Chapter 3: Merry Gatherings

Edyth gives her brother the credit for he is very insistent on keeping things in order as the Dwarves raid their pantry. Edyth stood in the hallways between the pantry and makeshift dining room, watching their store of food be transferred.

"Those are my…Excuse me, not my wine! Put that back!"

Bilbo stands in between the Dwarves, looking as small as Edyth had felt. If Gandalf were not there, she knew that she would probably be in such a fit as well, but the Grey Wizard (who has terrific fireworks) always has something up his sleeve. Her entire childhood was spent waiting for his next arrival in the Shire and now he has come back after fifteen years. It was better to go along with his plan than try and fight it, but her brother seems to have forgotten that.

"Not the jam, please."

Edyth leans forward as she sees Fili carrying a tray of a nice selection of pork. "I have something that will go with that," she says to him. Fili raises his blonde brows in anticipation. Edyth quickly darts past him, twisting and turning her body through the sea of Dwarves until she reaches her selection of sauces. It is one of her favourite things to shop for, hence her overly substantial collection. Plucking one up, she makes her way back over to Fili. "Here. Applesauce."

"Applesauce?" he repeats, looking at the jar with questioning.

"Just try it," she grins, placing the jar on the tray.

Fili tilts his head in submission. "If you so insist Miss Edyth."

He continues moving onwards, yelling at another Dwarf to move out of his way. It is surprising that their floor wasn't covered. In fact, their house is still relatively clean, minus the disarray in the pantry. Edyth smiles, looking around but it drops as she realises her conclusion about the cleanliness was too quickly assumed. There is mud in the carpeted areas, and belongings misplaced.

"It's fine," she tells herself under her breath. Her eyes widen once more as a Dwarf with a dual pointed hat stumbles past, sausages spilling over the edges of his arms. Edyth reaches forward, grabbing the train of meat before it drags along the ground. "Watch your feet sir," she warns softly.

The Dwarf turns around, nearly toppling the meat again. "Ah, evening miss! Thank you for your hospitality!" He turns back around, giving Edyth no chance to respond.

"No worries," she says anyways.

A heavy hand slaps onto her shoulder from behind, a shadow soon followed by a Dwarf leaning over her. Edyth's head snaps upwards, finding Kili standing over her. "Lass, where's the ale?"

"Oh, uh," she fumbles, trying to think straight. "We have a small cellar next to the pantry. Just on the left." The large hand squeezes her shoulder before the young Dwarf marches off.

Just a few seconds later, Fili comes marching back from the dining room, head spinning around. "You know where my brother went?"

Edyth takes a moment to register that he is talking to her. "Your brother?" Everyone looked the same at that very second. And she only knows four by name.

"Kili," Fili adds.

"Cellar. Just to the left of the pantry."

Fili nods, trailing after his brother. It made sense now, why they both look so different yet the exact same. She can't help but muse that their mother must have had a troublesome time calling them by their right name some days.

Deciding that the hallway was no longer the centre of the action, Edyth makes her way into the dining room where the wood of the table is quickly disappearing under the bowls and assortments. There are entire blocks of cheese, every meat on Middle Earth, empty tankards waiting to be filled.

Meat is also being cooked in their stove in the kitchen area, the smell wafting throughout the entire house, mingling with so many other scents that each step is like smelling a new meal.

Edyth helps take the trays as they come, finding new spots on the table. The Dwarves send both their thanks and words of instruction but it all glosses over her head in a flurry. As she does begin to truly listen again, a Dwarf with white hair intricately braided around his head comes up to her with a tray of their fine tea set.

"Miss Baggins, would you like some chamomile tea?"

Edyth opens her mouth to instinctively reject the offer but on second thought she nods her head. "Actually, that would be lovely." The Dwarf smiles, beginning to pour her cup. "Sorry, I haven't caught your name."

"Dori, miss," he answers with the same smile. "Ah. Here you are." He hands her the perfectly filled teacup and Edyth thanks him, taking a sip of the warm honey-sweetness. Not wanting to have hot tea spilt on her, she quickly shrinks herself into a corner away from the bustle.

