A/N: Cameron slowly finds her place amongst the dwarves, and might grow closer to some...
I wake up because of someone, or no, two someone's stirring on either side of me. When I open my eyes, yawning, I'm surprised to find Fili and Kili curled up against me, their heads resting each on one shoulder. I'm lying on my back, and the sight of them makes it hard for me not to giggle. How adorable. When I look around, hearing some people are already awake, I'm startled when I find Thorin staring right at the three of us, a strangely fond look in his eyes. When he notices me watching him, he turns around and stalks off, clearly embarrassed. Honestly, I didn't mind that he'd been staring, he clearly adored his nephews.
After a while, more dwarves are awakening, and eventually the boys wake up as well.
"Good morning, boys." I mutter, smiling when they both mutter a very tired 'morning' before curling up against me once more, clearly not wanting to get up.
"Fili! Kili! It's time for your training." Dwalin shouts, unfortunately, and I almost pity them as they groan. They get up and follow Dwalin, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. I finally get up myself, stretching my back. When I look around the camp, my eyes land on Ori, who seems to be scribbling away in a notebook.
"Good morning, Ori. What are you doing?" I ask softly, sitting down beside him. He quickly shuts his notebook, turning bright red.
"Drawing." He mutters, sounding embarrassed about it.
"Really? What do you draw then?" I ask, doing my best to sound enthusiastic.
"I'm drawing our company. I've only finished Fili, Kili and my brothers though." He explains, seeming happy that someone's interested in it. I'd overheard the other dwarves tease him about his writing and drawing before.
"Can I see?" I ask then, and a smile lights up his face. He opens his notebook and shows me what he's drawn: beautiful landscapes, certain animals, Fili and Kili sitting leaning against each other as they're sitting around the campfire, his brothers Dori and Nori discussing something…
"It's beautiful, Ori. You're really talented!" I say, impressed.
"Thank you." He mutters, turning bright red.
"Would you draw me?" I ask after a moment. After overthinking it for a moment, he nods, a smile appearing on his face.
"Just sit still." He states, and he turns sideways so he can look at me fully, and begins to draw.
After a while of silence, the both of us at ease like this, Ori finishes.
"There! I hope you like it." He says, blushing already as he hands me his sketch book.
"Wow, Ori! I almost look pretty in this one." I say jokingly, making him stutter.
"Now don't go round sayin' you're not pretty, lass." When I look up, I'm surprised to find Nori being the one who told me that. There's a very serious look in his eyes, as he's seated on a log, sharpening his knife.
"That's very sweet, Nori. Thanks." I answer, flashing him a smile.
"It's merely the truth." He mutters, then disappears to do god-knows-what.
When we get back on the road, I'm riding next to Bilbo at the end of the group, and I begin to watch Nori more closely. I see him disappearing occasionally, and I even notice him subtly sneaking something out of Dwalin's pocket, before even more subtly handing it to Kili, who sniggers as he begins to whisper to his brother. That sly dwarf!
"Looking for something?" Nori asks, popping up behind me out of thin air. I jump at it, startled, and by the looks of it, Bilbo had been startled too. I slow my horse down a bit, so that I'm now alone with Nori, who's giving me a mysterious smirk.
"Are you saying you stole something from me too, then?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow.
"Not stealing, merely borrowing." He argues, a twinkle in his eyes.
"What did you take, Nori? Or do I have to go and tell Dwalin I saw you handing something of his to the boys?" I ask, giving him a serious, no-nonsense look.
"Okay, then. You've given me no choice!" Nori says with a sigh, defeated. Then, he pulls out the worst thing he could've found in my backpack out of one of his pockets.
"Nori! Put that back, now!" I hiss, frantically looking around to check that no one's watching us.
"Why, what is it then?" He asks, tauntingly waving it in front of me, just out of reach.
"Bloody hell, Nori! It's not meant for you guys to see, let alone touch! Give it back, NOW!" I hiss, nearly falling off my horse as I try to take it from him.
"NORI! What are you doing?"
Oh no. To my utter embarrassment, Thorin is the one who rides to the back, a stern look in his eyes. Why on Earth was it him who had to intervene?
