Disclaimer: If you think I own it, you're nutters. I just borrow without permission, alter beyond all recognition, and return.
Vasha sat out in the sunshine of Bilbo's garden, watching the children of the shire run by, happily at play, keeping quiet and sitting among the tall plants so that they couldn't see her. Bilbo watched in silence from where he sat on the porch, smoking his pipe, deep in thought. It had been over a month since Gandalf had shown up with the girl, and the wizard had disappeared the day after, saying that he had business to attend to and that he would be back shortly for the girl. Vasha had remained quiet and timid, only speaking when spoken to directly. She ducked and cringed at any sudden movements, and loud noises startled her overmuch. Understandable in her situation, Bilbo thought with a sigh. Always on edge, thinking that mother of hers is going to show up one day and take her away... Well, not if this hobbit has anything to say about that.
"Vasha." He called with a smile, removing the pipe from his mouth. The little girl looked up and over at him, her features still sharp and angular from the starvation diet her mother had kept her on. "Wouldn't you like to go play with the other children?"
She shook her head. "No sir."
Bilbo sighed. She was an easy child to care for, really, but yet it was so hard to care for her. A true oxymoron. "It's almost time for elevenses. I've made some lovely meat pies-"
"I'm not hungry, thank you." She said quietly, looking down and playing with the hem of her skirt.
Bilbo couldn't help but laugh at her words. "Not hungry? Why, I don't believe I've ever heard anyone in the shire declare themselves to simply be 'not hungry'. Especially not when my meat pies are involved!"
"But... But we just ate."
"So you're full?" Bilbo asked, curious, "That is quite different from being merely 'not hungry'."
"No... I'm not full..." She muttered, more to the ground than to him.
"What was that?"
"Not full."
"Then why aren't you hungry?" Bilbo was genuinely puzzled. She was the oddest lass, hobbit or otherwise, that he had ever met, to behave so.
"Mother said that I'm only allowed to eat once a day an' only if I'm good but I haven't been good 'cause I ran away an' if she finds out I ate something when I was bad cause I'm not 'posed to she'll hurt me even more than she's gunna hurt me an' maybe she really will kill me this time."
Bilbo was shocked into silence. He collected himself as quickly as he was able, which took a few moments. "Er, well, but your mother is not here, and I doubt she ever will be. If it is up to Gandalf, I daresay you'll never have to even think about her again."
"You assume correctly, my friend." Gandalf smiled, leaning against the gate. Bilbo jumped to his feet, smiling.
"Gandalf! We didn't even see you come up the road-"
"So I deduced. Has Vasha been doing well?" Gandalf opened the gate and stepped into the yard. Vasha got to her feet and hurried over to him.
"I've been really good, I promise. I haven't drawn any doors or nothin'!" She said, looking up at him pleadingly. Gandalf smiled kindly, picking her up with ease.
"Drawing your doors isn't misbehaving, you just must have the proper supervision for that. What I meant was, did you mind Bilbo? Have you been recovering your strength? Other things, such as that."
"But he wants me to eat alla time and Mother says-"Vasha started before Bilbo could speak. Gandalf smiled kindly, putting a finger to her lips and effectively silencing her.
"Your mother is not here, and she was quite wrong in saying you could eat only once daily-"
"-If I was good-"
"I stand corrected. Once daily if you were good. Now, however, she is on the other side of one of your doors, and you are quite safe from her. So there is to be no more fear of eating, all is well here and even naughty little children only loose their dessert, not entire meals."
"You promise?" The dubious yet hopeful look on her face made him smile kindly.
"I promise. So you can eat as much as you'd like."
"Which is precisely what I was trying to tell her." Bilbo sighed, watching the exchange. Vasha seemed to open up to Gandalf far more than she did him, and probably far more than she ever would open up to Bilbo.
