Chapter four, once more I do not own Hobbit or LotR.
Ladies and gents! Wow! The amount of favorites follows and reviews I have received since posting this piece has thrown me in to amazement and I would like to thank all of you for your support, continuous and new. I plan to make this into quite a long story, so don't worry about it being cut short. There shall be plot and twists, and maybe timeskips leading up to the assembly of the company, but I am still thinking out the whole structure. If you have questions, or want to suggest a pairing then please, inform me in form of a review, and I will answer. So far there is no set pairing, although I'm leaning towards Thilbo, but anything can happen and I am persuadable.
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"Is it not polite to introduce yourself first when meeting someone, hobbit?" Asked the dwarf as his hand was put down on the blankets.
"Of course, pardon my manners, it's just that it isn't every night that one finds a half buried dwarf on the side of the road and has to carry him, and his pack, all the way home" Smiled Bilbo easily as he settled on the side of the bed, and continued to bring bottles and vials out of his bag, placing them on the nightstand. "My name is Bilbo Baggins, son of Bungo, of Bag End; where you just happen to be now, my unexpected but welcome guest. That is in Shire, in case you didn't know" finished the hobbit and turned his expectant eyes on the man on the bed.
"I am Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain" answered the other, as he inclined his head slightly.
Bilbo kept looking at the dwarf in his bed, and said: "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Thorin, son of Thrain. Would you mind if I finished tending to your injuries now, or would you prefer some breakfast first?" He raised an eyebrow and gestured at the medicine bottles littering the stand. He personally would have preferred food, but the health of Thorin was also supposed to be considered, and being a polite gentlehobbit that he was, Bilbo placed the needs of his guest first.
Thorin kept his eyes on the hob- Bilbo, as he contemplated the decision. On one hand it hurt to move and healing would be more then welcome at this point. On the other hand his stomach was about to sing hymns to the Lonely Mountain in Kuzdul if it didn't get anything in it and fast. The need for food was great, and the dwarf decided that he could stand a bit of pain if it meant he would get sustenance for the first time in quite a while.
"I would not wish to impose any further then I already have master hobbit, but food would be most appreciated right now" said Thorin making a motion to get up. Unfortunately it seemed that hours of leisure had made sure that all the stiffness and pain that had been kept at bay by the adrenalin of walking and just simply moving, were now coming back with a passion. The dwarf gasped as sharp stinging sensation went through his head and grabbed a fistful of his thick hair, squeezing his eyes shut as he fell back down on the pillows. Unfortunately for him, he made the same miscalculation that may or may not have made by Bilbo during the time of getting the dwarf to bed, and his head landed on the head board with a dull thud. Sharp pain dazzled through an already injured body part as Thorin let out a short wail.
Bilbo at the moment was torn between laughing and franticly reaching towards the unfortunate man. Gently tugging his hands from the entrapment of the hair, the hobbit scooted closer still and looked at the blooming bump, growing like a little hill out of the mountain of hair. He sighed and reached towards the trusty bag, fishing out a flat stone. It was something that has been in his family for quite a bit of time, and was given to him by his maternal grandmother. Apparently it was an ever cold rock from the Icebay of Forochel in the far north by the mountains of Angmar. That stone had always been used to reduce swellings such as this, as it seemed to seep in the mass, and provide soothing coolness to the affected area.
The hobbit lowered Thorin on to the pillows, without hitting him on anything this time, and pressed the blue rock to his head. The dwarf made a pained noise at the jostling, but sighed contently as his plight began to go away, faster than he could have anticipated. Raising his eyes towards the hobbit, Thorin let them wander up and down his form, appreciation on his gaze. Bilbo did not seem to notice any of that though, as his concentration was firmly on the blue rock, and its swelling mass. Gingerly removing his palm, the other looked over his handiwork, and nodded his head in satisfaction: the swelling was gone, and the area around the bump no longer looked enflamed or throbbing.
"It looks like luck is on your side once more, master dwarf," said Bilbo as he smiled at his patient " you are not permitted to move, until your scraps and fever are gone, and as that, I will be bringing food to you, as soon I look over what can be done for your health". With that the resident healer promptly threw off the dwarf's covers, not listening to his choked protests, and rolled him over on his, making Thorin's quite naked arse face him. Nimble fingers and quick hands undid the bandages covering the presented areas, swiped off the remainders of the salves from last night and reapplied them in a sure, professional motion. Bilbo hauled the dwarf up, letting him support himself on his hands, and did the same with his front.
"Do not let it be said, Thorin, son of Thrain, that hobbits do not know medicine" said Bilbo warmly as he glanced at the red dwarf when he tried to clutch the blankets over his lap" most might not, but as a part-Took, there is much need for healing knowledge. Take this stone for example" presented the hobbit his blue wonder to the other" A simple looking thing, and yet it stays forever cold, and swells as it devours the illness from one it is applied to."
Thorin subsided his embarrassment as much as he could, giving up on the blankets, and let the hobbit move down, towards his belly and thighs. Not at all an unpleasant sight, if only it was not in the medicinal purposes. Taking the offered object from him, the dwarf looked over it and puzzled at the sensation. He looked with amazement as the scraps and swells on his palm disappeared and the stone glowed and grew a little.
"What magic is this?" exclaimed Thorin as he experimentally put the rock on his elbow and felt the slight pain that was present there subside and reduce.
"I do not know, as much I regret to say" answered Bilbo "The stone has been in our family for a few generations, and my grandmother used to tell me that it had been brought by her grandfather on one of his travels from the Icebay of Forochel, up in the north. We only have to put it on the ice for a night in order for it to return to its smaller size and be cold until needed again." The hobbit smiled from the foot of the bed where he just finished rewrapping the dwarf's foot that had a jagged cut, most likely from a rock he took on while tumbling down the road.
"It is an exceptional item," nodded Thorin as he placed it on the nightstand" is there a limit to its ability?" asked he, looking at the mentioned stone.
"It won't heal you whole, that's for sure. I think the biggest it's done is fixed the scrapes and bruises on one hobbit, before stopping its growth" pondered Bilbo as he recalled his own scraps from his childhood of climbing trees and rocks. "When the limit is reached, it simply stops working, doesn't grow anymore, and slowly loses its cool, until the replenishing process is used again. And speaking of replenishing; your ailments are rewrapped, some scraps are healed. Your head I'd imagine is feeling better, and as so, sit tight, pull up your blanket; you're reducing the size of your dwarfhood; I shall be back with breakfast momentarily.
On that cheerful note the hobbit picked up his bag, deposited it on the now cleaned couch, and walked towards the door. Sending a sly wink towards the stunned naked dwarf in his bed, Bilbo swaggered out of the room in order to fix them some nourishment.
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At that's it for chapter 4 dear readers! Review, favorite, follow, all of those delighfull thingies make me happy and prompt me towards writing more. By the way the Icebay of Forochel actually does exist in Tolkienverse, I looked it up in the map of Middle Earth. Its next to Angmar and to the north of Hobbiton.