Hello my Nuggets!
Heres the next instalment! Major cheese alert, I'm so sorry, once I started I couldn't stop, but I felt like this was the appropriate place to have a cheesy chapter. Who knows, I hope you all enjoy.
Let me know what you thought about it, or if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!
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I only own little Todd!
Chapter 22 – Tell Tale
"So that's why I didn't end up drawing it again, it was the same as what you had described to me all the way back in Rivendell!" Ori chuckled, he had been telling her of his day findings. She had told him of a large thick leaf that combated the sting nettles produced. He had found one along the road they had been walking and was fascinated. Then he had recalled of their secret meetings back in Rivendell where she had told him about the same leaf.
"They are quite common, I'm surprised it's taken this long for you to find one!" She smiled, easing her self back into conversing again.
"Any way, I pulled the leaf up and have folded it into a safe place so that I can scribe it all down later on." He nodded.
"We will have to find you a new book, I think I remember everything that you had done with me around, I would love to help you get it all down on paper again?" She breathed. Remembering fondly of their meetings back in the last homely home.
"Of course, oh that would be wonderful!" Ori broke into a large grin, his cheeks flushing bright pink.
Todd chuckled at the sight of him, the young dwarve was so unaffected, or seemed so unaffected by the hardships they had faced. Almost as if it were water off a ducks back. Just then she felt Kili and Fili plop down either side of her.
"You should watch yourself Todd, making Ori blush like that might make a certain someone jealous!" Kili snickered, elbowing her gently in her side, making her lean away with a roll of her eyes and a playful grimace. She knew who they were gesturing about and she was not about to rise to their teasing. So she tried her hardest to keep a stony face, especially because Ori was there and she was uncertain she wanted him to know of her feelings for their company member just yet.
"Aye, are you trying to tease the poor fellow?" Fili countered. Todd eyes rose to that, and she cursed herself.
"Of course not, I'm not some cruel creature!" She stated.
"I don't understand?" Ori pipped up then, Todd saw the mirth in the brothers eyes as they went to reply.
"It doesn't matter, just the over excited imaginations of two young bored dwarrows Ori." She tried to state in her most bored tone.
"You pain us with your words, we were only discussing what we had witnessed." Kili fained a pained expression, Fili copying.
"Its just, you do seem to know exactly what to say to make a particular cheery and light hearted member of the company blush a deeper shade of pink than usual!"
"I don't know who you are talking about? Todd tried. She wanted nothing more for them to drop the topic of conversation before Ori picked up on something she wasn't ready for him to know.
"Oh, you are a sly fox…" Kili chortled. Her eyes flashed to him, something a kin to shock and speechlessness. Kili realized his mistake as soon as he had said it. "Not like that, you know what I mean!"
"Nice on Kili, open mouth and insert foot, I think is the correct saying!" Fili shook his head and covered his eyes with his palm.
"If that's how you think of me Kili, that's perfectly alright, but the next time you need your Princely arse saving, I won't be around to help!" She snorted before standing up, brushing the broken blades of grass from her lap and moving away from the group.
She understood where Kili was coming from with his sentence, and it didn't hurt her at all. She knew he would never say anything to hurt her, but it did catch her off guard, so she was playing with it. She was going to see how long she could pull off the act, maybe she could even get him to do her camp chores for her as pay back. She smiled a little to herself, not realizing that she had moved to stand herself right next to the one dwarve she was still unsure of being around.
"Well if it isn't our favorite lady of the group, oh wait!" Bofur grinned to her, Bombur and Bifur both smiling to her too. "You are the only Lady!"
"Good evening to you too." She breathed, her cheeks turning a little pink at the way Bofur was smiling brightly to her. "You don't mind me coming over do you?"
"Of course not, why would we mind, ay Brother?" Bombur said, elbowing Bofur in the side, catching him in the side as he winced and turned a little pinker himself in the cheeks. A notion that hadn't completely escaped Todd's curious eyes.
"Well, Kili said something that he feels upset me, which is completely not the case, but I thought I might play on it for a while!" She stated nervously, an idea popping into her head. "You wouldn't mind all glaring at him a little, just to worry him a tad more?"
