Dwarrowdam Warrior

The Bear-Man

Nell woke up the next morning and stretched. Surprisingly she had slept all through the night, no nightmares and no interruptions. She didn't even think she had moved. Opening her eyes she noticed that she was still laying on her makeshift bed, but she wasn't using Fili as a pillow anymore, nor was Kili's warmth at her back. She was however covered in their cloaks. Standing up, she laid them over her arm to carry them. She could hear talking in the other room and decided to follow it. As she walked in none of the others turned to look at her. They were all too busy staring out a window.

With a frown she began moving closer to try and see what they were looking at. Seeing the extremely large hairy man outside cutting wood her eyes went wide. She hadn't realized that when Gandalf called Beorn a great strong man that he was going to be so large. “So that's the bear-man?” She asked causing the rest of the company to finally notice her. “Aye lass it is. We've been watching him for a while waiting on you and Bilbo to wake up,” Bofur told her. She looked at him curiously not understanding why they had waited on her and the hobbit unless it was because they wanted to introduce everyone at once.

“You and Bilbo will be coming with me to speak to him. The rest are to come out in pairs while Bombur comes out last as he is quite large and counts as two,” Gandalf informed her. Nell crossed her arms and looked at the wizard unhappily. “Bombur maybe bigger than the rest of us, but that was very rude of you to say. I don't like the fact you made fun of my friend. Apologize,” she demanded. Just because he was a wizard and they needed him didn't mean she was going to let him getting away with calling her friend fat. Gandalf gave a huff and turned to Bombur. “I am sorry, but we still stick to the plan,” he said. He paused for a moment. “Wait for my signal,” he told them.

With a roll of her eyes she followed Gandalf out the back door to meet Beorn. She stood beside him and kept her mouth shut for the moment. “I'm Gandalf, Gandalf the grey.”

“Never heard of him.”

“Maybe you heard of my college. Radagast the Brown.”

Beorn turned to look at them and seeing Nell and Bilbo he raised his axe. “Who is this little fellow and lady?”

“This is Bilbo Baggins of the shire.”

“He's not a dwarf is he?”

“No, no. He's a hobbit from a respectable family. Unimpeachable reputation.”

“And her?”

“I'm Nell.”

Gandalf didn't give her a chance to say more. “We wanted to thank you for your hospitality. I'm sure you noticed we sought refuge in your home last night.” Gandalf shifted nervously causing Nell to grin. Oh this was amusing! The wizard actually feared the man. “I did. May I ask why?” Beorn eyed them suspiciously. “Well we've had a rough time of it from goblins in the mountains,” Gandalf replied. Beorn sat his large axe down.

“What did you go near goblins for? Stupid thing to do.”

Nell scoffed. “Trust me it wasn't by choice. A stupid storm, which turned out not to be a storm, forced us to seek a cave and then the floor went bye-bye and then goblins. Nasty little creatures,” she snarled.

Beorn looked at her curiously trying to figure her out. “You're built like a dwarf, but you don't look like a dwarf. What are you?”

“I'm a dwarf. I just never ended up with a beard and before you decide to hack me to pieces know I'm not like most dwarves,” she said hoping to keep her head.

Gandalf moved his hands about as he spoke. “It's true she isn't. She gives things away without wanting anything in return and she always tries to help others in need. But I must admit she isn't the only dwarf in our company.” He smiled sheepishly.