"I-um, it's fine, Thorin, really! Nori and I were just chatting, weren't we Nori?" I ask quickly, ushering for the dwarf to hide the object. To my annoyance, he merely waves it again, so Thorin can see it.
"I was merely asking Cameron if this was hers, Your Majesty. It fell out of her bag." The thief lies smoothly, flashing me a grin.
"Bastard! You fucking stole it, don't lie." I hiss, turning red with anger.
"Nori, give it to me." Thorin orders, and I splutter in protest as Nori gives it to him. Thorin studies the bright pink, cylinder-shaped object for a moment, seeming confused as to what kind of material it's made out of. God, just let me fall through a hole in the ground already and help me disappear!
"Cameron, what's this?" Thorin asks me, clearly clueless. Bilbo turns around at it, and his eyes grow wide as he notices my situation, mouthing a 'good luck' before hurrying forwards. That traitor! Even my best friend didn't want to help me now.
"It's, um… it's called a um, dildo." I mutter softly, my cheeks red due to an entirely different reason now.
"Let me see!" Bofur exclaims, also getting involved, and he snatches it right out of Thorin's hands.
"Stop touching it, for Christ's sake!" I exclaim a little too loudly, and they all seem startled by my outburst.
"It's to pleasure yourself, okay?! I don't even know how it ended up in my bag, I think I threw it in by accident. Now can I PLEASE HAVE IT BACK?!" I shout, glaring at all the guys.
"I-uh, sorry." Bofur mutters, hurriedly shoving it into my hands. Thorin seems speechless, simply staring at me blankly, and that bastard Nori is actually laughing underneath his breath!
"You're an asshole, Nori." I hiss, and then I gallop away on my horse, not stopping until I'm at the very front, my entire face glowing red still.
"You alright, lass?" Dwalin asks, taking a glance at me.
"I don't want to talk about it." I mutter, and thankfully, he doesn't either. Stupid Nori.
"Ow!" I squeal as I tumble to the ground, pain flaring up my ankle. Why did I always have to be so lost in my thoughts all the time! We'd been walking for a few hours now to make the ponies rest a little, Thorin's orders. To be honest, the ponies looked relieved, especially Bombur's.
"Lass! Are ya alright?" Dwalin is by my side in seconds, his huge hand grabbing my face to make me look at him, giving me a concerned look.
"I-I'm fine, Dwalin. Twisted my ankle." I mutter, cheeks turning red in embarrassment. He gives me a surprisingly soft look at that, before grabbing me and lifting me up with ease, continuing to walk with me in his arms. The other dwarves seem to relax at that, all of them having been staring at me in worry, even Thorin, who'd been right beside Dwalin to check on me.
"I can walk, it's fine-
"No."
I sigh at it, feeling my cheeks burning still.
"I'm so clumsy." I mutter quietly.
"Tripping is nothin' to be ashamed of, lassie. Don't ya worry." Dwalin mutters back. When I look up at him, I'm given a rare smile, making me less awkward instantly.
"Why?" I ask, curious. Why would a grumpy, angry dwarf like him want to protect me?
"Yer a part of this company now, lass. I protect each and every one of 'em, especially a little lass like you. Wouldn't be able to live with myself if your honour got damaged or you got hurt while I'm around." I'm shook by his honest answer, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Dwalin's a real softie, once you get on his good side." Thorin speaks up from where he'd been walking beside us, the tiniest of smiles on his face when our eyes meet. It definitely takes me by surprise.
"I ain't a softie!" Dwalin protests, making me chuckle, forgetting all about my ankle.
Later that day, we're taking a break from all the walking. Finally, Dwalin put me down, and I'm currently sitting next to Bilbo in the grass, silently enjoying the scenery. I loved the Shire, but this was also a sight to behold. Suddenly, Oin walks over to where we're seated, and I greet him with a smile.
"Hey, Oin!" I say, Bilbo uttering a 'hello' of his own.
"Hello, lass. I was wondering if you'd let me have a look at your ankle, just to check if it isn't more bad than we think it is. Wouldn't want you to have trouble walking." He offers, eyeing my ankle.
