When Gilly’s consciousness began to rise back to the surface, she became aware of the drone of many voices and clapping. It was a pleasant sound, punctuated by the tap of mugs and cups returning to rest on the tables. In her fog, the hobbit was trying to find a pattern to these accents, finally realizing she didn’t need to.
This isn’t home, she thought. Ah, I have fallen asleep, but for how long?
Opening first one eye then the other, the hobbit struggled to wake fully. She nodded and smiled, moving her limbs against their stiffness. Benia was still there as was Aleia, so she couldn’t have been dozing over long.
She notice the innkeeper escorting a rather rough looking hobbit out the door and wondered if there and been any trouble. Then pulling out the handkerchief in her pocket to dab the corner of her mouth, Gilly heard something small and hard hit the floor. At Benia’s stricken expression, she saw that in her hand she held the desert woman’s handkerchief and not her own. Immediately perceiving that the unknown object Benia had wanted her to see had dropped to the floor, she set about retrieving it. Searching around her chair she was looking for something, though she didn’t quite know what it might be. It was certainly not the peas and biscuit crumbs she was coming across. Ah, there it was! She rolled the small dark stone between her finger and thumb. It didn’t look like any stone from around here. Perhaps it was a memento from travel to a far off land. Gilly hoped that was all! She quickly wrapped it in her own clean handkerchief, and passed it back to Benia, before rising to her seat once again.
Aleia, was looking at her quizzically, but with a grin. “ Dear me, I thought I had dropped it!” she announced with a laugh, holding up the letter in her left hand, for her fellow hobbit to see. “Very clumsy, you know?” Aleia nodded sympathetically.
The group was quiet for a little while, taking in the crowd’s activities. Aleia gave a small but contented yawn, and drew their attention back to the table, “Where do you think your travels will take you next, Benia?”
This was a question Gilly was also keen to know. She wondered if Benia herself knew the answer.
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