Never Back Again // The Hobbit, Fili X OC

I do like gold

She had been lost in her head for longer than she thought, because when she entered the dining room Thorin had already finished his meal, and was now intently staring at a map. Someone pulled out a chair and motioned for her to take a seat. She ended up sitting in between the young blond one, and one of the older dwarves with a hearing pipe. Looking around, she noticed Bilbo missing from the table. Twisting around a bit, she tried to figure out where he went, but she couldn't spot him anywhere.
As if sensing what she was looking for, Gandalf spoke. "Dear Bilbo is not feeling very well I'm afraid. He is taking a rest with a nice cup of tea, I already spoke to him, there's no need to worry."
It was annoying how perceptive he was when he wanted to be, how the hell did he figure out she was worried about Bilbo just from her glances around the room? She herself didn't even realize she was worried until Gandalf pointed it out! And she didn't even know why she was worried in the first place, she had only just met the hobbit. Maybe it was because he stuck out like a sore thumb between the dwarves, and she felt some sort of duty to protect him. She may have unconventional ways of living and dealing with people, but she was not completely heartless. After Bilbo let her into his home when he could have slammed the door in his face as he was clearly tempted to do, she felt it was only right to worry for him.

For the second time she was pulled from her musings as Thorin cleared his throat and began to speak. "Gandalf informed me of your current situation, and insisted that it was important for you to know of our quest." He spoke slow and stiffly, as if the words were being forced out of his mouth against his will.

Gandalf had been busy while she was lost in her own thoughts in the hallway. She can't imagine it was easy, convincing Thorin to not only speak to her directly, but also to convince him to tell her about his purpose.
She nodded slightly, encouraging him to keep talking. She was finally going to figure out why they were here, and she couldn't help but feel a bit giddy about solving the mystery and satisfying her curiosity.

"We will be undergoing a long and treacherous journey to reclaim a birthright that has long been taken away from us. Tomorrow we shall march for Erebor and take back our home from the dragon. To take back what is ours will be no easy feat, and the journey will not be for the faint of heart." From the way he looked at her and the way he spoke, Emma could only imagine he was trying his hardest to convince her to stay behind. An unnecessary effort, she told herself, she wasn't going to join them anyway.

She still didn't really understand why it was so important for her to know, and she also didn't understand half of what Thorin was saying. What she did understand however, was the word dragon. Dwarves and wizards and hobbits she could accept, but actual dragons? That was a step too far for her. But alongside her apprehension, she was intrigued as well. What was this dragon like? Was it like the fire breathing lizards from the bedtime stories of her youth, or was this dragon something else entirely?

"Miss Emma here has asked me for assistance in returning to her own home, a purpose not unlike your own." Gandalf shot Thorin a pointed look. "I sense a faint mark of the Valar on her, and thus believe she was fated to be here at this time. The key to return to her home, I think, lies with your quest. And so I ask you to consider Emma as a member of your company." The way the wizard talked was diplomatic, showing yet another side of him.

Of course, Emma did not appreciate that the wizard was trying to decide her fate yet again, but this time instead of voicing her anger, she sat back and listened. She was cursed with insatiable curiosity after all, and against her better judgment, could not wait to see how this evening played out.

When it was clear that she wasn't going to argue like she had done before, Gandalf continued. "Not only is she skilled in survival, Orcs also prove no match for her. I stumbled upon some dead orcs just last evening, and the only one who could have killed them would be Emma. Her mastery of the otherworldly weapons she possesses would be a valuable asset to your journey." He was really going all out with trying to send her on this journey.