Chapter 8 - Just a Trick
Tupyn didn't like the towns of men. In her somewhat substantial experience of being in and around the places they inhabited, she had found that men were greedy and forceful and took what they want, when they wanted it. They were also corrupt and some of them were - quite frankly – evil. All of these factors, combined with many more, lead to Tupyn not bearing any real liking for men at all.
But despite her overall disliking of the race, she found certain members of it were much more likeable. For example, the blacksmith who stood before her and the two Durin brothers, dumbfounded as their three ponies lead themselves into the stalls ready to be re-shoed had a much more agreeable personality about him,
"These ponies," The blacksmith said, watching them in awe. "Where did you get them?"
Tupyn smiled and raised her hand as both brothers pointed towards her. The blacksmith smiled. "and where did you get them, missy?"
She chuckled. "No," She said. "They're mine. I trackedthem, I broke them in and I trained them."
"But . . ." he paused and looked at them. "You're a woman."
She nodded and smirked. She'd dealt with situations like this before and knew to simply keep eye contact and not be intimidated. "Well observed."
The blacksmith looked down and apologized. "We aren't used to women being anything other than wives around here."
She bowed her head in acknowledgement of his apology. "I understand." She said. In actual fact, she didn't understand because – although the smith had said 'around here', the attitude towards women was similar all around and it annoyed Tupyn to no end; especially when men assumed that she had just accepted the ridiculous situation that the majority of women were forced into and had no complaints. She definitely did have a complaint and it sat on the basis that she had not accepted the usual situation and yet she was still treated as though she had.
However, she was not going to voice her complaint to the blacksmith because he seemed to have a considerable amount of respect for her if not her entire gender. So she merely decided to appreciate this one mans – rather uncommon - point of view and carry on with her own business.
The blacksmith started checking the ponies' shoes and re-shoeing them.
Fíli, Kíli and Tupyn were leant against the wall with the Elven-Dwarf nearest the open doorway. They'd woken in The Widows Child, eaten their pre-packed breakfast and paid the landlord before then heading over to the small market in the east of the small town and resupplying. The brothers then went to the blacksmith while Tupyn got the ponies.
"So," The blacksmith said as he bent Cooper's front right knee and started removing the shoe. "Where are you headed?" He asked, dropping the shoe on the cobbles.
"North from here." Fíli replied before his brother or Tupyn could come up with a less plausible reply. "To meet with our kin."
"Ah," The smith said as he started to prepare a new shoe.
They stood in silence for a while as the smith finished Cooper and started on Frankie. Tupyn found that her hand kept moving to the newly acquired gem hidden beneath her shirt and fiddling with it. It concerned her, despite how much she quite frankly despised her mother and what she'd done, the necklace and ring had quickly become one of her most cherished possessions.
There was a sudden shout from the other side of the square and Tupyn looked over to see the baker swing a broom at a young puppy. "Go on!" The baker yelled, prodding the head of the broom at the pup. "Get outta 'ere."
The pup yelped and moved over to the centre of the square and sat as the baker slammed the bakery door.
Tupyn watched and felt Kíli at her side, doing the same. Tupyn gave two short whistles and the pups ear perked but he didn't turn.
"I wouldn't bother, miss." The blacksmith said causing both her and Kíli to look over. "He's been hangin' round for weeks now. He's a stray, won't come to anyone." He shook his head and went back to his work.
Tupyn looked to Kíli and shot him a look that seemed to say 'I'll take that as a challenge.'
She stepped out and the pup turned its head in fear at the sound of her footsteps. She held her hands up and decided that the point she'd stopped at was close enough. "Shh," She said soothingly as she crouched down. "It's alright."
He was a thin creature; he'd probably be dead in the next month. His black fur was covered in mud and grime and parts of his muzzle had stopped growing fur where scars made their mark.
She sighed and pulled a small biscuit from her pocket and held it out. "C'mon." She urged. "I won't hurt you."
