(Author's note: Without furthe ado, on we go)
Kria was sat in the shadows with Strider when the hobbits finally reached the Prancing Pony. They were tired, bedraggled but carrying new swords and looking fairly okay despite their exhaustion. The four spoke with Butterbur, who said Gandalf wasn't there currently but that the two in the corner over in the shadows had ordered them all food and drink. This obviously surprised Frodo a bit, who came over to their table to thank them.
"Thank you for...wait a second, Kria?! What are you doing here, we thought we had lost you in the Old Woods or to the Wrights!" Frodo exclaimed, thankfully quietly. Kria sighed and asked if they hadn't found her note then. Apparently they had but had been in too much of a rush to get across the Downs to really pay attention to what it had said. This, naturally, caused Kria to facepalm a little and Strider...Strider was chuckling to himself, which earned him a glare from the irate five foot nothing reality hopper.
Seeing that Frodo was about to ask who her companion was, she held up a hand, motioning that the others should come over to meet him as well. Nodding, the leader of the little band of hobbits went and pulled his companions over. It wasn't too hard once they saw that the food and drink were being brought over to the corner anyways. It would never be said that a hobbit was adverse to good food.
Once the other three had been seated, Strider was introduced not only as a friend, but as a guide. Kria forstalled any protests on both parts by pointing out that they had had far too many close encounters just getting to Bree. The road to Rivendell was a lot longer and more dangerous. They would need Strider's expertise to navigate the wilds safely. The hobbits, especially Sam, subsided to discontented, but agreeing, grumbles. Strider remained mostly silent; he knew as well as she did, given she had spoken to him at length about the journey before, that there was no way the party would make it without help. They just didn't know the wilds as well as he did.
After the introductions were over, the gang concentrated on dinner. Kria made sure that the hobbits, especially Pippin, didn't drink too much. They were still too green at this questing business to really understand discretion. Given how Farely was keeping an eye on 'Mr. Underhill' and his companions, it would be best that no one got too drunk that night; keeping an eye on Pippin was not an easy task though. He had all the energy of youth, as well as the curiosity of a cat.
That task was made all the harder when one of the Bree residents recognized Kria, and half pulled half dragged her up front. There was many a call for her to sing, one that was taken up by the entire Inn once they heard it. She grimaced, reluctant to perform in front of so many people. Glancing towards her table, she took in the excited looks of the hobbits (sans Merry...had he already gone for his walk?) and Strider's rather...cocky smirk. Besides the fact that he knew that this was one talent that she had that the Valar hadn't given her, he was glad it wasn't him up there; she would get him back for that later but for now she had to think of a song to sing.
Finally deciding on a song, she sang out clear, loud and surprisingly full of confidence. Though she would never tell them this, the song she chose was related to the quest. She was still unable to tell who it was describing, though, even as she sang the words. It was only during singing that Kria blessed the Talent of perfect memory; it allowed her to remember each and every lyric without fail, as well as the tune. Thus she was satisfied that, as she sang the last notes, she had not missed a beat...she would never be able to compare to the elves, but for a supposed Man, she had done well, at least in her opinion.
Apparently, she wasn't being all that prideful, as the Tavern cheered her all the way back to her seat. Grabbing her glass of watered-down ale, she guzzled what remained, concentrating on slowing her racing heart down. She had managed to climb the trees of Lorien with more ease than she was able to perform in front of a crowd. It didn't matter how good it felt to sing, she really hated being on stage in any capacity. She swore to herself that that was the last time she would perform that year...though, knowing how winters at Rivendell went, she suspected that promise wouldn't be kept in any shape or form.
Strider, meanwhile, still had a smug grin on his face. He knew that she hated perfoming but he also knew she was really good at it. As soon as she started singing or reciting, she forgot she was in front of people. She was fully within what she was doing, pouring her heart into it like she did nothing else. That smug knowingness irritated Kria to no end though, which was why she tossed a crust of bread at him...which of course just caused him to chuckle a little louder.
