Baptized in Blood and Flame

Chapter 8: A Second or Third Beginning, Depending on How You Count

Third Age: 2941

The Shire seemed a nice enough place, if the few halflings Tauriel saw seemed to stare a bit. Tauriel was used to being a spectacle, though; unusually tall, even for an elf, large ears, bright red hair, with a sword longer than the Shirefolk were tall, she had expected to be a bit off-putting.

Staring was about the worst a hobbit would do, as Bilbo Baggins well knew. (Except for Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, but they had agreed to put the spoons behind them for now). He had to put up with a great many stares, growing up. They all said he was odd, like his mother. And while he and Belladonna both had always maintained that there was no shame in being odd, he did his best to be a respectable hobbit.

He took walks around Hobbiton, grew prize-winning tomatoes, spent many a long afternoon smoking Old Toby with Hamfast Gamgee. Most importantly, he loved food. So it was an understandable shock to him when several dwarves showed up at his smial (uninvited he might add), and began to pillage his pantry. 

Four dwarves, to be precise. In his dining room. With his food. Rearranging his chairs. Pouring his ale. It was all Bilbo could do to keep from fainting when he heard the doorbell ring again.

"No, no, no. T-there's nobody home. If this is someone's idea of a joke-" His spluttering tirade was cut short by at least seven dwarves piling onto his mat. Though, it was hard to tell just how many there were with how much they were all squirming around trying to get out from under one another.

Thus the ever-dignified Thorin Oakenshield made his entrance to Bag End. Though it was hardly noticeable, as he was trapped under Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur, rendering him nearly invisible and quite flabbergasted. 

Behind the large pile, there was someone who answered as many questions as he raised by being there. 

"You seem a bit upset, my dear Bilbo."

"U-upset!" Bilbo pulled Gandalf aside to avoid making a scene. "Who are these people? Why are they in my house? I told you this morning, I want nothing to do with whatever adventure you were on about." He took a deep breath to recover from the rant, ignoring how something in his heart had sank as he yet again said no to an adventure.

"To answer your questions, I merely volunteered your home for an urgent meeting of theirs- Ah, Faerelon, let me introduce you to our host." Gandalf ushered forwards a tall, previously-unnoticed woman who had entered with him. "This is a dear friend of mine, who I have known for many more times than you have been alive. She's part of our merry group, perhaps you might show her to the fire while the rest are settled?" Gandalf's tone left no room for argument, so he did as he was asked.

After several subsequent minutes of attempting to control the loud band occupying his kitchen and dining room, he joined the woman by the fire (trying desperately to remember her name), only to find that she had pulled down her hood to reveal intricately braided red hair, and two tall, pointed ears. Finding out that there was an elf in his smial was hardly the most surprising of the current events, so he hardly paid any mind; though it did explain the grace with which she moved, and silence rivaling a hobbit! She was easily as tall as Gandalf, likely reaching about 6 feet, but infinitely more graceful. Most intriguingly, every part of her gave off a soft, pearly, glow. The one thing that did itch at his mind was that she looked vaguely familiar.

Once everyone was finally gathered around the table to the food Bilbo had prepared once he had accepted his new company, the rowdy group proved to be no more reserved when stationary.

Eggs and potatoes flew, ale splashed over the floor, and his poor honey-baked ham was all but pulverized. At the very least, the ones at the head of the table had some manners. Thorin, the one with grey-streaked hair who the others had introduced as a king (which had been a rather large shock), was more effective than Bilbo himself at crowd-management.