The issue with the braids will be breached in the chapter… sort of…
It's also a little more light-hearted and, despite everything, history does repeat itself here. I tried not to but it just kept happening.
The company stood watching Bombur for half an hour or so, hoping he'd wake up. "We must make camp." Thorin sighed eventually. "Up. Everyone on their feet." Four people had to carry Bombur along the path, their packs split between the others.
They set Bombur in the middle of the camp that night and lay down around him. Aire and Bilbo volunteered for the first watch. They was beginning to feel useless again as they weren't strong enough to carry Bombur. Their shift was often shortened and the previous night Fili and Kili had woken them up late so they could sleep longer. "Might start thinking ye're a man soon." Aire turned to see the outline of Bofur's hat in the fading darkness.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"Don't have watch tonight so I thought I'd come and keep ye company."
Aire noticed that Bofur had relieved Bilbo who was making his way back to his bedroll. She felt envious of him. "What makes you think I need company?" The last light faded, leaving Aire and Bofur in complete darkness.
"Lassie, you haven't spoken a word to Thorin since ye woke up in his arms that."
Aire was thankful that Bofur could not see her blush. "I spoke to him before we entered Mirkwood."
"No, he spoke to ye. The two of ye went from waking up in each other's arm to shooting death glares in the space of a few days. Want to say what happened?"
"The truth happened."
"Oh." Bofur was silent for a moment. "He held the elvish part of ye're blood against ye, didn't he?"
"That surprises you?"
"A little, yes. Ya have dwarf blood in ye. I thought that would've had some sway on him."
"Well, apparently he wants to kill me every time he remembers my elf blood." Aire was close to laughing now that she'd said it out loud. "I believe the elves would call it 'Bipolar'."
"Aye. We call it 'Stroppy Dwarf Syndrome'."
Aire did laugh now, though she tried to stifle it in her sleeve. Aire stifled her laugh long enough to speak quickly. "I hope for your sake he's asleep."
"He's not." Aire and Bofur jumped nearly a foot into the air at the sound of Thorin's voice so close behind them. "I'm sure you are, Bofur."
"Aye. See ye in the morning lass." He clapped Aire's shoulder before stumbling towards the others.
Coward. Aire thought with a small smile.
"You should be focussing on keeping watch, not socialising."
"Keeping watch on what, exactly?" Aire returned to the log she was sitting on with some difficulty. "It's not as though I'd be able to see anything." When Aire found the log she turned her back on Thorin. She only knew she'd done so because she could just feel his coat against her back. "I know you are impartial to me, but will you inflict your opinions on the others too? Even Balin does not hate me as much as you claim to and Dwalin doesn't seem to have any desire to run me through." Aire sighed and spoke before Thorin could supply some snide remark. "We need to talk. You need to talk to me. I have questions that you need to answer but not now. When we talk I want to be able to look you in the eye."
"There is nothing to ta-"
"Yes there is! You braided my hair, Thorin. You braided my hair. I know that is not something done among dwarves that you hate. You owe me an explanation for that if nothing else. But I refuse to talk to you further until I can see your face. When we are free of Mirkwood then I shall talk to you. Until then can you suppress the urge to kill me and at least act civilly?"
"I shall try." If it wasn't for the fact that Aire hadn't heard Thorin leave she might have assumed she was alone. "Do your eyes see anything? You have the sharpest of all of us."
"I can't even tell if my eyes are shut." Aire sighed. "How anything can liv here is beyond me."
"Sleep."
Aire turned her head in the direction of Thorin, her cheek brushing against the fur of his cloak. "Pardon?"
"You heard me. You had watch last night. My bed-roll is next to Balin's, about twenty paces back from here. I'll take your watch tonight." Aire would've argued except for the fact that Thorin was being decent to her.
"Thank you."
Thorin helped her over the log and she stumbled her way towards Balin.
"Here lass. Mind you don't step on Dori. Or Bifur. There you go." Balin helped Aire to the bed-roll, making sure she didn't wake any of the other members. Aire thanked him before settling down into Thorin's bed-roll, trying her hardest not to press her face into his spare cloak. She failed.
Aire was the first to wake the following morning, save for Dwalin who'd taken over watch duty from Thorin at some point in the night. Thorin himself was sleeping on Dwalin's bed-roll. Aire got to her feet, packed up Thorin's bed-roll and attached it to his pack. She wandered over to Dwalin, who's just visible in the dawn light able to fight its way through the trees. Aire knew the light situation will not greatly improve. "I miss the sun." she sighed, flopping down onto the log Dwalin was sat on.
"You're not the only one. You're coping better than I thought you would."
Aire knew what he meant and simply stated; "Part dwarf."
Dwalin nodded. "You wanna wake 'em or should I?"
"Can't they sleep a little longer? They're all so peaceful."
"Thorin would have our heads." Dwalin sighed in resignation. He hadn't been sleeping well either by the looks of it. He'd be getting less rest now that he had to help carry Bombur as well.
"Fair point." Aire turned to the sleeping dwarves. "Rise and shine you ugly lot!" she called cheerfully.
"Who you calling ugly?" Gloin mumbled, sitting up.
"Yeah, I'll have you know I'm the best looking on here!" Fili rolled over and hit his brother before getting to his feet.
"That's what you think!" Kili was up on his feet a moment after his brother. "Oin, who's better looking?"
"Myself." Oin grinned, helping Bilbo to his feet.
"Congratulations. You've turned the day into a competition and we've barely been up a minute." Thorin scowled at Aire but she shrugged.
"They're up, aren't they? More than I can say for poor old Bombur." Thorin didn't respond but moved to pack his bag and sort out his bed-roll. "Already done it." Aire nodded towards his back.
"Thank you, Airelotwen."
