[ArwenBaggins]

Arinn opened the door and held it so the family could enter the home. Eli jumped up and hugged his father and mother tightly, quickly moving to hug Eric without one bit of embarassment. "I'm sorry..." he said simply, his lip pouting. "Don't ever run 'way an' get lost 'gain, okay?"

Arinn smiled a bit and bit a hand on Eli's shoulder, and then Eric's. "Now, you two can say you're 'I'm sorry's' later. We grown-ups need to talk." With the final words he looked around to the adults in the group. "We need to talk about what we should do- flee south or stay and wait everything out."

No one said anything, but by the looks on the women's faces he could tell what needed to be done. He himself wanted to go, but couldn't bare leaving his home and coming back with only a pile of dying embers. "Maybe we could join up with the party heading to Esgaroth and Long Lake; mind you, we must move quickly." Looking around, Arinn noticed that Esmerelda had already started packing some provisions.

"Sounds good to me," Rhysdan said plainly.

Arinn nodded and looked to Willow. He could see the worry on her face, but he could also see that she was trying to be strong. He took a few steps forward and put his hand around her waist in a sign of comfort and love, but they were both still very shaky and disturbed. "Start gathering things we will need for the trek, and I will go and get a wagon. Hurry as fast as you can. We need to leave and meet up with the group." He swallowed hard, but tried to keep his voice unwavering.

Nearly twenty minutes had now past, but Arinn had hooked up a wagon and loaded in all of the possessions being taken. He helped the young ones into the back of the wagon; a quick rearing of the horse took his attention away from everyone else. Deciding that the adults were fully capable of doing whatever they wished to do, he mounted the painted steed and looked back. "Here we go..." he said softly as a warning to anyone standing. "We can only hope our farms will be still be standing when we return."

Looking back at the deserted house was heart-jerking. Cows and horses were roaming randomly, and several singe marks dotted the nearby landscape. He could only trust in hope that they could return to Dale; soon or later, he didn't care. He only wanted to be able to go home.