Dog Days

Ch 1

Bilbo considered himself a good host. He liked to think that he had lots of patience for social gatherings. However, he did not like when said gatherings were unexpected. Especially when the guest just showed up at an unholy hour of night with ravenous appetites that seemed to have no end.

Thirteen dwarves, thirteen nearly barbaric, heavy, hairy men lumbering about his quaint Hobbit Hole, ravaging his kitchen of all the food and wine available. And still they were hungry! Damn creatures were worse than his relatives! The image of Lobelia screeching hellishly as she made off with even more of Bilbo's spoons made him think again.

No, not that bad.

Bilbo was certain his guests would shatter every bit of glass in his home, including his mother's lovely china, but they didn't. Not even one scratch. He was actually quite amazed. Amazed that the house seemed untouched, and amazed that the dwarves actually made him smile about it, when Bilbo tried his absolute hardest to remain angry.

The amazement didn't end there though, and soon Bilbo found that he'd come to travel with the dwarves on their quest to do what again-? Oh yes. Reclaim their mountain. From a dragon. With a sigh, Bilbo rolled his shoulders, wondering how in the world he even had control over his own two feet. He'd always said that if you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to.

Today it seemed he would be swept of an an unexpected journey farther than anything he could ever imagine.

The dwarves were a hardy bunch. It was probably due to the fact that the lot hadn't really had any place to live for the good majority of their lives. That, and they probably lifted and threw around trees for sport. Seriously, just by bending over, Bilbo got a much unwanted view of one of the Durin's rippling muscles.

So he wasn't quite sure why he was surprised when a huge wooden crate seemingly fell from the sky onto Thorin's shoulders, flattening him into the ground. And he was unharmed.

The disgruntled Dwarf King heaved the offending furniture off of himself, scowling like a badger. "Break it down." Was all he said, shrugging off any hands of worry with a curt nod. Bilbo wondered, that if he were in the same situation, would have gotten the chance to even scream before his neck snapped in half?

"Best not to worry about it," Gandalf piped up from beside Bilbo. He jumped, whirling around to face the old wizard. Was he reading his mind? Could he do that? Bilbo wasn't sure he remembered hearing of such a skill the old man possessed.

Gandalf smiled kindly. "Suppose it was good luck the thing didn't land on you, don't you think Mr. Baggins?" Yes, good luck indeed. Bilbo thought with a sniff.

"It's a bit heavy uncle," remarked Fíli, the golden haired dwarf. He pulled at the lock curiously. "It has a lock too. Maybe something important is inside?" His brother, Kíli piped up. "I am also curious. Can we have a look? Please?"

Thorin just grunted, trying to discreetly rub his hip, which Bilbo barely caught from the corner of his eye. Taking this as an invitation, the two young dwarves went wild, grabbing their axes and beating the lock in. It went flying into the grass with a quiet thud.

"Over excited young ones, " Bilbo heard Gandalf quip quietly, to which the hobbit smiled a bit. The two dwarves placed their axes to the side, smiling widely. Their curiosity was awfully contagious, and Bilbo couldn't help but get closer as well, peering over Kíli's shoulder.

"Well go on, open it up!" Fíli encouraged, "can't you see our burglar wants to know what's inside too?" Bilbo decided to disregard the teasing for now. He watched memorized as Kíli carefully opened the top, slowly pushing it away.

Bilbo couldn't stop imagining what might be inside such an odd looking crate. Maybe gold? Or countless exotic gems? Or maybe some sort of lavish silks a lost Lord had cast away for safekeeping?

All of Bilbo's fantastic fantasies ended ever so shortly as terribly cold water rushed out from the top, spilling onto his feet. The crate was tipped over to scatter the contents. Something else brushed against Bilbo's toe, something feeling a lot like a finger.

With a jolt of horror, Bilbo shrieked loudly, scampering backwards clumsily as he shook the wet, dead appendage away from his person. Nauseated, Bilbo sucked in a breath, trying not to make anymore contact with the deceased, shuddering as the image of a sopping mop of (h/c) hair slouched fourth.

It reminded him of when he was only but a young hobbit, naive, and clumsy, a bit more than he was now.

He had found a bag of drowned kittens floating along the lake by Hobbiton. He really wasn't supposed to even leave his home, his mother specifically said not to go past the small village they lived in, but he couldn't help it.

Stories of elves hiding within the darkness of forests called out to him mystically, and young Bilbo found himself stumbling into a chilly body of water, then somehow making it home, and clutching the sodden bag tightly to his chest as he wailed throughout the night, his dear mother holding him gently, rocking him back and forth.

But this wasn't a cat. This a was human, a daughter of man. Thorin's nephews scattered about, pulling the girl up to a sitting position. Her (s/c) cheeks were pale and flushed, her hair draped ungraciously over her bruised features. It seemed she was in some sort of a struggle before being... drowned. But who could have done such a thing?

"Alive!" Bilbo barely registered Fíli call out to the other shocked party members. Thorin rushed over, Bofur at his side. While in his daze, Bilbo had failed to notice that the girl's chest heaved ever so slightly, then a dark mix of water and blood was hurled onto the grass. Frozen, all members of the Company watched as the girl shuddered and coughed, shoulders sagging.

The girl sat up, shrugging off the dwarves at her side, eyes staring forward in a cloudy daze. Her odd clothing stuck to her body like a second skin, her... cleavage the most affected. "Miss, would you tell us who you are and exactly how you've gotten into this situation?" Gandalf asked.

The girl blinked, as if confused. She stood, swaying a bit, then opened her mouth as though she were to answer. Her voice barely made it out of her throat in a quiet whine, then she slumped forward, out cold as her body made contact with the ground before anyone could move catch her.