[Child of the 7th Age]

As evening set in, Nitir was pleased to see that the snowflakes were no longer falling quite so heavily. She took advantage of the break in the weather to go out and have a look at the pony Lindo was hiding not far from camp. She had heard Azra and Lindo and the boys giggling about their four-footed friend earlier that afternoon. For one wild moment, Nitir had wondered if the pony could possibly be more than just a pony. But when she squared off with him and stared him straight in the eye, she was quite certain that he was indeed a pony.

This wasn't quite the visitor she'd hoped for. But she was glad to see him. He'd already done a great deal to raise the spirits of Lindo and his increasingly devoted contingent of Snowhobbits. And there was the added bonus that sharing secrets had pulled Lindo and Azra much closer together.

Nitir glanced around nervously to make certain no one else was looking. Then she surreptitously slid an apple from her pocket and fed it to him. It was one of the few scrawny ones left from the fall harvest. She was suddenly struck with a wild desire to leap onto the pony's back and go riding into camp, but she wasn't sure that Lindo or the animal would appreciate her doing that. She wondered if the pony had a name.

Then she kissed the creature on the nose and shuffled back through the snow to the Workhouse. It had been over a week since she'd discovered the mysterious ledger. But the unexpected storm had caued so many mishaps and headaches that she'd never even managed to look at it again. She put her fingers into the broken wall one more time to make certain that the paper still lay within its secret place. Her fingers touched the soft vellum. Yes, it was there. And she vowed to herself that, on the next day, whatever else might come, she would take time to pour over these words.

[ August 16, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]