When they arrived onshore, Azraph's father was waiting for her. Phura squeezed her hand, and tried to be grateful for the time that they had had together aboard The Star, eating, talking, and walking on the deck together. Now it seemed all too brief. He watched her back as she walked away.
The boys looked at each other, and noticed that their faces were smudgy fro mdinner still. Following a new custom that they had learned from the elves, they washed their faces in the water; but the only nearby water was the ocean, and they regretted it soon afterwards; their faces dried taut and uncomfortable. "Its not like the river, " Gamba said.
They all trudged off to find normal water. There was a stream coming out of the forest, and they washed in that. Then they wondered where they would sleep.
"How about over there?" Gamba pointed.
Phura looked, and then glanced at Gamba gratefully. He was pointing at a space of open ground that was within sight of Azraph's family. Phura could see her mother, and Nitir; and then Azraph raised her head, and smiled at him, and rolled so that she could see him, and lay back down happily.
They found a soft grassy spot, and Phura lay down so that he could see where Azraph was; Gamba took Maura in his arms and lay down, and the remaining four boys huddled around them. It was colder than in the caves. They shivered and drew closer and closer.
Suddenly, there were footsteps near them, and a familiar large woolen cloak swirled over the and settled on them. Adaruin tucked it around them gently, leaving a little room for breathing. "Sleep well, young hobbits," he said, and walked away. All of them were exhausted, and slipped quickly into a deep sleep.
So they did not see Loremaster and Azraph's father emerge from the trees, holding a soft but very animated conversation. Nor did they see that the conversation continued well into the night.
[ November 15, 2002: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]
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...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.
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