Pippin wandered out into the cold night, he was wary of the darkness as
hobbits went missing in it. Some returned covered in scratches and scars
telling tales of demons in the shape of dead hobbits, some were found just
lying by the side of the road drained of all blood. Others were never heard
of again. Pippin, though, had been drinking, enough to overcome his
sensible feelings of fear. His walk was unsteady as it often was when he
left the inn. He drank to drown his woes regularly, as Bilbo's old song
suggested he should. Fatty Bolger was always there to walk him home, Fatty
understood and was always there to put up with the over-emotional tipsy
Pippin. But tonight Fatty had not held back as he usually did. He had drunk
more than Pippin and was out cold on a spare bed in the inn. Pippin had
paid for Fatty and insisted that he was able to walk home by himself,
despite his distinctly slurred speech (after all, you don't need to speak
to walk home).
The reason for Fatty's drinking was his sister, Estella, who had been found in a ditch with not a drop of blood left in her body. Pippin knew how he felt having lost two of his own sisters in the same way.
Some perceptive hobbits had noticed a pattern to the deaths. The first to disappear without a trace was Frodo Baggins, just after mad old Bilbo had left. Frodo was followed by three of the Gamgee children. From there the curse spread out of Hobbiton, to those that had once known Frodo Baggins.
Pippin shied away from making friends. His only friend outside his immediate family was now Fatty. Pippin dare not make any more friends because he felt that having one more person taken from him would shatter his heart.
As he weaved his way home, it occurred to his foggy mind that if he wanted to find out what happened to his long-missing Merry, then he was going about it the right way. Smiling at his foolishness he turned back to the inn to take up the offer of that free bed. But then a thought struck him, perhaps he really could find out what happened to Merry, and meet him and everyone else again. His slow-moving mind forgot the dead bodies that were found fortnightly and the remnants of his family he would leave behind slipped his mind completely as he tottered towards his home.
The cold of the night air breezed across Pippin's face and he found it refreshing. The silence was truly beautiful, he had never heard such a blissful lack of noise. It was just him and the trees swaying in the wind. Pippin span around and around, he had not been out a night for years and had forgotten how beautiful the world could be in the darkness with the moon shining down.
His spinning came to an abrupt halt when he crashed into a very solid body standing in his way. Pippin bounced back, but the figure was barely touched. Pippin tipped his hat and apologised to the hobbit and gathered himself together to continue walking. The other lowered his hood and what Pippin saw there shocked him near sober.
"F-Frodo?" Pippin rushed to his lost cousin and put his hands either side of his face as if to check if he were not just a figment of an alcohol muddled imagination. Frodo was fully solid. Pippin couldn't restrain himself, he had to hug Frodo to him like he had when he was not yet a teen. Frodo calmly returned the gesture and buried his less-than-warm face in Pippin's soft curls. "Why cousin Frodo," he savoured each word he spoke, "You are deathly cold!" Frodo smiled a smile that was not quite his.
"That would be because I am dead my dear Took." Pippin frowned and looked up into his cousin's eyes. What he saw there was chilling. They were forehead to forehead and nose to nose, Pippin was suddenly shy in the presence of this Frodo that was not quite his. "There's someone else here to meet you." Said Frodo in a far more familiar and warm voice.
Pippin turned to find Merry standing just a few paces away. He flung himself at Merry, just as he had done at Frodo and hugged him hard, checking he would not fade away to nothing and was more than a dream. Pippin looked to Merry's eyes as he had Frodo's and hoped not to see what he had seen earlier, but was not given the chance. He found that a cold mouth was pressed into his warm one in a kiss. A kiss that was a little too intimate for him, no matter how long they had been apart. He tried to pull away, but Merry had his hand on the back of his head and was holding Pippin there. Merry began to pluck, pull and suck at Pippin's lower lip and when Pippin still struggled, Merry nipped the lip and let Pippin break free of his hold.