"Sure, you can have a look." I answer, shrugging my shoulders before taking my boot and sock off. Oin sits down opposite me, and after a confirming nod from me he takes my foot and starts inspecting it.
"It's not broken or anything, so that's good." Oin mutters, continuing to study my ankle.
"Are you a doctor or something?" I ask him, curiously. Bilbo remains silent, but he's listening in on our conversation.
"Kind of, yes. I haven't had much work since we lost Erebor, but I can't really say I mind that. In this company, I'm the medic." He answers, glancing up at me briefly.
"And is there a big difference between humans and dwarves? From a medical perspective, I mean." I ask, trying to get to know him a little more. I figured Oin would appreciate it if I asked him about his profession.
"It's not that different, but there are some differences, yes. You humans are more fragile, easier to break bones and such. We dwarves are said to be made out of stone. We also have much less women, unfortunately. It's difficult to find a wife and procreate, and some women prefer to be a shield maiden anyways." He explains, making Bilbo and I share a look.
"Why don't dwarves mix with humans, or elves, then?" Bilbo asks, curiously.
"We're a very proud folk. It is said that no women are as strong as ours, nor that they can bear our children. There have been some occasions where a dwarf married a human woman, of course, but not much is known about that, since they often moved out of Erebor to be with their loved one. Elves and dwarves, however? I've never heard of such a thing, we don't exactly get along!" Oin explains, then lets go of my ankle with a smile.
"You should be fine. Just be more careful next time, and if it keeps hurting, tell me." He concludes, and to my surprise he sits down beside me instead of walking away, which is what I would've expected.
"Do you think you could teach me more about how humans give birth? It's an area that us dwarves don't know much about." He asks carefully, not seeming to want to step on any toes.
"Sure, why not? I'm not a medic, but I'll tell you what I can." I answer with a smile, and when Bilbo offers his knowledge on Hobbits as well, Oin looks like his day couldn't get any better.
That's how we spent the next part of our day with Oin in our middle, the both of us sharing information on hobbits and humans.
"So you're telling me that humans only carry their child for 9 months?!" Oin asks, seeming shocked.
"Well, yeah. Isn't that long enough? How's it with you guys, then?" I ask, a bit confused by his reaction.
"Nine months!" Balin exclaims, having listened in to the conversation.
"It is common for our women to carry their child for three to four years." Oin explains, at which Bilbo and I gasp.
"That's so long! I can't imagine carrying a child for so long!" I exclaim, which makes Fili and Kili burst out with laughing.
"With us hobbits, it's one year, and our ladies already complain about that!" Bilbo adds, and he's sounding so distressed that it makes everyone in the group laugh at it.
"Can you guys please stop talking about pregnancies? It's making me sick!" Bofur says jokingly, making me grin.
"I apologize, fellas. I just have one last question for you, Cameron, if that's alright?" Oin asks, calming down a bit.
"Sure, ask away!" I assure him with a smile, enjoying the conversation.
"Do you want any children?"
Just when I want to answer, a white light flashes in front of my eyes. Startled, I blink until it's disappeared, looking around me. What the hell was that?
"Cameron?" I'm shaken out of my thoughts by Bilbo's worried voice, making me quickly pull a smile. Now, I notice the others had been staring at me too. Did no one else see that? Surely they would've said something if they did…
"Um, sorry, I was thinking about it. I've always wanted children." I say to Oin, who hums and scribbles it down.
"You alright, Cam?" Bilbo mutters, making me turn to him. He always knew when something was going on.
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." I mutter back, and when he takes my hand and gently squeezes it, I already forget about it.
"Oi, lass! I was wondering if you could sing me a song." Bofur exclaims as he appears next to me on his pony, direct as always.
"Me, sing a song? I don't think I'm that good, Bofur. Besides, aren't you the singer of the company?" I ask teasingly, making him grin at me.
"Still, I'd like to hear you sing something. Just one song, please?" He asks, pulling off a pair of puppy eyes that only makes me laugh. Nonetheless, I fall for it.
