Bella could feel her lungs burning, and her sides cramped in pain from running so hard. Even still, she was one of the last ones in the line. The others were already almost inside the grove of their unknown host, and she would've been more excited to see the end of this trip in sight if she had any extra energy to give.

Behind them, a massive bear burst from the trees. Really, what kind of creature has any right to be that big? By now, she could hear some of the dwarves slamming into solid wood and panicking as they suddenly forgot how to open a dang door. The bear roared again and the panicking grew louder. Bella still wasn't there yet, and she knew it would take a miracle to get there in time.

Now, it was just her, Ori, and Thorin in the back, Thorin staying last to make sure the others made it.

A sudden thought popped in her head, though more like an old memory trying to resurface after several years of being suppressed. It was a story all faunts were told, though many chose to ignore it as they grew into respectable hobbits; most, except for the Tooks. They held fast to this story as it was one of the only stories left from their Wandering Days. Back before the Wandering Days happened, really, when they were still settled peacefully in the Vales of Anduin. They lived nearby strange creatures who would protect them. These creatures looked like men, only they were taller, much, much taller, and could shift into amazing creatures. These creatures would also be massive, much larger than normal, and it was because of this gift that they protected the hobbits.

"Because, you see, hobbits used to possess this ability as well, Bella. We are so small compared to the tall folk, even though we are perfectly normal sized, we were extra small to these skin-changers, and often that would come out when we shifted as well. Our creatures were typically prey animals, or small predators, like a bunny or a ferret. So these larger skin-changers took pity on us and protected us from those who wanted to hurt us, and in return we helped them tend their land." Belladonna's voice held a trace of amusement at the wonder in her daughter's eyes as she listened to the story for what had to be the hundredth time.

Bella grit her teeth and ignored her pounding heart as she suddenly stopped and turned back to the bear.

She wouldn't make it to the door in time, anyway. She may as well give the others a chance.

She could hear the dwarves calling for her frantically, and she turned briefly to Thorin who had shoved Ori forward and had turned back for her.

"Bella! What are you doing? We need to go!"

"Get them in, Thorin. I know what I'm doing." Thorin still wasn't convinced so she flashed her eyes at him, letting them turn gold. "Go. I'll be just fine, Thorin." I hope.

After a few precious moments that they really didn't have the time to waste, Thorin nodded and turned back around, rushing back to the other members of the Company. They started to protest but he yelled something at them in Khuzdul and they all shut up, hurrying into the house, Bella hoped. By this time, she had turned back already and the bear was nearly upon her.

Bella took a deep breath, shoving her terror aside for the moment, and angled herself slightly, raising her hand up in the process. The wind whipped her hair around as she flashed her eyes.

"Peace."

The bear slid to a stop, his snout mere inches from her hand.

"My friend," Bella hesitantly put her hand on his snout, and spoke quietly as she brought her other one up to join it. The bear stayed still. "We need your help."


"We have to go back out there and save her!" Kili was near bouncing in frustration and anxiety while his brother paced agitatedly next to him.

"She said she knew what she was doing. I had to trust her." Thorin sighed as he looked around at his Company, the looks of disbelief and anger on their faces, although he knew that underneath it all was fear for their burglar. He himself was filled with it as well, and he was close to going back outside and pulling her from whatever mess she got herself into this time. Even the wizard seemed nervous for his friend, although he hid it well.

"Even if she seemed sure of herself, she's just a wee thing, up against that.. that.. that beast!" Dori was shaking as he struggled to control himself, and his brothers were standing close by, in case they needed to step in and prevent any fights. Thorin sighed again.

"You didn't see her eyes." He made eye contact with each and every single person in the room before continuing. "I trust that she knows what she is doing, just like she said. As you should do as well." Everybody seemed sufficiently cowed and looked down, but knew they couldn't do anything to change it now.

Before they could wallow in their grief any more, the door was pushed in an attempt to open it, and then realizing it was locked, whoever - or whatever - was on the other side knocked instead. The dwarves all looked at each other before rushing to the door to undo the latch and threw it wide open.

There, in front of their very eyes, was Bella, a sheepish smile on her face, and behind her-

"Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet our host, Beorn."

The bear huffed, sending Bella's hair flying.


Bella shrieked as she was lifted into the air, again, and set on a massive shoulder, again. She had protested the first time it happened, but Beorn merely laughed, patted her head, and refused to let her down, no matter how much the dwarves glared at him. She would've jumped, except it was a long way down and she was sure the dwarves wouldn't be too keen on staying any longer than they needed so that she could recover from what she was sure would be several broken bones.

