The Shire's rumor of Bilbo and his pet started as soon as Bilbo found her as a pup. She looked like a normal dog pup, like most young wargs do. But Bilbo picked her up and brought her inside anyway. She was a young pup though, her eyes barely open.

After a few weeks of being in Bilbo's care, she was able to walk around his little hole in the ground. During that time, he named her Lavender (mainly because he left for less than five minutes once, coming back to see her chewing on the poor plant).

She soon grew too large to stay in his little hole in the ground, so he'd kept her in his yard. She soon grew out of that too.

The rest of the people of the Shire did not want her to be roaming the streets, so Bilbo took her to the forest bordering Bree.

Lavender learned to come when Bilbo whistled a special tune for her, she loved it when he came to visit her. They didn't do much though, but that didn't matter.

The two were close for years after he'd removed her from the Shire. No hobbit went into her little thicket of woods, they knew she was a warg. They knew what wargs did, even if she wasn't like those wargs.

Her and Bilbo's quiet days came to an abrupt halt when a certain wizard showed up to poor Bilbo's house.

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I lifted my head when I heard the whistle, perking up my ears and looking in the direction it came from before I took off running.

Bilbo wanted to see me! He didn't come see me all the time but I loved it when he did.

I leapt to my paws, leaving my rabbit in favor of running to Bilbo. I crashed through the trees and jumped over logs, scaring deer, squirrels, and the like.

I also scared the group of people Bilbo was with. They had weapons, which they unsheathed.

Bilbo had a huge grin on his face, "I will not be riding a pony, I will be riding my beloved Lavender," he announced, grabbing onto the straps of his pack.

"You have a bloody warg?!" One of the members of the group said, he had a funny hat.

I bumped my head on Bilbo's chest with a chuff.

"Yes, yes I do," Bilbo stated proudly, patting me on the head.

"How the hell did you get a warg?" A bald man with tattoos questioned.

"I found her, in the forest bordering Bree," he answered, giving my shoulder a tap.

I laid down, allowing Bilbo to climb onto back. I stood up, I missed our rides.

Gandalf smiled, "I told you our Burglar was full of surprises,".

I barked at him. "Yes, it is good to see you again too Lavender," he responded.

"You can talk to animals?!" A young redhead exclaimed.

Gandalf only laughed.

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We stopped for the night on a ledge overlooking a thick section of forest.

I was wandering around the ledge, something didn't smell right.

Bilbo was patting my side when a shriek filled the air.

My head shot up, ears erect as I stared in the direction of the noise.

"What was that?" Bilbo questioned. He sounded nervous.

I growled low in my throat.

"Orcs," Kili answered, eying me with a slight look of unease.

"Orcs?" Bilbo questioned, the answer didn't seem to ease his anxiety.

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there," Fili informed, I detected a bit of teasing in his voice.

"The lone-lands are crawling with them. They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood," Kili said seriously.

That was shortly before he and Fili both burst into laughter.

"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?" Thorin demanded, he sounded angry. He always seemed to be angry.

I moved closer to the edge of the cliff to see if I could scent the orcs.

"We didn't mean anything by it," Kiki defended weakly.

"No you didn't. You know nothing of the world," Thorin snapped.

There was a tension filled silence for a few moments, "Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain...King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs...led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc...had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began...by beheading the king," the older dwarf informed, grief filling his tone with his last sentence.

"Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing. Taken prisoner or killed...we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death...were upon us. That is when I saw him. A young Dwarf prince...facing down the pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent... wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day... that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied... and drove the Orcs back. And our enemy... had been defeated. But there was no feast... nor song that night... for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then... there is one who I could follow. There is one... I could call king," the older dwarf, Balin I think his name was, told.

It was apparent that the recollection pained him and that he loved the previous king.

I moved back towards the rest near the fire.

I seemed to startle Fili and Kili as I was illuminated by the fire.

"And the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo questioned. He seemed nervous. Bilbo was always nervous.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago," Thorin snapped.

The group was silent, a loud howl echoed in the distance, which seemed to snap the group out of their thoughts.

"Everyone, get some rest. We have a long day ahead tomorrow," Gandalf instructed, walking off to his sleeping area.

It was decided that there would be a night watch; Dwalin, Fili, and Kiki volunteered.

I stayed up with them, watching over the expanse of forest over the cliff.