"Whatever you did it worked." Bofur grinned, clapping Aire on the shoulder.
"Dwalin, Bofur, Fili and Nori will carry Bombur until we break." The four nodded, moving to hoist Bombur onto their shoulders.
They carried on walking for days. Each day felt like the last, the path winding on and on with no sign of stopping. The food was completely gone three days after Bombur fell in the water and they had only half a flask of water between them. The watches fell on Bilbo, Aire and Balin, who didn't carry Bombur. The others were tired enough from carrying Bombur's weight and Aire felt that they shouldn't have to watch the camp too. Her decision ultimately earned her a great deal of respect from Thorin (Though it might have been relief, she wasn't sure). It was still clear to the others that there was a barrier between them, but Thorin had drawn up what he hoped was a decent explanation for her in his head.
Four days after Bombur and the river met Thorin seemed to finally snap. "Is there no end to this accursed forest? Bilbo, get up a tree and tell us what you can see."
Bilbo grumbled but hoisted himself into the tree.
"Let me go. I'm taller than Bilbo and I can see farther than him." Aire tried to reason.
"No. You've barely slept over the last few days. I will not carry you if you fall." There was no malice in Thorin's voice which was a huge improvement on the past few days. Aire stayed on the ground, not wanting to provoke his anger.
Bilbo returned to the ground with a scowl. "The forest goes on for ever and ever and ever in all directions! Whatever shall we do?"
The others burst into grumbled about how the Hobbit was useless. Bilbo spoke about the butterflies he had seen and the breeze he'd felt but the other's only got louder in their grumbling. "Bilbo, please be quiet." Aire sighed before someone said something offensive. "None of us can get up these trees to feel the breeze or see the butterflies so please; stop talking."
Bilbo huffed but did as asked.
"I'll take first watch." Bilbo offered later that night. Aire smiled at him, turning to set up her bed. They'd had to stop taking double watches in order to cover the whole night and still get some sleep.
She was one of the first to settle down for the night, a very small amount of light still poking through the trees. Dwarves began to set up their beds around her but she didn't take notice of who it was. It was getting dark and the surrounding dwarves were nothing more than dark shadows. She fell asleep listening to the ever present sound of Bombur snoring.
The wargs were snapping at the base of the tree, scrabbling up the bark and breaking the lowest branches. The tree shook violently as the beasts slammed their bodies against it, breaking it from the roots. Someone yelled for them to jump and she did, launching herself at the next tree. She caught the branches with outstretched hands, pulling herself up. She screamed when she looked down, watching as Bofur missed his branch and tumbled towards the ground.
Then someone was grabbing her wrist, pulling her to another tree. Aire looked up to yell at him but it was Bofur. Aire knew it was impossible, that he couldn't be dead one minute and a live the next, but the logic didn't completely register. "Fili!" Bofur called the princes name, his face pale. Aire turned, already knowing what she would find. There wasn't much left of the blonde prince when the wargs parted.
They jumped for one last time, onto the tree at the edge of the cliff. Fili was back with his brother but Ori, sweet Ori, was nowhere in sight.
The tree creaked, snapping the front roots as it tumbled back. The rear roots were the only thing that kept it attached to the cliff. "Oin!" Ori was back, calling for the healer as his branched snapped and sent him to the trees below.
When Aire looked forwards she saw Thorin running towards Azog, sword raised in a familiar scene. "Thorin!" She screamed his name, trying to draw the dwarf back. However, as with most nightmares, he didn't hear.
The white warg knocked him to the ground, two more converging on him. With low growls they ripped into the dwarf king, muzzles stained red with his blood. "Thorin!" Others were calling his name alongside Aire, but they couldn't change his fate.
Bilbo was knocked to the side like a rag doll. He'd been too slow. It was too late.
The world around Aire was fading to black, but not until she'd seen Thorin's head lifted high in the air.
She drifted awake to the sound of hushed voices. "I'll take her watch, it's fine." Dwalin was insisting.
"No, I've told you!" Bilbo argued. "I'm going to stay on watch!"
"Ye need ye're sleep as much as the rest of us!" Bofur argued. Everything was being said in low voices, hushed so that even Aire had difficulty hearing them.
One side of her face was pressed against something hard, a heartbeat that wasn't her own throbbing in her ears. Fur brushed against her cheek and she momentarily panicked.
Arms constricted around her waist, holding her tightly. "It's okay." A deep voice rumbled, "You're safe."
It was Thorin.
Light flooded Aire's face and she squinted through her lashes to see Bilbo holding a torch in front of her. "Get that thing out of her face, Halfling!" Thorin snapped and the light went out. "Airelotwen, are you okay?" Thorin's voice softened and Aire fixed a glare on him, even though he couldn't see.
Bloody bipolar dwarf king.
"I'm fine. Um, what happened exactly?" Aire knew she'd had a nightmare, but how she ended up in Thorin's arms was a mystery to her.
"You had a nightmare. Nearly woke half the company with your screaming and thrashing. I had to move you before you hurt someone else or yourself."
"I'm so sorry." Aire flushed, sitting up as Thorin let her go. "What time is it?"
"A few hours before dawn." Dwalin supplied. "I think."
"Oh Bilbo, I'm sorry! I was meant to take over from you!"
"Don't worry about it." The hobbit reassured her. "However I would like to go and get some sleep now."
"Go!" Aire smiled. "I'll cover the rest of the night. I'll start early tomorrow as well." Bilbo thanked her before slowly heading away from the group.
"You need sleep." Thorin informed.
"I'd rather not go back to the nightmare. Anyway, I'll be fine. Dawn's not far off."
I'm going to focus on Thorin's feelings a little more in the next chapter so that you know a little about what he truly thinks about Airelotwen. Can't say it's going to be all that pretty, but there will be some good points.