Eternity Is You
A/N- To those of you returning to read this, thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those whom have just joined me, welcome and enjoy!
Disclaimer- I do not own the Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, but I do own my original ideas in this story and my lovely leading lady.
'Thoughts/inner self'
Let's begin.
=^..^=
Chapter 2:
Paying Attention
Thorin had a headache.
For the last two hours he'd kept looking back, checking to see if the hobbit had decided to join them after all. But still, every time he looked, nothing. His wolf had started whining about an hour ago and hadn't stopped since. A fact that was slowly but surely pissing Thorin off.
Not to mention his nephew's and their incessant questions. They had smelled his arousal around the hobbit and early that morning had approached him about it. Both were curious if they were gaining an aunt after all. Sometimes he loathed the fact that they were shifters as well, it made them far too damn nosy for their own good.
Determined to keep himself focused upon the task ahead of them he almost didn't notice the scent rushing upon them with the wind. He almost leapt from his pony when he recognized it; his wolf was bouncing happily at the realization as well. The hobbit, Tansy was coming along after all.
He waited until she called out to them to stop to do just that, watching out of the corner of his eye as she happily presented the contract to Balin. Taking a deep breath he looked back and spoke in a restrained voice, "give her a pony." She perked up at that, "I get a pony as well? Thank you very much."
Kili and Fili moved behind her and lifting her up set her on their pack pony. The pony nickered at the added weight before she settled, not really noticing any difference because of how light Tansy was. Tansy happily took up the reigns while the dwarves around her began chucking purses of gold to one another.
Thorin turned and caught the one that was thrown at the back of his head, he then pushed onwards and the others followed. He heard her voice as she mumbled about forgetting to pack her handkerchief; Thorin winced at that even as he placed his hand over his breast pocket and the pilfered handkerchief. Bofur offered her a piece of his tunic and his wolf snorted.
His wolf grumbled about how 'his' female wouldn't ever use such a thing, for she could never smell so foul. Thorin felt a full body shiver at that, if his wolf was already set on Tansy then the possibility of her being his 'one' was incredibly high. This had him deep in thought as they traveled.
For the next hour or so, Bofur had remained sidled up next to Tansy and was trying to get her to sing something. The hobbit kept shaking her head, until finally he must have said something to win her over and she began to sing.
Thorin felt his heart lift and his wolf almost fell asleep at the tone and softness of Tansy's beautiful voice. It was a song about butterflies and lady bugs. A silly children's rhyme and Thorin found he didn't care, just so long as Tansy kept right on singing.
This turned into almost a routine for the first couple days of travel. They would wake, eat, pack up, and leave. Minutes into the continued journey Tansy would be approached by one or more of the company and asked to sing. She would always decline at first but soon she would relent and sing them all another song. This was a routine that Thorin began to grow rather used to, but he knew that at anytime something could happen and everything change.
This change came one day when they were crossing a small stream, well; it was once a small stream at least. The last few hours of rainfall had swelled the stream to more of a river, but they had to cross. Their path lay beyond this obstacle. So Thorin had everyone tie a rope between two ponies and then had them attempt to cross. It worked until it got to the last two. Tansy and Ori. They had been speaking about plants and hadn't heard Thorin's announcement about the rope.
So when they went to cross, Tansy and her pony began to be washed away. Ori cried out her name and hearing it, Thorin turned upon his mount and watched as Tansy went under water and didn't resurface. His wolf yowled at him and he knew what he had to do.
Leaping down from his pony, he threw the reigns to Dwalin and without preamble leapt into the raging water. The sudden chill of the water shocked his body and he had to struggle to stay focused, he looked around quickly and seeing Tansy sinking he swam right to her. She was struggling but nothing she did seemed to help her from continuing to sink.
With a few quick and strong strokes through the water Thorin finally reached her and grabbing her arm he pulled her to him. She latched onto him immediately, her arms gripping him about the neck and her legs locking as best they could around his waist. His wolf howled in victory while he wrapped an arm around her and quickly swam back to where he'd left the others.
"Thorin! Miss. Baggins!" Hearing the company shouting for them as they all hurried over he looked up, they were close now.
Once they both were ashore and he could hear Tansy breathing through chattering teeth, he looked to see where the pony had ended up and almost shook his head. The pony had crossed alright and was slowly making its way back up towards them. "Kili get the pony." Thorin stood and looked down in concern at the female coughing before him.
Gandalf had approached but Thorin waved him off in favor of focusing upon Tansy instead. He could see her shivering and shaking, he felt the sudden urge to scoop her up and hold her close to him the rest of the journey. Something his wolf was demanding he do as well. Suppressing a sigh he knelt down and picked her up, she squeaked in surprise before she gripped the front of his cloak. Walking over to his own pony he set her atop it, turning he saw Kili bringing the pony up to him.
