[Imladris]

Faran

The boy leaned upon his axe, wiping the sweat from his brow, and surveyed the log before him as he squinted his eyes in the bright sun. It was fresh from the forest, for gnarled branches, brown leaves hanging limply from their stems, protruded from the rough bark. The branches would have to be lopped off, the wood sanded and split into planks.

With a sigh, Faran straddled the wood and began to lop off the offending branches. The musty smell of aged wood escaped and drifted and spread through the air and mingled with the dusty smell of wood chips.

After the branches had been cut from the trunk of the tree, Faran gathered them in his arms and deposited them with the rest of the firewood. Brushing the chips from his hands, Faran peered about, his eyebrow raised, wondering where Idona was. The thought of girls reminded him of another girl: Sigrid -- along with the unpleasant thought of the two cousins who had been showering her with attention. Not that that was a bad thing, Faran grudgingly thought as he set out to look for her. It was just…odd that both of them did it at the same time and that that one didn’t really help with the Inn. Why, Sigrid worked harder than he had!

He found the girl washing clothes: bubbles floated around her head and her apron was splashed with water. Sauntering over to her and propping his elbows on her wooden tub, he said, “The building of the stable is going well, and I was wondering if you would like to learn how to chop and lop branches off the fresh logs, but I see you’re employed otherwise.” He sighed, his lips puckering in a small smile.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 9:13 PM February 02, 2004: Message edited by: Imladris ]