|
His traveling had been difficult and lonely... although lonely was the worst part, he thought.
Reggie had been wandering along the riverbank as best he could until the terrain became too difficult to manage. He had then turned away from the river, figuring that the others most likely would have gone that way as well. Unfortunately for him, he had not thought of his food situation very well. He had eaten most of the berries he had found early on, and was a good distance away from the Brandywine before it dawned on him that he really should have fished while he still could. Then he remembered that he had no line or hook, so it wouldn't have made too much difference.
I could have used my shirt as a net, he thought inconsequentially now as he continued through the bare land. His third day without Falco was coming to a close, and he figured he must have covered a considerable distance. He had risen as early as he could, and continued quite late every night in the hopes of catching up. Now he was tired and hungry, and decided that it was time to stop and rest.
Somewhat anxiously, he settled down by a mound of dirt and dug himself in backwards enough that he felt relatively safe. He had heard wolves last night, and hoped that the small shelter would be enough to provide him at least a little protection. Their mournful howling had frightened him to no end, not only for himself, but for all of his companions, wherever they might be. Trying to empty his mind of all his worries, he drifted off to sleep.
When he woke, it was still dark out. The moon provided enough light to see by, but it was still unsettling. It was the dark of deepest night when all the world was asleep, and anyone who was not was left to fend for himself against all the creatures of the night. He remembered the scary stories some of his older cousins had told him, delighting him with tales of monsters. But that had all been okay then, because he would always go to sleep that night in a cozy bed in Brandy Hall, knowing that he was safe from harm. Now every story he had ever been told seemed as though it might come true.
Reggie gulped as he heard a distant baying. He felt that there was not a chance of falling asleep again, and so he rolled out of his little hollow, causing some dirt to fall on him, down the back of his shirt and into his hair. He combed his fingers through his knotty hair to get the dirt out (largely unsuccessfully), stretched his short limbs, and walked on.
He continued as one in a dream, not following any consciously chosen course, but just allowing his grimy feet to take him where they would. Twice he stumbled in his tiredness; once he fairly tripped and fell on his face. Yet the thought of the night monsters was enough to make him keep walking. To sleep was to be vulnerable when one was lost and alone.
I shall have to sleep in the day and travel by night if this keeps up much longer, he thought irrationally, getting fairly giddy in his lack of sleep. He felt as though he just might laugh in the face of some big old wolf if it came snuffling along, looking for a nice little hobbit for supper. Everything was going so strangely and so wrong -- what did he care if something else terrible should happen?
He entered a rocky patch of land. The sharp stones beneath his feet did not cut him, but certainly forced him to pay more attention to what was going on. A good thing it was, too, for he just thought he had heard someone say, "Hello?"
Ridiculous. Who would possibly be awake out here at this time of night? Reggie shook his head. He was going mad like they said old Mr. Baggins was.
"Hello?" No, there it was again, clear as the stars above him. He wasn't dreaming after all.
"Is anyone there?" The voice did not sound scared, but hopeful. Suddenly Reggie was wide awake. He knew that voice -- it was Bingo's.
"Bingo?" he asked, taking a few steps forward.
"Reggie? Is that you?" He heard the scuffling sound of someone standing up. Reggie flew forward and nearly knocked his brother over in an embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Bingo," he said, tears coming to his eyes. "I'll never abandon you again, I promise! Don't hate me... I'm so sorry."
|