The day Dis arrived in Erebor was the day that she saw her brother cry. It was the good kind of tears though, the kind that Dis had forgotten existed until she got the message that everyone had survived and Erebor was back. Cheering must have run through all of Ered Lindon, and she swore she could hear tons of its inhabitants packing their bags to leave. Dis was the kind of person who got things done, and within twenty minutes she had everything she needed packed.
"Dis," Thorin said. "I missed you so much!"
"Couldn't survive without me?"
He chuckled but didn't answer.
Dis hadn't noticed that she was crying.
Once they were inside and Dis was warmed did Thorin again speak to her. Her eyes were awe struck at Erebor. Most of it had faded from her memory. As the youngest of the family, she'd been quite small when they left.
"What took you so long? You should have been here one month early?" There was a hard glint in his eyes. "Did any orcs bother you? Goblins?"
"Oh there were some goblins in The Misty Mountains," she commented, "but nothing that I couldn't handle myself. The rest of my group did fine as well. It didn't take that long to get past them."
"Then what did?"
"Oh, we made a detour in Rivendell. A few wanted alcohol after they drank all the rest. It had fresh wine. A few were against it, but I was planning on getting extra money for our quest by working as a smith. I met an elf named Elrond and learned a few things from him."
"But you hate elves!"
"I don't hate it when they give me wine and money! Not to mention a bed! Do you think I like to sleep on rocks?" She laughed. "While I was there I met a beautiful woman, even without a beard. Sounds impossible, but it's true." She pulled her treasure out of her pocket. "She asked me if there was anything I wanted, and I told her all that I wanted was for the letters to be true." She held the flowers in her hands. "She had these pressed for me. They're galanthus. It meant she wished me hope. Of course she also recommended quite a few elves to hire me for my services. I really was working the smith!" Dis truly was grateful to her.
Thorin's jaw was hanging open.
"Hey, I heard you like the Rivendell elves too. Besides, she's the only elf I like. All the other elves can go shag a tree for all I care."