Pepper woke up and saw it was another normal day. The sun was out, but there were some clouds. It was time to get some food. They say the early bird gets the worm, but the slightly later bird gets the commuter leftovers. And really, who wouldn't prefer bits of a blueberry bagel over worms? Pepper had never understood why the line about the worm was still being said.
Pepper flew from his perch on a telephone post and started to circle the area near the train station. This was usually the best place to find food. A lot of commuters didn't seem to want to take their food on the train so they often scarfed some of the food down, leaving little crumbs for Pepper to eat up. Today Pepper spotted one of the regulars. She never seemed to be with people, so Pepper hadn't caught her name, but he called her Everything because she always had an everything bagel. These were the best bagels for pigeons because they were guaranteed to have something fall off of it.
Pepper fluttered down and approached Everything. She smiled at him. Pepper guessed he was as much a part of her average day as she was of his. Everything ate one more bite of her bagel, leaving a full other human-sized bite and then tossed it Pepper's way. Pepper gratefully took it and Everything waved to him as she went to catch her train.
Usually after breakfast, Pepper decided to explore the city a little bit. It was good to have regular haunts like the train station, but you never knew when you would find another good spot for food. For a while there had been a bakery that must not have been selling a lot because they kept throwing out tons of food. Although, because they weren't selling a lot, the train of slightly stale muffins and bread ended.
Today Pepper ended up near a cafe that had recently opened its outdoor seating section. The staff wasn't too keen on Pepper being there, but so far they hadn't managed to fully scare him off. Much to Pepper's surprise, Everything was also at the cafe. She was sipping coffee and waiting for her lunch. This place must be near where she works, Pepper thought idly. Since he knew she wouldn't shoo him, he approached her table.
Everything greeted him with a smile. "Hey little guy, didn't I just see you?"
The waitress brought over the food and it was a sandwich made with an everything bagel. The waitress tried to shoo him, but Everything told her she didn't mind. Everything not so sneakily gave him some of her sandwich before she left.
Pepper spent the rest of his day swooping around the city and visiting with other pigeons. But it was soon time that the next rush of commuters was going to get on and get off the trains, so he went back to his normal train station.
He saw Everything get off the train with a guy. Pepper approached her and was pleasantly surprised to see that she had a bag of bagels with her.
"Hi there, little guy," she said, "I just keep seeing you today, don't I?"
"Piper, you know this pigeon?" the guy with Everything, or Piper it now seemed, asked.
"Oh yeah, he's always around the train station." Piper/Everything took some a bagel out of the bag. "There were leftovers at work today, so I thought you might like some," she said before ripping off bits of the bagel and tossing them Pepper's way.
"How can you tell one flying rat from another?" the guy scoffed.
"Oh don't say that, I like pigeons." Piper/Everything threw a few more bits Pepper's way. "Anyways, this one has little dots all over his feathers and he always comes up to me. It's like part of my day now."
"Does he have a name?" the guy asked, not seeming terribly interested.
Piper/Everything laughed a bit and tossed a few more bagel bits Pepper's way. "He seems to like my everything bagels, so I call him Everything."
(Prompt by Odile van Deventer)
Photo by Alpsdake: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columba_livia_in_Japan.JPG
Pepper flew from his perch on a telephone post and started to circle the area near the train station. This was usually the best place to find food. A lot of commuters didn't seem to want to take their food on the train so they often scarfed some of the food down, leaving little crumbs for Pepper to eat up. Today Pepper spotted one of the regulars. She never seemed to be with people, so Pepper hadn't caught her name, but he called her Everything because she always had an everything bagel. These were the best bagels for pigeons because they were guaranteed to have something fall off of it.
Pepper fluttered down and approached Everything. She smiled at him. Pepper guessed he was as much a part of her average day as she was of his. Everything ate one more bite of her bagel, leaving a full other human-sized bite and then tossed it Pepper's way. Pepper gratefully took it and Everything waved to him as she went to catch her train.
Usually after breakfast, Pepper decided to explore the city a little bit. It was good to have regular haunts like the train station, but you never knew when you would find another good spot for food. For a while there had been a bakery that must not have been selling a lot because they kept throwing out tons of food. Although, because they weren't selling a lot, the train of slightly stale muffins and bread ended.
Today Pepper ended up near a cafe that had recently opened its outdoor seating section. The staff wasn't too keen on Pepper being there, but so far they hadn't managed to fully scare him off. Much to Pepper's surprise, Everything was also at the cafe. She was sipping coffee and waiting for her lunch. This place must be near where she works, Pepper thought idly. Since he knew she wouldn't shoo him, he approached her table.
Everything greeted him with a smile. "Hey little guy, didn't I just see you?"
The waitress brought over the food and it was a sandwich made with an everything bagel. The waitress tried to shoo him, but Everything told her she didn't mind. Everything not so sneakily gave him some of her sandwich before she left.
Pepper spent the rest of his day swooping around the city and visiting with other pigeons. But it was soon time that the next rush of commuters was going to get on and get off the trains, so he went back to his normal train station.
He saw Everything get off the train with a guy. Pepper approached her and was pleasantly surprised to see that she had a bag of bagels with her.
"Hi there, little guy," she said, "I just keep seeing you today, don't I?"
"Piper, you know this pigeon?" the guy with Everything, or Piper it now seemed, asked.
"Oh yeah, he's always around the train station." Piper/Everything took some a bagel out of the bag. "There were leftovers at work today, so I thought you might like some," she said before ripping off bits of the bagel and tossing them Pepper's way.
"How can you tell one flying rat from another?" the guy scoffed.
"Oh don't say that, I like pigeons." Piper/Everything threw a few more bits Pepper's way. "Anyways, this one has little dots all over his feathers and he always comes up to me. It's like part of my day now."
"Does he have a name?" the guy asked, not seeming terribly interested.
Piper/Everything laughed a bit and tossed a few more bagel bits Pepper's way. "He seems to like my everything bagels, so I call him Everything."
(Prompt by Odile van Deventer)
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