[Child of the 7th Age]

Child had been up and about in the galley for a good portion of the night. Now she sat surrounded by pots of fish and sea-plants which she was supposed to turn into a stew. The seafood, however, was totally unknown to her. Some of the fish were brightly colored and had tubes sticking out from their heads. Child couldn't even find their eyes. These were certainly different from the perch and trout she had eaten back home.

The plants themselves were equally fantastic. Some had beautiful flowers, or looked a bit like vegetables she already knew. Child was quite curious as to what sort of dinner all this would make. But Bird had reassured her the food would be tasty, so she hoped it would come out alright.

In typical fashion, however, she had managed to get sidetracked. Instead of cooking the fish and plants, she was carefully studying them, sorting them into piles according to their type. When she was younger, she used to do this in her parents' small burrow with foodstuffs she had gathered from the wild. Child remembered them coming in and scratching their heads as to why dinner had not yet been prepared. Her mother was quite indulgent, but sometimes despaired that Child would ever find a hobbit who'd want a wife who would study his dinner rather than cooking it.

Child looked up from her piles of fish, and saw Piosenniel standing near the door of the galley. She wasn't sure how long she'd been there. The Elf had an impish look upon her face. Then she shook her head and laughed. "I go away for a bit, and the dinner service deteriorates! I'll have to get my hands in this galley again, and start turning things right. And my first order to you," she said pointing at the hobbit, "is to go back to your cabin and get some sleep. The last time I heard, hobbits still need to sleep at night. Put your pots on the stove to simmer, and I'll make sure the fire burns down in a few hours, since I'll be keeping watch on deck."

Child backed away from Piosenniel. She was even afraid to reach out and touch her. Perhaps, she was like Nienna who'd visited in her dreams. Maybe this was a dream too. Sh might turn around and then the Elf would suddenly vanish.

Pio looked at her nervos friend and laughed in a solid, comforttng way, "I'm real Child, and I am back, at least for now. It seems we've both got some unfinished business that needs doing."

Pio helped her put the fish and sea-plants in the pots and shift them onto the fire. Then she turned to Child and quietly said, "It's been hard for you. Hasn't it? Leaving Tol Fuin, and what you had there." She reached out her hand to examine the small green stone that hung about her friend's neck. "It looks as if you and I have something in common. Someimes you have to put aside what you want and just do what has to be done."

Child looked at the Elf in surprise. How could her friend know all this? But when she asked her, Pio simply tilted her head back and looked mysterious, her brown curls bouncing and eyes sparkling with light.

Then Child leaned over and whispered in her friend's ear, "We're really glad you're here. Tule was....." Child searched for the right words. She didn't want to hurt Pio's feelings. "Tule was interesting, but I found it a little hard to talk to him."

Pio looked back at her and said with a totally straight face, "To tell the truth, so did I."

[ September 08, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[ September 08, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]