Skinchangers roamed the mountains before any others. They were free; they walked their realm with an air of belonging; as if they belonged to the mountains and the mountains belonged to them. They were peaceful, content in their ways, happy with their connections with the animals of the earth. In their homes their wild friends came to stay and grew large, much like the skinchangers did themselves. It was speculated that these men-turned-part-animal sprung forth from animals themselves, desperate for human bodies and minds. Other legends said that the men of the Misty Mountains grew so close to the animals that lived there they were able to share their forms. Either instance could not be proven, since the skinchangers did not keep record of their history. They were content to live in the forest and let the ways of the world around them change.

There were many of them. So many, in fact, that every large enough animal supposedly had a skinchanger counterpart to take their form. Their age of death was unknown to all others, but it was guessed to be several hundred years. The skinchangers lived high in the Misty Mountains, their homeland.

But the orcs drove them out. They picked off their kind one by one; until there were only few left and driven down the mountains, away from everything they had known. Even then they would not be sated; they chained up the skinchangers and used them for sport. Sometimes they let them out, gave them false hope for escaping, before hunting them down like they were actual wild animals and killing them without mercy. Within years after the orcs slaughtered their numbers, only two lived. Beorn and his daughter, Bryn. They had been locked up like the others, but Beorn was smart and protective of his cub. He waited years until the perfect night came; a dark, dreary night, filled with rain and storm and fierce lightning. He had rusted his and his daughters chains and mustered up enough strength to break them. They disappeared into the night.

For sixty years Beorn prospered between Mirkwood and his old home. He rebuilt his house with the help of his daughter, and together they invited the surrounding animals to take shelter with them. The honey bees grew a dozen times larger than average bees, and the Clydesdales feasted on the dark green grass. It was almost as if nothing had happened, but a dark hatred lingered in the heart of Beorn for the orcs, and he promised one day to slay them all.

As for Bryn; she was much too young to remember everything that had transpired. She hadn't come into adulthood before the orcs laid waste to her family and friends. Her mother had died giving birth to her. While Beorn easily reached taller than seven feet, Bryn stood at five feet and three inches, having inherited her height from her mother, who skinchanged into an owl. Beorn's skinchange was to a bear, while Bryn changed into a black wolf. One thing they had in common was their ferocity; Beorn could easily shake the surrounding forest with his mighty woofing (bears do not growl), and Bryn could easily send a group of orcs running with a single snarl.

For sixty years the father and daughter lived in peace with their friends. Beorn taught her how to better control her changing, which she had trouble doing when experiencing strong emotions. Though Bryn was smaller than most skinchangers, her animal counterpart swelled in size. She was just larger than the average wolf. Skinchangers, before the orcs devastating hunt began, took pride in their animalistic forms. They groomed constantly, making sure their fur or feathers were as clean as possible. Beorn had dropped the tradition in part, taking up more patrols more often. Bryn stayed closer to home, having more time to do everything she had done as a child, such as the daily grooming. Together they protected their new home fiercely. So when thirteen dwarves, a wizard, and a hobbit showed up unannounced at their doorsteps, their usual life was interrupted greatly, and would inevitably change Bryn's life forever.

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"I haven't seen as many orcs as of late." Beorn commented to his daughter as they sat down for their breakfast, the sun just peeking over the horizon. He wore loose fitting pants, his hairy chest and feet bare. Silently he thanked the animals that set out their food.

"That is a good thing, is it not?" Bryn questioned, starting to eat. She too wore loose fitting pants and nothing on her feet, but her chest was clad in a long sleeved black shirt. Her long raven hair had been tamed earlier, and now hung straight down her back, contrasting greatly against her fair skin. Her emerald eyes twinkled when the rising sun caught them just right.

"It could be, but I would bet that they're grouping their forces again." Beorn grunted lowly. "I do not plan to give them the chance."

"I would not expect you to." She smiled pleasantly. A cat jumped up onto the tall furniture and curled on Bryn's lap, purring. The rest of the breakfast was taken in silence. Bryn helped the animals clear the table before starting on her chores for the day. Today was the first day of the week, so she would have to clean the horse pastures and collect the eggs before starting on tidying the house. Since Beorn was gone so often, the task of keeping the animals satisfied fell to her, but she did not mind.

The day passed slowly, much like any other. The honey bees buzzed happily to and from the flowers that grew near and around the large house, the horses galloped around the open fields, the cats chased the mice, and the dogs played. Bryn was close to all of the animals, but even closer to the dogs. She shared a special kinship with them. She toiled away tirelessly to clean the horses' home, making sure it was spotless, before moving on to collecting the chicken's eggs and then cleaning their coop.

