A/N: Written for a hobbit_ficathon challenge on LJ.

Woven in Friendship

The walls of the Golden Hall had been decorated with enormous tapestries in preparation of the feast to be held that evening. Pippin, left alone while Merry was on duty guarding Theoden's body, went from one intricately woven fabric to the next, gazing at each one in awe. He longed to touch them, so different were they from the cold stone figures that he had grown accustomed to seeing in Minas Tirith.

The warmth and color of the tapestries seemed to make the history of Rohan come alive before his eyes: kings and fair ladies of the court, horses galloping across green plains. But there was one tapestry which held his attention longest: a Rider of Rohan, with fair hair that seemed woven from gold, blowing a horn.

As Pippin stared at the tapestry it seemed he could hear the horn ringing in his ears. It brought him back to that day in Minas Tirith, when the sound of the horns thundering across the fields had given him such hope that he thought his heart would burst from joy. Even now when he remembered it Pippin could not stop the tears from forming in his eyes.

Hearing soft footsteps behind him, Pippin hastily scrubbed at his eyes before turning to greet the lady Eowyn. She was dressed in the dark colors of mourning, though Pippin could see in her eyes joy beneath the sorrow.

"I see that you have been admiring the tapestries," she said with a smile. Eowyn cast her eyes upon the hanging. "What draws you to this one?"

"I was thinking of the battle," Pippin replied. "I remember hearing the horns blowing across the field, so loudly that we heard them inside the city. I knew they weren't orc-horns, and I knew somehow that Merry was there. I'm not sure how I knew it, but I did," he added, half to himself.

"You and your cousin are very close," Eowyn observed. "It reminds me of the friendship Eomer and I had with our cousin Theodred. We were good friends from childhood, when my brother and I came to live here with our uncle."

Pippin smiled. "Merry and I have also been friends since we were very young, even though there were times when we didn't see each other for months. We live rather far apart, Merry and I – well, far enough for hobbits, at least. After all the travelling we have done these past few months I don't suppose we'll ever think that Tookland is far from Buckland again," he admitted with a laugh before turning back to the tapestry.

"I don't know if you ever met Faramir's brother, but Boromir had a horn like that," he continued, gesturing to the tapestry. "He used to say that no matter where he was within the borders of his own lands, if he blew that horn, someone would come to his aid. It – it would be nice to have something like that, I suppose, a way for Merry and I to reach each other when we are apart. Though I don't suppose we would ever have anything so important to say that we couldn't write it in a letter," he added, turning around to face Eowyn with a grin.

The heavy doors of the hall opened, and Merry stepped through them, looking as worn and grief-stricken as he always did when he spent enough time thinking of and mourning the beloved old king.

"There's Merry now – I had better go and make sure that he eats something," Pippin said, fondly shaking his head. He turned to Eowyn and bowed low before hurrying to his cousin's side and leading him to the kitchens for a late lunch.

For a long while Eowyn stood before the tapestry, deep in thought.