𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐬 𖤓 legolas greenleaf

𝟎𝟏. adventure awaits

      It was dangerous out there, and Beorn knew something...dark was lurking in the shadows. He also knew of things that she didn't—like a certain foe who'd been rumored to have returned; Azog. Though, he wasn't going to tell her any of this because he'd told her that Azog had died a long time ago. He did this because he wanted to protect her—he didn't want her to hold onto revenge and go after him herself, which she would most certainly try to do.

      He also didn't want her out there because of her inability to change form for long periods of time like he could. If orcs were to attack them, there would be many probabilities of things going wrong, and he wouldn't dare put her in harms way.

      Not only was it difficult for her to stay in her beast-form—she also couldn't fully control when she turns. Her abilities were limited when it came to her skin-changer side, but it was something she was working on. However, it was frustrating to her that she couldn't pick up the habits that she thought should come naturally.

      Nelladrie would often find herself thinking about what the outside world could bring. Of course she loved her life, and she would be forever grateful to Beorn for raising her up—but she wanted a bit of excitement in her life. A little adventure. She practically craved it at this point. Though, she knew that Beorn would disapprove.

      A soft sigh escaped her lips as she descended down the ladder and back over towards the pot of stew. Just as she was beginning to sprinkle some spices into the food, the sound of distant yelling could be heard. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly as she stopped what she was doing and listened closely. The screaming was growing closer and closer with each passing second.

      Out here in the middle of nowhere, it was usually quiet and peaceful. No trouble came their way, and they were never disturbed. So hearing a bunch of yelling like this was definitely cause for concern. Confused and wanting to know what on earth could be happening, she quickly made her way through the house and towards the front doors.

      As she opened them, her gaze instantly landed on a bunch of figures that were darting their way across the green fields and directly towards the house. And then that's when she heard it—the familiar sound of a vicious roar that belonged to a certain skin-changer; Beorn.

Oh no. Her brown eyes widened as she felt her breath catch in her throat. The giant and quite angry black bear was trailing not far behind the dwarves who were running for their lives.

"Run! This way! Hurry!" A voice yelled, causing them all to run faster. "Come on! Get inside!" A tall old man wearing grey robes and a pointy hat ushered them into the house.

Nelladrie stepped out of the way to avoid being knocked over as the dwarves all piled inside. They quickly tried to shut the doors, but before they could close them all of the way, the beast had stuck his head inside, snarling and snapping his teeth as he tried to get in.

The dwarves used every ounce of their strength to push the door closed. Once it was latched, they all collectively let out sighs of relief. Nelladrie looked at all of them, her lips parting in shock as she tried to wrap her head around what was happening. She felt at a loss for words as she stared at the fifteen strangers that were now standing in her house.

      "What is that?" Ori questioned, trying to catch his breath as he looked up at Gandalf for an answer.

"That is our host..." The dwarves all turned to look at the wizard as he said this, as did Nelladrie. "His name is Beorn. And he's a skin-changer." Her shocked expression twisted into more of a confused one. This person knew of Beorn? "Sometimes he's a huge black bear. Sometimes he's a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable...but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not overfond of dwarves..." Well, the old man was definitely speaking as if he knew him.