While they Walked
Chapter 4: Hobbits Don't Always Stick Together
Pippin was up early, much to his annoyance. True to his word he was cooking the first meal of the day, or night as they were sleeping during the day and walking at night to avoid unfriendly eyes.
He woke each member of the fellowship with a forced smile, some suspected there would be something wrong with the food, a result of Pippin's bitterness or just plain tiredness. But the food was good, better than most food cooked on the road in fact, not quite to Sam's standards, but it seemed all hobbits were born with the ability to cook.
Merry and Frodo weren't easy on Pippin though, they picked up on everything, as if they were expecting a king's feast.
"The eggs are a little dry."
"And is this some burnt toast I see?" Pippin sat down with his hand on his chin, resigned to his fate to be unfairly compared to Sam.
"Pippin, I think Sam's had a long enough rest." Said Gandalf gently. Pippin sighed and gently woke Sam with the aroma of a sizzling breakfast, half of which should have been his own.
Pippin sat as far away from his kin as possible, the other side of Boromir. He was in a foul mood.
"I don't suppose you like your breakfast either." He was eating slowly, hoping that if he spent long enough eating it he could trick himself into thinking he was eating a breakfast of Shire proportions.
"No, no, you hobbits seem to have an affinity for cooking, you have no idea how many pieces of charcoal I've had to eat when one of our company couldn't cook. Pippin giggled, it wasn't in his nature to be in a foul mood for too long.
"Are you sure they didn't give you the logs off the fire and eat the food themselves?"
"Well, that's what we would have thought, had he not managed to burn the food when we didn't actually have a campfire." Pippin giggled again.
"He must have been really bad at cooking, worse than old Bullroarer."
"Does he have infamously bad cooking then?"
"Well, just among the Tooks. He was an infamously good fighter to everyone else."
"Yes sometimes those two go together."
"Pippin! Come back! We didn't mean it!" came the calls from the far side of the camp.
"Actually, I like it here, Boromir actually appreciates his breakfast!"
"And so do we! Come back!"
"By all rights it's dinner." Muttered one of them loudly. Pippin recognised it to be Sam.
"It's not dinner, it's breakfast. You're breaking your fast aren't you?"
"Yes, but the sky isn't the right colour for it to be breakfast."
"If we're going by sky colour then it's tea-time!" Pippin left Boromir and stood in the middle of the camp. "Look, when you cook the food you can call it what you want. But I've cooked it and so I say goes!"
"Fair enough." Mumbled Merry and Frodo, who weren't much bothered with the naming of meals, just that they got one. But Sam and Pippin both seemed to both be fighting for their pride. It wasn't a usual thing for either of them to do, but travelling without enough food for days on end obviously did that to some people.
"It's just not right, I can't be eating breakfast before it gets light."
"So put it in your pack and save it until morning!"
"That's just plain stupid Mr. Pippin."
"Sounds like something you'd do then." The two hobbits reclining on the ground after a quite satisfying, breakfast-dinner-meal gasped.
"Pippin! You apologise to Sam right now!" said Frodo, standing up and going into older cousin mode.
"No!" said Pippin, going into stubborn child mode.
"You're worse than Legolas and Gimli put together you insufferable Took!" both Legolas and Gimli were put to shame in being referred to in such circumstances. Pippin just sat back next to Boromir and ate what little was left of his breakfast, fuming.
"Boromir, can I walk with you? I want to hear about your country, seeing as mine has deserted me." He glared at Frodo, who rolled his eyes and sat back down between Sam and Merry.
"Certainly, little Pippin, I would be glad to. But would you not want to be on better terms with the rest of the fellowship first?" Pippin nodded the tiniest nod he could manage. Gandalf called for them to move on and it took next to no time before they were walking again.
Legolas, Gandalf and Aragorn were at the front, followed by Sam, Merry and Frodo, behind them were Boromir and Pippin and last of all was Gimli. Boromir and Pippin slowly caught up to the other hobbits, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, though they both knew they were being watched out of the corners of seven other sets of eyes.
"Sam." Said Pippin in a very small voice. "Recite the alphabet?" Sam did so. "You're right, you're not stupid, sorry." He finished with a small smile.
"I've decided you don't have to give me half your food, that was a little too cruel. Here's your toast back."
"Oh thank you Sam!" Pippin leaped on Sam in a huge hug, which nearly toppled them both over, but they were steadied when the other two rushed to join them.
"Boromir! You were going to tell me about Gondor?" Boromir was caught off- guard he had expected that to have taken a lot longer. He could see Gandalf smiling to himself ahead of him and he shook his head in slight confusion.
"Yes well, where do you want to start?"
"Oh, anywhere will do."
