A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter, however short. Well, on
with the second!
Disclaimer: Don't own LotR, never have, never will. . .and I shouldn't keep reminding myself. . .
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After they had been fed, Merry and Pippin were made to stand up, but were not gagged again. Iris had somehow managed to persuade Byrn, who was much larger than she, to allow them to be able to speak to one another. Byrn, who was not exactly the smartest person either of the Hobbits had seen anyway, gave in. The thought of them plotting an escape was only a faint thought that crossed his mind.
After everything had been packed up, and the fire put out, and all traces of their camp were gone, the four began a long, tiresome trek through the forest. Pippin, who had some knowledge of the forests near Buckland, did not recognize any of the trees or the land. It was clear that Merry did not, either, for his brow remained furrowed in some silent frustration as they walked. Young Pippin had never seen his cousin so silent or serious before. It was rather strange to him.
"Merry?" Pippin whispered at length, and a bit tentatively, not wanting to break Merry's train of thought. Merry looked over at him, not saying anything in reply. Pippin continued, "Shouldn't we try to escape or something? I mean, they didn't tie us up, save our wrists."
"No," Merry said rather quickly, glancing at Iris and Byrn for a moment. "We don't even know where we are, Pip. If we try to escape, and succeed, we'd most likely die out in the Wild after wandering around with no food. Besides. . .those two aren't so bad."
"What do you mean?" Pippin asked. "They bound and gagged us! You have a giant gash from who knows what, and that man isn't exactly the kindest fellow I've ever met. That's not so bad?"
Merry glared at Pippin. "No, it's not."
Pippin fell silent then, not wanting to upset Merry any more than he already had. Just then, Iris fell behind from Byrn and went to walk next to Merry. Pippin gazed at her for a moment as the two walked ahead of him a bit, so that they were in between Byrn and Pippin. They looked happy as they talked and laughed, which made something in the pit of Pippin's stomach turn. He was not sure what it was, but it wasn't a good feeling.
* * *
The group did not stop at all until the sun sank behind the tops of the trees. They continued in the light darkness for a bit until they came upon a clearing, where Byrn and Iris immediately set to work building a fire. Merry and Pippin sat side by side on the outskirts of the clearing. Both were silent for a time, Pippin stealing glances at him, which he noted with a slightly amused grin.
"Something to ask me, Pip?" he inquired finally.
Pippin started at the sudden question. "Well. . .yes. What were you and Iris talking about earlier? While we were walking?"
Merry shrugged. "Just things about the Shire and her home. . .and a bit about you."
"She wanted to know about me?" Pippin said, looking to his cousin curiously.
"Mmm. . .a little," Merry replied slyly. "Just stuff about where you live in the Shire, your family, and. . .well, I told her some stuff from when you were younger."
"You didn't!" Pippin cried, keeping his voice as low as possible. "You didn't tell her about. . .?"
Merry grinned. Pippin groaned. "How could you do that, Merry? She didn't have to know about the time that I escaped from Mum during a bath and ran around Tuckborough completely naked until she finally caught me stealing a carrot in Farmer Maggot's field!"
Trying to surpress a laugh, Merry turned to look at Pippin, who didn't understand how it was funny at all. Pippin glared at his cousin, until Merry pointed behind him. Pippin turned to face Iris, who was also choking back a laugh.
"I didn't have to know," she said, "but now I do." Pippin's face turned a bright, scarlet red color as she turned and walked away. He turned back to Merry.
"Once I get these bonds off, I'm going to kill you," he said very seriously, to which Merry responded with an outburst of laughter.
* * *
The following week or so went pretty much the same, with the exception of course of the embarrassing Pippin stories. Merry and Iris spent a lot of their time together, which didn't exactly please Pippin, but he felt it better not to complain. He could see that Merry clearly liked her very much, and he wasn't the kind of Hobbit who would stand in the way of that.
