Being Underestimated

1 (Meeting the Dwarves)

It was a dark blue outside-- the sun had noticeably set an hour or two ago. The sound and smell of fish frying in grease made Caitrin sigh. It wasn't an uncommon sound or smell. A little too common, if she was honest. Fish wasn't her favorite meal by any means. She had quite a dislike for the meat actually. But that didn't matter, seeing as Bilbo paid no heed to her petty complaints. He continued on, cooking whichever meal he found appropriate during whichever day he found it appropriate to cook on. Caitrin clearly had very little say in the matter. 
Bilbo scooped the fish out of the frying pan and onto a plate which had been loaded with plenty fruits and vegetables. He set a plate down in front of the girl and grabbed himself a plate, before doing the same routine. 
After scooping up a plate for himself, Bilbo turned and sat down, while breathing out a relieved, "Ahh..." noting that his meal was well prepared and warm. 
Caitrin looked to her uncle and nodded to him, "Thanks." She and Bilbo weren't very talkative. Of course, they got along just fine. Better than most folk and their relatives. But something tonight was different. Her day had been unusually silent. Her friends were abnormally drama-less. Her chores were unusually easy. Everything seemed to be out of the ordinary today and the young woman hadn't the slightest notion why. 
Her Uncle Bilbo took a napkin and tucked it into his robe as he always had done, just so he wouldn't make a mess over it. The man took some herbs (Caitrin couldn't see, but assumed it was salt and/or pepper) and sprinkled them over his plate with precision. 
Taking after his lead, the brunette girl did the same to her own plate, but putting much, much more salt and pepper. 
"Pass the limes when you're done?" Caitrin suggested, her uncle nodding as he squeezed a lime over his fish. Right before handing it to her,  the doorbell rang. 
She looked at her uncle through her green eyes with an arched eyebrow. "Who's here?" 
Bilbo stared at the doorway, looking rather irritated that his meal was interrupted by the door. "I'm not sure, Caitrin. Stay here." 
Sighing, she shrugged and stood up, not planning on listening to her Uncle any time soon. Caitrin followed Bilbo (he wasn't looking pleased that she didn't obey his orders, but didn't speak against her presence) as he opened the door. 
Standing right before her eyes was someone she'd never seen before in her life. He was about a foot taller than the both of them and a lot gruffer. He had a dark beard fanning out from his ears to his chin, and it laced around his mouth, creating a mustache. From what she could see, he was mainly bald besides some hair at the back of his scalp that was extremely long and thick for a man. 
The man turned as the door opened and he spoke in an official, deep tone, "Dwalin," he said, looking extremely intimidating. As he bowed, he finished his sentence, "At your service." 
Bilbo whimpered lightly at the man, still semi-shocked. He glanced down at his robe, which exposed his nightwear, and he grabbed the edges, pulling himself together by tying the robe string. "Bilbo Baggins . . . " he said, tightening the knot in his robe. " . . . at yours." 
Caitrin made a face and the man grunted, looking between the two. 
"Uh-- d-do we know each other?" Bilbo asked in alarm as the man pushed past Caitrin to get inside. He looked Bilbo square in the face as though the question asked was the stupidest thing he'd heard all day. 
"No." He answered clearly, giving Bilbo a judgmental look. 
Caitrin felt offended for being pushed past in such a way. She bit her lip, though, and didn't speak up. Just made an inappropriate hand gesture at the man while he wasn't looking. Bilbo caught it and shook his head vigorously, scolding her for it. She shrugged. 
Bilbo looked back at the man who was removing his coat in mid speech: "Which way laddie?" He folded up his own coat. "Is it down here?" 
"Is-is what down where?" Bilbo asked, looking for clarification. The poor Hobbit was beyond confused at this whole mishap. Caitrin wasn't much better. She tossed her dark curls over her shoulder, frowning and crossing her arms. The man looked between the two again, an obvious look in his eye as he spoke once again,
"Supper." The rude random man tossed his coat at Caitrin and she scoffed, dropping it. "He said there'd be food. And lot's of it." 
