[piosenniel]

There was a hesitant knock at the door. Pio raised her head from the pillow and looked up at the porthole. No light shone through it. The room was dark - the small candle lantern lit to ward off the night shadows had burnt itself out to a waxy nubbin long ago. A small, faint pool of candle light crept under the door, obscured here and there by the feet of the one who stood there knocking.

Mithadan slept soundly through it, though Pio nudged him in hopes he would see to it. She inched her way off the end of the bed, wrapping her cloak around her as she stood. ‘Shadow take you!’ she muttered as she tripped over Mithadan’s boots left carelessly where he had pulled them off and thrown them down.

The knocking stopped altogether as she muttered her curse and kicked the offending boots out of her way. Then a small voice whispered through the wood of the door. ‘Pio? Are you up yet? I need to talk with you.’

‘Daisy?’ she said, ‘Is that you? Wait just a moment for me to dress. Then I’ll be out.’

She pulled on her breeches and a warm sweater, grabbing her boots and throwing her cloak about her as she went out the door. ‘What are you doing up so early?’ she asked, leaning against the wall of the passageway as she pulled on her boots. Before the hobbit could answer, Pio led her down to the galley, and pulled two mugs from the cupboard for tea.

Daisy was in a fidgety mood. Pio handed her the teapot and the can of tea and sat down to wait for her to brew it. The familiar routine quieted the young girl’s nerves as she moved through it. She poured a steaming mug for Pio when it was finished and pushed the honey pot and spoon toward her. ‘Let’s go up to the deck.’ she said. ‘I need some fresh air.’

They had just exited the galley and were heading down the gangplank when two small voices called out. ‘Can we come with you?’ Pio stopped in midstride and shook her head. ‘Is no one on this ship sleeping tonight?!’ she asked as she turned round. She handed her mug of tea to Daisy and held out her hands to the two Hobbrim, each still sleepy-eyed, wrapped in quilts from their bunks. ‘Come, girls. We will all go up together.’ Coral and Shell grabbed hold of her first fingers and trooped up the stairs to the deck.

Daisy led them to the bow. It was quiet there and private – no Hobbits or Hobbrim , their bedrolls spread out, sleeping. Pio sat down crosslegged on the deck and drew the two Hobbrim girls onto her lap, one on each side. She tucked their wraps around them and maneuvered their already drowsing heads against each shoulder. By the time Daisy had settled herself next to Pio, and handed over her cup of tea, Coral and Shell had fallen fast asleep.

‘You will be a good mother, Pio.’ said Daisy, sipping her tea and watching the Elf rock the two in a lulling rhythm with the gentle sway of her body. ‘I suppose, I will.’ came the quiet reply. ‘But,’ she continued, looking at the Hobbit, ‘I don’t think you woke me to comment on my mothering skills.’

Pio looked out to where the moon shown on the water, hundreds of tiny perfect moons each wholly captured in each wave as it rose and fell. She waited for Daisy to collect her thoughts and go on.

‘Today is the day set for the Choosing, and though I have made up my mind how I will choose, I really do not want this day to come. I cannot bear the thought of never seeing my friends . . . never seeing you, again.’ She leaned against the Elf’s arm, and sighed.

‘Then you have chosen to stay with the Hobbrim. A well made choice, Daisy!’ They sat in easy silence for a while, then Pio asked, in a low voice, ‘Will you do something for me?’ The Hobbit looked up at her, questioningly. ‘I have grown quite fond of these two little sweetings. They remind me a lot of myself when I was a child and a lot of you when first I met you. Independent thinkers, and often outspoken! I will not be around to keep an eye on them. They will need someone to look up to, to guide them, to keep them from harm. Will you do that for me?’ She felt the Hobbit’s head against her arm nod ‘yes’, and heard the softly murmured, ‘Always.’

Pio smiled, and looked up at the night sky, dotted with stars. ‘Do you remember what that one is?’ she asked Daisy, pointing to the northeast quadrant. ‘It is the Butterfly, Wilwarin.’ laughed Daisy. ‘The same that you had told me of when I fell asleep on the deck, and woke to see Mithadan first kiss you.’

‘The same, indeed!’ laughed Pio. She looked down at the Hobbit’s face, now upturned to watch the star patterns. ‘I will think of you every night, Daisy, when I gaze up at the star strung sky. The same patterns are fixed in the night sky where I will be, as they are over you. When I look at Wilwarin, spreading her gleaming wings, I will think of you.’

‘And I, you, Pio.’

Dawn found them still sitting on the deck, talking over small things of no great consequence, as friends do. Pio urged the heavy lidded Daisy to go down to her bunk and take some rest, promising her she would wake her when she and Mithadan went to the Isle for the Choosing. Coral and Shell were roused from sleep and went down to their beds, too.

Once the trio was delivered to their rest, Pio stopped in the galley and splashed some cold water on her face. She foraged for some dried fruits and grabbed another mug of warm tea. Taking the steps two at a time, she went back up to the deck - to watch the sun come up fully and hear the first song of the birds as they heralded the new day.

[ November 14, 2002: Message edited by: piosenniel ]