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Most mornings, the first thing Dwalin noticed upon waking was the silence. He had grown accustomed to hearing the songs of various birds during the Quest, but the thick stone of the newly-regained mountain of Erebor blocked out most of the outside noise. Today, however, he was assailed with the sound of many dwarves moving quickly, and calling instructions to one another. He was unsure exactly what the excitement was all about, as there had been nothing mentioned when the Company had met for dinner the night before.
Dwalin dressed quickly, and hurried out of his room to find the meaning of the commotion. He headed out the door of his chambers, just in time to run straight into a large leafy bush that was walking past.
“Ouch!” the bush yelped, stumbling backwards.
“By Durin’s beard, Ori!” Dwalin exclaimed, as he steadied the flailing dwarf who could just barely be glimpsed beneath the abundant greenery. “What in the world are you doing?”
“Dwalin! You won’t believe all that’s going on outside! I’m sure Bilbo will be able to find something for you to do as well, if you want. Bilbo thought this bush looked really nice, so I’m off to go put it in one of the rooms that was just cleared out. Hopefully my tumble didn’t hurt it!” All this was said in a single breath, after which Ori continued his trot down the hall, before Dwalin had a chance to question him further.
Dwalin, who had only caught “outside” and “Bilbo” from what Ori had said, decided that going outside sounded like good advice. “I didn’t think Ori cared much for plants,” he muttered to himself as he walked. “He certainly makes an effort to avoid eating them.”
It took Dwalin several minutes to reach the main entrance to the Mountain. As soon as he took his first step outside, he was almost bowled over for the second time that morning.
“Fili! Kili!” Dwalin exclaimed as he steadied himself against a nearby rock. “Is there a reason for why you’re running around like there is a pack of wargs after you?”
“I’m sorry, Dwalin. We didn’t see you there,” Fili apologized, while Kili left him behind and continued running into the mountain. “Bilbo wanted us to collect any unused containers and pots we could find in the Mountain. Kili decided that we should make a contest of it and see who could find more. So far he’s winning.”
“I see. However, it looks like what advantage Kili has in speed, you make up for with stability,” Dwalin observed, looking at the two piles of various pots, bowls, and jars. One pile was slightly larger than the other, but looked like it would not hold much more without collapsing.
Kili presented himself again, returning to his pile to balance a delicate jewel-encrusted vase on top. Bilbo also finally appeared, walking up while holding what seemed to be a tiny pot with a single flower in it. This Bilbo held carefully, keeping a hand in front of it to protect it from the strong breeze.
“Good work, Kili! We’ll be able to use nearly all of what you’ve already gathered. But don’t you think your pile looks a touch unsteady?” Bilbo asked, glancing nervously at Kili’s newest addition.
“I don’t think so, Bilbo,” Kili replied confidently. “I should be able to fit a bit more before I have to rearrange it.”
Dwalin interrupted as soon as Kili left again, continuing to seek an answer as to exactly what was going on.
“Bilbo, what—”
Unfortunately for Dwalin, that was as far as he managed to get once Bilbo’s attention was drawn to him, as Bilbo realized he had not yet been assigned to a task.
“Dwalin! How perfect! Your help would be much appreciated, unless of course you were doing something important already?” Bilbo’s expression communicated the fact that he believed nothing could be more important than the task at hand.
“How about I get some answers first. It seems like every dwarf in the Mountain is running around carrying plants, and they all mention you in some way. I want to know what has been going on!”
“Of course you deserve an explanation, Dwalin,” Bilbo placated. “But I’m afraid that you’ll have to wait a bit for it, because we are still busy here.”
“Excuse us! Coming through!” Fili and Kili raced back, weaving in between Bilbo and Dwalin on their way to deposit their new findings, then back into the Mountain.
Still waiting, Dwalin turned as he heard someone approaching from behind him. The newly-crowned King Under the Mountain strode towards the small group, dressed in a finely embroidered coat, with his beard neatly trimmed and braided. All in all, Dwalin thought Thorin looked quite regal—at least he did until he moved his gaze higher.
“Thorin, what happened to your hair? It hasn’t looked like that since Fili and Kili arranged it for you when they were children!” Thorin’s hair was intricately braided, and wound around his head in the form of a crown. It also had a multitude of small flowers woven into the braids, making the completed appearance to be something vastly different from Thorin’s usual style.
“Oh. Bilbo braided it for me. I wasn’t expecting the flowers, though.” Thorin looked slightly embarrassed, but sent a small smile Bilbo’s direction.
“The flowers, yes.” Dwalin attempted to pull the conversation back around to his desired explanation. “Would you happen to know why every dwarf in the Mountain has suddenly decided to act mad as elves, carrying plants and flowers around everywhere I go?”
“Of course, Dwalin. There’s a very simple explanation—”
“No, no, Thorin,” Bilbo cut in. “Let me explain. You see, I just….” He trailed off, trying to find the right words to calm the exasperated dwarf.
“Bilbo decided—”
“Thorin agreed—”
“Enough! Can I just get an explanation from someone!” Dwalin could take it any longer. “Do you know what I’ve been through today? Ori ran into me with a bush as soon as I got up, Nori and Gloin nearly flattened me against the wall when they carried a tree through the hall without caring to look where they were going! I had to prevent my own brother from falling down the stairs when he couldn’t see over the stack of botany books he was carrying. Kili almost dropped a jar on my foot! What’s going on?”
“Of course, Dwalin. You only had to ask.” Bilbo ducked behind Thorin as Dwalin took a threatening step forward. “You see, I told Thorin that since I had agreed to stay in the Mountain, the least he could do would be to allow me to make it a little more cozy. Hobbits aren’t made to live surrounded by stone, you know. The other dwarves offered to help.” Bilbo peeked out around Thorin, checking to see if his answer had been satisfactory. He ventured out when he observed that Dwalin looked slightly mollified.
“At least the answer makes sense,” Dwalin agreed. “Now if only it hadn’t taken my entire morning to get it.”
“I’m glad you think that, because I have some bad news for you,” Bilbo said. “Since they saw you were distracted all this morning, I’m afraid that Fili and Kili decided to spruce your rooms up in your absence. They should be about finished by now.”
Dwalin staggered backwards a step. “I hope you have some other heirs lined up, Thorin, because if they aren’t done by now they soon will be finished, for good!”
As Dwalin charged back into the Mountain to find his quarry, Thorin turned to Bilbo. “Are Fili and Kili actually decorating Dwalin’s rooms?”
“No, but now he’ll think he knows exactly who to blame when he does find his rooms newly decorated.” Bilbo winked at Thorin, and, as realization dawned in Thorin’s eyes, they walked into the Mountain to watch the end result of Dwalin’s morning.