In My Blood Chapter 4, a hobbit fanfic

RE: I own nothing but the small sub plot and my OCs, the rest are works of Tolkien and the 'The Hobbit' films.

Chapter 4: Seer

I walked into the dining room, a bowl of soup balanced on a plate with a bun nearby it. Setting it in front of Thorin I sat beside Bofur and smiled warmly at the hated Dwarf, he smiled back and winked. Nori rolled his eyes from the other side of Bofur. What a sweetheart.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?"Balin asked the moment my arse touched the seat.

"Aye," Thorin said before taking a dramatic pause, "Envoys from all seven kingdoms."

There were murmurs of excitement along with a yawn from me. Gandalf from the other side of Thorin gave me a sharp look, "What did the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?"

I could see the hesitation and disappointment on Thorin's face as he turned to answer Dwalin, "They will not come."

His voice was so deep it was almost a whisper, drawing people in to hear what he had to say. The Dwarves murmured in disappointment and disapproval, but I stayed quiet, not quite understanding the cause of their disappointment, "They say this quest is ours and ours alone."

The murmurings that were set to continue were cut off by Bilbo who stood innocently in the doorway of the dining room, "You're going on a quest?" he asked.

Gandalf looked sheepish at the look I sent him but made no comment, tapping the Hobbit on the shoulder, "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light."

I helped Gandalf spread an aged but beautiful map on the table and Bilbo returned with a candle as I placed a miscellaneous mug on the corner nearest to me, "Far to the east, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak," Gandalf whispered, his finger tracing the aged paper until it reached a desolate and sharpened mountain.

"The… Lonely Mountain?" Bilbo read aloud to himself, question in his voice.

I reached forwards, tracing my finger on the red dragon drawn over the mountain, the Hobbits eyes on me. Glancing up, I gave him a mysterious smile before glancing to Oin who had began to speak, "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: when the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end," he said stoically.

Bilbo looked a little taken aback, "Beast? What beast?"

"Well, tha' would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks. Extremely fond of precious metals," Bofur piped up.

I gave him an amused smile before glancing back to Bilbo, "…a Dragon," I established.

Bilbo sent me a look, "Yes, I know what a dragon is."

"I'm not afraid! I'm up for it!" Ori yelled, standing suddenly, "I'll give him a taste of dwarvish iron right up his jacksy."

I cheered along with the rest of the Dwarves apart from Nori and Dori, the latter of which yelled to his brother to sit down.

"The task to win back the mountain would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just seven, and not seven of the best or the brightest," Balin said.

"Oi, who're you callin' dim?!" Kili asked sounding offended.

It was at that moment that Oin frowned and raised his hearing trumpet, "sorry, what'd he say?"

I raised an eyebrow and almost immediately there was an uproar, "We may be few in numbers, but we're fighters," Fili yelled over the squabbling company, pounding his fist into the table, "All of us, to the last dwarf."

"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf must have killed hundreds of dragons in his time," Kili added.

At that, I burst into laughter and Gandalf sent me a look, "…well, no, I wouldn't say that I –"

"How many then?" Nori asked abruptly.

"What?" Gandalf asked innocently, now completely ignoring my giggles.

"How many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!" Kili said.

When Gandalf started to choke on his pipeweed I was gone, laughing so hard that I had to lean on the table and Bofur. My stomach hurt so much I was certain it was going to fly out…

"Quiet!" Thorin interrupted, cutting off my laughter, "If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back as others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?"

There were grunts and nods from all around us while I desperately tried to quell my giggles with my palm whilst Bofur's hand lay sympathetically on my shoulder.

"You forget, the front gate is sealed!" Balin said, "There is no way into the mountain."

I had finally stopped laughing and focused my attention on the scene unveiling itself before me, "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true," Gandalf responded easily, holding up key intricately decorated with runes and spirals.

The look on Thorins face was a mixture of wonder and shock as he reached gingerly for it, "how came you by this?"

"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safe keeping," Gandalf said, "It is yours now."

As Thorin took the key, I saw the King in Thorin. He was no longer a lost Prince of Erebor and I couldn't help but wonder how I had ever seen him as such. He had been and would always be a King.

"If there is a key, there must be a door," Kili said, pounding a fist on the table in passion.

