derping with the boggins. no plans, just tentatively voice testing.

[experting]

No contract? Ah, well, I cannot say I'm an expert on how these... agreements— [ Yes, that word will do, ha. ]—are meant to work, but without a contract, there is no place to sign. And if I cannot sign, well, I suppose I have not agreed to this agreement. [ Ha! ]

Yes. So. [ Straightening his already straightened jacket. ]

If you would not mind, I think I will be... leaving. [ Ahem, yes; keep it up, don't lose that backbone now. ] … Which I will be doing in a moment. That is to say, actually... ah, right now? [ No no no, that hadn't been a question! He is leaving this instant! Or... oh, wait. ] … Soon. Yes, that sounds better. [ Because... how is he supposed to leave this place?

So not fidgeting. Much. ]


… This way... or is it that? [ Pointing until his arms cross one another and no. He's talking to himself; not asking for help, thank you very much, hmph. ] … And there are no signs. Hm. Typical.

Comments

[woodking]

I didn't expect to see you once again so far from your home, little burglar.

[experting]

[


… Ha. All right, memory, kick in. Bilbo here is a wee bit out of sorts, sorry, so he supposes, in some small way, there is a chance he's momentarily forgotten a name he's meant to know, but see, this Bilbo hasn't quite hit Mirkwood and all the joys that come with it. He'll smooth out his vest however, hook his thumbs in the pockets and drum his fingers against his belly, clearly stalling for a more diplomatic way of asking what he's going on about.

… Except the burglar part is throwing him off. BE COOL, BILBO. ] Yes, ah. I've come to find that the expected is less likely to happen than the unexpected is. So it might be best to not... expect. [ That... made sense? Yes, of course! Nodding now! ]

[woodking]

[Thranduil here sounds slightly amused.]

Sound enough council, I suppose.

[desaturates]

There are as many signs on each road, Master Baggins, as there are hobbits blind to see them.

[experting]

[ Amused is good. Far better than the usual, more expected – ha – reactions. Still, Bilbo has no idea what's going on. Which is not a new development, but nonetheless – he isn't fidgeting, but he is swinging his hands back to his sides and letting them hang uselessly there... and that isn't any bit more comforting, no. Ah well.

Now... about this again and burglaring business. So nods, a few times more than necessary and... ] I suppose I should follow my own words. [ A pause, a frown and a slight straightening of his stance so he doesn't appear quite as short as he is. ] I rarely expect familiarity from a... stranger? [ And his voice pitches higher on the last syllables, as though he's unsure of using that word. ]

Gandalf <3

[experting]

[ Gandalf. Funny thing how he always shows up at the beginning of unwanted adventures. HM. So have a particularly fussy hobbit eyeing the wizard right about now and then not so discreetly glancing about once more. Hmph, signs. ] Blind? No, no. Beg your pardon, but I cannot be blind to what is not there, thank you. [ Fiddling with the one flap of his jacket and... he really needs to stop fidgeting. ] Signs are meant to be clear. Big. Clearly written, yes. Not those... those... [ Floundering, floundering for a word. ] … Signs which aren't signs that only you seem to see. [ Yes? Yes. ]

just in case it's not obvious yet Thran is bookverse. Sorry I have no icons

[woodking]

[The elvenking raises an eyebrow in some slight surprise, but ah. Of course it's not that simple.]

I see.

Well, the day will come when you will gain some slight familiarity of me, and I slightly less of you.

If I may ask, Mr. Baggins, what happened last before you found yourself here?

No worries about the icons! The tags are what are important c:

[experting]

[ Bilbo may be new to this business of adventuring and grand quests, but he has enough sense to realize he probably ought to refrain from gossiping like a tween to any willing ear, even though they... know, will know each other? He isn't quite anything important on said quest, but blabbing about the company... well, he just inched into Thorin's good, and probably unstable, graces, so best stay there as long as he can. At least until he knows how friendly the familiarity is.

Though, he's an elf and elves are nice, RIGHT?

Still, Bilbo isn't quick on his feet, at least in the metaphorical sense, and he hesitates as he tries to conjure up an answer, that isn't too specific or an outright lie. However, the delay is telling enough in itself. So much for the cleverness Gandalf kept going on about. ] I was... walking. [ And if he could bash his head into something – maybe a dwarf, they seemed fond of that – he would, because that'd been... beyond words, actually. ] Hobbits may be small in stature and round about the middle, but we are very fond of walking, I'll have you know. [ And if his words are coming out faster, it isn't because he's inwardly panicking, no. ] I was out admiring the trees, the sunlight, a mountain... s. [ Slight grammatical error right there, nothing more. He clears his throat. ] A walking holiday, yes, that's what I was doing. [ How is he so bad at this? ]

ONE DAY /shakes fist

[woodking]

The trees?

