Birdie sat on a ledge of the cell, rubbing her legs together to break the heavy silence. She had tried to start a half-hearted riddle game, but Daisy's interest (or concentration) had waned, and there had been no answer from the Hobbit to the last question.
Bird knew that the time spent in isolation was wearing on Daisy. After the initial lift of her spirits when she had found the keys in her food, she had sank again into a bored lethargy. Bird did what she could to relieve the long hours, but she could not reveal herself by lifting her voice in song. Any games were out as well, since they had no cards or dice, even if Birdie could have carried them.
Bird sighed; the silence was becoming oppressive. Then her antennae began to itch. She shook her head in annoyance, then - remembering the last occasion - tilted it to one side and concentrated as hard as she could.
"I don't know, Birdie. How does the wizard get down?" Daisy asked in a tired voice. The Neekerbreeker shushed her, and the hobbit looked up in irritation, then curiosity, as she noticed the alertness of the insect.
"They are coming...today...they are on their way!" Birdie finally explained. But instead of a feeling of hope, the skin-changer felt only a heavy sadness and worry.
She hopped down onto Daisy's shoulder, whispering "The waiting will soon end, Daisy. And maybe there will be some way for Cami or Rose to come to you, if we're careful. Have heart." And with that, Bird leapt towards the crack under the door, waiting to catch a ride back to the Common Rooms and Loremaster.
But as she rode the hem of the passing guard, she could not shake off the overwhelming sadness she carried within her. "Pio...Pio!" she thought as hard as she could, bending her antennae in the direction she believed the Lonely Star to be. "What has happened? Why are you so sad?"
|