In fact, while Merry was off gallivanting with Iris, Pippin really had no choice but to try and befriend Byrn. This was a very hard thing to do, as Byrn wasn't very friendly towards Hobbits. But, still, Pippin tried to bridge the gap by helping him make a fire or pack up the camp. Iris had convinced the burly man the day after Pippin's embarrassing moment to allow the Hobbits to roam freely, without any bonds. Pippin had tried to kill Merry, in good fun, but that was one of the last times Pippin and Merry had spoken at length with each other in quite a few days.
"Ehm. . .Byrn?" Pippin asked tentatively, the large man digging through one of his packs. Byrn grunted to acknowledge the Hobbit's prescence. "Ehm. . .is there anything I can help you with?"
Byrn looked over at him. "Why do you insist on helping me with everything?"
"Well. . .I have no one to talk to anymore, really," Pippin explained. "I thought maybe you and I could, I don't know, become sort of. . .temporary friends. . .until I go home, that is."
"You ain't never goin' home," Byrn said raspily, chuckling to himself. "Not while I have anythin' to say about it."
"I can't possibly stay out here in the Wild for the rest of my days!" Pippin cried. "It's far too dark and dreary out here, not to mention very unfamiliar. I want to go home, to my family and friends. It's beautiful in the Shire, you know. Simply beautiful. And I miss it."
"I miss my home, too, Hobbit, but y'don't see me complainin' about it," Byrn replied, turning back to what he was doing. Pippin sat himself down, now very curious and not feeling quite so uneasy around Byrn. . .even if the man didn't seem to like him all that much.
"Where do you come from?"
"I come from a land called Rohan. It's farther East from 'ere, near Gondor 'n Minas Tirith. Suppose you dunno where that is, but it's nice 'nough a place to live. Perhaps not as 'beautiful' as yer Shire might be, but I 'ave no complaints."
"Why did you leave?" Pippin asked curiously, always eager to learn about other lands in Middle Earth.
"Y'make it sound like I jus' up an' left one day. Naw, I was planning on bein' a Ranger when I was jus' a boy. Then, I met Iris' mum, an' when Iris came, I knew that it wouldn' be a very good life fer a young girl like 'er. When 'er mum died, I s'pose the decision I made was rather selfish, but I took Iris an' I made plans an' we left for Bree. The trip took us a good month or so, an' when I arrived. . .things 'appened."
Pippin nodded, not completely understanding, but thinking that it would be best not to ask too much of Byrn's past at once. He looked to the pack that the man was still digging through. "Do you need my help with anything?"
Byrn sighed irritably. "No, Hobbit. . .er. . ."
"Pippin."
"Tha's it, Pippin. Naw, Pippin, I'm doin' jus' fine on my own. Uhm. . .you can. . .go gather firewood. I'll be buildin' a campfire in a moment." Pippin smiled, getting up, happy to be needed for something. He hurried off into the forest to gather wood. He was doing wonderfully, too, until he spotted Merry and Iris sitting together against a large oak, talking quietly. Pippin snuck over almost silently and stood behind the tree, listening.
". . .it's just sort of strange," Merry was saying. "I mean, Pip is my best friend and my cousin, but it just seems like we're sort of changing, becoming further apart than closer. I guess I'm sort of glad that I found you to get to know."
Iris laughed softly. "Well, I think that maybe you should try to either maintain or regain that friendship with Pippin. He seems like a very kind young lad, and I can see how the two of you would be such good friends. You must have been very close to him to be friends for so long."
"I'm surprised that he hasn't dropped me for some lass by now," Merry laughed. "He's always doing odd things, like hanging around the Green Dragon, talking to the ladies, or getting drunk, or he'll come up with some silly scheme to steal crops from Farmer Maggot."
"And then there are those occasional flashings of the neighborhood when he escapes his bath," Iris joked. The two laughed happily, but behind the tree, Pippin's ears burned in embarrassment. Merry had no right to talk behind his back that way, especially not to Iris, whom either of them barely even knew. Turning away angrily, he stalked off to the camp site, completely forgetting the firewood.
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Yay for another chapter! Another. . .rather short one. . .but, hey, it's off to a fairly good start by my standards. Please review, dancha!
