Author: Alright, I've decided to try, keyword: try, to write a fic from The Hobbit, which will follow the movie plot. And that is thanks to CabinFever who's the author of Declaration of Strangeness. It's awesome, hurry up and read it!
Disclaimer: Everything but my OC's belongs to Tolkien, the creator of Middle-Earth.
"Oh, what a foul stench!" A young blonde girl, clad in a brown hunters outfit with a grey hooded cloak around her shoulders, said as she covered her nose standing before an abandoned troll cave. Well, abandoned might have been a strong word. The trolls that used it regularly were probably the ones who had turned to stone in a clearing not too far from where she stood. The girl took a few steps into the cave before turning around and stared at her companion who had yet to move from their spot twenty feet away from the cave.
"Well? Are you not coming?" Her companion did not answer but merely turned their head away, rejecting the idea. "Alright, I understand. It is too hard for you." Asta was the girl's name, her long, blonde braided hair reached her middle-back and her icy blue eyes missed nothing. She turned to the cave once more before shaking her head and walking back to her friend for she had no desire to enter the cave at all.
"Are you sure he was here?" Her friend nodded and she sighed before she heard the howls of wargs in the distance. Her companion was up on her feet in a second and had turned towards the sounds as well.
"Thora!" Asta yelled and jumped onto the back of her friend who was a great black wolf with yellow eyes. The black wolf, Thora, wasted no time in following the sounds and Asta clung on the fur though she knew her mount would never throw her off or let her fall off either. Soon they left the forest they had been in and were out in an open field, where there were only rocks and grass. The soft paws thumping against the ground as they gained on the wargs that seemed to have found their prey, for their howls had become louder and soon the shrieks of their riders could be heard too. When they finally had found the wargs, Thora stopped short and Asta knew why. Her wolf-friend was surprised to see and old man in brown garb standing on a sleigh led by rabbits, rabbits, with an orc pack behind him. What surprised Asta the most was that the rabbits seemed to be able to keep ahead of the wargs and their riders.
"Bless me, that is something I never expected to see. Is that Radagast?" She laughed but suddenly the wargs stopped and the orcs turned their head in every direction and so did Thora. "What is it?" Asta leaned down and the wolf tensed her muscles before leaping up and after the wargs who had taken off at an impressive speed in the opposite direction of which the old man had gone. Radagast turned his head and shook it before taking off, leaving the plain and going into the forest again. He had done all that he could. Thora did not keep up with the speed of the wargs as well as Asta would have liked and it was not because she was unable to keep up with their speed but rather because she would not go any closer to the foul beasts than necessary and though Asta would normally would have felt the same way, for the two hated orcs and their allies with a passion, she was much too curious about whatever the orc pack was after. Soon, though almost impossible to hear as the beasts snarled and the orcs screamed, Asta wondered if she had heard a voice. A voice that belonged to no orc but maybe a man.
"Come on, hurry!" Her blue eyes could see shapes in the distance and saw that several of them jumped and disappeared down a hole. "That group is their prey!" She realized and Thora sped up. Something was urging her friend towards the group that was trying to escape and Asta knew better than to not trust the wolf for she had never led her astray before.
"Kíli!" Now that she was closer she could see that the group she thought to be men were dwarves and that the one who was the farthest away from the tall one that called on him carried a bow.
An archer. He is too far away! Asta thought and as the young dwarf, Kíli, glanced over his shoulder he saw a warg leaped at him. He should not have looked behind for that made him trip over a rock and he fell to the ground.
Thorin watched in horror as his nephew tripped and fell and the warg that had leaped at him closed in on him, the orc on its back screeching in victory and held its sword high.
"Kíli! No!" He knew that no matter how fast he ran he would never be able to reach them before it was too late and he would not be able to hit neither the warg nor orc either with a knife if he threw one but then something akin to a miracle happened. An arrow flew true and hit the orc in its ear and it fell off his mount, dead. The beast made no sign that it knew that its rider had fallen off until another beast's teeth and claws attached themselves to its throat and sent it flying away from its target. It howled and tried to fight but the attacker already had a good grip on its throat and then it knew no more.