Pippin wiped a hand across his bleeding lip and stared at his cousin in hurt confusion. He turned away from Merry only to find himself face to face with Frodo. Frodo licked off the drop of blood forming on Pippin's lip. Pippin tired to back away but found himself sandwiched between his two cousins. Panic started to well in him, yet before it could persuade him to do anything either side of his neck burst into intense, burning pain. He gripped at Frodo's shoulders to try and pull him away from his neck but succeeded in doing nothing.
The initial pain subsided but he could still acutely feel Merry's teeth in one side of his neck and Frodo's teeth the other. He could feel his hands and feet turning cold, then his knees began to buckle and soon he could do nothing as his essence flowed out of him. The world went black, blissfully black.
Merry and Frodo pulled away and as Pippin slid slowly down Frodo's body they shared a kiss over his head and leaned against one another, basking in the afterglow of a fine feed.
"Mr. Frodo! At last, I've been looking for you for two nights straight!" A stout figure strode out of the bushes toward Frodo. "Been having some fun I see." He motioned to the form of Pippin still clinging to and leaning against Frodo's legs. Frodo smiled and beckoned Sam to him. Sam obeyed and soon their mouths were fastened together, Sam hungrily tasting for all traces of blood. "That's the best I've tasted in a long while!" Said Sam when they parted, "Who is it?" Sam couldn't see Pippin face as Frodo obscured it from view. Frodo nudged Pippin with his knee and Pippin slid finally to the floor. His eyes were open but were obviously not seeing anything and he was taking shallow gasping breaths, he was all but dead. Sam raised an eyebrow, "What are you going to do with him now?"
"Can we keep him please Frodo?" asked Merry and a strange light flashed in his eyes. "Sam was right, he tasted truly exquisite." Merry looked back down to the open wounds on Pippin's neck slowly leaking their precious fluid, it was all he could do to stop himself fixing his mouth around them again and finish Pippin off.
"No." said Frodo quite simply, "He won't survive the night. Either we finish him, or we turn him." All three of them looked back down at the body, still breathing, they still had time to decide.
"Well, if you decide t' turn him, I won't be the one doing it." Frodo ignored Sam and thought upon it. He would give Merry something to do while he and Sam were away, and he did have a very fine body. Frodo smiled and knelt beside the dying Pippin. He bit two neat holes in his wrist and held it over Pippin's mouth. He would be with them again soon, just like old times.
The reason for Fatty's drinking was his sister, Estella, who had been found in a ditch with not a drop of blood left in her body. Pippin knew how he felt having lost two of his own sisters in the same way.
Some perceptive hobbits had noticed a pattern to the deaths. The first to disappear without a trace was Frodo Baggins, just after mad old Bilbo had left. Frodo was followed by three of the Gamgee children. From there the curse spread out of Hobbiton, to those that had once known Frodo Baggins.
Pippin shied away from making friends. His only friend outside his immediate family was now Fatty. Pippin dare not make any more friends because he felt that having one more person taken from him would shatter his heart.
As he weaved his way home, it occurred to his foggy mind that if he wanted to find out what happened to his long-missing Merry, then he was going about it the right way. Smiling at his foolishness he turned back to the inn to take up the offer of that free bed. But then a thought struck him, perhaps he really could find out what happened to Merry, and meet him and everyone else again. His slow-moving mind forgot the dead bodies that were found fortnightly and the remnants of his family he would leave behind slipped his mind completely as he tottered towards his home.
The cold of the night air breezed across Pippin's face and he found it refreshing. The silence was truly beautiful, he had never heard such a blissful lack of noise. It was just him and the trees swaying in the wind. Pippin span around and around, he had not been out a night for years and had forgotten how beautiful the world could be in the darkness with the moon shining down.
His spinning came to an abrupt halt when he crashed into a very solid body standing in his way. Pippin bounced back, but the figure was barely touched. Pippin tipped his hat and apologised to the hobbit and gathered himself together to continue walking. The other lowered his hood and what Pippin saw there shocked him near sober.
