Sorry for not doing as I promised…but I hoped this longer chapter will make up for it.
Chapter 2 – First introductions
Ember stood outside the round, green door playing nervously with her collar bone length, chocolate brown hair. She had thought about braiding it but decided against it. From inside the hobbit hole she could hear the sounds of the dwarves making merry and eating out poor Bilbo's pantry. Her blue eyes shot nervously down to her clothing. Gandalf had provided the girls with travel appropriate kit and clothing. Ember currently wore a brown mid-forearm length shirt and leather bracers. She wore a chainmail that came to just past her shoulder, and over that she wore a leather tunic, pulled tight around her middle with a belt. Her tights were made of wool, and the boots of a tough leather she was sure would cost a fortune back in her world. Her dark brown coat hung around her shoulders, shielding her from the cool night air.
"Are you going to knock or should I?" Ember turned towards Amelia, where she stood on her right. Amelia's collar length dark brown hair was pulled back into a short, spiky ponytail. Her brown eyes had a nervous spark to them as she fiddled with the straps of her pack. Her clothing was similar to Ember's only her shirt was green instead of brown, and she wore her belt a little lose.
"Yeah, he isn't here yet, you don't have a lot to worry about." Ember turned to her left, where Quinn's hooded shirt hid most of her face. She had taken a deep purple colored hooded shirt, similar to the dwarves' style. She had braided her long light brown hair into a fishtail, which she hid under the hood. Her green eyes sparkled with fear in the darkness. Ember turned back to the door, taking a deep breath.
"Not yet." She muttered under her breath. "Ok, here we go." She said to herself more than anyone else, before knocking on the door three times. They stood there for a few moments before the door was opened by none other than Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. Ember was shocked at how closely Bilbo resembled Martin Freeman, but set the thought aside as she smiled at him.
"Good evening sir, my name is Ember, and these are my friends Amelia and Quinn. I believe Gandalf the Grey is here." She continued to smile even as he sighed, defeated.
"Yes, yes, come in, come in. What difference will three more make?" He muttered as he stepped aside to allow them in. The girls had to duck a bit to get inside, even Quinn, who was the shortest of the three at 1,6 meters, had to duck her head a little.
"We are terribly sorry for barging in on you like this Master Baggins." Amelia said as she place her pack at the door. Bilbo harrumphed a bit.
"Yes, well, I'm afraid I don't have anything to offer you young ladies." Here, Bilbo's voice took a defeated note as he rubbed his forehead. "My pantry has just been raided by dwarves." Ember fought the smile at the sound of the dwarves belching.
"I can see that." She said in an amused tone before bowing her head at Bilbo. "No need to worry about us, Master Baggins. We're perfectly fine."
"Well, at least let me offer you young ladies some tea." Bilbo spoke kindly. Quinn smiled. He was probably used to being barged in upon, with a relative like Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. Bilbo led them to the kitchen, where he set about making them each a cup of chamomile tea. The three girls listened contently as the dwarves continued their conversations in the other room. Amelia was taken aback by how loud dwarves could actually get. Bilbo set the cups filled with hot tea down in front of the girls, taking their murmured thanks graciously before moving off to assess the damage done to his home. By this point some of the dwarves were moving around the smail again. And with them, Gandalf.
"Ah, I see you girls made it." He said in a light tone, which all the dwarves heard. As they all turned to stare at the girls, everyone fell silent. Ember felt her cheeks flush under the scrutiny. Dwalin came forward and stood next to Gandalf.
"Gandalf, what are these women doing here?" He said, eyes never leaving the trio. Gandalf seemed nervous for a second before turning to the girls.
"I think introductions can wait until our final dwarf arrives." He said, as if that settled the matter and moved off. The rest of the dwarves after studying the girls a bit longer, went about their business. Quinn sighed in relief.
"Well that wasn't so bad." She whispered as the dwarves began to get on Bilbo's nerves again. The girls could see Bilbo was even more agitated than before, due to the 'state of his kitchen', the 'mud trod in the carpets' and the fact that the dwarves had 'pillaged the pantry' and 'destroyed the plumbing'.
