Disclaimer: I unfortunately have no rights over Tolkien's masterpieces or over the work of David Day "A Guide to Tolkien". I do lay claim to Poppy and any other minor OC that will pop up along the way.
Bilbo Baggins was a simple hobbit. Similar to most other hobbits he liked structure and order. Each morning he would wake with the sun and lie in bed for a minute or two basking in the orange-yellow glow that peeked through the plaid curtains into his bedroom. He would stretch his arms high above his head with a content grin, before throwing back the quilt and sitting up straight on the edge of his bed. He would wiggle his furry toes and with one last yawn he was up and off to the kitchen for the first of the day's many meals. Yes, that was how Bilbo Baggins liked his mornings.
He then liked to spend the rest of the day reading his maps and books, breaking up his study with yet another meal or a minute, or forty, outside smoking his pipe and observing Hobbiton's inhabitants from his superior location outside Bag End. Bilbo would end each day by locking up his little hobbit hole and slowly crawling back into bed. Once he has wriggled about and nested himself in the covers he couldn't help but think how happy he was with his quiet and comfortable life in the Shire; a charmed life that no one could possible ruin for him.
Little did Bilbo know that one day in the very, very near future, he would be proven wrong and his life would be thrown into complete and utter chaos. As a matter of fact the life of another little hobbit of the Shire would be turned upside down with the arrival of dark shadows at dusk.
"So an elf, an orc and a goblin walk into an inn…"
"For Mahal's sake Kili! I've heard that ruddy joke four times in the past week. It was not funny the first time and I doubt that it would have gotten any funnier."
"Alright Fili. No need to get your arse in your hand. You've been in a foul mood since that human called you a pretty, dwarf lass. You should have taken it as a compliment."
Fili stopped dead in his track, sky blue eyes darkening as he stared at his oblivious brother.
If anyone would have been walking along the last dust track into Hobbiton they would have been shocked and probably terrified at the sight of two dwarven travellers rolling around and shouting at each other in the middle of the road.
"Well Kili, if it is such a compliment why did you break the Smithy in Bree's nose for asking why a 'wee, dwarf lady was roaming? Hypocrite!"
The two brothers continued to scuffle on the road. They were taking weeks of anguish, hunger, exhaustion and frustration out on each other, particularly unusual for this pair. However their spat quickly turned into nothing more than horse play, and as always said horse play got out of hand, especially without their mother there to reprimand them. The two tumbled down the small embankment through weeds and flowers straight into the back of a little figure dressed in dusty pink.
"Ahhhhhhh"
The brothers halted in their actions and quickly whipped their heads to the side, Fili's braid smacking Kili in the face. They saw nothing though. Just a few bubbles floating on the surface of the river…right in front of a little rug and picnic basket…
"Shit!"
Both men began tearing their overcoats and boots off, once again fuming at one another.
"It's your fault Kili!"
"My fault?! You were the one that started this. You always have to get physical don't you, just like Uncle. You can't sit down for a minute and discuss your issues like an adult."
"You sound like one of those poncy, tree-shaggers now!"
The two men squared off against one another once more. Face to face. Large nose to large nose. Completely oblivious to both their states of half dress (Kili with one boot on and another off and Fili with his head half out of his tunic) and the small creature that had drug itself out of the water in the meantime.
Spluttering slightly, the small figure laid itself flat out on its stomach, savouring the feeling of solid ground under its form and breathing heavily.
The brothers were still oblivious to the presence of the little critter. That was until Fili gave Kili a good hard shove sending him sprawling over their latest victim. Confused as to the soft cushioning under her his head, Kili tried to push himself up feeling his fingers tangle in something wet that felt like pond weed.
"Ow get off me! You're pulling my hair!"
Startled into standing the brothers finally acknowledge the being that they had shoved unceremoniously into the river. In front of them, cradling her head in her hands was a small female. She didn't quite look like a human, or a dwarf or even an elf…thank Mahal.
Kili nudged his brother in the side and whispered harshly in Khuzdul, "What is it?"
Fili could only shrug in reply. He was trying to figure that question out himself.
The small girl had finally caught her breath and soothed the ache in her head. She stumbled onto all fours, pushing herself up slowly to stand, swaying slight on the uneven ground of the bank. The dwarves finally got a good look at her as she stood up straight, fisted clenched at her sides, knuckles turning white around the material of her white apron.
