Over the River and Through the Woods Chapter 3, a hobbit fanfic

Corynn was stunned - realization and recognition were immediate upon sight. She knew this place. She knew where she was, though she didn't know how she got there. Her next fully coherent thought was: "I've got to do as much as possible while I've got the chance."

Willow stared at the scene in front of her, her thoughts a random, chaotic jumble as she recognized where the three of them had ended up. This cannot be what I think it is. Corynn is never going to want to leave. It might be fun, though. Except for all the near-death experiences. At least we won't be bored. I wonder when this is, though. And what our being here is going to mean for the sequence of events. I'm sure we couldn't possibly find a way to change something. It isn't like we don't already know what's going to happen, or how to possibly prevent it from happening, or anything like that. Sarcasm is a wonderful coping mechanism. Also, speaking of Corynn never wanting to leave, how are we supposed to get back? And how does the time difference work between here and home?

Leah couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was a hill, and at the top of the hill was...a hobbit hole, exactly as she had always imagined. Everything clicked into place; and by the sound of her roommates gasping, everything had fallen into place for them too. Leah was getting ready to say something, when she heard a sound she had heard before and did not ever want to hear again: hissing. Not about to repeat the past, Leah took off like a shot and ran for the hill. She had just turned up the curve and busted through the gate, when she realized that there were a crowd of people in front of her, standing in front of the open door to the hobbit hole. A tall man stood just off to the side. She knew that she did not have time to stop, as the goose was right on her tail.

"GANG WAY!" She screamed at them, "Move your asses!" The group started to turn, but it was too late. She closed her eyes as she hit the closest head on.

Corynn watched as Leah tore off like a demon was after her, but it was just a goose. Snickering, she jogged up the hill to make sure that her friend didn't get into too much trouble - she could always find some way to call off the goose. What she saw was too entertaining to resist - Leah ran full tilt into a group of dwarves, and they all fell in an open door at the feet of a very surprised hobbit. And a tall man in grey standing beside, looking amused also. She just laughed, and it escalated quickly - into the howling, snorting, wheezy cackle that she adopted when she was running out of air. "What a lovely strike! Or should I call something else, as there were only four pins?!"

Willow promptly called out: "Spare!" She then started silently laughing at the scene in front of her.

The wizard chuckled quietly as the goose preened next to him, clearly finding the situation an interesting twist, albeit not one he had planned for.

Leah ignored her roommates' comments and kept her eyes closed, even after she felt herself done falling. She'd had enough of running into things for one day. Maybe if she kept them closed, it would all go away. Her fall had not been as bad as she thought; the poor people she had run into must have cushioned her fall. Oh God. She groaned inwardly. This does not for good first impressions make.

The dwarves, just as Leah had suspected, were not appreciative of being trampled and bowled over by a strange girl being chased by a goose. However, some did find it more amusing than others, as one of the dwarves also burst out laughing, standing up and brushing himself off before helping up some of the others. He also reached out to help up the oddly dressed girl, figuring she would need it considering the soured look on the face of their leader.

Leah felt someone grab at her arm, and blindly pushed them off; telling herself that it was all a bad dream, and Willow was going to wake her up and tell her she was late for class. She could hear people laughing around her, and that did not help. It was only when she heard Corynn call her name that she knew she couldn't fake anymore.

Corynn watched this with amusement, wondering when exactly her roommate would stop playing dead and get up. "Come on, Leah, up ya' get."

Leah slowly blinked open her eyes and gazed at the scene before her. Sure enough, she had fallen into the hobbit hole with the rest of the...dwarves. Oh crap. Leah thought, as realization dawned, I am so screwed. She looked up when she heard a deep chuckle above her, and stared straight into the eyes of none other than Gandalf the Grey.

"Well, my dear, you certainly made an entrance." He said, and wiped at the tears at the side of his eyes.

Leah couldn't find any words to respond with. She looked around again, at the faces of the dwarves and the distressed hobbit. She avoided the glare of one Thorin Oakenshield, who looked like he would very much like to skewer her on his lovely dwarven sword. Leah gulped and looked back at where Corynn was (no surprise) cackling once again. She was leaning against the doorframe to the hobbit hole, and holding her stomach. Willow stood just behind her, and was laughing as well. She finally attempted to stand up, and groaned once again when she realized how short she was still. It was NOT fair.

