Okay, so apparently my story was taken down due to my announcement concerning my busy winter break, so I am reuploading everything, and going through make corrections. I'll be back on track shortly.
Fourteen ponies could be heard making their way on the unused path. At the head of their company was a dwarven king, by the name of Thorin Oakenshield. He was determined to move as quickly as possible, in order to reach their destination on time. He did not however, even consider the possibility of meeting someone on this path. Thorin and his company were quite focused on the task at hand and were reasonably startled when they heard a voice from up in one of the trees to their right.
"I hope you weren't thinking of crossing the river here," a clearly feminine voice spoke. All of the company reined in their mounts and glanced over in the direction of the voice. Thorin's brow furrowed as he saw, sitting in the junction of the branches, another being. He wouldn't even attempt to guess as what it was.
"And why is that?" He glared upwards. He was not that willing to trust the words of strangers, especially those wearing a mask. It looked like iron, resting upon the top of her head, gently rounded to a point on the end. It looked like she wore the top part of bird's beak, sharp and cold. There were two sets of triangular holes, the top ones showing her eyes. Off the back off it sprouted a large and thick fur cape, covering her form. She merely stood and leaned on one of the branches, looking down on the company, arms crossed. A pack lay at her feet.
"Well, master dwarf, unless you wish to drown your ponies and your men, I would suggest travelling a little farther north. The river here has risen quite a bit, and the water is deathly cold." It was then that the figure leapt down, landing silently on her feet, cape still close at her sides, giving nothing away. The ponies gave no sounds of discomfort, quietly shifting from foot to foot as they stood patiently. As she rose up to full height, all of the company could see that she was no larger than their own burglar, Bilbo. Thorin, still displeased, jumped off of his pony and strode purposefully over to the stranger.
"Who and what are you? I am not very likely to take up on the words of... strangers." He towered over her, his eyes dark and glinting. Her eyes sparkled under the mask, creasing at the corners, suggesting an amused smile.
"Quite a good habit sir, I usually don't trust strangers myself, though I always try to help them." Her tone was patronizing, and she didn't seem the least bit intimidated. Thorin gritted his teeth and went to retort, but was stopped as the stranger whipped her cape off and tossed it onto a nearby log with a flourish. The company sat wide-eyed, even Thorin almost losing his composure as he saw the being in front of him. This girl had long silvery-white hair, a thing almost unheard of. There were thick bangs covering her forehead, with two longer pieces falling just past her shoulders, one on each side. Her hair fell to her waist, and it was very thick. She had two different colored eyes, her left golden brown and her right a bright green. Over her left eye were three large scars, which looked like they had been made by a large cat.
On both shoulders rested round plates of armor, each with three spikes in decreasing size. She wore a chain on her neck, with two curved pieces hanging from it, with serrated edges. Her chest was wrapped in tight black cloth, with a wrap of brown fur over it, the ends pulled over each other, leaving a small dip that showed the black slightly. From her left hip, to the bottom of her fur-wrapped chest, was a large burn that wrapped around to her back. From her right shoulder to the bottom of her rib cage ran two larger scars. There were two similar scars emanating from the same shoulder on her back. Around her waist she wore another brown fur, tightly wrapped, coming to mid thigh. Underneath were jet black leggings which ended at her feet. Right under her knees, were two, brown, thickly-furred leg wraps, adding six inches on either side of her legs.
"My name is Rinnah," she said, her face looking subtley proud of the reaction she had caused, "I am a berserker, or what you would call a skin-changer." Her eyes flashed quickly with an animosity, then quickly softened. The company all started whispering frantically to each other, eyeing her cautiously. Thorin, however, did no such thing.
"And how Rinnah, can you expect me to believe that? To my knowledge, all skin-changers are quite large. You though, are as small as our burglar, and he is a hobbit." His eyes narrowed as she grinned.
"Quite right, but how much do you know of young skin-changers? I'm only sixteen, and my parents both grew later than most of our kind. And if it is proof that you require, I would be more than honored to oblige you." Then, quicker than any of them could blink, a white wolf stood before them, head held high with a smirk in place. Still the ponies did not panic, but the dwarves all flinched heavily upon seeing the change. Her scars, shoulder armor, and chain were still in place, but they had changed to fit her body. Her ears flicked forward as she heard a soft thump. It looked like their burglar hobbit had fallen off of his pony, having fainted. With a roll of her eyes she switched back to her normal form.
"That one new to adventures," she asked, quirking a brow. There were a few sniggers until Thorin glared at them.
"You said the river was too high here?" Thorin questioned her with slightly less distrust. Rinnah merely nodded at him, then began striding over to where Bilbo had fell, and hoisted him back up onto his pony, holding him steady until he regained consciousness. The dwarves all looked at her, and she darted her eyes over to them with a smirk. They all smiled, and even Thorin's features looked softened.
"Quite right sir, much to deep for ponies, though a draft could manage. I'd be more than happy to guide you to where the river is shallower. It isn't that much farther north, only about half an hour. I've been warning people for a while."
"Well, Rinnah, I would be lying if I said I were not grateful for your service. My name is Thorin Oakenshield." She looked over with mild surprise and nodded.
"Fili and Kili at your service," yelled two young dwarves, both different, but appearing to be brothers.
"Balin," commented a kindly older dwarf.
"Dwalin," a large gruff looking dwarf.
"Bofur, Bifur and Bombur!" A dwarf with quite the hat pointed at each of them in turn.
"Nori, Dori and Ori," a dwarf with pointed hair called, pointing as well.
"Gloin," the red haired dwarf said.
"And Oin," the grey-haired dwarf with the ear trumpet stated.
"And him," Rinnah said, pointing at the hobbit she was currently supporting.
"That's our burglar, Bilbo Baggins," shouted the dwarf named Bofur happily.
Bilbo, startled by the noise, sat straight up and looked around confused. The dwarves all explained the introduction, with Bilbo later apologizing for not introducing himself. He made quite a fuss, mentions of "not very hobbit-like to miss an introduction." Rinnah repeatedly assured him that she didn't mind in the slightest. She ran over to the tree, climbing the trunk expertly before grabbing her pack and back-flipping off the branch landing softly. Then she made her way over and took her cape from the log, stuffing it in her pack. She changed into a wolf next, moving to the companies right, and calling over her shoulder to them.
"Right this way if you please, gentleman."
