Disclaimer: I only own Ira and Amicitia, the rest belong to Tolkien (except Alduin; he belongs to Bethesda).
A/N: Okay, sorry it's been a little longer than usual. I'd love to say I have an excuse, but I don't... :/
Big thanks to: Ranockz, LuciferEllyllSefira, Haruka Kasumi and Aku Tora for following/favouriting.
Review response(s):
ww1990ww: Alduin just wasn't there at the time...
Mjoern: Hopefully it got more interesting further on... I've tried to keep Alduin as canon as possible, but it's difficult when he is 1) In a new world, and 2) In a new body. On the contrary, I actually plan (*cough SPOILERS! *cough) on Alduin recruiting Smaug once he convinces him he's a real dragon. But I know Alduin would never give up his form, even if he loved someone, so don't, he'll be a dragon by the end. At least, that's the plan...
Chapter 12:
The company was packed up and ready to go just before dawn the next morning. Gandalf was currently absent, attending the White Council with Lord Elrond, Lady Galadriel of Lothlórien (wherever that was), and Saruman the White, a fellow wizard. Ira also found out that, while Kili and herself were talking to Odahviing, Amicitia had managed to convince Thorin to allow her to accompany them... somehow. With a sigh, Ira told Shadowmere to go around and meet them on the other side of the Misty Mountains, since there was no way he could fit back through the Hidden Pass, and they were then going to be walking a dangerous path which, while she had no doubt the stallion would survive, Ira didn't want him to have to experience. Shadowmere snorted and butted his head against the nord woman's shoulder, before turning and trotting off, free of all burdens he carried but his own kit.
Ira sent Rivendell one last quick look.
"Be on your guard; we are about to step over the edge of the Wild. Balin, you know these paths, lead on." Thorin said.
"Aye."
Ira saw Bilbo gazing longingly at Imladris. "Come on, Bilbo," she heard Amicitia say, her voice kind and soft.
...
When the sun was low on the horizon later that day, Thorin ordered them to make camp.
Ira was stood on the edge of their camp area, hand on the hilt of her sword, looking out over the open plains. Her eyes were scanning the area for any sign of movement. A couple of times, she could have sworn she saw a flash of white, but when she looked again, there was nothing there. Still, the fact she saw this more than once made her uneasy. And the world felt too quiet. Not even a single bird could be heard. They were still being followed.
The Dragonborn turned back to the others and dumped her bag where her bed roll had been laid out. She then put her sword on the ground and sat down. She pulled a Daedric Dagger from her armour and absentmindedly began twirling it between her fingers, lost in thought.
"You alright, lassie?"
Ira jumped at the voice, then looked up to see Bofur watching her curiously, a pipe between his lips. She smiled. "Yes thank you, Bofur. Are you?"
Bofur shrugged. "My feet could do with a good rest, but other than that, fine and dandy."
Ira chuckled at his odd choice of words, but rather than commenting on that, she spoke of something else. "If your feet hurt after only one day of walking, Master Dwarf, you're in for a real treat later."
He paled, and this sentence seemed to have picked up the attentions of the other dwarves as well. Bilbo also looked curiously at her. "What do you mean?" Fili asked.
Ira glanced at him. "We're about to go into the mountains. I would imagine the rocks there are sharp and pointed, not to mention that most of the paths are likely to be very narrow."
"Narrow paths are no trouble for us, dragon," Dwalin scoffed.
Ira narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe. But, from experience, they'll be less than a foot wide. I can imagine that on one side is a solid wall, and the other is a sheer drop down hundreds of feet."
Dwalin scowled, but said nothing, instead turning away. The other dwarves looked horrified. "That's alright. We dwarves are very sure-footed," Ori said, not particularly convincingly, either.
Ira sighed. "To be honest, I have a feeling those narrow paths (if there actually are any) will be the least of our problems by the time be actually reach the path we're taking."
"Why's that?"
Ira looked up at them all, her eyes grave with memory. "There's a storm is coming, and storms are particularly vicious over high areas."
"You're very good at lowering our spirits, Miss Ira," Gloin said gruffly.
Ira shrugged. "I'm just telling it how it is." She smiled, then clapped her hands together. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm in the mood for some food."
The dwarves laughed and murmured their agreement, and a small fire was lit. Ira almost sighed in exasperation. They were in a completely open area, they knew they were being followed, and still they lit a fire?! Ira shook her head. They might as well have held up a bright sign that said 'We're over here!'. Dwarves could sometimes be a bit dim. That being said, Ira was surprised Thorin allowed them to light the fire. He was far more sensible than most of the others, so surely he should know this.
