A Tale of Time

Chapter 17: Brothers and Bears

Chapter 17: Brothers and Bears

As Gailien had promised Thorin, she brought her things down to the Dwarven camp, satisfied with her short rest from them. She awaits with Balin and Bilbo as the Dwarves are presumable still at their bath.

Bilbo is babbling effusively about his pipe-weed which famously originates from the Shire. Gailien listens intently out of politeness, never having found an interest in the topic but he talks with such enthusiasm that Gailien does find herself roped in. It was first grown by a Hobbit named Tobold Hornblower, and ever since, the Shire has been in production as it became more popular. He shares some with Balin who tries it, nodding in approval.

"That is quite nice," he notes. Behind them, there is the heavy shuffling of unmistakably Dwarven feet. Gailien looks over her shoulder, smiling as the clean Dwarves start settling back in the camp, shredded of their large coats but at least now have their tunics on. Standing, she leaves the Hobbit and older Dwarf to discuss their pipes as she worms her way through their bodies until she finds the brothers.

"It's nice to not smell two weeks' worth of dirt and grime anymore," she chortles. Fili tugs on his overcoat, checking that all his knives are still in place.

"Yes, we had a lovely bath down at this fountain we found," he says.

"Oh, I saw," she intones. "You Dwarves have no sense of modesty." The brothers laugh wildly and Kili even slaps her back.

"You should have joined us," he teases. Gailien narrows her eyes playfully, slapping the Dwarf's chest in return. "Would have made our morning even better."

"I saw you all well enough from far away," she snorts. "I don't wish to see it all again up close. I'm truly not trying to match names to bodies. Thankfully, it was all just a blur of figures." At that moment, Bombur walks past and she eyes him with a shrivelled nose. "Except for a few who I can identity from a league away."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it," Fili joins in the teasing with a wide smirk.

"I enjoy the knowledge that you ruined Lindir's morning," she quips with a forward-tilted head. "You desecrated his favourite place. And as much as I enjoy his friendship, he said some things that have probably earned that tainted sight."

"Eh, those Elves could sit and watch for all we care," Kili grunts, now pulling on his own leather coat.

"I'm sure that's what they want to spend their morning doing," she drawls out with a slight eye roll but keeps the humour in her tone. "What are the plans for the rest of the day?"

"Kili and I were talking about exploring," Fili says. "But Thorin doesn't want us wandering off too far in case we need to leave. It would be better if we had someone who knows the grounds well."

Gailien doesn't miss the hint in his tone and words. She shrugs with a small nod, nothing else better to do. "Sure, I know of a few areas we can look around. It's not terribly interesting but there are a few sights worth searching for nearby."

"We've got nothing else to do," Kili agrees. "I'll just let Dwalin know that we're wandering off. Don't need Thorin up our hinds about sneaking away or something." The Dwarf hobbles away to the warrior. Once Kili returns, Gailien takes the pleasure of leading them around the halls of Rivendell. They wander around for a while, mostly talking about nonsense topics. They take more interest in the conversation than what is around them, but she does point out some pretty views every now and then.

"This is nothing compared to the halls of Erebor," says Kili as they wander through a large hall with decorative columns. It has the typical Elvish design with curvatures and smoothness.