Corynn ducked her head as she snickered softly, finally having caught her breath from her maniacal laughing fit. "Special entrances are our speciality - even without the goose." She bit back another round of laughter as she made her way upright, pushing off the doorframe, a lopsided smile tugging on her lips in amusement.

Leah glared at Corynn; she wished she could disappear into Bilbo's lovely woodwork. They had been in Middle Earth less than one day and she had already made an enemy of the dwarves and possibly Bilbo...not to mention that she had brought an enemy in the form of a demon goose with her. She stepped back close to the wall and sat down on one of the many trunks lining the hallway, hoping nothing else would happen if she just sat still. A few of the dwarves were still looking at her curiously. Bilbo had his hands in his hair, and looked almost as shocked as she felt. A few of the dwarves snickered as they spied the matching looks of terror on Leah and Bilbo's faces.

Running a hand through her flyaway curls, Corynn observed the faces around her, trying her best to match faces to names as she listed all the dwarves in her mind. She wasn't foolish enough to call them all by name until they introduced themselves, no reason to cause unnecessary questions. She walked over to Leah, patting her shoulder. She looked at Bilbo and saw that he was basically having a mental breakdown. "Well, at least now each of you have stress buddies. Leah, have fun. Don't kill him. We want to keep nice things."

Leah whimpered in response, and hid her face in her lap. She did not need the visual that Corynn had given her. I am so not ready for this. She thought. In no way am I mentally ready for this.

Corynn, as per usual, regretted nothing that had come out of her mouth. Though she was given several odd looks when she called Bilbo a "nice thing". She then belatedly realized that she had just made a display of incredibly bad manners by simply waltzing into someone's home. "Oh, oops." She mumbled, tugging on one of her curls in a nervous gesture. "Err…Sorry about...all this," she waved her hands in a large general motion, "by the way."

"It's not my fault! It's that damn goose's! I hate geese, anyway." Leah wailed from her spot on the trunk. Her voice was slightly muffled, since her head was still ostriched in her lap.

The wizard chuckled and shook his head - if for nothing else, the strange trio made for an excellent source of entertainment. "Now, I don't suppose I could have your names?"

Corynn shook her head, realizing the Leah was basically catatonic and breaking down, and Willow was too busy gasping for air on the floor. "Most certainly. I'm Corynn. And the one having a breakdown is Leah, and the one dying over there is Willow." She explained, pointing to each of them in turn.

At hearing her name being introduced, Leah untucked one of her arms and waved it about in a hello gesture.

Willow was off to the side, laughing silently. She was having trouble stopping when she heard Corynn introduce her and Leah. She immediately sobered up and started looking at her surroundings. A hobbit hole, a tall man with a pointy grey hat and a stick, a bunch of dwarves, this is starting to sound far too familiar… Oh no. Please, please, someone tell me this isn't what I think it is. Oh, this can not turn out well.

The old wizard nodded his head and stood up straight to introduce himself. "I am Gandalf the Grey."

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. This is Bilbo's house, he's meeting the dwarves, and we're going to get dragged along on their crazy adventure, aren't we? Willow thought resignedly.

Leah listened to Gandalf introduce himself, but still kept herself tucked up in a ball. She felt someone touch her head lightly. She heard a deep laugh and that someone say, "All you alright, lass? You were going pretty fast. You might have broken something." Leah looked up at the biggest of all the dwarves. He looked like three of them put together. Oh God, he was smiling at her. Leah attempted to answer, but burst out crying instead. She'd had enough.

Corynn turned to look and saw the water works, sighing deeply. The poor dwarf who had tried to comfort her friend looked worried, glancing around in a panic, trying to figure out what he had done wrong. The copper haired girl approached her friend, setting her hands on her shoulders. "Deep breaths. Calm. Calm." She repeated the words, in a steady and relaxing tone, using the tone she used when she worked with children who were distraught.

"But, but, but." Leah hiccoughed. "First the goose, and now the dwarves. And, and...that one was being so nice even though I ran him down...and That One still looks like he wants to kill me!"

Leah waved her hands around, trying to show how out of place she felt. A few of the dwarves took a step back from her, looking at each other worriedly. She noticed this and wiped at her eyes.

