a hundred and seventy one years later.

One hobbit, far from home and so out of his depth that he was sure he needed a paddle, ducked behind a rock as the pale orc gazed over the landscape. The dawn light tinging the sky with orange as the wargs growled. The orc pack on the lookout for the company of dwarves. Bilbo waited with bated breath for what seemed like and age but was, in reality, only a few seconds before Azog gestured in a different direction and the wargs bounded away. The hobbit sighed then froze as another long growling sound reached his ears. He ducked behind a rock and peaked round. 

On another perch, away from where the orcs had just been, was a creature he had never seen before. It was a hulking black shape that was vaguely like a bear. But this bear was as big was a cart, bigger than any horse Bilbo had seen. The creature snarled in the direction the orcs had gone, face contorted in rage and the sound sending chills down the hobbit's spine. Carefully, he slipped away back down the mountain towards where his friends were waiting. 

"How close is the pack?" Thorin hissed when Bilbo came jogging into sight. 

"Too close. A couple of leaves, no more". The hobbit huffed. "That's not the worse bit". 

"Have the wargs picked up our scent?" Dwalin interrupted. 

"Not yet but they will do. We have another problem". 

"Did they see you?" Gandalf's voice made Bilbo whirl around. "They saw you?" 

Bilbo sighed. "No, that's not it". 

Gandalf smiled. "What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse". The dwarves all let out happy mummers of agreement. "Excellent burglar material". 

Bilbo was growing frustrated. "Will you listen? Will you just listen?" His voice rose and the dwarves fell quiet. He gestured back up the mountain. "I am trying to tell you there is something else out there".

Gandalf's face grew grave. "What form did it take? Like a bear?" 

Bilbo blinked in surprise. "Yes, but bigger, much bigger?"

Gandalf sighed and nodded to himself. "Was there a cat?" 

"A cat?" Bilbo repeated, face scrunched up in confusion. "No". 

"You knew about this beast?" Nori exclaimed. 

"I say we double back", Bofur suggested. 

"And be run down by a pack of Orcs?" Thorin snapped. 

"There is a house", Gandalf voiced. "Its not far from here, where we might, uh, take refuge". His voice did not seem overly confidant. 

"Whose house?" Thorin demanded. "Are they friend or foe?" 

Gandalf gripped his staff. "Neither. One will either help us or he will kill us. And the other, well he is an even more fickle creature. I would not like to be on his bad side". 

The dwarves all stared in slight horror. After a second of silence, Thorin spoke up. "What choice do we have?" Before Gandalf could respond, an echoing roar made them all startle. It was the sound of some great beast up in the mountain above. The sound made adrenaline spike and heartbeats race. 

"None".

---------------

Namir was the first back at the cottage that day, which was growing to become an increasingly common thing. Beorn had taken to spending longer in his bear form in preparation for the upcoming winter. The bear needed to stock up on food for hibernation. Not that the man actually hibernated, he just spent a long time between states of sleep and dozing. Very occasionally he would actually be awake enough to do chores but since Namir had become an adult at one thousand, he had taken on most of the chores in the winter. It paid back for the lack of work he did in the summer. (Why do work when you could bask in the sun all day?) 

He nudged the latch open with his tail and slinked inside. Beorn's bear couldn't work latches. The kitchen was just as he had left it the night before and he used the table as a level to leap up onto his favourite rafter. The sun was bright that morning so he used the warmth as an excuse to curl up and go to sleep. Tail hanging over the edge as he let his mind drift into a doze. He was asleep maybe for about an hour or so when something hit the doors with a loud bang. 

Namir startled, half falling off his beam before catching himself with his claws. They ground into the wood and he mentally winced. Beorn would not like that. He righted himself and turned his attention back to the door as it rattled on it's hinges. Multiple heavy things hitting it in quick succession. His ears twitched as he listened to the panicked shouting outside and he could smell scents of iron and furs. Dwarves. And but their scents of fear, Beorn had smelt them too and the bear was rapidly approaching. Namir rested his head on his paw. If he was human, he would have been laughing, instead a rumbling sound vibrated in his throat.