"Come now!" A hand grabbed Kíli's arm and hauled him up on his feet as he stared at a girl that was not much taller than him and probably much younger for she was a human girl but she was strong enough to get him up on his feet. She ushered him towards Thorin who waved his arm and called on him.
"Go!" He stumbled forward before catching himself and glancing behind again to watch the girl notch another arrow to the bow string before letting it fly and embed itself in another orcs' head. The wolf snarled and fended off attacks from the wargs after the girl killed the riders. The dwarf jumped into the hole and his uncle came after him but not before hesitating for the girl and her beast had saved his nephew's life but she had yelled for him to hide as well and so he did.
"The girl?" Kíli asked but before Thorin could answer the sounds of horns were heard and the sound was not from the horns of orcs. An orc fell down into the hole they were hiding in but they had no need to worry about it for it was already dead, an arrow embedded into its throat. Thorin pulled the arrow out and just as quickly he let it drop to the ground.
"Elves!" He turned his hard eyes on Gandalf who met his stare without showing a hint of remorse or any surprise that elves had interfered and killed the orcs above them.
"I cannot see where the pathway leads!" Dwalin yelled, for he had gone a bit further than the others to examine the passage. "Do we follow it or not?"
"Follow it, of course!" Bofur replied and hurried after Dwalin who led the way through the passages. Thorin waited for a moment to see if the girl and her beast would follow but they did not and therefore he followed his company through the passages, and all the while they kept their eyes up to avoid any unpleasant surprises from above for there was no roof, and already his mind began to realize where Gandalf had been leading them though he had no proof until they stepped out of the tunnels and into the light. Beside the exit there was a small stream that fell from the mountain side and into the valley before them. The valley of Imladris, Gandalf told them and Bilbo muttered the name used in the Common Tongue in awe. Rivendell. While twelve dwarves and one hobbit stared at the valley in awe Thorin was less amused.
"This was your plan all along." He accused the old wizard who turned his gaze on the tall dwarf. "To seek refuge with our enemy." Thorin would never forget the betrayal of the elves and he would not forgive it either. He had made that very clear at the beginning of their journey for he remembered how his home had been taken from him, how the City of Dale had burned and how many lives had been lost while the elves only turned a blind eye to the whole catastrophe.
"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf replied in a stern tone. "The only ill-will to be found in this valley is the one you bring with you yourself!"
At the same time Asta was riding her mount, Thora, again but this time she was spurring her wolf to keep up with the horses that the elves of Rivendell and their lord were riding. They kept at a fast pace but the wolf had no problem in keeping up, even if she lagged behind at the end of the group to keep herself from exhausting her strength. She had thanked the Lord Elrond for saving them. He had at first stared at Thora with furrowed brows but had almost at once realized the situation and bade them follow him back to Imladris so they would be able to rest peacefully and fill their empty stomachs, for much to Asta's embarrassment her stomach had started to growl in the middle of her thanking the elf lord.
It did not take them more than a few hours to return to the Last Homely House East of the Sea. Already there were the company of thirteen dwarves, one wizard and a hobbit. Suddenly they began to yell and huddled together as the horses circled them. Thora gave sound close to a snort and Asta tilted her head to the side as she watched Elrond jump off his horse and embrace Gandalf.
"Gandalf!" She yelled and jumped off Thora, running over to the old wizard and embraced him, almost knocking him off-balance for she had not stopped in front of him but rather she ran straight into him.
"Omph!" Gandalf staggered before putting a hand on the girl's shoulder and pulling her back to inspect her. A look of recognition crossed his face as she beamed up at him and he tilted his head back and laughed loudly before embracing her as well.
"Bless me, if it isn't young Asta!" He looked up to see the wolf trot up to him as well and he scratched her behind her ears. "And Thora as well. Now this is a pleasant surprise!" The dwarves stared at Thora for only Kili and Thorin had seen the two before and only now did the dwarf king and his nephew see how tall the wolf was. Thin and agile she looked but when she stood straight she was as tall as Thorin.
