Beorn's Story

Chapter 3 (False Assumptions)

The picture on the side is when Beorn and Gandalf hear Bilbo waking up.

        Bilbo awoke to the bright, shining sun, and the sweet melody of the birds’ songs. Taking a deep breath of the morning air, Bilbo caught the foul smell of goblins. Jolting up from his bed roll, Bilbo drew Sting from its scabbard. Sting, the sword that slayed monstrous spiders, and protected him from one of his own, turned by the power of a ring. Taking in his surroundings, Bilbo realized he was all alone. He quickly ran over to Gandalf’s bed roll to make sure Gandalf wasn’t still sleeping.  When he was sure there was no one was with him he opened his mouth to call for his friends. However there was a loud roar, and a pain filled screech in the distance. As fast as a cheetah Bilbo ran towards the noise. Leaves, crunching under his feet, branches breaking as he rushed through them, hurrying to reach his friends. Bilbo flew out of the shrubbery, to see his friend fighting off a pack of goblins. Beorn had shifted into his bear form, and Gandalf was annihilating goblins left and right with his sword, Beater. Swiftly, Bilbo joined the battle, and began to dispatch the goblins. In a matter of moments, the twenty or so goblins, were down to just one. However this goblin was no ordinary goblin, he has a past with one of the heroes.

        Bilbo was about to kill the last goblin when Beorn yelled out “ No! He is mine!” Giving Beorn a quick look, he backed away from the goblin, and went to Gandalf’s side. Bilbo was about to ask what was going on, when Gandalf shot him a look. The look children get when they are being told to shut up by their parents. The goblin smirked at Beorn and stalked closer. Beorn crouched down, and released a ferocious growl. The two began to circle each other, Beorn completely focused, the goblin taunting Beorn. “What’s the goblin doing?” Bilbo asked Gandalf. Bilbo had never seen someone take a battle to the death so lightly. He especially did not expect for someone to taunt their opponent. “He is trying to get Beorn furious, because rage blinds a person.” Gandalf stated calmly. Bilbo turned his head away from Gandalf and watched as Beorn pounced on the goblin. The goblin stood no chance as Beorn viciously tore into him. First one arm was gone, then an ear, and then a leg. Bilbo had to look away from the horrendous sight, or else he would not be able to hold his dinner. The sounds of bones breaking, and skin being shredded filled the air. However the worst sound was the goblin’s haunting chuckles that would not stop. Until finally there was a loud crack, and there was silence.

Turning around Bilbo was horrified at the sight that met his eyes. He had never seen Beorn this savage, except for at the battle two months ago. The body of the goblin wasn’t recognizable, all that was left was crushed bones, and lots of blood. Drawing his gaze up from the body, Bilbo saw pants, now splattered with red dots, a once white shirt dyed red, and murderous, but haunted eyes. Bilbo opened his mouth to ask why Beorn would do such a thing, but no words would come out. Beorn seeing the terrified look in Bilbo’s eyes, turn and ran. A long, sorrowful roar filled the air.

Bilbo once again turned to ask Gandalf a question, when he saw Gandalf wondering back to the camp. “Aren’t we going to go after him?” Questioned Bilbo, as he struggled to catch up with Gandalf’s long strides. “No.” Gandalf responded shortly. “Why not?” Bilbo asked, scratching his head. “Because he needs time to calm down and shift back to his human form. When he is ready he will come.” Gandalf responded with a sigh. To Bilbo it seemed as if Gandalf had dealt with this before. Then Bilbo realized it could be possible, he didn’t know how they had met. Not noticing Bilbo had stopped Gandalf continues to walk, leaving Bilbo to think about how he was going to ask. He knew people’s past are very secret, and sometimes there is a good reason for that, and Bilbo didn’t want to cross the line. With a groan Bilbo looked up, only to see he was again alone. “Really?” Bilbo asked himself. “This is the third time.” Shaking his head and himself, Bilbo continue down the path, back towards the camp.

The next morning Bilbo woke up to the sound of his friends talking. Not wanting it to appear as if he was eavesdropping, he made a show of waking up. He stretched as far as he could, and made a loud groaning noise. Once his friends realized he was awake their voices stopped. “Well I guess I am not wanted in this conversation.” Bilbo thought to himself as he got up, before sighing with pleasure when he heard his back crack. Bilbo observed his surroundings, before it clicked in his mind that there were two voices talking, meaning Beorn had came back. He sprinted across the camp, as fast as his little legs would allow him, before tackling his friend in a hug. He hadn’t realized before today how close he had become to his companions. Bilbo held his position for a minute, before he stepped back with a large smile on his face. Beorn’s  surprise showed all over his face. His eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth was opening and closing, but no words were coming out. Gandalf looked at his two friends with a content smile, before clapping his hands, catching both of their attention. “I know your brotherly feelings towards each other may surprise you, however we should get going.” Gandalf said with a smirk. Bilbo flushed a deep red, from embarrassment, unlike Beorn who just growled at Gandalf. Both men stalked off to their reserved areas, before packing up their supplies. Once everything was packed, and there once homey camp was just dirt beside the path, they turned around and continued on.