[Child of the 7th Age]

OOC -- glad to see you. I will try to give you a summary later today.

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As Child glanced about, she saw several hobbit children playing near their homes. They looked healthy and well fed. Their laughter and simple games rang out over the green grass. They wore clean but rustic clothing, much like the outfits Idril had given to herself and Rose.

Lindo stopped his pony before a round door which looked no different than others they had passed. Then he dismounted. "This is it," he said. I will return to get you later in the day." Abruptly, he turned and left, before Child could even open her mouth to ask a question.

She had hoped for an introduction, but was evidently not going to get one. She stepped forward with Rose and Bird, knocking upon the door. A tiny but well tended garden sprouted under the single window which faced the shady lane.

An instant later, Child was looking into the eyes of a young hobbit woman, her face open and kindly. She seemed to be a young matron. Child offered her hand and greetings, "Very pleased to meet you. We are guests of Idril and are here to speak with your husband about our own needs as well as something important to our people."

"My husband?" The girl sounded puzzled. Then she smiled and answered in the common tongue. "You mean my father Maura Tuk."

She quickly invited them in. Bird who had been riding on the top of Rose's head had to bend her neck to keep from scraping against the ceiling. The girl continued, "My own husband, Ban, is off working in the fields. My name is Zira, and this is our son Abar." At that moment, a three-year old scooted by on steady legs.

She pulled up chairs and went on. "A messenger came this morning and brought a letter from the Lady. She told us something of your coming and the sad tale you bear."

"You have recently escaped from the harsh lands of east Beleriand?" Concern was evident in her voice.

"Yes," stammered Child. "My daughter and I would like to join your community. I know it sounds strange but so much happened to us that we remember some things about the war and about ourselves, while others have totally slipped from our mind." Child's voice trailed off....."We can't even remember the names we went by."

Zira grasped Child's hand and said, "Do not feel badly. You are not the only ones. Father has taken in many who have found themselves in similar straits. Generally, the patrols find our people wounded or unconscious outside the gates of the city. Sometimes the patrols blindfold them, to protect the secrets of our ways, and then bring them to us."

She smiled slightly. "You, however, are the only ones to arrive on the back of a flying beast, or so the tales in the streets say." Child shifted uncomfortably and said nothing.

At that moment, Maura Tuk pushed aside the curtain which separated the two small rooms of the house. He strode in, with a small book of lore in one hand, and three hobbit children from the neighborhood scampering about his feet. He turned to the the threesome and said with laughter, "Get back to your parents to help in the gardens, or they will have my neck for keeping you away from honest work too long."

He turned to Child with an explanation. "I'm sorry to be late. The children come here most mornings, and I, or my daughter, teach them a bit. Nothing fancy, how to read and write our own tongue or a bit of Elvish. They always manage, however, to prod some stories out of me about the First Elves or the Valar or even how our own people awoke."

Child looked at him, her eyes widening. In this simple and crowded world, some hobbits were struggling to pass on what learning they could.

Maura continued, "I was sorry to hear what happened to you and your daughter. Do you have any older memories at all?"

"Yes, a few." Child felt increasingly embarassed to lie to this gentle man and his family. She decided to share as much of the truth as she could without revealing who she was. "I am a teacher. I love to work with children. And my husband....my husband died in our village after an attack." This was very true, although she made no mention of Saruman and his role in all this.

The light in Maura's eyes softened. "Our family, too. My wife who was a healer went out with the patrols to gather certain needed remedies. There was an ambush by Orcs. I never saw her again."

"I'm sorry," Child whispered.

He turned again, "But you, you are welcome to join our community. You may stay with our family until we build you a small burrow. Things may be crowded, but I think you will find things more pleasant than where you were before."

"You must have names, though. At least first names to start out with. Your young one," he said, looking at Rose with distant and shining eyes, "will be Azra because she looks to be one who loves the Sea. "

Child wondered how he could possibly have sensed that.

"And you, who are a teacher are Nitir, or 'kindler'. For our people say, whoever teaches, kindles a fire in the fea of a child."

"Now, I know you bring other business as well, but that will wait until after lunch."

Child awkwardly voiced her thanks and sat down to the noon meal, her mind reeling in confusion. They were soon joined by Ban, who came in with several large baskets of fruit. He stopped to play with his child.

Child could not help but think that these were not the crude forefathers she had imagined or feared. For, in certain ways, they had more grace and gentility than the hobbits of her own world.

[ August 05, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]