"Excuse me that is a doily, not a dishcloth." He said as he grabbed said doily from Nori. Bofur frowned.
"But it's full of holes." He said. Ember decided to spare Bilbo of some of his misery.
"It's supposed to look like that. The style is called crochet." She explained as Bilbo moved to put the doily away, uncertain if Bofur would even understand what she meant. Bofur turned to her at her sudden voicing, frowned a bit, then smiled.
"Oh…well it can be a wonderful game too." He insisted. "If you've got the balls for it." Quinn giggled at Bofur's wittiness.
"Pardon me lass, but what exactly are you three doing here?" Ember turned to Balin, who had a curious look on his face.
"We're here at Gandalf's insistence, Master…" She trailed off, pretending not to know his name.
"Balin, at your service, Miss…"He responded.
"Ember, Master Balin. These are my friends Amelia and Quinn." She finished just as Bilbo was finishing his rant at Gandalf.
"…I can't understand what they're doing in my house!" The girls finally realized what was about to happen, and after glancing at each other, Amelia and Quinn quickly moved to the side of the living room where they would be out of the line of fire. Ember went to stand next to Bilbo as Ori approached, as to pull him to safety too.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?" Quinn smiled at his politeness, noticing how cute he was when asking a question. Amelia nudged her when she noticed the smile. Bilbo looked confused for a moment, then Fili appeared at his side.
"Here ya go, Ori, give it to me." He said before throwing the plate at his brother, who caught it expertly before tossing it into the kitchen, into the waiting hands of Bifur who stood at the sink.
One went very close to Amelia's head as she ducked, while the dwarves began their state of the art dishwashing method, the one which nearly gave Bilbo a heart attack.
"Excuse me, that's my mother's West Farthing pottery. It's over a hundred years old!" He shouted. Ember pulled him back into the wall with her, as the rest of the dwarves began to tap out the tune with his silverware. Ember found herself nodding to the beat as the song took shape.
"And could you not do that? You'll blunt them." Bilbo shouted once more.
"Oh, do you hear that lads? He says we'll blunt the knives." Bofur joked, setting off the tune.
"Blunt the knives, bend the forks." Kili began the song, while beckoning for his brother to toss more plates.
"Smash the bottles and burn the corks." Fili responded as he bounced a plate on his elbows before catching it in his hand and sending it on its way.
"Chip the glasses and crack the plates. That's what Bilbo Baggins Hates!" The rest of the dwarves all joined in, stamping their feet to create the rhythm.
The girls watched in nostalgic amusement as plates and cups went flying over their head to the tune. Quinn was tempted to join in, but thought it best not to draw attention to herself.
"Cut the cloth, tread on the fat
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat
Pour the milk on the pantry floor
Splash the wine on every door.
Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl
Pound 'em up with a thumping pole
When you're finished if they are whole
Send them down the hall to roll!"
Once more Quinn found herself giggling as the dwarves tossed their plates into Ori's hands creating a tower taller than himself. Amelia winced when Dwalin knocked a wooden mug with his head to Nori, who then head butted it to his foot before kicking it to Bifur again. Ember giggled as Oin used Bilbo's tea pot as a flute, still not understanding how he could. She had tried it herself, and couldn't seem to make any sound other than air.
"That's what Bilbo Baggins Hates!"
The dwarves finished with an almighty shout as Bilbo made his way through to find his mother's pottery in tip top shape. The dwarves stood laughing at him for a bit, even the girls started giggling, when three loud knocks resounded from the door, creating silence. Ember paled at the thought of the person behind it.
"He's here." Said Gandalf in a low voice, only adding to Ember's nerves.
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Gandalf opened the door to reveal none other than Thorin Oakenshield, who was staring, rather majestically, into the distance before turning back to look up at the Grey Pilgrim.
"Gandalf." He said with a smirk, as he made his way through the doorway. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door."
Ember could hear Quinn and Amelia smother their giggles as best they could. She could never understand why they found Thorin's sense of direction, or rather lack thereof, so hilarious.
