(A/N: Oops. I wrote a Tolkien fan fiction.)
Ori's Song
Night lay heavy upon the hills. All was dark except for the blaze of a fire around which gathered Thorin Oakenshield's company of thirteen dwarves and one small hobbit. Their travels had been long perilous that day and they were very weary. Some were already huddled asleep in their cloaks, but most remained staring into the flames, nibbling at the remains of a meager meal.
"Let us have a song to raise our spirits," suggested Balin. There were a few grunts of agreement, but no one seemed to have the strength to be the first to spring to his feet and raise a chorus.
No one except Ori. Before his elder brother Dori could get a handful of his knitted cardigan, he jumped up.
"I've got one!" he said cheerfully, much to Dori's horror.
"Sit down, Ori!" Dori snapped, giving him a tug.
"Oh, let the lad give it a try!" put in Bofur, after which several others voiced their encouragement.
"Yes!" piped up Bilbo. "Yes,let's hear it!"
"C'mon, lad!" Balin chimed in.
"Rragh!" Bifur finished, smacking himself in the side of his bushy head with a fist.
Pursing his lips, Dori shrank back into the shadows as far as he could. Ori, however, was beaming. "Well, alright," he said, "If you really want me to…"
"Get on with it, then!" said Kili.
"Aye, spit it out!" Fili agreed.
Ori drew a deep breath and puffed out his chest.
Beans, beans, a magical fruit!
The more you eat, the more you toot!
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So let's have beans for every meal!
He'd been anticipating a loud "hoorah" from the crowd at the end, or at least a round of applause. What he got instead was complete silence as the others blinked up at him, more than a bit confused. None of them had been expecting anything like that.
Ori slowly sank down by his brother, clearing his throat. There was a long and awkward moment where no one really knew what to say to the young dwarf.
"Well, that was…not at all what I was expecting," said Bilbo at last, "but…highly entertaining nonetheless." He stood up, giving Ori a nod and a smile while clapping his approval. "Lovely."
Bofur joined him. "Aye! Brilliant, that was, lad. Brilliant!" He stepped over and hauled Ori to his feet to give him a bone crushing hug.
A pleased expression spread across Ori's face as a few more joined in, thumping him on the back and ruffling his hair.
Behind it all, Dori leaned over to shoot a disapproving look at Nori.
"You taught him that, didn't you?"
Nori shrugged, not bothering to look up from the knife he was busy sharpening. When he didn't answer, Dori stood and was off with a huff, wholly embarrassed. When he was gone, Nori allowed himself a sly grin and snorted into his beard.