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“So it’s not really like I told Ma,” Willy informed his younger brother Nick “Early this morning I was waked up by travellers, and I followed them here” - he gestured towards the Green Dragon, in front of which the pair was now standing - “and spied on them from the window. But I was spotted, and they sent an evil chicken monster after me, which I fought off all by myself, even though it gave me battle hurts, see?” He lightly ran his finger over the cut on his cheek. Last night’s events did not seem nearly so traumatic in the light of day, and Willy was now using the story to impress Nick, who practically idolized him already. Nick reached up to touch the cut with grubby fingers. Willy let him, and gave no sign of the sharp pain.
“Weren’t you scared?” asked Nick, gazing up adoringly. Willy shook his head. “Well, not really anyway. I was too busy escaping.”
Willy had gotten off surprisingly easy this morning after concocting a tale about how he had heard something out his window and gone out to see what it was (true). It was a chicken, escaped from the coop, and he had accidentally fallen on top of it, causing it to scratch him up (sort of true). He had returned through his window scratched and muddy and gone back to bed (also true). Willy reasoned that since none of it was actually false, it was not exactly a lie. His ma had chided him for his foolishness and doctored up his cuts with a sticky green substance, and then let him go. Pleased with his own ingenuity, Willy had taken Nick along with him to go back to the Inn.
“Now,” declared Willy. “We are going in.” He wanted a closer look at Elves, and the other interesting things he had spotted through the window. Already he had some plans for the cats...
“But Ma says...” whimpered Nick. Willy realized that he had perhaps done his job too well: Nick was afraid to go into the Inn!
“It’ll be all right,” said Willy firmly. He boldly stepped up to the door with Nick scampering after. He pushed open the door tentatively and stepped in without attracting much notice. Willy was thrilled. There was nothing particularly exciting happening, but the allure of doing something you’re not supposed to combined with the general bustle about the place exhilarated him. He waved for Nick to follow him further inside, but Nick shook his head and pointed. “Willy, look.”
Willy looked and did not understand what his brother found so interesting. It was two Big Folk, and they were talking to some Hobbits. “What?” he asked.
“That,” said Nick vaguely, as if Willy should know exactly what. Willy looked closer and saw that there was a strange furry, brown creature perched on the shoulder of the taller man. Willy had to know what it was, but he was too nervous to go up and ask. He was one of the Big Folk, after all, and nearly three times his own height. He nudged Nick, “Why don’t you go ask him about it?” Nick shook his head. “Nuh-uh.” Willy sighed. They had to get out of the doorway, at any rate.
“Come on, then. I’ll ask,” he said, and slowly made his way over, trying to look confident. The man was stooped over a bit, but still very tall and very intimidating. Willy licked his lips nervously, and finally blurted out, “Excuse me, Mister, but what’s that?”
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