"F-Frodo?" Pippin rushed to his lost cousin and put his hands either side of his face as if to check if he were not just a figment of an alcohol muddled imagination. Frodo was fully solid. Pippin couldn't restrain himself, he had to hug Frodo to him like he had when he was not yet a teen. Frodo calmly returned the gesture and buried his less-than-warm face in Pippin's soft curls. "Why cousin Frodo," he savoured each word he spoke, "You are deathly cold!" Frodo smiled a smile that was not quite his.
"That would be because I am dead my dear Took." Pippin frowned and looked up into his cousin's eyes. What he saw there was chilling. They were forehead to forehead and nose to nose, Pippin was suddenly shy in the presence of this Frodo that was not quite his. "There's someone else here to meet you." Said Frodo in a far more familiar and warm voice.
Pippin turned to find Merry standing just a few paces away. He flung himself at Merry, just as he had done at Frodo and hugged him hard, checking he would not fade away to nothing and was more than a dream. Pippin looked to Merry's eyes as he had Frodo's and hoped not to see what he had seen earlier, but was not given the chance. He found that a cold mouth was pressed into his warm one in a kiss. A kiss that was a little too intimate for him, no matter how long they had been apart. He tried to pull away, but Merry had his hand on the back of his head and was holding Pippin there. Merry began to pluck, pull and suck at Pippin's lower lip and when Pippin still struggled, Merry nipped the lip and let Pippin break free of his hold.
Pippin wiped a hand across his bleeding lip and stared at his cousin in hurt confusion. He turned away from Merry only to find himself face to face with Frodo. Frodo licked off the drop of blood forming on Pippin's lip. Pippin tired to back away but found himself sandwiched between his two cousins. Panic started to well in him, yet before it could persuade him to do anything either side of his neck burst into intense, burning pain. He gripped at Frodo's shoulders to try and pull him away from his neck but succeeded in doing nothing.
The initial pain subsided but he could still acutely feel Merry's teeth in one side of his neck and Frodo's teeth the other. He could feel his hands and feet turning cold, then his knees began to buckle and soon he could do nothing as his essence flowed out of him. The world went black, blissfully black.
Merry and Frodo pulled away and as Pippin slid slowly down Frodo's body they shared a kiss over his head and leaned against one another, basking in the afterglow of a fine feed.
"Mr. Frodo! At last, I've been looking for you for two nights straight!" A stout figure strode out of the bushes toward Frodo. "Been having some fun I see." He motioned to the form of Pippin still clinging to and leaning against Frodo's legs. Frodo smiled and beckoned Sam to him. Sam obeyed and soon their mouths were fastened together, Sam hungrily tasting for all traces of blood. "That's the best I've tasted in a long while!" Said Sam when they parted, "Who is it?" Sam couldn't see Pippin face as Frodo obscured it from view. Frodo nudged Pippin with his knee and Pippin slid finally to the floor. His eyes were open but were obviously not seeing anything and he was taking shallow gasping breaths, he was all but dead. Sam raised an eyebrow, "What are you going to do with him now?"
"Can we keep him please Frodo?" asked Merry and a strange light flashed in his eyes. "Sam was right, he tasted truly exquisite." Merry looked back down to the open wounds on Pippin's neck slowly leaking their precious fluid, it was all he could do to stop himself fixing his mouth around them again and finish Pippin off.
"No." said Frodo quite simply, "He won't survive the night. Either we finish him, or we turn him." All three of them looked back down at the body, still breathing, they still had time to decide.
"Well, if you decide t' turn him, I won't be the one doing it." Frodo ignored Sam and thought upon it. He would give Merry something to do while he and Sam were away, and he did have a very fine body. Frodo smiled and knelt beside the dying Pippin. He bit two neat holes in his wrist and held it over Pippin's mouth. He would be with them again soon, just like old times.