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Peri sat near a window in the Perch's Common Room enjoying the last of her meal. While it was late to having second breakfast, she'd slept later than usual, thanks to Ruby's intrusion and the confusion the little hobbit seemed to cause wherever she went. She'd heard the two sisters had left before dawn, and admitted to a shameful sense of relief at a Ruby-less inn. It was a pity in a way, because she'd rather liked the older sister, Lily.
She watched the activity of the other diners and the hobbits who waited on them as she finished her tea and a lovely seed-cake. That morning she'd dressed in a white blouse, a black bodice and a vivid amethyst-colored skirt. A purple ribbon matching the skirt completed her outfit. Having made sure Brightheart was comfortable in his stall, she'd finished unpacking and walked around the grounds of the inn. Now she was planning her afternoon.
Part of the reason she'd chosen to visit Stock was that a dear friend of hers had married a young farmer from the area. Although a sporadic correspondent, the former Chalcedony Delver had once written directions to her new husband's farm just outside Stock. Peri nodded to herself. She could visit Cece this very day.
Decision made, Peri got up from the table and turned to slip from behind it. With the noon sun shining into her eyes through the window, she failed to notice an unmoving form sitting in the shadows nearby. The hobbit girl tripped heavily over the long legs of an Elf that appeared to be sleeping in a chair and fell plump onto the floor. She thought she'd heard him referred to as "Gwathgor" or some such name.
Horrified at her clumsiness, she scrambled to her feet. "I'm so sorry sir! Please forgive me for not looking where I was going." The elf still looked asleep, but she did not want to be rude and hurry off without waiting for a reply.
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