the perfect morning

The sun was rising. It was very early in the morning as the first few rays of light shone through the leaves of the trees. The forest was quite this morning; the only sounds were the occasional chirpings of birds and the rustle of the leaves as wind blew gently through them. Somewhere nestled in these woods was a beautiful manor, where lived a group of great friends. As long as there was coffee, problems were usually avoided. The group was quite the bunch, from the friendly to the devious, from the happy to the downright scary; they were all friends one way or another. The manor sparkled with last night's light rain and the few morning rays of sunlight made the manor look like something out of a fairy tale. It is here that our little tale begins with two individuals whose friendship and love for each other has nearly no equal.


A boy dressed in a red shirt, camo shorts, and a signature red cap, slowly snuck through the massive house as quietly as he could go. Every creak in the floor boards made him wince. Behind him was a purple cobra with stunning red eyes. She slithered close to the human, trying to be as quiet as him, also wincing when the boy made the floor creak.
"Come on A..." She whispered in his ear. "Can't you be more quiet? Haven't I taught you anything about being sneaky?"


The boy known simply as A, stopped and turned to his friend with a pleading look. "No you really haven't taught me how to be as quiet as you. Look, let's just get outside without waking anyone up, especially you-know-who." A gestured to the door they were standing in front of; a small label on it read "Seviper. Enter at own risk."


Arbok nodded in agreement and the two continued on their way.


This was no early morning shenanigan. Unlike their usual antics, today was a very important mission. A had come to the horrible realization that the kitchen was completely out of any kind of coffee. Why was this such a problem? If you knew anything about this lovable group of friends, you would know Seviper enjoys herself a fine Cup-O-Joe every morning and without that she is possibly more freighting than death incarnate herself.


Eventually A and Arbok made it to the front door and into the cool morning air without anyone noticing. Everything had a slight mist to it as the sun began to warm the air slowly giving the morning forest a mysterious yet exciting feel to it. The two friends started on their usual path into town, a small dirt road that wound itself through the woods. As they walked side by side the only sounds in the forest were the sounds of their feet and scales stepping and slithering along the moist dirt path.


The pair was quiet as they made their way to town until Arbok finally broke the silence. "Hey A, seeing as we're skipping out on Pierre's breakfast, what are we going to eat in town?" she asked.


A thought for a moment and then nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess we will I just hope nothing too bad happens while we are gone."


Arbok however wasn't listening to A, her mind was elsewhere. "I hope I can last that long," she quietly whispered to herself. A glanced at Arbok thinking she said something but guessed it was nothing.


The crisp cool air felt great on the two of them, rejuvenating their energy and helping them to wake up. A began to recognize certain parts of the trail and realized that a special spot was coming up soon. The timing couldn't be better either.


The forest began to thin as A and Arbok reached a familiar spot, a small bluff on the way to town that looked over the ocean. It was here at this spot that so much had happened between them. It was here that A thought his time was up, but Arbok had had other plans. They watched the sunset for the first time here and shared their first tender moments together here. This was also the same spot that A had spent numerous times being eaten by Arbok and missing out on the sunset.


Without a second thought, he walked off the path and sat down on the still wet grass as the first rays of light began to show over the horizon. Arbok was about to say something but changed her mind and joined A, gently wrapping a coil around him. "It's just like the sunset," she said, "only backwards."


The two watched it for a long time, thinking about all the times they spent together, all the moments they've shared. In a truthful sense, nothing could ever pull these two apart and they knew it. The red ball of fire eventually made its way about the horizon's waves, spreading light across the ocean. The water glittered and gleamed, its waves creating a shimmering illusion that made the pair's eyes sparkle with excitement. They were both wondering the same thing: was the sunset or the sunrise more beautiful? Or perhaps it was being in the company of someone you loved that made them beautiful. Neither of them truly knew this answer but as A watched the brilliant show of mother nature before him, Arbok was coming to her own conclusion: she was hungry.


A put a hand on his scaly friends coils and gave it a gentle rub, even the moisture of her scales shimmered in the warm rays of morning light. He felt the coil tighten in a sort of hug and he could feel her breath on the back of his neck. He already knew what was coming next. His friend wanted breakfast and he was it.


"Alright buddy I know, just let me get my –" But before he could finish his sentence, Arbok had already removed his shoes in an acrobatic maneuver with her tail. "I don't see why we can't just wa–" A began, but again, his sentence was cut short as suddenly everything went dark and wet around him. Not one for too much talking, Arbok had taken the liberty of wrapping her jaws around A's head. Her long tongue licked his neck as she wrapped more of her coils around him, holding him in place by instinct. She tightened her grip as she gave the first swallow, sending A's head into the tight squishy confines of her throat. He tasted just as she remembered, delicious with a hint of tasty. She loved moments like this. A completely trusted her, enough for this. It really showed how much they cared for each other, and Arbok loved every mouth watering second of it. Again and again she swallowed, bringing more of his body into her throat, pushing him farther and farther down until at last, with a final slurp, she swallowed his feet, giving them a quick tickle with her tongue before they disappeared into her throat. A slid into the snake's warm, soft belly with a smile as Arbok laid her head on the large lump he made. He gently rubbed Arbok's stomach's walls, making her sigh with happiness. Something caught her eye in the distance. It was the sun making its final attempt to get above the horizon and oceans salty waves. She raised her head up and stared across the oceans blue waves, still shimmering with twinkling lights. She looked back down at the bulge in her body and smiled. She had everything she could have ever wanted. Life couldn't get much better for this snake. As the sun climbed higher into the air, A came to a dreadful realization.


"Arbok, we have a problem." She looked down at where A was.


"And what could that be?"


A gulped. "We forgot the coffee."


Arbok's eyes widened in horror. "Oh um…maybe we could get her some of those bread things with the holes in them," Arbok suggested.


"Donuts?"


"Yeah those, and maybe some coffee from that one place, 'Dunking Dough Holes.'"


"Dunkin' Donuts," A corrected her with a sigh, trying not to laugh.


"Same thing. I'll let you out in a bit, I want to see this."


"See what?"


"Oh nothing," she said with a smile. The sun finished its climb above the horizon, increasing the brilliant shimmer tenfold. A gentle breeze picked up, sending small dandelion puffs past Arbok's sparkling scales. It was the perfect start to another perfect day with her best friend. The answer then became clear to the snake. Neither the sunset nor the sunrise was better than the other. It either was perfect when you were with someone you loved.


The End.