the youth of yesteryear (Merry)

[Freya]

Ah, the great outdoors! She loved it. The sights. The sounds. The smells. The feel of the delicate breeze upon her skin. How the leaves felt against her bare flesh. It all brought a huge smile on her lips, as she skipped gaily through the woods, seemingly without a care in the world, having managed to persuade her sister to let her visit the wilderness. For the first time in a long while, she felt free. Her green hair flowed behind her, looking more vibrant than ever, eyes sparkling, shifting through the spectrum of greens as she wove her way, without direction, through the magnificent place she dearly wished to call home again.

She giggled a little as she continued to dance, gracefully moving, every movement exuding her natural poise and femininity, delicate and flowing, the bounce in her step irrepressible. She finally slowed as she came to a clearing, the spring at the centre flowing into a pool. Freya clapped her hands excitedly, before bounding over to the edge, stopping just short of diving headlong into the water. She delicately placed one bare foot into the delightfully cool water, her smile expressing her pleasure, before stepping completely into the shallow water. Perhaps diving in wouldn't have been a particularly great idea. She giggled at the thought, regardless of how painful it would have been, it would have looked silly. She heard a noise from the other side of the spring, and she leaned to the right, trying to see what it was, before calling out.

Hello? Is someone there?

[Merialyn Folly]

This was quite a disgrace for someone who called themselves an "adventurer".

Merialyn had been wandering the Faron woods for hours now, atop her trusted pony, with her fairy partner hovering just near her shoulder. One hand held onto the reigns, even though she knew Tansy would not leave her side should the reigns slip from her grasp. Her other hand tried desperately to hold open a map, while one side of it was positioned just under her other elbow to hold it open.

"Merry, just give up! We're never going to find it!" Pippin huffed as he sat on her shoulder.

"Shush Pip... I can do this. It should be... just through that grove of trees... I think."

Her stubborn fairy friend crossed his arms and snubbed his nose up at the statement. If it was up to him, they'd be resting and taking a nap by now. Merry, on the other hand, was determined to find the treasures that this map promised to lead to. With a soft kick to her side, Merry began to lead Tansy through the forest once more.

Even though Merry assumed it was day time, the canopy was so full and thick that the rays of light were scattered and left the forest dim and dark. It was eerie... Merry gulped and abandoned hopes of finding the treasure for now. Instead, she headed toward an opening in the trees that had light flooding through it. When the trio emerged, they were in a large, open field. The grass looked so soft and inviting, so Merry dismounted from her "steed" and smiled. "Actually Pip... I think this is where it's at."

Merry rolled the map up and placed it in a pack at her side. Now all was quiet. Merry closed her eyes and let the breeze roll through her hair. That was when she heard a voice calling out. Someone must be here already... Merry stepped closer to her pony and slowly led her forward, in the direction that she heard the voice come from.

"Yes... someone is here, but I mean you no harm." As the Kokiri drew closer, she could hear the sound of rippling water. A figure also came into view, a woman with bright green hair, a marked face, and an interesting style of headdress. Such features were not easy to forget, and Merry smiled as she realized it was someone that she had met such a long time ago.

"Dear Freya, is that you?"

[Freya]

A huge grin smeared itself across Freya's features as she heard her name called, and saw the diminuitive Kokiri girl step out into the clearing. She'd gotten an inkling from the pony and the small ball of light that floated near to her head. She squealed with delight, clapping her hands together with glee, before vanishing, a puff of pink lotus petals left in her wake, before materialising near to her, running headlong at her, before embracing her in a half-tackle, half-bearhug, her eyes screwed shut.

Oh my Merry! I haven't seen you in so long! Where've you been, where've you been! Oh I can't believe you're here!

Her voice was more high pitched than normal, her tone evidently ecstatic, somewhat giddy, words tumbling from her mouth so quickly the words seemed to flow into one another. She lessened her over-exhuberant grip on her, continuing to embrace her, but remembering that people needed to breath. It had been so very long since she had last seen Merry, and Pippin, and her darling pony. She finally released Merry, waving energetically at the ball of light.

Hey Pip! I hope you looked after her. And hello Tansy, you pretty girl! You haven't aged a day, have you! Such a pretty girl...

She moved over to Tansy, petting her gently on the muzzle, smiling widely at her, before turning back to face Merry.

Tell me everything. Where have you been, what have you been doing, I've missed talking to you so much!