After hours of work she was done, and when she did finish she smiled to herself, feeling the excitement bubble up in her. She loved letting her animal side out, it was the only time she truly felt free. So she stripped herself of her shirt and pants silently inside the barn, before squaring her shoulders and closing her eyes. She felt the air around her shift before her muscles and bones starting pulling, contracting, swelling, and moving. When she opened her eyes, she was on all fours and her senses were heightened. She could smell everything that had been in and out of the barn in the past week, and she could see things she couldn't see moments ago. She loved being in this form.

While Beorn lost himself almost completely when he was a bear, Bryn didn't have that problem. She retained most of her normal human sense, and gained primal instincts. The only time she had trouble controlling her urges was when she was under copious amounts of stress or had overwhelming emotions, or when she felt trapped. That was when the wolf side of her kicked in, and her need for relief or survival took over. The only time this happened was when she was hunting orcs.

Sometimes she wished for a pack. She supposed she was a lone wolf, since she had no family of wolves with her. She liked to think she was an alpha alongside her father, since in every pack there was a male alpha and female alpha, though she knew she was probably a beta. Her mother would have been the alpha.

She shook away the harrowing thoughts and padded outside the barn. The dogs had stopped playing and now stood around staring at her, waiting to see what she was going to do. Today, she just wanted to be alone, so she got her point across with a low growl before tearing off towards the treeline. She loved to feel the wind in her fur and the feel of her new and larger muscles burn as she ran. Bryn knew her father wouldn't be satisfied until he regained his homeland, but here, she was happy.

She explored the woods for a few hours, without a goal in mind. When the sun was high in the sky she decided to return home. Her father still had not come back yet, which was normal. Sometimes he would be gone for days at a time while hunting the orcs. After having a small meal, she decided she would treat herself to a mid afternoon nap.

And was awakened just an hour later. Rather obnoxiously, she might add. She woke with a startled gasp, hearing the loud shouting and the sounds of her father in his bear form. Quickly she swallowed her bubbling fear, feeling the air start to tingle around her as she quietly made her way from her room and into the dining area. Before her were a vast amount of dwarves and a very tall, greying old man. A growl found its way from her throat as she felt the fine hair on her arms stand up as she stared at the intruders.

"Be calm, Bryn. We are friends." The old man spoke, holding a hand up in defense, the other one wrapped around his staff. An odd sense of calm washed over her, and she immediately knew the old man was an Istar.

"Then why is my father ready to kill you, wizard?" She narrowed her eyes, but her want to change was gone.

"That animal is your father?" The leader of the company asked, and though he was surprised (and albeit a little disgusted), he maintained his regal air.

"I would be more careful, dwarf, not even your Istar could save you from his anger." Bryn found herself hissing, eyes flashing dangerously.

"He does not mean any harm. We just need a place to stay for the night, somewhere to hide out from a pack of orcs." The wizard spoke once more, his voice calming and reasonable. Though he looked like an innocent old man who needed a walking stick, she knew better. Her father had once met another wizard before she was born. He described the wizard as an odd old man dressed in brown clothing, who had spent much time with animals much like them. Though he was a gentle man, Bryn suspected this new wizard to be more powerful than the brown one.

Bryn took a moment to survey the dwarves. They all carried weapons of some kind, mostly swords and battle axes. She looked at each member of the intruders, passing over the leader, one with a funny hat, the robust ginger one, the redhead, the one with a metal thing sticking out of his ear, the one with an axe sticking out of his forehead... until her eyes came to land on a blond one. His mustache was braided, along with a few other random braids about his long blond hair, with a bead hanging off each end of them. She was about three inches taller than him, she supposed, and his nose was on the larger side, but his eyes were by far the most attractive aspect to him. They were light blue, and reminded her of the sky. And he was staring at her, like the others.

"Leave your weapons at the door." She found herself saying. "You may stay until my father sees fit for you all to leave."

"What is he?" One of the younger members of the company asked, still clearly in disbelief. And fright.

"That is our host." The wizard said, looking over to Bryn with a small smile. "His name is Beorn. He's a skinchanger… Sometimes he's a huge black bear, and sometimes he's a great strong man." Bryn stood silently as a sentry by the table, still distrustful of the uninvited visitors. While most of the attention had been diverted to the Istar in curiosity or turned to exploring her home, she noted the blond still stared. She felt herself heat up under his gaze, so she returned the stare coldly. She was not an object to be scrutinized. "The bear is unpredictable. But the man can be reasoned with; however, he is not overly fond of dwarves."

"With good reason." Bryn found herself saying as she turned to start fishing out food for the travelers.

"And what reason would that be?" The blond one spoke up, his gaze still fixed on her. His voice was just the right balance of deepness and smoothness, and Bryn resisted the urge to shiver.

