[Child of the 7th Age]

"But how could we do that?" mused Child. "We couldn't just invite Angara here as if she was a houseguest. And I can tell you there are already rumors among the hobbits that we arrived on a strange flying beast. This sort of thing is not going to inspire confidence among my people."

She privately wondered what Maura would say if she invited him to ride on the back of a dragon. He seemed to take life easily and naturally. Perhaps, he would not be as reluctant as she might think.

She continued, "I suppose that Bird could fly out to Angara, and try to explain our problem. Angara might oblige by wringing her neck, of course. Or perhaps, she could suggest a more creative solution."

Child's eyes lit up. "What if Angara picked a fight with Bird? Maybe I could send her a message saying that Bird was threatening my own life, or perhaps the safety of the hobbits. She was pretty protective of me towards the end," said Child sighing. "Then Bird would have to change into a dragon to save herself. The problem is how would we stop the two of them from fighting and killing each other?"

"Wait a minute, Child," interjected Mithadan. "Are you certain that Bird would become a dragon in that sitution? If I were faced with an angry dragon trying to kill me, I might just find that a hideous balrog would be a more suitable match. Or, if Bird had even more imagination, she might become a neekerbreeker or a tiny mite and simply fly away."

"Well," responded Child. "I guess we'll never know unless we try. But it sounds awfully risky for both Bird and Angara."

"And I still don't undestand where you'd put all the hobbits once they dismounted from the dragons. In the best of circumstances, you'd be sending our ship back and forth through the ages a dozen times. How could you be sure that all the hobbits would end up in the same time and place? With a mistake of only fifty years on each trip, you'd have hobbits scattered in a dozen different times, friends and families unable to reach each other. And if you don't keep the community together, what hope do they have to survive?"

"Don't you remember how long it took Pio and Veritas to pinpoint precisely where we were going? We wouldn't have any time for trials in this situation. We would be racing to beat Morgoth who is coming here in a very short while."

Child sighed and shook her head, "I know everyone is only trying to help,and perhaps also to cheer me up. I know we're searching blindly for any idea we overlooked before, but I don't believe this will work. I wish I felt differently, but I don't. I don't know how to thank each of you for all you've done to help us, to help me, but this isn't going to get us where we want to be."

[ August 06, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]