S.R. 1400

It was late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set behind the now orange-painted hills of Tookborough. A warm August breeze swept softly through the gardens and grasses. The smells of supper and firewood floated out through the various chimneys. Gaffers paused their smoking and meandered back inside to eat, and a few hobbit children pranced out of woods and over hills with handfuls of mushrooms and posies, their cheeks flushed from the excitement of the day and the anticipation of a good meal.

Eglantine Took leaned out of the front door of Great Smials and called for her young son Peregrin, who could not have been far-she often discovered him running in the lane or playing with his cousins in the field, always within earshot, not wanting to be too far away when supper was ready. But today she did not see him.

"Where is that silly child?" Eglantine thought, feeling slightly anxious. She called again, this time a little louder, but there was no answer. "He's probably gone to Bag End, or found a mushroom patch somewhere. At any rate, he's most definitely with Meriadoc, which means he'll be alright." She shook her head and went back inside to set the table, remembering to give him a good lecture on skipping his after-supper chores.

Peregrin opened his eyes, abruptly ending his afternoon nap. For once, he was not with Meriadoc. He had wandered off by himself right after Tea in a fit of curiosity, walking quite foolishly over hills and through gardens, until he reached a nice lush meadow dotted with baby's breath and daisies. Being very exhausted from the journey, he had finally thrown himself down into the tall green grass and fallen asleep there, under the warmth of the sun.

Now he felt a strange weight on his back. It was not the worst thing to wake up to, he thought, but still very peculiar. So Pippin propped himself up with his forearms and turned his head to try and see what was on his back: but in doing so, the thing jumped immediately off and walked round to his face, provoking a startled cry.

It was only a fluffy white cat, Pippin realized, and he immediately felt very silly. He propped his face in his hands and gave the kitty an affectionate kiss on the nose, to which it responded with a purr and a head rub.

"Who's there?" Squeaked a startled but very sweet voice behind him. It sounded like a little girl.

Turning around, Pippin sat up on his bum. It was a little girl, no more than five years old, and she was standing right in front of him with an anxious look on her face as she nervously plied her grass-stained skirts. Her messy dark hair was topped with a chain of flowers. She had clearly been here, picking flowers, for quite a while.

Pippin recognized her instantly: it was Diamond, one of the North Tooks, whom he had played with at parties once or twice. She was a sensitive little thing, very fearful, and this annoyed Pippin-most girls did. Anyway, Pippin was surprised to find her alone here. He wondered just how far from home he was.

"Oh, Pippin!" Diamond beamed. She had always thought Pippin was a very nice hobbit, and had eagerly sought his approval and amity in the past. To his dismay, she threw her arms round his neck and squeezed him much too tightly, It was sweet in its way. Still, Pippin pushed her off after only a few seconds.

"You shouldn't hug so tightly!" He scolded. The cat chirped and climbed into his lap. "I couldn't breath. 'Hello, how are you' is quite sufficient."

Little Diamond frowned and fidgeted bashfully. "I'm sorry," she said, sitting gently down. "I'm just very happy to see you!"

"It's alright," Pippin stammered, feeling sorry for being so harsh. She really was a sweet little girl. "But, what are you doing out here, Diamond?"

"I always play here," Diamond smiled. "It's my special secret place!" She turned her head to the side with a quizzical look. "But it's not a secret anymore, since you found it."

Pippin frowned. "Well, it wasn't exactly hard to find."

Diamond fixed her gaze on Pippin and stood up, her hands on her hips. She leaned in so that their noses almost touched, and kept staring.

"Hmmm," She hummed, scrunching up her face in concentration. Pippin was now very annoyed, and thought violent thoughts, but he managed to restrain himself. "Aha!" Diamond finally said after some long seconds. She finally backed away to a more comfortable distance.

"Aha, what?" Pippin spat, crossing his arms.

"You're allowed to know about my secret place! You seem like a good secret-keeper to me," Diamond explained, and twirled around some, the way a little girl is wont to do.

"Alright," Pippin accepted, rolling his eyes at her acrobatics. "But I shan't pick flowers with you. Flowers are for girls."

Diamond looked genuinely hurt. "They're pretty..." She insisted, pulling a wilted daisy from her apron pocket and holding it out to him.

"They're stupid." Pippin retorted bluntly. Diamond gave up and sat down beside him. The cat shifted in his lap and twitched its tail.

"You're no fun," Her voice was shaky, as if she were going to cry. There she goes again, Pippin thought. She always throws a crying fit when I refuse to play her dumb games.

But she did not actually cry: she only looked at the ground dismally. "Don't you think this place is pretty, Pippy?" She pronounced quietly. Pippin winced at the nickname.

But he could not deny that it was a very beautiful meadow, especially now that the sun was setting. The sky was tinted with topaz, and the swaying grass had turned ruby. Everything seemed to glow with warmth, as if the sun felt it had slackened its rays during the day and thus emptied its brilliant fires wholeheartedly as last-minute compensation. The grasshoppers sung magically, as if to thank it.

"I suppose it is pretty," Pippin sighed and leaned back. He smiled and closed his eyes to watch the blur of orange. The cat stretched in its sleep. Diamond looked Pippin up and down, then imitated his pose and closed her eyes as well. They sat like that for quite a while, listening to the grasshoppers' symphony.

"I'm hungry," Pippin finally said. "It must be about suppertime." He nudged the reluctant cat off of him, stood up, and brushed off his backside.

He was about to turn and walk home, but did a double take instead. Diamond had fallen asleep in the grass, clutching her wilted flowers. The crown of blossoms had fallen halfway off her head, but she snored softly with contentedness.

"And what am I to do, carry you, you dumb lazy stupid girl?" Pippin asked with annoyance. But she did not stir.

So Pippin, very annoyed but not altogether certain it was best to leave the little girl there alone, did his best to hoist her up onto his back. She tightened her arms around his neck in her sleep and sighed. The flowers, still in her hands, tickled his collarbone.

The cat chirped and weaved around Pippin's feet jealously.

"Shush, kitty," Pippin whispered. It only stared at him expectantly.

The sun had almost completely disappeared now, and the blazing countryside had taken on a more purple look: but there was light enough. Pippin took a deep breath and carried his burden home, the cat trailing him all the way.

When he got ready for bed that night, he found three slightly crushed buttercups in his breast pocket.

A/N: Wow I'm embarrassed! What do you think guys? (Will anyone read this?) It's very fluffy!