Chapter Text
“So, Bilbo. What is your opinion on potatoes?”
Bilbo gave Iz a strange look. She knew it wasn’t the best opening line for a conversation, but she couldn’t think of a single hobbitish fact she might know that didn’t have to do with the future or hobbits that weren’t born yet (Rose refused to help her out). Potatoes it was.
“They’re a surprisingly versatile root vegetable.” Bilbo answered hesitantly. His pony looked almost comically small next to Jared’s hugeness, and the poor hobbit had to really crane his neck to meet Iz’s eyes.
“I agree. The fleabag up there adores them. Thinks they’re the greatest thing ever created.” Iz said, smiling at the memory of Rose eating an entire mixing bowl full of mashed potatoes for dinner not a month ago.
Bilbo frowned, studying Rose where she attempted to balance on the brim of Gandalf’s pointy hat. “I did not know cats could eat potatoes…”
“Not raw potatoes. But if you peel and cook them they’re safe.” This is true, she’d looked it up when one of her actual cats had stolen some of her roast potatoes. Luckily, she was white and from pioneer stock, so potentially upsetting seasoning hadn’t been an issue.
“We should totally feed the cat potatoes at dinner tonight!” Kíli butted in, riding up beside Bilbo, “Do you think Bombur would be okay with a change of dinner plans?”
“I’m not sure, perhaps you should ask Master Bombur himself.” Bilbo said shortly, still holding a grudge from the scare last night.
Kíli looked sad and a little confused by Bilbo’s dismissive attitude towards him, so Iz took pity on the poor dwarf and offered to ride up the line with him.
Bilbo huffed and stuck his nose in the air a little as the two left. Iz shook her head, deciding that dwarrow were not the only horribly stubborn folk to walk Middle Earth. Though, really, he had a point.
“Bombur! Can we please have potatoes for dinner? I want to feed them to the cat!” Kíli grinned broadly, leaning into the large dwarf’s space and getting dangerously close to falling off his horse. Iz gently grasped the back of his cloak and pulled him upright.
Bombur glanced at Iz, raising an eyebrow in silent question. Iz had no idea what he was trying to ask but nodded anyway. This seemed to be the correct answer, for Bombur grumbled a little but ultimately agreed to change the meal plan. Kíli cheered, speeding off to fetch Rose and give her the good news.
“Make sure some of the potatoes are peeled but unseasoned when you cook them, cats can get sick from the wrong herbs or fats.” Iz told the cook quietly.
“Of course, Miss Iz. Thank ye for entertaining the lad, he’s taken quite a shine to ye.” Bombur smiled, broad and warm and kind.
Iz laughed a bit awkwardly, fidgeting with the book harness that fit snugly around her thigh. She remembered the earnestness in the boy’s face when he’d presented it to her, the way that, for just a moment, Kíli’s face had looked like her little brother’s, and felt a comfortable warmth settle in her chest. “He’s a good kid. Which is weird to say because I’m pretty sure he’s older than me.”
“Not maturity-wise he isn’t. You may be younger than him by years, but humans and dwarrow age differently and women have always matured faster, regardless of race.” Dori, a dwarf she hadn’t had much occasion to speak with, said from where he rode on Bombur’s other side.
Bombur nodded in agreement, “That’s very true. If he were human, or you dwarrow-dam, ye’d most likely be the same age, or quite near to it. He’s only just into adulthood, ye know.”
“So it’s still weird to call him ‘kid’, and my point stands.” Iz responded. Just then Kíli tried to stand on his pony’s back while holding a cackling Rose in one hand and warding off his brother’s jabs with the other. “Or maybe it’s completely reasonable and I should trust my gut more.”
Dori shook his head, muttering under his breath. Iz winced. Maybe she should talk to Rose about encouraging the princes’ craziness.
“I also wanted to thank you, Miss Iz.” Dori said suddenly. Iz blinked, looking at him with palpable bewilderment. “For being kind to my brothers. Prince Kíli isn’t the only one who’s ‘taken a shine to you’.”
“Aye, that’s true!” Bombur laughed. “Bofur has taken to ye like a duck to water! And I’ve never seen Dwalin lower so many of his walls so quickly, especially around a human. Though ye did have some advantage, what with-” Dori elbowed him sharply, and Bombur shut up. Iz didn’t really notice, too focused on his earlier words.
She flushed and fidgeted with Jared’s reins. The dwarrow had indeed been very quick to accept her, despite the fact that she was basically useless at survival and was only on the quest because Gandalf insisted. The two dwarrow were now openly laughing at her, Bombur giving her a pat on the leg he could reach.
“Now what have ye done to the poor lass, she’s red as a tomato!” Bofur cried from up ahead where he’d turned to see who was laughing so uproariously.
“She’s embarrassed she’s so well liked!” Bombur called back, “Seems she wasn’t expecting it!”
Bofur smiled brightly, “Well I cannae say I was right expectin’ it either! But it’s a good thing lass, don’t ye worry.”
Iz just sighed, pitching forward to lay over Jared’s neck. The horse snorted and tossed his head a little, to which Iz responded by stroking his neck. A compromise, she could lay on his neck if she also gave him pats.
“If any of these good people are hurt, I am going to riot.” She told Jared. He did not understand her, and would not agree with her. Ah, well. Rose would stop him from trampling anyone. Probably.
Wasn’t she supposed to be making friends with Bilbo? Iz sat up and glanced back. Bilbo was riding next to Balin in what appeared to be comfortable silence, and Iz figured he wouldn’t appreciate more potato questions at the moment. She flopped back onto Jared’s neck, letting the ambient sounds of the dwarrow and nature lull her into a comfortable half-sleep.