She could be no taller than 4 foot, roughly the same size as an average female dwarf. The only difference between her and a female dwarf however, was that this young lady was far less stocky, with only a smattering of hair on her feet, rather than on her chin. Auburn, almost dark brown curls framed a pale, soft, baby face and trailed down a few inches past her shoulders. Her eyes were stormy blue and rounded, looking almost sleepy, framed by long dark lashes. She had large pointed ears, like an elf, but they concluded quickly that she was no elf due to her stature and her larger, slightly upturned nose (Elves were of course perfectly in every single way and as such they has small straight noses that looked like they were carved from marble…rolls eyes). Their eyes continued down her face from her nose to her thin, dark pink lips and from there even further down to her slim neck and her fairly amble….
"Ughum"
This cough pulled the brothers back to reality. On second glance the girl in front of them did not look happy. No, no, no - far from it in fact. Her face was drawn into a tight scowl that only made her look like a petulant toddler.
Before Fili could ask the lass in front of him what her name was, and of course offer his sincerest apologies for nearly killing her, his delightful younger brother beat him to it.
"What are you?"
'Ah Kili', Fili thought giving his brother a deadpanned stare, 'eloquent and tactile as always'.
"Usually when you meet someone for the first time you ask them 'who are you?', or 'how do you do?' not 'what are you?' Did your mother never teach you manners or social graces? And besides that, are you not going to apologise for pushing me into a fast flowing river, leaving me in said river and then practically squashing me?"
Wow, she was bitching. The brothers rolled their eyes and fell easily into their mischievous countenance they usually reserved for elderly and cantankerous dwarves.
"Fairest beauty" Began the eldest brother, swaggering up to the small female, golden mane blowing slightly in the breeze. "I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to you on behalf of my brother and I. We are complete and utter disgraces to the dwarven race and should be struck where we stand by the mighty hammer of Aule. Please forgive us, for I do not think we could live on knowing we have offended a gentle flower. I am Fili."
The darker, swarthy looking dwarf followed in his brother's path closer to their prey. "And I am Kili."
"At your service." They chimed in unison, bowing low and sweeping an arm to the side in a grandiose and unnecessary gesture.
"What may be call you sweet princess?" Kili practically purred.
Completely unamused, still soaked through and increasingly miffed, the female answered. "If you must know my name is Poppy Underhill and I am quite obviously a hobbit! I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but frankly I would be lying. Good day to you sirs."
And with that the no longer anonymous hobbit lass grabbed her basket, blanket and soft brown leather shoes and huffed on up to the main road. Dumbfounded at what just happened, Fili and Kili looked at one another before quickly grabbing their bags and discarded clothes and rushing in the direction Poppy had just scampered off to.
Poppy was in turmoil as she sped off towards Hobbiton – she was both angry and embarrassed. Mostly embarrassed at what had just occurred though. She had never spoken to anybody in such a way before. Well that is if you exclude the telling off she gave Rosie Jumbleweed, who deliberately dropped a whole jar of blackberry jam down her new white dress at the May Day banquet, when she was 25. She was a Underhill after all – they were supposed to be of a docile character; calm and collected with an inquisitive side that was rarely sated. She wasn't one of those crazy Sackville-Baggins or an eccentric Took that had no other volume other than screaming. Oh dear she needed to lie down. The inside of her head felt as if ten thousand dwarfs were simultaneously forging swords…urgh dwarves. She could never understand why the Harfoot hobbits had anything to do with them. They were smelly, dirty, loud and handsome. No wait, they weren't handsome! They didn't have nice hairy feet or round soft bellies like hobbit men did…or did they? No, they were probably made entirely of muscle, stomachs as hard as….Poppy had to cut off her own internal monologue before she passed out – all the blood was rushing to her face causing her to blush redder than a beetroot at her increasingly sordid thoughts. Heaving a great sigh she trundled onwards and out of the woodland. The setting sun kissed her face once more and she sighed in relief when she saw the market square; only 40 more minutes of walking and she would be back in her family's nice hobbit hole. She'd be clean and warm, with a cup of tea in one hand and a scone in the other. Her mood was lifting and no one could ruin it again.
She should have touched wood though. Unfortunately less than ten yards down the road she began to faintly hear two unfortunately familiar voices, pleading with her to stop. She slowed down, eyes glazed, furiously debating with herself whether to take pity on these obviously deranged dwarves or whether to run faster than Drogo Baggins did when Primula Brandybuck's father found them rolling in the hay last Midsummer's Eve. Guilt and curiosity won with Poppy though, as it always did, and she stopped. The two dwarves, the dark haired one still devoid of a boot, jogged up to her, bending over slightly and breathing deeply.
