Inflamed (Harry Potter & The Hobbit/LOTR Crossover) (LegolasxOC)

15- Breakfast at Beorn's

When morning came, I was woken by the sunlight shining in my eyes. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. From what I could tell by Dwarves' snoring, it was still early in the morning. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, seeing all my friends still asleep.

Being as quiet as I could, I tiptoed past all of the sleeping bodies, wondering where our host was. I crossed my arms and listened to the silence that was sometimes broken by snoring. And then I heard it. The sound of wood being cut. I knew the sound well because in the winter, back home, Peter always woke up at the crack of dawn to cut firewood, so when the rest of us woke up, the house would already be warm.

I smiled, blinking a few times to return to reality. Stealthily, I opened the door and snuck out. Though it was early, the weather was nice and temperate. I shrugged my jacket off and tied it around my waist. Ahead, a great, tall man stood at a tree stump, cutting firewood with a huge axe.

He wore only a pair of pants and boots, displaying the light brown hair-fur?-that grew down his back. Did I mention he was seven feet tall? Over seven feet tall at least. I bit my lip and watched him for a second, before squeaking, "Um, excuse me? Mr. Beorn, sir?" His head jerked to the side, his eyes narrowing at me. Beorn had large, bushy eyebrows that took up much of his forehead and made him look a bit more animalistic than human. "Hi...I didn't mean to interrupt." I said awkwardly, taking a step forward.

He grunted, putting his axe down. "And who might you be?" "I'm Paige Fawley, a Wizard." I replied, wringing my hands behind my back. He furrowed his eyebrows. "I've never heard of you." I shrugged, suddenly wishing that I had waited for Gandalf to introduce us all. There was a possibility that I was going to get myself ripped to shreds.

"I didn't expect you to. What if I told you I'm not from this world at all?" I asked, biting my lip. His confused expression grew more intense. "I would say that I do not find that possible." My lips twitched in amusement. "Trust me, I'm still as shocked as you. You see, I would've waited for the rest of my Company to wake up before greeting you, it's just...I wanted to ask you something privately."

Beorn raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is your question, girl?" I rocked on my heels before asking, "Can you only Change into a Bear or can you become anything you want?" He frowned, causing me to become a little nervous. "I can only Change into a Bear. Why?" My shoulders sagged a bit, but I nodded.

"The reason why I ask is because...well, my mother's not a typical Wizard. You see, she has some extra abilities and one of them is that she can Change into any animal she wants when she wants. And when a member of my Company mentioned you were sometimes a great Bear, I wondered if it was possible that she was a Skin-Changer, too."

Beorn's expression suddenly held intrigue. "A Witch that can Change. Interesting...are you sure that it was no curse or spell laid upon her?" I nodded. "Positive." The Skin-Changer sat down on the tree stump, leaning on his axe. "I do not think your mother is a Skin-Changer like me, very similiar, but not the same. She must be a very powerful Witch, no?"

I nodded. "Very powerful, and good. Very good." I smiled fondly at the thought of her. Beorn cocked his head, watching me curiously. "I believe you when you say that you're from another world. I have never met a Human girl, or a Witch, like you before." I nodded, snorting. "I've gotten that a lot." A small smile made its way onto the man's face.

I noticed an iron cuff around his wrist and frowned. My eyes drifted to a few scars residing on his stomach. "Who did this to you?" I saw anger flash in his eyes, relief flowing through me when I realized that it wasn't directed at me. "Orcs." My nostrils flared. "Filthy creatures. You see, that's part of the reason why my friends and I are here. We're being hunted by an Orc pack led by Azog the Defiler. I think I'll spare you the details and wait until my friends are awake."