Daughter of Beorn: The Hobbit Fanfiction

Unwanted Demonstration

"Here, Mister Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori whined. All of us were riding through a extremely muddy forest, and no one could hide their internal misery. The rain barraged against our Company, the individual drops creating a misty halo around each of our frames. It was difficult to hear anyone over the persistent drumming of the storm.

Meanwhile, the wizard in question huffed to himself in reply. "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."

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked.

"What?"

"Other wizards?"

"There are five of us." Gandalf said, his voice gaining a bit more energy. I silenced the urge to make a snide comment about the rain and decided to listen. It appeared the other dwarves did the same. "The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards... you know, I've quite forgotten their names."

The hobbit attempted to wipe some raindrops off his forehead, but to no avail. "And who is the fifth?"

"Well, that would be Radagast, the Brown."

"Is he a great wizard, or is he... more like you?" Raising my eyebrows, I couldn't believe Bilbo's question. Did he not know who he was talking to? I realized he was practically an inexperienced man from the Shire, however- to question any wizard's ability was asking for death. Or at least a slap on the back of the head.

"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East, and a good thing too, for always Evil will look to find a foothold in this world." Gandalf replied, effectively shielding his brief moment of offense.

After a time we arrived at a old, abandoned farmhouse that appeared to be in utter ruins. I wouldn't even call it a house. When I got bored watching the dwarves busy themselves for some time, I walked over to Thorin, who had just told Fili and Kili to watch over the ponies.

My gut reaction when he looked at me was to turn around and walk away. I didn't like the idea of apologizing, but ai had figured it would serve useful to not be on completely awful terms with the leader. "Look, I'm sorry. For what I said. I was just angry." That was the best my apologies could get. Hopefully the dwarf wouldn't mind. I set my jaw as Thorin paused for a moment... only to chuckle a few seconds later.

"I was not anticipating an apology, especially from the likes of you. But... thank you. I was being harsh." Before I could interrupt him, Gandalf paced up to the both of us, glancing around the place nervously.

"I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley." He said. I lifted an eyebrow, visibly perplexed. I wasn't picking up on anything being particularly wrong, but this was coming from an unstable skin-changer, so who would trust my judgment?

"I have told you already, I will not go near that place." Thorin growled. Foreseeing an argument, I decided to leave them be and go off on my own. I muttered to Dwalin that I needed to take a walk, and only moments later I was soon granted with the reassuring solitude of the forest. My inner animal had been begging to be released for hours on end, and I knew the damage that could be done if I was unable to transform for a long time.

I took refuge behind a tree and allowed the panther to emerge. The bones in my body cracked and groaned as they shifted to the proper position of a non-human. My nails dug themselves into the dirt as I got on all fours, concealing a low growl as black fur started to grow in patches all over my body. The front of my face elongated into a muzzle as the teeth in my mouth developed a sharp tip. The shift was soon complete, and in place of a woman was a cat ready to kill.