Author's notes: A sweet little chapter of reflection with some slight fluff. Have I told you guys that I really like Bofur?

But! He is probably not going to be the pairing.. I haven't made up my mind about that yet.

So here is a question for you guys: Who would you like to see paired up with Ayne?

Chapter 10: Reflection

Warmth.

It almost felt like an illusion right now; like you had never known how it felt to be warm. The rain and winds were weighing down your mood. Making you snarky, snappy and above all; grumpy. You were rarely seen snarky, snappy or grumpy and it was not a happy nor joyful sight to behold. At least not for most people. The dwarves were not 'most people', mind you. But they had decided to leave you be instead of tormenting you.

The cave the company had huddled themselves in wasn't made to lift your mood either; it only darkened it. Especially because of the fact that Gloin wasn't allowed to make a fire, much to your –and everyone else's- chagrin. Though the dried food that Bombur passed around helped to make your life a little more bearable as you nibbled it, meanwhile you started to braid your long, blond manes into one thick braid.

Finally you had settled yourself against the wall, silently hoping that this mountain wasn't part of any Stone Giant, and tucked up your knees as the cold now really started to embed itself into your bones. The blanket in your backpack was no use either since it was also drenched, like every other fucking thing in your pack.

Thorin glanced around, after seeing that everyone had settled he spoke; "Everyone, try to get some sleep. Bofur, take the first watch." There were a few mutterings and curses, but everyone managed to settle and find a spot in the crowded cave. There was one advantage of this cave; body heat. Because the cave was quite narrow and not quite as deep, the dwarves had to huddle quite close to each other, thus leaving little room between each dwarf. But that meant that they could feed off some of the warmth the other was radiating and vice versa. It wasn't much –because everyone just refused to strip-naked and huddle together, including you- but it was at least something.

A curse left your lips, louder than you intended, as you tried to stop the shivering whilst the taste of the food was still on your lips. Someone sat down left of you, tut-tutting in mild disapproval as his shoulder pressed against yours. "Such a sour tongue for a lady, shame on you Ayne," a merry voice tut-tutted in your ears, causing you to huff with amusement tainting your voice.

"Shame on me, master dwarf? Have you ever heard yourself, not to mention Dwalin or your own cousin?" You chuckled softly as you noticed that most of the dwarves were trying making themselves comfortable on their moist blankets and hard floor. Some just decided to sleep upright against the wall, which seemed more comfortable to you than the floor.

"Ah, those are exceptions. As for me; I often like a good string of curses." Bofur groaned and made himself comfortable next to you. The sound of voices in the cave slowly died as everyone had made themselves comfortable and made way for the sound of twelve dwarves and a hobbit sleeping.

You eyed each of the sleeping dwarves in silence, a peaceful feeling arising in your gut as you hugged your knees a little closer to fend out the cold. Then something warm and fuzzy being pressed on your head. It was so big that it fell over your eyes, so you had to tilt it back in order to regain back your vision. A soft chuckle erupted from beside you.

"The hat suits you." Bofur whispered, his dark and warm eyes twinkling and a cheeky smile tucking at his lips. He wielded his whittling knife with great ease and craft as he was carving in the small block wood that you remembered from lunch. Rough shapes and lines were beginning to form in the small block of wood that wasn't remotely finished.

"Bofur-"

"You are freezing and the hat helps a lot. Besides, I'm not that cold."

It was true. Your eyes could see that the outlines of his body weren't shivering at all, though the dimness of the cave took away the ability to see any details. His voice didn't sound cold though. You slowly leaned back against the stone wall after pulling down the hat properly and snuggling inside your moist coat, trying to preserve some heat –though somehow the hat was indeed helping.

"Thanks."

"For the hat, lass? No pro-"

"No," your voice was louder than you thought, startling you, as you cut the dwarf off. "I meant for catching me. I was sure to fall back there when I felt yours and Dori's arms slip through my fingers. If you two didn't catch my wrists.." You whispered softly, falling silent as the thought of dying weighed heavy on your mind.

A warm hand enclosing around your own broke your chain of thoughts; bringing you back to reality. Though you didn't see Bofur –because of the damn hat- you could almost hear him smile in his voice. It also made you smile as the haze of sleep started to waft over you when you listened to his soft accented voice.

