||Chapter 26||

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||Chapter 26||

<|Third Age 2974|>


    Thorin Oakenshield is convinced that Endor Baggins is slightly insane when it comes to her brother.  Her constant exclamations of "hurry" and "move it" are getting on his last nerve just as they make it to the Hobbiton valley of the Shire.  Whether they were travelling at breakneck speeds or walking leisurely, Thorin is sure that Endor would still consider them slow.  Therefore, a sigh of relief makes itself from his lungs as Bilbo pulls Endor to a halt at the edge of the wild.  "Endor, lead them through the back entrance of Bag End to avoid attention.  I will gather Frodo and bring him home."

"Thank you, Uncle," Endor responds, pulling him into a large hug that he easily reciprocates.  Sometimes, Bilbo Baggins can be the most irritating company, but in other moments, he is a treasure of a companion.  This is one of those times.

When Thorin thought of the "back entrance," he expected some cute pathway that winds up behind the Bag End hill, well kept by the hobbit inhabitant.  But he does not get this in the slightest.  Indeed, the back entrance is only accessible by traveling through a field of thorny maize crops, reaching higher than each of the dwarves and even Gandalf.  Thorin is thoroughly surprised Endor has yet to lose her way, but then again, she probably travels this route frequently to avoid her neighbors.  If possible, the king feels even worse for her.

"Damned hobbits!  Why is their food so dangerous?" Dwalin quips from behind Endor, prompting her to laugh lightly as another stem of maize hits Dwalin in the face.  His growling is currently heightening in tone with each additional injury to his nose or hands via crops.

"Most food is dangerous, Master Dwalin, and yet that has never stopped you before," Gandalf tells Dwalin from nearby, prompting Thorin to laugh under his breath.  But his best friend hears him, hitting his arm before another piece of maize hits Dwalin in the face.

The gate to the back almost causes Thorin to topple over as he runs directly into it.  Indeed, the end of the crops is so sudden that all of the company comes to a sudden halt at Endor's traipsing over.  They follow behind her with slower and thoughtful movements, barely minding as she unlocks the door to the back and pushes it open.  Letting them in with the dwarves still cussing-out the maize, Endor is not surprised to hear the thunk of Gandalf hitting his head.  "Is it even possible for you not to hit your head?"

"I've come to doubt it," Gandalf says, rubbing his forehead in his leering position in the hallway.  Turning around, Endor catches the uncomfortable postures of the dwarves as they await her direction in this 'foreign' home of hers.

"What are you doing? Are you not going to pillage the pantry?  Or at least sit down?" Endor asks, looking at all of them with complete confusion as to why they are not finding comfort in this sweet little hobbit hole.

"That's disrespectful," Thorin remarks without a hint of humour, prompting Endor's brows to furrow more in surprise.

"Did that stop you last time?" she asks, moving into another hallway as the dwarves follow along like lost warg pups.

"We did not know that hobbits took parties differently than dwarves," Dwalin remarks honestly, prompting Endor's mouth to open in a long sigh that signals her dropping of this conversation.  Honestly, she was hoping for a chorus of 'That's What Bilbo Baggins Hates.'

"Feel free to get comfortable and move furniture.  Just, don't touch his mother's glory box or he'll have your neck," Endor tells them with a calm look, though she smiles as Fili laughs at the memory of this glory box.  If only Kili was here right now...

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