[Amanaduial the archer]

After guiding Aietmen downstairs and shooing him into the kitchen where Cook began to coo and fuss over him, Aman left him tucking into a pile of toast and some bacon as if there was no tomorrow. Smiling, she stepped back into the Common Room...and nearly jumped back when she saw a raven-haired striking woman bearing an axe towards Pio!

Almost sprinting across the room, all sorts of terrible ideas in her head, Aman remembered rather belatedly her absent-minded thoughts of getting someone to stand at the door and keep weapons out. Well, that was it, it would be a flaming great Ranger or something now, she thought savagely, maybe part troll or something... But as she reached the side of the room, she slowed suddenly as Pio turned around...and smiled at the axe-bearing woman.

Aman blinked and suddenly felt very, very foolish. Hadn't Pio said she would be bringing another friend. Zimzar, Zimsir...Zimzaran, that was it! Pio suddenly looked up from where she sat with Ruby and Buttercup, her eyes moving past the woman's face to Aman's, her eyes laughing.

"Where's the fire, Aman?"

Aman raised an eyebrow in reply to the mocking, laughing tone of the thought which Pio sent out, grinning ruefully in return and shrugging. But was there something else there - guilt, that was it. Aman's eyes narrowed momentarily, and she noticed her friend was sitting with the two finest sources of information in the Shire. The Rohirrim Innkeeper had missed the expression on Pio's face after she had met Beren, but she could see from here - the elf was up to something...

Making her way across the Common Room, Aman tried to make it look like she hadn't been about to bodily throw herself on the raven-haired woman and wrestle the axe from her grip, instead smiling at her and Pio. Pio grinned back, but got in quickly to speak - she wasn't giving Aman a chance to wonder about the expression of curiosity and interest the Innkeeper had seen on her face when she was speaking to Ruby and Buttercup, voicing the thought she had send to Aman before.

"Where's the fire, Aman?"

The other three smiled, laughing slightly, and Aman raised an eyebrow as she had before, actually able to reply properly this time - she wasn't as apt as Pio at the whole business of message sending.

Aman turned to Pio's friend. "Good day...?" she stopped inquiringly, half turning to Pio. "I do apologise, I'm not sure we've met, although I have an idea who you may be - would I be right in guessing you're Zimzaran?"