Corynn sighed as she continued to be frantic. She smiled reassuringly at the large dwarf - Bombur - and then turned her attention to the menacing face of the dark haired dwarf. "You will cease your glaring or else." She commanded, her eyebrows pulling down over her eyes as she gave out her best death glare - and she gave as good as she got. "And by or else, I mean I am going to pick up that sword," she pointed to one that was conveniently leaning against the wall next to her - it was the largest in the group as well, "and hit you with it." She knew her skills were sufficient in this area to provide, at the very least, a challenging fight. "I like my things not broken, and you are breaking my things."

Willow smiled evilly, glad of the shadows obscuring her face. She could see Corynn doing exactly that, and probably doing a lot of damage to whoever tried to stop her. Corynn was one of the best sword fighters at the school. And, if Corynn did start laying into the dwarves, Willow would help. No one messed with her friends. No one. After all, she hadn't been studying martial arts for the past decade or so without picking up a few things. She could handle herself in a fight.

Leah laughed a little at that. She knew that Corynn would fight Thorin for her. She wiped her eyes again and stood up, trying to get some sense of her self-respect back. She tucked her hair behind her ears, and said, "Thanks, Corynn, but I can fight my own battles."

To this, Corynn gave an exaggerated bow, her hair flopping into her face. "It is always an honor, my lady." She bit back a laugh at her own silliness as she straightened up.

Leah looked pointedly at Thorin and said, "I'm terribly sorry for running you all over like that. But to be fair, I did warn you all." She then looked at Bombur and grinned, "Thank you, as well. I'm sorry to scare you like I did."

The large dwarf smiled back at her, pleased that she was now at least somewhat recovered from her ordeal. "It's nothin' lassie."

Leah grinned wider, and stepped away from the safety of the wall. She moved closer to Corynn and tried to look more in control than she actually felt. It wasn't easy.

Leah couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was a hill, and at the top of the hill was...a hobbit hole, exactly as she had always imagined. Everything clicked into place; and by the sound of her roommates gasping, everything had fallen into place for them too. Leah was getting ready to say something, when she heard a sound she had heard before and did not ever want to hear again: hissing. Not about to repeat the past, Leah took off like a shot and ran for the hill. She huffed and puffed her way up the slope and around gardens. She had just turned up the curve and busted through the gate when she realized that there were a crowd of people in front of her, standing in the open door to the hobbit hole. A tall man stood just off to the side. She knew that she did not have time to stop, as the goose was right on her tail.

"GANG WAY!" She screamed at them, "Move your asses!" The group started to turn, but it was too late. She closed her eyes as she hit the closest head-on.

Corynn watched as Leah tore off like a demon was after her, but it was just a goose. Snickering, she jogged up the hill to make sure that her friend didn't get into too much trouble - she could always find some way to call off the goose. What she saw, however, was too entertaining to resist - Leah ran full tilt into a group of dwarves, and they all fell in an open door at the feet of a very surprised hobbit. A tall man in grey stood beside, looking amused as well. She just laughed, and it escalated quickly - into the howling, snorting, wheezy cackle that she adopted when she was running out of air. "What a lovely strike! Or should I call something else, as there were only four pins?!"

Willow promptly called out: "Spare!" She then started silently laughing at the scene in front of her.

The wizard chuckled softly as the goose stopped and preened next to him. He clearly found the situation an interesting twist, albeit not one he had planned for.

Leah, from her position on the floor, ignored her roommates' comments and kept her eyes closed, even after she felt herself hit the ground. She'd had enough of running into things for one day. Maybe if she kept them closed, it would all go away. Her fall had not been as bad as she thought; the poor people she had run into must have cushioned her fall. Oh God. She groaned inwardly. This does not for good first impressions make.

The dwarves, just as Leah had suspected, were not appreciative of being trampled and bowled over by a strange girl being chased by a goose. However, some found it more amusing than others, as one of the dwarves burst out laughing, standing up and brushing himself off before helping up some of the others. He also reached out to help up the oddly dressed girl, figuring she would need it considering the sour look their leader's face.

Corynn watched this with amusement, wondering when exactly her roommate would stop playing dead and get up. "Come on, Leah, up ya' get."

"Well, my dear, you certainly made an entrance." He said, and wiped at the tears at the side of his eyes.

