Fitting in ~

A test of metal part 1

It had been a long day of riding over rolling fields and steep cliffs when, finally, Thorin finally called a stop. You reined your horse to a stop, exhausted as all the other members of the dwarvish company groaned as they dismounted from there ponies. For the hundredth time this whole adventure, you grumbled and thought of your soft little home back in your time.

It had all begun one day, while reading a line within your favorite book- the hobbit - you had suddenly felt a gut twisting feeling as it seemed the words on the pages became blurred. You had blinked, shaking your head to clear your vision when - to your sudden surprise - you had found yourself staring at a bright green hobbit door on a warm spring evening. And what made it worse for you is that you had appeared right in the middle (and kind of on top of ) a group of dwarves. Everything had then been a blur for you. The grey wizard Gandalf had convinced the grumpy King Under the Mountain to take you along with them and ever since then you had been in a slight cloud of sorrow. Ever since opening that silly book in your library, you had had nothing but trouble. Trolls had tried to roast you over a spit ( as they had not had 'man flesh' in quite sometime and you being the only other human in the company had been the preferred meal ),the joking dwarf twins had played numerous pranks upon you ( one where they had the audacity to place living frogs within your bowl of soup ) and the disgruntled Thorin could hardly tolerate you.

You sighed as you thought of your home- the nice normality of every day life. To be thrown within a whole different world, with all your habits that were seen as oddities among the dwarves and the small little hobbit, was like being stripped naked.

Hoping down from your horse, you patted the creatures neck with fondness. "Aye girl .... You must be tired too, huh?" The gentle brown mare nuzzles your side, snorting in content. As you scratched behind her forlock, you noticed the slight sores that the bridle was beginning to make upon the corners of her mouth. "Oh dear .... " you had enough experience with horses from the times you had taken lessons as a little girl. Bridle sores within the mouth were never a good sign and could cripple a rider. And you knew that these sores were, in part, your fault. You had been pulling to hard on her. Immediately, you took the bridle off and let your horse to graze, hanging the bridle on a nearby stump.

You looked for the older dwarf, the slightly deaf one, who seemed to be the healer among the group. Oin was his name -It was hard to remember all the dwarves names - even when you had read the book. The dwarves and you seemed to have come to a sort of odd sleeping arrangement. The dwarves would set up their camp and you would set up yours. As Thorin still didn't trust you or the sound judgment of the wizard, the only friends within the company seemed to be Bilbo, who was not trusted either, Gandalf and Fili and Kili. The dwarves were unpacking and setting up for dinner when you called.

"Oin!" You marched over, the concern for your horse over-riding your natural respect for the distance. All the dwarves froze, even the hard of hearing Oin. Thirteen faces stared at you with surprise- including Bilbos. "Do you have a paste I can use for my horse ? It seems that the bridle has scored sores upon her mouth."

"Sure ... Sure lass. " the older dwarf with his hearing horn within his ear, reached within his bags. You waited patiently for the older dwarf to find the paste.

"Your horse has sores ...?" Kili and Fili had come up beside you, curios eyes upon you. "How do you know this ? Don't people in your world ride in metal horses?"

"They aren't metal horses Kili they are called cars. And yes we do use those more then horses." You answered, focused upon the rummaging dwarf. As he passed you the paste you turned around and walked back to your horse, the twins and Bilbo following behind. "But that doesn't mean we don't have horses or other modes of transportation."

"But how do you know ?" Fili insisted.

"Well because I used to take lessons from someone who owned horses. Riding horses in my world is a sport and a past time. Some people still rely on horses though as a way of life. " you muttered, absentmindedly as you held your mare and uncorked the paste.

"So what was it for you?" Bilbo asked now, leaning forward to see your mares mouth and your administrations of the ointment to the animals mouth. "Was it for pleasure? Or was it for sport ? Or was it a way of life?"

"Ummm ... It was more for pleasure. I always liked animals-" you muttered as you finished applying the paste to the horses mouth. Once done, you corked the remaining ointment and patted your horses neck. "- there YA go girl- and I thought it would be wonderful to appreciate the old ways. Horses - long ago in my world - were the major form of transportation. Without them our history would be different and we wouldn't have the cars and machines we have now." you turned then and jumped in surprise. While you had been tending to your horse it seemed that the whole company of dwarves had moved closer, listening in as you had begun to explain your knowledge about your world.

Thirteen faces - even the hardened leader !- all stared at you with interest. Ori was scribbling away in his book while Gandalf, who was puffing away on his pipe, looked at you with an amused grin on his face.

Ori looked up when you stopped, eyes bright and eager. "What else do you humans do in your world ? Do you go to war like us dwarves do?" They all leaned in then, positively curious now to hear more of your odd tales.

"Well- " you felt your face flame at there attention. You were interrupted by the white bearded Balin

"Not now lad - let the girl clean her hands of the past and get her packs off her horse. She can tell us all later during supper, right lass ?" You could have sworn that the old dwarf had winked at you. Several of the company groaned in complaint but they dispersed, Thorin turning away first.

"Fili, Kili - go scout and make sure we are safe for the night." Thorin commanded and soon the whole of the dwarves company was busy again. You turned back to your horse but found Bofur there, already removing your packs. "I'll get this for ya y/n" he said, smiling his big goofy grin. You nodded numbly. As the dwarf carried your stuff over to the group, setting it down near the fire. Bilbo was by your side, chatting about ponies and curious about what your world did with them, but your mind was else where. This was so different then before - different then how the company had always treated you. With indifference and quite tolerance. Now they were warmly welcoming you into the group, setting you close to the fire and engaging you in tales of their own. When you turned to look at the wizard, Gandalf merely smiled at you and nodded in approval, as if you had passed some sort of test of metal.