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Gandalf stepped on the moonlit cobblestones that were being eaten away by the moss and dirt. With each exhale, he could see his cloudy breath escape his mouth and dissipate like a ghost. More than a few of the trees he walked past were dead. The ones that were still alive had shed their leaves, which were on the ground and sparkling from the frost.
The Fellowship was still nascent. They were nothing more than a bunch of people who were united by one goal. They were not friends, they were not even acquaintances. They didn’t know how this journey would change their relationship or if it would change. As powerful of a being as Galdalf was, he could not see into the future.
But this lack of familiarity did not as much apply to the hobbit members of the fellowship, who were already quite close before they went on this journey.
For many years, Galdalf was the biggest advocate for the hobbits. Not many knew of this race of people and those who did tended to underestimate them, but not Gandalf. He knew that they were a hearty, industrious people with a self-sufficient society. Their feet made quiet steps, which came in handy for tasks such as stealing from monsters or sneaking past a giant eye. Their slow-paced lifestyle, although not Gandalf’s cup of tea, was one that the other races could learn from. And their peaceful existence did not necessarily mean that they were incapable of fighting. Hobbits could pick up a weapon and learn to use it much like anybody else. The ones who had enough practice were a force to be reckoned with.
But there was one thing that Gandalf could not deny, no matter what: Hobbits were adorable.
He could name off multiple reasons why this was:
Their small stature. Not only were they half the size of the race of man, but their society had small houses, tools and possessions to accommodate their smaller size. Gandalf always enjoyed holding a hobbit-sized rake or a hobbit-sized melon baller when visiting The Shire, observing the details and craftsmanship.
They showed affection by rubbing their noses and kissing each other either on one part or many parts of the face, depending on how excited they were in the moment (although, much like humans, they reserved prolonged kissing for romantic moments).
Their pointed ears tended to wiggle whenever they were curious or they were having new experiences. Bilbo did this quite a lot when he left The Shire and now, Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry were doing this, particularly when they were being introduced to new people. Hobbit children were known to do this hundreds of times per day since the world was still so new to them.
Speaking of children, hobbits carried their youngest ones around in slings that they would wear around their chests. Gandalf enjoyed waving hello to any of the curious hobbitlings who were clinging to their parents. And these bright-eyed hobbitlings, in turn, wiggled their ears at the mysterious giant man, although a few of them buried their faces into their caregiver’s chest or shoulder in fear.
Hobbits tended to sleep very close to each other or in piles, especially on frigid nights like this. The technical term for this was kleptothermy and hobbits were not the only creatures to do this.
Although hobbits could handle spicy food, they tended to get the hiccups right after consuming it.
Of course, Gandalf would never remark about the hobbits’ cute traits and antics in front of them. After all, he saw potential in these people and he didn’t want to do anything that would diminish their confidence or dignity. But he could still observe the hobbits and smile.
Gandalf came upon the abandoned stone building that was nestled in the trees. He didn’t know whether it had been used by humans or by elves. He supposed that even a long-lived race like the elves had their reasons for abandoning something and embracing newness. Either way, this was where the hobbits were sleeping. They were the first ones to go to bed. The others were still awake and making conversation by the fire.
When Gandalf showed up to the abandoned stone temple, he found precisely what he expected: The hobbits sleeping all over themselves. Okay, maybe not so much all over themselves as they were all over Sam. There were a pile of blankets on the ground to provide some cushioning for their bodies. Sam was on his back with his legs sprawled a little bit. Pippin was to the right of Sam and resting his head on Sam’s stomach. Merry was resting his head on Sam’s chest while Sam’s right arm was wrapped around his shoulder. Both Merry and Pippin had their knees bent toward their chest.
Merry rolled onto his back and stretched his legs before exhaling with pleasure. He then turned back onto his side and curled back into a fetal position.
Meanwhile, Frodo was asleep a few feet away from the other three. He was tossing and turning, lost in the midst of a nightmare. Gandalf wasn’t surprised; Frodo had just become the Bearer of the Ring. A burden that had been willingly accepted by someone did not suddenly become less of a burden. For all that Gandalf knew, the ring itself was probably causing that nightmare. It didn’t necessarily have to be worn to exhibit its power.
Once Sam opened his eyes, Gandalf hid to the right of the opening and put his back against the outside wall. He didn’t want them knowing that he was there watching. He stood there and listened to Sam’s words.
“Frodo?” whispered Sam.
There was a pause.
“Frodo?”
Gandalf could hear Frodo catching his breath.
“Oh, it’s you, Sam,” whispered Frodo with a sprinkling of relief.
“Come join us.”
“Really? You want me to join you? Even though I have the ring?”
“I’ve touched you before and nothing happened. You’ll be fine.”
Gandalf then heard Frodo shuffle and drag his blankets over to Sam. He waited a few minutes before peering back into the building.
When he did, he saw that Sam had his left arm around a sleeping Frodo, who was snuggled up against his companion’s side. Frodo was now sleeping soundly, although Gandalf wondered if the ring would have any effects on the other sleeping hobbits.
