Righty ho, here we go! I have once again… regained my passion for this story and have decided to update! Yay! Sooooooo… enjoy this! (hopefully) And repeat after me - FallohideDragon owns nothing although she may wish she did!
Sindarin
Khuzdul
Hobbitish
…
As he gazed over the right wing of the Eagle carrying him, Bilbo counted his Dwarves, looking them over with a subtle brush of magic, checking for wounds that would need tending to. He didn't bother checking Thorin, he wouldn't be able to deal with being more worried than he already was. He reminded himself to ask Oin to look at Ren's side AND her newly injured leg, honestly could his children go FIVE MINUTES without getting into trouble? Gently running his fingers through the Eagle's feathers, Bilbo sighed and decided to use this time to relax a bit, safely away from danger. He had to admit, the view was incredible. Ori was sitting on the Eagle next to him and Bilbo couldn't help but smile gently as he watched the young Dwarf stare at the mountains and forests around him and begin to frantically sketch them in his journal. He sighed and leaned backwards, smiling happily at the first moment of peace they had on this quest and breathing deeply through his nose. Tangling his fingers into the feathers below him, he leaned over the side of the Eagle, which, sensing his joy at being in the air, rolled over in the sky, Bilbo crowing with delight. He could hear Dori's screech as the old Dwarf watched. Bilbo simply laughed, free from worry or danger for as long as they flew.
They began their descent after Gandalf pointed the Eagles towards a rock that had formed into the shape of a bear. "Thank you," he whispered to the Eagle carrying him before, with grace as is befitting of an Archthain, sliding off. The Eagles that were carrying wounded members of the company perched on the rock so that the rest could help them down. The Eagle bowed its head before straightening and letting out a great screech that was echoed by the other birds before soaring into the sky with a flap of its wings. Bilbo almost let out a screech of his own as he found himself being blown backwards by the resulting gust of wind, but such an action would be undignified and he knew that his children would tease him to kingdom come afterwards so he managed to restrain himself.
Gandalf was hovering worriedly over Thorin like an anxious stork and for one terrifying moment, Bilbo thought the Dwarf was dead. However, Thorin's eyes flashed open and soon the tall Dwarf was standing in front of Bilbo with a rather threatening look on his face. "You!" Thorin growled. "What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?" Bilbo fought the urge to gulp. He had just 'saved' the stubborn King's life and now he was standing on a cliff with a verbal barrage heading at him from that same Dwarf. Imagine his shock when that same Dwarf exhales and says in relief, "I have never been so wrong in all my life!" and then embraces him!
Yes, Bilbo thought, I might indeed call these Dwarrow friends someday.
After Thorin had released him, to the cheers of the Dwarves, a lull fell over the group. Bilbo stared at the faint shape of a solitary mountain in the distance, "Is that what I think it is?" The Dwarves wandered to the edge of the cliff, as if in a collective trance. "Erebor! The Lonely Mountain. The last of the Great Dwarf Kingdoms of Middle Earth," announced Gandalf with a triumphant smile. But Bilbo was far too busy focusing on Thorin to listen or care. Silver lined the Dwarrow King's eyes, his voice choked as he spoke of what Erebor truly was. "Our Home," he declared, for to the Dwarves, whether Lonely Mountain was the last Great Dwarven Kingdom in the Universe did not matter, as long as it was still their home.
Turning, Bilbo noticed a thrush swiftly flying overhead. Oin's voice echoed from behind him, "A raven! The birds are returning to the mountain!" Despite the emotional moment that had occured seconds before, Bilbo couldn't help but snort internally at the mistake… thrushes and ravens are two of the most dissimilar birds you could ever see and it was laughable for any Hobbit worth their salt to ever get creatures mixed up. "That, my dear Oin," Gandalf piped up, "is a thrush." Bilbo nodded softly from his place at the back of the group. Thorin still looked happy, "Well we'll take it as a sign, a good omen," he smiled. "You're right." Bilbo grinned in relief. "I do believe the worst is behind us."
Looking back on it, Bilbo should have realised how foolish of a statement that was. He was currently crouched behind a rock, watching as Azog, his Unturned Orcs, and a very large, terrifying looking bear traversed the area before him. The Hobbits knew of Beorn, the frightening shapeshifter that patrolled this area of the Wilderness, however, no Hobbit had approached him since they walked there during the wandering days. Needless to say, Bilbo wasn't completely faking his trepidation.
He sprinted back to the company, asked "How close is the pack?" before he had even slowed to a complete halt. "Too close," he panted, "couple of leagues, no more. But that's not the worst of it." He saw the ears of Sago and Ren twitch from where they were sitting, listening under the pretence of adjusting the fletching of their arrows. "Have the Orcs picked up our scent?" Dwalin asked immediately.
"Not yet, but they will do. We have another problem." Bilbo replied, still attempting to fill his lungs with the cool night air. "Did they see you? They saw you," butted in Gandalf, the mangy wizard. If Bilbo wasn't still breathless, he would have been indignant, the very idea of a Hobbit being seen. However, his reply sounded quite a bit weaker than it would have done, "No, that's not it." Gandalf grinned, "Good, what did I tell you? Quite as a mouse. Excellent burglar material!" The Dwarves began muttering among themselves, the chatter increasing in volume by the second. Bilbo was flattered but there was a bigger problem at hand. "Will you listen! I'm trying to tell you there is something else out there!" Wow. So it was that easy to silence a pack of Dwarrow, noted. Gandalf looked inquisitive, but there was that telltale glint present in his eye once more. For the love of Yavanna, the wizard was scheming again, the urge to kick him in the shins was almost overwhelming. No, decorum. "What form did it take? Like a bear?" The wizard asked in that mysterious way that showed his great 'knowledge'. "Ye…Yes," Bilbo replied, "but bigger. Much bigger." The shiver that went down his spine was not forced. The Dwarves turned as one towards the wizard, Bofur stepping forward. "You knew about this beast?" When Gandalf turned away to 'think', Bofur turned to the company, "I say we double back."
"We'll be run down by a pack of Orcs." Thorin growled. Gandalf turned around once more. "There is a house, it's not far from here, where we might take refuge," he murmured. Yes there was. The skinchanger's house. The house of the quite intimidating and certainly not-to-be-crossed bear that they were trying to avoid. That house. "Whose house?" Thorin asked, "are they friend or foe?" Bilbo could feel hysterical laughter building up inside him. They were doomed. "Neither." Gandalf replied. "He will help us or he will kill us." Yep, doomed. Sorry Thorin, Erebor shall remain abandoned, we're all going to die because BEORN DESPISES DWARVES! At least he already knew that Gandalf was an idiot, if he believed him to be the omnipotent and omniscient wizard many thought him to be, he would be dangerously trusting. Like the Dwarven Leader. Cabbages. "What choice do we have?" Thorin asked, probably rhetorically. A roar sounded in the distance, shaking the trees around them. Gandalf looked gravely at the company.
"None."
…
I am SO SORRY for not updating this sooner, I cannot express how sorry I am. Recently, my workload has been overflowing, and still is, but I promised myself that I would continue this. Soooooo, we have started the Desolation of Smaug! The chapters may take a while, as I am lacking in inspiration, but we press on! Thank you for bearing with me.
FallohideDragon