[Thranduil is looking down questioningly, with just a hint of a smile.]

And which forest is it you were admiring?

['Sunlight' seems to suggest against his forest, which is... fair, he supposes. It's a depressing thing to admit, even after all this time, but any number of the wonders of Greenwood the Great were obscured by its transition to Mirkwood. It's not a place for the faint of heart, and there are few who would describe transversing it as a holiday. He himself wouldn't - its dangers were too numerous, and too great. There were still joys to be had in its shadows, but they did require vigilance.]

[kinginexile]

Master Baggins, while there is no agreement or contract with your scribe that means little to them. They will do as they please regardless of any argument you might put up otherwise.

[This is one speaking from experience. He hates it, but there is little he can do to change what his mun wants to do. Still, he will voice his opinion either way.]

[iorhael]

I would try that way if I were you, but you may find yourself circling back. One never knows in this place. Well. I suppose any way is as good as any, on second thought.

[there's a slight smile seeming to come out, at that sense of victory that might as well be coming from Bilbo at finding a loophole.]

I'm afraid it's not nearly so simple as not having a contract to sign. Muns, you see, have no need of such things, and would honor it only if it suited their purposes.

Bilbo :D

[desaturates]

[ Oh, how good it is of hobbits to come so short.

All the better for wizards to stare down at them. ]

My eyes have bettered with each turn I have taken to tell comfortable hobbits apart from idle stone. Come, Bilbo. Set yourself to walk.

The wait is horrible, isn't it? :| Why can't it be Dec already

[experting]

[ He's been turned around far too many times on the adventure, true, but the extensive map collection tucked away in his little hobbit home makes it difficult for him to not have a good idea of his, previous, whereabouts. On one hand, he supposes it doesn't matter much; the need to be tight-lipped at a time like this seems somewhat odd, but on the other hand, well... ] Forest, ah yes, let's see, oh it would have been...

[ He slips his hands together and laces the fingers, drumming and then pressing the pointers together for a continuously, nervous tap. ] … Silly me, I believe I've forgotten. [ An exaggerated, quick, entirely too uncertain laugh, which he just as soon covers up with balling a hand and coughing into it. Ahem. ] Hobbits are, as you can see, small, while trees are so... big. Tall. Too tall. [ Nodding along. ] From my height they all look the... [ An extended pause for some unneeded gesturing. ] … same. [ Which somehow explains how he'd been taking a walking holiday by a forest he cannot remember, yes. ]

[experting]

[ And if Thorin, King of stern talking tos and less than agreeable words, hasn't been able to, forcibly, sway one's mind, then there is little hope for a little someone like Bilbo. Fantastic. Let him just absorb this, slowly, unenthusiastically, and try hard not to be entirely useless in his— ]

There must be a way to... [ He pauses suddenly and glances over one shoulder, the next, and hm; how does this work exactly? Can muns hear them? All the time? Pressing his lips together, exaggeratedly, he then huddles more into himself, hiding his hands from potentially prying eyes. From there, he makes a motion with his hands in some vague, entirely too jumbled to be clear movement that is meant to symbolize, well, escaping. And there. He glances up from his hands and... Thorin's turn? Bilbo has the feet for sneaking and Thorin has, well, attributes for everything else, so while they've never made the best of teams, they can figure something out and make a break for it, right? ]

I am both anticipating it and slightly afraid, mostly because I don't want Thran Denethor'd

[woodking]

[His eyebrow slowly raises a little as he stares down with a now slightly judging air Bilbo you do realize this is a king you're lying to here.]

[experting]

[ Cue a bubbling noise that is caught somewhere between a scoff and a too pitched drawl of waning confidence. ] I suppose that is to be expected. Unsavory folk, yes, that's what they are. Dragging already busy, already adventuring folk into another adventure without even asking first, oh. The nerve. [ And why yes, throughout his speech he's been gesturing, shifting and now, there, ends with his hands on his hips. Though, speaking of nerves and rudeness and the lot, he stills, only to throw a glance skyward and around. He still doesn't understand this mun business and if they are constantly listening in, but if they are... hm, that hadn't been very Baggins-like, now had it? He deflates with a hint of sheepishness for, well, one moment and then, ha, he's squaring his shoulders to appear bigger, the fiercest scowl he's capable of back on his face. He refuses to sway himself into caring about the feelings of a mun, hmph!

