2nd chapter!

I recently fell ill with a right nasty chest cold and missed a few days of school. Most of my spare time has been spent doing makeup work or recovering (sleeping), so I apologize for the wait. The next few weeks will be spent doing project after project. Luckily, my Thanksgiving break is coming up and I will be able to spit out a couple chapters during that time.

A HUGE 'Thank you!' and 'Hannon le!' to all those who reviewed, followed, and/or favorited either me or my story. I was always so excited when I saw those alerts in my email!
Thank you to: hitman73, Artemis Queen of the Night, ChiyukiLuvs2Glomp, hungergamespettalover, TransFanFreak101, and LillianArtemisRose.
(The Goddess of the moon is quite popular, eh?)

I do not own any original Tolkien characters, names, terms,dialogue, or places. I own Mithrellas. She is...precious to me.

Chapter 2- Dear Sweet Blue

After Mithrellas had finished her final cup of tea and talked with Bilbo and Gandalf, she went on down to the party. This the two old companions to smoke their Old Toby and blow smoke rings. The huge tents had already been set up, and hobbits with food and ale dashed around everywhere. Most were already dancing and sneaking food from the cooks. Hobbits with mugs stumbled across her path to get to large barrels full of the finest ale in Hobbiton. There was a sense of excitement sparkling through the air the Shire had not experienced for some time. 'I shouldn't expect anything less,' she thought to herself. 'Bilbo had this place in a uproar months ago. Besides, when hobbits party, they party.' Suddenly her sensitive ears were assaulted with two very loud and unmistakable voices.

"Mithril!"

"Dear, sweet Mithril! You're finally here!"

She turned quickly on her heels and met the two mischievous hobbits head on with a stern expression and a quirked eyebrow. The two skidded into each other and finally stopped within inches of her legs. They both looked up with achingly cute grins that slowly faded at her expression.

"Peregrin Took and Meridoc Brandybuck," she stated with a slight growl in her voice. "What do you believe your doing?" She arched her eyebrow further. The two seemed to gulp almost comically.

"We-we were just excited to see you," Peregrin slightly stuttered.

"Yes, we have been waiting on your arrival for months," Meridoc said in a serious tone. His expression, though, was nervous.

Her dark eyes sparkled with something that betrayed the rest of her face. "Then, I do hope most sincerely that your actions so far do not foreshadow your behavior for the rest of the evening. You could have trampled all those little hobbits! Running through here like raging oliphants. I would hate to have to punish you both; especially on Bilbo's and Frodo's birthday." Peregrin and Meriadoc both took a step back, in sync. They both started stuttering and blinking rapidly. They remembered the punishments they had received from the elf when she visited the Shire before. They played pranks on her like no one else, and were always undoubtedly caught. They distinctly remembered the time they stole her bow and hid it quite cleverly in farmer Maggot's cornfield. It took Mithrellas two days to find it and another two days for the hobbits' heads to quit hurting after she had found the two of them. The elf was very possessive of the few things she owned, and her weapons were no exception.

Mithrellas finally cracked, seeing them sputter. Her laugh, as an elf, was musical, but the hobbits thought she had the most beautiful laugh they had ever heard. For the second time that day, Mithril dropped to her knees and hugged the two now laughing hobbits tight. They both wrapped their arms around her as best they could while their shoulders shook.

"Merry and Pippin, I have missed you as well! It has been quite some time since I have been able to laugh with you."

Over Pippin's shoulder, Mithrellas caught sight of a cute hobbit with dark curly hair and light blue eyes. 'Ah, there he is. I have been wondering where he might have been today,' she thought. He was dancing with several other hobbits around him and there was a look of pure joy on his face. Mithril saw him pause in his dancing as he seemed to spot something. He left the group of dancing hobbits and walked toward a table. Her gaze was torn from the dark-haired hobbit by Pippin clearing his throat.

"Well, Miss Mithril, it has been a happy reunion. But, we," Pippin motioned to himself and Merry, "have some very important things to do and places to go."

"Pippin-" she started in a warning tone.

"Yes, Mithril, very important things to take care of!" Merry said as grabbed Pippin's arm and began to walk backwards. He pointed at her with both his forefingers, grinning, "I expect to see you later this evening. And I also expect a dance."

"Merry-" she started again.

"Goodbye, Mithrellas!" the two fleeing hobbits yelled in unison. She watched them with clear amusement as they disappeared behind a wagon.

"Go on, Sam, ask Rosie for a dance!" Frodo Baggins said as he sat down next to his friend at a long table. Sam sat at the table hunched over with a mug of ale in his hand. He glanced slightly over his shoulder at the pretty hobbit girl who was dancing.