"Well done Kili, I congratulate you for your perceptiveness," I said.

Kili gave me a look while Fili and I snorted with laughter. We were shut up after Thorin gave us a black look and Kili held an annoying yet smug expression upon his face.

"These ruins speak of another passage into the lower halls," Gandalf said, running his fingers along another section of the map.

"There's another way in."

"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it," Gandalf admitted, "But, there are others in Middle Earth who can.'

'The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done," he continued. I didn't miss that he skipped over the fact of who was going to read it for us.

"That's why we need a burglar," Ori concluded loudly.

"A good one too. An expert, I'd imagine," Bilbo said.

This should be good.

"And are you?" someone asked.

Bilbo froze, turning back to us confusion and a slight tone of fear shifting through his face, "Am I what?"

Oin burst out of his seat as if he was a full 50 years younger, "He said he's an expert!" he bellowed waving his trumpet about like a banner.

I wrinkled my nose in blatant confusion as cheers went up from the Dwarves around the table, What?

Bilbo looked terrified, "Me? No, no, no, I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material," Balin said, shaking his head as if it was the saddest thing in the world.

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves," Dwalin added.

I would've loved to argue on behalf of Bilbo, but I honestly would've been fighting a losing battle. I liked the Hobbit, he seemed like a nice fellow… but to put it bluntly he seemed a bit unprepared to undertake such a journey, and anyways, I was positive he had no idea how to hold a sword.

It was Gandalf who stood up for the hobbit, standing to his full height – which scraped the ceiling – and casting a dark shadow over the room, "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar a burglar he is!" he shouted, his presence growing with some sort of dark and terrifying magic, "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet! In fact, they can go unseen by most if they choose... and while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him which gives us a distinct advantage."

As he turned to Thorin, his presence became what it always had been and the darkness seem to fade away like sun pierced fog, "You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself. You must trust me on this."

Thorin seemed to ponder what Gandalf had said whilst the rest of the company looked on to Gandalf with faces that read 'what the hell just happened?'

"Very well," Thorin finally said, blue eyes flashing, "we'll do it your way. Balin, give him the contract."

I raised an eyebrow at Gandalf who winked at me and I smiled, shaking my head in amusement. Amusement that was cut short.

"And what of the woman, do you expect me to give her a contract as well?" Thorin asked.

"The Woman?" I asked feeling slightly offended.

Gandalf eyed me for a second, oblivious to the offense I had taken, "not yet Master Oakenshield, ask me tomorrow morning and I may know."

Thorin looked confused as he glanced between me and Gandalf, but I, being just as confused as him, shrugged at him before sending him a look. The woman, honestly, who does he think he is?

"…company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to - lacerations? Evisceration? Incineration?" Bilbo's voice was coming out rather squeakily at this point and as I glanced to him, shaking my offense away, I raised an eyebrow.

He looks like the devil just knocked on his door and told him he wanted to take him out for dinner.

"Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," Bofur said.

Perhaps he did.

I opened my mouth, then shut it again, unsure if I should stop Bofur as Bilbo swayed a bit, "You alright, laddie?" Balin asked.

"Yes, but I feel a bit faint," Bilbo admitted.

Bofur wasn't finished, "Think furnace with wings. Flash of light, searin' pain, an' then - POOF! Yeu're nothin' more than a pile of ash!"

I watched as he seemed to waver, his eyes clouding before he stood straight, made eye contact with me and said, "Nope," and then fell flat on his back.

I winced glancing to a not at all ashamed Bofur. The rest of the company was staring at the Hobbit with unashamed looks of confusion, disappointment, shock and disgust, "Very helpful, Bofur," Gandalf snapped in a harsh tone, moving to pull up the Hobbit.

Glancing back to the hated Dwarf I raised an amused eyebrow as he winked at me. Thorin got up from his seat and left the room rather abruptly and from then on, the meeting was basically dismissed. So, I followed the retreating Dwarves into the sitting room where we sat on the couches, a lot of them taking the chance for a comfortable smoke.

I found myself in between Fili and Dwalin with Kili laughing at the fact that I was Dwarfed compared to both of them. Ori was drawing us peacefully and Bofur was smoking languidly while staring at us with an amused smile.

I could see Nori shifting through a chest that I was pretty sure was filled with expensive stuff, and Dwalin was glaring at everything. Let me be honest, I wasn't sure if he could form any other expression.