Disclaimer: Don't own LotR, never have, never will. . .and I shouldn't keep reminding myself. . .
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After they had been fed, Merry and Pippin were made to stand up, but were not gagged again. Iris had somehow managed to persuade Byrn, who was much larger than she, to allow them to be able to speak to one another. Byrn, who was not exactly the smartest person either of the Hobbits had seen anyway, gave in. The thought of them plotting an escape was only a faint thought that crossed his mind.
After everything had been packed up, and the fire put out, and all traces of their camp were gone, the four began a long, tiresome trek through the forest. Pippin, who had some knowledge of the forests near Buckland, did not recognize any of the trees or the land. It was clear that Merry did not, either, for his brow remained furrowed in some silent frustration as they walked. Young Pippin had never seen his cousin so silent or serious before. It was rather strange to him.
"Merry?" Pippin whispered at length, and a bit tentatively, not wanting to break Merry's train of thought. Merry looked over at him, not saying anything in reply. Pippin continued, "Shouldn't we try to escape or something? I mean, they didn't tie us up, save our wrists."
"No," Merry said rather quickly, glancing at Iris and Byrn for a moment. "We don't even know where we are, Pip. If we try to escape, and succeed, we'd most likely die out in the Wild after wandering around with no food. Besides. . .those two aren't so bad."
"What do you mean?" Pippin asked. "They bound and gagged us! You have a giant gash from who knows what, and that man isn't exactly the kindest fellow I've ever met. That's not so bad?"
Merry glared at Pippin. "No, it's not."
Pippin fell silent then, not wanting to upset Merry any more than he already had. Just then, Iris fell behind from Byrn and went to walk next to Merry. Pippin gazed at her for a moment as the two walked ahead of him a bit, so that they were in between Byrn and Pippin. They looked happy as they talked and laughed, which made something in the pit of Pippin's stomach turn. He was not sure what it was, but it wasn't a good feeling.
* * *
The group did not stop at all until the sun sank behind the tops of the trees. They continued in the light darkness for a bit until they came upon a clearing, where Byrn and Iris immediately set to work building a fire. Merry and Pippin sat side by side on the outskirts of the clearing. Both were silent for a time, Pippin stealing glances at him, which he noted with a slightly amused grin.
"Something to ask me, Pip?" he inquired finally.
Pippin started at the sudden question. "Well. . .yes. What were you and Iris talking about earlier? While we were walking?"
Merry shrugged. "Just things about the Shire and her home. . .and a bit about you."
"She wanted to know about me?" Pippin said, looking to his cousin curiously.
"Mmm. . .a little," Merry replied slyly. "Just stuff about where you live in the Shire, your family, and. . .well, I told her some stuff from when you were younger."
"You didn't!" Pippin cried, keeping his voice as low as possible. "You didn't tell her about. . .?"
Merry grinned. Pippin groaned. "How could you do that, Merry? She didn't have to know about the time that I escaped from Mum during a bath and ran around Tuckborough completely naked until she finally caught me stealing a carrot in Farmer Maggot's field!"
Trying to surpress a laugh, Merry turned to look at Pippin, who didn't understand how it was funny at all. Pippin glared at his cousin, until Merry pointed behind him. Pippin turned to face Iris, who was also choking back a laugh.
"I didn't have to know," she said, "but now I do." Pippin's face turned a bright, scarlet red color as she turned and walked away. He turned back to Merry.
"Once I get these bonds off, I'm going to kill you," he said very seriously, to which Merry responded with an outburst of laughter.
* * *
The following week or so went pretty much the same, with the exception of course of the embarrassing Pippin stories. Merry and Iris spent a lot of their time together, which didn't exactly please Pippin, but he felt it better not to complain. He could see that Merry clearly liked her very much, and he wasn't the kind of Hobbit who would stand in the way of that.