"Fine, I'll do it! Just don't complain if your ears hurt." I say, sighing in defeat. The sweet smile he gives me makes me shake my head, and I begin to sing softly.
"Don't take this the wrong way
You knew who I was with every step that I ran to you
Only blue or black days
Electing strange perfections in any stranger I choose
Would things be easier if there was a right way?
Honey there is no right way
And so I fall in love just a little ol' little bit
Every day with someone new
I fall in love just a little ol' little bit every day with someone new
I fall in love just a little ol' little bit every day with someone new
I fall in love just a little ol' little bit every day with someone new"
"Not bad, lass, not bad!" Bofur says with a big smile, making me blush.
"Now you have to sing something as well, Bofur!" I answer, making him chuckle.
"Alright, alright, let's see." He mutters, and I can see him think.
"Once upon a time, there was this gal
Prettier than any, she could bewitch all Man
Dwarf, or Elf, hell, even an Orc
Would want a piece of this girl's fork
Sadly enough, she's already taken
Cuz' sweet Cameron is in love with bacon!"
I burst out with laughter, as does Bilbo next to me, the other dwarves groaning at Bofur's antics.
"Thanks, Bofur!"
"You're welcome, lass."
"Hey, Cam?" Kili calls out my name from where he's sparring with Fili, Dwalin and Dori. Thorin had decided to have our camp here, which meant we finally had some rest.
"Yes, Kili?" I answer, sitting next to Bilbo.
"Do you want to join us?" He asks innocently.
"Promise we won't hurt you too badly!" Fili adds tauntingly, annoying me.
"Cameron, maybe you shouldn't…" Bilbo tries, but I get up nonetheless, making my way over to the dwarves.
"Bring it on." I state when I reach the training field, the boys grinning mischievously.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, lass. Let's start with you wrestling with Dori, huh?" Dwalin asks, clearly amusing himself, and when I look at Dori, sweet Dori who's always mothering Ori, I honestly don't feel very threatened. So, I walk onto the field, Dori standing opposite me.
"So, Dori, can you wrestle?" I ask him, a little curious, as I flash him a smile.
"Can you wrestle?" He asks in return, smiling back at me with innocence.
"Nowp." I answer with a grin. "Should be fun though."
"I'm sure it will be." He answers, grinning back at me.
"Alright! Cameron, I'll explain the rules to you. No punching, no kicking, no scratching. You use your weight to push your opponent to the ground. The first who manages to hold their opponent on the ground with both their shoulders, and back, wins. Is that clear?" Dwalin barks, making me nod, suddenly a whole less sure of myself. Dori was probably 3 times my weight!
"Three, Two, One… Start!"
I nearly squeal when Dori rushes over to me, and I barely manage to jump aside, avoiding him. I manage to do this two more times, but then he's onto me. I try to jump, but his strong hands grab my waist, and next thing I'm flying through the air. I hit the ground and groan at the impact, but I grab Dori's shoulders, quickly flipping myself around until I'm on my belly.
"Fuck, you're strong!" I yell in surprise, and I hear him chuckle on top of me. Then, his arms quickly slide under one leg and my stomach, his hands grab hold of my knee and waist, and then he flips me over with ease, and simply lets himself fall on top of me.
"Uhhh!" I grunt at the weight, and realizing I'm lying on my back, I tap out with my hand.
"Dori, you won!" Dwalin says, and I can tell he's being smug. The brothers are laughing out loud, but Dori stands up and extends his hand towards me. I take it, and groan as he pulls me up.
"Thanks, Dori. You're super strong!" I say to him, and he chuckles.
"Thank you for the fight. It wasn't very fair, I simply weigh more." He apologizes, although he's smiling.
"That, and you have hella strong muscles! Blimey, I thought I was going to get destroyed!"
"Technically, you were." Dwalin notes making me glare at him.
"Come, don't mind them. Your hair's messed up, I'll fix it." Dori says gently, turning back into the mother hen I know. I allow him to lead me over to a rock, and sit down, allowing him to comb through my hair with a brush that appeared out of nowhere.
A little later, everyone's been assigned a task by Thorin. Well, everyone except for me, then. Annoyed, I stand up and look around the camp, finding someone that I might be able to help.