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"Here, Mr. Gandalf? Can't you do something about this deluge?" Someone called, it had been raining for a while now.

I didn't like how it weighed down my thick fur, but the cool water felt nice on my tongue.

"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," Gandalf snapped back.

"Are there any?" Bilbo piped up, relaxing slightly from the tensed-up posture he'd been holding.

"What?" Gandalf questioned.

"Other wizards," Bilbo clarified.

Gandalf seemed to think for a moment, "There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, The White. Then there are the two blue wizards. Do you know, I've quite forgotten their names," he answered.

"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo asked.

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

"Is he a great wizard or is he...more like you?" I snorted at Bilbo's underhanded remark.

"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 forestlands to the East, and a good thing too, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world," Gandalf sounded offended.

The rest of the downpour was spent in silence.

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"We'll camp here for the night. Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them," Thorin declared as it neared dusk.

We had stopped in an open area surrounded by forest and cliffside. There was a burned and destroyed home tucked beside the cliff.

" A farmer and his family used to live here," Gandalf mused quietly.

"Oin, Gloin," Thorin called, ignoring him.

"Aye?" The deaf dwarf called, horn in his ear.

"Get the fire going," Thorin ordered.

Bilbo climbed from my back, "Go with the ponies," he ordered me quietly.

I gave a chuff as I walked off, trotting after Fili and Kili.

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It was after dark when I heard it.

Crash crash crash thud, and then the loud cries of the ponies.

I sat up and ran towards the sound—what were those things? I'd never seen or heard of them before... They were huge humanish-looking... things...

There were two, each carrying two of the ponies under their arms.

I pressed my ears against the back of my head, baring my teeth at them silently.

I ran at the pair, latching onto the calf of one of them.

He howled in pain as I jerked my head to the side to rip as much flesh out as possible. He did not taste pleasant. He dropped both of the ponies to swat at me.

I released his calf and latched onto his forearm, causing him to give another pained howl.

"Get it offa me! Get it off!" He shrieked for the other.

I released him before the other could do anything and ran off.

I wouldn't be able to free the other two ponies now, but the others probably could.

They didn't follow me.

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"We had sixteen," I heard Kili say as I found the pair. Bilbo was with them.

"Now there's fourteen," Fili finished.

"Daisy and Bungle are missing," Kili announced.

"What? Well, that's not good. And that is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?" Bilbo questioned.

"Uh...no. Let's not worry him. As our official burglar, we thought you might like to look into it," Fili answered a bit too quickly.

I made myself known with a quiet growl.

The three of them stiffened and turned to face me, hands on their weapons.

Bilbo seemed relieved, "Lavender," he sounded relieved too.

"What have you gotten into?" He questioned, running a hand along the blood that stained my muzzle.

"That's blood," Kili said.

Bilbo immediately looked concerned and disgusted.

"It's not from the horses. It's black blood," Fili added.

"Orcs?" Kili questioned.

Fili unsheathed his weapon, "Let's find out,".

I followed after the three for a few minutes before Fili whisper-yelled, "Hey! There's a light, over here!"

Fili snatched the back of Bilbo's coat and jerked him to the ground, "Stay down,".

"What is it?" Bilbo questioned, I crouched behind the three.

"Trolls," Kili announced as the one I didn't maim walked past. He had to more horses.

"He's got Myrtle and Minty! I think they're gonna eat them, we have to do something," Bilbo told the pair.

Fili and Kili looked at each other, "Yes, you should. Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small. They'll never see you," Kili assured, giving Bilbo a nudge.

"Me? Me? No. No. No," I agreed with Bilbo. I bore my teeth at the pair. They seemed to have forgotten I was there.

"It's perfectly safe!" Fili assured, glancing at me nervously.

"It's perfectly safe!" Kili agreed.

"We'll be right behind you. If you run into trouble hoot twice like a barn owl, once like a brown owl," Kili said, giving him another shove out of the bush.

"Twice like a barn owl, hoot twice like a brown...hoots like a...like a... Uh, are you sure this is a good idea?" Bilbo asked, turning around. The pair had vanished completely.

I rolled my eyes and crouched in the brush.

"At least you won't leave me Lavender..." Bilbo said nervously.

"Mutton yesterday, mutton today. And blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrow," one of the trolls complained.