"Urgh…dwarves were not built to…travel that fast over long distances… we're natural sprinters." Poppy couldn't help but snort at Kili's ridiculous comment. From the little she knew of dwarves they were rovers, constantly travelling great distances, what would a two mile run be to them. She wouldn't mention it though, she'd already been rude enough today. If her mother every found out she was sure that her mouth would be filled with that horrible fish oil soap she kept under the sink for when granddad came to stay….she could never understand why he used it though. Why would any sane person want to smell like a fish? Unless, she though, he did it to keep the little ones away from him when he was napping after elevenses.
Once again she was away with the fairies as the two dwarves stared on; one in curiosity at what the little hobbit could be thinking that caused a smile to spread on her face and the other in concern that maybe they'd caused permanent damage to her brain after the accident.
Fili tentatively stepped up to her and patted her on her shoulder "Erm, are you well my lady? Do we need to get you to a healer? We are sorry we did not realise we had caused you so much injury in the fall."
Partially aware of her surroundings she jumped at the contact with the dwarf, blushing at their proximity before stepping back. It wasn't really proper to be so closed to a strange man when you were unmarried or without a chaperone. "No, no I'm perfectly fine. I apologise about earlier, I'm not used to having…encounters of that nature. It is quite peaceful here in the Shire after all and you can usually never find anyone down by the river, since most the Hobbits here are afraid of water, so I was not expected to meet anyone there let alone be pushed into the river by dwarves. Dwarves! Dwarves can you believe it! Luckily I can swim quite well it must be my Stoor blood, not many Stoors left around nowadays though, but alas I digress. What was it I could help you with?"
It was Kili's turn to snort in amusement "Do you always ramble on like that or is it a Stoor thing again?"
Poppy didn't appreciate that. She had apologised for being rude and it felt as if the young, handsome dwarf had thrown it back in her face. Whilst it was probably a joke, it still hurt. With a sigh, she shook her head, turned about and headed off on the path that circled the village, feeling like a bit of a fool once again.
Fili couldn't understand what just happened. One minute Poppy was being bubbly, if not a tad awkward with her obviously nervous chatter and then the next she looked as if someone had killed her kitten. Fili was going to chase after her and make Kili apologise but they were already going to be late for the meeting at the burglar's home. Fili swiftly smacked his brother round the back of the head.
"What was that for?! Completely uncalled for! That is common assault, wait until I tell Uncle. Violence once more, we're going to be facing many a foe on this journey – you should be injuring them, not me!"
"How old are you Kili?" Fili asked staring incredulously at his younger brother; really if he didn't look like Thorin and his mother, he would question if they were related. "Well there goes our only hope of finding Bag End before all the food gets eaten. Come on, I am sure there cannot be too many hobbity burglars around here."
"Well I hope all hobbits are not as sensitive as her. I thought she was going ether going to kill us or keel over."
And so the brothers continued on the path towards the market place, chatting lightly about dinner, seeing old companions and their journey ahead…Kili still with only one boot on. All the while Fili was hoping that he'd see the little hobbit Poppy again before he left in the morning, if not to apologise, then just to see the small smile and dusty blush that adorned her face when he was close to her.
Hoi! So I thought I'd try something new and actually finish a story I write.
This particular story as you can guess is an AU story, but it won't necessarily be a 15th member of the company story. I am also sorry if anybody ends up being a bit OOC, I haven't quite finished the book/gotten to grips with characters yet.
It is a very slow and probably confusing beginning, I do apologise for that - I wanted the story to actually include Bilbo's journey as well as Poppy's, since after all Bilbo is the hero! Also I feel he will need a little bit of love along the way too. I hoped that the monotony and comfort of the hobbits' lives came out here.
Also as a side note Poppy isn't entirely like a regular hobbit. I didn't really want her to be related to Bilbo (i.e. a Took), but I still wanted her to have a slightly adventurous/eccentric side. Ergo I mentioned that she is like a Stoor hobbit - according to David Day's book, these hobbits are more like men (bigger, can swim and wear shoes when it is muddy). This may make Poppy seem like a Mary-Sue but please believe me that is not my aim. I'd like to add a realistic (is that even possible) aspect to this story, especially after having a conversation with my friends about what you would do if you were caught up in an adventure/zombie apocalypse...we unanimously decided we would all probably die within the first hour.
So anyways, sorry for the rambling. I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews/Constructive feedback would be wonderful.
Enjoy your evening!