Aviel

Chapter 5

The hobbits home was soon full of sweet smells of freshly baked seed cake and dhwarfs went in turns going back and forth to collect more and more ale. I was amazed at how much each dhwarf could consume, and after 10 pints was shocked that they were only just starting to get drunk. Their beards were graveyard's of leftover food that didn't make its way into the mouth. I sat at the head of the table, amused, taking in their happy faces, their smiles fighting back the years of war and rage they'd been through. It wasn't until after ten o'clock that I decided to take action and call them to order. I slowly raised out of the tiny, hobbit sized seat. This captured Dwalin's attention, who was closest to me. Soon, all the other dhwarfs stopped their alcohol consumption and looked at me, directly in the eye. Bilbo was still stuck somewhere in the pantry, trying to clean it and get rid of the disgusting smell the dhwarf's had produced.

"My dear friends," I started, raising a full pint. The dhwarfs mirrored my action shouted with glee, spilling their drink all over the table and themselves. They quieted down after a minute, allowing me to continue, "Tonight we feast like kings, and drink like we have no limits. Let us toast to our brothers, fathers, friends and sons who have died for us, so that we may still be breathing today. I treat each and every one of you like my own father, who sadly cannot be with us, yet can die with pride for protecting my mother, Kili and Fili from an orc attack on our town."

" Dwalin, you have spent countless hours chasing my brothers and I around the house, trying to get us to sleep while mother was away. You were the man who taught me how to throw an axe and use my whole body in combat instead of just my arms and legs. Balin, you have taught me so much about the amazing history of the dhwarfs that I will treasure with me forever. You are so proud to be a dhwarf and to have fought alongside the line of Durin, and I hope that I am no disappointment to you. Ori, who would read me my bedtime stories, some of which you wrote yourself. You taught me how to read and write, which are now my favourite past times. Nori, you have taught me to always look at my surroundings, everywhere I go, as you did when you were the only dhwarf to notice a missing Bilbo in the Goblin Tunnels. Dori, you may annoy me to no end nearly all the time, but you keep me in line and I can't thank you enough for doing that. Bifur, I may not understand anything you say, but you have made me laugh until my sides hurt, showing me that I can find the funny side in something, without saying anything. Bomber, you are the only dhwarf who can eat just as much as me...just. You are an amazing cook and never downsize portions of food. And who can forget kind Bofur. I have known you my whole life and you have only grown nicer over the years. You've shown me to look at the good side of someone, and focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses. Oin, you, just like Balin, have seen and witnessed a great deal more than most of us here have. I come to you for signs, what the future will hold for me, whether good or bad. And lastly Gloin, you have stuck with this company through thick and thin and have been bled dry of your money from it. Your son, Gimli, has become one of my greatest friends and you treat me as one of your own children."

"With all of your amazing personalities, and the things all of you have taught me, I know that I can go on to lead the Dhwarfs of Erebor to do great things, and I hope that all of you will be beside me along the way, and I promise, I will protect each and everyone of you, with everything I have."

As I finished my list of compliments to each dhwarf, I sat back down and stared out to a 10 sets of teary dhwarf eyes. I breathed a shaky sigh of relief as smiled a nervous smile.

"Now, who's ready for some dinner?"