"Of course I caught you. We need you Ayne, despite everything what Thorin thinks or feel about you. You are not the fifth wheel, and Bilbo isn't neither."

"You two are kin. Don't ever forget that."

And you didn't. Not even when the sweet blanket of sleep rolled over you in warm waves; taking your deeper and deeper with each intake of oxygen. The first dreams were fleeting and forgetful, nothing too serious or too extravagant for your mind to remember or to take in. But then one about your recent death experience slowly emerged from your unconscious mind.

For a moment you felt like you were flying once more, soaring in the sky and your fingers outstretched towards Dori and Bofur whom were lying on their stomachs with their arms open and ready to catch you. Suddenly the two dwarves started to merge together, growing into a pale mass that grew bigger than the size of any man.

Pale, thick fingers closed around your right wrist, yanking your arm painfully as you dangled there. Azog leaned over the edge, bearing his rotting and pointy teeth as his pale silver eyes twinkled deviously. He pulled you up as fear held the same painful hold around your heart like he was holding your wrist. He spoke, his voice matching your memories exactly; vile, sadistic and promised with future torture.

"And here we have the female dwarf, again. On a futile quest with futile beliefs. A puppet amongst the rest, dancing to my will." Azog the Defiler spoke, his voice wavering with a sick amusement. You were dropped on the ground and landed on your knees in burning embers instead of stone.

Smoke filled your lungs as you looked up, Azog had changed into Thorin; his black manes clinging to his face as his breathing was hard. You swallowed when the tip of his sword grazed your cheekbone and his steel eyes bored into you, filled with anger and betrayal.

"You betrayed us. You deceived us and led everyone to their doom, their death." The prince before you gestured around him, causing your eyes to wander everywhere but Thorin. Pine trees were burning with an all-devouring fire around the two of you and slowly closed in. The heat of the fire was so intense that you already found it hard to breath due to the smoke and sweat was dripping from your brow –even though it was a good twenty meters away. The mutilated and defiled bodies of the rest of the company were sprawled around you and Thorin, their faces contorted with agony and their eyes filled with death with any kind of Orcish weapons sticking out of their bodies.

"I believed you. Now, you will die." Thorin growled, catching your attention once again; just in time to see his sword coming down.

Instead of pain and death; you woke up startled. For a moment all that you could see was the inside of Bofur's head when you regained your breathing, slowing it down to a normal rhythm. With a quick snap of your head, the hat was flipped back and once again you were able to see once more.

Bilbo was standing in the entrance of the cave, his back pack over his shoulders and a walking stick in his hand. You sat up a bit, squinting your eyes against the darkness. Bofur patted the hobbit on the shoulder, his voice sad as he spoke; "I wish you all the luck in the world. I truly do."

Bilbo bit the inside of his lower lip, slowly nodding as he was ready to turn around. You quickly sat up, with the intention of stopping the hobbit before a hissing sound drifted into your ears. Your icy blue eyes then caught the sight of crevices appearing on the floor when the sand leaked into.

"Everyone wake up! Wake up!" Thorin yelled, jumping on his feet and grabbing his pack. In a blink of an eye everyone was awake and some already had a weapon in their hands. But the next event took everyone by surprise; the ground had split open beneath their very feet.

A yelp tore itself from your throat just in time before the sensation of falling settled in your stomach. Causing the organ to settle itself somewhere between your throat and chest cavity. Air enveloped you, making you tumble around and around. The dwarves were yelling and screaming helplessly as some collided against the walls of the tunnel you were falling into.

The thought of broken bones just appeared in your mind when a light –no, a hole- appeared at the end of the tunnel that had seemed so endless before. The hole grew bigger and bigger within seconds and you braced yourself for impact. And fuck the gods, the impact did come.

It was hard and relentless, smashing the air right out of your lungs as everyone fell on top of everyone; disoriented and rattled. Within an instant, a screeching sound reached your ears, making you jump on your feet with your sword –that you had gotten from Rivendell- clutched so tightly in your right hand until the leather of your gloves groaned in protest.

Goblins rushed in toward you and the company, whom held their arms tightly to themselves. You quickly counted heads coming to a total of fifteen –including yourself-; everyone was standing and everyone was alright –and somehow Bofur had his hat back on his head. You then snatched Bilbo by the collar and pulled him behind you protectively as the Goblins rushed in closer and closer. Ready to overwhelm the party.

And they surely did