"Quit your griping. These ain't sheep! These is West nags!" A troll I hadn't seen before snapped.

"Oh! I don't like horse. I never have. Not enough fat on them," the troll I bit complained.

"Well, it's better than a leathery ol' farmer. All skin and bone he was. I'm still pickin' bits of him out o' me teeth," one complained.

The troll I maimed sneezed into the stew.

Bilbo wrinkled his nose as he stalked towards the horses.

"Well that's lovely, that is. A floater," the other troll announced.

"Oh! Might improve the flavor," the cooking troll countered.

"Ah! There's more where that came from!" The troll I maimed informed, putting a finger to his nose to do it again.

"Oh no you don't!" The other troll snapped, snatching him by the ear to pull him away from their stew.

The maimed troll gave another pained noise.

"Sit down," the troll snapped.

"Well... I hope you're gonna gut these nags, I don't like the stinky parts," the crippled troll informed.

I found that shocking considering the snot he just put in the stew. Bilbo seemed to share the same sentiment.

"I said sit down!" the troll snapped.

"I'm starving, are we having horse tonight or what?" the other healthy troll questioned.

"Shut your cake hole! You'll eat what I'll give ya!" the chef troll snapped.

"How come he's the cook? Everything tastes the same, everything tastes like chicken," the wounded troll complained.

"Except the chicken," the non-chef troll commented.

"Which tastes like fish!" the wounded troll exclaimed.

The chef troll seemed annoyed, "I'm just saying, a little appreciation would be nice. 'Thank you very much Bert. Lovely stew Bert.' How hard is that?" the chef, Bert snipped as he tasted the stew. "Just needs a sprinkle of squirrel dung. Here, that's my grog!"

I watched as Bilbo had carefully walked around the camp and was attempting to steal a sword that was much too large for him from the crippled troll.

I flattened my ears as the crippled troll sneezed, reaching around to grab a large cloth to blow his nose. He happened to grab Bilbo with the cloth in the process.

The troll screamed as he saw Bilbo, "Blimey! Bert! Bert! Look what's come out of me hooter! It's got arms and legs and everything!" he exclaimed.

Bert leaned over to look at Bilbo, "What is it?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the way it wiggles around!" The wounded troll exclaimed as he dropped Bilbo.

I felt a growl rise in my throat, but I held it back at I pinned my ears to my head.

"What are you then? An oversized squirrel?" Bert questioned.

"I'm a burglar... uh hobbit!" Bilbo started, but quickly corrected himself.

"A burglar hobbit?" the wounded troll asked, confusion filling his tone.

"Can we cook him?" the other troll questioned.

"We can try!" the wounded troll exclaimed.

" He wouldn't make more than a mouthful. Not when he's skinned and boned!" Bert exclaimed, he didn't sound keen on eating Bilbo. I started to creep forward, ready to spring out should they make a move towards Bilbo.

"Perhaps there's more burglar-hobbits 'round these parts, might be enough for a pie! Grab him!" the other troll exclaimed.

Bilbo ducked under the troll's arms.

"He's too quick!" the wounded troll exclaimed.

"Oh, come here you little!" the other troll growled out as he snatched Bilbo.

"Gotcha! Are there any more of you little fellas hiding out where you shouldn't?" the other troll demanded.

I bared my teeth, I wouldn't allow this to go on any longer.

"He's lying! Hold his toes over the fire, make him squeal!" the wounded troll exclaimed.

I leapt from my place in the bushes with a snarl.

The wounded troll shrieked, "No! Not you again!" he exclaimed, trying to bat at me with a hand.

I leapt for the troll holding Bilbo, he dropped him with a shriek of surprise, throwing up an arm to block me. I latched onto his arm and threw my body to the side, tearing into the flesh of his arm.

He howled in pain, the others chose that time to enter the clearing.

"Bilbo!" one of them exclaimed as I was ripped off of the troll in my jaws by Bert, who threw me across the clearing and snatched up Bilbo. I felt something crack in my side as I bounced off of an oak.

"That is enough!" he yelled, "Put down your arms before I rip his off!" he added, grabbing one of Bilbo's arms threateningly.

I watched as they all stared at the troll for a moment before throwing their weapons down angrily. The trolls wasted no time in scooping them all up.