Just in time as well as the entire group of twelve Dwarves make their way into the dining room, along with Gandalf who bends under the archways. While it seems completely disorganised to her eyes, they must be more so than she imagines as they take their seats with little fuss.

"Come join, Edyth," Gandalf instructs, gesturing to a seat near the end of the table. Seeing little reason to refuse, Edyth makes her way over, sitting on Gandalf's side, opposite Dwalin. "How are you enjoying the gathering?"

"More so than my poor brother," she chuckles between her sips of tea. "He is not so keen on surprises as I am."

"You always did like twists in the tales," Gandalf notes with a small smirk. "They are a rather merry group."

Edyth widens her eyes for a partial second in agreement. "That is one word," she muses, leaning backwards as Fili marches over the table with tankards. "May I ask how long they will be here?"

"Only for the night my dear. We shall be leaving early in the morning, well before you rise."

Edyth frowns slightly, peering at Gandalf. "Then why are they having a meeting here of all places? Surely you have decided on Bag End for reasons more than to give Bilbo an early grave."

Gandalf exhales, opening his lips to answer but his answer is abruptly cut off by a Dwarf stealing her attention. "None of that!" Edyth jumps as the teacup is snatched from her hands, spilling slightly over the ground. She stares wide-eyed at Kili who is grinning down, replacing the cup with a tankard in her still floating hand. "This is more suited for the night."

Edyth glances down into the tankard, raising her brows at the ale inside. She chuckles, toasting to the brunette Dwarf. "If you so insist," she declares, taking a large gulp of the liquid. Kili grins wider as she lowers the cup, cheering to someone over the table. Edyth snorts as she sees Fili cheering with his own drink. He leaves once more and Edyth turns back around the Gandalf, content with her new drink and forgetting the previous conversation. "This is not everyone, is it?"

"No, my dear," Gandalf admits. "We are awaiting on the leader of this gathering."

"Well I hope he arrives before all the food is down their stomachs," she grumbles. "I don't want to appear as a bad host on apparent of their manners." Though her small frown breaks as the Dwarves cheer loudly, a large chunk of food she can't identify landing in the largest Dwarf's mouth.

Gandalf chortles, leaning back against his chair. "I don't think he would blame you."

Xx

As the feast slowly ended, Dwarves began finding their own spaces around the home of Bag End. With nothing else much to do – since there is no hope of trying to clean up with so many bodies in the one place – Edyth takes the chance to talk to the Dwarves, especially since Gandalf said they would be gone before she awoke in the morning.

She looks around for a while, deciding which one looked the most approachable and eventually decides on Balin who is talking with another older Dwarf with grey hair. "Balin," she calls as she saunters over. "I feel like a horrid host for not knowing everybody's name."

The prompt works as both Balin and his company smile in greeting. "Ah lass, this is Oin. He's our renowned healer."

Oin, who's beard is split into two curved braids, leans forward in a partial bow. "At your service."

"And at yours," she replies. "Fili told me that he was from the Blue Mountains. Is that where you all are from?"

"Aye," Balin confirms. "Ered Luin as we call it. But not all of us were living there at the time that this meeting was called. My brother was escorting a caravan towards Gondor and Oin here was also on the road with his brother Gloin."

"Gloin?" she repeats. "I've heard that name tonight, is he here?"

Oin frowns, leaning forward and places a trumpet against his ear. "No I'm not missing an ear," he answers quite loudly.

Balin sighs, leaning forward to speak into the trumpet. "Your brother! Gloin is here!" Oin nods in affirmative and Balin shakes his head, giving up and turning back to Edyth. "He's the one helping Dwalin," he points out. Edyth follows the finger to Dwalin and a reddish-brown haired Dwarf who are lifting yet another barrel of ale.

"I do hope they realise I don't have an infinite amount of that," she laughs.

"Don't you worry lass," Balin chortles. "You won't even think we were here by tomorrow morning. And Gandalf may have given us a little bit of encouragement to be on our…best…behaviour."

Edyth's shoulders drop, her eyes closing in a relieved chuckle. "Of course that was Gandalf. But I have a feeling that you would have been like this even if you weren't instructed to."

