In the Drink (HOBBITS!)

[hammurabi]

Mud. Mud was vile, it was venom... Mud was a thoroughly disgusting substance! It squelched in your shoes, hid all manner of ugly parasitic creatures and clung to you like the fingers of a drowning man. It made walking the devils own work and standing still an act of pure madness. Worst of all... It smelled. Mud from a stagnant puddle could smell so bad the stars would shirk from shining over it. A man with a lot of time to think could think up all manner of horrendous adjectives to describe the insidious sucking substance and Hammurabi et Arkeen was a man with a great deal of time upon his hands.

His waterlogged, mud covered and filthy nailed hands. From between his chattering teeth came a continuous if quiet stream of suitably inventive curses and oaths that would make even a dwarf blush for modesty, for each curse muttered towards the mired murk of mud was yet another curse towards the ground itself, towards land itself. Land... Unseemly and blighted, the farther you went from the ocean the worse it got. The only interruption to this steady stream of curses was the occasional, hoarse and ragged cry for help... A cry that very finely resembled his current state.

That is to say ragged and hoarse. Hammurabi stood alone, staring up at a vision of grey sky partially obscured by the ragged limbs of trees in a sparse stand of trees... The round lip of a hole around five feet in diameter and about seven deep was his window to the sky, his only outlet to the world from the bottom of his wet and detestable prison. A prison that despite being nothing more elaborate than a hole dug into the ground to catch unwary boar or stag, had managed to contain him... A man who had escaped from iron-barred brigs and steely guards in his long career of piratical raiding... As deftly as though he had been locked into a box. Hammurabi had fallen into the diabolical deathtrap during the night when he had lost track of the main road and found himself wandering into the stand of trees.

He had been moving along, peering at the ground by moonlight to try and discern a path when he had taken a step around a rotten log and fallen through a carefully arranged bower of sticks and leaves into the pit, only a waist deep accumulation of stagnant and vile water at the bottom had saved him a broken leg or worse. His initial reaction had been one of rage, followed by panic when his first attempt at escape by climbing the crumbly dark soiled walls had resulted in part of the pit giving way, showering him with moist loam and grit that stung his eyes and burned his lungs... After the panic had burned out and he had yelled himself hoarse, he had turned to his current mood... One of petulant disgust with land, all things on the land and all things that had the word LAND in it. And mud... Oh how he hated mud... It had never bothered him before... But after this? Oh he would never care for the stuff again... He could not stand still for sinking into it and it filled his boots and chilled his toes. Morning had come and gone, now with the grey skies over head were a little brighter and the rumble in his belly told him that it was close to noon...

“AHOY! BLAST IT ALL! IS NO ONE NEAR?!” His latest shout for help was accompanied by a long and vehement string of new curses that he had invented while down the hole, such gems as hrudlovingpigfondling-SHEPERDS among them. He was miserable, covered in mud, his clothing soaked to the bone and his teeth chattering like a skeleton dancing a jig... And he was growing angry once again.

[frodobaggins]

If Frodo hadn't joined the group of hobbits heading to eat lunch at the Green Dragon, none of them would have noticed the person stuck in a trap. In fact, most hobbits made it their business to overlook strange details just so they wouldn't have to deal with them. Since it was about time for lunch, most hobbits were focused on that, and nothing else that might have needed to be done. Each meal time was extremely important to a hobbit, and while Frodo also enjoyed eating, he didn't need as many meals as some, preferring to skip a few, since there really were too many meal times. However, he had been convinced to leaving Bag End by Sam, even though it was against his better judgment. Frodo wasn't a social hobbit by any means. No, he would much rather eat with one or two hobbits and be done with it.

However, it was because he had been walking with them that he heard a sound coming from in between some trees to the side of the main road they had been walking on. The hobbit stopped and turned his head, trying to listen more carefully to see if the sound would come again. He frowned as he listened carefully, sure that he had heard something that didn't fit as a sound for any forest. The others had continued for a bit of a distance before they realized Frodo wasn't walking with them and turned back. It was pretty clear that they were annoyed, after all, lunch was one of the bigger mealtimes, and as such, very important. They started asking a bunch of questions, most not sounding too pleased with him, and he simply waited until they stopped. Because he found it almost impossible to get a word in while they were asking question after question.

The fact that one of them asked why they had to bring Frodo along irritated him. It wasn't like he was so useless of a hobbit in conversation or bad company. Frodo sighed, and since the group had finally chosen to quiet down, he explained himself. "I thought I heard a strange noise, there in between the trees." Even if they weren't, Frodo was extremely curious to find out what the noise was coming from. It didn't sound like an animal. In truth, it sounded like a person was stuck somewhere. Which was why Frodo felt that they should all go and find out, and maybe offer assistance. The hobbit abruptly turned and started heading towards the trees, deciding that he didn't care much if they came or went. This was just another one of his reasons as to why he wanted to go out and adventure with Bilbo instead of being stuck here in the Shire, where few really delighted in his company anyway.