Therefore, staying up higher off the ground than any sensible hobbit could even imagine back in the Shire, Bella stayed put, while occasionally clutching the bear-man's head for dear life as he moved around. She was not too happy.

"Oh, does the Little Bunny not like it up so high?" That was another thing. Even though she told him her name, several times, he still stubbornly called her Little Bunny. What was so hard about saying 'Bella'? It was really easy: Bel-la. It was even half the syllables of his nickname for her; definitely much easier to say.

"No, Beorn," she readjusted her grip on his head, "the Little Bunny does-" she slipped a little and shrieked again as she caught herself, "-does not appreciate being called that, or- or- or being treated like one, or any other animal, for that matter."

"I would call you a Little Ferret if you were just a bit feistier, but I think Little Bunny suits you better."

Bella thought back to the trolls, and being called a ferret by them too.

"No, I think I would just prefer it if you called me Bella. Simply, Bella." Beorn ducked inside and turned to the kitchen. Once there, he set her on the counter next to him.

"Well, Little Bunny, here we are." He gestured grandly at the kitchen around them, and Bella simply crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him, not impressed.

"And for what reason, exactly, are we here now?"

"We're about to supply you for your journey! If I recall, hobbit-folk ate several meals a day and had soft, round bodies. You look much too thin to be a proper hobbit, so we must fix that." Bella wasn't entirely certain whether she should be offended or cheered by his statement. If she were honest, it was probably a mix of both.

"Oh, well. I, uh-" She shifted a bit on the counter and cleared her throat. "I thank you, Beorn, for your thoughtfulness. And if we live through this, I will come and visit you again so I may teach you proper hobbit manners and brush up on your knowledge of hobbit meals. No doubt the world would be a better place if everybody abided by hobbit meal times. Food fixes almost everything." At this, Beorn threw back his head and laughed heartily.

"I look forward to it. You can also teach me about some of your hobbity meals so I can feed you better next time around." Bella definitely did not have tears in her eyes. It was merely dust, in Beorn's fairly spotless kitchen. Yep. That was her story and she was sticking to it.

"I'd be delighted to teach you some proper hobbit recipes. They are most wonderful, and there is hardly anything we hobbits love more than food. You won't be disappointed." Everything important had been said by now, so they dove right into cooking and packing, getting Bella ready for the next few weeks of proper hobbit food (although, really, she was determined to make it last longer than that and also share it with her dwarves, so they were really outfitting the rest of the Company with food as well), telling stories to each other of their peoples and the history between the two.


By the time they were supposed to be leaving, Bella and Beorn had become a dynamic duo in the kitchen and had prepared as much as they could allow the company to carry. It was quite a bit. Everybody had loaded the packs and saddlebags on the ponies and were just waiting for the order to move out. Beorn was talking with Gandalf and Thorin, warning them of the dangers that awaited them from there on out. When they broke apart, Thorin and Gandalf climbed onto their mounts while Beorn came to talk once more with Bella. She sincerely hoped it wouldn't be the last time she got to speak with the skin-changer; they had really bonded over the course of the last few days in the kitchen.

"And you are sure you do not want to stay with me, Little Bunny? I would feed you your hobbity recipes and we could work on regaining your ability to change forms as well, and we could tell stories to each other every day. You have a good start on it already; your eyes flash gold when you want somebody to listen to you. Like an animal's eyes in the middle of the night." Beorn looked at her, and she was sad to see him sad on her behalf.

"I'm sorry Beorn, I made a promise to these dwarves; I signed a contract, and a Baggins never goes back on her word. Besides," she added when his eyes saddened, "I wouldn't be happy staying here forever. Sure it'd be fun to visit you and we could tell stories around the fire and cook, but then I'd want to go back home - either back to Bag-End in the Shire, or back to these dwarves that I've grown terribly fond of. But like I said before, I'd love to come visit you and we can go over recipes some more." Thorin gave the order to move out and the ponies started forward, following after him. "And if you really think it will work, I'd be willing to try to learn the ability that my ancestors had, if you'd be willing to teach me." She smiled at him, and Beorn grinned in return, even as her pony moved away from him.

"I look forward to it, Little Bunny. Stay safe on your journey, until we meet again." Bella waved at him, which he returned, and then she faced forward to follow her dwarves to the entrance of Mirkwood.

As they traveled, she could swear she saw a shape following them in the distance, and she squinted until she could make out the vague form of a bear. She took comfort in the knowledge that Beorn was following them to make sure they stayed safe, to make sure that she stayed safe.

"Until we meet again, Beorn." She whispered under her breath.

They would meet again, she'd make sure of it. Even if she had to slay Smaug herself, she would come back and see her friend again. After all, she gave him her word that she would.

And a Baggins always kept her word.