A/N: A gift for harrowcat. Since you gave me the plot bunny (who has taken up residence in *my* sock drawer, by the way. He must like socks or something. *grins*) I hope to have more soon. Enjoy!

Of Falcons: Chapter One

Pippin sat by the box, head in his hands, elbows on the table, watching the baby bird clumsily poke around the blanket in its new home.

“What is it?” Merry asked, peering over his younger cousin’s shoulder, eyeing the bird’s sharp talons and beak warily.

“Frodo said it’s a peregrine falcon,” Pippin replied, grinning widely. “Isn’t it odd that a bird shares my name, Mer?”

“And it’s much too big for him, too,” Merry said, plopping down in a chair next to Pippin. “Does he have a smaller name, Pip?”

“Griffin,” Pippin replied. “I named him! I think Vinca got bored of him when Frodo said he was a boy. She was ready to tie one of her pink ribbons around his neck!” He looked up at Merry with horror-filled green eyes.

“Oh, that would be terrible!” Merry exclaimed, playing along with the lad. “So Frodo told you all about griffins, did he?”

Pippin nodded. “And falcons. Falcons are nicer, though. They don’t bite people’s heads off or anything scary like that.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I wonder if I could teach Griffin how to hunt mice and rabbits like Frodo said kings do…”

“Perhaps you’d better not,” Merry said. “He might fly away and you’d never see him again.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” Pippin said. “Perhaps I’ll just keep him here, then.”

* * *

A few months later, Merry visited his Took cousins again, and was surprised to find a full sized falcon flying around the hole freely.

It let out a shriek when it saw him, and landed on the hat tree behind Pippin, who had just appeared in the hallway.

“He’s a lot… scarier… than last time I was here,” Merry said hesitantly.

Pippin laughed at his older cousin’s reaction. “He won’t hurt you, Mer,” he assured him. “He’s just frightened of strangers, is all.”

“He’s frightened of me?” Merry repeated, still not convinced.

“Yes,” Pippin insisted. “You are much bigger than him, you know.”

Pippin raised an arm and allowed the bird to land on a leather cuff strapped to his wrist.

“Come on, Merry, let me show you the house Da built for him!” the child tore off down the hall towards his room, Merry following close behind.

There was a large wooden bird cage in the corner of Pippin’s room with an opening in the back that led to a small enclosed box filled with hay for the bird to sleep in. On the floor of the cage was chicken left over from supper and a few vegetables because Pippin insisted that Griffin had to eat his vegetables too.

“Let me put him away, and then we can go play without his following us,” Pippin said, opening the gate to the cage and letting Griffin fly in.

“Now you be nice, and I’ll be back later, all right Griffin?” Pippin admonished the bird before grabbing Merry’s arm and pulling him out the door.

They played outside with Vinca until supper, after which Pippin had to be forcibly pried away from Merry to have his bath.

Merry laughed and shook his head as Pippin’s shouts of “Merry! Save me!” resounded down the hall. He made his way to Pippin’s room to wait, and found himself sitting by the bird cage staring at the falcon.

“I suppose you and I are going to have to get to know each other sometime,” he said.

Griffin looked back at him with blank dark eyes, cocking his head ever so slightly.

“Will you let me pet you?” he asked, hesitantly reaching his hand out. “You let Pippin pet you.” He touched the bars of the cage, and Griffin followed his hand with his eyes. Merry slipped his finger tips through the cage, and left them there.

Griffin watched him cautiously, then looked away, and allowed Merry to touch his feathers.

A moment later Merry pulled his fingers back, and said, “Well, you’re not as mean as you look, are you?”

A moment later Pippin returned, hair sopping wet and dripping on his nightshirt. “You didn’t save me,” he said. “And look what happened!” He proceeded to show Merry a very tiny scratch he had gotten from grabbing hold of the doorway before his mother dragged him into the bathroom.

“I was busy making friends with your bird, Pip, sorry.” He gave Pippin a grin that told the lad that he wasn’t really sorry.

Pippin grinned, and flopped himself down in Merry’s lap, getting the wet from his hair all over his cousin.

“I suppose I don’t need a bath now, do I?” Merry said. “You’re doing it for me.”

“Mum said you and I can take Griffin out tomorrow if we want. I was thinking of going on a picnic or something, just me and you and Griffin,” Pippin said, ignoring Merry’s comment.

“Won’t Griffin fly away?” Merry asked.

Pippin smiled. “No, I have a leash for him, just like a dog! He won’t fly away.”