Merlin

Welcome! Would you like a cookie?

*sigh* Has anyone else totally let their grades and schoolwork go to seed? I just found out school in my state is totally canceled for the rest of the year, (no fun graduation for me!) so I now have, like, zero motivation for doing anything, since state testing is also canceled. Has anyone done that, or is it just me feeling utterly hopeless that they can scrape a passing grade this year?

Ugh... at the moment, my wishes are purely for a scientist working on the cure for the virus to have some epic vision, then to wake up and know a simple, effective, and inexpensive cure.

This is my spoiled, lovable excuse for a canine, Jack, eating feta cheese I gave him to stay still.

Thanks! I now have something to do!

I never thought I'd say this, but... I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!!

The most exciting thing that's happened to me in three weeks was a trip to Walmart, where I found a tiny, expensive bottle of handsoap. I am constantly in a terrible mood because I stay up until 1 in the morning watching movies, then sleep in until 11. On the bright side, it's sunny where I live, except the 30 degree nights. I finished the stack of books I got from the library the day before it closed, so I'm reduced to staring blankly at walls while my dog licks my feet off.

Lisse half-smiled at the elf as she clambered onto his beautiful horse. She loved Tom, but he was rather sway-backed from years of plowing, and her backside was bruised enough for a lifetime. She wondered if Gallen was just being nice, letting her ride with Macalaure, or if he had some strange reason.

"Right." Lisse said. She was trying not to get the others to pity her, but so far, it didn't seem to be working. And... had Lynn just said hunting them? Yeesh. Lisse was beginning to feel she was getting in over her head. @Kingsdaughter613 @ShadowLord_Lith @Aragorn

"Uh... no." Not seriously, at least, and she wasn't going to mention the huge bruise she was going to have right in the spot where it hurt most to sit. @ShadowLord_Lith @Kingsdaughter613 @Ookla the very snazzy

"Um... yes. Yeah, I'm fine." They were all looking at her funny, which Lisse did not appreciate. She wasn't a child. "We should go. I'd like to find my horse..."

Lisse breathed a sigh of relief. She tried with as much dignity as she could muster to climb out of the bushes. Her adrenaline was still pumping, and she felt tears in her throat. But no, no. Stupid Gallen had already embarrassed her tonight with his comments about her fighting abilities. She wouldn't start crying now.

Lisse had never tried so hard not to breathe. She'd run into two stray bandits, who had, unsurprisingly, spooked Tom for the millionth time that night, and he'd tossed her off his back and into the trees. Lisse had scrambled away as the bandits calmed Tom enough to harness him. She'd been crouched under some bushes for the last half hour. Lisse froze suddenly. She heard something from close by. A... scuffle, and a shriek, followed by a girl's voice shouting in Elvish. Lynn.

Woah. Wait, what? Didn't Gandalf travel into the West with Frodo? @Ookla the very snazzy

Lisse started to turn around, but hesitted. They couldn't fight all these by themselves! Then Lynn impaled a bandit, and Lisse panicked. She kicked poor Tom harder than she should have to get away, and he startled and bolted down the road back to Bree.

Lisse blushed a little. "No, I can't use a bow, but... I've been told I'm good with a knife." That was technically true. She'd been told by her great-grandmother once that she had a steady hand while cutting vegetables. (Her grandmother was an odd one for compliments.) @ShadowLord_Lith

Lisse had ended up hiding behind Gallen as he slaughtered bandits like her cousins smashed tiny bugs. When he asked why she didn't carry weapons... "WHAT!?" She yelled, "Is that what you people expect of me? To- to constantly be ready to kill anyone who stands in my way? And of course, I don't know these things! Since the War for the Ring, there aren't supposed to BE any vagabonds along the trails!" @ShadowLord_Lith

A dirty bandit screamed as Lisse kicked him smack between the eyes. Lynn was busy impaling another fellow, and Gallen was shooting left and right. Did normal people carry around multiple weapons all the time? No! For the fourth or fifth time that night, Lisse found herself regretting ever coming to the Prancing Pony. Another bandit (Where did they keep COMING from?) snuck up behind her horse. Lisse shrieked and startled Tom, who wheeled around in panic, tossing the bandit to the side. Poor Tom... he was used to plowing fields and giving little children rides on his back, not fending off dirty highwaymen in the dead of night. Come to think of it, so was Lisse. @ShadowLord_Lith @Ookla the very snazzy

"How'd we get here, Bombadil?" I mutter into my horse's ear. "I wanted a little drink to clear my head, and now..." I trail off, looking down the road a little ways, where the girl, Lynn, is riding near the blond guy and the shady fellow who I swear is a Ranger.

Lisse was a tad bewildered. No, more than a tad. She'd only wanted a bit of ale after a long day, and this insane girl who hung out with shady guys had invited her on a quest, just like the stories of Gandalf the Grey. "I suppose this is my punishment for sneaking a drink every once in a while, eh?" She mumbled to the sky. Lisse's horse, Tom Bombadil, nuzzled her neck, soaking Lisse's new cloak.