Elyanna Brandybuck was awakened by the sound of thrashing. Not just any thrashing either. It was the thrashing of a man having a nightmare. She sat up and looked around, knowing it could have been any one of the 13 dwarves and 1 hobbit sleeping in Thror's hall with her. She isolated the sound to the part of the room to her left and looked that way.
Ori was fine, Fili was fine, Kili was fine, Bofur was fine, Nori was fine, Thorin was fine. As her eyes continued to pan from left to right, she saw the impressive figure of Dwalin, son of Fundin, sneak out of the hall. Deciding that maybe he shouldn't be alone right now, she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and followed behind him until he arrived at the battlements. Careful not to sneak up behind him, she made her steps a little louder than normal. The gruff dwarf hid his face in his cloak at the sound, leaving Elyana to think that he was crying.
"Dwalin?"
She asked quietly, not expecting him to respond.
"Yes, lass?"
He said quietly, leaving her shocked. She mustered up her courage and began walking towards him again.
"Can I come sit by you?"
She asked, approaching slowly so as not to smother him. When he patted the ground beside him, she smiled and counted it as a win. She slid down the wall and placed her small hand on his well-built forearm. Unfortunately, she knew he would never brach the subject, so she had no choice but to bring it up herself.
"So...what were you dreaming about before you came out here?"
She asked, and felt him tense under her gentle touch. She tried to remove her hand, but faster than she could think, his hand was there cementing it in place. He looked up at her with tears shining in his eyes and she had never felt more affection for the gruff dwarf than she did right then. He cleared his throat in an effort to stop the tears, but it only worked a little bit.
"Oh Elyanna...it was nae a good dream...it was so real...I dreamed that we didn't get to you in time on Ravenhill...that the Pale bastards finished the job before we could save you...I held you as you died in my arms because I didn't get there fast enough to protect you..."
The Hobbit took his bearded cheeks in her hands, making him look her in the eye.
"Dwalin...you did get there in time. I'm right here with the scars to prove it. You saved me, Dwalin. You took me to Thranduil and saved me. The dream wasn't real. This is."
She said as she put her arms around his shoulders as far as she could reach. He really was a broad man. She started running her hands up and down his back as a way to ground him to the present. She said nothing as she felt his tears hit her shoulders and arms. She pretended not to notice how his body shook with sobs he'd deny if she ever told anyone else about them. She certainly didn't care that he was holding her so tightly she would probably have bruises tomorrow. No...this could stay right between them.