~~|~~
Kíli pointed out a bird sitting on one of the branches near them. “Try again, remember the tricks I taught you.”
Iz drew back the short recurve bow the dwarf had handed her an hour ago and took aim. She let the arrow loose and completely missed the bird, the arrow flying off into the branches below it. The bird startled and flew away, and Iz groaned in frustration.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get it eventually! And that was a lot closer than the first time!” Kíli grinned brightly at her.
The company had stopped for a break and Kíli had come to the decision that now was a good time to teach Iz how to use a bow better. She knew how to string the bow, courtesy of her older brother, and she could usually hit the target at home, but using the bow on live, small, variously shaped targets was a different ballgame entirely.
Fíli, who’d ran into the woods to fetch the arrow, returned and handed the arrow back with a flourishing bow. Iz smiled and accepted it, nocking it once more and scanning the woods for a new target.
Dwalin stood nearby, positioned so he could both oversee her training session and where Thorin was sitting eating some bread and attempting to match Jared’s stare. The horse took great pleasure in unnerving the King, staring him down at every opportunity, encouraged by Iz and Rose, the latter of which occasionally joined him in his endeavors.
Rose was not there at the moment however, having decided to also practice her hunting skills. Iz hoped she was having better luck.
“Again. Try that squirrel there.” Kíli pointed at a different tree, closer than the last one.
Iz took aim once more, then let the arrow fly. It thunked into the tree, and the squirrel attempted to escape, only to realize it had an arrow through its tail. Fíli and Kíli cheered loudly, and Dwalin smiled in a proud sort of way. Iz grinned broadly.
“Here! Go over there and use this to kill the thing.” Nori tossed a small sheathed knife to Iz. She examined it as she walked, noting the fine etchings on the handle and, once she unsheathed it, down the blade.
The squirrel screeched as she approached, sensing its impending doom, redoubling its efforts to free itself. Iz braced herself, raising the dagger and then plunging it into where she thought the creature’s heart might be. It stopped moving, hanging limply from the arrow. Iz gagged, hating that she had to kill the thing for food. Was it even for food? The company looked to be getting ready to move.
She returned with her “prize”, as Kíli put it, and handed the dagger, which she’d cleaned on her tunic, back to Nori. Bombur came over and took the squirrel from her, humming appreciatively.
“What will you do with it?” Iz asked. The large dwarf examined the squirrel from all angles before replying.
“There ain’t much meat on the thing, but it’ll make a good morsel for the cat. If she had trouble huntin’ for herself, that is.” Bombur said, glancing towards the trees where Rose had disappeared.
Fíli suddenly gasped, pointing at Bombur. “Morsel! That’s a good name!” He cried. Kíli scrunched up his face in disagreement.
“It’s too dainty. She’s not a dainty cat. She’s fierce, and murderous.” He argued. Fíli opened his mouth to retort, but Iz cut him off.
“Uhh, what?”
“We’re trying to find a name for the cat, since ye refuse to tell us her name.” Nori informed her.
“She has too many, she doesn’t need more!” Iz protested. This got an eyeroll from the thief.
Suddenly, Rose appeared, jumping onto Bombur’s large shoulders and staring intently at the squirrel. Bombur offered it to her, and she accepted, taking it in her mouth and going over to Jared to eat it. The thing was almost as big as her, yet she somehow managed to devour it in less than a minute.
“That’s kinda gross, you know.” Iz said as she approached.
“You try jumping around all day and not getting ridiculously hungry.” Rose growled back. She clambered up Iz’s side and used her shoulder to hop over to Jared’s saddle, the horse nickering in greeting.
Iz absently pet a hand down his nose, watching the sky for storm clouds. She felt something building in her gut, an insistence that the first Event- the Storm- was about to occur. Maybe this was another Boon from the Valar?
“What are ye lookin’ fer?” Bofur asked. He also started scanning the sky, which prompted Nori to do so as well.
Iz blinked at them, noting their tense postures, Nori’s hand hovering near his dagger. She shook her head, climbing into Jared’s saddle. “Storm clouds, Bofur. Be at ease.”
The dwarf nodded, signalling to Dwalin, who Iz just noticed had taken a defensive stance near Thorin and the princes, glaring at the sky as though it had gravely insulted his mother. Iz shook her head again, adding in a sigh for good measure while Rose cackled delightedly.
As the company set off, Iz dug the umbrella out of her bags, using some rope to tie it to her saddle’s pommel. Ori came over to ask questions about it, noting down everything Iz said and drawing several diagrams. By the time the storm rolled in, she was quite comfortably set up, working out strategies for the whole Arkenstone ordeal, Rose chiming in with the occasional insight. The shelter wasn’t perfect, her feet and calves still got wet, and sometimes the wind would blow rain into her little bubble, but it was better than nothing.
The dwarrow and Bilbo were quite miserable, first asking Gandalf if he could stop the rain (“It is raining, Master dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard.”), then asking if he could conjure some “embrallas” for them (Iz had tried to get the dwarrow to pronounce it correctly, but gave up after a few tries. Only Ori and Bilbo got the pronunciation right, a feat they seemed to take great pride in). When that was also rebuffed, they settled for complaining, glaring at everyone and everything, or trying to get close enough to Jared to get beneath Iz’s shelter.
Jared did not appreciate that, and tried valiantly to bite anyone that came too close. He succeeded a few times, much to Iz’s chagrin and Rose’s amusement.