Eira placed her third finished shepherd's pie on the counter. She pulled her oven mit off, reaching up and wiping her forehead. Cooking during the blazing heat of summer was certainly not a good idea. Yet, she had pushed through and made three delicious meals for the workers of Millshaw. Not only had she made three shepherd's pies for everyone, but she also baked her blueberry muffins, which were starting to gain infamy for their deliciousness. Pulling her apron off, she took her second dress she had laid out and walked outside her house. She looked around the property. The run down windmill needed fixed sooner or later, and the bird feeders needed repainted. She could hear construction down the road, meaning that they were not so close to her house.
Good.
She trudged to the back of her house, where a small lake was. The lake was surrounded by forests of reeds and cattails. She set her clothes down on a rock and looked around one final time. Certain no one was there, she entered the tall reeds for some kind of cover and peeled her sweat drenched clothes off. Relief flooded her as she sank into the waters, sighing in deep relief as she lied down in the shallows of the reeds.
Nimraph's servants were attending to the boys so Eira could cook and continue to fix up her house. That only covered half of the children, however. Eira looked down to her stomach and placed her hand over it. Thanks to the elf Seregrian, Eira now knew she was carrying twins. She sighed, lowering her head beneath the water. Her jet black hair covered her face as she held her breath beneath the cool waters. Twins. She was terrified that she could do something wrong with these children, yet overwhelmed with love and joy at the same time. Her babies.... She still could not believe that rabe Rue had insulted such blessings.
She pulled her head back up above the water. Water dripped down as she sat up, feeling a lot cooler now. Eyes still closed, she sighed. She had an incredible support system she had never deserved. Nimraph was nothing but supportive of her, and Egfor and especially Demlemoth fussed over her safety. Experienced mother Gwawrr was also fussing over her, as well as Eira's own mother. Ristiinna always cheered her on, and even elves were on Eira's side. How much had the Valar blessed Aglarari the Rancorous, a blight of Mordor? She shivered, slowly opening her eyes again.
Wait. Had one of the reeds just moved?
Eira blinked in curiosity. she crawled deeper into the waters and noticed that indeed, a "reed" was moving.
The small creature looked very plantlike. Moss grew off its back as the root skinned being waded in the waters sighing with tall legs. It was way shorter than most of its kind, which Eira recognized from her trek from Gondor to Bree. The bog-lurkers were once helpers of the ents and ent wives, created by the Valar to preserve the plants and wildlife of Middle Earth. It was unfortunate how the bog-lurkers were so much more feral now, some having even been corrupted into service of the Enemy.
Eira could sense no evil in this little one as it circled one of its long limbs through the shallow waters.
"Hello there, little guy."
The lurker paused, looking over to the woman in the reeds and tilting its head curiously. Were all bog-lurkers this inquisitive? Eira swam closer, extending a low hand towards the creature, "What are you doing so close to civilization? Has Millshaw been dilapidated for so long?"
She started scratching the lurker's neck, much to its enjoyment.
~~~
Eira eventually emerged from the lake, dressing in her set out dress after drying off in the sun with her new friend. The bog-lurker remained in the shade of the reeds, but continued to maintain curious proximity to Eira as she had pet one of her cats in the sunlight, observing her soft nature towards, well, nature. Eventually, Eira was dry enough to return to her house and take her now cooled food to the workers. She turned and waved to the little guy in the reeds, once again taking note of the moss on its back.
"See you around, Moss."
Hand over her stomach, the woman turned to enter the house and take her much needed meal to some very hungry workers.
"Eira!" Egfor called as she approached the folk working on a run down house, "That looks delicious, aye!"
Nimraph already had approached and swiped a muffin off of her tray.
Eira had been happy to serve the workers with a meal she hoped would fill their ravaged bellies. Eira sat down with one of her muffins, next to Nimraph, once everyone had been served. She eagerly bit into her treat. She was feeding three, after all...
