The Undecided Title Of Sara Miller *Hobbit Fanfiction* (Thorin/OC)

Chapter 34: Teddy Bear Picnic

In which there is a teddy bear picnic.

Sara stared up at Beorn not sure she had heard correctly, her previous unease about the queerness of the night forgotten in the shock of his question.

"When will the battle at Erebor take place little Sara?" asked Beorn again, his big brown eyes fixed on her face."

"W... what?"

"When will the Battle of Five Armies take place?" he asked for the third time, never looking away. "I wish to fight the Goblin's with you when the time comes, as will much of my kin. We would exact our revenge." Everything inside her mind was careening wildly on a collision course with sanity.

"How do you know about that?" she asked shakely, trying unsuccessfully to pull her arm from his grip. "Who told you about that?" His eyes searched her face wanly.

"So it is true," he said, turning to look at Tom who lay in the dirt several feet away. "You were correct."

"Who was correct," she asked, voice quavering. "How do you know about that? Did Nori or Gandalf tell you? Have you been spying on me?" He released her arm and stood.

"I hardly call it spying when you tell someone openly," said the giant. Tom came to sit at Beorn's side, his old brown eyes looking at her fixedly.

"I never told you any of that," she insisted. "How did you know?" He rested one of his large callused hands on the dog's head.

"Tom."

"What?"

"Tom told me," repeated Beorn. "He was there when you told the wizard, and he was there when you told Mr. Bilbo Bunny Baggins."

"But Tom... He's just..." she sputtered.

"Just a dog," finished Beorn, raising an eyebrow. "Tom is much more than a simple dog. He very old, and has accrued a wealth of wisdom to match that age. He is, in short, aware."

Sara could not believe her ears. An intelligent dog? One who could communicate complex ideas to Beorn? But the more she thought about it the more she supposed she should have seen it coming. Even in the book Beorn's animals had been odd. They were said to perform work around the house, walk on their hind legs, and even communicate with the giant, or at very least he with they. Not only that, but the old dog had always seemed more cognizant than he ought to. She rubbed her right hand, remembering the way he had acted when they first encountered one another. Had he recognized the symbol on her hand even then? It was as if Beorn had read her mind.

"I did not know the meaning of the mark on your hand, although Tom did to some extent. I am much more familiar with the scars on your arms. I have seen them before on others of my kind. It was your marks from Azog and Tom that ultimately convinced me to let you all stay and hear you out." Sara was so busy absorbing Beorn's words that she didn't notice Tom had moved till his warm tongue caressed her fingertips. She looked down at him with a new appreciation.

"He can talk to you?" she asked, scratching behind his ears. "How?"

"Not in a way you would understand," said Beorn. " But he can communicate with me well enough."

"And he told you about the upcoming battle?" She looked up at him shrewdly. The book said Beorn would arrive near the tail end of the fight and be the one to carry Thorin away from the battlefield... unfortunately not in time to save the dwarf's life. "Kin, are there more of you, skinchangers I mean? And why do you want to know more about the battle?"

"Even I have family little Sara. My kind have suffered greatly at the hands of the Goblins. They drove us from our home in the mountains, killing many, and if given the chance we would take our revenge on them and reclaim our mountain home."