And then Thorin came in, and they started singing.

'Far over the Misty Mountain cold,

to dungeons deep and caverns old,

we must away ere break of day to find our long forgotten gold.

The pines were roaring on the height,

the winds were moaning in the night,

the fire was red, its flaming spread,

the trees like torches blazed with light.'

The Dwarves never finished singing after one song ended another song began, and then another, and then another. And soon I had finally fallen into a deep slumber, dreaming of places forgotten and places I would see soon.

-{}-{}-{}-

The river was fast. Too fast.

The water rushed by me, colored orange by the silt and minerals. Drawn by conversation I glanced to the left, met with a pair of hazel colored eyes. A pair of braided eyebrows were narrowed and Nori spoke in a hushed tone, "listen, we have to cross and when we do, I vote we push the lads into the river."

"You're joking?"

"No."

"Why not?" he whined.

I rolled my eyes, "because the current's fast and I don't see any of us swimming out of there easily. Especially Fili. Fili's muscles are devoted to his swagger and nothing else."

"Lass… I don't think that makes sense," Bofur said from behind me.

I glanced back to him and gave him a grin, "just pretend it does."

"We have to cross!" Thorin's yell that demanded attention interrupted anything Bofur was going to respond with.

One second I was glancing to the river with a wrinkled nose, and the next second I was in it. I was being swept away from the company, a hand in Kili's as we careened into a rock and I slammed my head into it. The last thing I remembered was the metallic taste of river… or was that blood in my mouth?

-{}-{}-{}-

I woke with a gasp, a loud one. Loud enough to rouse Dwalin sleeping beside me and cause Kili to groan. The large Dwarf glanced to me skeptically, a grumpy look on his permanently grumpy face, but I was too panicked to notice it really. Getting to my feet I rushed out of the sitting room, grabbing my coat from the coat rack and opening the front door.

I found myself sitting at the same bench we had seen Bilbo sitting at only hours earlier. I placed my head in my hands, air rushing out of me in a cooling and not at all comforting sigh. Had that been a dream? It felt to real to be a dream, I could practically taste the blood in my mouth. Janie-mackie.

I could still feel the coolness of the water, hear the desperate shouts of the other Dwarves and feel Kili's slippery hand in my own. Janie-mackie.

Groaning I glanced up at the stars, desperately wishing I could speak to someone. I wasn't even sure why that dream felt so scary, I had had worse dreams than that. I mean, I had had dreams about Gandalf for Christ sake.

I jumped about thirty feet in the air when a cold wet something touched my hand.

Look, sue me, wouldn't you freak out if something cold and wet touched your hand… unless that happens normally in the work place for you. Granted this wasn't technically my workplace but…

I was so relieved to see Remy I almost cried. Until he farted… then I did actually cry.

Shithead.

"You dreamt."

Once again, I jumped about thirty feet into the air. But this time I wasn't comforted at the sight of Gandalf. He sat next to me, taking up most of the space on the hobbit sized bench.

I was pretty scared it was gonna collapse, I'm not going to lie.

I gave him a weird look, "yes, Gandalf, I had a dream. It was terrifying too, thanks for asking."

He nodded, looking at me seriously, "we must think this through Stasi, you are meant for something more than following me…"

"Trust me, I know."

"…are you ready to achieve whatever challenge awaits you?"

"wait… what?" I asked, suddenly confused, "challenge, what are you talking about? I had a bad dream Gandalf."

"This dream felt real?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me of it," he commanded.

I raised an eyebrow, "I dreamt that I was first riding and joking around with Bofur and Nori and then I dreamt that I was… drowning with Kili. And not in alcohol."

He didn't look amused, "I believe you have had your first dream as a seer."

"Wait… how do you know?" I asked, "it could've just been a dream?"

Gandalf was now ignoring me, "so be it," he told himself, "I will tell Thorin of the circumstances tomorrow morning and she will sign the form. Let the days ahead of us look a little brighter with a seer on our side."

"Janie… look, Gandalf, you're talking to yourself. I don't even know if I was seeing…"

"Well don't be foolish girl, of course you were seeing," Gandalf said, "tell me, what color of water did you drown in?"

I gave him a weird look, "umm… red, orangish I guess, why's that important?"

