The trek from the meeting of his kin to the Shire, where their supposed burglar lived, was a gruelling one. It brought Thorin Oakenshield through dangerous company before he spilled out into land he knew like the palms of his hands. In these lands, there lived an old friend of Thorin's from when he was much younger and less wise, one which he desired to pay a brief visit lived up near to the base of the rolling hills. Elphias Merene was the old Dale blacksmith before dragonfire ruined the town, and Thorin could scarce remember a time where he had not known the man. Elphias had been a strong man in his prime, and being a blacksmith, they had shared interests, Thorin had learnt much from the man. He also knew that Elphias had dabbled with the elves, crafting their pretty starlight jewels and so he had caught the attention of a young she elf. They had wed, though it was something taboo to the elves and she had been banished from her home of Mirkwood. They had a child together, a half elfing who went by Aurora and she was one of the most beautiful creatures Thorin had had the delight of being an acquaintance of.
Aurora had been a young she elf when Smaug had descended upon the city of Dale and whom, when Thorin was younger, would have been a fine lady to take as a wife when she had grown to become a woman, though she was a commoner, Aurora had elvish blood in her, and Thorin hadn't been entirely taken with any of the Dwarrow women that wandered the halls of Erebor. But after the fires of Dale, he had not dared to believe they could have survived. Her mother,Nymeria, had perished in the firestorm that had taken Dale, but Elphias and Aurora had apparently been on the road after Aurora had had something like a vision, she had foreseen a mass of claws and scales and fire, but the people of Dale had not listened to the young she-elf, men and elves got along well, but there was no overwhelming love between them and they had been quick to disregard the youngling. But she had been right. Aurora had spoken truth and Elphias had believed her, because his child was distraught by the knowledge and he knew her to be largely immovable by regular emotions.
Thorin dismounted, heading up towards the house where lanterns lit the path leading up to the cottage. He noticed a fine black horse tied beneath one of the apple trees, the horse was steadily munching its way through the apples and wondered who was departing from the house. He knocked heavily on the door, hearing the eventual thud of feet as someone moved to answer the door. It swung open and Thorin was startled to see a young woman standing in the entrance to the house. She was taller, her skin was darker and her eyes impossibly green and as bright as he remembered them being when she was a child.
"Thorin!" Slender arms wrapped tightly around him as the young woman recognised her childhood friend. As he wrapped her up in tight embrace, he inhaled sharply, drawing in the familiar scent of lilies and wood smoke that had always clung to her, the first thing her mother had taught her to do was to make the perfume out of the lilies, and since she had a grasp of pyrotechnics, she always smelled like fire. It had remained her scent throughout the time he had known her. The only change to her seemed to be she had grown, she was still so beautiful and pale hair had grown long enough that the braids framing her face would be longer than his.
"We thought you weren't coming, you took so long," Aurora teased and Thorin chuckled softly, rubbing a hand across his forehead with a grimace. He had indeed been held up, but he didn't need this cheeky elfling teasing him about it, instead reserving himself to poking her stomach gently, making her snicker. Her face became solemn then, her brows drawing together and he tilted his chin back, readying himself for whatever she was about to tell him.
"Gandalf spoke with me when he passed through earlier and he asked if I would accompany you to you mountain, and I know it will be dangerous Thorin, but I can aid you with the elves I know and I am aware you distrust elves but Elrond and his parties can help us, I promise," She spoke with an earnest that didn't surprise him and Thorin studied her for a moment, he did not like it that she would be journeying with them for he thought of her as almost a little sister, but Gandalf trusted her and Thorin trusted his judgement.
"You better not slow us down," Was all Thorin said in reply, aware of his gruff tone but Aurora laughed goodnaturedly, she had the laugh of men, not the tinkling bells of the elvish, no hers was true and from the belly.
There was the sound of heavy footsteps, causing Thorin to glance towards a doorway where stood Elphias, a warm smile on his face.
"Father, listen to me, it is not safe here anymore. Nowhere is safe anymore, even for me. When I chose immortality I was unaware that that would mean leaving you, but I'm here now. And I need you to leave. The country is swarming with orcs and goblins alike, father, you cannot stay here." Aurora told her father later, they were preparing to leave and Thorin thought they had been there far too long already but he had a loyalty to Elphias and would not compromise their friendship.
Elphias shook his dark head, his eyes briefly wandering to meet Thorin's and he sighed quietly, wrapping his daughter in a hug. They remained like that for several heartbeats, and for a moment, Thorin felt jealous over their relationship. It was clear to him that the girl relied on her father almost as much as he relied on her. It was quite touching, though Thorin felt he was intruding on a private moment.
They rode in silence as the dusk turned to night and the stars glittered brightly in the sky. Thorin became aware of Aurora's gaze then, not on him, but turned to the sky, her eyes wide and deep bluey purple. Her mouth had fallen open slightly as she stared into the heavens and he wondered what she was looking at, truly gazing at. He knew elves loved starlight, but she seemed quite transfixed.
"They say that our ancestors live up there, that once they die, they become stars. They watch over us, though they are powerless to stop us and our wicked ways." Thorin raised his brows, she clearly paid no mind to what half her kin believed. The elves had their strange beliefs on the matters of stars, to which Thorin had never paid any mind but he knew the tales from when he was younger. His mother had loved the stories of the elves and when she had passed, he had told his father of her stories. He had forbidden him from speaking of them, his father had never liked elves but he remembered his mother speaking of them in awe. He studied her briefly. His mother would have loved her, he thought. Her hair was pale like moonlight, though as willowy as a tree, she was slender though on the shorter side for an elf but she was just as beautiful as the King of the Elves, the one he loathed.
His mood was quite sour by the time they reached the house of the hobbit, he had been dwelling on the past, silently and he was aware of Aurora's occasional glances. But he didn't really want to speak to the elf girl, for he was awash with memories of a different time and though she spoke quietly of things she had seen in her travels, he listened but did not comment. She knew that he was taking on her words, she could see his features and knew well enough that he was deep in his own thoughts.
When they knocked on the marked door, all of two things happened. Thorin suddenly became quite nervous, not just because he brought bad news, but because he hadn't seen quite a few of them in a long time and he wondered how they fared. The other thing that occurred, was that the house went suddenly into silence, there had been raucous laughter before he had knocked, but now, he could have heard a mouse sneeze.
Aurora, to his surprise, snickered quite openly at the sudden drop in climate inside the house, or was it more of a hole. Hobbit holes were houses, but they were also holes and Thorin had never known which to call the blasted things. Then the door swung open.