Then again, she reasoned to herself, since whoever's following us already probably know where we are, what's the harm in lighting a fire? It'll give us a better chance of seeing them if they decide to attack.
The brunette was torn, so said nothing, only thanked Bombur when he brought her piece of meat over. She ate it slowly, and in silence. Everyone else seemed to be in deep or casual conversation, but Ira was happy to just sit in silence, on her own.
"Mind if I sit here?" Ira had no idea who spoke, because her mind was half-absent, but shook her head anyway. It was a complete shock when she discovered the person who sat beside her was... Alduin. They hadn't spoken for many days. Alduin sighed, as if he was forcing himself to do something particularly taxing. "I think we need to improve our relationship." Ira raised her eyebrows. Alduin huffed. "You said so yourself: we're going to be spending a lot of time with each other, and the thought of constantly being at odds with you just gives me a headache."
"If the mere thought of it does that, I can't imagine what the real thing does," Ira commented casually.
Alduin rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, mal ilit."
Ira, rather embarrassingly, began choking on her piece of meat. Alduin gave her a strong thump on the back, which successfully dislodged it. She looked at him in disbelief. "Did you seriously just call me 'little fox'?" She demanded in astonishment.
Alduin raised an eyebrow. "Yes."
Ira became thoughtful. "So, just because we're agreeing to be more civil with each other, it means I need a nickname?"
"That's not what I-"
"'Cause, that's great!" Ira grinned childishly. "It means I get to pick one out for you now." Alduin groaned and rubbed his temples in exasperation. Ira smirked at him. "That's a very human thing to do," she said quietly. Alduin stopped, before slowly turning his head to look at her.
"I think I'm finally beginning to get used to it," he admitted after a moment of hesitation.
"Took you long enough," Ira grumbled. "Tul, Zu'u los frund hi los zuk sulvekaal voth hinmaar nu. (Still, I am glad you are more comfortable with yourself now.)"
Alduin looked at her doubtfully. "You're glad?"
Ira shrugged. "Well, maybe that's the wrong word. But at least it means we're less likely to get into arguments about the worth of the human body."
"Tolro vahzah. (That's true.)"
A fairly comfortable silence overcame them, though it didn't last. A shrill whistle, much like a catcall, actually, sounded from the biggest group of dwarves. Alduin and Ira looked up at the same time to find said group looking at them with manic grins on their faces. Alduin narrowed his eyes at them, while Ira pulled an over-exaggerated face of disgust. This just made them laugh, before they turned back to their conversation.
Ira shook her head. "Do you remember what I said at Bag End about these dwarves?" She asked, not bothering to keep her voice down.
Alduin's smirk told her he did, but, for dramatic effect (she assumed), he paused, as if thinking it over. "I believe you said that if they didn't shut up, you'd kill them," he replied.
Ira held up her hand, showing her thumb and forefinger about a millimetre apart. "I am this close to acting on that."
Alduin's smirk grew bigger. "And do you remember what I said to you?"
"That you'd help me."
"That still stands."
Ira grinned. "Nice to know." She then cast her eyes over each member of the company. She saw her sister talking quietly to Ori, Nori and Dori. The dwarves had warmed to Amicitia far quicker than they had Ira - not that they were on particularly friendly terms even now. Ira knew it was to do with her dragon blood. That brought an interesting thought to mind. She turned to Alduin again. "Does Amy know about us?" She asked quietly.
Alduin shook his head. "I don't think so. She could do, I suppose."
"Then I should tell her." Ira stood and walked over to the small group. Amicitia smiled upon seeing her twin. "Can I have a moment?" Ira asked softly.
Amicitia nodded. "Of course." She glanced back. "Back in a minute, guys." She flashed them a sweet smile, which they returned, before following Ira out of hearing range of the others.
When Ira stopped, she didn't turn to face Amicitia at first. "How much have you been told about me by the others?"
"What?" Amicitia asked, sounding completely baffled. "Nothing, I- What?"
Ira smiled grimly, before turning to face her identical copy. "So he was right." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She briefly thought of how to bring such a subject up. "Do you remember the stories our mother used to tell us when we were little?"
"You mean when we couldn't sleep?" Ira nodded. Amicitia tilted her head to the side questioningly. "Yes. Why?"
"You know the one she told us about the return of the World Eater, how he would bring about the End Times and destroy the world?"
Amicitia grinned. "How could I forget? That one was always my favourite."
Sighing, Ira watched her sister closely. "Yeah, well, it turned out not to just be a story. It happened, Amy, and I was stuck right in the middle of it all."
"What do you mean?" Amicitia asked, growing wary now.