"Because only one river flows red my child," he said giving me a sharp look, "that is why you were seeing… also because you were chanting in your sleep."

"I… what?!" I asked, chanting my ass. I already traveled with Gandalf, I didn't want to become like him, and anyway, I wasn't that senile… not that I knew of, "I was not chanting!" I snapped.

Gandalf murmured something under his breath and I rolled my eyes, cupping Remy's face in my hands and smoothing down his wrinkles, "I would get some sleep Stasi. Tomorrow will be an early start," Gandalf said to me, standing to his full height before making his way back into the house to do lord knows what.

I leaned down, kissing Remy on his nose before making my way inside, smiling at his whine. Love dogs.

-{}-{}-{}-

Gandalf was right, we woke up at 5:00am, had a meager breakfast, completely tidied up Bilbo's house and set off. That's a lie, we didn't tidy up anything.

Travelling with Gandalf had always been rather boring, there were times when the Wizard wouldn't talk for days and I had been left with nothing but Remy as a companion. I'll tell you, farts or no farts, he was a good companion.

The dog had been with me through thick and thin, more than Gandalf had, and that's saying a lot. But I had always sort of wanted human companionship, I mean, who wouldn't, so travelling with the Dwarves of Erebor was wonderful. Nothing was boring with them, nothing.

"Hey Fili," Nori called, "betcha the hobbit won't come."

Fili glanced back, mischief in his eyes, "and what do you think Seer?" he asked, his blue eyes catching my own.

"My name is Stasi, Prince Fili and that's what I think," I said smartly, raising an eyebrow at him.

He scoffed, "are you not going to bet?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, "who's to say I've seen anything about this quest?" I asked.

"Gandalf?" Fili asked, an amused smile on his face as he moved his attention to the wizard.

"I have faith in Master Baggins," Gandalf said glancing to me, "and… I have faith in Stasi."

What's that supposed to mean? I asked myself skeptically, eyeing the wizard, "…whatever," I said rolling my eyes, "tell me Gandalf, is there ever going to be a day when you don't speak in riddles?"

"If I didn't speak in riddles Stasi, what would be the point of a Wizard?" Gandalf asked me, raising his eyebrows at me.

"I don't know," I grumbled irritably, "friendship? Information? Everything a Wizard is supposed to be?"

"My age makes friendship almost a burden," Gandalf admitted gruffly, "and Information comes with a cost, riddles, do not."

"That's exceedingly negative," Nori commented as I raised a slightly confused eyebrow.

"That's rich coming from you," Kili mumbled.

I had no response, glancing to Fili and shrugging, "I don't know if Mr. Baggins will be on this trip Fili, but, if I were to bet…"

"Ye're not allowed to bet, ye're a seer!" Gloin interrupted, "whether or not ye say ye've seen into the future means nothin' to me, I'd like to have a fair bet. And a fair bet doesn't include a seer."

I was slightly offended and gave the red headed Dwarf an irritated look, pushing back a snappy annoyed reply and settling for a moderately sulky posture. I watched through narrow and irritated eyes as the Dwarves wagered against Master Baggins coming or not; most against Fili, Bofur, Gandalf and Bifur.

So either those four would lose a lot of money or gain a lot of money.

It was no more than an hour after we had left that we heard the yell of Bilbo Baggins, "Wait!"

One by one we stopped and I glanced back to the Hobbit who was sprinting towards us, signed form in hand, "I signed it!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

I let out a long breath of air through my mouth, a strand of hair swinging away from my face as I did so. The hobbit handed his form over to Balin and the white haired Dwarf read over it, "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield,"

There was a small amount of scattered claps that mainly came from the Dwarves who had won money and I snorted and glanced away, "Give him a pony," Thorin said, he had a blatant unimpressed look on his face.

"No, no, that won't be necessary, I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know," Bilbo said, "I even got as far as Frogmorton once."

The Hobbit squealed like a pig as he was hoisted onto a pony and I snorted with amusement, "pay up lad," Bofur called to Kili while Bifur caught a coin pack from Gloin.

The red headed Dwarf shot me a glare as if I was the cause of his loss of money and I rolled my eyes, I couldn't even understand Bifur.

