[Child of the 7th Age]

By the time, Cami and Maura managed to pull apart, it was already the latter part of the afternoon. Cami ran a comb through her curls, then trundled off in the direction of the Inn. She soon ran into Hob. He'd been sent back to the pond by Pio over an hour before, but had managed to get waylaid by the Shirriff who had carted him off to the Lockholes for questioning as to the recent whereabouts of Mithadan and Bird. He had responded to those queries with only a few terse words and had finally managed to win his way free again.

The hobbit was panting from running back and forth and barely managed to stumble out a greeting. He quickly explained the purpose of his visit, "Miz Pio told me that she couldn't fix this mess and that I was to bring you back so you could figure out how to do it."

Cami's eyes widened with apprehension. Then she clutched her hands to her stomach and began to laugh. Not just a small delicate laugh, but an uproarious belly buster that didn't stop till ten minutes later when Hob picked her up from the ground.

So I'm to fix this mess? Neither my best friend or my daughter bothered telling me what's happening. So how can I possibly fix anything when I haven't even been told what's wrong? It's one thing making guesses, and another thing coming up with plans.

It was true that she and Maura could carefully track the girls and gallop across country as fast as they dared. But Rose and Gilly had enough of a head start that even Maura was unlikely to catch up with them. Maybe the best thing would be for Pio to speak mind-to-mind with Mithadan, as the two of them had done before in other urgent situations. That way, Mith would at least be apprised of the problem and keep an eye out for the girls, and chastise them as he saw fit.

And then another thought struck Cami. Her last wish had been that the Valar would guard over Rose's path. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. There were several rumors about the Inn as to where Lorien was spending his days and evenings. Cami didn't believe half of what was being said. Still, the Vala had certain advantages over everyone else. He should be able to locate the girls quickly and reach them in an instant. Maybe, like Bird, he could transform himself into another creature. or perhaps someone else could help him. Cami thought of Bilbo's story how the great Eagle had come down to carry them away. Something of that sort would also work.

Other than that, Cami was fresh out of ideas. She sighed and knocked on Pio's door wondering exactly what the Elf was expecting her to do.

[ April 24, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]