"Hey, you can't just throw your coat at me!" Caitrin snapped, looking at his coat with disgust. "It's vile and rude. This is my--our--" she changed her wording a bit when she caught the glance Bilbo gave to her "--house after all. If anything, throw it at him!" She jerked her head toward her Uncle and he looked offended. 
The unknown man--Dwalin-- just gave her a look and when she didn't back down from her defiant statement, he shrugged and turned away. 
"He-he said?" Bilbo changed the subject, utterly confused. "Who said?" 
The man didn't answer. Only kept walking. 
"Who--what is that and why does he think it's appropriate to throw clothes at a woman?" Caitrin hissed, not pleased with this man at all. 
"His name is Dwalin apparently. And he's a Dwarf!" Bilbo hissed before picking up the coat his niece had dropped and hanging it up on the coat hanger. He then scurried to the kitchen, where the dwarf happened to be nestled. 
The man had already settled himself in a chair at the spot Bilbo had been not five minutes ago. He was already digging through the meal Bilbo had created for himself quicker than Caitrin had seen any hobbit eat. Bilbo settled himself on a stool, glaring as the manner-less dwarf Dwalin ate a meal created for another person.
"Mmm," Dwalin grunted. "Mmm, mmm." He was extremely satisfied with the meal. "Very good, this. Is there any more?" 
Caitrin joined the two shortly after, witnessing Dwalin's approval for the food. "What's going on here?" Nobody answered her. Her uncle looked to be extremely irritated. 
"What?" Bilbo asked, not looking at Caitrin, but at the Dwarf. "Oh. Yes. Yes." He stood up and walked hesitantly over to his window where he kept a few biscuits. He glanced at the dwarf, then at Caitrin and grabbed a handful for himself (and for his niece), before handing the plate to the dwarf. "Help yourself." 
From what Caitrin could see, her meal had already been devoured. And Bilbo's. She sighed, sitting down in an armchair while watching this pig eat. 
"Say something" the girl mouthed to her uncle. 
Her pursed his lips, before nodding. "Mm . . ." He said, glancing to Dwalin. He stood up straight and put his arms on his hips and looked around awkwardly. "It's just that, um . . . I  wasn't expecting company." He said, swinging around to look at the dwarf awkwardly. 
As if to make Bilbo a liar, the doorbell rang. His head shot toward the sound, eyes searching for the door. Caitrin scoffed and stood up too, already walking toward the door. 
"That'll be the door," Dwalin said through a mouthful of food, stating the obvious as he glared at Caitrin's uncle. 
Caitrin got to the door before her uncle did. She swung it open, looking highly uncomfortable. Her shoulders slumped at the sight of another dwarf. 
"Balin!" A big nosed, white haired and bearded dwarf bowed. "At your service!" 
Caitrin was speechless. "Good evening." Was all she could muster. 
Balin turned, examining the sky. "Yes." He turned back around, smiling at her. "Yes it is, lass! Though I think it might rain later...." He said completely sincere. "Is your father home? Or possibly a brother?" 
"Uncle," Bilbo confirmed, coming around the corner. 
"Ah!" Balin exclaimed, shaking his hand. "Am I late?" He asked. 
"Hmm?" 
"Late for what?" Bilbo asked skeptically. 
"OH!" Balin exclaimed with a jolly ol' laugh as he spotted Dwalin in the kitchen. Caitrin smoothed out her nightgown. "Ha ha!" Balin began to make his way into the kitchen, too. 
"Evening, brother," said Balin with a little smirk and a coy tone as he strutted into the dining room. 
"Oh ho," Dwalin chuckled greatly, putting down the intricately designed object he was holding. "By my beard, you're shorter and wider than last we met!" 
"Wider," Balin corrected. "Not shorter.
They were now chest to chest and both smirking like fools. 
