[Brinniel]

Brinn arrived in Oxford late, after suffering from an extremely cruddy day. Sick and bruised (and not to mention jet lagged), she struggled to muster all the energy she could to walk through those pub doors and put aside her sour mood.

The inside of The Eagle and the Child was already crowded with Downers and the lively atmosphere did somewhat lift Brinn's spirits. Happy memories from her last visit here remained vivid in her mind...has it really been almost a year? Yet this second visit was even more extraordinary with so many Downers in attendance. Scanning the room, Brinn noticed she was not the last one to arrive; there were still many expected guests that had not yet shown up.

Before greeting anyone, Brinn rushed to the bar and ordered a pint of dark beer and sipped on it slowly, hoping the alcohol would help distract her from all the frustrations she experienced in the past week. Carrying her drink with her, she meandered through the pub looking for familiar faces. What she needed most right now was to let loose and have a good laugh with friends. And what better place to do that than here? After all, everyone knows that out of anyone, it is Barrow-Downers that are best at acting silly (and possibly insane)...