(Heavily inspired by Winged's much better snippet for PMAS)
Bilbo Baggins shot the human woman a nervous glance as she sipped her tea, head lowered so as not to bump into the Burrow's ceiling. Her dwarfish companions didn't seem quite sure what to make of her either, muttering among themselves. One of them was mechanically nibbling away at a biscuit without taking his eyes away off her.
"Um." He began, whatever he was going to say dying in his throat as she looked back.
Despite her outlandish clothes, there was something about her attitude that made it impossible for him not to take her seriously, a sort of grim determination that hung about her like a shroud. She sounded like one of the warriors from the stories he'd used to hear as a child- the kind of stories that his Baggins father had never liked him hearing about and that always made him furrow his brow. Looking at her, Bilbo could believe she was the kind of person who'd fight goblins and monsters and explore faraway places. Even if she was very...orange.
"Yes?" She asked, her voice a hoarse grumble.
"Nothing!" he heard himself squeak. "Nothing at all! It's just that...that cup...that tea set's a sort of family heirloom, from father's side. Baggins, you see."
The woman clearly didn't see, but nodded slowly. The Dwarves just looked confused. Bilbo was sincerely starting to wish for the wizard back.
"It's just...
please be careful with those. That... that goes for all of you actually." Bilbo said, repressing a wince as he remembered what'd happened to his lovely front door. The green paint would never be the same again.
Whatever reply she or the dwarves might have made was cut off by
another knock on the door. He rushed to answer it.
-excerpt from
Mitakihara and Back Again: A Hobbit's Tale