He found Kitten curled into the nook of a tree outside of the town of Scary, and she had been waiting for him for she turned in his direction as he approached and broke into an open smile. Taking a place next to her, he handed over the half-eaten pie Dandelily gave to him when he returned the borrowed tome to her care. Immediately she shot a glance in the town’s direction with worry and the traveler had to assure her that it was freely given this time.
As she ate, he withdrew the beaded hatpin he pilfered while seeking the hobbitess and held it towards the girl, silently twisting it between two grimy fingers. He supposed that it was a fashionable trinket to those who cared about such things, but the beads were simply coloured glass and he thought them gaudy.
Quietly he waited for her to finish her meagre meal before he explained that he would use it to remove the splinter still embedded in her skin from their night spent in an old broken roadside cart.
Afterward they dallied under the Shire-oak a time, knowing that they would be leaving the Shire that day. Probably never return to it again, for they had seen all that they wished to and Kitten had now the knowledge she sought from its grand library.
"It's a shame. I like it here," the girl sighed wistfully. The traveller silently agreed, for the land was fertile and the people as unmarred as any he had encountered in his long wanderings. A good life was being lived there by many, and it was easy to envy them that tranquility.
Instead he spoke gently, half-smiling, 'You are too tall to stay here.'
Kitten looked up at the perfectly blue sky and laughed. "I guess. Eventually someone will notice the missing pies."
“The half-men know when pies are missing. They guard them as dwarves guard gems.”
“True. And you can't even eat gems.”
He gave her a rare warm grin before giving a quick look to his rucksack and what was contained within, thinking as he muttered again. "... no, you cannot."
They kept a leisurely pace along the stone-lined road to the Brandywine Bridge, the weather as clear and bright as could ever be hoped for while journeying across far-off lands. It kept their moods light, both the girl and the traveler smiling and laughing as they went. Even as they knew that once they were returned to the town of Bree that their companionship was ended.
The conversation turned to her prior stay within the Scholar’s Archives, doing menial tasks in exchange for shelter there. The traveller asked if she planned to return to working for the Archives keeper again but she shrugged.
"I don't know. I've read all the books there already. And I never really worked for him, technically. Aside from paying me with a place to sleep sometimes."
"So what then will you do?"
She thought for a moment before answering. "Well... I was supposed to go places to help me learn. I was told there's something in Rivendell for me."
The traveller raised a brow. "No small journey, that. Would they let you into Imladris?"
"They have something of mine, I suppose." She lowered her eyes and thought before continuing. "I'm supposed to go to a number of places."
The traveller stiffened just slightly. "You will not stay in Bree, then, but go to these places in the wilds alone?"
“Well, that's what I was told to do.”
The traveler leaned his head back, looking up towards the icy blue sky. The concern beginning to line his face was not noticeable yet, and his mind mulled over conflicting thoughts. As was his way, he said nothing until she broached the subject again.
"Are you alright?" Kitten looked to him with worry, noticing his withdrawal.
“I do not like the thought of you travelling alone. Not there.”
The girl shrugged and asked plainly, "Why not come with me, then? Er, unless you have plans of course." She added quickly.
The traveller paused his stride, perceptibly troubled by the question. Yet he spoke nothing again, only worked through the ghosts and demons which haunted him within.
She tilted her head. "You don't want to?"
"I suppose I can keep you safe until you find someone more capable to escort you," the man finally responded neutrally.
"Someone else? Who?" It was now the girl who looked worried.
“Someone who can handle a sword, or a bow. Someone who can protect you.” His words sounded far away as he spoke. Gently, as almost a whisper, he added, "I am useless as a guardian, Kitten."
“But, what if they're cruel? Or boring?”
“The monsters that wander those lands are far crueler.”
They paused their walk when the girl spied an apple tree off the road, loaded with crisp red fruit. The traveller stood to the side as Kitten reached up and plucked a few to eat and also a few for her backpack. Then she checked her map as she bit into a sweet rounded pome.
Kitten had swiftly taken to the idea of them journeying together again, and she solicited his advice on what preparations needed to be made to reasonably have a chance of succeeding in this new plan of hers. Horses he answered, though they cost far more coin than either of them could look at, let alone procure. And boots, he added, gesturing to the loosened battered ones she still suffered with.
"Yeah... they were decent when I started," the girl sighed.
“How long have you been alone, Kitten?”
Kitten bit into an apple. "Alone? Or travelling?"
“Both.”
"I left home... maybe six months ago? But, I've always kind of been alone. Except for my father, and Moro.” She gestured for him to take an apple, which he ignored.
“Six months only. No wonder your skin is so smooth still. Moro?”
The girl nodded, a flash of sadness crossed her eyes. "Moro was my friend."
"I am sorry for your loss."
“Thanks. I don't think you would have liked her, though.” She finished her apple, tossing the core aside before stuffing another in her bag.
“'Is that so?”
"She was a giant wolf," she answered with a grin and a smirk. The traveller only blinked at her, unsure if he heard her correctly. Seeing that she was indeed serious in what she claimed, he shook his head and let a look of open disapproval settle on his face. "You do choose odd company."
“Yourself included?" She grinned playfully and started walking back towards the road.
“Myself especially.”
She snickered and then turned the questioning towards him. “How long have you been travelling?”
He let out a long, deep breath before replying. “Far longer than six months.”
“How much longer?”
“Quite a bit,” he answered with a tone that warned not to pry further.
Reaching the Brandywine Bridge once again, the two paused at the foot of it, turning to gaze one last time upon the vast rolling landscape of the place they spent weeks traversing.
An end to a chapter. And the start of a new one.
"I'm going to miss this place, “ Kitten sighed aloud.
“'It is untouched, this place. May it always be so.”
“I hope I get to see it again sometime. Maybe when I'm old. Then they'll have to give me pie out of pity.”
“My hope is that you grow old enough for that, too.”
They looked at each other for a brief moment, each harbouring unspoken thoughts. The traveller adjusted his worn rucksack and was the first to turn away.
"Bye Shire!" Kitten waved a hand and followed him across the river.
Despite the fine weather of the day, they found that the road to Bree was yet again emptied of other passersby, just as it was when they started their journey. Yet the walk was serene, and the man observed how the trees and grass and foliage had subtly shifted and changed as they made their way across the lands of men once more.
“Pipe-weed will be harder to come by again,” he noted wistfully.
“Hmm. Will need coin for that too then.”
“No, you need boots, clothes, horses and a hired escort. Not pipe-weed.”
“I doubt very much you'd turn it down if I offered,” she teased.
"Perhaps I would if it meant your feet would not have callouses.”
With the reminder of the ill-fitting boots she suffered in, she stopped and pulled one off to inspect the damage. She had developed blisters which had rubbed raw, and rough patches formed where none were before. It was decided that instead of attempting to make town that evening, they would spend another night in the wild to allow her to rest.
Moving off the main road and into a patch of shady forest, Kitten let out a mischievous giggle while grabbing the traveller’s hand, pulling him behind the trunk of an ancient, wide tree - and into a eager kiss.
OOC: And so we’ve finally left over eight real life months of RP story arc behind! Truly the end of a chapter for the players as well. You’re the best, Kit. Thanks for being an awesome creative force.
