An Even Fifteen (Fili x reader)

(5) These are Rhosgobel Rabbits

The Rhosgobels were scattered on the floor near the fireplace, alternately sleeping and grooming themselves in front of the warmth. You stood awkwardly between the kitchen and the couch in front of the fireplace, unsure what to do with yourself, twisting the trailing lines of their harnesses in your hands.

The younger two children watched the rabbits with fascination, the little girl edging closer and closer to them. As Bard and his oldest daughter spoke in hushed tones at the table, you decided to show the girl how to pet the rabbits. If she was going to interact with them, she needed to do it safely, so she wouldn't hurt them and they wouldn't react poorly. You stepped so you were almost between the girl and the rabbits and knelt down, setting the harnesses next to you on the ground. "Hello," you said. "My name is Y/N. What's yours?"

She looked at you with wide brown eyes. "Tilda."

"Do you like rabbits?" You asked, feeling a soft smile creep across your lips. This girl was adorable. She nodded, and looked back at the Rhosgobels. "I do too," you said. "These are Rhosgobel rabbits. They're the fastest creatures I know. This one," you settled a gentle hand on the back of the nearest rabbit, "is Twig." The rabbit turned his head at your touch and nudged your hand. You scratched his face, studying Tilda's expression. "Would you like to pet him?"

The girl nodded and scuttled closer, reaching out a grubby hand to the rabbit's fur. "He's so soft," she whispered in awe, petting Twig's back in tiny, gentle strokes. Twig chattered his teeth in a rabbit purr, his huge head in your hand, and you hummed at the comforting feeling.

"Well, who is she, then?" A dwarf asked loudly from across the room. You took one last look at Tilda to make sure she would be all right with the rabbits before standing and making your way to the table. The dwarves were still seated, clutching mugs of varying fullness and studying you. You gulped, meeting the eyes of the blond dwarf you remembered well from the encounter at Mirkwood. His eyes were an impossible blue, and they watched you with intensity, but something humorous hovered behind them.

You tore your gaze from him and sighed, addressing the group. "I'm Y/N," you said, not waiting for Bard to introduce you. It seemed he was disinclined anyway, from the tilt of his head and the pull of his brows over his eyes. "Gandalf sent me to join Thorin's company."

"What? Impossible!" Sputtered one of the dwarves, whose hat was almost as wide as his shoulders. "We've already got fourteen in the company. We don't need any more. And no girls, for that matter."

The dwarf with dark hair and very little beard just watched you solemnly, exhaustion lining his pale face with purple shadows. He did not look well. The other dwarf, with voluminous gray hair and something like a funnel pressed to one ear, hummed speculatively. You tried to fight the panic rising in your chest. It seemed your fears on the way to Laketown might not be far from the truth.

"Let's give her a chance," the blond one said, blue eyes still fixed on you. "She may prove useful." His gaze finally shifted to the other dwarves. "You remember what we thought when Gandalf first introduced us to Bilbo."

"Aye," said the dwarf in the hat. "Well, you have a point there, but I still say we don't need another."

"Please," you said quietly. "I want to help. Gandalf said I could, especially since I have helped already."

"What, now?" The gray-haired dwarf sat up straighter. "Lass, what do you mean?"

You told them of your encounter with Bilbo in Mirkwood, of distracting the elves, of watching them fall in barrels into the river below.

"I wonder that Bilbo did not tell us," the blond dwarf mused.

"It is not as if he had much time, between the orcs and Bard, here," the gray dwarf retorted, jerking a thumb at Bard, who snorted derisively. It seemed there was not much love between the man and these dwarves, though he gave them shelter.

"So, will you have her, or no? I'd like to know whether or not I'll have her and her creatures under my roof," Bard spoke roughly, eyeing the dwarves.

The gray one shrugged. "If Gandalf sent her, she may be worth it. What do you say, lads?" He looked to the two dark dwarves and the blond one. The dark dwarf in the hat shrugged and spread his hands.

"Another pair of hands might be..." the sickly looking dwarf spoke, trailing off with a grin to the blond one, "handy." The blond one snorted and thwacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"I suppose that's it, then," said the dwarf in the hat. "Welcome to the company, Y/N."

"You'll make us a proper even fifteen," said the blond dwarf, grinning at you. Apparently his attempt at humor fell flat, and the other three dwarves rolled their eyes at him.

You smiled in relief and sank to the bench on the other side of the table. "Thank you," you breathed. "Oh!" You remembered the contract in your pouch. "I have this," you said, pulling it out and sliding it across the table to them.

The blond one took it and opened it, inspecting the scroll with raised eyebrows. "It would have been easier if we'd known you had this from the beginning, lass." He looked up at you with his blue eyes, and you blushed.

"I forgot I had it, in the rush of things."

"Well, Sigrid," Bard said, turning to his oldest daughter with a sigh, "it seems we'll have another for supper. Do we have enough?"

She smiled gently. "We'll make it work, Da. And Bain can go gather a few more potatoes, if we need them."

Bard patted her cheek with a soft smile. "Good girl." He turned around and called, "Bain!" His son shot up from the floor on the other side of the house, sending the Rhosgobel rabbits scurrying into the nearest corners. "Go find more potatoes and carrots, if you can," Bard said, and the boy darted out the door, letting it slam shut behind him.

You went over to the Rhosgobels, feeling guilty that they had been frightened by the boy's sudden movements and Bard's shouting. "Come here, you wee things," you crooned quietly, crossing your legs in front of you. "It's all right." The rabbits, after a solid few moments of watching you warily from their corners, hopped over to you and sniffed your upturned palms on your knees. You smiled and petted their heads. "Much better," you whispered as they settled around you.

Tilda sat on the couch, watching you pet the rabbits with wide eyes. You smiled at her, enjoying seeing someone else enjoy the Rhosgobels almost as much as you did.

"It seems we've got ourselves a rabbit whisperer," said one of the dwarves still at the table. You thought it was one of the dark-haired ones. "Perhaps Gandalf sent her so that we'd have more meat for our stew." You winced at the joke. Though you knew people ate rabbits, you preferred them alive and hopping to in your stew. You loved the Rhosgobels too much to consider anything else. From behind you, the same dwarf mumbled, "ow, Fee, that hurt."

Well, at least it seemed there would be no rabbit stew for the evening meal.

A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for the reads and the votes! Passed 150 reads last week, which was a big deal. I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far! I know the romance is pretty slow as of yet, but there's good stuff coming, I promise! And do you get the title now? Haha :)

As always, thank you so much for reading. Please tell me what you think with a comment or two, and vote if you enjoyed the chapter!
--RA

P.S. Can you tell I love rabbits? The Rhosgobels just didn't get enough love in the movies (neither did Fili, but we're not bitter about that at all...) and I couldn't resist the opportunity to use them. They had a pretty big part in this chapter, but they'll switch from background to foreground through the chapters (in case you non-rabbit lovers were worried). (Also sorry for the billion-word A/N... I got carried away)