I am sooo sorry!
I canot believe that it has been almost a month since I last updated.
This month has been so hectic!
I officially hate Valentine's Day.
I work at a resort and it just so happened that the entire weekend was booked and it decided to snow, so I got stuck up there with no place to stay.
Then, it continued to snow off and on all month and I had to spend several nights at work.
Don't get me wrong, I like my job, but this has been too much. I officially got 20 extra hours in two weeks. We part-timers have to be careful about our hours or else we get laid off. :(
Anyway, I am kinda stuck on this story and More Than Blood.
I got on a Captain America kick and that's a lot of what I've been writing.
Seriously, today I got excited over this fluff scene that I wrote and then I remembered that I needed to update my current stories.
Again, I really am sorry.
This story isn't turning out how I originally wanted so I need help.
Tell me what you want to see happen in this story.
Keep in mind that I want it more centered around the family relationship.
I'll throw in the back story when the time comes, but I NEED inspiration!
Throw some plot bunnies my way or something.
I'm getting desperate.

As always, please review and check out the poll on my profile!

~ Rachel

That weekend found the entire company and Malonna seated in the stands of the rodeo waiting patiently for Raena. Earlier, Malonna had explained what would happen at the rodeo and the men were quite excited to watch Raena perform tricks on horseback. Many of the company were fascinated by the bull riding. Soon, the arena was cleared and Raena came out on the back of a chestnut-colored mare with a black mane and tail. She was standing in the saddle and was waving to the crowd. She pulled up on the reins and the horse came to a stop.

Raena smiled when she caught sight of the company in the stands. She sent Thorin a brief nod and turned back to the horse. With a flick of the reins, the horse set off in a canter around the arena. Raena urged the horse into a run and dropped down into the saddle. She grabbed the saddle horn and swung her legs to the side. She clung to the horn and dropped to the ground as the horse continued to run. Her feet hit the ground and she pushed back up to swing her legs over the saddle and repeated the action on the other side. The crowd cheered loudly and Raena repeated the process a few more times. On the fifth time, she pushed herself into a handstand on the saddle horn. The cheers grew louder and she forced her weight onto one hand as she pulled one up to wave at the crowd. She saw Fili and Kili cheering loudly as they jumped to their feet. She planted her feet in the saddle and prepared for the finale. She jerked the horse to a full stop and she did a spiraling flip over the horse's head. Landing with the grace of a gymnast, she pulled an extravagant bow as the crowd erupted in uproarious cheers. Some school friends sent her a few whistles and she blushed as she rubbed her horse's head.

After brushing down her horse, she joined the company in the stands. She was greeted by cheers and hugs. Bofur gave her a hug and asked how she had learned to do the tricks.

"Well," Raena began as she shot a wink at her mother, "I took dance lessons as a kid in order to be in a few productions for drama and I began to learn some gymnastics moves. One day while mom and I were out riding, I decided to try a few moves on my horse. Mom nearly had a heart attack the first time I did a handstand atop a moving horse. After that, I began to practice more and more until I became proficient. Now, several broken arms later, I do the occasional rodeo to earn some extra money."

Ori, who was listening intently to everything Raena said, asked, "What do you mean by productions?"

Malonna smiled and answered, "Raena performed in plays and musicals throughout high school. It's when you have actors playing characters of a story and sometimes music and songs are added in for entertainment. I recorded most of them and I'll show you some when we get home."

Ori nodded enthusiastically and most of the company expressed interest in hearing about the plays. The day was spent in good moods. Raena had an interesting time introducing the company to cotton candy and corn-dogs. She laughed when Bilbo had somehow managed to get the cotton candy stuck in his hair. She suspected one of the dwarves had something to do with it. All in all, the day was a success and Lily went back to the lodge with everyone.

Raena was relieved when she found out that her mother had already explained how the television worked. That would have been difficult to explain to Lily. Malonna rolled out the projector and set it up in the great room with the portable screen. Lily and Raena worked to pop a large amount of popcorn for everyone. Once everything was ready, everyone gathered in the great room.

Malonna pulled out four DVDs and asked, "Which one should we watch: The Merchant of Venice, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Les Miserables, or Oklahoma!?"

Lily plopped down on a cushion that had been set in the floor and said, "Put in Oklahoma! It was the best one, in my opinion. I think Rae was awesome as Laurey."

The company, who had no idea what any of these things were, agreed and sat back with a bowl of popcorn each. Malonna settled down beside Thorin after starting the film and rested her head against his shoulder. Raena smiled as the play began. This was her last performance for school and it as by far the best success that the drama department had ever had. She enjoyed the singing and even sang a few of the songs quietly with the recording.