I was unsurprised that Bilbo stuck close to Gandalf and I made sure to stick close to Kili, Fili or one of the Ur brothers. Although I sorta kinda avoided Bifur because he couldn't speak to me.

We rode on in silence apart from the heated argument that Kili and Fili were having… then Bilbo sneezed, "Oh, all this horse hair. I'm – achoo - having a reaction."

I wrinkled my nose in amusement but didn't bother glancing back at him. "Wait! Wait! Stop! We have to turn around," he enunciated loudly and the entire company came to a halt.

This should be good.

"My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked.

"I forgot my handkerchief!" he said as if it was the gravest matter in all of Middle Earth. I almost died, "terribly sorry, we have to… we need to turn around!"

Most of the Dwarves looked at him as if he had just volunteered to train with an Orc. There was a loud ripping sound and I grinned as Bofur tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and tossed it to Bilbo, "here, use this."

The Hobbit eyed the grimy material and I joined in on the chorus of laughter coming from the rest of the company, "Move on!" Thorin called, boredom in his voice. If he wasn't unimpressed before, he was now.

"You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end," Gandalf chastised, "You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead."

"Joy," I said sarcastically, "Wargs, Orcs, snakes, bears, really really scary things, how exciting."

"Don't worry Stasi, I'll protect you," Fili said earnestly.

I gave him a look, "with what? Your graceless swagger?"

There was a chorus of laughter and Fili grinned and shook his head, "you always surprise us with your wit My Lady."

"Fili, how would you like if I went around calling you My Lady?" I asked ignoring what could've been both an insult and a compliment.

Now all of the Dwarves stared at me, confusion on their faces, "well what do you expect us to call you?" Nori asked.

"Nori, my dear Nori. I am a woman, I am a Dwarrow-dam, I am a female and I am a Lassie. But I am not a Lady," I said, "Lady's wear dresses and jewllery…"

"Lass, yeu are wearin' jewellery," Bofur said rolling his eyes.

I opened my mouth before closing it, "…okay, fair point. But my point is that I'm going to be travelling with you for who knows how long, so you might as well just call me Stasi. Or Lassie. Or Lass. I don't know, just not My Lady."

Gandalf's back was to me but I knew he was rolling his eyes, "Gandalf, you're rolling your eyes."

Gandalf glanced back at me, "and you are making a fool of yourself Stasi, I do wish you'd get used to the ways of this world and stop being an embarrassment."

There were snickers among the Dwarves as Gandalf turned away and I bit my bottom lip feeling more than a little bit offended. Glancing down at Remy I frowned and the dog gave me a look that clearly said, 'what… is it the fart? It wasn't me this time.'

Facing forwards I continued on in silence until Gloin prompted me to speak, he seemed to have taken pity on my offended state. For that, I decided to forgive him about speaking up on the betting, I could admit, it wasn't all that illogical that he'd want me to not take part.

Although he did most of the speaking in the end, I was bluntly curious to learn about what life was like as a Dwarf.

Gloin was a banker and a father of a pair of twins, rare for Dwarves and he was very proud. His oldest (by a few minutes) was Gimli and showing me a photo I found that he looked very similar to Gloin.

The second oldest was a daughter called Amli who differed much feature wise. Although they were drawings, I could tell she was lither than Gloin and according to him she was a 'wee lass like yeu'. 'Yeu' being me. I decided not to take that as an insult.

His wife was also 'a wee lass like yeu' and she looked a lot like her daughter although she was incredibly beautiful. But… she had a beard. I had been confused at first, and when I asked about it I began receiving weird stares.

"Lass… most Dwarrow-dams have beards," Bofur said, "granted their's are normally smaller than ours bu' they're definitely there. You should see the lad's Mam, has a nicer beard than Gloin himself… that's rare though."

I nibbled at my bottom lip, "most?"

"You have a bit too M'Lady Stasi, if you don't mind me saying that is," Nori said waving his finger around at me.

"Don't point Nori, it isn't polite," Dori said in absolute fury, "I've taught you better than that!"

"Don't point Nori, it isn't polite," Nori mimicked.

I widened my eyes as I swept a hand around my chin, but most of my attention was actually on the two brothers.

"Shut up."

"…haven't taught me…"

"Shut up."

"…not Amad…"

"Shut up."

