In a Father's Embrace

Chapter 13

"I miss the wizard," Thraya grumbled.

It hadn't been too many days since they left Rivendell but Thraya was acutely noticing the lack of intelligent conversation.

"You and me both," Bilbo sighed. "I mean to say, what are we going to do if we were to run into orcs again?"

Thraya chuckled and sat up on her bedroll. "You're in a company of experienced dwarven warriors. We'll survive. You're lucky you only said that to me. If one of the others had heard that, they would probably be quite insulted."

"Oh," the hobbit said meekly. "I-I'm sorry. I meant no offense."

Thraya smiled. "And I took none. After all, I have similar worries. This is my first ever adventure. But I trust my father and his kin to handle themselves. And we did make it out of the last encounter without any casualties."

"You held them off yes, but..." Bilbo let his thought trail off.

"But if Gandalf hadn't shown us the passage to Rivendell, we wouldn't have been so lucky," Thraya finished. "You aren't wrong. But that's not my complaint. That isn't why I miss Gandalf."

"Oh?" Bilbo looked rather surprised. "Then wh-what is it?"

"He's the only one who can tame them," she said with a vague gesture to the rest of the encampment. "Don't get me wrong, I love my family. And the others are growing on me too, even if I am a bit intimidated by them. But...they are a bit much."

Oh," Bilbo said uncomfortably. "Well, uh, I suppose that makes sense. But...well, if I may be so bold, why are you intimidated by them? Weren't you raised with dwarves?"

Thraya let out a small chuckle. "I was raised by a dwarf. But I was always rather shy among them. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to tell when you don't exactly belong. I, of course, met Thorin's nephews and we got along fairly well, and Balin was around frequently. But the rest of them? They're intimidating, battle-hardened dwarves with a not-so-subtle animosity towards elvenkind. Well, like I said, they're growing on me. But every now and then, one needs the conversation of someone with a similar mental capacity. You're not bad, you know."

"Oh, well...I, um..." Bilbo stammered, flustered. "I just...Gandalf's the only one who will even bother keeping me alive. The others just think I'm a nuisance."

"I don't," Thraya said without any hesitation. "I have no idea what goes on in dwarven heads most of the time, but I think I can confidently say that I am not the only one. You aren't at all a nuisance. You saved us from the trolls. I tried to stall them and almost got myself killed. But you, you kept them busy almost all night!"

"I suppose when we get to the mountain I can try that again," Bilbo said glumly. "Talk Smaug into becoming a giant stone dragon."

"It's a long journey," Thraya said dismissively. "By the time we get there, you'll be a warrior yourself."

"W-warrior?" Bilbo demanded. "Me? N-no way! I...I'm not made for battles! I'm a hobbit from the Shire!"

"Gandalf sees more than that in you," Thraya assured him. "And I do too. How many other hobbits that you know would have had the guts to stand up to the trolls like that?"

Bilbo opened his mouth and closed it a couple times.

"Here," she said, getting to her feet. "Grab your sword. I'm going to teach you the basics. Soon you'll be a legendary orc-slayer!"

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly..." he tried to protest.

Thraya ignored him, dragged him to his feet and drew her sword. "Come now, Master Burglar. Surely you want to prove them wrong about you? You're more than they give you credit for."  She walked a bit away from the rest of the company, Bilbo trailing hesitantly behind her.