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piosenniel · 01-11-2004, 02:08 AM

Pio's post

Without benefit of a lantern, Will had found it difficult to find where the children had gone. He had tried to keep a fair distance away from the group to avoid them hearing him. Kari had been suspicious earlier on when leaves crunched beneath his foot, and he knew that if they found him following him they would be angry and drive him off. He deserved it, he supposed, he’d been pretty bad . . . ‘before’.

‘Before’ was the time before the bandits had raided his family’s farm, and the farms of others, driving them into the confines of the city; the time before he’s been banned from the school and put to work with the others, Hobbit and Man alike, to reinforce the dike and hedge; the time before he’d been expected to grow up and act like a man. Time with the shovel, moving slowly along the outer perimeter of the hedge, had given him plenty of time to think about where he was and where he was going. And plenty of time to understand that the choices were his alone to make, for good or bad. ‘There’s no wriggle room,’ the Hobbit Ranger had told him once, when he’d come to check on Will’s progress. ‘No room for blaming someone else for your problems. We all make mistakes; we accept the blame; make amends, and move on. Next time we’ll do better.’

This train of thoughts ran through his mind as he cast about for where the children had gone. And some time later he saw them, now out in a meadow gathering grass and plants for the bunnies in the cages he had seen them with. ‘The children shouldn’t be out here,’ he thought to himself. ‘It’s dangerous so far from the town.’ He squinted in the darkness. ‘And where are the coneys?’ he wondered.

They were leaving; Kari had gathered them round her. The group moved toward the edge of the clearing, then one of the Hobbit boys paused and sniffed the air. A cry of alarm went up as the group ran . . . ‘for the cave,’ he heard them call out . . . ‘save the coneys!’ . . .

‘I can help,’ he thought as he ran after them. The smoke grew thicker the closer he got to the north western section of Bree Hill. He could see the flames licking across the dried leaves in front of the face of the hill, moving in a line toward the hedge and east toward a copse of trees. ‘The cave must be under the hill,’ he said, picking up speed. His line of vision was becoming obscured, and he could hear the crackle of the flames to his left as he neared the hill face and turned north, seeking the cave the children had gone into.

The wailing of someone in pain slowed him to a halt. ‘Who’s there?’ he called out to whoever was making the small, frightened sound . ‘It’s me . . . Lily,’ came a small, wavering voice. ‘Keep talking, Lily. I’ll find you.’

Bruised and disheveled from her fall, Lily sat coughing in the smoky air, rubbing her ankle. ‘I fell,’ she said. ‘They didn’t see me.’ She moaned as she turned her tear streaked, grimy face up to him as he crouched beside her. A series of sniffs and hiccups sandwiched between new tears followed as she told him she couldn’t walk – her ankle was hurt.

The crisp popping sounds of dried, downed limbs burning, the whoosh of trees as the flames flew up their branches sounded nearer. No time to get to the cave with Lily – the path was cut off by the sinuous wall of flame. Scooping Lily up, he put her astraddle his back, her arms locked about his neck, the bend of her knees held up firmly by his arms.

Her weight, though light, slowed him down as did the smoke. He had gone only a short way when he ran into another figure . . . or rather another figure ran into him, and fell down with a thud. It was one of the Big Folk girls – Willofain, he recalled. He gave her a hand up and told her to run as fast as her legs would carry her to the town . . . alert the mayor . . . get help. ‘We’re cut off from the cave. I think they’ll be alright in there if they stay at the back.’ He turned Willofain in the direction of Bree and gave her a nudge. ‘Hurry on! I’ll be there soon with Lily.’

Willofain’s figure was lost in the smoke in a few brief moments, and he followed as quickly as he could . . .

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 3:50 PM January 11, 2004: Message edited by: piosenniel ]

01-11-2004, 02:08 AM	#219
piosenniel Desultory Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pickin' flowers with Bill the Cat..... Posts: 7,779	Pio's post Without benefit of a lantern, Will had found it difficult to find where the children had gone. He had tried to keep a fair distance away from the group to avoid them hearing him. Kari had been suspicious earlier on when leaves crunched beneath his foot, and he knew that if they found him following him they would be angry and drive him off. He deserved it, he supposed, he’d been pretty bad . . . ‘before’. ‘Before’ was the time before the bandits had raided his family’s farm, and the farms of others, driving them into the confines of the city; the time before he’s been banned from the school and put to work with the others, Hobbit and Man alike, to reinforce the dike and hedge; the time before he’d been expected to grow up and act like a man. Time with the shovel, moving slowly along the outer perimeter of the hedge, had given him plenty of time to think about where he was and where he was going. And plenty of time to understand that the choices were his alone to make, for good or bad. ‘There’s no wriggle room,’ the Hobbit Ranger had told him once, when he’d come to check on Will’s progress. ‘No room for blaming someone else for your problems. We all make mistakes; we accept the blame; make amends, and move on. Next time we’ll do better.’ This train of thoughts ran through his mind as he cast about for where the children had gone. And some time later he saw them, now out in a meadow gathering grass and plants for the bunnies in the cages he had seen them with. ‘The children shouldn’t be out here,’ he thought to himself. ‘It’s dangerous so far from the town.’ He squinted in the darkness. ‘And where are the coneys?’ he wondered. They were leaving; Kari had gathered them round her. The group moved toward the edge of the clearing, then one of the Hobbit boys paused and sniffed the air. A cry of alarm went up as the group ran . . . ‘for the cave,’ he heard them call out . . . ‘save the coneys!’ . . . ‘I can help,’ he thought as he ran after them. The smoke grew thicker the closer he got to the north western section of Bree Hill. He could see the flames licking across the dried leaves in front of the face of the hill, moving in a line toward the hedge and east toward a copse of trees. ‘The cave must be under the hill,’ he said, picking up speed. His line of vision was becoming obscured, and he could hear the crackle of the flames to his left as he neared the hill face and turned north, seeking the cave the children had gone into. The wailing of someone in pain slowed him to a halt. ‘Who’s there?’ he called out to whoever was making the small, frightened sound . ‘It’s me . . . Lily,’ came a small, wavering voice. ‘Keep talking, Lily. I’ll find you.’ Bruised and disheveled from her fall, Lily sat coughing in the smoky air, rubbing her ankle. ‘I fell,’ she said. ‘They didn’t see me.’ She moaned as she turned her tear streaked, grimy face up to him as he crouched beside her. A series of sniffs and hiccups sandwiched between new tears followed as she told him she couldn’t walk – her ankle was hurt. The crisp popping sounds of dried, downed limbs burning, the whoosh of trees as the flames flew up their branches sounded nearer. No time to get to the cave with Lily – the path was cut off by the sinuous wall of flame. Scooping Lily up, he put her astraddle his back, her arms locked about his neck, the bend of her knees held up firmly by his arms. Her weight, though light, slowed him down as did the smoke. He had gone only a short way when he ran into another figure . . . or rather another figure ran into him, and fell down with a thud. It was one of the Big Folk girls – Willofain, he recalled. He gave her a hand up and told her to run as fast as her legs would carry her to the town . . . alert the mayor . . . get help. ‘We’re cut off from the cave. I think they’ll be alright in there if they stay at the back.’ He turned Willofain in the direction of Bree and gave her a nudge. ‘Hurry on! I’ll be there soon with Lily.’ Willofain’s figure was lost in the smoke in a few brief moments, and he followed as quickly as he could . . . <font size=1 color=339966>[ 3:50 PM January 11, 2004: Message edited by: piosenniel ] __________________ Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.