Chapter 7: Back on the Road

4.13.14 A/N: Here is an entirely new Chapter 7, a added filler chapter as well as part of an old chapter.


The sun had barely risen into the sky when Valaina was already outside the inn with a fully tacked black mare, both all too eager to get going on the road once more. Dwalin grumbled about the lycan being way to ready to get a move on while he went about getting his pony ready as did the other dwarves save Thorin and Gandalf who were not present with the rest of the company. The two had stayed inside to converse about who knows what, but that didn't matter to Valaina. She just wanted them to all hurry the hell up. "Oh my word…" she growled out as she watched Kili unbuckle Bofur's saddle for the second time in a row as the dwarf went to mount the pony. "We are never going to get out of here…"

"Relax," Dwalin said in a heavy tone. "They do that all the time."

Valaina glared at Kili's goofy smile directed her way. As soon as the dwarf prince's back was turned, however, she checked her own saddle to make sure everything was in place causing tough Dwalin to chuckle. "I'm just making sure they didn't tamper with my tack," she grumbled.

"They wouldn't dare touch elf tack."

At that, Valaina gave a snort of laughter. "You really think this is elvish tack?!" she asked with a shocked look upon her face.

"You are an elf…"

Valaina cleared her throat as her smile faded. "Lycan," she corrected before pointing at the dark grey tack. "This is actually Dunedain tack; a gift from the rangers of the north."

Dwalin raised an eyebrow at the defensive tone in Valaina's voice regarding her tack. "And why are you so…offended that I thought it was elvish tack?" he asked in all seriousness.

"I already told you," Valaina grumbled as she swung up into the saddle, "I don't like being associated as one of those bastards."

Dwalin watched as the lycan turned her black mare toward the road just as the rest of the company finally got settled on their own mounts including Gandalf and Thorin, the dwarf as brooding as ever and the wizard as…wizardly as he could get. They had traveled less than two hours before the apprehension of an attack began to rise in the group. "Valaina, if you'd please scout the land around us we would be much obliged. You know these lands well enough, yes?" Balin asked as Valaina rode her mare forward intending to do just that.

"Yes, Balin, I know these lands," Valaina said as she rode past the white haired dwarf. "I know these lands very well."

Both Balin and Thorin turned to look at Gandalf for conformation, yet the wizard shrugged. "If she knows them, she knows them. She'll use her nose to find her way around more often than not," he added.

They turned to watch as the black mare bearing her blonde headed rider rose into the air in a half rear before she took off at a gallop around the area in utter joy. The two circled the company twice before they finally returned to report that nothing hinting to orcs or wargs was in the area, much to a lycan's major disappointment. They traveled onward for days, going through many different terrains. They went across great fields, down rocky valleys, through old forests, back across grassy fields, and then some.

They were happening upon more grassy fields when boredom struck the company once more. Valaina was lying across Isil's back, her head upon the mare's neck as the mare continued onward looking as put out as ever, however, the lycan looked completely comfortable in her position. "What are you doing?" Kili asked in shock and amusement as Isil prodded lazily past the dwarf's bay pony.

"Laying down, of course," Valaina answered as she looked up at the cloudy sky.

"How do you do that and find it comfortable?" Fili asked as well, and a few other dwarves looked back at the elleth to give her incredulous looks.

Valaina shrugged them off like it was nothing. "I've done this for quite some time," she answered. "I'm used to it."

Valaina watched as Kili unhooked his feet from his stirrups and turned around and tried to mimic Valaina. However, he had a bow and quiver on his back which made it all the more difficult to perform the movement. Valaina chuckled at the dwarf as Kili sat backwards on his bay pony with an utterly lost look upon his face. "It might help if you removed your bow and quiver, and hook it onto the saddle," Valaina said.

Kili did just that, though a bit reluctantly, and then tried to mimic Valaina. Still, the dwarf wasn't comfortable, and he shifted himself ever so slightly so that his back wasn't being dug into by the saddle. His pony, on the other hand, was getting really tired of all the movement on his back and snorted in displeasure at the actions. "This is…weird," Kili said as he looked over toward the lycan who was very amused by the dwarf's actions.

"I can actually stay like this while Isil is at a dead gallop," Valaina admitted. "It took a while to get comfortable and then to work out a way to keep my balance, but it paid off. At least I can catch up on sleep if I need to when I'm injured or something."

Fili looked at the two before shaking his head in amusement. "That is…too weird…" he commented.

"It does get comfortable after a while," Kili responded in dead seriousness.

Valaina gave a nod when she spotted a tree up ahead on their path. The tree sported several wonderful looking apples to which many of the ponies looked at hungrily. Valaina got up from her laying position and turned back around in her saddle before proceeding to stand up on it with relative ease. Isil stopped under the tree and allowed her rider to pick the apples, several of which she dumped on the two dwarf princes that had stopped next to her. "For the ponies later," she told them as they gave her a quizzical look. "I wasn't about to eat all these damn things myself…"

"Well, you could have," Kili started.

