Brianna was sleeping soundly when she suddenly felt something fuzzy touch her nose. She groggily woke up to see a massive bee on her nose. She carefully and gently wiggled her nose not wanting to aggravate the bee. The bee soon flew away buzzing as it went and Brianna quickly got up and brushed the hay off her dress. She then looked to her side and saw her clothes and pack placed right next to her. She looked behind her and saw all the girls gathered around the kitchen table discussing something she couldn't hear.

Dorothea then popped up behind Brianna from a pillar, fully dressed with a soft colored flower dress with her shawl wrapped round her arms. She then tapped Brianna on the shoulder and Brianna gasped when she saw her.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry." Dorothea said "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No it's alright." Brianna chuckled.

"W-Would you mind telling the others I'm outside?" Dorothea asked.

"Sure." Brianna said.

"Thank you so much." Dorothea said before she walked off and headed for the door.

Brianna then smiled and then ran towards the kitchen to where the others were and finally caught up on their conversation. Dorothea meanwhile carefully walked out of the door and then looked straight ahead of her. Beorn was just ahead of her, chopping wood rather loudly. She could now see from behind that he had shorter hair then she thought and he was wearing a bright white undershirt. He had a pitcher of water and a cup on a nearby table, presumably for when he finished chopping wood. She quietly approached him and every time his axe came down on a new block of wood she shuddered but didn't stop walking until she was just two feet behind him. But it was then she got a good look at his back and quietly gasped.

Even with the undershirt, she could see almost half his back was covered in nasty scars and some extending to his arms. She'd seen scars like that after vicious battles, which led to her understandably wondering what kind of life Beorn had lived. Yet she also felt sorry for him and felt the urge to offer some kind of comfort. She regained her composure and took a deep breath.

Come on, stupid! she thought Just say hello! It's so easy.

Beorn slammed his ax so hard that it actually became dented slightly in the tree stump even after the wood he was chopping was cut in half. Dorothea tried not to gasp and she tried again to relax as he picked up yet another block of wood.

Say something! she angrily berated herself in her thoughts.

As Beorn chopped the piece of wood in half, she noticed his breathing was starting to become sharp and labored.

"You should stop." she said finally.

Strangely he didn't continue chopping wood but rather looked as if he was staring out at something in the distance.

"Beg your pardon?" he asked in a surprisingly average voice considering his alter ego.

"I-I said you should stop and rest." Dorothea nervously responded "It's bad for your heart if you don't."

Beorn didn't reply but instead walked over to his water pitcher, poured himself a glass and chugged it down, before taking a cloth from his pants pocket and wiping his brow.

Back at the house, the girls were watching Dorothea and Beorn from the back door and windows of the house while Bertha was watching from the window closest to the door. They'd all rushed over there the moment Brianna had told them Dorothea was outside less than two minutes ago. Nadja and Ottilie looked as if they'd die of fright.

"What the hell is wrong with her?!" Nadja hissed.

"She's lost her mind she has!" Gerlinde whispered

"What'll we do?" Ottilie demanded quietly.

"Let's get her back inside and run for the hills!" Bridget barked quietly.

"No!" Gillian hissed "That would be the worst thing you could possibly do!"

"And why is that?" Traude asked.

"Because the last person who startled him was torn to shreds!" Gillian replied.

Beate gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. Brianna bit her lip nervously. Even Traude seemed concerned about this.

"We need him to help us pass through Wilderland or else we'll be hunted down." Gillian said.

Barbara shushed them. "Hang on girls, look."

As Beorn finished his drink, Dorothea decided to speak up.

"I'm terribly sorry to disturb you." Dorothea said "But I just wanted to know who you are. You are Beorn are you not?"

"Yes I am." Beorn finally replied "But I'm not entirely sure who you are."

Dorothea suddenly found herself wringing her hands nervously. She bit her lip and exhaled softly. So far, so good. She didn't want to mess this up.

"Well, my name is Dorothea." she said "And you see I'm-"

She suddenly slapped her left hand over her mouth. She suddenly remembered what Gillian had said when they'd arrived. 'He's not overfond of dwarves.' she'd said. And now, Dorothea looked as white as a sheet.

You can't tell him you're a dwarves. she thought No telling what he'll do.

Beorn turned around to face her, with a very suspicious look on his face. Dorothea looked up at him but then suddenly her fear died away and her hand dropped back to her side while her mouth was still hanging open.

Beorn was not at all like how Dorothea imagined. He was somewhat ripped (a given considering he was a skin-changer) but the part that caught her attention was his face. He had a short, smoothly cut, albeit dirty dark colored beard and short hair of the same color and he had bright blue eyes (one of which had a small scar close to it). Dorothea's heartbeat suddenly accelerated and her cheeks slowly started turning red while she got an unusual feeling in her stomach.

Wow. she thought He's...so handsome.

"You're a dwarf." Beorn growled "Why are you here?!"

