Beorn returns the following afternoon in a mood which can only be described as smug. He strolls into the cottage, greeting Gandalf in his booming voice as the few dwarves who have lingered inside regard him with pained groans. Most of them have only just left their beds and are showing clear signs of having celebrated a little bit too hard the night before and delved too deeply into Beorn's ale stores.
Billana, who has decided to indulge in a bit of afternoon tea for the first time in years, laughs as Bofur, Gloin, Nori and Dwalin turn slightly green when the noise causes them to move. Nori, she notices, is pressed tightly against Dwalin's side and while the guard would usually move to put some distance between them, today he is as heavily propped against the thief. Dori's grin, from his place across from her where he is mending yet another tear in a coat, is almost vicious. He had been among the advocates for saving the full celebration for later and she sees Nori make a gesture that she assumes is somewhat crude at the silver haired dwarf in response to others from Dori and she rolls her eyes. Even at their age, they seem to bicker on occasion. That said, none of the siblings in the Company seem to be as different from one another as Dori, Nori and Ori. Dori, much like Balin and Thorin, had been less than impressed to emerge from the stables where they are all still sleeping to find that the four of them were still sprawled over the table.
"Ah, Little One, getting fat off cream and honey, are you?" Beorn asks her, sitting heavily on the bench next to her and she squeaks as it shifts under him.
"It would take more than this to fatten me up," she replies, "the average hobbit eats between four and seven meals a day."
"Then I will need to ensure I send as much as you can carry for your journey onwards, although I fear it won't be enough to allow even three meals a day," Beorn says.
"I don't think anyone could carry enough food for a hobbit to eat a truly comfortable number of meals a day," she shrugs.
Beorn hums, his expression distant and his face troubled behind his thick beard. Months in the company of dwarves has taught Billana a great deal about reading what happens behind their thick facial hair.
"I would speak with you, wizard," he turns to Gandalf, "about the path ahead." Gandalf gets to his feet, hearing the thinly veiled request that the conversation happen away from the other occupants of the house. "Will you run with me tonight, Little One?" He asks her and Billana beams at him.
"I would love to," she agrees.
Beorn nods and walks from the room, Gandalf on his heels, and the instant he is out of sight Dori begins to fret over her agreement. Beorn is so large and she is so very small, does she have a form she could take that the great bear would know to leave alone? How will she find help if she needs it?
"Oh, leave off her, Dori," Nori grumbles, "Billana's proved that she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself, regardless of what you and Balin seem to think." Dori splutters.
"Nori's right," Dwalin grouses, "leave off. Or worry more quietly."
Billana decides that, in this instance, discretion is the better part of valour and slips away. It is quieter outside, though Dori's raised voice is still audible, and she sees Thorin and Fili to one side with their swords sparring. To her eyes it looks as though they are making a serious attempt at killing or seriously injuring one another, but she can see Kili sat to one side quietly and unconcerned as he fletches several new arrows. She recognises the arrow heads as the ones that the twins gave him, and he smiles at her as she approaches.
"Do you want some help?" She asks him, he looks at her quizzically. "Do you really think I waited for the twins to bring me a fresh supply of arrows every year?" She says, archly. "It'll go faster if I help."
He grins brightly and they spend the rest of the afternoon quietly working as Fili and Thorin spar. She continues when Fili trades places with his brother, talking idly with the blond as she works. It is peaceful, almost homey, and it makes her wonder if there will be many such afternoons once they have the mountain and she's settled into her life there with them.
Evening comes and Billana changes in the hayloft, wrapping a blanket around her so that it will be easier to change when she joins Beorn. The giant skin changer also strips, but he leaves the house completely uncaring of his nudity or the wide eyes of more than one dwarf. Billana flushes and keeps her eyes averted, she still isn't accustomed to the way the dwarves will bathe communally, even though she is comfortable enough unclothed in front of the twins for short bursts of time and she is certain that given time she will eventually be as at ease in front of Fili and Kili. She very much doubts, she will ever be comfortable enough to walk naked through a room full of strangers. She follows him, flashing a quick grin at Fili, Kili and Balin, none of whom had any objections to her embracing this part of herself.
Beorn is a great bear within a moment of leaving the house and Billana takes the form of a fox not long after. Much as she knows that the dwarves accept the wolf, much as she knows that Kili admires that part of her, she cannot quite bring herself to take on that form unless she desperately needs to. She runs alongside the bear as he trots through the open grassland to the east of his cottage, relishing in the feeling of freedom that comes with taking an alternative form and in being with one who understands what it is to hear the voices of the creatures around them.