Frodo finally spotted the source of the noise, and trouble. There were plenty of hobbits who created these boar or stag traps. Most of the time, people either avoided going through the forest, or knew the signs to a trap and avoided those. It was rare for any traveler to take any path other than the main one through the Shire. It made him why this person, this man as it were, had gone through the woods. It didn't make much sense to Frodo, but then, the lives of other people in general were unknown to him. He knew something about men, but not enough to understand their minds too well. He glanced down at the man, noting the specific problems with the trap which wouldn't allow him to climb out as one normally could do if they fell into this situation. And plenty of hobbits had in the past. Because hobbits weren't the most intelligent creatures.

Finally choosing to speak, the hobbit said, "Calm yourself sir. I will see to it that you are helped out of this mess." He spoke politely, and tried to figure out a way that he would be able to pull the man out by himself. He didn't think it was possible. After all, he was much taller, and much heavier than Frodo. He wouldn't be able to get the man out without help. The dark-haired hobbit frowned as he considered his options, before remembering that Sam and the others were only a distance away. At least, if they had chosen to linger. Well, at the least, he knew Sam would have stayed. And two hobbits were better than one trying to pull the man out. "If you will wait just a little longer, I must get my friend to help me." Frodo informed the man, before turning back in the direction he had come from to go find the group.

To his surprise, all of them had stayed, something he did not expect. He figured it was because of Sam. They liked him, and Sam was always a good person. So, if Sam had said they should wait, they would. Frodo knew it wasn't anything he had done to encourage such cooperation. "There's a man stuck in a boar trap. I need help to get him out." He told them, looking at Sam in particular, with a rather pleading look. If he could get Sam to help him, he was sure the others would be more inclined to do so.

[samwise]

”What is it, Mister Frodo?” Sam asked when Frodo had not continued on their way to the Green Dragon. Sam’s stomach was gurgling lightly – a sign that he was hungry. Now it would appear that Sam always was hungry, always having some food or snacks with him. But that wasn’t the case. Even although the sandy haired hobbit chose to eat at all the seven meal times - breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper – at all those seven meal times he only ate a little bit, and not a whole meal. And still, as much as Sam wanted to deny it at times, he was – just a little tiny bit – rounder than other hobbits. And his stomach, being used to having a little meal roughly every three hours, was impatiently waiting for his luncheon that day, and therefore grumbling.

Now, the little group of hobbits had decided to head to the Green Dragon – where you could get the finest ale and the best pies in the whole Shire. And right that day, Sam’s stomach was yearning for some roasted potatoes, spiced with fine, fresh herbs. Ah, but right in that moment, Frodo had stopped walking, and after a short explanation, wandered off into the forest. Sam put his forehead into wrinkles. He was torn in between following his employer, or following his appetite and the other few hobbits to the Green Dragon. This left Samwise right where he was, not moving an inch. Instead, he even managed to persuade the majority of their small group to stay – which again caused the minority to stay as well – and to wait for Frodo’s return.

And so there they stood, some with their hands in their pockets, some trotting around, others chatting, all of them waiting for a rustling coming from the forest to announce Mister Frodo’s return. That rustling did not come for quite a while, and Sam now found himself on the edge of organizing the group into small teams of two to search for his boss. He was just about to announce his idea, when Frodo stepped forward from the tree’s shadows.

"There's a man stuck in a boar trap. I need help to get him out."

And again, Sam frowned, this time not out of worry, though. For just one little moment, the idea of an elf being stuck in the trap instead of a man crossed his mind, but he shoved it away quickly. Of course Frodo would know the difference between an elf and a man. But it would have been spectacular to meet an elf!

Then, Sam’s helpful side broke through. ”But of course we’ll get him out! I will help you, Mister Frodo!” And with that, he stepped forward, hoping for the rest of the group to follow his example. The idea of a possible adventure being bound to the rescue of this one man put fire to him – although he did not yet think that some adventures are bound to be dangerous, too. Sam was focusing on the positive, on learning more about the world outside of the Shire, on seeing new landscapes, getting to know unknown flowers and meeting mystic creatures, too much, and he forgot that some adventures could end badly.

"We could need ropes, though!"

[tiff]

Bree propped herself up against the enormous tree trunk as she continued to knit. She wasn't really sure what she was knitting but it did help to pass the time since she didn't have any work to do today. In her case it would probably turn out to be a blanket, she never knew when to stop so most things she knitted tend to come out as that. Low humming left her lips as she let her eyes follow what she was doing, her fingers moving quickly. The sun peaked out, and warmed her legs and lap, even going as far as warming her head and face a little. She didn't mind however because the forest was always chilly. A soft noise came form her pony Nani as she stamped her foot a little, growing impatient. "Oh Nani" Bree lightly cooed as she stopped knitting and gently took the apple that was next to her, reaching up to give it to the pony.