She could feel the connection building as he looked cautiously over to her with deep brown eyes. She gave a low whistle so as not to scare the pup any further and he slowly stood and started to slink over to her. She smiled reassuringly as he stretched his muzzle forward to sniff her hand.
He slowly bit the biscuit and she shifted her hand to hold it flat to he could get to it better. He seemed almost confused as to why he trusted her but that wasn't rare to see with the animals that Tupyn came into contact with.
When he finished the biscuit, he nudged her hand for more but she simply moved to pick him up. He cowered for a moment with his tail between his legs and his back arched; probably not even knowing what this show of affection was.
She held his chest in her hand and pulled him close, pulling him inside her coat to shelter him from the rain. He seemed through some tiny instinct to know not to bite the hand that fed him and just moved into her body.
She moved into the blacksmiths and to find the smith just staring at her in shock and Fíli and Kíli just smiling at her as she moved back into place between the brothers.
"H-How did you do that?" The smith stuttered.
Tupyn smiled. "Just something I've picked up."
She smiled as the pup turned from a hostile, cautious animal to something not dissimilar from what you assume a puppy to act like. He licked Kíli's hand and moved his head into it. Kíli chuckled and scratched his head. The only thing that Tupyn noticed was that he jumped and bristled at the sound of the apprentice sharpening the weapons. The pup would perk his one floppy ear, look around frantically and then hide his head inside Tupyn's coat.
She frowned and noticed the blacksmith glancing up at the pup before pulling his eyes away and finishing Foggy's shoes.
The blacksmiths apprentice came over and announced that he was finished with the weapons so the brothers moved over to the table where the blades were set out while Tupyn stayed where she was.
She gave the pup one final scratch beneath his chin and walked over to the smith who placed his hammer down and rubbed his hands on a dirty cloth. "You've been trying to get him to come haven't you?" She asked.
The smith was shocked by her voice but simply looked down to her and nodded. "We tried everything; food, water, a blanket! He just wouldn't come."
She smiled. "Well," She shifted the puppy out of her coat. "He's here now." She held him out and the blacksmith just stared for a moment. She held him out and the puppy looked to be judging weather or not he trusted the man. Tupyn gently stroked his rib and the puppy was comforted so when the smith held out his hand, the pup allowed him to stroke him.
The blacksmith smiled and took the pup, holding his close and stroking his chest with his forefinger.
"Make sure he's fed." Tupyn said. "Don't over feed him now; he'd malnourished so it'll just make him sick if you let him stuff himself. He might not grow very much since he didn't have the right care, I'd say he's maybe four or five months old but he could be older because he hasn't grown very much. He doesn't seem to like the sound of the whetstone so you might have to be patient on him on those terms."
He cocked an eyebrow. "And you got all that from holding him for five minutes?"
She smirked. "I'm good with animals."
He glanced over to the horses. "I can see that."
She bowed her head in thanks and smiled. "Be gentle with him," She warned. "He might take some work." She walked over to get her weapons without another word.
She couldn't help a chuckle as she looked at the huge line of blades belonging to Fíli. She moved to the end of the table where the - clearly elf-influenced - weapons were that belonged to her.
She slipped her sword into its sheath and the three throwing knives into the loops in her belt. A blade went into the leather strap around her thigh with another going into her right boot, after that she slipped two small combat knives into her bracers and gladly took back her bow. She picked up the two small flick knives that she'd purchased for convenience rather than confrontation and one of them went into her back pocket while the other went into the pocket into her coat. Being a woman, she'd found that concealing a blade in her bodice was a place where men rarely inspected beyond a glace or – occasionally – a stare, so her final blade was concealed between her breasts for that exact reason.
Fíli and Kíli moved over to the ponies and started sorting out their tack. Tupyn did the same and then they all mounted.
They paid and thanked the blacksmith and his apprentice before pushing their ponies into a walk and left the town of men.