"…had different fathers…"

Gloin began speaking again, obviously more than a little used to hearing the two siblings argue, "…anyways lass, yeu've got the startin's of somethin' there, strange that yeu've never heard Dwarrow-dams had beards."

I raised a skeptical eyebrow but made a mental note to check in the mirror. Sure, women having a beard may have been culture for Dwarves but I did not want a beard.

"Not so strange actually," Gandalf reminded us from the front, "Stasi isn't from here. Therefore she knows nothing of the world around her."

Still annoyed with him, I aimed a glare at his back but he either didn't notice or ignored me… and it was Gandalf so it was probably the latter, bloody homeless beggar of a wizard.

-{}-{}-{}-

We set camp at a rock that had caved in with wind erosion near the edge of a precipice. Both Bilbo and I were a bit anxious at being so near to the cliff but I soon gave way to my worries. Who knew what Bilbo was thinking.

Bombur and Bofur made stew with solid food of rabbit, potato and carrot. Kili had managed to catch the rabbit and myself and Nori had gathered the potatoes and carrots. Bofur had gone out on his own to look for certain seasonings and I for one had never enjoyed travelers food as much as I did when Bombur cooked. Not even at an inn.

There was idle chat for a short hour but Nori and Dori completely ignored each other creating an uncomfortable silence for Ori. So far I wasn't surprised, Nori had yet to show any positive traits.

None of the Dwarves seemed to show a great interest in Bilbo although they probably only spoke to me because I myself was a Dwarf. In fact, Gloin had taken it upon himself to teach me all he could about Dwarvish customs. So far it was about food.

Food was very very important. And not just symbolically, Gloin claimed that wars had been waged over more fertile lands and while I could believe that, I was in shock when I heard that a chef was one of the highest paid Dwarves in a kingdom. Okay, so Dwarves… so we Dwarves liked our food.

The night came to a sort of abrupt halt. The tension between Dori and Nori, that was, in fact, sitting right on top of Ori, had by no means dissipated and Nori went to bed with a sulky grunt.

Oin had left after that and Gloin had left with him, leaving the rest of us to soon join them.

I slept between Bilbo and Nori, Nori who seemed to fall asleep within a second. And I fell asleep quickly as well, until Bombur started snoring.

I swear I was yanked out of sleep so quickly I thought someone had slapped me upside the head. Which, wouldn't be surprising in itself seeing as Gandalf used to be my travelling companion.

Blowing a strand of hair out of my face I glanced around in confusion until my gaze landed on Bombur. I would have to stop being a light sleeper if he snored like that. It was a bit like a constant thunderstorm.

It was then that I realized that a lot of the Dwarves snored. Nori was letting out huffs, Dori was making a nasally noise that sounded vaguely like a dolphin echo locating and Dwalin sounded like he was calling to his fellow T-Rex's.

I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to do until I heard someone whisper my name.

Kili and Fili sat under the caved in rock, and the latter of the two beckoned me over. Grabbing my notebook and charcoal from my bag I moved to sit beside the darker haired brother who was drawing what looked like a pig half eaten, in the soil with a stick, "nice self portrait," I complimented.

He gave me a look and as I pulled my notebook open I began to study the scene around me.

Both brothers looked confused until Kili realized I was drawing them. Fili seemed to use my drawing and studying of him to do the same to me whilst Kili moved to stare over my shoulder, "can you make him have the body of a horse?" Kili asked with a grin.

Fili shot his brother a look and I shook my head, wrinkling my nose in amusement, "nah, I like drawing accurately," I said, "and anyway, I wouldn't want to flatter him."

Kili grinned so wide I thought his teeth would pop out, "I like this one," he told his brother while pointing at me.

Fili seemed amused but continued to study me and Kili began poking at the fire, "what does it mean?" he finally asked.

I glanced up at him, shifting my charcoal in a more comfortable position, "what does what mean?" I asked nibbling at my bottom lip.

"That you're a Fairy… but a Dwarf at the same time. Are you half of each?" he asked.

I shook my head with a frown, "no, the way Gandalf explained was that a Fairy is simply a creature sent by the Valar to change fate."

"Who's fate?" Fili intervened, "and sent… how?"

I raised an eyebrow, "that's a lot of questions boys… you're curious about me?"