Leah couldn't find any words to respond with. She looked around again at the faces of the dwarves and the very distressed hobbit. She avoided the glare of one Thorin Oakenshield, who looked like he would very much like to skewer her on his lovely dwarven sword. Leah gulped and looked back at where Corynn was (no surprise) cackling once again. She was leaning against the doorframe to the hobbit hole, and holding her stomach. Willow stood just behind her, and was laughing as well. Leah attempted to stand up, and groaned when she realized how short she was still. It was NOT fair.

Running a hand through her flyaway curls, Corynn observed the faces around her, trying her best to match faces to names as she listed all the dwarves in her mind. She wasn't foolish enough to call them all by name until they introduced themselves, no reason to cause unnecessary questions. She walked over to Leah and patted her shoulder. She glanced over at Bilbo and saw that he was basically having a mental breakdown. "Well, at least now each of you have stress buddies. Leah, have fun. Don't kill him. We want to keep nice things."

Leah whimpered in response, and hid her face in her lap. She did not need the visual that Corynn had given her. I am so not ready for this. She thought. In no way am I mentally ready for this.

"It's not my fault! It's that damn goose's! I hate geese, anyway." Leah wailed from her spot on the trunk. Her voice was slightly muffled, since her head was still ostriched in her lap.

The wizard chuckled and shook his head - if for nothing else, the strange trio made for an excellent source of entertainment. "Now, I don't suppose I could have your names?"

Corynn shook her head, realizing that Leah was basically catatonic and breaking down, and Willow was too busy gasping for air, she took the lead. "Most certainly. I'm Corynn. And the one having a breakdown is Leah, and the one dying over there is Willow." She explained, pointing to each of them in turn.

At hearing her name being introduced, Leah untucked one of her arms and waved it about in a hello gesture.

Willow was off to the side, laughing silently. She was having trouble stopping when she heard Corynn introduce her and Leah. With that, she immediately sobered up and started looking at her surroundings. A hobbit hole, a tall man with a pointy grey hat and a stick, a bunch of dwarves, this is starting to sound far too familiar… Oh no. Please, please, someone tell me this isn't what I think it is. Oh, this can not turn out well.

The old wizard nodded his head and stood up straight to introduce himself. "I am Gandalf the Grey."

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. This is Bilbo's house, he's meeting the dwarves, and we're going to get dragged along on their crazy adventure, aren't we? Willow thought resignedly.

Corynn turned to look and saw Leah's water works. She sighed deeply. The poor dwarf who had tried to comfort her friend looked worried. He was glancing around in a panic, trying to figure out what he had done wrong. The copper haired girl approached her friend, and set her hands on her shoulders. "Deep breaths. Calm. Calm." She repeated the words, in a steady and relaxing voice, using the tone she used when she worked with children who were distraught.

"But, but, but." Leah hiccoughed. "First the goose, and now the dwarves. And, and...that one was being so nice even though I ran him down...and That One still looks like he wants to kill me!"

Leah waved her hands around, trying to show how out of place she felt. A few of the dwarves took a step back from her, looking at each other worriedly. She noticed this and wiped at her eyes.

Corynn sighed as Leah continued to be frantic. She smiled reassuringly at the large dwarf - Bombur - and then turned her attention to the menacing face of the dark-haired dwarf. "You will cease your glaring or else." She commanded, her eyebrows pulling down over her eyes as she gave out her best death glare - and she gave as good as she got. "And by 'or else', I mean I am going to pick up that sword," she pointed to one that was conveniently leaning against the wall next to her - it was the largest in the group as well, "and hit you with it." She knew her skills were sufficient enough in this area to provide, at the very least, a challenging fight. "I like my things not broken, and you are breaking my things."

Leah laughed a little Corynn's threat. She knew that Corynn, and probably Willow, would fight Thorin for her. She wiped at her eyes again and stood up, trying to get some sense of her self-respect back. She tucked her hair behind her ears, and said, "Thanks, Corynn, but I can fight my own battles."

To this, Corynn gave an exaggerated bow, her hair flopping into her face. "It is always an honor, my lady." She bit back a laugh at her own silliness as she straightened up.

The large dwarf smiled back at her, pleased that she was now at least somewhat recovered from her ordeal. "It's nothin' lassie."

Leah grinned wider, and stepped away from the safety and stability of the wall. She moved closer to Corynn and tried to look more in control than she actually felt. It wasn't easy.