Balin nods in agreement with the warm smile she is already growing accustomed to seeing on his face. "It has been many years since we've seen many of our kin here. It has been many years since I've seen my own brother."

Edyth sucks her lips, eyes lingering on her own brother who is still attempting to maintain the Dwarves. "I don't know if I could do that. I've always had Bilbo and Bilbo has always had me."

Balin leans closer to her shoulder, giving her a knowing look. "Sometimes the call to adventure is too strong. Other times people are blinded by love."

"You say that like love is a bad thing," she notes with squinted eyes.

Balin sucks his lips, cocking his head to the side. "It's not always a good thing," he adds. "Especially for us Dwarves. Love can ruin a man."

Edyth doesn't have a response. She has always seen love as the most wondrous thing. Her parents were deeply in love and she had seen her cousin Drogo in it more times than she can count. It was kind and soft. Maybe that's why Balin speaks ill of it; for the Dwarves are anything but soft.

But her contemplation of love ends with a snap of her head to her right. "What on earth…?" Near her kitchen, there is a loud clanging, along with the sound of plates being moved around together. Her eyes nearly bulge from her sockets as she watches her cutlery and dining sets being flung through the air. The only reason she hasn't already fallen to the ground is because of the lack of shattering along with it. Nothing seems to be broken yet.

"Excuse me! That's my mother's Westfarthing pottery, it's over a hundred years old!" Bilbo cries. Edyth slowly walks up to Fili's side who is throwing plates toward his brother who then tosses them to where she cannot see.

"Please do be careful," she laments. More so because she doesn't want anyone being hurt by pottery shards.

"Have a little faith lass," Fili beams. "I thought you trusted me."

"I've known you for two hours," she cries back, though her lips are pulled in a disbelieving smile.

"And…and, ca…can you not do that, you'll blunt them!" Bilbo cries again as he passes the dining table.

The Dwarf with the dual pointed hat, thumping his knife and fork on the table has a twinkle of mirth and mischief in his expression. "Ooh, d'you hear that, lads? He says we'll blunt the knives!"

The rhythm of the cutlery only loudens as Kili begins to sing. "Blunt the knives, bend the forks."

"Smash the bottles and burn the corks," Fili joins in. Edyth moves away from his side as the movement of their utensils picks p.

"Chip the glasses and crack the plates, that's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"

"Chip the glasses and crack the plates.

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

Cut the cloth and tread on the fat.

Leave the bones on the bedroom-mat,

pour the milk on the pantry-floor,

splash the wine on every door,

dump the crocks in a boiling bowl,

pound them up with a thumping pole.

When you've finished, if any are whole,

send them down the hall to roll!"

As they sing, Edyth's main goal becomes avoiding being hit in the head. And for the most part, it is easy enough except a stray cup that comes directly towards her face. But it is caught mid-air less than a foot away by a passing Kili only gives her a fleeting smile before moving on.

"That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"

She really isn't sure if she's surprised or not. The entire hoard of plates, cup, knives, forks, spoons and every other item used that night is sitting in a neat pile on the table, surrounded by the majority of the Dwarves. Bilbo comes pushing through, preparing his throat to yell profanities but he is stunned into silence. The Dwarves (as well as Gandalf laugh loudly as his absolute astonishment.)

"I don't think my heart will calm down tonight," Edyth laughs to herself.

"It won't be until I'm gone." Edyth snaps her head to the left, finding a smirking Fili with a tankard rising to his lips. She drops her face into faux disappointment and disapproval and Fili eventually breaks his intense stare. "I think you've got more adventure in you than Bilbo."

Edyth shrugs, encircling her arms around herself. "I suppose I just have a taste for surprises. Bilbo prefers predictability."

Fili raises his shoulders, scoffing. "Where's the fun in that?"

"That's what I ask him every day." Edyth shakes her head with a small chuckle to herself. "You know, you still haven't told me what this meeting is about."

Fili tips his head forward, stretching out an arm to rest it along the backs of her shoulders. "I-" For the final time that night, the round green door is thumped on once again. The heaviness of it is unnerving to her ears, sending a shiver down her spine. But compared to her ghostly face, Fili smiles softy. "That would be my uncle."

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