I crawled back into the bushes. I couldn't help them all on my own. Gandalf wasn't with them. I'd have to find him. Gandalf always knew what to do...

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Gandalf proved harder to find than I'd originally thought. He was over a mile away when I finally caught a glimpse of his hat in the distance. He was heading back in the direction of the camp.

I gave a howl to get his attention, it worked as I watched him stop and turn in my direction.

It took me a few second to stop in front of him, he took note of the black blood coating my muzzle instantly, "Show me," he ordered.

I allowed him on my back and off we went back to the trolls.

"The secret is... to... skin them first!" I heard Bilbo exclaim as we got closer.

"Tom, get me filleting knife," Bert ordered the first wounded troll.

"What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scoff 'em I say, boots and all!" the troll with the wounded arm exclaimed.

Gandalf slid from my back, "Stay here," he whispered to me before hurrying off into the bush. I knew he'd know what to do!

"He's right! Nothing wrong with a bit o' raw dwarf. Nice and crunchy!" Tom announced, picking up the fattest dwarf and holding him up.

"Uh.. not... not that one! He's... he's infected!" Bilbo exclaimed.

"You what?" the wounded troll questioned.

"Yeah! He's got worms in his... tubes!" Bilbo explained.

Tom dropped the fat dwarf onto the others with a shriek. The others groaned under his weight.

"In-in fact, they all have. They're infested with parasites, it's a terrible business, I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't," Bilbo informed them.

The dwarves were offended.

"Parasites? Did he say parasites?"

"Yeah, we don't have parasites! You have parasites!"

There was silence for a moment before their tunes changed.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!"

"Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!"

"We're riddled!"

"Yes! I'm riddled!"

"Yes we are! Badly!"

"What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?"

Gandalf needed to hurry up with his plan, I didn't think Bilbo could stall for much longer. I crept forward, ready to intervene again if I needed to.

"You think I don't know what you're up to. This little ferret is taking us for fools?"

"Ferret?" Bilbo sounded offended.

"The dawn will take you all!" Gandalf exclaimed, leaping from his hiding spot and ontop of a boulder. If he was trying to get help onto the boulder, he could've just asked...

"Who's that?" the wounded troll questioned.

"No idea," Bert answered as the three stared at him.

"Can we eat him too?" Tom questioned.

Gandalf slammed his staff onto the boulder, splitting it in two.

The trolls shrieked and tried to shield their eyes, but the light was too much for them. We all watched on as the three turned to stone.

There was silence for a few moments.

"Get your foot out of my back!" Dwalin exclaimed.

Gandalf and Bilbo were quick to start setting free the dwarves on the ground. The dwarves quickly got started on freeing those on the spit.

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?" I heard Thorin ask Gandalf as I stepped out of the trees.

"To look ahead," he answered.

"What brought you back?"

"Looking behind. Nasty business, still, they all are in one piece," Gandalf said, looking over everyone.

"No thanks to your burglar," Thorin snipped at him.

I sent him a look, apparently so did Gandalf, "He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that. They must have come down from the Ettenmoors," Gandalf snipped before changing the topic, giving a troll a solid whack with his staff. It didn't crack like the boulder did.

"Since when do the mountain trolls venture this far south?" Thorin questioned, looking up at the troll.

"Oh, not for an age. Not since a darker power ruled these lands... They could not have moved in daylight," Gandalf announced.

"There must be a cave nearby," I heard Thorin mutter.

"Lavender, my dear!" I heard Gandalf call to me. I moved away from Bilbo to answer to him.

"Could you be a dear and find their cave?" Gandalf requested, giving the troll another good whack for good measure.

I only chuffed at him, making my way to the only other well used trail in the clearing. It reeked of the trolls.

"Follow her," I heard Thorin bark out as I disappeared into the woods.

It didn't take long for the cave to come into view.

"Oh, what's that stench!" one of the red headed dwarves exclaimed.

"It's a troll hoard, be careful what you touch," Gandalf lectured as the group entered the cave.

I remained outside with a wrinkle in my nose. Trolls were not pleasant in any way, I decided.

I'd just laid my head on my paws, "Bilbo!" I heard Gandalf exclaim. I quickly lifted my head to watch the pair.

Gandalf was handing Bilbo a sword. Good, he needed one.

I watched the pair talk for a moment before I could hear crashing in the distance.

