the bowl and mixed them together. They started rolling the dough into little balls and placing them on the pan. There was a little extra, and Wren began to grow excited. Now she and Merrick could take a few cookies with them into the forest. As the cookies baked, they sat down at the table and started a game of wizards chess. It was a lot of fun, even though she was loosing badly. She had never been very good at this game, but she still enjoyed playing. Their talking died down a little bit as the game continued on, but Wren was still thinking about it. She was running over a list of places they needed to go in the forest and things they needed to do. There were so many things and places that she wasn't sure that they could do it all in a day. Merrick was leaving tomorrow and Wren was going to Hogwarts soon, so they had to get it all done today.

She jumped as the time for the cookies went off. Leaping out of her chair, she ran over to the oven and pulled out the cookies. Their sweet smell flooded the kitchen as they started cooling off.

"We should find Gaze so he can deliver these." said Wren. As if on cue, Gaze, the family barn owl, flew in through the window and landed on the chess board. However, he soon moved as the very angry queen piece kept trying to push him away.

As Merrick placed the now cooled cookies in a container, Wren gave Gaze instructions, "You are going to take these to the Keeper of the Grounds at Hogwarts. Understand?" The owl gave a small gestured that almost looked like nodding. Smiling, she pet him as her brother finished with the cookies. She had always liked this owl.

"Alright, here we go." said Merrick, giving the container to Gaze. The barn owl gave a farewell hoot and flew off through the window. They watched him fly until he was out of sight.

"So, you ready to go to the forest?"

"Like you have to ask!" replied Wren, grabbing the extra cookies that didn't fit in the container. Side by side with her brother, they ran out the door and to the forest.[/font]