Dorothea was snapped back into reality and she mustered up what little courage she could and she began trying to think of a good answer. Beorn meanwhile looked at this dwarf woman. Her golden hair gleamed in the sunlight and her eyes were a lovely hazel color. And she didn't seem to be threatening him as she wasn't carrying any weapons. Just a shawl she had wrapped around her arms. Dorothea briefly turned her held gaze away from Beorn and looked at the house. She couldn't tell him how many of them there were in the house and she knew that aggravating a man of Beorn's size and strength wasn't the best move.

Dorothea cleared her throat "I know you don't like dwarves but please hear me out. I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Beorn inquired.

"For letting us stay in your house." Dorothea replied as she slowly relaxed.

During this, the girls had been frightened out of their minds since Beorn had stopped chopping wood. It was even harder as they were trying to stay quiet. As Dorothea and Beorn started chatting, the others debated what to do next.

"If he harms one hair on our sister's head I'll tear him apart!" Ottilie whispered.

"Agreed!" Daniela said.

"Enough of this!" Gillian hissed "I will handle this myself."

"How?" Brianna inquired.

"I'll speak with him myself." Gillian replied calmly "Now girls step back a bit okay?"

The girls obeyed and stared at Gillian, waiting for what she'd do next. Gillian then looked at Brianna and motioned for her to come forward.

"Brianna, come with me." Gillian said as Brianna approached "The rest of you wait until I give the signal but you must come out in pairs."

"Why?" Beate inquired.

"We don't want to overcrowd him." Gillian said before turning to look at Bridget "Actually, Bridget, you technically count as one so you should come alone."

"Eh, fine by me" Bridget said rolling her eyes and biting into a carrot.

"Remember, wait for the signal." Gillian said as she and Brianna walked out the door.

"Yes, ma'am." Bertha said as she nodded.

"What signal would that be?" Frieda asked suddenly.

Bertha turned and was about to answer when it suddenly clicked in her brain that Gillian hadn't told them what signal would be and Bertha's eyes grew as big as dinner plates.

"I…I have no idea." she finally said.

Gillian and Brianna walked out the door and walked straight towards Beorn and Dorothea as Dorothea attempted to explain herself. As they got closer they caught wind of their conversation.

"…I'm also a doctor." Dorothea said.

Upon hearing that Gillian stopped four feet behind Dorothea and Brianna hid herself behind Gillian. Gillian then cleared her throat and Dorothea and Beorn turned to look at her.

"Who is this?" Beorn demanded as he quickly grabbed his ax.

"Oh I'm so terribly sorry." Gillian said "Let me introduce myself. My name is Gillian. Gillian the Grey."

"Never heard of you." Beorn said.

"I can explain." Dorothea said turning back to Beorn "She's a wizard and one of the friends I mentioned."

"Is this true?" Beorn asked.

"Yes." Gillian said "It's strange though you haven't heard of me. Have you heard of my colleague Ramona the Brown? She dwells just on the borders of Mirkwood and-"

"Who is that one?" Beorn demanded suddenly grasping his ax tighter.

Gillian looked behind her and saw Brianna shaking like a leaf and then she waved nervously at Beorn as she walked out into full view.

"Oh this is Brianna Baggins of the Shire." Gillian said turning to Beorn.

"She's not another dwarf is she?" Beorn inquired.

"Absolutely not!" Dorothea barked "She is a hobbit! The only thing we share is that we're…well…shorter than the average person."

"I see." Beorn said never once letting go of his ax "A dwarf, a wizard and a halfling. How did you get here?"

"Oh, well that's where it get's complicated." Gillian said "You see, we've narrowly escaped a rather annoying escapade with some goblins in the mountains."

"Why did you go near goblins?" Beorn asked flabbergasted "Sounds like an incredibly stupid thing to do."

"Oh yes it is!" Gillian said while doing a strange hand motion.

Suddenly Daniela and Barbara ran out from the house and curtsied as they introduced themselves. Beorn was perplexed to say the least. Gillian sighed and rolled her eyes. Dorothea did the same.

"I forgot to mention that…um…several of our company are, in fact, dwarves." Gillian said.

"Other then this one's sisters?" Beorn inquired.

"Now hold on a second." Gillian said making another hand gesture.

And suddenly Nadja and Ottilie ran out and curtsied before looking to their sister. Dorothea began to feel very nervous and looked to Beorn with concern.

"Ottilie and Nadja at your service!" her sisters said as they curtsied again.

"I don't want your service!" Beorn barked "Wizard, you're looking less like a group and more like a travelling circus!"

"Excuse me?!" Nadja said flabbergasted "We are not a travelling circus!"

"Are there any more of you in my house?" Beorn demanded.

Gillian sighed and turned towards the house. "Come on girls!" she yelled "You might as well show yourselves!"

There were was a kafuffle from inside and all of the girls rushed outside and then curtsied at the same time. Beorn sighed and placed his ax on the ground so that he could lean on it.

"Is that all?" he sighed tiredly "Are there any more?"

"Yes." said a voice.

And finally, Traude walked out into full view and leaned against one of the outside beams and looked to Beorn.

"You're the skin-changer I presume?" she asked.