Bird had been staring, opened-mouthed, at the presence of Maura in the inn; though she had heard Cami speak of reuniting with her love of the first age, she had hoped that this would involve little more than some kind of Elvish union conducted through dreams and osenwe.
And yet there he was, in the flesh, so to speak. "Well," she thought, "at least it is another Hobbit, and not Levanto, or Ulmo, or a gathering of Ents. What next?"
As if in answer, the crashing of glass was heard outside, bringing the party to their feet, with Pio and Mith dashing for the courtyard. Bird immediately morphed into jackdaw form and followed, swooping out the door as a startled Phrim almost dropped the breakfast plates. She had heard this strange friend referred to as "skin-changer", but had little idea what it meant 'til now. "There's a strange one", thought Prim. "She bears watching, that one does."
Bird spied Mithadan wrestling mightily with a Halfing on the ground, while a passel of familiar-looking hobbit lads and lasses furiously beat him about the shoulders with kindling, pebbles, and unfortunately, some nearby pony dung. Bird dove amongst the melee, beating her wings and hissing frantically, "Stop it! Stop it right now! Have you all lost your senses?"
Suddenly, the Man jumped back, sprawling on the ground and gasped, "Gamba..."
Bird flopped to the ground in the circle of these newest visitors, shaking her head and muttering, "By the One! What next?"
[ March 13, 2003: Message edited by: Birdland ]
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