Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit, its characters or plot, I do however own my OC Nixie, anything new added and pretty much anything about Nixie.
I have the next two chapters done ^_^
Nixie the Bloody Pixie: Lol that's funny!
After second breakfast the next day Bilbo returned to the lake.
"Nixie!" He called with a smile. It only took a second for him to spot the white haired girl peeking over a rock. "Hello!" Bilbo said happily. Nixie ducked down and swam to meet him a few feet from the edge of the water where the land dropped off like a mini cliff. She put her arms up on the land and brushed her hair behind her ear. Bilbo took notice of how pointy her ear was. It was much pointier than an elf's or a hobbit's and went back farther.
"Hello, Bilbo Baggins." She said. Bilbo chuckled.
"You don't have to call me by my full name, just Bilbo will do." He said. Nixie nodded.
"Okay… Bilbo." She said with a small nod. "Bilbo?"
"Yes?"
"What's a friend?" Bilbo blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"You said we were friends, yesterday. I don't know what a friend is."
"You don't?" Bilbo asked with his eyebrows raised. Nixie shook her head. "Well… a friend is someone…. A friend is… someone you play with." Nixie blinked.
"But I've never played with you before."
"Well a friend is also someone you talk to and hang out with a lot."
"I only met you yesterday." Nixie looked even more confused.
"It's someone you're close to or want to be close to, someone you want to hang out with and play together. Friends look out for each other and are always there no matter what."
"So… you want to be my friend?" Nixie asked. Bilbo nodded with a smile.
"Uh-huh."
"I've never had a friend before." Nixie started smiling. "What do friends do? I-I mean besides playing and talking and hanging out?"
"Well…" Bilbo tilted his head in thought. He had an idea and held up a finger to Nixie to signal her 'one minute' before he ran off. Nixie blinked and held up her finger before looking at it. Bilbo came back a few moments later and held out a flower. "Friends give each other gifts." Nixie blinked at the flower.
"You're giving this to me?" She asked with wide eyes.
"Mhm." Bilbo said with a smile as he saw a smile growing on her face. She reached out slowly and took the flower. Their fingers brushed and Bilbo noted how her fingers felt like ice while she noted that his almost burned. She smiled down at the flower before putting it on a rock. She held up her finger, not to signal 'one minute' but because that's what she'd seen him do, before she turned and dived into the water. Bilbo blinked and waited. She resurfaced with a big grin and held her hand out to him. In her hand was a blue seashell. Bilbo blinked in confusion. She'd gotten a seashell from the lake.
"This is my favorite one; I want you to have it." She said.
"Really?" Bilbo asked with his eyes wide. "Thanks!" He gently took the shell and examined it with an amazed smile.
"Do…do you want to see the other ones I have?" Nixie asked hesitantly.
"Sure!" Nixie smiled, Bilbo's grin was contagious. She dived into the water to return a moment later with a hand full of shells. She moved to the edge of the lake and put them on the ground. Bilbo laid on his stomach to look at them all. "Wow, you found these in the lake?" He asked. Nixie shook her head which made Bilbo frown in confusion and tilt his head.
"I found them in the ocean." She said. Bilbo was even more confused now. How did she get to the ocean? The lake was closed off, there was no river attached to it.
"How did you get to the ocean?" He asked.
"I didn't."
"Then how did you get the shells?"
"I brought them with me."
"You're not from here?" Nixie shook her head. "Where are you from then?"
"I don't know." Nixie looked down at the shells with sadness. "I can only remember being here. I think someone brought me here and they brought these with me."
"Who?"
"I don't remember."
"Maybe your mum or dad." Bilbo suggested.
"What's a mum and dad?" Nixie asked. Bilbo stared at her, unsure of how to answer that.
"Your parents." He said.
"Parents?" She asked tilting her head.
"You don't have parents?" Nixie shook her head with a frown.
"Is it… normal… to have parents?" Bilbo nodded.
"I don't see how you can't have them." Nixie sunk into the water slightly.
"So I'm not normal." She said quietly. Bilbo's eyes widened.