"And why would you think that?"

"You're still an elf," Fili finished with a smirk.

Both brothers barely had time to avoid the large tree branch that was purposely broken down on them by the lycan that had spurred her horse into a gallop away from them with a laugh.

The sun began to set as the company trudged to a halt on a rocky slope that provided decent cover along with the few spotted trees around. The ponies gratefully stopped from the hard going climb, seeing as some carried more weight than others, as Valaina turned in the saddle and looked at the spot with a nod of approval. "Looks to be safe," she mumbled.

"We'll rest here for the night," Thorin told the company as they dismounted with contented sighs, some still very sore from the riding they had been doing on the journey. "Bofur, Nori, find some firewood. Bifur, Dori, Oin, settle the horses. We'll set up camp here."

Valaina dismounted Isil and scented the air, the faint trace of a mountain ram hitting her nose as the wind blew into her face. "I'll hunt," she said as she loosened Isil's girth and hung the mare's bridle over the saddle.

"You always hunt," Bofur commented.

"What if I do?" Valaina asked back. "I bring back decent enough kill."

"I'm coming with you this time," Kili huffed causing several of the dwarves to give the young brunette dwarf an odd look. "I would like to shoot something."

"You're beginning to sound like the lycan, lad," Dwalin added to several dwarves' laughter.

Valaina gave a nod in agreement. "Well, I do tend to rub off on people," she muttered with a shrug. "Are you coming then?"

Kili gave a nod and a glare toward a few snickering dwarves before he followed Valaina down the slope and off to the side where they began to follow mountain goat trails. They jogged over the ground, dodging rocks and the occasional tree here and there as they tracked the ram. Valaina stopped after a good five minutes and scented the air. The trail of the ram had grown stronger, to which Kili confirmed when he spotted fresh tracks. They moved on, making their way over tough rocks and outcroppings with ease. They kept quiet and stuck to the shadows as best as they could as they made their way down the face of the rise and back up as the ram scent announced that they were coming in close to it.

Valaina stopped once more and scented the air, the ram's scent now strong. She moved carefully over a rock and saw two big horn rams, both large and able to feed the company for the night. She nudged Kili and gave a nod to the Ram closest to their escape route. "You shot that one, and I'll take down the other," she mumbled quietly and was rewarded with a nod from Kili as the dwarf knocked an arrow on his bow.

Valaina shifted, her white coat gleaming orange in the dying sunset as she jumped up onto the small outcropping at the same time Kili shot the ram he had been targeting. The two watched as the second ram stamped its hoof and charged, head down and horns out toward Valaina. The ram nailed the large white wolf in the side, sending her tumbling over the rock outcropping right into a large boulder. "Oof!" she huffed as the air was knocked out of her.

The ram came at her again and she growled. She ducked her head under the horns of the ram and surged up around the ram's head to clamp her jaws shut on the animal's neck. It let out a weak call before it fell limp in her jaws. She let the animal drop with a huff as she turned to Kili who gave a nod of approval. "That…was impressive," he commented. "I didn't think you'd make such a clean kill."

"I only make clean kills with something I'll eat later," Valaina smirked. "Now to get back…with both of them."

"I'll carry one," Kili offered.

"Why carry one when I can carry both?" Valaina asked the dwarf with a questioning look in her eyes as she cocked her head to the side. "I'm large enough…uh…I meant tall…never mind…" she ended in a grumble as Kili chuckled.

"Lay down and I'll put them on your back."

Valaina did just that as the dwarf easily hefted the large rams onto the lycan's back before they began to pick their way carefully back towards the camp. They came to a spot where the rocks became tedious to maneuver, and Valaina had to gently leap from rock to rock before they came upon the path once more. She jumped down from the rocks onto the path and walked the rest of the way to the camp with Kili by her side, the weight of the rams becoming heavier with each step. I think I need to start working out more often, she thought.

They eventually made it back into camp, several of the dwarves jumping in fright of the large white wolf that they still had yet to get used to. She gave a nod to Gandalf as the wizard smoked his pipe and picked her way over to the fire where Kili pulled them off the lycan's back. The two stepped back to allow Bombur to prepare the rams for dinner as the fat dwarf gave them a pointed look. Valaina shifted once more and made her way over to her still tacked mare. "Damn those things get heavy after a while," she said.

"Well, you were gone an hour. No doubt you took longer to get back," Gandalf said.

Valaina smiled as she moved to Isil, the mare in the same state as she was left. Valaina un-tacked the mare and brushed her down as dinner was being set up, the smell of a rich soup with the ram meat mixed into it tickled her senses. Isil stretched out her neck and back legs as Valaina brushed down her back. She gave a content sigh and Valaina smiled at the horse. "You're so weird," she said as she fondled the mare's ears in affection.