Tupyn looked towards the sky and chuckled at how odd it felt that by nightfall they would be in Hobbiton and by the morning their quest would begin.
The door before them was round and painted a lovely shade of green. Tupyn was stood between the two brothers as they waited in anticipation for the owner of the house (or rather hole) to allow them entrance.
Hobbiton was one of the calmest places she'd been in many years. The night was clear and calm with cricket song ringing out into the abyss of night above them. The full moon above them was so bright that barely any stars were visible beyond it and it was lighting the way better than the lamps that were hung along the fences that lined the path. It was so tranquil that it almost unnerved Tupyn (evidently Kíli felt it too as he'd kept shifting uncomfortably in his saddle) and as much as she loved the calm, it put her on edge. There was a tiny part of her that told her to get out of Hobbiton as quickly as possible; the calm had no place in her life.
"What's his name again?" Kíli asked.
"Figgins?" Fíli guessed.
"No, no! It definitely started with a 'B'." Tupyn contributed.
"Then Biggins."
"The second letter wasn't an 'I'." Kíli thought out loud.
"Buggins?" Tupyn suggested.
"Beggins?" Said Fíli.
Kíli shook his head. "None of them sound quite right."
It was then that the door opened and the conversation finished. The trio were practically blinded by the warm light that was thrust in their faces as the hobbit stood in his doorway, seeming extremely unhappy about their appearance.
"Fíli."
"Kíli."
"And Tupyn."
"At your service." They chorused. The two boys bowed low and Tupyn curtseyed.
The hobbit was flustered by their appearance; he looked about middle aged for a hobbit and was clearly used to his comfortable little life in his hole. She doubted that Dwarves were on the 'Allow Into Home' list.
"You must be Mr. Boggins." Now that definitely wasn't right.
"Nope!" He announced resolutely. "You cant come in, you've come to the wrong house."
Tupyn saw what was coming before the brothers even reacted but took a quick step back to see Fíli quickly step into the place she'd been, she probably would have been crushed by the brothers in the panic in which they had reacted.
"What?!" Kíli exclaimed, blocking the door with his forearm and his foot.
Tupyn sighed. She could see what was going to happen and she didn't like it. As much as she hated to admit it, she had an Elven demeanour (most of the time) and she could see that the two brothers were going to be very rude in about thirty seconds.
"Has it been cancelled?"
"No one told us." The elder brother said in confusion with an air that seemed to demand the hobbit to explain.
But the hobbit didn't catch on and simply frowned. "Wh-? No! Nothings been cancelled." Here we go.
"That's a relief."
The brothers seemed to decide at the same time that if the hobbit wasn't going to invite them inside, then they'd invite themselves.
Tupyn sighed and slumped as she was left in the doorway with a shocked Bilbo simply staring ahead at nothing in particular. "Sorry." She said, stepping inside and waiting while Fíli shoved his weapons into the hobbits arms until she formally introduced herself.
He turned back towards her with the many weapons he found were suddenly in his possession and his face was going red like he was about to have a breakdown.
Tupyn smiled comfortingly. "What's your name? I know it's not Boggins."
The hobbit blinked a few times and swallowed. "Uhm," He gave a short cough and readjusted Fíli's many weapons. "Baggins." He looked up to her. "Bilbo Baggins."
"Hello Bilbo," She said in as calming a voice as she could manage. "I'm Tupyn. Sorry about the lads." She glanced to the brothers as Kíli was greeted by Dwalin. The older dwarf shot her and almost disapproving look before pulling the brunet into the dining room. She looked back to Bilbo and chuckled. "Here, why don't you give me those?"
He looked to her appreciatively and they shifted them into Tupyn's arms. She was much more comfortable with the blades and knew how to hold them properly so she straightened and attempted to give the Hobbit a tiny bit of stability and routine (as that's what she guessed he was lacking since they'd arrived).
