[Manardariel]

Pearl was a bit suprised at the turn of things. They were leaving-already! And she hadn´t packed yet! Back at Vivi´s, she started packing. What would she need?

She considered the situation. Travelling on roads, no beds... some nice-looking, robust basics would be good. In blue, red and white, a cool cotton or linnen- perfect. She opened the closet with her stuff and started pulling out various itmes.

The blue-and-white-striped dress; her favourite summerskirt (red and wite polka-dots); two white dresses with colorfull aprons to match; a woolen jacket for colder days, two blouses, a raincoat...... yes, that would do.

She grabbed a small, pink bag and started filling it with her "beauty products": shampoo, soap, some grease for her hairstyling, a herb-and-milk-mixture for her skin- the basics.
Make-up? She decided on some lipgloss and mascara, no more. For her hair, she packed a HUGE bunch of ribbons in evey color you could imagine, also some clips to hold stubborn bangs in their place.

After having added some blankets, food supplies, her journal and money, Pearl looked at her bundle. Yes, that would do. She only needed two more things. The first was her most valubale and precious treasure. A beautiful necklace, with a pearl. It was her lucky charm, and she was sure she would need some luck. The other thing was her father´s sword. Well, technically it was hers, because he didn´t use it anymore. She would need it, with bandits around... speaking of, she had forgotten a first-aid case! After all, there was a good chance they might need it. She grabbed some herbs Vivi´s mom stored in the kitchen and added them to her pack. Then, she returned her thoughts on the sword. It was...somewhere in Tuckborough, unfortunately. But she needed it. Rather, she needed a sword.

"JOE!" she called. Vivi´s brother, one year her senior and basically her brother as well, appeared.

"Joe, can I PLEASE borrow your sword?? Please?"

He snorted. "What the heck do YOU need a sword for?"

She had thought about something, of course. "I promised Olo Proudfoot to help him with some shopping... he needs to organize a cousin´s wedding- in the Northfathering, you wouldn´t know them. And well, there´s dark folkes around, I need a sword... please???" It wasn´t even a complete lie, if you thought about it... she was sure Olo was related to Frodo in someway or the other, and wedding, birthday- where was the difference, anyway.

"Ok. Ok, you can have my sword. Don´t weasnt some rotten bandits to harm you, do I?"

She flung his arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You´re the best brother in the world!"

Grinning, Pearl grabbed her stuff and Joe´s sword, said good-bye to him, Mrs. Boldger and Vivi and- was off.