A/N: I'll just state right now: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Tolkien, and will continue to belong to Tolkien forever and ever and ever amen. There we go! Disclaimer over with! Okay, I just decided to post the little conversation tonight…and I might add a few more chapters tonight also! I have a real urge to write tonight.
XXXXXXXXX"So I assume Bilbo is as rich and peculiar as ever?" Brandogrim queried. The North-Tooks rarely ever got to visit Hobbiton compared to the villages and Farthings of the Shire, and were a bit "out of the loop" when it came to news such as this.
"Considering how festive of parties he puts on every year, it appears that he is getting richer by the minute," Eglantine laughed. "And I suppose he is just as peculiar as he was when he returned from his…ah… 'adventures', as he calls them."
"Been the wonder of the Shire for forty-eight years now, I reckon," Paladin estimated jovially. "And he just gets famouser everyday…more and more famous! And Ponto…tell them how unchanged he is!"
The North-Tooks leaned forward, quite enthused. Ponto took a deep breath. "Well…five years ago, he looked almost the same as he did at fifty, and today he looks the same as he did five years ago, I guess the best way to describe it is."
"Well-preserved," Saradoc snorted. "I suppose some folk get all the luck…too bad it's always the peculiar kind."
"Unchanged," Paladin spoke up. "Unchanged nearer the mark." They all chuckled. Rosamunda shook her head. "Too much of a good thing, it is," she said thoughtfully.
"There's something behind it, my dear!" Old Rory spoke up quite suddenly. "Always something behind it! I don't know what…but it will come out someday, I suppose. Trouble will come of it."
"I hear," Odovacar said, "that he has elves and dwarves, not to mention the wizard Gandalf at his house regularly." They all turned to Ponto, looking at him eagerly.
"I suppose it's true," Ponto said. "But I don't think regularly is quite right. I should hope that all those folk would have better things to do with their time than go floating and stomping around Bag End and Hobbiton. Where did you hear that?"
"Fatty," Odovacar said. "The last time we went to Hobbiton, Samwise Gamgee started telling him something along those lines." All the adults chuckled again.
"But really, Ponto," Esmeralda started, "do you think it wise to have Angel and Frodo running around Bag End? I know they are friends with Rosie Cotton and Samwise Gamgee, but truly, don't you think trouble will come of it?"
"I've known Bilbo since I was a youngster," Ponto said. "Though I don't think him quite right, he's taking a bit of a liking to them that I don't usually see. I've heard him say they have 'spark'. I doubt it will amount to much. Angel loves him as her uncle, though they bicker often, and I don't know if Frodo adores anyone more than he adores Bilbo. I find that their favorite thing to do is sit at his feet with Sam and Rosie, and listen to him tell stories. He loves to do it too. And quite honestly, I see him taking much more of an interest in every child of all of you, not just mine. Though he is closer to Angel and Frodo."
"Where are all those children of ours?" Eglantine asked, laughing. "They've been up there for fifteen minutes!"
"The lads should be down soon," Madata said, frowning. "I can't see what's keeping them."
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A/N: I know, I know, not a lot of description…but I'll have plenty soon to come.