I do not own the Hobbit.

This is a prompt from BM Originally: What would happen if a young Dis, Thorin and Frerin, while passing through Rhohan during the years of exile (before the dwarf/orc war) saw an ent? I don't know whether or not they did go to Rhahan, but brow is what I came up with. It might be a little funny because for most of it someone is talking, but enjoy.

Two pairs of round eyes stared up at the dwarf before them, small and tiny hands curling the covers beneath them.

"Is this a story about uncle?" Kili asked eagerly. Dwalin frowned at the youth.

"Not if you don't let me finish," he half growled before relaxing his expression, "Now as I was saying we travelled across many different lands."

"To the elves' forest?" Fili cut in.

"What did I say?" Dwalin scolded before nodding his head, "Aye, we did travel there, but that was a while later. First we travelled among many of the places where men dwelled, the borders of Rohan being one of them. That was when your uncle and his two siblings, your mother and their brother Frerin got into trouble. You see, there were zurmûnh in the forest on the border of Rohan, ents."

"Ents?" The question belonged to the younger of the two dwarflings before the warrior.

"Tree herders," Dwalin answered, "Shepherds who look after the trees in the forest."

"Why do they look after the forest?" Fili asked.

"I don't know, they just do. Now do you want to hear the story or not?"

Both of the dwarflings in front of Dwalin nodded their heads in a compliant and obedient excitement.

"Now Thorin, as the eldest, was tasked to look after his two younger siblings, your mother and Frerin," Dwalin continued with a slight air of frustration, "Your mother and Frerin, however, were not the easiest dwarflings to look after, Frerin in particular. The dwarves had settled down to camp just shy of Fangorn forest. Frerin and your mother were at the edge of the camp closed to the tree line and out of view of any adults and your uncle.

"'There are zurmûn in the forest,' Frerin said to Dis, telling her a mighty story of the tree herders who had been created to stop dwarves from entering Fangorn, killing any who strayed into the forest, be they adults or dwarflings like yourselves."

"Is that true?" Fili asked, wide eyed.

Dwalin shook his head. "It is true ents do not like our kind, however I have not heard of any dwarf killed by an ent. Of course, that might be because no dwarf was stupid enough to enter into Fangorn forest in the first place."

The tattooed warrior smiled as the two youths before him both leaned towards and away from him at his words. He now had their unyielding attention.

"Your mother was entranced by Frerin's story. 'There was one zurmûn who was larger and more vicious than the rest,' she was told by her brother, 'One whose very name made even our father tremble with fear.' Dis, being as she was, had to ask what the name of the ent was.

"'Iron Branch they call him,' Frerin replied, 'For his branches are coated in hard grey iron. It was said they were like that as a result from the great dwarf and ent war before the time of even our father's father. As part of the defence against the great entish attack lead by Iron Branch, the dwarves who were fighting decided to trick Iron Branch and his army into a passage surrounded by high cliffs. The ents did not suspect a trick until it was too late and by then a sea of melted iron had been poured down upon them trapping in the passage forever as the metal cooled. Iron Branch had not gone all the way into the passage however, and as such he escaped with only his braches being coated in iron. This won the war and drove the ents and Iron Branch off, the dwarves chasing them into Fangorn forest.'

"Your mother was equally fascinated and scared by this, her curiosity aroused for this great 'Iron Branch'. Frerin could see that and decided to further spike her curiosity by elaborating his story, making it darker and darker with each passing moment that he spoke.

"'The warriors who went into Fangorn forest,' he continued, 'Never came back out again. They disappeared, all three hundred of them including their leader, a most esteemed general at the time. That night it was said that their screams could be heard above the sound of the wolves howling. It was believed that they were impaled on Iron Branches iron coated branches as vengeance for his fellow ents that had been killed.'

"Frerin now had your mother's undying attention in him and his story, but he decided to go one step further, telling your mother he had seen the Iron Branch at the edge of the forest earlier watching them. He said that he had met the famed ent's eye and held his gaze without trembling in the slightest fear. Dis, of course, did not believe him, yet Frerin insisted that it was true and continued to do so with the most persuasive of words, swearing upon his life that it was true. It, of course, was not, but your mother was quickly caught in his trap.

"'In fact Iron Branch lurks around the edge of the forest every night for seven nights on the date his army were trapped in iron,' Frerin told her, 'And on the last night he kills any dwarf that set foot into Fangorn forest. That is tonight.'

"Your mother by now was well and truly entranced by her brother's story. Frerin saw this and, with a smile of mischief on his face, dared her to go to the edge of the forest and walk in. Dis shook her head, her eyes wide with fear at the suggestion, yet Frerin pressed the matter.

"'Unless you are too much of a coward of course,' he teased, trying successfully to stir your mother up. With the older of the two watching Dis made her way slowly towards the edge of the forest, disappearing from Frerin's view several steps before she reached the trees. From where he was standing Frerin watched and waited, counting slowly backwards from a hundred as he strained to see his little sister. At sixty worry began to gnaw at Frerin's stomach, and one before twenty your mother's brother took it upon himself to look for Dis himself.

