Bifur wasn't so gone "between the eyes", as they said, to know there was something wrong with him. He saw the strange looks cast his way, the way folks shied away from him. He took it in stride, quite proud of the axe he wore in his head. This was his trophy, a warning to those who came near that he was indeed a fighter.
No, it was never the looks that bothered him. It was the way no one (aside from Gandalf, Thorin, Bofur and Bombur) thought to learn his way of speaking. Most just patted him on the back and shook their heads because he was just crazy old Bifur. But none of them stopped to wonder what it was he was trying to say. Until, of course, he started howling at the moon.
They were stopped at Beorn's house. It had been three days since their arrival. He still remembered this evening with perfect clarity; of all the memories he had gathered on their journey, it was this one that made him the happiest.
Everything about that day had been beautiful, as it always seemed to be at Beorn's home. There had once again been a great spread at breakfast, and the whole Company was in high spirits, outside and enjoying the warmth of the day.
The hobbit was the only one missing from the group. Bifur spotted him wandering slowly through Beorn's garden, hands clasped behind his back, watching the wind playing through the branches of the trees.
Bifur was distressed. He had watched silently as Bilbo was inducted into the group, the trial period he had fought so hard to get through, and Bifur had been ecstatic to see the hobbit finally triumph. He had finally made himself a little place amongst them. So why was he not sharing in the joy of their tiny holiday? And why had nobody noticed?
The dwarf got to his feet and approached the hobbit, who had stopped to pick something up in the garden. Bifur grumbled unintelligibly and made the symbol for hello.
Bilbo very nearly jumped out of his skin. "Bifur!" he exclaimed. "Mahal, you scared me!"
The hobbit then proceeded to look very uncomfortable, running his hand along the back of his neck and shifting his large, furry feet.
"Er, um, that was just something I picked up…I think I heard Thorin say it. I, uh, don't mean any disrespect, of course-"
Bifur snorted. The hobbit was being quite ridiculous and he told him so.
Of course, not in so many words. Bilbo blinked at the dwarf in utter confusion.
"Uhm…I'm sorry, but I don't understand."
Bifur's face fell. Bilbo read his disappointment easily enough. With an encouraging smile, he reached out and patted the dwarf's shoulder.
"Here, sit down," the hobbit instructed. Curious, Bifur did so and Bilbo sat across from him. "Now tell me again what you are trying to say."
Bifur understood immediately and started bouncing with excitement. He repeated his statement from before and Bilbo nodded.
"O-okay, great," he said. "Now, say it again but…perhaps more slowly."
The dwarf nodded and made the symbol for "I". Then he pointed to himself, and then to his eyes.
"Your eyes?"
Bifur shook his head. Again he made the symbol for "I", and again he pointed first to himself and then his eyes.
"Eye…oh! I! As in, you?"
Clever hobbit! he thought, nodding vigorously. Bilbo smiled, looking quite pleased with himself, and motioned for Bifur to continue.
The dwarf made the symbol for "think" next and then pointed to his head.
"I…hair? Head? …Think! I think!"
The hobbit really was quite good at riddles. It wasn't long before Bilbo had reached the end of the sentence.
"I think you are…silly?"
Bifur let out an excited growl and clapped his hands repeatedly.
"Silly!" Bilbo pretended to be hurt, but Bifur saw the gleam of laughter in his eyes. "I'm not silly, I'm a Baggins. Quite respectable."
Silly hobbit, Bifur signed.
Bilbo frowned. "What was that? Silly…?"
Bifur repeated the word patiently and then pointed to Bilbo.
"Silly hobbit?"
The dwarf nodded, quite ecstatic. Bilbo was catching on more quickly than anyone, except perhaps Bofur. Quickly he made the symbol for "more", and though Bilbo didn't try to guess the word he did guess Bifur's intentions.
"Alright, then, tell me why I'm a silly hobbit," he said.
And it turned into a game that lasted the whole day. Bifur rambled on and on, teaching Bilbo every symbol he had come up with, and Bilbo didn't seem to tire of it.
Kind hobbit, Bifur thought and decided to introduce Bilbo to a most important word. He reached out and pressed his palm to Bilbo's chest, then pressed it to his own.
Bilbo blinked. "What's that?"
Bifur pointed to Fili and Kili, who were having quite a laugh at something Nori said. Then he repeated the gesture from before.
"Brother?" Bilbo guessed.
The dwarf nodded and made the symbol for "you", followed quickly by "brother". Bilbo's eyes widened with surprise.
"Thank you," he whispered. Then, hesitantly, he pressed his own palm to Bifur's chest and then to his own. "Brother."
That was when the wolves started howling. Twilight had descended and Bilbo looked so startled Bifur almost laughed. Instead he grunted and told him not to be afraid, and then he lifted his head and let out a great howl.
"Bifur!" Bilbo exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
Talking with wolves, he signed. Won't come near if Bifur's around.
Bilbo raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
Bifur told him.
"Wolves won't come around because they're…" Before he could finish, Bilbo started laughing. "Right scared prats!"
Bifur nodded fervently. Then he crouched on his hands and knees and howled once more while Bilbo tried to control his giggles.
After a moment, the wolves howled back, further away than before. Barely able to contain his excitement, Bifur elbowed Bilbo in the ribs and mimed howling again.
"What, me?" Bilbo said.
Howl, Bifur signed. Tell wolves they're prats.
The hobbit (unsuccessfully) bit back a snort. "Well, a respectable Baggins would never partake in such activities," he said, and waited until Bifur's face fell before grinning in such a devious way he could have only picked it up from Fili and Kili. "But then again, I'm not all Baggins, am I?"
So Bilbo crouched down on all fours with Bifur, lifted his head, and let out a most un-Baggins-like howl. And when Fili and Kili and the rest of the Company wandered over to see what in Mahal's name was going on, Bilbo turned and said, "We're letting the wolves know they're prats!"
After that, neither Bifur nor Bilbo could hear wolves howling without falling back and laughing together.