"Well, sometimes, it takes more than one source before a child can accept anything." Gandalf turned back to Vasha, whom he still held in his arms. "Now, since you seem to have been quite good, and it wouldn't be polite to impose on Bilbo's kindness for too much longer-"
"What's 'mpose mean?"
"It is almost like taking advantage of hospitality and kindness, but not."
"Oh."
"You are hardly imposing." Bilbo retaliated with his cheerful grin, repacking his pipe with longbottom leaf. "Having a child around has been a joy, even if she is quieter than a shadow."
Gandalf chuckled.
"I'm not a shadow." Vasha replied with a bit of a pout. "I'm a Vasha."
"Yes, you are." Gandalf said kindly, "But you need to eat a bit more else you turn into a shadow. Now, as I was about to say before we got off topic, I've brought you a present."
Vasha's large eyes grew even wider. "A present? For me?"
"Yes." Gandalf smiled, carrying her to the fence. He had a swift looking grey horse she had been able to see (only barely, as she wasn't as tall as the hedge fence) but once they had passed through the gate, it was revealed that a small, golden pony stood patiently on the other side of the grey horse. Vasha let out a squeal of glee and clapped her hands together happily.
Gandalf laughed at her joy and set her down so she could run forward and inspect the pony to her hearts content.
"Yes, she is yours. Her name is Falda and a more sprightly pony I have never seen in all my long days, though she is quite gentle as well." He watched as Vasha crooned to the pony and stroked its whiskery nose. Falda merely arched her neck proudly; glad to be made much of.
"Such a little thing for such a big pony!" Bilbo exclaimed nervously, having followed them to the gate but going no further. "Even hobbits don't often ride ponies, and she's not even the size of-"
Peace, my friend. Falda is a good steed, and even though Vasha is small, it will do her good. See how happy she is?"
"The pony or the girl?"
Gandalf couldn't help but laugh. "Both, of course. But Falda is a gentle one, for all that I found her in Rohan. Thengel King himself sold her to me, and he is a good man to judge horseflesh... Or ponyflesh, as the case may be. He was loathe to sell her at first, but when I explained to him that there was a little girl who needed a good pony for a long journey, he readily agreed." Gandalf looked to Vasha. "My dear, how would you like to ride to Rivendell with me and meet the elves?"
Vasha looked at him, puzzled. "What's an elves?" She didn't want to try working her mouth around the syllables of 'Rivendell' just yet, or she would have asked what that was instead. For Vasha had a vague notion of what elves were: they were tiny creatures that resembled people, to a point, and they made either toys or cookies. Though she was more adamant that Santa had dwarves in his employ rather than elves.
Bilbo looked shocked and affronted (though he really had no reason to be) and Gandalf laughed once more.
"Ah, the innocence of one not born to our world. Elves, my little one, are a majestic people who-"
"What's a majestic?"
Gandalf gave up, chuckling still. "You shall see. Just as you shall see what elves are."
"Oh..." She paused, looking at the pony, then looking to Gandalf and Bilbo, eyes anxious. "When are we going? Falda says she wants a rest first."
"Two or three days, perhaps..." Gandalf mused on her words. Falda says... No, she can't already understand the language of animals. She doesn't understand any language other than Westron. "You can speak to Falda?"
"I can talk to lots of animals." She looked at hum, puzzled. "Can't you?"
Gandalf smiled kindly. "Yes. Yes I can. Go inside for elevenses with Bilbo, now, while I see to Falda and my friend Deor."
"Okay." Vasha reluctantly left Falda, after giving the pony a kiss on the nose, before going and taking Bilbo's hand as he walked inside with her. Bilbo was becoming used to all matter of oddness, and didn't find her being able to speak to animals odd in the least. He knew elves could do it...
But he didn't know what Gandalf knew. That elves didn't speak to animals in quite the way Vasha did... A thing that intrigued the wizard almost as much as the thought of her doors did.
Authors Note: So... Vasha can talk to animals. Hm. And they're going to see Elrond. I wonder what Gandy has up his sleeves...?