"Mark? There is no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago!" This caused Ember to smile. Bilbo didn't know it yet, but he would end up never repainting his door again, for fear of losing the mark that had lead these dwarves to his door. But right now, the mark would annoy him.
"There is a mark. I put it there myself." Gandalf said in an explaining manner, before gesturing to Bilbo with his hand. "Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company: Thorin Oakenshield." Thorin passed his coat to his youngest nephew as he proceeded to study the Halfling.
"So…This is the Hobbit." He said, in a tone that spoke haughtiness. He began to circle Bilbo, checking his form as well as his physic. "Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?" Bilbo, clearly intimidated by the dwarf's actions, still found it in himself to respond with a question.
"Pardon me?" Thorin ignored this and continued his interrogation.
"Ax or sword? What's your weapon of choice?" This time he spoke with a small, smug smile on his face, which caused Ember to bristle with silent anger.
"Well, I do have some skill at conkers, if you must know…" Bilbo responded, looking at Dori and Dwalin who stood behind Thorin, before answering again, uncertainly. "…but I fail to see why that's relevant." Thorin smile grew.
"Thought as much." He said, before turning back to his kin. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." As the dwarves began to laugh, Ember finally stepped forward.
"And you are more of an insulting GIT, than a dwarf, Master Oakenshield." Ember spoke with a fury in her voice, causing the dwarves to fall silent. Bilbo seemed torn between looking affronted and grateful, and Gandalf looked just plain mortified. Ember felt Amelia and Quinn come forward to stand at her sides, and she felt her resolve renew. Thorin studied them long and hard, as if he had just noticed their presence. He eyed their traveling clothes, then eyed the three extra packs he spotted at the door, that he knew did not belong to his kin.
Thorin was not happy, not happy at all. "Gandalf, I thought you said that we would only number fourteen." He rumbled as he stared at the three human women before him. Two of the women stood behind their friend protectively, much like he would stand with his nephews. He paid little mind to those two, his attention caught by the one who had insulted him. Her wavy, brown hair framed her face, while her blue eyes glinted dangerously with barely contained fury.
All in all, she intrigued him.
"Ah, yes, well, there has been a slight change in plans." Gandalf said with a nervous air as he gestured to the girls. "Thorin, allow me to introduce: Amelia…" The girl on the woman's (When had he started referring to her as a woman?) right gave a small wave. "…Quinn…" The dwarf-sized girl on her left nodded with a small smile. "…and Ember." The woman, Ember (quite fitting) he now noted, didn't give any form of acknowledgement, just continued to stare down at him, for she was a good half a head taller than he. "They will be joining us on this quest."
"What?" Dwalin asked from behind Thorin with less than little anger. "Ya must be joking Gandalf. These girls cannot come on this quest. Women cannot fight nor fend for themselves in the wild." Ember suddenly put her arms out to the sides, but failed to catch Quinn as the girl stomped up to Dwalin… And flicked him rather hard on the nose. Dwalin's hand flew to his face, more out of astonishment than out of pain.
"Watch it, Master Dwarf, or you might find yourself in a heap of trouble." She said, before turning on her heel, flicking her hair into Dwalin's face in the process, and marched back to stand at Ember's left shoulder.
Silence followed in the hobbit sized hall way as the two leaders of the groups continued to stare at each other. Finally, Gandalf cleared his throat.
"Yes, well, I think it would be best to move this conversation to the dining room, wouldn't you say?" he asked in an effort to break the tension. Slowly, Thorin turned away, eyes never leaving Ember's until his back was fully turned, and motioned for his kin to follow him. The dwarves took their leave, and Gandalf sighed, leaning on his am against the wall. "I would implore you to refrain from using such language against Master Oakenshield, Miss Ember. He is known for his short temper." Ember pulled her gaze away from the hall that Thorin and his company had just disappeared in, and smiled wickedly at Gandalf.
"You may know the stubbornness of a dwarf, Gandalf, but neither of you know the stubbornness of a woman."