"You, sir, are incorrigible," Kria told him bluntly, ignoring the shocked looks of the hobbits. They all had been rather nervous, especially Sam, around Strider. Seeing him laugh and her be rather irreverant of his ranger status, though, made them realize he was just a person, the same as them. It helped to thaw the tension, which Kria was glad for. Their travels would be easier if they weren't having to deal with mistrust amongst the group...not that she would ever doubt Strider's intentions. He was one of the few good souls that she was absolutely sure of.
She glanced over toward Farely when she thought of not so good souls. She bit her tongue when she noticed he wasn't there, nor was his companion. Kria quietly, without panicking, dragged Frodo into the kitchen, knowing the others would follow. She ignored his protests...and Butterbur's confusion, instead beginning to barricade the doors once the others were inside. She hoped Merry would be alright...he should be, but things were drastically different this time around. She wondered if it was just the fact that the hobbits were strangers to Bree that caused Farely to go sell them out; she really didn't want to question it though, not when the danger levels could increase ten-fold within a few minutes.
She motioned everyone to be quiet when they tried to ask her what the hell was going on. Instead, she motioned for Frodo to get out of sight while she watched the window. Strider, realizing what she was up to, took position watching the doors, his hand on his sword. It was really early for them to be in the kitchen...originally, it had been a few hours before they'd taken refuge in here. Still, things were happening a lot earlier lately...she wondered if it had anything to do with her but shook the notion off for now. She had to focus on keeping everyone safe, including the Innkeeper, who had gotten barricaded in with them unlike the original timeline.
It wasn't too much longer before she saw them, the servants of the Wraiths. They swept into the building, ignoring the kitchen for now. She didn't relax, grasping her walking stick all the tighter. They would eventually figure out that the hobbits they were hunting for weren't in the Inn proper...hopefully they would think that Frodo and his friends had fled the Inn, so they would just leave once they didn't find their quarry.
The danger eventually passed, allowing Kria and Strider to relax a little. Kria apologized to Butterbur for taking over his kitchen; after she explained that Farely had basically sold them out to people who wanted to hurt them, however, he waved off the apology. Everyone in Bree knew what a scumbag Farely was and it didn't surprise him at all that he would do something like that for a small purse of money. Indeed, it was Butterbur who recommended that they stay in the kitchen this time, saying that most people didn't bother coming back here anyways.
Kria nodded and motioned for the hobbits to settle into a corner of the room. She then asked Strider if he would take first watch while she searched for the missing hobbit. He nodded and she slipped out of the kitchen into the main room and then into the night. She breathed in the cold air, noting the tang of the approaching winter on the breeze. That was the perils of being so far north, she supposed. It got colder much earlier in the year...she half-wondered if they would have some snow by the time they reached Rivendell; not a lot, just enough to be noticed.
She walked the streets of Bree, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of her missing charge. As far as she was aware, Merry could have simply ducked into an alley way to hide from the strange men who had invaded the Inn. She noted with disgust that the pony's had already been let out...not that they would have been much help in the woods but she knew how attached people could get to animals. She continued to walk, scanning for something small. She stopped short when she finally caught sight of a cloak just off the road.
Kria moved over to it, kneeling down to get a better look. Sighing, she muttered to herself that some things were being a bit too close to the original time line for her liking. Picking up the unconscious hobbit, she made her way back to the Prancing Pony and the kitchen. Glancing up as she felt raindrops hit her head, she grumbled at the misfortune of a storm coming in now. It was going to make getting out of Bree that little bit muddier...but she supposed that was a problem for tomorrow. For now, she just had to make sure her charges made it through the night, which included wayward walkers. At least, that's what she told her aching shoulders as she sidled up to the kitchen's outside door; hobbits weren't an easy carry when a person was nearly the same size as them, after all.
(End Author's note: So, this chapter took longer than expected. I hope you all enjoy.)