[Firefoot]

Sondo led the way upriver, mostly occupied with his own thoughts. Now that his temper had cooled off, he was able to rationally think through his argument with Falco. He realized, though he would never admit it, that he had said some things that would further push Falco into breaking away. Perhaps he could have been more considerate to Falco’s opinions - or maybe not. Falco had been downright insulting, saying that he couldn’t lead among other things. Though it was the first time Falco had told him so out loud, Sondo could not help but wonder whether Falco had felt that way for quite some time. To tell the truth, Falco’s comments had hurt. They still did, in fact, for though he was confident in himself, even arrogant, sometimes, the opinions of his friends did matter to him. And he did value his friendships; now he could see almost no way that he and Falco could ever make peace between them. After so publically denouncing him as leader, Sondo doubted that Falco would ever follow him again, and Sondo would certainly never follow another. They really were alike, Sondo mused. It was only that he had not only the ideas and the daring to carry them out, but also the persuasiveness to get others to go along with him. Falco had never really had the ideas, and so the hobbits naturally followed him. Sure, Falco protested occasionally, but he usually ended up going along with everyone else. But not this time. Never before had the two come to an out and out fight, and it was a sore blow to Sondo.

With a soft sigh, Sondo tried to put the thoughts out of mind. It was over and done with now, and there would be nothing to do about it until the two of them met again. If then. But with nothing else to occupy his mind, he kept coming back to the same old regretful thoughts. If he had the opportunity he would prefer talking with someone, but the remaining hobbits were either chatting quietly in pairs or similarly concerned only with their own thoughts. There were some who seemed perfectly content to make the best of the situation, smiling and even laughing on occasion.

Even so, their going was slow. Originally they had planned to keep to the river bank and so follow the Brandywine north. However, this idea was soon abandoned as the bank proved steep and uneven in footing, not to mention muddy. They had switched to walking in the forest, keeping the river close on their left and in sight. The ground was similarly muddy and uneven and the undergrowth thick so that they had to watch their steps so as not to trip. It was hardly better than walking along the riverbank.

It was nearing noon when Sondo started to get hungry, and he called for them to stop for lunch before anyone started complaining. He did not think that they would, after such a morning, but he didn’t care to find out. They had been travelling for around four hours now, but Sondo knew they had not covered very much ground. None of them had had much sleep, and some had not even eaten more than a full meal’s worth since yesterday’s breakfast. A weak attempt was made to preserve what food they had, but all were hungry and their supplies much diminished. Sondo reckoned that they might have enough for one more meal, but it was doubtful. They did not stop long and continued once everyone had finished. They would have to stop earlier that night in order to (hopefully) catch some fish.

They had barely started out again when Sondo’s mood began to pick up again, as it inevitably did if there was anything to be cheerful about. Sure, they had lost a couple members of their band and they were heading home, but there was more to come. They were down but not out, and Sondo intended to enjoy himself. He began to hum a merry tune, and as he recalled the words he began to sing. He was not the most musical person, but he could carry a tune well enough and the words and melody were both well known. After the first verse he was joined by a few more voices. It was a right good song for adventuring, though not without typical hobbitish references to food and drink, and after the final rousing chorus Sondo felt himself grinning. Maybe this would not be so bad after all.