I was quick to get to my feet, Thorin noticed, "Something's coming!" he exclaimed.

"Stay together! Hurry now! Arm yourselves!" Gandalf ordered, they all formed a circle.

A sled erupted from the bushes. It was being pulled by rabbits? I had never seen rabbits so big...

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" the driver of the sleigh shouted.

"Radagast, it's Radagast the Brown!" Gandalf announced. I could hear the relief in his tone as he approached. "What on earth are you doing here?" he questioned.

Their tones quietened as they were closer to each other, I watched in confusion as Radagast pulled something out of his mouth. Gandalf handed him his pipe as the others continued to search through the hoard.

Radagast looked past Gandalf for a moment, his eyes landed on me and widened visibly. "Oh! Oh! Is that an uncut Mirinkarin's warg?" he exclaimed as he hurried over to me.

I stared down at the small man, my eyes flicking between Gandalf and him.

"What do you mean 'uncut'?" Bilbo questioned, moving to stand beside me. He put a hand on my side, it made me feel a little better about the strange small man.

"Her muzzle and her ears, most wargs have them cut. The lip is cut off to show their teeth," the small man exclaimed, reaching a hand up to me.

I looked at Bilbo uneasily again, but I was saved by a distant howl. I felt my body tense, "Was that a wolf? Are there... are there wolves out there?" Bilbo questioned.

I felt his nervousness as the fur on my back stood up.

"Wolves? No, that is no wolf," the dwarf with the funny hat informed.

Kili fired an arrow into the forest and a warg fell into the clearing, quickly dispatched by the others.

"Warg scouts! Which means an orc pack is not far behind," Thorin sounded angry.

"Orc pack?" Bilbo sounded concerned.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf also sounded angry.

"No one," Thorin answered.

Gandalf didn't like his answer, "Who did you tell?!"

"No one, I swear! What in Durin's name is going on?" he demanded.

"You are being hunted," Gandalf informed him.

The other dwarves now also had concerns.

"We have to get out of here," Dwalin announced.

"We can't! The ponies have bolted," the youngest informed. Poor boy sounded terrified.

"I'll draw them off," Radagast informed, stepping towards the others.

"These are Gundabad wargs, they will outrun you!" Gandalf said, stepping towards him.

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits. I'd like to see them try," I could hear the smirk in Radagast's voice.

As the others rounded everything up, "Lavender will go with you, she won't be able to sneak with us," I heard Thorin order. Gandalf seemed to share the same sentiment.

Bilbo, however, did not.

"No, no, absolutely not," he argued.

Radagast stepped forward, putting a hand on Bilbo's shoulder. "Mirinkarin wargs are faster than Gundabad's. I give you my word, I will not allow anything to happen to such a beautiful and rare creature," he promised.

Bilbo stared at him for a few long moments.

"Let's go!" I heard Thorin call.

Bilbo still looked hesitant, but simply gave a nod of his head. "Okay," was all he said before giving the space between my eyes on last rub. "Stay safe," he ordered before he ran off to join the others.

Radagast only gave me a strange smile as he boarded his rabbit-drawn sleigh.

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"Come and get me!" Radagast yelled as we burst through the trees into a large, hilly plain. It was full of large rocks and boulders.

I could see the orc-ridden wargs in the treeline nearby. They wasted no time pursing us with a snarl. I could hear the orcs yelling in orcish as they pursued us.

Radagast only laughed, staff waving in the air as we lured the group further into the plains and away from the others. This man was crazy.

I leapt over and around rocks as I did my best to keep up with him, he wasn't kidding when he said those rabbits were fast!

The pair of us weaved in and around the rock, teasing the wargs and their riders. They almost hit Radagast a few times. Almost. I think he was allowing it so they wouldn't give up the pursuit.

We had led the orcs pretty far off when I heard a warg shriek in the distance. It was followed by the sounds of combat.

I heard the steps behind us stop, and so did I.

I turned to see the wargs start in the direction of the others, I followed after them.

"Lavender!" I heard Radagast call from behind me, I ignored him.

I felt a strange sensation on my forehead as I chased after the wargs, but they'd gotten a head start.

By the time I caught up to them, they were closing in on the dwarves. I could see the others disappearing behind a rock, Thorin and Kili were still out in the open.

"Kili!" Thorin called, I could hear the desperation in his tone as three orc-topped wargs started to close in on Kili.

