And we now interrupt our regular broadcasting for some guest appearances! Can you guess who?
Inspired by a prompt I stumbled upon by lateforerebor on tumblr.
Summary: Bilba "Bell" Baggins decides that she's waited quite long enough to take her mother's advice and old stories and go on an adventure of her own. What she didn't expect was to end up in Ered Luin and be adopted by dwarves! AU, Pre-Quest, Undecided Pairings.
-;-
He stepped quietly, his feet treading a familiar path as he entered the great hall that he had been summoned to. A meeting with a messenger of Imladris had been cut short when a ripple, for lack of a better word, had flickered through his mind. A silent summon, so to speak.
"You asked for me, My Lady."
The tall figure of the elf shifted, her gaze fixed at a point in the distance, her pale features faintly pinched as if in pain. Her silver-gold hair fell in soft curls down her back, and while she did not move, she did sigh. It was a soft sound, full of discontent, and not one that her heart-mate found pleasure in hearing fall from her lips.
"Something is stirring in this world- something dark in the shadows that creep upon the land." She whispered, her low voice revealing nothing of what she was feeling.
"You have Seen it?"
"I fear I may have, my heart-mate."
She turned, eyes searching for his own, and he started as a glimpse of possible futures swept across his vision for an unknown number of moments. When at last they cleared, his lips were turned to a frown.
"Something has been put to motion, My Lord. Something that even I am unable to sense." She said softly. "We must prepare."
He inclined his head in agreement. Even he was shaken by the things he had seen from his heart-mate, and he silently prayed that they would not come to pass.
-;-
The sound of metal sinking deeply into wood was a satisfying one, and one that Bilba found quite therapeutic as she went to retrieve her daggers from the old log that she had hauled back home. She had enough of a sense of them to be able to hit the blasted thing, at least, though her aim left much to be desired in terms of hitting the target drawn in charcoal on said log. Conkers and her mother's lessons were heavily drawn upon for learning the balance of these new weapons, and while she thought she was getting the hang of it, there were a few… distractions.
"Is it entirely necessary to watch me?" she demanded crossly as she stomped back, a scowl on her features as Nori's cheeky grin and wink from his place on a large rock did little to improve her mood. "One would think that you have something to say."
"Can't say I do." He drawled back, causing Bilba to huff in irritation, turning her attention back to the log.
It was then that his gaze sharpened, taking in her stance, the way the weapons were balanced in her fingers, the clothing she wore and the manner in which her hair was held back.
Good balance on the back leg, though she needs to focus more on the target now that she can actually hit the log. Seems like she's had some kind of training with another weapon of sorts. That or she has a gift.
Idly, he toyed with a small bag of coin he had pocketed from his most recent jaunt to a nearby settlement of Men. He thought it had been a fair trade, considering the blow that the other had managed to clip him with. Better than perhaps a dagger slipped between the ribs, anyway. The thought had crossed his mind, but something in his instincts had warned him against it.
No thanks to her. He thought dryly, turning his attention back to the hobbit lass. He'd even been persuaded to give back the last bead of hers, even though Dori hadn't the time to teach her how to carve anything, let alone how to work on something as delicate as a bead.
Bilba didn't go to the Goose for work these days- now it was more tending to the home while the trio of dwarves went about their days, or reading or exploring or training with her new toys. Another thing that had been bothering him had been the princess' convenient presence with Bilba- though to be fair there were few smiths who weren't dwarrow at that market so it was eventual that she would meet one of the monarchs of their people. Never mind that she had already met the pair of princes.
"Nori, really. Do you have to keep staring at me like that?"
Belatedly, he realized that he had been staring rather intently at the back of the lass' rather neat curls, her braids gone and the trio of beads nestled at the ends of her hair. And now said hobbit was giving him a rather irritated look. One that promised a fair amount of pain if he did not cease and desist in the near future.
"Can't help myself, sweets. You're simply charming." He smirked back, mentally congratulating himself on the comeback.
Bilba, however, was once again dealing with what she was certain was becoming a permanent flush to her cheeks- one that had had all three dwarves fussing over her due to their thinking that it was the heat getting to her. Which it was, in a way. Just not the particular manner that they thought.
Why, oh why, in Yavanna's name did he have to insist on calling her by that name?
It was a question that continued to circle her thoughts during the nights as she climbed onto the roof of the home and stared contemplatively at the sky, puffing away on her pipe and listening to the sounds of the city settling in for the evening. Unfortunately, it was also a question that still did not have an answer, and it positively vexed her.
At this point she was almost entirely convinced that Nori was pretending that he didn't see the effect that the name had on her. There was simply no other explanation that made sense in her mind.
"Charming. Right." She muttered, rolling her eyes and tucking one knife in the sheath at her hip and the other to her calf. Both were custom made by Dori, who had a way with leathers and fabrics that he claimed had been honed by years of crafting before settling in Ered Luin. "If you'll excuse me, I have to run errands today as well, so if you don't mind I'll be continuing this later."
With that she beat her rather hasty retreat, though if anyone were to ask she would feign innocence and blame the temperatures in the outdoors. It was still summer, after all, and the heat was wont to fluctuate a bit more before the autumn arrived.
This time, the thought of leaving the Blue Mountains didn't make her as uneasy as it had the first time. Perhaps it was due to knowing that she planned on returning again come the next spring, after the winter months in the Shire.
Not that she was particularly looking forward to the stuffiness and the names of "Odd Mistress Baggins" and "Spinster Baggins", but there were only so many fights that she could win and the collective stupidity of Hobbiton was not one of them.