"Secure the pony to yours Kili, let us continue. Keep an eye out for shelter of any type, understood?" When Thorin received a chorus of acceptance he turned and swung himself up behind the hobbit. She was still shaking and so he did something rather unorthodox. He unfastened his cloak and shook as much water from it as he could.
He then wrapped it around the hobbit female as best he could, both he and his wolf hoping it would warm her up. Hearing her chattered 'Thank you' was a good enough reward for the time being. He decided then and there that he'd keep her close if he could; it felt far too good to hold her close like this.
The day wore on and before long the sun had begun to set. They were near a rocky area and there were few patches of green here and there. So he called a stop to their journey for the day, everyone knew their jobs and he had one he planned on fulfilling personally. Alighting from the pony first he reached up and lifted her down, holding her close for a brief moment before he finally set her upon her feet.
She smiled up at him in thanks before she was about to turn and walk away. Thorin wasn't having it though; he kept his hands on her waist and spoke in a restrained voice, "come with me. We need to discuss a few things." Tansy looked confused for a moment before she nodded her head. Thorin released her and walked a few good feet away from the company and the eyes of a certain wizard; he'd been feeling the wizards' intense gaze since the river incident.
Once he was sure they were far enough away to not be heard or seen, Thorin turned to look at the hobbit. She'd stopped to pick at some rather green looking leaves near a large boulder. She slipped them into the breast pocket of her vest before she walked the remaining feet to stand with him. Curious now, he asked, "What are those for?"
Smiling Tansy shrugged, "they are thyme leaves, and they make a very good tea if steeped right. They can also be used for cooking with gamier meats, like rabbit or deer." Thorin fought down a smile at the simple nature of such a thing and just nodded his head.
Tansy rocked on her heels as she looked around nervously, unable to stop herself from asking, "What was it you wished to discuss?" Thorin turned to look back at the camp the others were making and bolstered himself for what he was about to say. "Back at the river, you could not swim. Why?" Tansy's eyes widened and he could see a hint of fear in them.
"Hobbit's cannot swim. We sink. I think more hobbits die of attempting it than any other cause." Placing his hand on her shoulder, Thorin gave it a squeeze. "I see, well then I have come to a decision. From now on you shall be riding with myself or one of the others. We cannot have such a thing occur again."
He did his best to keep his voice from sounding overly concerned, but he knew he couldn't stop himself as he brushed a stray lock of Tansy's hair behind her ear. She turned a cute shade of pink at his touch and he felt an overwhelming sense of pure male satisfaction at her reaction. Tansy just nodded her head at his 'request.' Too nervous to say anything.
Being far braver than he felt in that moment, Thorin flicked a sick out of the hobbits unruly hair and began to run his fingers through it. Tansy went even redder at that and wondered what he was doing. Thorin loved the feel of Tansy's hair and felt an urge to braid it but he refrained, knowing what that would mean should any of the other's see.
His wolf strained to take over and faun over their female and Thorin was struggling not to agree with his wolf. He was starting to believe that she really could be his 'One.' He just felt insecure about how to go about finding it out. This was made even harder when he felt her touch, blinking he looked down to see that she'd reached up to touch his beard. He shivered at the feel of her hesitant fingers and unconsciously bent his head closer.
Tansy took this as a sign that he was accepting her touch and she had to admit, she really wanted to know what his hair felt like. Running one of her hands through his beard, she reached up and brushed at the hair that was falling over his brow. It felt silky to her, not coarse as she'd expected it to be. Struck by her own thoughts she mumbled.
"We should return to the others..." she trailed off as she reluctantly pulled her hands from his glorious locks. She felt extremely nervous and knew it had everything to do with the dwarf currently holding her close. She didn't know what to think, let alone how to interpret her feelings. They were starting to overload her.
As if sensing that she needed some space, Thorin gave a curt nod of his head and turned back towards the camp. Tansy followed closely behind him as he made his way back to join the rest of the company.
Bombur immediately handed her a bowl of deer soup. Kili had hunted a group of them the day before and had taken down a large buck. They'd saved all the meat and some of the bones for later use. Tansy smiled as she took the bowl murmuring her thanks before she moved to a fallen tree trunk and sat down. She ate the meal in silence as she thought over what had been happening to her whenever she was around Thorin.
'Does my racing heart and blushing...my being sensitive when he's around...does it mean I...I love him?' She'd stopped eating halfway through the meal, her mind lost in such thoughts that when a sudden screech sounded she leapt up in surprise. Her remnants of the meal flew along with her bowl as she looked around in shock and horror. "What on Arda was that?"