"What Frerin did not know was that your mother had not gone into Fangorn forest, but rather had remained behind a rock just outside of it as she had been too sacred to set foot in the trees. Dis watched him run past, but did not call out as she was fearful that Iron Branch would hear her. So she allowed her brother to run past calling her name, and waited for him to return and find her. After a while, however, it became clear to your mother that Frerin was not going to return from within the forest. Fear began to eat at her for she was afraid that Iron Branch had gotten him. This fear grew and soon spurred her into action, Dis running to find your uncle and tell him what had happened.

"Now your mother was not looking where she was going and crashed into Thorin sending them both to the ground. Your uncle, of course, acted indignant and rose to his feet as soon as he was able demanding what the problem was. It was with tears that your mother explained that Frerin had gone into the forest looking for her and that a monster named Iron Branch was going to get him. Thorin was befuddled by this, but he reassured Dis as was his duty as an elder brother and took her to Balin to watch.

"Your uncle then retraced his siblings' steps, finding his way back to the rock where your mother had been hiding. Thorin took one look up at the forest and drew in a deep breath before plunging his way into the mess of branches after his brother. All the while your uncle was wondering what sort of monster Iron Branch was.

"At the same time Frerin was walking around in circles, alternately calling for your mother and berating himself for potentially drawing the attention of an ent, let alone Iron Branch. Any small noise that was made had your uncle's brother jumping out of his skin, hands whipping around in the air to fight off a non-existent foe. Though Frerin would never have admitted it, he was scared out of his wits at the thought of having to make his way deeper into the forest. He also felt guilt from the belief that he had made your mother go into the forest alone.

"'Where are you?' was all Frerin seemed capable of saying. Little did he know his brother was saying exactly the same thing a small while away in the forest. As such your uncle's brother continued making his way deeper and deeper into the eerie depths of Fangorn forest.

"Your uncle, further away, was beginning to get frustrated, crashing through the forest in a way to vent his annoyance at what his brother had done. Unlike Frerin, he was making more progress, spotting his brother's tracks every now and then just enough times to keep him on the right track. He was too far away to hear his brother's calls however, yet he was close enough to hear Frerin's pained shout as the younger dwarf tripped over a rather large tree root.

"Some would say they have never seen your uncle run faster, at least if anyone had been there to see him run. Hardly a moment had passed when Frerin's cry had ended before his brother came upon him, taking in the situation before him. Your uncle merely shot his brother a glance and a roughly voiced 'what were you thinking?' as he helped to lift Frerin to his feet.

"Your uncle practically carried his younger brother out of Fangorn forest. Frerin did not care, however, he was merely glad that he had escaped without running into one of the zurmûnh he had described to your mother. The two had barely reached the edge of the forest however when a giant crashing sounded behind them, and with Thorin pulling Frerin behind the same rock your mother had been hiding behind before the two of them witnessed the passing of a tree herder." Dwalin sat back upon finishing the last word of the story. There was a brief silence as the two dwarflings before him took in everything that he had said.

"Did you see then ent?" Kili asked the storyteller eagerly.

Dwalin shook his head. "I did not."

"Why?" Fili asked. Dwalin, however, did not have a chance to answer.

"Dwalin was caught up washing the various pots and bowls used during dinner that night for being caught telling Frerin the exact same story that Frerin told your mother." Balin's voice had a jesting tone to it as he shot a warm glance towards his brother.

"Is that true?" both Dis' sons asked in unison.

Balin nodded. "In fact he was stuck on the same duty for a week before I decided to let the matter go."

Dwalin snorted in mock contempt, moving in to wrestle the two dwarflings before him on the bed as they laughed at the denial in his face. Both Fili and Kili squealed with delight and gasped with laughter, struggling and crying out for Balin to help them before their torturer decided to grant them a reprieve. The two adults allowed a silence to fill the room as their two charges recovered their breath and former dignity.

"Why haven't we met uncle's brother?"

The question was innocent enough, but both Balin and Dwalin felt like they had taken a fist to the gut. The older of the two closed his eyes as his younger counterpart let out a small sigh. Both shot woeful glances at each other before turning back to the two dwarflings in front of them.

"He…he is not here anymore," Balin finally said to the expectant faces of Fili and Kili. The old dwarf did not know how to describe what had happened to the two who were still so young. What had happened to Frerin had been horrible even to his own scarred eyes and it was certainly something he wished to depart onto another being, let alone the nephews of Thorin Oakenshield.

"What do you mean?" This time the question belonged to Fili and Dwalin was the one who answered.

"He was taken from you uncle and mother," the burly dwarf answered, visibly struggling for words. If he had been chocking on the grief of memories of the past, however, it was nothing compared to the resounding shock of desolation that he felt echo within him at Kili's next words.

"You mean like da?"

In the doorway Dis allowed her remaining brother to wrap his arms around her waist.

"They should not have to know the meaning of a loved one's death," his rumbling voice said.

"They should not have to know the meaning of death in the first place," Dis answered, her blue gaze stony and harsh as she stared into the orange-red flames burning on the other side of the room.

TRANSLATION

Zurmûn – Ent (singular)

Zurmûnh – Ents (plural)

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