The Lonely Star -- Chapter 4

[piosenniel]

‘Well, they’re on their way, Pio.’ The small jackdaw dropped to the helm in a flurry of feathers, feet scrabbling for some hold on the smooth wood. Pio laughed at the unceremonious landing and offered her wrist for a better perch. ‘and, no,’ continued the small bird, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, which indeed it had not since these two had never stood on ceremony, ‘they are not lost yet. Or besieged by bandits, wolves, or any other of the catalog of evils I know are running through your mind as I tell you this.’

Bird glided down to the deck, changing to human form. ‘Why are you piloting the Star, by the way. Shouldn’t you be relaxing, feet propped up, avoiding the swollen ankles I hear come with your condition?’ She picked up the glass of wine Pio had left on the barrel top near her, taking a long swig.

‘Ack! You’ve watered this! Ruined perfectly good wine.’ She swallowed the mouthful with a grimace and poured herself a glass of her own from the bottle. ‘Mmmm. That’s much better!’ she said, topping off the glass with another pour from the dusty bottle. ‘I see Mithadan managed to replenish the wine supply for the trip home.’

She pulled a chair to the railing, and sat gazing over the river’s water to the north, feet propped comfortably on the lowest rail. ‘Where is the hubby, anyway? Off ordering about what remains of the crew, I suppose.’ She drummed her fingers on the side of her glass. ‘What’s he going to do when everyone’s gone but us and Levanto? None of us take orders very well, though I suppose the two males will side with each other.’

Bird chuckled, her eyes glinting with the possibility of mischief. ‘Hmmm, this may prove to be an interesting trip back to Gondor.”

[ January 08, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]