𝘼 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙁𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙁𝙤𝙧 || 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐢 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧

Chapter 3: Thorin's Arrival & Contracts

"Gandalf, I thought you said this place would be easy to find... I lost my way, twice. I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door."  Thorin explained as he walked inside the house. 

Mr. Baggins walked out of the crowd that filled the doorways to speak, "Mark? There's no mark on that door-" 

He continued to whine about his door while I rolled my eyes and looked at the young dwarven brothers, Fili smirked while Kili was trying to hold in a laugh. 

"Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company: Thorin Oakenshield. " Gandalf said as he watched the two look over each other, they both seemed very intrigued.

Thorin looked almost exactly the same since I last saw him aside from his now salt-and-pepper colored hair and the faint wrinkles on his face. He seemed to be the same man that I was raised by, but you could tell that he had faced many hardships since we went our separate ways.

The dwarf walked around Mr. Baggins and examined him further, "So, this is the Hobbit... " 

I whispered to Fili and Kili behind me, "Oh, this is about to get good. " We snickered as Thorin interrogated Mr. Baggins

"Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting? " Thorin asked. 

The hobbit seemed confused. "Pardon me? " 

"Ax or sword? What's your weapon of choice? " 

"Well, I do have some skill at conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant. " Some of the others quietly laughed while I shook my head slightly, Mr. Baggins is going to have to learn a lot in order to keep up with the rest of us... 

Thorin stopped walking around and said, "Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar. "

As everyone was making their way to the dining room, I spoke up. "Hello, Thorin. " The company stopped and looked toward us. They all have seen him a few times since I left because they traveled with him while I haven't laid eyes on him since I left home all those years ago...

Thorin turned around and looked at me, with a soft smile he walked forwards and put his hands on my shoulders while he looked over me just like everyone else had already done... "Look at you... Gandalf told me that you had grown to be a sturdy young lady. " 

I smiled, "Well I learned from the best. " 

There was a slightly mischievous glimmer in his eye as looked to the hobbit, "Watch and learn, Mr. Baggins... "

It seemed that it was my turn to be interrogated as he turned his attention back to me and the empty holsters. "Have you done much fighting since I last saw you all those years ago? " 

"I fight when necessary, but I prefer to stay out of trouble unless it comes looking for me. "

 Thorin nodded as the others snickered at my comment, "What do you fight with? " 

"My short sword, daggers, and bow. " 

He raises his eyebrows at my mentioning of a bow, "And finally, what style of attack do you prefer? " 

I pondered for a moment before answering. "If I'm alone with a few targets, I prefer to stay in the shadows and use my bow. But if I'm in a group, I'll go after the targets that are coming after me and kill them if I must whilst looking out for my companions. " 

Gandalf and a few of the others smile and nod while Thorin smiles in approval, and looks to the dumbfounded hobbit, "That, is how one properly answers, Mr. Baggins. " 

Everyone laughed again as Mr. Baggins awkwardly shuffled away and they all walked to the dining room again while Thorin and I stayed in the foyer. He smirks and asks, "I'm surprised to find that you stepped down from a spear to a bow, Reyna. "