"Do you have a spare room?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yes, just down the hall."
"Right, here's what you're going to do." He listened attentively as she was the only one offering him help. "Any other Dwarves who arrive, you're going to offer to take their coats and their weapons and if they give them to you, you're going to just dump them in the spare room. It'll save a lot of confusion later."
Bilbo swallowed and nodded so Tupyn left him to his thoughts before he could figure out how to interrogate her.
"Wait!" He called after her. She groaned deep in her chest so it was inaudible to him. "Why are you all here?"
Tupyn scoffed and gave a smirk. "That'd ruin the surprise." She said before walking into the spare room and leaving him there.
She moved into the room and quite simply dropped Fíli's weapons. If he was going to be rude to Bilbo, She'd be rude to him (Kíli would be getting a slap too).
She cast a glance to the room around her and was greeted by a lovely, lightly painted room decorated with generations upon generations of passed down furniture. She sighed in sudden realisation at just how hard it would be to get their hobbit on board. Even she wouldn't want to leave this house, it was too cosy and just nice; even in the unnerving calm and tranquillity of Hobbiton.
There was a chorused groan as the sound of many bodies hitting the floor practically rumbled the hole. She groaned and moved quickly into the hall where she was met by a pile of quest-goers complaining about the weight atop them. Bilbo had worked himself into such a large panic that she just stared at all of the dwarves at his feet in shock. He blinked several times in hope that maybe he was imagining it.
But he wasn't.
He turned to Tupyn when she groaned. "Wh-? What do I do now?" He asked.
Her face screwed up in almost pain as she thought about having to rip his small routine away from him. "Sorry," She said. "Abandon the previous plan." The dwarves were beginning to untangle themselves and meander into the pantry. "Just stay back and out of the way. Your house is going to get a little . . ." She looked away to try and think of a better word to describe it.
"What?" He was getting flustered and impatient because of it. "A little what?"
She sighed and decided to just say it. "Ransacked." At that she walked away, deciding that if he exploded due to the odd mix of confusion, anger and agitation then she wasn't going to get hit.
She vaguely heard him calm slightly as he muttered Gandalf's name and decided that maybe nobody would get hit.
As she rounded the corner, someone grabbed her upper arm. She jumped and let out a small yelp as she instinctively hit the man (for it was obviously a man) in the chest.
She looked up to see Dwalin staring down at her.
She didn't give him a chance to speak because the strength with which he was gripping her arm was already going to bruise. "The last man who grabbed me lost a tooth and broke his nose." She warned through gritted teeth as her arm started to throb in pain. She ignored it and he begrudgingly released her. He looked like he wanted to apologize but decided not to.
"I expected you to have gone home." He rumbled.
"Well you expected wrong."
"You shouldn' be 'ere lass."
"And why not?" She asked, becoming increasingly sick of his quite frankly belittling and discriminative attitude towards her. Her stance was defiant and she never once broke eye contact with him. "Why should I not be here any more than any of you?"
"because ye don't need to be 'ere." He said, his voice a lot less confronting and a lot more pleading.
So she had an answer. He didn't want her there because she had nothing compelling her to go, if she so wished she could decide that she didn't like her Dwarven side and go and live with the first elves she found; she could dismiss the stories she'd been raised on and go and learn different ones of a different race.
It made sense that he wouldn't want her to go if there was such a big contributor as blood meaning that she could betray them.
She sighed, stance relaxing as his did.
What he didn't realise was that he blood was the exact reason she was there in the first place.
"Where do I need to be?" She asked. It was an honest question, she'd asked herself it way too many times over the decades and she constantly came up with blanks. He just stared for a moment. "Tell me if you've got an answer." She all but begged. "Because I need one. I don't belong with Dwarves because of my Elf blood, I don't belong with Elves because of my dwarf blood; I have nowhere to go, I have no home."
"No," he said. "You 'ave a home with us. But you do nay have te fight fer it."
