An Unexpected Tale

[Matsi]

The daughter of a Grey Elf was a rare sight to see outside of the elven lands. The Daughter of a Grey Elf and Warg Elf, or werewolf as they were sometimes called, was an even rarer sight. The daughter of these two creatures, hanging out with Dwarves, well, that was all but unheard of! Yet, there she was, in the company of a Dwarf.

Though she was an elven hybrid, the large Dwarf was still a tad taller than she was, and as far as she knew, he always would be. With the dwarf warrior standing at a "towering" 5'2'' tall, she only stood a mere 4'9''. She often blamed this short stature on her mother's side of her blood line.

Aside from being shorter than the dwarf, Zarriel showed no signs of being a dwarf herself. She was stocky, but her shoulders were not squared like that of a dwarf. Her skin was a creamy color, while her eyes were a deep brown-green in color. Her hair was long and deep brown with streaks of chestnut, but braids and dwarven beads streaked the natural cloak. She wore worn brown and grey clothing with a slightly furry jacket, and a fuzzy hat that covered her elven ears. A sword was strapped to her waist, as were a few daggers in her boots and gauntlets, and a spiked hammer like weapon was strapped to her back.

"Master Dwalin, do you really think this Halfling will help?" She asked as she looked up at the dwarf that had become her mentor and teacher.

The dwarf was stocky with thick arms, thick chest and well... everything about him was like the rocks of the mountains he was born in. He was mostly bald, with a ring of hair around his head, that eventually connected with his thick greying beard on each side of his face. Tattoos covered his bald head, arms and hands, and even his chest. His clothing was similar to Zarriel's, just thicker and more like that of a senior warrior than an apprentice. Hammers were strapped to his back, with a few small blades hidden in his clothing. His eyes were dark and strong, yet a softness was hidden deep within them.

"Ah, I doubt it, Lass." Dwalin replied as they followed the trails through the small hills of the land called "The Shire". It was getting late, and the sun had already set far behind the hills.
"He better have the food that Gandalf said he would," Dwalin huffed as his stomach made a deep growling sound. Zar snorted and shook her head slightly as she looked at the sprawling trails behind them. From different paths, she could see figures of other dwarves coming towards the same location. That must be the rest of the company.

It had been almost a year since she had see the rest of the company. It was just months before that she had met the other elf-hybrid, and they fooled the dwarves into taking them in. Of course, had the dwarves known they had elven blood, well, they would have probably been killed. So, what they didn't know didn't hurt them. Besides...

Zarriel looked around again, admireing what she had gotten since becoming a "dwarf" so to say. She got an amazing Mentor. She had become friends with Nori and Bofur and Bifur, before they were seperated again that is. Not to mention with Andri. It was sad that she had to leave her elven companion to follow her mentor, but it was well worth it. She was becoming the warrior that Dwalin once was!



Finally, they came up to a circular door at the top of a hill, and Dwalin pounded a heavy fist on it. He turned to look at the figures at the bottom of the valley below the hills.
"That must be them," He muttered, more to himself. Zarriel nodded, then turned, in unison with Dwalin, when the Hobbit door open.

"Dwalin, At your service," Dwalin bowed low, and Zarriel followed suit.
The Hobbit, whom was short with a mop of sandy brown hair and blue-green eyes, tied his robe up, flustered.
"Bilbo...baggins... at your service..."

Dwalin pushed inside the door.
"Uhh.. Do I know you?" The hobbit asked. Dwalin growled a No, then started to remove his jacket and ask where the food was.

Of course, all the dwarf had to do was follow his nose. With Zarriel on his heels, she followed him into the kitchen where he got into, what appeared to be, the Hobbit's dinner of fresh Lake Bluegill fish with some home grown veggies.
"A-and who are you?" Bilbo asked as he looked up, ever so slightly, at Zarriel. Zar looked at Dwalin, who nodded in approval of her to speak.
"Zarriel, apprentice of Dwalin, at your service," She said as she bowed quite low, almost to the point that her almost-comical-fuzzy hat almost fell off.

Bilbo blinked, but was soon distracted by Dwalin again, then the doorbell.

[Knight]

Kisandrion had never expected for things to work out so well. The young Dusk Elf, daughter of an outstanding warrior and his healer sweetheart, had never expected to be accepted so easily by the Dwarfen men that she now lived with. Perhaps it was understandable; measuring a mere 4 feet, 11 inches in height, she was dwarfed (ironically enough) by the dwarves, and fit in with them well enough. Her lean build and decent fighting abilities made her able to contribute well enough to the group that they were willing to accept her.

However, her true passion was toymaking. There was a reason that she was apprenticed to Bifur, learning the art of creating toys that would make children smile. And, of course, learning how to apply her newly learned skills to torment Bifur to her heart's content. Andri enjoyed playing pranks on her mentor a bit too much, honestly. It was just so . . . entertaining.

For the moment, however, the black haired elvish girl was being very good. Following contentedly behind Bifur and Fili, she traipsed along behind the two dwarves that had welcomed her into the 'family' so to say. Fili had only recently left his brother, catching up with Bifur to talk strategy and war, something that bored Andri to the point that that she had demanded that they both talk about something else.