"Can I help you with dinner, Bombur? The others are already doing all the other things, and I wanted to help." I ask Bombur as innocently as possible. He's busy grabbing the ingredients and food that we brought along to eat on our journey.
"Sure, lass! You can make the sauce, I'll tell you what to do." He answers, happy to have help. He tosses me ingredients and a bowl, then gives me instructions on what to do and how to do certain things, while he gets started on preparing the vegetables and meat.
"Do you like to cook?" He eventually asks me, looking up shortly from where's he's cutting vegetables.
"Yeah, I do. I've never cooked outside on a campfire, though." I answer, making him chuckle.
"It's something you get used to when you're on the road often. I do prefer a well-equipped kitchen, however." He answers, and this time I laugh.
"Would you like to become a chef, once we take back the mountain?" I ask after a moment, glancing up at him.
"I would love to become the head chef, yes. I'd be in charge of Thorin and his family, making sure they get quality food. It's what my family always has done." He explains, a smile appearing on his face.
"Well, you're an amazing cook, so I don't doubt that you'll be able to become that." I conclude.
"You're a sweet lass." He answers, making me blush slightly.
When the others return, we've made a delicious stew, and the compliments coming from the dwarves make me turn red, which makes them laugh, of course.
Everyone's sitting by the campfire, their bellies full, when a certain dwarf with an axe in his head moves to sit down beside me.
"Hey, Bifur." I say gently. When he grunts something back, I have no clue what he says. Helplessly, my eyes meet Balin's, who chuckles amusedly at it, but not unkind in the slightest.
"Bifur got injured during a fight with orcs, as you can see. It damaged his brain, and now he only speaks Khuzdul." He explains. When I look back over to Bifur, he nods along, giving me an apologetic smile.
"What's Khuzdul?" I ask Balin, but I smile at Bifur.
"It's an ancient language of dwarves. Not many dwarves still know how to speak it, however." I'm so happy and surprised about finally getting a slight bit of knowledge about their kin.
"Could you teach me?" I ask Balin then, careful not to step on any toes. Balin then says something to Bifur, whose eyes light up as he turns back at me and says something incomprehensible.
"He would very much like that." Balin translates, making me grin widely.
I'm getting ready for my watch, the first one of the night, when my eyes land upon Gloin who's holding a locket, a necklace attached to it. The locket holds 2 drawings of 2 persons.
"Gloin, is that your wife?" I ask him, walking over to where he's seated by the fire. He glances up at me at that, and beams, nodding eagerly before mentioning to sit next to him.
"Aye, she is. A beauty, am I right?" Gloin asks, pride all over his face.
"She is! I love her beard, it's beautiful. And who's that?" I agree with a smile of my own, and he seems glad I do.
"My wee lad, Gimli. He was too young to join us on the journey, but he's very strong for his age!" He explains, pointing at the other half of the locket.
"I'm sure he'll be a great warrior when the time's right." I agree, and when he pats my back harshly, I think I've successfully befriended him. Great!
"Cam?" Bilbo whispers, making me look up from where I'm watching out over our camp, since it was my turn to keep guard tonight.
"Yes, Bilbo?" I ask softly, smiling at him as he sits down opposite me.
"Do you think you could massage my feet? They really hurt." He whispers, glancing around to check if anyone hears us.
"Of course! Give them to me, I'll fix it." I whisper, flashing him an assuring smile. I gently take his right foot and begin to massage it, working on the tense knots that I feel in them. Hobbits had big feet, and they liked to take care of them too. The problem was that in the Shire, no one worked very hard or walked too far outside the village, so now, his feet were doing much more than they could handle. To be honest, I was surprised that he had lasted this long.
"Didn't know you were tired already, burglar." Thorin mocks, making the two of us look up to find him walking to his spot around the fire.
"Don't mock him, Thorin." I mutter, sighing at his behaviour.
"It's fine, Cam. Actually, Thorin, a Hobbit's feet are his pride, much like your beards!" Bilbo explains proudly, but then Fili coughs loudly at that, sitting up to look at us with a weird look in his eyes.