Lily leaned over during the scene where Laurey is trying to make herself believe that she isn't in love with Curly and whispered, "Friday night is Karaoke Night at the diner and you're going with me."

Raena smiled and nodded before turning her attention back to the musical. Karaoke Night was a local tradition at the diner and everyone, young and old, turned out. The owners always used karaoke night to try out new recipes and drinks were free.

Glancing around at the company, Raena smiled at the different looks that crossed their faces. Bombur had commandeered the largest bowl of popcorn and was currently shoving a rather large handful of popcorn in his mouth as his eyes remained glued to the screen. Ori was curled up in a bean-bag chair that she had brought in and had his notebook in his lap. Gloin and Dwalin looked thoroughly confused. Bifur, Dori, Nori, Oin, and Balin watched quietly with slight looks of concentration. Bofur, Fili, and Kili looked like children with a Saturday morning cartoon. None of them blinked for the longest time. Finally, Raena let her eyes rest on Thorin who sat on a love seat with Malonna curled up against his chest. Thorin's hand was brushing through Malonna's blonde locks and Malonna was smiling sweetly up into his face.

Raena felt a tug in her chest as she watched her parents acting as if they were the only ones in the world. The looks on their faces were ones of complete contentment. Raena thought of everything she had learned over the past week, of how she was from another world and that Thorin was basically a king. What stumped her most of all was the fact that her mother was some sort of magical being.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Raena rose to refill her tea and check her phone. Setting her glass on the counter, she scrolled through her e-mails and messages. Someone cleared his throat behind her and she turned to find Bilbo standing in the doorway. She smiled at him as she once again noticed that he was wearing his new clothes. He wore dark blue jeans and a cream-colored knit sweater. He leaned against the door jam and put his hands in his front pockets.

"They all seem to be enjoying your play," he said with a smile.

Raena chuckled and said, "Thank you, Mister Baggins. I actually have a question for you. Do you mind if I ask how old you are? Mum said something about aging being different in Arda."

"I don't mind at all," Bilbo said with a chuckle, "and please, just call me Bilbo. All of the different races age in their own way. Hobbits are considered adults at thirty-three. I, myself, am fifty. We live to a average age of one hundred. Men age just like those in your world. They are adults at twenty-one and live either sixty or eighty years on average, I think. Elves are basically immortal and come of age at one hundred. They barely age after that, I hear. Dwarves live to be about two hundred and fifty years old, and from what I can tell, they come of age at eighty. How old are you?"

"I'll be twenty-one in a few days. Mom mentioned something along the lines of a spell that sped up my aging so I could fit in this world. According to Thorin, he last saw my mom one hundred years ago. Neither of them has yet to tell me what happened that day."

Bilbo rubbed his jaw and muttered, "A hundred years ago, you say? That's about the time they lost Erebor."

"What do you mean 'lost'?" Raena asked with a slightly raised voice.

"Well," Bilbo began as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Erebor was known for it's immense wealth and only one thing is greedier than dwarves when it comes to precious metals, a dragon. Smaug, they say, came in like a hurricane from the north and desolated Erebor and the city of Dale. Thousands of dwarves and men lost their lives to Smaug that day. Smaug drove the dwarves from Erebor and they wandered for a long while. Finally, they settled down in the Blue Mountains."

Raena shook her head slightly and growled, "You mean to tell me that a dragon is the reason my mom came here? A dragon!" Raena yelled that last word and all noise from the other room ceased. She pushed past Bilbo and stood in the doorway. Her eyes rested on Lily and she immediately forced herself to calm down. "Sorry about that," she muttered. "Bilbo was just telling me about a book that he had been reading before he came. I must say that I am excited to hear even more about it later." Her eyes moved to Thorin and she pinned him with a heated glare. Lily simply shrugged and turned her attention back to the video.

After the video was over, Lily wished the company goodnight and left with a reminder to Raena about karaoke night. As soon as she heard Lily's car start up, she whirled on the group. Several of the company visibly flinched when her angered gaze fell on them. "Would anyone like to explain to me why you saw fit to not tell me about the dragon that took Erebor?"

"Raena, honey," Malonna said gently, "the reason we didn't tell you is because you had just been told so much. We didn't want to overwhelm you."

"Overwhelm me?" Raena scoffed. "I think we crossed that bridge a long time ago! So, this whole quest you're going on is to kill this dragon and take back the Lonely Mountain? How hard was that to explain?" Several of the company looked uneasy and Raena sighed. "You know what? I'm just going to go to bed. I'll see you all in the morning."

Malonna watched her daughter leave the room and walk towards her bedroom. A heavy sigh left her throat and she turned so that her head was resting on Thorin's shoulder.

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