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As the travelers continued in their journey, Mishka fell back to his silent place at the tail of the company. This time, however, he trailed alongside Rudy and Brown. He tried to stay closer to Rudy, as he was still feeling somewhat uneasy in Brown's presence. The Hobbit seemed like an experienced traveler, in some ways he reminded Mishka of uncle Richard, the black sheep of the family who became a Shiriff, but he had more of an impenetrable look. Uncle Richard was jovial, maybe too much so that it was annoying Michael's dad. But Brown, on first sight, was hard to even read.
Mishka did not dare to initiate dialogue with Rudy (less so with Brown) on his own. He kept his gaze fixed forward, where the road merrily ran north in front of them. Suddenly, one of the lasses - it was Mira - slowed down and joined Rudy's side. Mishka stepped aside to make space for her next to her brother. Not that there would not be enough space, but he did not feel comfortable standing too close to others of the company, as he was not sure whether he has been yet accepted fully by the others who, after all, knew each other far better than him. Mishka stepped close to the edge of the road and looked back at Mira. But at that very moment one of his feet got caught in some root and he stumbled and fell. Blushing, he rose back to his feet and brushed the dirt off his yellow shirt and brown breeches. He quickly ran back after the company, who managed to get few more steps forward in that moment, and joined their side, trying to act as if nothing had happened.
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