And thus, Fili, humoring his favorite 'dwarven' girl, had settled down with Andri to try and learn how to make a top, while Bifur looked good naturedly on. "No, no, not like that!" Andri grinned, elbowing Fili playfully, "Like this!" She grabbed Fili's hand and made it twist the other way, sending the tiny, crudely carved top jittering across the ground. "See?" Rocking back on her heels, Andri tugged her hat down a little further on her ears, grinning at Fili.

The blonde dwarf rolled his eyes, stooping to grab the top and getting to his feet. "I see. But the Halflings are staring. Perhaps we should get a move on." Glancing around the Shire, Fili seemed to feel a little awkward. He was a fighter, not a toymaker, as the clumsily carved top that he shoved into his pocket clearly revealed.

"Finally," Bifur, never particularly articulate, had been getting a little bored, to say the least. He gestured vaguely up the hill, pointing out the house towards which they were headed, and the trio set off again, spirits high (especially Andri's) as they made their way to the house.

Fili was the one who rang the doorbell, and the first to brush in when Bilbo Baggins opened the door. "Um, hello...?" The Halfling looked confused by the appearance of another three dwarves, who crowded in the entryway, at least two of which wearing bright smiles.

Bowing slightly, Bifur introduced himself first. "Bifur." He muttered, scratching his beard absently as he dropped his jacket on the ground and went off in search of food, nostrils flaring as he headed towards the Halfling's food stores.

Fili was the next to introduce himself, grinning jauntily as he bowed, "Fili, at your service." Looking almost playful, the warrior headed towards the kitchen as well at the insistent rumble of his stomach, living Andri standing alone in the entryway.

Bilbo seemed even less unsure of how to handle Andri than he had the others. "Kisandrion," She introduced herself lightly, bowing just slightly, "Apprentice to Bifur. Thank you for your hospitality." With that, she wandered past Bilbo, heading off in search of her favorite elf. Where, oh where, was Zarriel? She missed her companion!

[Matsi]

Zar flopped onto a small chair as the hobbit vanished once more towards the door. She sighed and stretched, then after a sideways glance to her Mentor, snatched a roll of of his plate. Dwalin glared at her for a second, after a failed attempt to snatch it back out of her hands.
"There is plenty to go around, don't be greedy," Zar hummed, only quoting the same thing that he had said to her many times before. Of course, this only made the ragged dwarf glare at her more as she bit down into the dry oat roll.

The sound of the door finally opening and the humming of voices in the other room made Zar freeze with the roll hanging out of her mouth. Dwalin was not one to sit and wait, though. He stood and started rummaging through the Hobbit's stash of food, helping himself.
"Ah! Master Bifur!" Zar barked out as she stood up and removed the roll from her mouth. She pranced up to the toymaker, the same toymaker that made her beloved "Flingo" Warg toy when she was a child, and grasped his shoulders in a respective greeting that she had been taught, though she had to reach up to grasp his shoulders.

Dwalin, once he freed his massive hand from a cookie jar, proceeded to greet the toymaker as well, But Zarriel had other plans now. She pushed past Dwalin and Bifur and into the hall just as Fili came around the corner.
"OHhhhhhhElloo," She snapped, biting her tongue to keep her from swearing as she looked up at the taller blonde dwarf. She stepped back and bowed her head slightly.
"Fili! Long time no see, Son of Dis, nephew of Thorin!" She hovered there for a moment, then stepped aside to let him past, the whole time keeping her face low. Of course, she was just a warrior, not of the Durin line! She had been smacked many a time by her mentor for not greeting others from "her place".

Of course, She was too eager to wait much longer for Fili to move.
"Excuse me," She finally huffed out slightly as she jumped into the hall and trotted towards the feminine voice that was speaking to the Hobbit.
"ANDRI! Bless my poor soul if you didn't bring me any goodies!" She barked, making the hobbit jump aside as she almost tackled her companion.
"I may just have to hang your head above my fireplace if you didn't!" She teased as she started to scrounge through and look into Andri's pockets and bags, and just about anywhere she could hide goodies.
"Surprised to see Fili with you. Especially without Kili. Almost ran into him," She muttered as she just about jammed her whole head into a fold of Kisandrion's jacket.


As Zarriel scrounged, the door opened again, almost hitting the hobbit, and quite a few more dwarves pushed their way into the hobbit hole.
"Zarriel, quit being snoopy!" A slightly older dwarf smacked the young warrior on the back of the head, while the next one, a brown haired, thick eyebrowed one grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and started to drag her away.
"ACK! Adda! Is this needed?!" She yelped as she grabbed hold of Andri's sleeve.

"Adda?" The hobbit asked, confused.
"Nori adopted her. That's her term for "dad"," Ori, one of the youngest of the crew, explained as he pushed after his brothers and companions.

The final dwarf to push in was the youngest, besides the two elven girls. Kili, the brother of Fili, patted the hobbit's back.
"Nice place," He stated as he wandered after the trail of dragged dwarvens.
"Long time no see, Kisandrion and Zarriel!" He said happily as he wandered up to his brother.
"Brother!" He grasped Fili's arm for a moment then looked around happily. His face was bright as a HUGE smile lingered. His dark eyes were bright with excitement as he looked at the familiar faces that he had not seen in so long. Of course, his uncle was missing still, but that was besides the point. There was the rest of the crew, and this interesting little halfling!