"Ok, well that's all very well, but how did you survive here in the woodlands?"
"Ah, yes, that was difficult. There was hardly any fresh water, let only food worthy of eating. And or chances of finding our families again were slim, so after discussing it with these lot," she swept her arm towards the circle of ents, "Treebeard helped us build a shelter not far from this very spot and taught us how to hunt."
"Yeah, and also which berries are good or bad!" frowned Fae, "also a lesson I learnt from personal experience."
"Yeah, that was a bad week," Ruby reflected,
watching Pippin curiously.
"What?" Pippin asked, chewing on his bottom lip.
"Ah, nothing," she blushed.
"Anyway what's your story?" Fae asked, interrupting the two, "I can't wait to hear
it."
"Well…" Merry said, unsure of how to start, but before long he and Pippin found
themselves telling the two about their adventure with Frodo, the ring and the Dark
Riders.
"And then we met you two," Pippin laughed.
"Us? A whole adventure by itself!" Ruby exclaimed.
The four of them sat among some roots of a nearby tree and shared more stories and the little food any of them had. Watching the ents Ruby exclaimed, "looks like the discussions heating up."
"Yeah," replied Fae, as Surge stamped his foot, sending tremors through the hobbits, "they should learn to control their tempers."
"What are the talking about anyway?"
"The Dark Lord is rising, as I'm sure you already know, and there's a storm brewing on the horizon. Great power is awakening and we need the ents force to help protect not only the forest, but the free world," explained Ruby, who for the first time since Pippin met her, seemed vulnerable, she seemed so careless and loose. He could now truly see that even she carried troubles.