He left the hobbits alone now that he knew that they were all right. He didn’t want to intrude too much on their privacy.
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As the night went on, more of The Fellowship drifted off to sleep. Soon, only Gandalf, Boromir and Legolas were still awake, although Gandalf felt heaviness in his eyelids. There was no use just sitting there and listening to Boromir and Legolas talk about weapons that he didn’t use. He could just go to bed now. But he figured that he would check up on the hobbits one last time before he turned in.
Gandalf returned to the stone building wondering if Frodo’s possession of The Ring had any effect on the pile of sleeping hobbits. He peered into the doorway and… so far, so good. They were sleeping peacefully - in fact, more peacefully than before since Frodo was no longer tossing and turning. The Ring wasn’t doing anything noticeable to the hobbits. It wasn’t doing anything that caused them to wake up. Maybe that ring was selective when it came to what effects it would have, to whom and to when. If that were the case, that would make this possession even scarier than it already was. Maybe right now, it required sleep like everyone else.
Of course, just because the hobbits were sleeping didn’t mean that their bodies weren’t doing other things. Pippin audibly broke wind, which caused him to jolt out of his sleep.
“Uh!” he exclaimed as he opened his eyes wide.
Gandalf put his back to the wall again before the now wide-awake Pippin could notice him. Gandalf had to admit, he was surprised by that sudden bodily function as well. Many things changed about him in his older age but one thing stayed exactly the same: farts were always funny. He snickered as quietly as possible, making it sound more like it could be mistaken for an animal scratching against a tree.
Gandalf thought about the long journey ahead of them, how it was not just a matter of stopping by Mount Doom to drop the ring into lava and then going home, like it was a trip to the store. Oh, how he wished it could be that easy. This one small piece of jewelry contained so much significance and determined the fate of the world. It was unfathomable that…
Just then, another fart slipped out of Pippin.
“UH!” he exclaimed.
Oh my goodness, thought Gandalf. The boy had woken himself up again. Gandalf floated away from his worries and a smile returned to his face.
“Pip, was that you?” asked Merry.
There was a pause.
“No,” whispered Pippin.
“Pip, I KNOW it was you,” whispered Merry.
“Then why did you ask?”
“I wanted to see if you would actually own up to a fart for once.”
Now that Gandalf knew that the hobbits were okay, he felt it was time to step away from their sleeping quarters and go back to his area in order to get ready for bed.
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Gandalf returned to the campfire to find Legolas and Boromir still deep in conversation. They were sitting close enough together that he could tell that they had formed a connection, one based on a shared experience. And, indeed, they were talking about war. Gandalf figured that he could sit in front of the fire for a little while longer and watch the dying embers. He sat down on one of the logs and did just that.
“There’s something about watching your compatriot die in your arms that changes you,” said Legolas, “Even if they’re mortal and you knew it would happen someday, you are never prepared for when or how it would happen.”
Boromir placed his hand on Legolas’ shoulder in an act of mutual understanding.
But that was not quite where Gandalf’s mind was. His mind was still on the cute antics of the sleeping hobbits. And that was when he burst out laughing. He didn’t want to do this but he could not keep it in any longer. The laughter came out like mischievous ghosts that had been pent up in his lungs, ones that had been waiting for him to show utter delight at something. His chest trembled and his eyes were closed tight with the help of his raised cheek muscles. He held himself up with the help of his trusted staff. Otherwise, he would have surely fallen off the log.
“I’m sorry, is what I’m saying supposed to be funny?” asked Legolas.
Gandalf didn’t answer at first. The laughter kept coming. He laughed for the next few minutes while Legolas and Boromir watched on in confusion.
Once Gandalf calmed down a bit, Boromir felt it necessary to speak up.
“What in all of the lands is so funny?” he asked.
“I was checking up on the hobbits and…” said Gandalf. He laughed a bit more before continuing. “Pippin kept spooking himself out of his sleep with his bodily functions!”
“Can you be more specific?” asked Legolas.
“He was farting himself awake!”
Now that they had a better idea of what was bringing Gandalf such joy, Legolas and Boromir looked at each other and started with slow, awkward laughter, which then turned into full-on uproars. Boromir placed his hand on Legolas’ shoulder once more, except this time, it was to prevent HIS body from falling over from his belly laugh. Much like how food was made better by adding seasonings, laughter was made better by… well… even more laughter.
“What’s so funny over there?!” shouted Gimli when he woke up.
“Pippin is scared awake by his own farts!” said Boromir.
Gandalf calmed down a bit before he spoke up once more.
“You probably shouldn’t tell him that I told you that,” he said.
“Nonsense!” said Boromir, “We’re gonna tell him and we’re gonna give him shit for it!”
There he was, Boromir being the older brother of the group. Gandalf had the feeling he was going to do all right.
Well, Gandalf failed in keeping his opinions of hobbits being cute and funny to himself. But maybe underestimating them was a good thing to do. What better way to outsmart Dark Lord Sauron than to downplay these creatures?