"Sharp enough for both of us," Balin added with a smirk. 
While Caitrin was eavesdropping on these two brother's conversations, Bilbo stepped outside to see if anyone else was coming. Clearly not. He stepped back inside and looked at the two. 
The dwarves began to laugh and put their hands on each other's shoulders, before unexpectedly hitting each other in the head with their own head. Caitrin gasped, putting a hand over her mouth, thoroughly repulsed. They chuckled to each other, still talking. 
"Um, haha, excuse me? I'm sorry, I hate to interrupt," Bilbo spoke up, forcing a smile onto his irritated and confused face. "But the thing is, I'm not entirely sure you're in the right house . . . " he'd stumbled over his words, trying to be least offensive. 
The dwarves pay no heed to the hobbit's desperate attempts to remove them from his dwelling and head over to the brewing beer barrel. 
"Have you eaten?"  Dwalin asked to Balin, still ignoring Caitrin's uncle. 
Caitrin jogged to Bilbo's side, looking at him for guidance. He wouldn't look at her out of fear he'd screw up his word choice. She pouted and looked back at the dwarves. 
"It's not that I don't like visitors-- I- I like visitors as much as the next hobbit. But I do like to know them before they come visiting!" He made a face at the choice of words, grimacing slightly. Caitrin giggled, covering her mouth. She earned a glare. 
"What's this?" Dwalin asked while picking up a chunk of cheese. 
"I don't know," Balin answered. "I think it's supposed to be cheese . . . " 
"But the ting is," Caitrin tried to help her uncle out by speaking up. Maybe her voice would be heard? Nope. 
Dwalin continued on, "It's riddled with mold!
"We-we don't know either of you," Bilbo wouldn't yield yet. 
Dwalin groaned and tossed the cheese over his shoulder.
"Not in the slightest," Bilbo said, his eyes watching as the cheese flew threw the air and landed right at Caitrin's feet. The girl bent, picked it up, and threw it back at the dwarf. It hit his back, but Dwalin was wearing so much padding, he hadn't noticed. She huffed. 
"Quite right," Balin mumbled onto himself. They continued checking out the food pantry. 
"I don't mean to be blunt, but I-I had to speak my mind. I'm sorry." Bilbo said in a louder tone, his hands out, defensive and final. Both Balin and Dwalin turned to look at him and stared for a second. Balin's eyes wandered to Caitrin, who looked like she was just as frustrated as her uncle. 
"Apology accepted," Balin smiled, before turning around and rummaging through the food once again. 
The doorbell rang again. 
Caitrin whimpered this time, sounding much like her uncle at the moment. Caitrin shuffled forward, once again, ahead of Bilbo. She opened the door, her heart falling at the sight of two more dwarves. Four of them were now here. 
She let out a sound of protest, but then eyed the dwarves more carefully. Her eyebrows went up. These weren't old dwarves. These were young, attractive dwarves. The dark haired one looked younger and slightly more attractive, but not much more. Her shoulders loosened and she smiled at the two.
"Fili," said the light haired dwarf, smiling down at her. 
"And Kili," the darker-haired dwarf said, his face trying to be serious. It seemed he--or they were rarely serious. He eyed her up and down, his eyebrow quirking up. 
Bilbo came over right as the darker haired dwarf eyed his niece up and scowled. "There'll be none of that now--"
He was cut off by the two dwarves bowing in sync, saying, "At your service." 
Caitrin grinned, looking over to her uncle, rolling her eyes. 
"You must be Mr. Boggins!" said Kili with a huge grin. "And his daughter?" He winked at Caitrin. 
"Nope!" Bilbo snapped loudly, irritated at the number of dwarves already and the fact that his niece was being eyed up. "You can't come in! You've come to the wrong house." He tried shutting the door, only for Kili to push it back open again with a look of shock and sadness. 
"What?" He asked, disappointed. "Has it been canceled?" the young dwarf looked to Caitrin for confirmation. She bit her lip, shrugging. She clearly knew nothing of what was canceled or not. 
