I know this chapter is a little short, but it's the only small one for a long while, promise! I'll try to make he story will pick up a little from here, hopefully it won't be too bad. In the meantime, enjoy! :)
The eight of them had been walking along through narrow cliffs and open spaces until the sun had started to set already when they'd finally reached the little dam Mister Beaver called home.
"Ah! Blimey! It looks like my old girl's got the kettle on!" And true to his word, Mister Beaver's guests could all see a thin trail of smoke evaporating into the air, coming from a well built dam upon a frozen lake. And they could all smell a most inviting dinner too, true, they were all getting pretty hungry.
This was definitely something Thorin had never seen, and he grinned at Kili, catching his dumbfounded smile at the little settlement. At least, they might have somewhere warm to spend the night in. The dwarf made sure to let the children pass before him, knowing they were younger and needed more looking out. Lucy had talked to him a little, and Thorin admitted that he quite liked the little girl, she was full of life, and it was good, to be able to feel it off somebody.
"It's lovely!" Lucy exclaimed enthusiastically. Kili and Fili caught her excitement when they both saw the little house on the dam, and the three younger ones were eager to give it a visit. It looked most welcoming, and it was definitely a change from the Erebor that they'd been defending with Uncle Thorin, which had seemed more like piles of stone and empty halls than a warm and welcoming home. It had still thrilled them both though, being able to lay ayes on the line of Durin's legacy, and neither regretted dying to defend it.
"D'ah it's merely a trifle. Still plenty to do, not quite finished it yet." Kili smirked, the beaver was obviously embarrassed at having a nice comment done to his house, but he deserved it, judging the heart and time that had been put into building it.
"Well, like Miss Lucy said, I really like it! We should have done something like that when we were younger, shouldn't we Fi'?" he continued, elbowing his elder brother and giving him a look. Thorin just shook his head 'course you should have, and then you'd hide in it for days on end 'till we get sick with worry because we wouldn't be able to find you…
"It is some fine work, Master Beaver." The uncle opted to say in the end, wanting to compliment the animal for his obvious good craftsmanship and the hard word that had been put into the home. "We could do with builders like you in Erebor." Although Thorin had a hard time imagining a beaver working alongside dwarves and carrying massive stones around the place…
"Erebor?" Lucy questioned, eager to know what it was, she'd never heard of such a place before.
"Yeah, Erebor! It's where we're from!" Kili supplied enthusiastically, not even leaving enough time for his Uncle to answer the question himself. "It's really amazing, with immense halls, the finest gold and it even holds the greatest riches in the Lonely Mountain!"
"The Lonely Mountain?" Peter pressed. He hadn't meant to listen in, but Kili was definitely sparking his interest, with the passion he was putting into his words. His home must have been quite the thing if he dwelled in a place carved from the rock itself, it was almost better than places he'd sometimes stumble upon when he'd get engrossed in a book of his.
"Why don't we talk about all that around a nice bit of supper?" Mister Beaver suggested, eager to get them all out of the cold and gathered around a nice conversation. True, he was impatient himself, wanting to learn more about all of these guests and how they had come to enter Narnia in the first place.
No protests there, and the eight of them made their way down, careful as to where they stepped and trying not to slide on the slippery surface. No sooner had they came to the solid ground once more did they all hear what sounded like a female voice, and they all saw Mister Beaver somewhat cringe, a most amusing sight indeed.
"Beaver, is that you? I've been worried sick!" Sure enough, it was a second beaver, a female one this time, coming out of what must have been her home. Thorin grinned, she really reminded him of his dear sister Dis, always looking out for those she loved, sometimes even too overbearing, but he could distinguish the general concern in the voice too. And the way she walked was definitely quite similar. "If I find you've been out with Badger again-" But Misses Beaver stopped mid sentence, as she realized that these were not badgers at all, Mister Beaver was bringing guests! "Oooh…" she'd been quite wrong indeed, these weren't even remotely animal either.
Thorin almost smiled as he caught the excitement on Misses Beaver's face, as she exclaimed "Oh! Those aren't badgers…" And then she'd barely been able to contain herself, almost squealing in delight "Oh! I'd never thought I'd live to see this day!"
Susan took a step back. This day? What was that supposed to mean? Never mind that she was still trying to comprehend how on earth a beaver could talk. Sure she'd gotten somewhat used to Mister Beaver, but now there was a Misses too? And then there might be Baby Beavers in there too…
"Look at my fur! You couldn't give me ten minutes warning?" Kili smirked, she was an adorable beaver indeed! So like Mother, a part of him thought, wanting to be prim and proper for any sort of guest, even if said guests were completely disheveled from the cold and not looking in the least bit presentable.
"I would have given you a week if I'd thought you would have helped." Mister Beaver replied apologetically, just eager to get all of his guests in. And seeing them all chuckle was definitely a good way to start off, hopefully they might all be able to get along on friendly terms.
"Oh! Come inside, and we'll see if we can't get you some food, and some… Civilized company." Lucy followed first, impatient to see what a beaver's home would look like, followed by Susan and Peter, who were both eager to get in out of the cold. Thorin nudged Kili on, wanting to get him in, where he might be able to rest for a while, the beavers were certainly showing them hospitality.
Fili had been about to go inside, but stopped himself, after noticing Edmund hadn't followed. Indeed, the younger Pevensie was looking out beyond the frozen lake, where he could make out… The two hills! His Queen's house was so close! Oh! How he was impatient to see her again! He'd stopped, frozen in the doorway, and was almost unwilling to move, seriously hesitating whether he should go in or make his way to the Queen right now. Fili looked up at him, not liking the look he could see in the brown eyes in the slightest, almost afraid to ask what had caught the boy's attention. Looking past him however, he didn't see anything particularly eye-catching, but maybe he ought to keep an eye out for Edmund, just in case his older brother got distracted with their excited hosts. It would do no good for Edmund to wander away from his family, knowing all too well how it was so easy to just stray away for a little while and then never be able to return.