"Oh, would be our pleasure, lass" Bofur winked and they all turned dramatically back to where she had been sat, where Kili was looking sheepishly over to them, with Fili and Ori reassuring him. Upon their glaring at him, Kili sank lower in his seat and looked a little scared. They turned back around and Todd couldn't contain the laugh that bubbled up from her chest. She had chuckled of course, but it had been some time since she had laughed properly.
Before long she was almost breathless and the two brothers and their cousin were watching her with huge smiled on their faces. Bofur was just relieved and over the moon to be seeing that side of her. With the fading light that the ending day had to offer and the light that had come back to her eyes, she was looking more alive than he had seen her in a while. Her hair was curling widely and sticking out from underneath his hat, her borrowed clothes were hanging awkwardly from her, even with the makeshift belt that Balin had given her. Her emerald eyes were glowing and he was glad to see it. He had watched her throughout the day, as a cloud almost descended upon her, not to mention the fact that he had gained the feeling that she was avoiding him, not that he completely minded, seen as he was trying to think things over in his own head. Yet he found that he missed her company and was certain that he would be having none of her avoidance any more, especially now she seemed ready to be her normal self again.
"You do look bonnie when you laugh" He heard himself say, before he had a chance to silence him self. He watched as she moved her eyes to his and she smiled sweetly to him. His heart, which had jumped into his mouth at the shock of his own words and how she would take them, slipped back to its rightful place, as worry melted at her smile, and at the fact that he alone had made it happen.
Once Bilbo had returned with nothing much to say other than, they were loosing the light and he couldn't see too far in any direction because of it, they settled down in their little group and made a small fire, just big enough to get the food heated, but not too big to give their position away from any searching eyes.
They seemed to all sit in a circle again, with Bombur bustling around the centre handing out their small rations of dinner. He was more than cheery to hear the company thank him and congratulate him on another flavorsome meal, even though it was a bit dull. Their rations were falling short again, and before long they would have to forsake a day of travelling just to hunt and gather properly, something that Thorin was not too keen on doing at all. Yet the Company was starting to get hungry, limbs were aching more than usual, and their eyes were all starting to look sunken with dark circles.
Todd sat herself down between Bilbo and Bofur, the conversation flowing between them easily. Todd tried her hardest to interact again, feeling a lot better. She realized, and she wanted to kick herself because of it, that the more the talked and the more she carried on as normal, the more normal she felt. She steered the conversation to about their favorite part of the journey so far. She felt that it was something that she could get the whole company in on. She cleared her throat and caught Gandalf's eye, who in turn winked to her.
"I have a question…" She started loudly, and when all the heads of the company turned to her, she had to take a breath again before she continued. "It's a brain teaser really, but I'm fascinated.. What was your favorite part of the journey so far and why?"
"Aye, a good question that!" Balin said, nodding his head.
"There have been so many good bits though!" Fili whined. Kili agreeing, but both of them set to thinking with their hushed whispering together to remember the right moment. Todd smiled, watching as the company all started to think together, muttering and discussing with each other. Brothers were elbowing each other's with cheeky grins, whilst cousins were conspiring with each other, their eyes darting around the company members. It was nice to see them with no worry or fear written into their features, and Todd silently congratulated herself on thinking of the question. Bilbo nudged her and smiled warmly, sensing that she was glad of the distraction.
"Oh I have one!" Nori piped up. Everyone hushed down and looked to the star haired dwarve. "It had to be the look on our Burglars face when he realized that he had forgotten his handkerchief!"
The whole company started laughing, Bilbo smiled, but held his hands up shaking his head. Everyone was in fits of laughter; even Thorin and Dwalin were smirking at each other. Todd looked to them all, a bright smile on her face, at the thought of Bilbo looking crest fallen and broken at the thought of not having a handkerchief, she couldn't not smile. She turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, mock comforting him.
"How ever have you lasted my good Hobbit?" She chuckled.
"Oh don't worry, Bofur gave me a substitute…" Bilbo sighed, before pulling out the dirtiest looking rag she had ever seen. "I haven't even used it, look at it!"
"That's so thoughtful of you Bofur." She smiled looking to her dwarve. Her dwarve, she thought, her eyes widened at that notion and she quickly quenched it and moved on, her cheeks flaring again as Bofur winked to her.
"OH!" Fili jumped. "I have one…"
"Which one?" Kili asked him and they whispered a little, the company composing themselves to listen to them, before Kili nodded and let his brother continue.