"No one told us," Fili stepped in, looking to his brother then back at Bilbo and Caitrin. 
"No, noth-nothing's been canceled!" Bilbo stuttered, his eyebrows furrowing with annoyance. 
"Well, that's a relief!" Kili's bright smile was back on his face and he rushed inside, beaming like a young child on his birthday. Bilbo scurried out of the way as Kili rushed inside. But Caitrin stayed where she was. Kili grinned at her. Fili rolled his eyes at his brother, but bowed his head respectfully with a smile and a wink to the young hobbit girl. 
"Careful with these," Fili said, removing his weapons. "I just had 'em sharpened." He handed them to Bilbo. 
"It's nice, this place!" Kili said, looking around briefly. "Did you do it yourself?" 
"What? Oh, no, it's been in the family for years--That's my mother's glory box!" Bilbo exclaimed. Caitrin quickly turned her head to see what Kili had done to set Bilbo off. He was wiping the mud off his boots with the edge of the box. "Can you please not do that?!" Bilbo continued, his voice a bit strained as Fili kept loading on the piles of weapons. 
Caitrin snorted a giggle and Kili gave her an odd and amused look. At the sudden noise, she turned red and bursted out laughing. Fili and Kili joined her. 
"Come on Kili. Fili. Give us a hand!" Another voice sounded as soon as the laughter died down. Dwalin appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Kili by the shoulder. 
"Mr. Dwalin!" Kili laughed. He seemed to be very happy all the time. He walked with Dwalin out of the entry way. Fili slowly followed. 
"Let's shove in this hole another way, otherwise we'll never get everyone in," someone said. Caitrin wasn't very good with recognizing everyone's voices--seeing as she only just met them.
"E-Everyone? How many more are there?!" Bilbo cried out, Caitrin quickly following. 
There was a ring and a knock on the door. 
"No. No. No. There's nobody home!!!" Bilbo yelled angrily. Caitrin followed like a lost puppy, not knowing what to do. 
Bilbo tossed the weapons down. 
"GO AWAY AND BOTHER SOMEBODY ELSE!" Bilbo continued. Then, fuming, he turned to his niece. "And you missy! You quit flirting with those two young dwarves in there, you hear me? And I can practically see your--your-- " he nodded to her chest and she glanced down, making a face, before puling her top up, "--go change out of your nightgown and into something appropriate, will you? That Kili was just eyeing you up and it was disgusting! As was that Fili! Go change, Caitrin!" 
Caitrin felt her face flush a bright red and she looked down at herself. "But I usually do my washing in the morning! I haven't got any clean clothes today--thanks to Jackie coming over and spilling all her grape juice on my only clean clothes . . . " 
Jackie was Caitrin's best friend's little 7 year old sister. She still didn't know how to do things properly and had somehow spilled a big cup full of grape juice all over Caitrin's bed and on top of her clothes (her clothes had been laying out so Caitrin could decide which outfit to wear for the day). 
"You're telling me you've been wearing this all day?!" Bilbo gasped, looking up to the ceiling. 
"I had a shawl--" 
"Then grab that! Go! Before more perverted dwarves try thinking nasty things of you!" Bilbo snapped. 
Scoffing, Caitrin turned and went to get her shawl. 

Meanwhile, Bilbo sighed and continued walking to the door. "There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is! If this is some clot-head's idea of a joke..." Bilbo trailed off, marching towards the door with purpose and anger. "Ha ha!" He snorted. "I can only say it is in very poor taste!" 
He opened the door and a huge pile of dwarves fell into his home right at his feet. They were groaning and moaning. Bilbo looked down at them all with shock and then up. And right in front of the hobbit was a wizard he'd seen earlier on. Gandalf the Grey. 
"Gandalf." 

(Sorry if this chapter was horrible. First time writing in a while lol. I hope you guys enjoy it!(: )