"You know them, Gandalf?" Elrond asked with a smile as Gandalf released Asta. "Yes, my old friend, indeed I, do but that is a tale I would rather not speak of out here and neither would I speak of it on an empty stomach." Elrond turned towards the dwarves (and one hobbit) and welcomed them, asking them in his own tongue if they would like a meal. Glóin, who did not understand elvish all that well together with his comrades, growled up at the elven lord, thinking he was throwing insults at them. Gandalf intervened quickly and cleared the misunderstanding before it developed into a fight. That, the dwarves, accepted and followed the elves inside.
Asta felt a bit embarrassed yet again, for the clothing she wore, a simple hunters outfit, was far from clean after the battle with the orcs and wargs, not to mention she was still sure that she smelled a bit from when she had almost entered the troll cave only a few hours earlier. Thora assured her that she did not smell. The wolf did so by rubbing her snout against Asta's shirt. Still, she felt like she was small and insignificant as she entered the room in which the elves ate their supper and wondered where she would sit. Gandalf had not yet arrived and she wished dearly that he would, so she had someone to talk to. The elves were playing their flutes and harps dissolving the tension she felt but still she waited for Gandalf. Beside her, Thora flattened her ears to her skull, as if she was trying to block out the music and Asta figured the sound was a bit too loud for her companion. She noticed that one of the dwarves put a napkin in the ear-trumpet which he held to his ear. She guessed him to have trouble hearing.
As she thought about leaving the room and stand outside while waiting for the wizard one of the dwarves stood up and called on her.
"My lady, come sit with us so I can properly thank you for saving our friend here!" He looked to be one of the oldest among the company with his long white beard and short hair but he also looked to be the one most gentle. She smiled gratefully at him as she sat beside him.
"My dear lady, thank you again for saving Kili here." Here, he gestured to said dwarf who grinned at her and stood up, walked to her and bowed before taking her hand in his and kissing it.
"Thank you, my lady." She smiled at him with a nod. "It was my pleasure is what I'd like to say, but I only killed the orc. Thora was the one who stopped the warg." She turned to her wolf that was scratched behind the ears in thanks by Kili. The dwarf nodded to the wolf and his smile turned wider.
"Aye, I do owe you thanks as well." He said before he went back to his seat. Thora laid her head on Asta's lap and let out a puff of air as she sat on the floor.
"If I might ask, where did you come by this companion of yours? She's quite big for a normal wolf, if it is not witchcraft that made her so. Oh, how rude of me. My name is Balin, at your service." He stood up and bowed to her and she did the same. The others hurried on their feet as well to introduce themselves to her.
"Asta, at yours." She said and sat down and grabbed a glass of wine, taking a sip. "As for Thora, she's been with me all my life."
"Oh? A tamed wolf to protect you?" Thora snorted from her perch and Asta laughed. "Oh, no, not at all, Mr. Balin."
"Thora is Asta's older sister." An old sagely voice said from behind them and she turned to see Gandalf the Grey standing behind her with Thorin and Elrond.
"Gandalf!" She exclaimed happily and Thora bounded up and stood in front of him with a look that demanded that he pet her. He laughed good-naturedly and did as told and she made a sound close to a purr when he scratched her behind her ears. That seemed to be a soft sport of hers.
"Sisters, Mr. Gandalf?" Dori asked with a confused expression on his face alongside with his comrades. "How can that be?"
"That, Master Dwarf, is a tale for another time. I believe there is a reason that you two appeared just in time to save young Kíli over there, aren't there?" Asta nodded at him with a small smile. "Then, if it is all the same to Thorin, I will have you two follow us as we continue our journey and then you will tell me why you sought us out." Gandalf had turned to Thorin as he spoke and the dwarf lord stared at both Asta and then Thora for a long while before he nodded.
"They saved one of our own. I will allow it." And with that he followed Elrond to the head table. Gandalf winked at the girl and wolf before following and sitting down with them.
"What is on your mind Thorin?" Gandalf asked for after Elrond had told them of their newfound swords names' Thorin had been watching Thora and Asta, his eyes curious. When the wizard spoke he glanced at him before nodding his head at the girls.