Kili fired two arrows, taking down one of the partnerships before he started running for Thorin, but he didn't take out the closest pair, which pounced before he'd taken five steps.

Kili fell with a scream as the warg pinned him to the ground. Thorin yelled after him and took a few running steps to interfere, but was stopped by Gandalf.

I was on top of the three before the warg had the opportunity to do anything, barreling into its side and snatching the rider off of it with my teeth as the three of us were sent sprawling.

The orc didn't hit the ground alive as the taste of bitter black iron hit my tongue.

The warg latched onto the flesh of my shoulder and my attention switched to him as I latched my own jaws into the scruff of his neck and into his spine.

I heard Kili scramble off as the third rider-bearing warg descended on me, sinking its teeth into my foreleg.

I felt it snap and I couldn't stop the yelp that escaped me before I snatched the rider from his back.

The orc left out a final shriek as I threw him across the field.

I heard a horn sound from across the field as another warg descended on the flesh of my hindquarter.

I felt its teeth rip into the muscle of my back leg one moment, and then the next it was gone.

I could hear heavy hoofbeats distantly that were rapidly getting closer.

The orcs started to yell in panic as white horses with armored riders started picking them off. There was an arrow in the head of the warg behind me.

I finished off the warg in front of me with a quick bite to the spine. These wargs were smaller than me by at least two heads.

The armored riders quickly finished off the orcs and wargs, and the rest started running for the hills. The majority of the armored riders pursued them.

The remaining three stalked towards me, arrows drawn. The leading rider put an arm out to stop the other two as he dismounted his black horse.

"My lord, is that wise?" one of them questioned.

"The mark," was all the lord said as he approached me.

"What is it?" the other asked.

The lord stopped a few feet in front of me, just out of my reach. "That is the mark of Radagast," he responded, turning back to the pair, "And that means you will not harm this creature," he ordered.

"Yes my lord," both of them answered in unison. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"Come, let us bring it back. It did not fair well in such a one-sided battle," the lord said. I really wasn't sure how I felt about that...

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I was unable to walk. Fortunately, the group had a medic with them who had prepared a sort of sleigh to transport any wounded. I was pulled onto it and pulled by two horses.

It took us maybe half an hour before I started to hear the rush of running water. I was in awe at the large and beautiful city in front of us.

"Gandalf!" I heard from ahead.

"Lord Elrond," I heard Gandalf greet. They were safe. I felt much better.

The pair started speaking in a language I didn't know.

"Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone has drawn them near," Lord Elrond informed.

"Ah, that may have been us," Gandalf informed.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thraine," Elrond greeted.

"I do not believe we have met," Thorin sounded testy.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain," Elrond said.

"Indeed, he made no mention of you," Thorin was definitely testy.

Lord Elrond said something in a foreign tongue.

The dwarves, naturally, took insult.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" one of them said, growing louder with each word. I could hear the sounds of metal.

"No Master Gloin, he is offering you food," Gandalf corrected them.

I could hear them all muttering amongst each other for a few moments, "Well, in that case, lead on," one of them requested, sounding much more polite than before.

I heard steps moving away, the horses started to spread out, moving on to where they were needed.

"Lavender!" I heard Bilbo yell, I could hear his steps rushing toward me. It didn't take long for him to appear in my view.

"Ah, yes, the warg. We found her taking on four opponents. It was hardly a fair fight, but she handled herself well. I take it she is with you?" I heard Lord Elrond ask, his steps drawing closer.

I let out a whimper as Bilbo's hand found the deep wound in my foreleg. I was sure it was broken.

"Yes! Yes she's mine! Please tell me she will be alright?" Bilbo pleaded, looking up at him.

Lord Elrond appeared in my view and crouched beside Bilbo, looking over me. "We will do everything in our power to help you. Any friend of Radagast," he motioned to my forehead, "And Gandalf is a friend of mine," he assured.

Bilbo seemed to relax a little, I licked his wrist.

"Come, let us eat. They will bring her to the healers," Lord Elrond assured him.

Bilbo gave me one last glance before he hesitantly followed after the group.

Bilbo visited me one more time before he and the rest of the group left first thing in the morning.

I tried not to let the fact he didn't tell me goodbye hurt, but I had a deep feeling I'd be seeing him again soon.