Now... ]

… I should like to know what their purposes entail... but only if it comes to that. [ Because he's leaving, so it doesn't quite matter. At least, that's what he's set on believing for, oh, the next few minutes. Turning, yes, turning to walk this, no, that way and— ] You may travel with me if you'd like. [ Or well, he should, because muns are, well, bad. So get over here Frodo :| ]

c: !

[experting]

[ … Stop that. It's only making a huffy hobbit huffier, but of course, unfortunate experience has taught him that resisting wizards, especially this one, never goes as it should. So walking, yes, he takes a step, two, but it's obvious he's waiting for Gandalf to take the lead. ]

Where are we headed? [ A pause and then an exhale of exasperation. ] No, that's not right; I take that back. [ Because they have this bad habit of changing paths or getting rudely knocked onto other ones. The only question worth asking, really, is— ] Where will we find ourselves at the end?

[desaturates]

[ Resting wizards, like dragons, need never be woken.

Thankfully, this one in particular seems keen on his walks. ]

Where were are meant to be, and at the time suited to our arrival. No farther and no sooner.

[ He does take lead - possibly, because trailing after a hobbit is more effort than outrunning him. ]

You are far from home, Bilbo Baggins, and I have not taken you here.

Oh. That's true :|c Hopefully it won't be... too... bad.

[experting]

[ AHEM. He'll just be trying not to shrink under such a gaze. Apparently, Bilbos and kings don't play nice with one another; in his defense, it isn't quite clicking in that mostly sheltered head of his who his new acquaintance is, and that's probably why he has the gall to start inching backward, little fists flexing and relaxing repeatedly at his sides. ] Ah yes. I was going, I think? I've forgotten that too it seems. [ Ha! ] But I'll do that now. The going. [ Yes. ]

[kinginexile]

[Sadly for Bilbo, and Thorin of course, the more fuss one puts up the more wicked the muns become. Or so it seems. Make a fuss about possibly going to a game with dragons in it, get sent to a game with dragons in it. Tread carefully, hobbit.

And the antics of the halfling are comical and could almost get a chuckle from the dwarf if Bilbo wasn't so obviously serious. To his question, he will shake his head, arms crossed over his chest.]

I do not think even a hobbit could sneak from these scribes. They are ever watching... and meddling.

[The last part is said with some aggravation.]

[experting]

[ He always thought himself fond of riddles and cleverly worded answers that kept one thinking, guessing... but he's yet to find the same fondness in Gandalf's particular method. ] Not here, but you led me there. [ With a band of dwarves on a nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable quest that he doesn't entirely mind being on anymore, but that's beside the point! ]

Are we going there or a... different there? [ And he isn't quite walking beside the wizard; short legs moving quicker to match longer strides, he hides a pace behind, comically leaning forward to peer up at the other as they walk. ]

:/ he's great in the books and.... And then some of the things in the first movie were a little >_>;

[woodking]

[Bilbooooo.....]

Were you not talking to your mun just now because you were unsure where to go?

[experting]

[ Watching? He snaps his hands back to his sides and whips his head this way and that. Slowly, he catches himself though and he clears his throat, glancing down and finally, back to Thorin. Right. Time for subtlety... not that Bilbo is exceptionally skilled at that. In the end, he settles on lowering his voice into a hush, foolishly believing that will keep their conversation private. ]

What is it they want? Do they wish to delay... [ And still, he doesn't dare mention their quest or its specifics, his hobbity simplicities leaving him to not quite understand that muns, scribes, whatever they may be called, already know everything. Instead, he flattens his lips and stares, leaving it to Thorin to fill in the blanks himself. ]

... r-rofl. Yeah. There were some... surprises in the movie.

[experting]

[ …... f-ffff.

He pauses mid-step back and upon waiting too long, wobbles on his horrid balance and ends up shuffling, ungracefully until both oversized feet are back on the ground. Now, he'd actually forgotten that part; funny. ] Oh. Yes. Yes that sounds right. [ Clears his throat, glancing to the side, to the next and then to Thranduil. Needing something to do with his hands, other than awkwardly clenching them, he focuses on smoothing out the bottom of his vest and— ] Would you happen to... know which way it is I should go? [ Clears throat again. ]

living in spiderwood is such a huge part of mirkwood elves that i'm like UH over spider arrival

[woodking]

[e y e i n g sigh. His expression is now almost exasperated, if only slightly so.]

In order to know that, you'd first need to know where you were going.