An Unexpected Hobbit - Reader Insert

Hey, This Cave Looks Alright!

"No, no! Kili!" Thorin exclaimed from somewhere above (Name), just as her fingers painfully caught the edge of a cliff.

"We're alright!" she heard Balin yell back. "We're alive!" The sound of footsteps above her increased as the other group ran to them. "Where's (Name)?" what sounded like Bofur questioned. "Where's the hobbit?"

"Here!" (Name) cried, her voice strained with the effort of keeping a grip on the rock.

"Get her!" Ori yelled, diving to grab the girl. His weight caused a couple of pebbles to shift, making her lose her grip and fall even further down. With a cry, (Name) grabbed hold of another outcropping, her nails and fingers screaming with pain. The other dwarves also tried to reach her to no avail.

Finally, Thorin swung down to another platform jutting out of the rock surface near (Name). He boosted her up with a powerful thrust, allowing her to grab Dwalin's arm and find purchase on solid ground. After it was made sure that she wouldn't fall again, Dwalin reached for Thorin and helped him back up too.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar!" Dwalin cracked a grin at the sodden and panting (Name).

"She's been lost ever since she left home," Thorin snapped. "She should have never come. She has no place among us." He turned, the words hitting home, almost more painful than the throbbing in (Name)'s arms.

"The cave looks safe," Oin reported as the teen got to her feet.

"Search to the back," was the brisk answer. "Caves in mountains are seldom unoccupied." Oin nodded and went back into the dark with a newly lit lantern, the rain having turned into a slight drizzle.

The whole group entered the narrow entrance, (Name) in last, as usual. Gloin dropped a bundle of wood on the ground and rubbed his hands together. "Right then, let's get a fire going," he declared.

"No, not fires in this place," Thorin ordered, making (Name) internally groan, shivering from the cold of her soaked clothes.. "Get some sleep, we start at first light."

"We were to make camp in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan," Balin argued.

There was a long pause, in which the two dwarves glared at each other. Finally, Thorin broke the silence. "Plans change."

~

(Name) was most certainly the only creature awake in the solemn darkness of the night. Her mind raced, half afraid that the hard and cold ground would start rumbling and quaking and she would fall into the void. The other half chastised herself for thinking such childish thoughts. The giants are gone and there's nothing to worry about.

Well, she was just a child, wasn't she? Compared to these centuries-old dwarves, she was but a toddler. She had experienced nothing, just sitting in her hobbit hole, learning to crochet, and being told to avoid what she thought thrilled her. Thorin was right - she didn't belong. She should probably get out of the way now, before her clumsiness killed either herself or someone else.

Making up her mind, (Name) sat up, her thin blanket flopping off to the side. She reached for her sword, swiftly tucking it into her belt. Her (s/c) fingers wrapped the blanket up into a small bundle, and she got to her feet.

With the silence and speed accredited to her species, the hobbit tip toed between the sleeping forms of the dwarves. Rumbles and snores filled the cavern, confirming that everyone was fast asleep, but (Name) checked everyone she passed just to make sure. The last thing I want is for any of the dwarves to see me...giving up.

She reached the entrance of the cave in a short amount of time. Outside looked even darker than the blackness of the cavern, probably due to the still-fizzling embers of the dwarves' lanterns. With a deep inhale, (Name) was about to place her foot on the stone when a whispered voice stopped her.