4. “Troubles Shared...”

‘...and so the Master sent out scouts,’ Bandobras explained as they walked. On the morrow, talking aloud to the Man’s horse would carry much more risk. ‘To find out whence they come, what their numbers might be, whether there are more besides those we’ve seen and driven away.’ 

He eyed Friend and shook his head. ‘But you’ve rather interrupted my endeavours,’ he chided. ‘How can I go softly with a great, bloody, platter-footed beast at my heels? 

‘And so I’m little wiser than I was when I set out,’ he added in a rueful tone. ‘Whatever will the Master say?’ 

***  

That night in their hiding place, the Master's scout slept fitfully, resting propped against the horse’s side. Whenever he woke and looked over, he could see that Friend was wakeful as well, head high, ears swivelling to catch any sound, eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Somehow the beast’s alertness gave him comfort. 

He stroked the warm, soft shoulder, and the great head came around and nuzzled him gently. 

‘I could get used to you,’ he said. ‘You’re not half as much trouble as I thought you’d be.’ 

The breezy exhalation of Friend’s silent snort washed over him like a benediction. 

***  

‘One more day,’ Bandobras murmured companionably. His casual tone was belied by his elevated level of alertness. His bow was strung and in his hands, an arrow nocked and ready to loose whilst his eyes continually scanned their surroundings as they walked. 

Friend seemed to share his unease, walking at heel like an oversized dog, his head extended over the hobbit’s shoulder. 

Both stopped and listened intently for a moment. ‘Oddly enough,’ Bandobras whispered as they resumed walking, ‘the closer to home, the greater the danger. Our troubles started with farmers attacked in the fields. They think us easy prey.’ 

***  

Easy prey. Mid-afternoon, blood-chilling shrieks sounded on all sides. Surrounded! Bandobras froze, but Friend did not: the horse nudged the hobbit, folded his front legs and dropped his nose to the earth. 

Taking this broad hint, Bandobras scrambled up onto the horse’s back, twining his fingers in the small patch of long mane left within a rider’s grasp though the rest was shorn close to the sleek neck. Friend regained his feet, looked around as if to ascertain the hobbit was secure, lifted his head to neigh defiance, then flashed from stand-still to gallop in the space of a heartbeat. 

***