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Merimac was enjoying the party. He had to keep reminding himself not to eat too much. It seemed strange to him that soon he would be out in the wild with the other brave hobbit adventurers, fending off wolves and who knows what else. It was quite a way into the party, and Meri had been talking with some old friends he hadn't seen in a while, when a draft of freezing cold air caused him to turn to the door. It was Hob! Meri hadn't seen Hob around for a while. Seeing that Hob was with his parents, Meri waited a while before he tried to catch his eye and call him over. When Hob turned in his direction, Meri waved and called him over.
"Haven't seen you for a long time Hob," said Meri. "Been looking after your parents?"
"That's right," said Hob. "This winter's taken its toll on them both."
Meri paused before he said anything else. He hadn't seen his parents very much during the long winter - they lived on the other side of the Shire. He decided he'd visit them before the journey, if he had time, just in case... just in case he did perish. "Do you think we'll all survive?"
"I hope so," replied Hob.
Meri decided it best not to talk of such dire things, and so he and Hob spoke with the other young hobbits, telling any cheerful tales they knew. But if the conversation slowed at any point, Meri's thoughts quickly reverted back to thinking of the journey ahead. It would be long and treacherous, Meri knew that, but he would do his best to make it there and back again.
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