Although, Bilba mused as she changed into a more comfortable loose tunic and skirts, she would admit that she wasn't quite the spring chicken that she liked to think she was. She was approaching the latter half of her life, having just turned fifty summers, and her joints were beginning to show warning signs that she didn't like to think on too deeply. Besides, there were only the beginnings of laugh lines on her features now, so she thought she was doing much better than several others she could think of off the top of her mind.
Like Lobelia Sackville-Baggins.
She'd managed to work herself into mutterings of her ever so esteemed relations by the time she finally set out, much to the amusement of Nori- though Bilba didn't know that he was present while she rather creatively planned out what exactly Lobelia could do with those less than stellar manners of hers.
Her first stop, of course, was the Grey Goose. While she didn't actually officially work there any longer, she still enjoyed stopping by for a cup of tea and visiting with the menfolk as they did their work in the kitchens.
Dori, predictably, attempted to smother her in well-meaning concern about the heat, after "all of those spells you seem to be having lately". Much to the amusement of the regulars who knew the relationship that the pair had.
Secondly was a quick stop by Bofur's to see how Bifur was doing. The changing weather tended to have a negative effect on the poor dwarrow, and his absentness was much more obvious than when the weather was more mild. Bofur greeted her at the door, looking relieved to see the hobbit.
"He's been wanderin' again. Think he wants to do somethin' but doesn' know what." The usually cheerful dwarf explained as he brought Bilba into the main sitting room, where Bifur was staring at the wall across from him, a carving knife in one hand and a small block of wood in the other.
"Hello again Bifur." Bilba greeted warmly, carefully approaching the occasionally aggressive dwarf. His injury had managed to shake some of the memories of his friends and family from his mind, and on occasion was known to attack perceived threats. It certainly didn't help matters that he had been a formidable warrior before the incident.
Not that he wasn't any longer, but it was more damaging now if he lost control of himself.
The silver-streaked mane of hair twisted, his dark eyes meeting hers and a small twitch of his lips her greeting. A string of Khuzdul followed, and Bilba looked over to Bofur for a translation.
"He thinks yer lucky to have so many braids." Bofur chuckled, his expression easing into a more relaxed one. "Wants to know who the lucky dwarrow is."
"No one, Bifur." Bilba scolded playfully, taking a seat across from him. "You must enjoy the look I make when you say that, else you wouldn't keep asking."
Bifur shook his head, a smirk crossing his features as he proceeded to hold out the knife and wood to the hobbit, cheerfully chatting to her in Khuzdul. It was the part that made Bilba ache for him- being able to understand Westron and Khuzdul but only being able to speak one of them. Westron simply was not a possibility for his damaged mind. Not that Bilba would give up on it. She kept trying to get Bifur to at least begin re-learning how to write in Westron, even if he couldn't speak it at present.
"You know I'll only cut my fingers if I try this again." Bilba snorted, accepting the offering and holding them in her lap. "But thank you. How were the ointments that I sent you?"
"Says they worked like a terrier against a rat. Or that's the version I can tell ye. The original isn't so acceptable for a lass' ears." Bofur said, his laughter evident. "Truly lass, we appreciate. Even Oin has trouble comin' up with balms and th' like to keep Bifur feeling like himself."
"It's my pleasure, Bofur." Bilba replied, blinking as Bifur gestured to her hair and started chattering at lightning quick speeds, distracting her from whatever she was going to say next.
-;-
Bilba was on the roof that evening smoking her pipe, when Ori of all people joined her.
He squeaked slightly as he lost his footing briefly, but the hobbit was more startled by the fact that it was Ori who was joining her rather than, say, Nori.
"What?" he asked indignantly when all she did was giggle and look at him as he lay down next to her, the sound of his journal setting down next to him. "I thought you might want company."
"I appreciate it Ori. Truly. But I admit I wasn't expecting you to join me up here. I know you aren't terribly fond of heights." Bilba replied gently, blowing a smoke ring skyward.
"Well, I thought you might be feeling homesick again… so I found us apples." The scribe said, his cheeks flushing as he produced said fruit, handing one to a suddenly speechless hobbit as he cradled the other in between ink stained fingers. "I know that you said they reminded you of the harvest."
"Thank you, Ori."
She set aside her pipe and leaned forward to peck his cheek- something that left the youngest Ri flushing darker than Bilba could ever recall seeing before- before putting it out and polishing her apple on her skirts like she used to as a younger hobbit.
Her chest felt warmer than usual at the gesture, and as they sat there, Ori shuffled into her side. Automatically, she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder as they worked their way through the fruit. Bilba could only feel content at the way that her life was turning- Ori was a sweet thing, and she already all but saw him as a sibling, perhaps even as a surrogate child of her own. It wasn't something that had happened immediately, nor had it been immediately noticeable, but now that she acknowledged it it simply made sense.
"I'll have to bring back a sketch of the harvest in the spring." She mused, glancing up at him. "Especially if you're going to start that book on Hobbits that you were talking about not too long ago."
He flushed again, leaving her to laugh gently at him.
"Well, I suppose I have to start it now." He flushed, even the tips of his ears tinting a faint pink.
"Of course. I think you would do wonderfully with it. And if you ever visit me, I'll be sure to personally escort you around the Shire and scare off all of my relatives who would want to thoroughly investigate a dwarf being present in their homeland." Bilba assured. "Now let's get to bed. I hear Dori wants us to get to helping test his new teas tomorrow, and you know how stressful that can get."
Ori nodded his agreement, and the pair climbed down and made their way to their respective rooms and beds, the house falling silent after the last few coughs, movements and adjustments of bedsheets.