Pure of Heart & Sharp of Tongue

An Ode to Pocket Handkerchiefs

Bilbo had decided not to come but I still held out hope that he would change his mind. So when the dwarves started a bet on whether he would come or not, I bet 20 coins that he would.

We hadn't gotten far before I heard Bilbo's voice shouting for us to wait.

"I signed it" He exclaimed proudly handing the contract to Balin who examined his signature.

"It all seems to be in order" he said "Welcome to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield"

I smiled at Bilbo who was now seated rather uncomfortably on Myrtle, a cute little sorrel mare. Pouches started flying through the air and I caught one aimed at me.

"What's that all about?" Bilbo asked curiously.

"We were just betting on if you would come or not"

Bilbo nodded and sneezed
"Oh! All this horse hair" He mumbled searching through his pockets. "Wait! Stop! We have to go back!" He yelled "I forgot my handkerchief"

The dwarves grumbled at him and Bofur ripped a piece off his shirt and threw it to him.

"Here use this"

Bilbo caught it with a disgusted look. I laughed and urged my pony forward so I was riding next to Dwalin who was mounted on a white pony. I pulled an apple out of my bag and bit into it juice running down my chin. He glanced at me and I grinned wiping the juice from my chin before reaching into my bag and handing him an apple.

Our fingers brushed together and I sucked in a breath as warmth crept into my face, his cheeks were equally pink and he quickly looked away fixing his eyes on the back of Thorin's head. We rode together in an awkward silence.

That night I was sitting with my back against a boulder staring into the fire when I heard a terrible screeching.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked fearfully.

"Orcs" Kili answered gravely.

"Throatcutters" Fili added "there'll be dozens of them out there"

"They strike in the wee hours quick and quiet" Kili finished "no screams just lots of blood"

They both chuckled at the fear on Bilbo's face.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin asked angrily "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it" Kili said looking abashed.

"No you didn't, you know nothing of the world"

Thorin stalked off and stood with his back toward us looking off over the cliff. I sighed and lay down pulling my blanket over me, tuning out Balin's voice as he told Thorin's story. I drifted off exhausted from riding all day.