"Aye, you seem like a Dwarf but we've never seen a Dwarf of your color," Fili admitted, "we've only heard of them in the war stories Thorin used to tell us."

I began on his hair, "probably because Dwarves aren't meant to be my skin color. I was brought from another world Fili, so I'm a Dwarf but I was originally a human. Gandalf says my father was a Dwarf and my mother went through the same thing I did… only she went home afterwards."

Kili nodded, "and your mother… was she a Dwarf-Fairy thing?"

I nodded, "so said Gandalf… but he's a wizard, you never really know what he really truly means."

"And you will go home after this?" the darker haired Dwarf asked.

I shook my head, "no… I'm practically dead in my world. I was in an accident and now I can't wake up… or that's what I think is happening anyways."

Fili and Kili both looked shocked, "I'm… I'm sorry, we didn't know," Fili said.

I shrugged, "it's alright, I'm here for a reason… and anyways, maybe I'll gain a father… though, try not to tell everyone why I'm here," I added, "everyone knows I'm a Seer and a Fairy but the rest that I told you… that's kind of personal information."

They nodded importantly and Fili opened his mouth to ask another question but he was interrupted by a wolfish scream in the distance.

I almost dropped my charcoal and Bilbo skittered towards us, "What was that?"

There was a silence and I glanced back at the brothers with a frown, did they want me to…

"Orcs," Kili answered stoically, his voice oddly serious.

I glanced around just in time to see Thorin jolt awake just at the word. His had instinctively went to his sword and I felt an odd prickling in my gut. A feeling akin to sympathy yet not so much that.

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked, attempting at whispering but rousing a couple of the other members of the company.

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there," Fili explained.

These Dwarves have a knack for scaring the Hobbit, I thought raising an eyebrow at the brothers.

Kili continued, despite catching the raised eyebrow I had given him, "The lone-lands are crawling with them, they strike in the wee hours of the morning when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots and lots of blood."

Bilbo's gaze grew panicky and I frowned at him and I pulled at my sleeves in slight concern. Until I heard the brothers laugh and the Hobbit visibly relaxed… bar the embarrassed flush of his cheeks and stiffening of his shoulders as he realized he had been the victim of a joke. A joke in bad taste that is.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin's deep thick voice cut into their laughter like a hot knife through butter and I winced, "You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?"

Kili looked like a wounded puppy and Fili looked down at the floor, "We didn't mean anything by it."

I glanced to Thorin who frowned with so much anger I desperately wanted to look away, "No you didn't. You know nothing of the world."

As he walked away, the gazes of the two brothers followed him and I glanced down, "Don't mind him laddie, Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs," Balin said.

I jumped not realizing the older Dwarf had been awake, "…how so?"

He frowned deeply, more so for the memory than my question, "After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria," he said, a sudden sharp look entering his normally sweet gaze, "…but our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler."

The old Dwarfs nose wrinkled with blatant disgust, "The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began... by beheading the king. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, Taken prisoner or killed… we did not know."

I glanced towards Thorins back, remembering when we had spoken in Bree, admiration of how determined he was, "We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him, a young Dwarf prince facing down the pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken."

Something made me want to smile at that but I held it back, a situation to serious for smiling, "Our forces rallied and we drove the Orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated but there was no feast nor song that night for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived, and I thought to myself then: there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call king. "

I stood alongside the rest of the Dwarves in respect for Thorin as he turned. Whether he had heard or not I didn't know, but it didn't matter I suppose.

"And the Pale Orc? What happened to him?"

Bilbo's voice broke us all our of our reverie and I glanced to Balin only to have Thorin himself answer the question, "He slunk back into the hole whence he came," he spat, "That filth died of his wounds long ago."

I nodded in acceptance and bid Fili and Kili goodnight as I went to lay down in bed. I fell asleep immediately, but instead of the much needed embrace of rest, I received a shocking reality.

A/N - So, I know that Stasi seems a little selfish, rude, and judgy in this chapter, but I did that by purpose. There's still a lot of growth as a character that she needs to go through and she willbe going through it. I just wanted to say that she's really nota Mary Sue but, nonetheless, even at this point there are a lot of good things about her, just wait and see.

Once again, thank you so much for reading! I'm so shocked and grateful that so many people are reading my story and favoriteing me, I'd love to hear your comments and tips. – Medusa101