Bilbo Baggins and His Daemon

More The Hobbit daemon!AU art.

Blurb about Bilbo Baggins and his giant otter daemon, Nuala:

<sub>Most Hobbits had small daemons. Birds, cats, dogs. Daemons that an Outsider could very easily understand a Hobbit having. But Bilbo Baggins of Bag End was most certainly not most Hobbits. From a young age his Nuala had preferred taking forms that were considered large by Hobbit standards. For nearly a month she had remained in the form of a massive hound dog that had made little Bilbo look even littler. Folks said the daemon would eventually grow out of such habits, that she'd settle as something a good, respectable Hobbit would have.

Only that wasn't quite the case.

When she did settle, her form was large and when she stood on her hind legs she towered over Bilbo by nearly a foot-and-a-half. His mother had merely smiled and said there was a reason Yavaana had gifted him with such a daemon, even if the reason wasn't yet clear to him.

The night the Dwarves had come spilling into his house Nuala had hidden in his room, avoiding the strangers as she was want to do, given that most tendered to openly stare at her. Even when the journey began, when Bilbo joined the quest, Nuala moved with the group but at a distance, under the bushes and out of sight. At least until the night with the trolls. When the trolls had grabbed Bilbo, the Dwarves dropping their weapons to save their burglar, Nuala had launched herself from the bushes, attacking one troll, screeching like a banshee.

After the ordeal was over, the trolls turned to stone, Bilbo had sat for a while, fussing over Nuala who, after attacking the trolls, had been grabbed and thrown against the Dwarves. There were still slivers of pain wracking their bodies and Bilbo was doing his best to push them away with gentle touches and soft words.

He did not notice the looks the Dwarves continued to shoot his way, all curious about his daemon, though none yet had the courage to ask.</sub>

Nuala is an Gaelic name meaning "white shoulder"