[Imladris]

A bird of brilliant plumage pecked softly at a tree in the Old Forest, sending sprays of bark upon Lira's upturned, pale face. The knocking continued and continued... Lira stirred and struggled to become awake. She was not in the grim and dim Old Forest, but in the delightful room the Innkeeper had provided. Shaking the sleep from her eyes, Lira smoothed her green dress and peeked in the mirror. She usually tried to avoid mirrors, because it showed how unattractive she was, but it wouldn't do to look messy. Sighing softly, and remembering her mother, Lira suddenly realized that someone had been knocking on her door...that was what the "bird" was in her dream. She laughed softly to herself, unlocked the door, and drifted to the base of the stairs.

Lira roved the room, looking for Mistress Innkeeper, and saw that an elf was rather...tipsy. Lira smiled to herself at the sight -- she had never seen anything like it. Easing herself onto the banister of the stair, Lira slid effortlessly to the floor. The thrilling feeling of balancing precariously upon something thin and wooden reminded Lira of the days she had spent in the tops of the trees, being swayed back and forth by the wind, feeling as free as the birds of the sky.

Lira considered again asking the Innkeeper whether there was any work to be done...she had seemed a little distracted when she had first asked. Lira smiled to herself as she remembered the beautiful girl and the handsome man. Glancing around the room again, she saw Mistress Innkeeper beside the stablemaster's table and the drunken elf. Striding towards them, Lira asked musically, "Is there anything in need of being done, Mistress Innkeeper?"