"You will find out soon enough, dwarf." And despite her cool words, she smiled, placing loaves of bread and cheese on the table tall table. "You lot should eat before sleeping, it may be the only opportunity to do so before the morning." She never had guests before, so she drew what to do in this situation from stories her father had told her and small books she had come across.

"He's leaving." The young one spoke, the relief clear in his voice but his eyes wide. One of the others, an older white and gray haired dwarf, pulled him away from the door.

"Come away from there, it's not natural, none of it. It's obvious, he's under some dark spell." The older man turned to glare at Gandalf, and before he could respond, Bryn whipped around to glare at him.

"Your ignorance is giving me a headache, old one. I would suggest holding your tongue lest you want to lose it." She snapped, her temper already getting the better of her and they had hardly been inside for five minutes.

"Gandalf said your name is Bryn." The leader spoke, his voice slightly gruff but looking at her with something akin to cool indifference. She did her best to match it.

"So if the Istar's name is Gandalf, what would your name be? You have me at a bit of a disadvantage."

"Thorin Oakenshield." He gave a majestic nod, and for a moment she was sated with his manners. "That's Ori, Nori, and Dori,"-Ori was the young, scared one and the Dori was the enormously judgemental one, and Nori was the one with the starfish hairstyle, though it was still nice-they each mumbled niceties- "Bofur, Bombur, and Bifur,"-Bofur was the one with the funny hat, Bombur was the largest one out of them with stark ginger hair, while Bifur was the one with the axe sticking out of his head.

"At your service." Bofur said, sweeping into a deep bow and taking his hat off, revealing a messy hairstyle which she couldn't help but smiled at. Bombur uttered the same greeting, while Bifur placed an arm at his chest and uttered something in a different language.

"Balin, at your service." A white haired, balding dwarf stepped up, smiling kindly at her. She returned it, starting to think that maybe not all the dwarves were bad.

"Dwalin." A brown haired, balding dwarf spoke next. His armor was impressive, even complete with knuckle spikes. Balin nudged him, and he rolled his eyes. "At your service."

"Oin, at your service." He spoke, a metal-like square thing was perched in his ear, presumably to be able to hear.

"Gloin, at your service." The redhead spoke. She smiled slightly at all of them, beginning to feel her apprehension wane away just by knowing their names.

But there were two who had yet to go. The blond, blue eyed dwarf and the brown haired brown eyed dwarf. The brown haired one went first. "Kili, at your service." He gave a small bow, before the blond one stepped forward.

"Fili, at your service, my lady." He bowed like Kili did, but took her hand and kissed it. She laughed out loud, though a blush took her cheeks.

"I do not answer to such titles. My name is Bryn, so you all may call me it." She spoke. Fili smiled up at her, not being able to help himself. "Eat, I will fetch extra blankets for the night."

"Would you like any help, Bryn?" Fili asked, staring almost hopefully.

"No thank you." She responded, not sparing him a second glance as she tried to scrounge up some old blankets her and her father hadn't been using.

"Would you like any help?" Kili mocked in a not-so-close version of Fili's voice. Fili rolled his eyes and elbowed his brother before climbing onto the bench and digging into a loaf of bread.

"Shut up." He mumbled through a mouthful, and Kili bent his back and laughed at him. Faintly he was aware of his uncle, Balin, and Gandalf talking in quiet tones while the rest of the company was getting used to the new accommodations. When he made eye contact with the woman, something immediately changed within him. He couldn't look away, and he was breathless.

"You'll all have to sleep in there," she nodded to a large open part of the home, which had hay laid down and a few goats munching on it happily. She dropped the blankets on top of a hay stack, turning back to face the company. "It's the only place that's got enough room for you all."

"Lass," Bofur called, smearing a bit of cheese onto his bread. "If your father is a… skinchanger, does that make you one?"

The attention of the room shifted to her once more, and Fili found himself holding his breath for an answer as he tried to catch her eye. "Aye, it does."

"Do you change into a bear as well then?" Fili found the words spilling out of his mouth before he could help it. He felt like he was a a little dwarf again, asking his mother for a story.

"No, I do not. I'm a wolf skinchanger." She admonished, smiling at their surprise.

"Will you show us?" Kili asked excitedly, his food having been long forgotten as they stared at her for an answer.

"Perhaps tomorrow." She murmured, and after a moment of hesitation, turned away, but not before she saw Thorin's distrustful stare.


Alright guys, here's the first chapter! Please please please review to let me know if anyone has interest in this story, because if not I won't bother posting the next chapters. If you're looking for a story that starts at the very beginning, check out At Your Service, which is my romance between Kili and an OFC. Check it out ;)

UPDATE: As of 3/31/15 there have been additional details added as well as a spell check run through.