[piosenniel]

It was Cami who first found Pio. The Elf had given up on finding the Hobbit and thought to take one of the skiffs back to the Star. She was hungry and thirsty, and she wished just to sit and speak of pleasant matters with someone who was not going to disappear from her life tomorrow. The thought of her belovéd’s face brought a smile to hers, and she hurried to push the craft into the deeper water along the beach and be off.

‘Wait!’ she heard, and turning her head saw Cami running toward her and waving wildly. She dragged the small skiff part way up on the sand, and walked toward her friend.

Pio said that she had been looking for Cami, to ask her to get the Hobbits ready to go by tomorrow – and would she please speak to Kali and Daisy and see if both of them were now coming. Cami laughed, and said that not only would she speak to those two, but to Phura and Azraph, as well as Andril.

‘Andril? Is she coming also?’ Then understanding dawned on Pio, and she laughed. ‘Of course! They will need an attendant adult! Someone to guarantee that proper conduct is maintained.’ She thought for a moment, her brow slightly furrowed. ‘Let’s put them all on the Star, together. That way everyone can keep an eye on them.’

She went on to tell Cami how many ships would be taking the Hobbits, telling her that the remainder would be going West with Idril and Tuor when the others left in the morning bound for the Anduin. Could Cami please take on the responsibility of parceling out the Hobbits to the remaining ships, including the Star.

Cami agreed and told Pio she would see her later on the ship, but that now she had something urgent to do.

‘I have not heard you mention Ancalimon.’ asked Pio as Cami made to go off on other errands. ‘Which ship do you think he might like to travel on?’

‘That is one of my errands,’ said Cami, ‘to say farewell to both him and the Loremaster.’ Pio frowned at this statement. ‘So, he is not coming back with you - will not accompany you and the Hobbits on your long journey?’

‘No, he will not be with us this time, but later will he come to help us as we have need of him. He is going back to Aman, at least for a while. There is more he wishes to learn there, before he comes back to Middle-earth.’

Then Cami took her leave, once again, of Pio and went looking for Loremaster and Ancalimon, to say her good-byes to them. The Elf returned to the Star. ‘One more farewell I must make.’ she murmured to herself, thinking of the kindly wizard who had helped to engineer her return as Tulë.

[ November 27, 2002: Message edited by: piosenniel ]