Isil turned her head toward Valaina and took the elleth's French braid into her teeth before tossing the hair up with a nicker causing the lycan to chuckle ever so slighty. Valaina leaned into the mare's neck, closing her eyes as she took in the black mare's smell while Isil leaned back into the lycan. "We have harder roads to travel, and the further we go the more dangers there will be," she said to Isil in a hushed voice, "Thank you, my friend, for being here with me."

The mare nickered in a welcome, her eyes bright and full of the want for more adventure.

"If we get separated, ever, you are to go to Rivendell with all the speed you can muster. Don't look back for me, just run."

The mare gave a nod in understanding and went to reassure her rider when something caught her eyes. Her ears flashed back in warning as a low nicker came from deep within her chest. "Excuse me, but I thought you might want something to eat," Ori said as he handed Valaina a bowl of soup.

"Thank you, Ori," Valaina said as she took the bowl and spoon from the dwarf.

Ori smiled and hurried back to the fire where he took up a seat next to Dori. "Valaina, come join us!" Kili called out.

Valaina hesitated just slight causing Isil to give an exasperated snort at the lack of movement from the lycan. The mare began to gently push Valaina with her head in the lycan's back over to the fire where Kili and Fili had taken up a seat. "Stop, Isil, stop," Valaina said to the horse as she staggered along, weakly resisting the horse as she found her mare's protesting quite amusing.

Isil stopped, her blue eyes bright with laughter as she whinnied at Valaina. "Shut up," the elleth said and sat down next to Kili.

The mare turned and walked back to where the other horses were tied down, though she did so a bit grudgingly. "She has quite the personality," Kili said as they ate.

"That she does," Valaina answered. "I remember when I was training with her in trick riding how bad she was."

"What do you mean?"

"For starters, she faked a limp to get out of training. We found out one day when she was limping and we stopped. I got off and asked one of my few elf friends to walk her. Well, it turns out she forgot what foot she was limping on when they turned her back around, and limped on the wrong one. The next day we were practicing this one trick, but Isil didn't quite like the idea of having to work that day. As she picked up into a gallop, I unhooked my right foot and started to swing myself over the saddle she shifted to the right just enough to send me into a tree."

Kili and Fili began to laugh at the last piece of information the lycan gave them. "She really did that?" Fili asked.

Valaina nodded with a frown on her face as she absentmindedly moved a hand over her forehead. "Several times as well as purposely running me into a tree when she had enough for one day. It took me a good long while to actually be able to complete a few trick riding exercises on her. But that's after the fact she ran me into countless other objects other than trees."

"At one point, she ran you right into me," Gandalf said as he walked by and took Valaina's bowl. "At least it wasn't as bad as what happened with Lord Elrond."

A small cry of embarrassment came from Valaina as she buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. "Don't mention that one!"

"Elrond of Rivendell?" Fili asked in curiosity.

"What happened that time?" Kili finished the question.

"Well," Valaina said as she lifted her face out of her hands, "I had perfected this one trick, and was performing it once more when Elrond got to close to the path and I kicked him in the head. He fell backwards over a boulder and rolled into a tree."

Gandalf laughed at the memory. "You should have seen his face. He was quite surprised," he added.

"I thought I was dead, Gandalf! He was going to murder me!"

"Elrond? No, he would never do that."

"Want to bet?"

"Fili, Kili, you two have the first watch," Thorin said to the two dwarves giving Valaina the feeling as though the grumpy dwarf had interrupted the conversation on purpose.

Valaina looked around and noticed many of the dwarves had begun to drift off to sleep, including Bilbo. Valaina stood up and stretched, her muscles flexing slightly as she did so. "Where are you going, Valaina?" Kili asked as he and his brother made themselves more comfortable against the rock wall they were leaning against.

Valaina gave a low whistle and Isil picked her way over to the lycan. She found a spot next to the rock wall and laid down with her legs folding up underneath her. "Over here," she told the two brothers as she walked over to the mare and sat down against the horse's stomach, her light weight doing nothing to affect the horse. "I only need a few hours rest along with Isil. Might as well get some now before the snoring sets in."

"They don't snore that loud," Kili commented.

"Um…have you not heard Oin or Gloin?" Fili and Valaina asked the brunette dwarf with a shocked look upon their faces.

Kili went to say something but stopped when he realized the two were right. "Okay…we are a bit loud…" he mumbled.

"Loud enough to wake the dead if you ask me," Valaina grumbled when something hit her head.

She looked over at Dori to see the dwarf hand Ori his slingshot back. "Shut up already," Dori commented angrily. "Some of us are actually trying to sleep…"

"Sorry, grumpy pants," Valaina muttered.