The pony quickly took it from her hand and ate it quickly, juice running from her lips. Bree giggled and gently rubbed the pony's nose. Getting back to knitting, she began to hum again and laid the back of her head up on the tree trunk. It was getting around luncheon time and though Bree wasn't hungry at the time, she knew she would be soon. She hadn't meant to stay out so late but she couldn't help it, the sun beating on her made her warm and relaxed. Who could resist?

An odd noise caught Bree's ears as she heard muffled yelling, well to her it was muffled because of how distant it was. Her eyebrows scrunched together as her head turned toward the noise and she stopped her knitting, sitting it down in her lap. It seemed to have caught Nani's ears to because a light noise left her lips, her head turned, and her ears pricked up. They began moving back and forth kind of like radar. Bree looked back down at her square object she was knitting and was going to continue when she heard it again. This time Bree got up and walked over to the pony, putting her knitting objects into a satchel hooked onto the saddle."Stay here Nani" she spoke gently to the spotted pony as she gently petted it's neck.

Turning around, she brushed herself off, and picked up her skirts a little as she walked towards the noise. Of course the pony didn't listen and soon Nani was following her master sluggishly. The curly blond haired hobbit continued to walk, her heart beating a little fast as she grew nervous. Bree was cautious so she never ran to anything, more walked and took her time, allowing her eyes to look for any danger. Her body stopped however when she saw two hobbits standing around a boar trap. Her baby blue with green eyes grew wide in curiosity as she quickly watched what they were doing.

Nani soon stopped behind her master as her satchel jingled a little and she nuzzled her master's back. Bree turned around a little to acknowledge the pony before looking back at the situation taking place."What is it? Are they alright?" she asked gently as she reached up and tucked some of her curls behind her ear.

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[PEREGRIN TOOK]

Pippin had been one of those hobbits who had accompanied Frodo and Sam to the Green Dragon. It was time for lunch and boy how hungry he was. The young hobbit’s stomach rumbled and complained all the way – Pippin did not have to say anything to make his friends know that he was hungry. He wondered if he should have cheese or ham today – perhaps both. And he had to swallow a few times since the thought of the buttered bread with ham and cheese was mouth watering. If they were lucky they could get some fresh strawberries for dessert – it would be a wonderful combination to the lunch he had in his mind and the bare thought of the red berries made the young hobbit pat his small stomach.

With a deep and longing sigh, he placed his hands in his pockets and started to fall a bit behind the others as he daydreamed about food instead of hurrying towards the inn. Pippin would probably be the first one to be there if he had run ahead as he usually did – he was after all still very young. Frodo was getting old (in his eyes) and Sam was getting rounder (again, in Pippin’s point of view). But being chubby was not a bad thing for a hobbit. They loved life and the size of a hobbit usually told them the size of his happiness. Samwise Gamgee must be very happy.

Pippin chuckled at the thought and looked at the back of Sam and Frodo’s head. His hair was a bit messier than the other’s and it was slightly golden compared to Frodo Baggins’. He was also shorter than the dark hared hobbit; however Pippin fully believed that he was taller than Merry – no matter what his friend said.

As he was falling behind, small red colours caught his eye and he turned his head to see what it was. Strawberries! Pippin just opened his mouth to yell the good surprise to the other hobbits, though he quickly restrained himself again. Perhaps he should just pick them himself and eat them all alone, without share it with the others. He thought for a moment. A picture of Sam eating half of the strawberries entered his mind and Pippin quickly made his decision. He did not even hear the call from the forest that had made Frodo stop up further ahead, because the young hobbit’s focus was completely taken away by the sweet berries.

He sat down on his knees and started picking them. Slowly Pippin moved into the forest as the berries seemed to make a trail inside. He continued his gathering until his pockets were full and he could not see the road anymore. Something stirred in the bushes, however he did not take notice of it. It was probably a rabbit or something. The young hobbit smiled as he put a small berry into his mouth. What a delicious taste. He thought happily, before suddenly jumping as a grunt that sounded right in front of him. His blue eyes grew wide and he jumped up on his feet. A boar!

Now boars were usually fierce at this time of year since they had small piglets to protect, and it was only because it was his lucky day that Pippin had managed to run without the sow following him. He knew that she had already turned around to take care of her little ones, but he continued further into the forest – towards the boar trap some older hobbits had set up a few days ago. Strawberries flew out of his pocket, but he did not care for that. It was first when he bumped into Frodo and Sam, Pippin stopped. “What are you…?” The hobbit paused and looked down into the hole. “Well hello there good sir, what are you doing in our boar trap?” He said to the human and leaned his palms against his knees as he looked down. A big smile formed on his face - the episode with the boar had not affected his good mood.