"Their names, they-"
"Yes, their names originate from Dale." Sharply the dwarf king turned back to the wizard who smiled.
"Their grandfather's family was one of the few fortunate enough to escape Smaug when he attacked Erebor sixty years ago. You will not regret taking them with you; they are excellent cooks, considering the skills of your company." Gandalf chuckled and again Thorin turned his eyes back to the girls and wondered again what their story was.
Soon enough Asta was taken in by the dwarves antics and a few hours later, when the sky had turned dark Thorin, Gandalf, Balin and even Bilbo followed Elrond. The dwarfs were ushered to a room they could spend the night in and Asta and Thora joined them.
"How is it that you are the sister of a wolf?" Dori asked again and she laughed. "That is a story for another time; Gandalf said so, did he not? Even so, there is probably none other than him who could tell it properly." She answered. Dori frowned but let her off and she joined the dwarfs in when they sang and danced. Their voices may not have been beautifully clear like the elves but their deep baritone voices still made their songs sound beautiful all the same. And the vigor in their happy tunes called forth more laughter and smiles from her, even happy barks from Thora.
As the night dragged on, and the laughter eventually died down, Asta realized that Thora had disappeared from her side. That was most surprising since she had never left her side before. She looked around for her sister until she saw her laying on the ground beside the couch in which Kíli was sitting on. One hand was on his pipe as he smoked and the other rested on Thora's head, occasionally scratching her behind her ears or letting his fingers glide through her soft fur. He seemed to be in deep thought and as she looked around she noticed that the others were as well. They were still talking but that was only a few. They had broken down the furniture in the room to make a fire and were now making their own supper for the elves' food had not been satisfactory.
"No meat." The dwarves had said. She only shook her head at their antics. "Bombur!" Bofur suddenly exclaimed. She turned to see what was going and saw Bofur throw Bombur a sausage. The table, which Bombur was sitting on groaned under his weight and when he caught the sausage a crack could be heard and in no less than a second the dwarf was lying on top of a pile of splintered wood. Every last dwarf fell over laughing, clutching their stomachs as their muscles contracted under the activity and those who sat on furniture themselves tried hard not to fall off as they laughed.
Just then Thorin, Balin and Bilbo walked in and watched as the rest of the company tried hard to calm themselves down in front of their leader but it showed to be a hard task for every time they glanced at the still rolling Bombur who could not for the life of him get up on his feet they fell into new fits of laughter, rolling around on the floor themselves. Thorin shook his head and walked past them, hiding a smile before he began packing their packs. This the others noticed and immediately they stopped laughing and Bombur stopped trying to get on his feet.
"Are we leaving?" Fíli asked and Thorin nodded. "We leave at once. We have acquired information about the hidden door. If we do not hurry, it will be closed to us. Gandalf advised me in taking you two as well." He glanced at Asta whose eyes widened in surprise. This set every last dwarf up and running in a hurry, packing their equipment and provisions. Asta hurried to do the same with her and her sister's provisions and put the pack on her back. Thora had gotten up on her four legs and followed the dwarves as they stealthily, or as stealthy as a dwarf could go, left Elrond's house. Luckily for them, they had left just in time to avoid being detected by Lindir who had ventured to them to see if there was anything they needed.
The poor elf nearly fainted at the sight of the state the room was in after its inhabitants had left.
At the same time as the dwarves prepared themselves to leave, Gandalf was walking with Elrond.
"Are you sure about this? Sending those two girls with the dwarves?" Elrond questioned and Gandalf nodded. "That they appeared when we needed help the most is no coincidence. They were looking for me. I do not know why but I intend to find out." The old wizard had told Elrond about the girls and about their situation. How one was a wolf and the other was a human.
"If they indeed are the cursed children who appeared sixteen years ago, would it not be wise to hide them?"
"And where would you hide them, Lord Elrond? Here in Rivendell? I have many doubts and fears about these two children and if my fears are true, then you will not hide them here willingly." The subject agitated the old wizard greatly. "They are mere innocent children! And I will not let them be used!"