In fact, while Merry was off gallivanting with Iris, Pippin really had no choice but to try and befriend Byrn. This was a very hard thing to do, as Byrn wasn't very friendly towards Hobbits. But, still, Pippin tried to bridge the gap by helping him make a fire or pack up the camp. Iris had convinced the burly man the day after Pippin's embarrassing moment to allow the Hobbits to roam freely, without any bonds. Pippin had tried to kill Merry, in good fun, but that was one of the last times Pippin and Merry had spoken at length with each other in quite a few days.
"Ehm. . .Byrn?" Pippin asked tentatively, the large man digging through one of his packs. Byrn grunted to acknowledge the Hobbit's prescence. "Ehm. . .is there anything I can help you with?"
Byrn looked over at him. "Why do you insist on helping me with everything?"
"Well. . .I have no one to talk to anymore, really," Pippin explained. "I thought maybe you and I could, I don't know, become sort of. . .temporary friends. . .until I go home, that is."
"You ain't never goin' home," Byrn said raspily, chuckling to himself. "Not while I have anythin' to say about it."
"I can't possibly stay out here in the Wild for the rest of my days!" Pippin cried. "It's far too dark and dreary out here, not to mention very unfamiliar. I want to go home, to my family and friends. It's beautiful in the Shire, you know. Simply beautiful. And I miss it."
"I miss my home, too, Hobbit, but y'don't see me complainin' about it," Byrn replied, turning back to what he was doing. Pippin sat himself down, now very curious and not feeling quite so uneasy around Byrn. . .even if the man didn't seem to like him all that much.
"Where do you come from?"
"I come from a land called Rohan. It's farther East from 'ere, near Gondor 'n Minas Tirith. Suppose you dunno where that is, but it's nice 'nough a place to live. Perhaps not as 'beautiful' as yer Shire might be, but I 'ave no complaints."
"Why did you leave?" Pippin asked curiously, always eager to learn about other lands in Middle Earth.
"Y'make it sound like I jus' up an' left one day. Naw, I was planning on bein' a Ranger when I was jus' a boy. Then, I met Iris' mum, an' when Iris came, I knew that it wouldn' be a very good life fer a young girl like 'er. When 'er mum died, I s'pose the decision I made was rather selfish, but I took Iris an' I made plans an' we left for Bree. The trip took us a good month or so, an' when I arrived. . .things 'appened."
Pippin nodded, not completely understanding, but thinking that it would be best not to ask too much of Byrn's past at once. He looked to the pack that the man was still digging through. "Do you need my help with anything?"
Byrn sighed irritably. "No, Hobbit. . .er. . ."
"Pippin."
"Tha's it, Pippin. Naw, Pippin, I'm doin' jus' fine on my own. Uhm. . .you can. . .go gather firewood. I'll be buildin' a campfire in a moment." Pippin smiled, getting up, happy to be needed for something. He hurried off into the forest to gather wood. He was doing wonderfully, too, until he spotted Merry and Iris sitting together against a large oak, talking quietly. Pippin snuck over almost silently and stood behind the tree, listening.
". . .it's just sort of strange," Merry was saying. "I mean, Pip is my best friend and my cousin, but it just seems like we're sort of changing, becoming further apart than closer. I guess I'm sort of glad that I found you to get to know."
Iris laughed softly. "Well, I think that maybe you should try to either maintain or regain that friendship with Pippin. He seems like a very kind young lad, and I can see how the two of you would be such good friends. You must have been very close to him to be friends for so long."
"I'm surprised that he hasn't dropped me for some lass by now," Merry laughed. "He's always doing odd things, like hanging around the Green Dragon, talking to the ladies, or getting drunk, or he'll come up with some silly scheme to steal crops from Farmer Maggot."
"And then there are those occasional flashings of the neighborhood when he escapes his bath," Iris joked. The two laughed happily, but behind the tree, Pippin's ears burned in embarrassment. Merry had no right to talk behind his back that way, especially not to Iris, whom either of them barely even knew. Turning away angrily, he stalked off to the camp site, completely forgetting the firewood.
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Yay for another chapter! Another. . .rather short one. . .but, hey, it's off to a fairly good start by my standards. Please review, dancha!