"Orcs. They rove in packs around these parts, sneaking in an out of encampments." Fili's voice had her whirling to look at where he'd taken a place by the fire; one of his knives was in his hands. He'd been sharpening it. Kili leaned over and continued, "Quick and silent they are, slitting everyone's throats. No noise just lots of blood."
Tansy had never feared for her life before, but now the second time in the very same day, she wondered if she would make it to Erebor alive or not. A low growl sounded from just behind her and it sent trembling warmth throughout her entire body. Thorin stepped up next to her and silently brushed his arm against her shoulder speaking firmly. "You two think night raids by Orcs is amusing do you?"
Once again, she felt something overwhelming twice in one day. She felt completely safe, for Thorin was here. Like at the river, where he'd rescued her so effortlessly. He had stepped in to save her; even it was just from her fear. She could see Kili and Fili practically shrink under their uncle's glare, "we didn't mean anything by it...just couldn't resist."
"You two know nothing of the world," Thorin briefly gave her shoulder a squeeze before he turned and walked away. "You lads should know better than to speak of Orcs so thoughtlessly, you know how he has more cause to hate them than most." Balin's words caught Tansy's attention and she turned towards the elderly dwarf.
"Why?" And so began the tale of the battle of Azanulbizar, where Thorin lost all his dearest family save his sister. Tansy listened in silence as she tried to imagine the battle, the Orcs attacking, Thorin standing alone to face such a horrid foe. When Balin finished the tale and she saw that all the dwarves were looking towards where Thorin had gone, she turned to look as well.
Thorin was looking back at them, a soul deep pain in his eyes. He looked from one dwarf to another until his eyes landed upon her and his eyes changed, they intensified. The blue of his eyes became almost iridescent and seemed to glow in the dark surrounding them. Her whole body became aware of his stare and it felt almost as if his eyes were caressing her. Then he looked away and the spell broke.
Tansy felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment and confusion. 'Why did he look at me like that? Why did I like it so much?' She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize she was beginning to sway, that she had begun to nod off. It wasn't until her chin hit her chest that she jerked alert and sighing she moved over to where her pack had ended up.
She pulled out the blanket and small pillow, the only one she'd been able to pack and found a comfortable looking spot near where the ponies were tied up. She lay down and even though the ground was hard, her exhaustion from the day's events finally caught up to her and she fell into a deep and troubled sleep.
Thorin watched her from his place nearer to the fire. When she'd finally picked a place to bed down for the night he made sure to move to where he could keep her in his line of sight. Stiffening when he felt someone behind him, he turned slowly to face Gandalf. His wolf had smelt him nearby and it seemed the wizard had finally decided to speak with him.
"What do you want wizard?" His voice came out angrier than he'd planned by Thorin couldn't take it back now. Gandalf snorted as he sat down across from him, making them more level so he could look the dwarf in the eye. "Simply wondering what your interest in my burglar is." Growling at hearing Gandalf refer to Tansy as his anything was enough to have his wolf demanding he tear the wizard's throat out.
Thorin narrowed his eyes as he spoke, "That is none of your business, wizard. She was hired by my company, which means until she completes her task at the end of this journey she is 'my' burglar." Thorin shifted a bit when he saw a look enter Gandalf's eyes, one that seemed to see right through him. "I believe that is answer enough, for now. I know just who and what you are Thorin Oakenshield, I suggest you do not play with her feeling lightly. For if you hurt her, I will ensure you regret it."
Gandalf then bowed his head, got up and moved around the fire to where he'd been sitting throughout most of the evening. Thorin watched him go and felt a low growl building in the back of his throat. 'The female is safer with us than such a being.' His wolf's growled words brought a small smile to his lips. Then he heard it, a low wail.
Turning he followed the sound to its source. Tansy was shifting restlessly, sounds of distress and fright coming from her lips. As if on instinct alone he found himself going to her side, once there he heard her moan of 'can't swim' and that was enough to have him sitting there at her side. He reached out and stroked her hair, beginning to hum a tune that he'd used on his nephew's when they were still but dwarf lings.
It had seemed a comfort to them at the time and he hoped it would be for Tansy now. The hobbit turned towards his voice and slowly she began to still, her dreams turning peaceful. Thorin continued his ministrations until she seemed deep asleep, once sure of this he rose and reluctantly left her side, seeking his own bed for the night.
To his own surprise as he lay down to sleep his wolf was surprisingly silent and he was able to fall asleep with only one thought on his mind. Just how beautiful Tansy looked when safely at peace in her own dreams.
A/N- Thank you again everyone for your support and for returning to read my work. It really means the world to me.
I do hope this chapter didn't disappoint.
Until the next time.
May the Fluff Be With You!
=^..^=
