11They are far from the Mirkwood, stowed away in stolen barrels riding the river towards Lake Town when he notices her.
There in one barrel, peeking out is a mop of red hair and decidedly elvish ears.
He want to yell and rage but the battle they had fought has taken its toll on him. Instead he maneuvers the barrel he's in towards the runaway and is met with a varied range of exclamations from the party when he pulls out the elfing he spoke to in the prisons.
The little one, Tawny something, has the decency to look ashamed , she also looks like a half drowned kitten but he refuses to mention that in front of her, children liked kittens and this was a time for seriousness and scolding. Not kittens.
"What on earth!" Bilbo cries out, already swimming towards him, his maternal instinct no doubt at work. "What happened to this poor dear?!"
"This " He growls " is a misbehaving elf child."
"Glad to hear not all elves are so high and mighty!" Bofur has the audacity to laugh and shakes off the glare Thorin throws his way." You have to admit, it's a little funny."
"I didn't mean to misbehave." Tawny something looks meekly down at Thorin who is still holding her up for the rest of the company to see. Bilbo tugs on his arm, demanding he put her down while patting the girl's head. She sniffles and he can see it in the hobbit's eyes. He's adopted another into his brood.
"Misbehaving or not, we certainly are finding ourselves in quite the pickle." Balin sighs, probably already trying to figure out how to go about this diplomatic mess. "What is your name little one and what were you doing in a barrel?"
"My name is Tauriel." She sniffles " I was only playing, barrels make good hiding places." She ducks deeper into the barrel, peering over the edge and he didn't think it was possible but the look on Bilbo's face gets even more maternal.
"Well." Dwalin snorts "The elfing and hobbit share more than pointy ears it seems."
"She can't stay with us." Thorin glares " She needs to be with her own kind. Her parents are most likely looking for at this very moment!"
"We can't exactly turn back now can we?" Bofur sighs
"We can't leaver her either." Dori sighs"She's too young, even if she is an elf."
"There might be orcs still. " Ori looks around warily.
Thorin rubs his temples, his head started to ache.
"Leaving her is not an option!" Bilbo bellows "she's only…Tauriel, how old are you little one?"
"I'm ninety nine years old." She beams, peeking out from the barrel , probably glad to have avoided a lecture, which she will most definitely be getting even if Thorin has to do it himself. "Almost a hundred!"
A beat passes.
Bilbo sputters at that " Oh? Oh. Right, Your lot ages differently."
"How old are you?" Tauriel pauses for a moment, and looks apologetic the next "If you don't mind me asking."
"I'm around fifty years old myself." Bilbo answers and the face Tauriel makes in the most comical expression he has ever seen on an elf.
Then again that probably isn't saying much all things considered.
You might have noticed I've broken the rules a bit with Tauriel's age, since elves mature at around fifty years old but this fic is purely for fun and I've already made her a wee baby so i might as well go all the way. I kid, I kid but elves will age a good deal slower in this story. Thanks for bearing with me!