"Uhmm, I think I'll just have another ale," he said standing up.

Appearing out of nowhere, as elves often do, Mithril grabbed his shoulders. "Oh, no you don't!" she exclaimed as she shoved him into the line of dancing hobbits.

"Mithril!" Sam cried as he joined Rosie in a dance.

Both the elf and hobbit laughed lightly at their friend before sitting back at the table together. Frodo looked over at her. Since he had seen her a year ago, she had let her hair get longer. Her arms had a few fading thin scars that she most likely acquired by traveling in the woods from small branches and thorns rather than an actual battle. The hobbit could see the twinkle in her dark brown eyes that was always present.

"Oh, Frodo," she said as she ruffled his dark curls fondly. "You have not changed a bit since I saw you. Neither has Bilbo."

"I haven't changed? You are the one who seems the same. Still meddling in with Sam's romantic life," he said, shoving her hand off his head. "Still laughing. Still stalking around in the shadows. You still even look the same!"

"I am a ranger and an elf, correct?" she asked, smiling.

Gandalf let one of his best fireworks loose at that exact moment. The blue comets raced each other out over the water and hills until they died out. A loud cheer rose from the mass of hobbits under the lights.

"I see Bilbo has quite the audience over there," Mithrellas stated as she saw the older hobbit telling a tale to a group of children.

"Yes, he does that a lot these days. Reliving his adventures through telling tales," his eyes dropped. "I know he's planning on leaving."

Mithril became serious at his statement. "When? When is he leaving?"

"I don't know," he answered after a moment's silence. Frodo met her eyes with his clear blue ones.

There was a silence between the two where the only sound was music and hobbits laughing and singing. Frodo still looked into the elf's eyes, as if trying to search them for the answers.

Mithril spotted something out of the corner of her eye she thought was not all that strange to see. A certain Took hopped off Gandalf's wagon with a very large firework in his hands and disappeared inside a tent. And a certain Brandybuck slunk off behind him.

She leaned closer to Frodo and mumbled, "Watch this."

Then she was gone. Frodo looked at where she had sat not a moment before and sighed. He got up from his seat on the bench and walked over to Bilbo. The old hobbit turned to face him with a very frightened look on his face.

"S-S-Sackville Bagginses!" he stuttered in a whisper. Frodo felt his eyes widen as he grabbed Bilbo and pulled him behind a tent flap. Bilbo pulled his waistcoat over his face, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. The prying eyes of two Sackville-Baginses looked around trying to spot the hobbit they swore they had seen not a moment earlier. Frodo let out a breath as he saw them move on to a different tent.

"Thank you, my boy," Bilbo said to Frodo, as he too saw that his stalkers had gone. "You're a good lad, Frodo."

Frodo stared at his uncle at the sudden change in tone as he continued, "I'm very selfish, you know. Yes, I am. . . I don't know why I took you in after your mother and father died, but it wasn't out of charity," he paused to stare at Frodo. "I think it was because, of all my numerous relations, you were the one that showed real . . . spirit," he finished.

Frodo looked closely at the older hobbit. "Bilbo, have you been in the Gaffer's home brew?"

"No...Well, yes. But that's not the point. The point is, Frodo," he paused as he thought of what to say, "you'll be alright."

Just then a firework exploded high above the crowd. All the hobbits cheered at its sheer size and at the height at which it climbed. As it reached its peak, it burst into the silhouette of a dragon that arched down toward the merrymakers. All the hobbits started running and screams resounded through the air.

"Bilbo, watch out for the dragon!" Frodo exclaimed as he ushered the older hobbit with the flow of the crowd.

"Dragon? Nonsense! There hasn't been a dragon in these parts for a thousand years!" Bilbo said loudly as Frodo pushed him to the ground.

The dragon flew low over the crowd's ducked heads. It flew off over the lake and burst into a spectacular finale. All the hobbits crouched down on the shore erupted into cheers and hollers. That is, except for the only two standing, soot covered, and dazed hobbits. They looked around with pride at their accomplishment.

"That was good!" Merry said as he nodded his head approvingly.

"Let's get another one!" Pippin agreed, slightly more dazed sounding than Merry.

A figure crept up behind the two and grabbed their ears, yanking them upwards.

"Aah!"

"Ow, ow!"

The figure pulled their ears even further while tilting their heads back. "Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took," said the voice of Gandalf the Grey, who stood in front of them. The voice of Mithril, the voice they dreaded the most when they had been caught, sounded right above them.

She moved her eyes from their guilty faces to look over at Gandalf with smirk, "I might have known."