Lottie and Pippin's Savanna Quest

For a moment, the world was still.

Then, with an almost imperceptible sigh, the wind rustled through the grass of the savanna and stirred the dust in a small swirl that chased after a tiny green beetle. The beetle clambered over a fallen tree branch on its way to somewhere, oblivious to the vast expanse of land around it as it had been for millennia. In all that time, there had never been a storm here. Not one to notice such things, the beetle kept going.

Lottie and Pippin were young. Too young to have experienced storms. They didn't stop either, they just kept walking forward into the sun-soaked horizon. But they did feel the change in air pressure that followed in the wake of the beetle's clumsy journey, and neither of them spoke. They were too engrossed in their own thoughts to notice each other's silence, so it was only natural that no words were exchanged between them to acknowledge or question this change in weather's temperament.

"So what do you think is out there?" Pippin asked finally, hefting his longbow and fiddling with one end of a string. He'd made it himself and painstakingly carved every detail of bow and arrow by hand when he was only eight years old back home in Hobbiton. Lottie admired his work often, but today she was distracted by her own thoughts while they walked through the seemingly endless savanna.

"I don't know." She shrugged and looked around at the endless grass and then glanced up at the sun for direction and purpose. "Maybe we'll see some lions or bears or something."

"Or an elephant!" Pippin exclaimed with wide eyes, "Or even a dragon!" He wasn't quite sure if such creatures really existed outside of stories told by Gandalf, but he liked to pretend that they did anyway because it made him feel brave, like he could do anything if he really tried hard enough if he just believed in himself like Bilbo always said.

But Lottie wasn't interested in fueling his dreams about imaginary beasts today because she was having her own doubts about what lay ahead for them. At first, she thought they were just being silly together, but now she wondered if maybe there was more truth than fiction to those old stories now that they were traveling through this strange land alone without their parents' protection or guidance anymore.

Suddenly, she stopped walking and turned to face her little brother with a serious expression on her face; which was unusual because she usually laughed at everything Pippin said instead of taking him seriously like this. "Pip," She began slowly, "Do you...do you think something happened back home?"

Pippin frowned at her question but answered it because they didn't have much else to talk about other than imagining monsters ahead of them or wondering about home behind them both, which made him feel gloomy inside. "I don't know," He admitted honestly, "Maybe Gandalf came back? Or Bilbo?" He offered hopefully as he glanced around nervously for signs of danger in case either of them might have returned early without telling him first, but all he saw were tall trees swaying slightly from side to side.

"Do you think we're lost?" Lottie asked next, genuine concern furrowing her brows while she started walking again down an empty dirt path that seemed to stretch endlessly before them until the horizon swallowed it up.

Pippin sighed and shook his head sadly before answering her question honestly. "No," He replied finally, thinking that if Gandalf had traveled here all by himself, then surely there must be some kind of magic protecting this place from harm because otherwise why would anyone choose such a strange place as this when all sorts of beautiful places existed throughout all nine realms.

And then suddenly, two twin voices rang out together through the clear blue sky above their heads, startling two nearby birds who had quietly perched themselves atop a nearby tree branch together. It was Pippin who screamed first: "Help! We're lost!" And then Lottie added her voice as well: "Bilbo! Gandalf! Where are you?!" Both voices cried out simultaneously in a desperate plea for help as they continued searching for signs of their loved ones or any indication of civilization.

Time passed quickly while both children continued shouting desperately into the thin air, trying not just to save themselves from certain doom but also hoping someone might hear their cries before whatever horrid fate awaited them decided it had waited long enough already. But alas, none ever came and only silence greeted those lonely cries, echoing through the empty space filled only with hope, stranded high above perfect blue skies watching silently from afar, waiting patiently for those same children searching aimlessly through open fields. They were unable, or unwilling, to reach across the many types of borders - including cultural divides - that often went unrecognized mostly due to ignorance and fear. If only they could find the strength and