"I didn't mean that you weren't-"
"Will you teach me to be normal?" Nixie asked looking up at him. Bilbo blinked. "Please?"
"Of course." Bilbo said with a smile. "I'll help you cause you're my friend." Nixie smiled.
"Mum?" Bilbo asked at the dinner table.
"Yes sweetie?"
"Is it possible for someone to not have parents?"
"Everyone has parents at some point; if someone loses them then they're an orphan."
"But what if someone never had parents to begin with."
"That's not possible." His mother said. Bilbo frowned slightly. "Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"
"I'm just wondering." Bilbo said with a smile and a shrug. His mother shook her head with a soft chuckle. "Will you tell me another story about mermaids tonight?" His mother smiled.
"Of course dear."
The next day Bilbo searched through the books of Bag End before running out to visit Nixie. When she heard him calling for her she peeked out of the water before popping out with a big smile.
"Bilbo!"
"Good Morning, Nixie." Bilbo said with a smile as he put the books down. Nixie tilted her head to the side.
"Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?" She asked curiously. Bilbo laughed.
"All of them." He said with a shrug. Nixie nodded.
"Then good morning to you too." She said. Bilbo chuckled. "What are those?" Nixie moved closer to the stack of books.
"Books." Bilbo said taking the top one off the stack. "I'm going to use these to teach you. And if you want you can read some on your own time."
"Read?" She tilted her head. "What's reading?" Bilbo blinked.
"This might take a while." He mumbled. "I'm going to have to give you reading lessons too then, I guess that also means you don't know how to write?"
"Write?"
"Let's just start with reading." Bilbo said with a smile.
"Okay." Nixie said with a nod as she returned the smile.
Over the course of the next few months Bilbo visited Nixie every day. He'd taught her how to read and write, let her borrow books his mother wouldn't notice were missing; they drew in the dirt and made boats out of leaves and twigs. Bilbo would bring her flowers every so often that there was a small bouquet on the rock in the middle of the lake. They would play as best they could with Nixie stuck in the water, playing I spy, skipping rocks, or just pointing out shapes in the clouds.
One day they were looking up at the sky as the sun had started to set. Bilbo lay on his back with his head pointed at the water and Nixie lay against the bank with her head next to his.
"I wish you could come to the Shire, to Bag End." Bilbo said softly.
"I wish I could walk… no run like you do." Nixie said with a frown.
"Have you ever tried?"
"I lack the required legs, Bilbo." She said turned to look at him. He turned his head to her and their noses brushed. He turned his head back and sat up. Nixie rolled over and looked up at him.
"I remember my mother telling me a story about a mermaid that walked on land. All she had to do was leave the water."
"I've never left the water." Nixie said with wide eyes. "What if I die?"
"I don't think being out of the water would kill you." Bilbo said shaking his head. "Will you try it?" He asked with a hopeful smile. "For me?" Nixie hesitated.
"Okay… for you, but only because you are my friend." She said. "Could you help me?" Bilbo smiled and held out his hands. She took them and he pulled her up out of the water. She rolled over and sat up. As the water began to fall from her tail her tail itself began to melt away with the water. She gasped. "Bilbo!"
"It's okay! It's okay, look." Bilbo said pointing. Her tail had melted away to reveal thin, pale legs. She wiggled her toes with wide eyes.
"It feels so weird!" She said. Bilbo laughed. Nixie looked from her feet to his and frowned. "Mine aren't like yours." She said sadly.
"Well you're not a hobbit." Bilbo said wiggling his toes. "These are hobbit feet. Those are…" He chuckled. "Nixie feet."
"Will you help me stand?" She asked. Bilbo smiled and took her hands. With much effort the two managed to get her standing but her legs wobbled and she fell into him, knocking them both down. "I'm sorry." She said with a frown. "You make it look so easy." Bilbo chuckled.
"I've had years of practice." He said as he helped her stand once more. "But don't worry, with me helping you, you'll learn in no time." Nixie smiled right before they tumbled again and burst into laughter.
Ah this is cute isn't it? I can't help smiling as I write this. ^_^ Next one out soon.