(Untitled)

[ringwinner]

Bilbo Baggins had never been in a city before and, though he had not spent very much time in this one, he felt he could say with some certainty that he did not approve of them one bit. The whole affair was large and loud and crowded and grey and hard and even the Desolation of Smaug could not have prepared him for air that smelled the way it

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[jack_artful]

"Hullo, my man." Dodger said, touching the brim of his hat in greeting. He'd seen the fellow around the Island, of course, but hadn't quite had a chance to speak to him. In this not-quite-right version of London, however, he felt at ease making an introduction, given that he knew the surroundings better than most and could at least offer his aid.

[ringwinner]

"Oh, hello," Bilbo said in reply, quite pleased to meet someone with a proper sense of manners. While he had no hat brim of his own to touch in greeting (and privately he was grateful for that, viewing it as rather lower-class really), he did nod his head instead, not a full bow, of course, but quite adequate for two people passing in the street.

"Fine day to be about, isn't it?"

[jack_artful]

Dodger may act at being a gentleman, but he knew the real difference, and he could recognize the bearing and manners of the sort of man that came from society right enough, even if he was shorter than him by a foot or more.

"Plenty fine, indeed." Dodger agreed brightly, and found it quite odd to be speaking to a gentleman without trying to nick anything off his person. "Are you familiar with London, sir?"

[ringwinner]

"Not at all, I'm afraid," Bilbo said cheerfully, not at all as bothered by that fact as someone in similar circumstances may have been. He was, in truth, determined to view the whole affair as an adventure. A loud, large, bewildering one to be sure, but no more loud, large, and bewildering as his first battle had been (and a good deal less dangerous too).

"I take it you are familiar with this place though?"

[jack_artful]

"Oh, I know London like the back of me 'and, I do! The real 'un, mind, which is a great deal nastier 'round the edges than this Island 'un." Dodger explained, somewhat fascinated by the little gentleman. "You lookin' for anythin' in part-i-cu-lar, gov?"

[ringwinner]

Mr. Baggins shook his head, a bit mystified by the boy's accent. They'd had nothing like it in the Shire, or any other part of Middle Earth that he knew of. "I can't say that I am really. This is my first time in any city, let alone London, and I must say the experience is quite a queer one. Not as queer as the business with thirteen dwarves and a dragon, mind, but still rather odd in its own way."

[jack_artful]

"And you ain't a dwarf?" Dodger asked, curious, then his eyes widened. "Don't mean to be rude, sir, swear it I don't!" His understanding of dwarves was that they were little people - but he didn't know if that was untoward to mention to a gentleman all up front.

[ringwinner]

"Good heavens no!" Bilbo exclaimed. He knew he could not simply suppose that the rest of the island knew of hobbits, quite the opposite really, but it was still a bit disheartening to have to explain himself over and over again. "I'm a hobbit. Dwarves tend to be rather taller, you know."

[jack_artful]

Dodger didn't know, but he was a quick enough learner, and nodded. "How did that business with the dragon and dwarves go, then, if it ain't too out of line to ask, sir?"

[ringwinner]

Well, that was all the invitation Mr. Baggins needed and he immediately launched into a somewhat abridged retelling of what had happened after Gandalf led a troop of dwarves right to his very door. You, doubtless, already know the story, and if not you have the luxury of reading it all set out for you in a book. The hobbit had no such thing to fall back on, but (while he may have rambled and repeated himself a bit) he was getting much, much better at telling his adventures to an audience, especially the parts that made him seem particularly clever or brave.

[jack_artful]

Dodger listened, fascinated, giving appropriate responses of "cor!," "blimey!," or "my eyes!" where appropriate. He'd heard many a story in the pub, of course, especially an impressive amount of off-colour ones from drunk fellows who had magnanimously taken it upon themselves to educate the boys present in the ways of the world. "No wonder this little ol' London-styled Island ain't much of a stretch! Would like to see an adventure like that meself, I would!" It seemed awfully wondrous to Dodger, all those fantastical elements put together. For a boy of the street, very much aware of all the harsh pedestrian realities of life, the idea of things as exciting as dragons was something else altogether.

[ringwinner]

"It does seem quite exciting in hindsight, doesn't it? But at the time it was often quite terrifying, not truly exciting at all," Bilbo said with a small sigh. In all honesty he did miss Thorin and Company and his adventure far more than he was even willing to admit to himself. Having to be Burglar Baggins had at times been a trial, but it had given him a certain amount of purpose. In any matter, it is quite a change to go from having thirteen dwarves looking at you for clever guidance to having no duty more dangerous than planning what to cook for the day.

"But what about you? What did you do before coming here?"

[jack_artful]

"I did a bit of burgling myself." Dodger didn't mention that upon first meeting to just anybody, but he hoped this gentleman wouldn't mind too much. He hadn't nicked anything from him, anyway, and his hands were now firmly where all parties could see them. "Less adventurous, mind - more to do with bits 'n bobs in pockets than anythin' lofty like dragon treasure, sir." So he had some professional respect for a goal as impressive as all that, even if it did go more into the housebreaking side of thievery.

[ringwinner]

"Really? My very first attempt at any sort of burgling involved trying to pick a troll's pocket." You and I both know how badly that experience had gone and Bilbo had not forgotten either even though it had been some time ago. While the old Bilbo Baggins would have been scandalized by the mention of the boy's former career, but now he treated it with an altogether better air as one professional to another.

"It certainly is quite the profession, isn't it? Not entirely respectable, but then I'm much too far gone that now."

[jack_artful]

Dodger rather liked the idea of picking a troll's pocket - the fantastical element would be rather different from the humdrum of lifting things from just everyday folk.

"The name's Jack Dawkins," Dodger said, by way of belated introductions, "but me more familiar acquaintances in the know 'bout my profession call me the Artful Dodger. If you ain't nabbin' something, another fellow will - and it might as well be you rather than 'im, aye?" It may not be all that respectable, but it put food on the table when nothing else did, and eked out a living where none was otherwise to be had - it was a way of life, and a way of surviving, and Dodger had never thought it any less than that.

[ringwinner]

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dawkins," he said and gave a friendly bow. It was a meeting of two professionals in a sense, though their fields of expertise were vastly different. Stealing treasure from a dragon is very unlike picking a pocket, even a troll's. "Bilbo Baggins at your service."