Author’s Notes: Written for Marigold’s 17th challenge — she gaveme the opening line. I wrote one a while back that had Merry visiting Rohan and I thought it was time I wrote one about Pippin visiting his friends in Ithilien.

Disclaimer: The usual…no profit being made by me except for any feedback I get, all belong to Tolkien and P.J., etc.

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"The wood is too wet, I can’t get it to catch."

Grinning at Pippin, the Steward of Gondor dug through his saddlebags. "Then allow me to work the magic of Rangers, my friend."

"Oh, that’s just fine." Pippin huffed when Faramir was rewarded for his efforts with the crackle and hiss of flames. "It’s not like the Tooks know nothing of the wilds. We’re quite unusual for hobbits, you know."

"Perhaps, but Rangers are probably more familiar with the wilds in the recent sense. I suppose I am fortunate that our wives decided to allow us this little jaunt into the wilds for a night. I’ve missed this sort of thing a great deal, you know. So…are there any Tooks beside yourself who know the forests so well?" The tall man folded himself downward to sit by his friend’s side.

Laughing, Pippin held his hands out to the dancing warmth. "Not many. My father, surely, but not many others. The Brandybucks have their river, all of them, but it is usually only the Thain and his family who have contact with the Forest in the Shire. Most wouldn’t dare."

Faramir drew his cloak tighter about his shoulders. "Frodo tried to explain the Forest to me once, but I’m not sure I understood. Merry mentioned that he thought it might have been made of ents once, or at least the trees they herded. It sounds rather like a place full of magic."

"Aye, it has often seemed that way to me, but then again, I had two older cousins telling me tales when I was a small lad."

"Ah." Faramir smiled understandingly. "I had an older brother and a few cousins who did that to me, although it was Boromir who usually had to rescue me out of my panic."

"Well…" Pippin continued with a little shiver that caused his friend to spread the edge of his cloak over the hobbit as well as himself. "Travelling through it when we left the Shire convinced me that I didn’t want to go back into it. Lothlorien was much prettier. Full of light. And the trees seemed…friendlier."

"Friendlier?" One dark eyebrow was raised in his direction.

"Friendlier." Pippin confirmed. "No, that is how it truly felt. I remember that a couple of older lads dared me to go into the woods at the borders of Buckland. Got lost in less than an hour with Merry. Our fathers were not at all pleased that they had to come after us. They found us huddled in a little clearing, terrified out of what little wit we had, they suggested."

As Pippin finished the tale, Faramir drew him close in a swift hug. "Followed each other anywhere? It sounds as though some things did not change as you grew."

"No, they didn’t, did they?" Pippin agreed with a fond and wistful smile. "We did rather take after the two of them."

"I wish that I could see the Hedge and the forest." Faramir mused. "Although I’m not sure that we need any adventure just now. We’ve had enough of those for several lifetimes."

"The King’s orders may prevent you from entering, but I’d like you to meet my father when we come to meet you at the Bridge." Pippin said a bit shyly.

"I’d be honored." The man answered his friend, and they sat there for a while in comfortable silence until Pippin’s yawn suggested that sleep might be appropriate.

"Faramir?" Pippin whispered as they lay down. "Is it just me, or is there a pair of Guardsman camped not a quarter mile away from us?"

There was a definite snicker from behind Faramir’s hand. "You didn’t really think that Beregond would let me do this without someone keeping watch, did you? And anyway, Eowyn and Diamond probably went to him in case he hadn’t already thought of it."

Pippin just sighed.