Activity

…Somewhere in the depths of the hall, hinges creak.

Go on, open the door. Everyone’s already heard the hinges’ complaint by now, anyways.

The words are a familiar echo of an old chastisement I’m altogether too familiar with. Another task, another not-quite-success. I mentally shoulder them aside, refusing to give them any more attention than that- there are bigger things to address now, and a new map to follow. It rests, carefully folded, in a hidden pocket now.

I enter the warm hall, and let the door fall closed. With the wind’s echoing cry finally silenced, I release the breathe I’d been holding subconsciously in a long sigh.  Safety. The closest place to home  in a long time.

Quietly, I make my way into the great hall where we would all soon assemble. Almost without thinking, my feet led me around the table, the centerpiece of the room, until I found my seat. It, like some of the others, carried a blanket of dust.

This habit of prolonged absence needs to change. Thank goodness I’ve finally gotten my hands on an updated map. 

Grimacing, I wipe the worst of it off before gratefully collapsing into it. I can’t help the small sigh of relief that follow.

The others will be here soon and the Great Work will begin anew. We are not alone, not now, not in this moment and place.

After a long moment, I pull myself up into a more dignified position. My fingers explore the gentle curves of the acorns and tengwar weaving their secrets carved into the wood of the chair’s armrests  as I finally take the time to count who has arrived.