"Dwarves are only allowed to touch others' hair if they have a romantic bond!" He bursts out with chuckles at that. Bilbo turns bright red at it, but I only hold onto his foot more tightly.
"Hobbit's feet can only be touched by lovers, or family." I state seriously, and Fili quickly stops chuckling.
"Also, Thorin, I think you're just jealous you're not getting a massage. I can tell your back's hurting just by looking at it." I add, and His Majesty merely grumbles something before lying down.
That night, I'm on first watch. It doesn't take long for everyone to fall asleep, tired after a long day. Well, everyone except one: Thorin's still tossing around underneath his blanket, distracting me. After a while, he seems to get frustrated, and he stands up, turning around to find me staring right at him.
"You can go to sleep, I'm unable to anyways." Thorin says, walking over to me to sit beside me.
"That's not necessary, I'm not tired. Sit down in front of me, with your back towards me." I order instead, and after a while of him staring at me warily, he sits down in front of me, back towards me. I hesitate for a moment, and then I put my hands on his shoulders, beginning to massage him.
"You don't have to-"
"Just let me do this for you, Thorin." I interrupt him, and after a moment I feel him relax underneath my hands. His back was incredibly tense, knots everywhere. The silence between us is comfortable as I massage his back, his muscles loosening slowly. After a while, I'm busy doing his lower back, when I hear a soft snore coming from him. Was he sleeping? He must've been bothered by his back a lot more than I thought.
When I finish and tentatively let go of him, my hands a little cramped up, his head shoots upright, and he only relaxes when he turns around and sees me.
"Thank you." He mutters, surprising me.
"It's alright. If you have more back pains, just come to me." I answer with a smile, making him nod awkwardly before standing up and walking back over to his bed. This time, he falls asleep instantly.
When my shift is over without anything else happening, I gently go wake up Balin. It takes me a moment, but then he wakes up, his eyes immediately smiling at me.
"I assume it's time for me to take over your shift?" He asks, and I nod, making him get up, "Care to sit with me for a few minutes until I'm more alert?"
"Sure." I answer, walking along with him to my previous watching spot. We sit down together, and he sighs, silence filling the night.
"How are you doing, lass?" Balin asks after a moment, surprising me.
"I'm alright, why? Does it look like I'm not doing okay?" I ask, a little worried.
"No, no. It's just that you always seem busy trying to help others or make sure they're comfortable. I was wondering if you were doing fine yourself." He explains, flashing me a kind smile.
"Well, thank you, Balin. I like helping people out." I admit, pulling my knees up to my chin so I can let my head rest.
"You can tell. The others like it more than they might let on, you know. A lot of them didn't have a mother figure, or haven't had someone to take care of them in a long time."
I don't really know what to say to him. I had never really thought about it.
"Lots of us lost many family members. Whether it was because of Smaug, or the Battle of Azanulbizar, we've all lost someone. It's nice to see you try to fill that void."
"You're going to make me cry, Balin. You're giving me too much credit." I answer, glancing over at him to find him chuckling at that.
"I think you don't get enough credit. Thorin has told me this himself, you know. He's just too proud to ever admit that a human girl is keeping his company together, and in good spirits." Balin says, shocking me.
"He said that? Really?" I ask, needing to hear it from him again.
"He did." Balin confirms.
"I thought he didn't like me one bit. He's always glaring at me, like I'm going to make a mistake at any point. He avoids me too." I admit. His cold behaviour hadn't gone unnoticed by me, and to be honest, it kind of hurt me. Even earlier, when I was massaging him, he was awkward until he fell asleep.
"Thorin is… a difficult dwarf, I know that. He's stubborn and too proud for his own good, but I can assure you that deep down, he's a good person. I'm sure it will get better as our journey continues." Balin says, and he places a hand on my shoulder, making me smile at him.
"Thank you, Balin."
"That's quite alright, Cameron. Now go get some sleep, you'll need it."
I stand up at that, saying goodnight before making my way over to my sleeping spot, which is in between Bilbo and the campfire. I curl up underneath my blankets, and smile when I feel my sweet friend curl up against my side.