Chapter 4: Hobbits Don't Always Stick Together
Pippin was up early, much to his annoyance. True to his word he was cooking the first meal of the day, or night as they were sleeping during the day and walking at night to avoid unfriendly eyes.
He woke each member of the fellowship with a forced smile, some suspected there would be something wrong with the food, a result of Pippin's bitterness or just plain tiredness. But the food was good, better than most food cooked on the road in fact, not quite to Sam's standards, but it seemed all hobbits were born with the ability to cook.
Merry and Frodo weren't easy on Pippin though, they picked up on everything, as if they were expecting a king's feast.
"The eggs are a little dry."
"And is this some burnt toast I see?" Pippin sat down with his hand on his chin, resigned to his fate to be unfairly compared to Sam.
"Pippin, I think Sam's had a long enough rest." Said Gandalf gently. Pippin sighed and gently woke Sam with the aroma of a sizzling breakfast, half of which should have been his own.
Pippin sat as far away from his kin as possible, the other side of Boromir. He was in a foul mood.
"I don't suppose you like your breakfast either." He was eating slowly, hoping that if he spent long enough eating it he could trick himself into thinking he was eating a breakfast of Shire proportions.
"No, no, you hobbits seem to have an affinity for cooking, you have no idea how many pieces of charcoal I've had to eat when one of our company couldn't cook. Pippin giggled, it wasn't in his nature to be in a foul mood for too long.
"Are you sure they didn't give you the logs off the fire and eat the food themselves?"
"Well, that's what we would have thought, had he not managed to burn the food when we didn't actually have a campfire." Pippin giggled again.
"He must have been really bad at cooking, worse than old Bullroarer."
"Does he have infamously bad cooking then?"
"Well, just among the Tooks. He was an infamously good fighter to everyone else."
"Yes sometimes those two go together."
"Pippin! Come back! We didn't mean it!" came the calls from the far side of the camp.
"Actually, I like it here, Boromir actually appreciates his breakfast!"
"And so do we! Come back!"
"By all rights it's dinner." Muttered one of them loudly. Pippin recognised it to be Sam.
"It's not dinner, it's breakfast. You're breaking your fast aren't you?"
"Yes, but the sky isn't the right colour for it to be breakfast."
"If we're going by sky colour then it's tea-time!" Pippin left Boromir and stood in the middle of the camp. "Look, when you cook the food you can call it what you want. But I've cooked it and so I say goes!"
"Fair enough." Mumbled Merry and Frodo, who weren't much bothered with the naming of meals, just that they got one. But Sam and Pippin both seemed to both be fighting for their pride. It wasn't a usual thing for either of them to do, but travelling without enough food for days on end obviously did that to some people.
"It's just not right, I can't be eating breakfast before it gets light."
"So put it in your pack and save it until morning!"
"That's just plain stupid Mr. Pippin."
"Sounds like something you'd do then." The two hobbits reclining on the ground after a quite satisfying, breakfast-dinner-meal gasped.
"Pippin! You apologise to Sam right now!" said Frodo, standing up and going into older cousin mode.
"No!" said Pippin, going into stubborn child mode.
"You're worse than Legolas and Gimli put together you insufferable Took!" both Legolas and Gimli were put to shame in being referred to in such circumstances. Pippin just sat back next to Boromir and ate what little was left of his breakfast, fuming.
"Boromir, can I walk with you? I want to hear about your country, seeing as mine has deserted me." He glared at Frodo, who rolled his eyes and sat back down between Sam and Merry.
"Certainly, little Pippin, I would be glad to. But would you not want to be on better terms with the rest of the fellowship first?" Pippin nodded the tiniest nod he could manage. Gandalf called for them to move on and it took next to no time before they were walking again.
Legolas, Gandalf and Aragorn were at the front, followed by Sam, Merry and Frodo, behind them were Boromir and Pippin and last of all was Gimli. Boromir and Pippin slowly caught up to the other hobbits, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, though they both knew they were being watched out of the corners of seven other sets of eyes.
"Sam." Said Pippin in a very small voice. "Recite the alphabet?" Sam did so. "You're right, you're not stupid, sorry." He finished with a small smile.
"I've decided you don't have to give me half your food, that was a little too cruel. Here's your toast back."
"Oh thank you Sam!" Pippin leaped on Sam in a huge hug, which nearly toppled them both over, but they were steadied when the other two rushed to join them.
"Boromir! You were going to tell me about Gondor?" Boromir was caught off- guard he had expected that to have taken a lot longer. He could see Gandalf smiling to himself ahead of him and he shook his head in slight confusion.
"Yes well, where do you want to start?"
"Oh, anywhere will do."