Bird circled higher and higher, shaking her head and half-wondering if she should just fly west to the Tower Downs and take a long visit with her old friend Holly Stoor until this whole, ridiculous situation blew over.
Of course she did not, for "the situation" had become far too interesting. Her curiosity would never permit her to leave now, despite her instincts telling her to "skip town".
"So I'm to find four Hobbits in a land of Hobbits, eh?" she grumbled to herself. "May as well ask me to find four certain midges in the Midgewater Marsh! How did I ever think that this would be a relaxing visit with old friends? Well, I suppose I'll just look for Fourth Age Hobbits in First Age clothing. Do I even remember what Ban and Zira look like?"
She gazed down on the groomed fields and tidy hedgeroads of Suza. There were Halflings everywhere! Busy as ants, enjoying their isolation from the troubles of Middle-earth, and reveling in their prosperity.
She tried to imagine if the rest of Man's world would ever achieve such stability and peace. Or would they just fall again into conflict and ruin, eventually sweeping the Halfings away with them? She shook her head again, and continued with her search.
[ March 15, 2003: Message edited by: Birdland ]
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