The Hobbit: An Unexpected Discovery

Chapter Nineteen: Friendly Advice

Beorn, who loomed above his present company, Gandalf included, smiled thankfully as Fae, who had been assisting the shapeshifter to accommodate to the various dwarves that now filled his home, handed him a pitcher of milk that she had just fetched from the garden.

"Thank you, mellonnen." He said sweetly as Fae nodded in response and returned to her seat next to Thorin. Beorn then turned back to the dwarves in front of him, his smile slipping from his face, before pouring the milk into Fili's cup as he eyed Thorin out of the corner of his eye.

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield." He started causing all heads to snap to him. "Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?" Thorin looked at Fae shocked only to see her eyes facing the table.

"You know of Azog? How?" he asked as Serethiel shared a look with her cousin.

"My people were the first to live in the mountains before the Orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved." Beorn said, pouring milk into Kili's cup, revealing the remnants of manacles that decorated his wrist.

"Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him." Beorn finished causing Bilbo's head to snap up in shock.

"There are others like you?" he asked, fascination clear in his voice. The skin changer, however, did not look as thrilled by the prospect and instead averted his gaze.

"Once, there were many." He muttered sadly.

"And now?" Bilbo asked, looking confused when Serethiel, who was seated next to him, placed a single hand on his shoulder and shook her head sadly.

"Sí, tar na-onlime er. (Now, there is only one)." Fae muttered sadly watching as the great man continued to busy himself with some other task, as the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf looked on in an solemn silence.

"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?" he asked, looking at the elves who nodded in reply.

"Before Durin's Day falls, yes," Serethiel replied causing the bear to raise his eyebrows in surprise, crossing his arms across his chest disapprovingly.

"You are running out of time." He muttered glaring at the two elves as Fae chuckled lightly.

"Tye sinte nin, reven bo lú. (You know me, never on time)." She muttered causing her cousin to nod in agreement and Beorn to shake his head in despair.

"Tye indóme n-etal ana cín her-faire, tye. (You will be late to your own funeral, you)" he joked and Gandalf chuckled as the dwarves looked on confused.

"Sanda. Mal ni indóme vamme n-etal ana sina. Ha na-whime emme otevah linne-ter-Mirkwood. (True. But I will not be late for this. It is why we must go through Mirkwood)" Fae added watching apprehensively as the small smile that had been gracing Beorn's face slipped away and one of fear replaced it causing both girls to gulp loudly. Thorin gazed between the three with furrowed eyebrows, watching with alarm as the elves placed their hands over their weapons. He reached out and placed a hand over hers, a shocked look appearing on his face as she gripped it in response. There was nothing worse than making Beorn scared. When scared he lost all rationality and became a monster that would do anything to survive. His thinking was so distorted. If you were angry with him for borrowing your horse without asking he would react as if you were attacking him with a knife. All the adrenaline in his system made him so strong like he had superhuman muscles. The world was totally black and white for him, everything was either totally fine or a lethal threat, to him there were only those two categories. He was like a firework, either safe and in its box, or exploding.

"A darkness lies upon that forest." He started, his voice coming out several octaves deeper. As he spoke the dwarves stopped talking, stopped moving, stopped breathing and turned to face him. "Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."

"We will take the Elven Road. That path is still safe." Gandalf consoled, realising that without his permission, Faerydae and Serethiel would not be leaving this house. The elves realised it too and so smiled slightly as the man walked around the table, moving to stand behind them.

"Safe? The Wood-Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous. But it matters not." He finished and Thorin turned to face him.

"What do you mean?" he asked

"These lands are crawling with Orcs." Beorn started, moving closer yet to the dwarf prince. "Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." He finished, with a look which could be described only as one of satisfaction as Thorin's eyes widened in shock.

"I don't like dwarves." Beorn continued, causing Fae and Serethiel to stand up and position themselves behind the dwarf prince protectively. "They're greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own."

"You've made your point." Serethiel spat, watching as he picked up a mouse that had been scampering on the table and held it, all the while continuing to approach Thorin who was now also standing with his arms crossed across his chest. Beorn suddenly came to a stop, still stroking the mouse gently and looking down his nose at Thorin.

"But Orcs I hate more. What do you need?"