"My favorite moment had to be that meal at your's Bilbo!" Fili sighed. "It was so good, Todd you have to come to the next one!"
"Hand on a minute, the next one?" Bilbo snorted. "I still haven't gotten over the first one yet!"
Todd looked between them, and saw the fondness in Bilbo's eyes and chuckled with him.
"I feel like I missed out." She teased.
"You are more than welcome to come for dinner, but this lot…" He joked, gesturing to the company. "… I'm not too sure!"
His teasing was followed with more raucous laughter, the company really letting go. Todd sat and listened to everyone's favorite moments, each one as funny as they rest. She learnt of how Dwalin had slipped on leaves on their way to the Shire and had set about swearing for almost the whole next mile, making him storm off ahead of the rest of the group. She then heard about how Fili and Kili almost lost a pony and its load to a river. She laughed with tears in her eyes at how the Company had actually been tied up in bags by the trolls. She hadn't even realized, and none of them had mentioned to her how they had been captured. She couldn't get over it and had to keep asking if they were teasing her. Bofur was the one in the end to swear on his own life that they would have all been sat on and squished into Jelly if it wasn't for Bilbo and Gandalf's quick thinking.
"All that effort to save horses that only bolted anyway!" Todd pondered out loud.
The company looked around at each other, just realizing the same thing, before they all started laughing and sighing at their wasted night of being captured.
Todd felt warm, and not just because she could feel Bofur's leg brushing against hers and the fact that she was sat before a fire. Yet she felt warm because everyone was happy, everyone had forgotten the fight they had been through, the graveness of their situation had left them for an evening and she felt light and free. In that instance she didn't feel dirty anymore, everyone listened to her stories just as eagerly as the others and they all laughed with her all the same. She felt warm because she felt at home with the Company, she felt like she belonged with them and she couldn't imagine her life without them now. Going back to roaming, living life day by day, hour by hour was something that she could never go back to willingly.
"I have a suggestion!" Gandalf said, everyone turned to the wizard, Todd even saw Oin hold his ear trumpet up a little higher to make sure that every one had quietened down to listen to him. Todd shuffled in her seat a little her leg brushing Bofur's and they glanced at each other quickly, Todd smiling to him, before letting her attention fall back to their Istari.
"I think everyone will agree with me on this now…" He started, his voice rumbling like it usually did, everyone waiting patiently. "The most moving part of this journey so far was watching you as a company stand on that Carrock…" Gandalf gestured back way over the way they had travelled over the past few days. "… you stood together and saw your destination as one. Now our burglar I knew you would accept with time, but our dearest Rebhane. Todd you have adopted as your own and made not only yourselves better for it, but you have saved her, I feel!"
The whole company looked at each other, some nodding, others smiling to each other. Bilbo took Todd's hand and smiled to her. For they all understood what Gandalf was saying. The woman before them, Todd, had come into their lives and shook it all up. She was a creature for whom they had feared and despised; yet through her perseverance and dedication to their cause, she had shown them the error of their ways. She had proven herself and her worth to them times over. They had warmed to her, grown to accept her, which was no easy feat, for the culture of dwarrows was never known for being accepting. She had wiggled her way into their lives whether they originally liked it or not. They knew now for sure, that she was there to stay. Of course, there were a few of them that were still not too sure, but they were still invested to some degree, enough to care for her.
Bofur was right behind Gandalf all the way with his favorite moment speech. He had been a fan of the Rebhane ever since she stood her ground at that dinner table in Rivendell. Her easy going attitude, and her quickness to please others and general kind natured spirit was something he was inexplicably drawn to. Not to mention her plain beauty, her wild curls that she now hid under his hat, and her eyes that seemed to see right through him, reflected the innocence and passion that she was made from. He respected and admired every inch of her.
"I also see that as the most moving moment, for us to stand there united before our homeland, it was a pleasure to share it with you both." Thorin added, nodding his head to Bilbo and Todd, who both smiled brightly back to their King.
"I would drink to that!" Bofur said, earning some knowing looks and a few cheers. "That's if he had ale to cheers to…"
Bofur looked to Todd and saw her delighted face, and the wetness to her eyes at the wise wizards words and he couldn't help but wink to her. It seemed that their luck was turning, maybe from here on out, he thought naively, that it would be ok.