There was a click of the latch lifting and he was greeted to the sight of a jumble of dwarves tumbling into the room. Gandalf following behind them and watching as the dwarves all hurriedly tried to close the door, voices screaming as Beorn ran his head into the wood. (In his mind, Namir was in stitches. This was the wackiest thing he had seen in a hundred years). The bear roared as the dwarves heaved. A small figure, a creature that he had not smelt before, drew his sword and pointed it shakily at the door. With one final heave, the wood banged shut and the dwarves braced it with the wooden plank resting nearby for such purpose. They all let out sighs of relief. 

"What is that?"One of the younger ones of the group panted. He turned to address Gandalf but his eyes caught onto to Namir. He flicked back into his companions. "There's another one!" He cried out, pointing. The dwarves all turned and rapidly flattened their backs to the door with shock, eyes wide. Gandalf glanced up at Namir and rolled his eyes. The panther flicked his tail. 

"He will not harm you. These are our hosts", the wizard stated. "The bear is Beorn and the cat is Namir. They are skin changers". 

Amused, Namir leapt elegantly onto the ground. The dwarves all flinching at the movement. Some of them cried out in alarm as he padded slowly closer to them. Many hands strayed to the hilt of their axes and swords but before they could pull them out, Namir changed. His fur faded into smooth skin and there was a cracking of bones as they shifted into new forms. In less than a minute, a human looking boy was standing naked before them. Namir waved at them as he swiped the folded pair of trousers from the back of a nearby chair and pulled them on. Then he flicked back his long hair and gave them a sharp toothed grin, cat eyes bright and mischievous. "Hello". The dwarves all blinked at him, silence filling the room. 

Gandalf sighed and headed for the chair Namir had just stolen the clothes from. "Sometimes Beorn is a great black bear, sometimes he's a man. Same for Namir here but as you clearly witnessed, his form is a panther. The man can be reasoned with, but the bear is unpredictable". Then Gandalf gave Namir a scowl. "This cat however, cannot be reasoned with in either form". 

"Aww Gandalf", Namir tilted his head to the side and purred. "You must still be angry after the bee incident. I claim that as not my fault". The wizard snorted at the words. 

"It's not natural. None of it is", One dwarf cried out. "It must be apart of some dark spell". Namir fixed him with his gaze. The dwarf visible shivered and stepped back, unnerved by how long the boy could stare without blinking. 

"Oh", Namir tilted his head to the side, hair brushing his collarbones. "I don't think I'm under some dark spell. Am I Gandalf?" Around him, the dwarves had begun to venture curiously into the rest of the cottage. A few of them were staring at the half of the room that served as a makeshift barn. The two yaks in there munched on their hay, completely calm despite the chaos that had been happening. 

"Don't be a fool", the wizard snapped, though wether he was talking to the grey haired dwarf or Namir, it was unclear. "They are under no enchantments but their own". The wizard groaned as he stood up. "All right, now get some sleep all of you". 

"But it's barely noon!" Namir protested. "Can't I play with them a bit more?" 

Gandalf turned and gave him a disapproving look as he headed towards the corridor leading to the guest bedroom. "Don't toy with your food, Namir".

The boy let out a sad sigh, the dwarves all eyeing him hesitantly. Then as quick as a wink, he was snapping round and capturing something with his hands. The dwarves all jumped in surprise as Namir turned round and cupped his palm to bring them up. A mouse peeked over his fingers, tiny whiskers twitching. The boy grinned and for a second it looked like he would eat the tiny creature. A low rumbling sound left his throat as his unblinking cat eyes stared down at the mouse in his long fingered hands. Then he hummed and gently lowered the mouse back onto the table and the creature hurried away.

 He looked over at the dwarves with brown eyes. "You guys can sleep in the barn if you don't mind. I laid fresh straw last night so it should be fine". A few of the dwarves inclined their heads before hurrying away. Some continued to stare before seemingly coming to some sort of conclusion and leaving. Others just left. Namir watched it all with barely concealed amusement before turning to do his chores. 

unedited