-That is not your usual choice- the bear says when they come to rest beside a tall oak. -I have heard the dwarves mention a number of shapes that they have seen you take, a vixen is not among them-
-It is more familiar to me- she replies, -than some of the other wild forms I have, and better suited to running with you than a bird or a house cat-
-Indeed- he agrees -and yet I find myself curious to see the wolf that so many of them speak of with such reverence- She doesn't answer. -You fear it-
-I have reason-
-Everyone who has possessed magic such as ours has lost themselves to their animal side at one time or another- He councils. -It is not your burden alone, Little One, your dwarves would help with it where they could. Especially the young ones- He pauses. -Your path lies through the Woodland Realm of the King Thranduil Oropherion. The woods and paths are not what they once were, even when the dwarves were driven from their mountain-
-You know about that?-
-The ripples of the dragon's actions have been felt even here, Little One- he nods. -There is abundant life here, but it has not always been so. Many of the wild things that lived around the Lonely Mountain were displaced due to that creature's taint. But the darkness upon the elf wood is different. The Men have begun to call it Mirkwood and it is home to terrible things from an age long thought past. The elf king is not the best guardian of his realm and I do not like the thought of you going through it. In truth you need not-
-If we are to make our destination, I do- she replies.
-The dwarves do- he corrects -and their path will be days through that dark place with no chance to hunt for food and no extra water to drink. It will be a difficult journey if they make it through at all. Do not think me ignorant of their destination either- he adds. -There are but two places that a party of dwarves could go beyond those woods and there would not be a desire to face such danger as Mirkwood for one of them. I dislike that more-
-It's my choice- she reminds him and the bear turns to look at the canopy of stars above them.
-It is, and I will not attempt to keep you from it. I would only ask you to be wary. Dwarves are good at making pretty promises when the need calls for it, but poor at keeping them when the time to pay comes- She has heard similar in the past, though she little wants to believe it and she says as much. -I have watched your young ones- he responds -and I have smelt them upon you. The older dwarves may play you false, but the desire of the younger is real. You will be safest with them, I think-
-What would you have me do?- She asks.
-Wait here with me for two weeks- is the reply -then fly yourself to the other end of the woodland path and find your dwarves there-
-I won't do that- she shakes her head -I gave them my word, I won't risk losing them in the forest-
-That place is not for the likes of us, Little One- the bear snarls. -The days when I would risk those paths are long gone. If, however, you will not listen to reason I will make you this offer: should you survive this foolish venture and find that the deeper and darker nature of dwarves has proven true, you will have a home here with me. I will teach you all of the things that your father should have-
-You know my father?- She asks in surprise.
-Do you not?- He replies and she shakes her head. -I cannot tell you his identity, I have never met him nor heard his name. Only that there is one who roams the world who was responsible for the awakening of the wild magics within my kind and it would seem that he has done the same with yours. He lingered with my ancestor and taught him what it was to be of the wild things. Mingling with Men has, inevitably, thinned our blood to the extent that we can now only assume one form. You have the first gift, the greatest and purest of it. There is likely much that you haven't been taught and more still that neither of us knows. You are meant for great things, and I do not feel a fiery death in a forsaken mountain is it. Should you need a place, Billana Took, you will be welcome within my borders-
It would seem, she muses after thanking him, that she has gone from not being able to find a safe place to truly call home, to having more than she knows what to do with.
-Does this mean you won't help us?- She asks him.
-No, Little One- he sighs and even in the part of her mind where she hears him, he sounds exhausted. -I will give all the help that I can. You still have goblins and orcs following you, and little as I like the thought of you entering Mirkwood I like the thought of them getting their hands on you even less. I will give you what aid I may.-
They do not linger after that, Beorn goes to investigate some activity to the north and Billana returns to her friends. He has given her much to think about and she likes the plan of traveling through Mirkwood even less now that she has heard Beorn's warnings than she did before Gandalf mentioned it only that morning. Putting Thorin near elves, she has learnt, is not a wise plan and she wonders if they can make it through that forest without encountering any. She knows little of his dealings with the elves of the Woodland Realm, but she knows that it is poor purely from the additional venom in his tone when he mentions Thranduil.
She curls up to sleep next to Balin with Beorn's offer and warnings racing through her head.
A.N: So, my updates are going to slow down over the coming weeks. I have (finally) started on the revision work for my degree which starts a little under 3 weeks. On top of renovating the house and raising two children. Nothing like a challenge. But I keep putting it off and I promised myself I would start this year, so this is me, about to start studying maths and physics which will drastically reduce my writing time. But this will be finished, if only because I know that I will need the breaks and because it helps me to unwind. There is much maths practice floating around right now, I'm surprised how much I remember.