"That might be true but where do I belong if I don't?" She paused. "I may have a home with you but I'll always have Elf in me. It's a state of mind which race I want to belong to and if I don't come with you on this quest then I may as well give into the part of my ancestry that I quite frankly don't want to give into."
"You would nay have to." He tried to convince her but she'd had decades of thinking time and there was no changing her reasoning.
"But I would!" She insisted. "If I don't do this then I may as well be the Elf deluding herself into thinking she's really a dwarf. If I don't do this then I truly lose what I am trying to turn into my home. I'm grasping onto what little tie I have to belonging and if I don't come then it'll snap and I'll be lost." Dwalin just stared at her reasoning and sighed before she continued. "What am I supposed to do?" She asked. It was another question that she'd had sleepless nights thinking about; another question she needed a reply to for her to belong.
Dwalin just sighed. "Do not feel like ye are required to be here." He said before stalking off to sort out the food.
The conversation had left her in something of an emotional stoop which was only halted slightly when she turned to see Kíli watching her from where he and Fíli were trying to figure out how to sort out the ale.
"That was intense," He quipped.
Tupyn merely scoffed and rolled as if to say 'don't worry about it.' She observed them as they assessed every angle of the barrel. "Talk about one track mind, lads." She said as she dipped her arm into the pantry to grab some ham.
Kíli looked up to her. "Oh, I think about much more than just ale."
Tupyn rolled her eyes and kicked him lightly as she passed and went to find a place for the ham.
Fíli hit Kíli over the head when Tupyn was out of earshot. Kíli was so used to being hit that he didn't even call out.
He went to ask why he'd done it but Fíli beat him to it. "Could you be a little less obvious!" He scolded quietly. "It's ridiculous! You two are just asking to be forbidden from one another." He'd snapped at his brothers building confidence around the woman and he wasn't about to stop. "Believe it or not I don't actually want that to happen, I think it'd be great . . . if you manage to get blessing. I mean, seriously, Kí! Use your bloody head! You can't go around distracting each other, uncle won't hesitate to send her home and you know that."
Kíli looked down in slight shame and nodded.
Fíli thought for a moment and then scoffed. His brother looked up to him; confused at the sudden change in his brothers attitude.
"What?" The brunet asked.
"you're really going to go for it aren't you?" He said.
"Go for what?"
"Her." He gestured to the woman as she moved things on the table to put the plate down.
"Why shouldn't I?"
The blond chuckled. "She looks like an elf." He said. "She's definitely got the looks of one; she's worthy of an elf."
"And why are elves better than us?"
Fíli looked taken aback by how his brother had read his words. "They're not by any means but look at her." The brothers suddenly found themselves just looking at Tupyn, watching the way she moved and smiled at Bofur as he made a quip at something funny. She moved with grace and a gentleness that kept developing and shocking Kíli when he found something else she'd done that showed a calm and kind heart inside her. "She's way too good for you." Fíli said, teasing his younger brother who simply reached over the barrel of ale and thumped him on the arm.
It's time for the Authors Note in bold italics! Yay!
So a new chapter! What did you think of the little Dwalin Tupyn disagreement? Or Fíli and Kíli's chat at the end? I do all of this for you, loyal readers so please tell me what you thought. I'm sure you're all well accustomed to the routine by now. It's time to watch me grovel again! What did you think? I need your reviews more than anything because it's great that you're all following this thing that I managed to actually upload after almost a year but I don't actually know if you really like it until you tell me in a review. Tell me how to improve or maybe things that you want to see? I'll answer questions too. Yet again, if you don't want to review publicly when sent me an ask on Tumblr or a PM on here. Please! I promise that I don't bite - I'm British, I said sorry to a table for walking into it today - I'm not as scary as some of you seem to think.
Thank you so much for reading, getting notifications to do with this piece are the highlights of my day and It's wonderful to know that - at least a few of - you are enjoying it. So thank you.