Ira turned away again, unable to look her sister in the eye. "I was being taken to my death when he first showed up." She said quietly, hearing her sister suck in a breath behind her. "He attacked the town I was in just before I was beheaded. But that moment changed my life forever." She turned back to her sister, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "There's a reason I've lived this long. Lycanthropy doesn't make you immortal."
"I know it doesn't," Amicitia said softly.
"Amy..." Ira sighed again. "The reason I'm immortal is because I've got mixed blood. I'm part dragon."
Amicitia recoiled as if she'd been physically struck. "WHAT?!" She screeched.
Ira huffed, expecting a reaction like that. "I'm the Dragonborn, Ames. I've got the blood and soul of a dragon, and that's made me immortal."
"So, wait, you're telling me that you fulfilled that prophecy? You were the one that killed the World Eater?"
Ira laughed humourlessly. "Kind of. Turns out he isn't a massive fan of staying dead."
"How so?"
"He's literally twenty metres from where we're standing right now."
Amicitia whipped around faster than Ira could blink. "But..." She stuttered. "He's not attacking them. Me. You. Why not?"
"Akatosh, as a punishment, put him in a nord body and he has to help me on this quest. He has to help us kill the dragon. After that, I don't know what's going to happen to him." Ira explained. "He's not attacking us because he can't. If he does, he'll never be a dragon again."
Amicitia looked back at Ira, and, after a brief moment, smiled. "Who would have thought? My sister, a legend." She grinned and hugged Ira gently, which surprised the Dragonborn, but not enough to stop her from returning the hug. Amicitia pulled back. "What were you so worried about?"
"That you'd shun me for being part dragon," Ira admitted. "That's the reason the other's don't trust me or him. They think we're going to betray them."
"Yeah, like that's going to happen."
"They don't know me as well as you do. In fact, even you don't know me all that well anymore." Ira pointed out matter-of-factly. "And they're sensible to have doubts. Blind trust has never really done anyone any good."
Amicitia huffed. "Yeah, well, they should still trust you. Have you ever done anything to make them doubt you?"
Ira paused. "I don't think so."
"Then they're overreacting!" She rolled her eyes. "They'll see sense eventually. Or they already do, and are just too stubborn to admit it to themselves. Or anyone else, for that matter."
A strange expression had fallen over Ira's face as she listened to her sister's rant. "Since when did you become so wise?"
Amicitia chuckled. "If you think that's wisdom, my dear sister, you haven't seen anything yet."
Ira smiled and gently hugged her sister, before throwing her arm over Amicitia's shoulder and walking back to the company like that.
...
It was absolutely pouring. It was a storm so fierce that not even Clear Skies could stop it. The company edged their way along the slick rock, all of them concerned about the thin ledges and seemingly endless drop beneath them. It seemed Ira's guess about what they'd face in the mountains was accurate.
"Hold on!" Thorin shouted to everyone. No duh...
The wet and cold was putting Ira in an extraordinarily bad mood. As Bilbo walked, the stone beneath his feet collapsed, but Dwalin caught him before he could fall.
"Thorin!" Ira shouted over the wind. "We cannot make it through this storm! We must find shelter!"
"Watch out!" Dwalin roared. Ira looked up just in time to see a large boulder hit the rock above her head, shattering as it did. The Dragonborn threw her arms around Fili and Kili - who were on either side of her - and drew them as close to the rock as she could.
"This is no thunder storm!" Balin shouted over the vicious howl of the wind. "It's a thunder battle! Look!"
A startled breath whistled through Ira's teeth as she looked up and saw moving stone. It looked vaguely like a body.
"Well, bless me; the legends are true!" Bofur exclaimed. "Giants! Stone giants!"
"Now's not the time, Bofur!" Ira shrieked.
Thorin pulled Bofur away from the edge of the rock. "Take cover: you'll fall," he ordered as he did it.
Kili's eyes were filled with fear. "What's happening?" Ira tightened her grip on him a little, in a vain attempt to reassure him.
The first giant threw a large rock at the second, causing the company to yell out as their perch wobbled. Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to split, directly between Ira's legs. Kili roughly pushed Ira to the other side, where a trembling Fili caught her. They were on a third stone giant now.
It too joined the violent fight, but was soon knocked over. Ira's eyes widened in fear as they hurtled towards a stone wall. She grabbed hold of Fili as he began to fall, before Shouting with as much power as she could muster. "Fus Ro Dah!" The force of the Shout blew the rock apart, and the group landed safely on what was now a ledge.
Ira, however, was knocked back after a particularly rough landing, throwing her over the edge of the cliff. She just about managed to cling onto a small rock that was jutting out, but she was now at least ten metres below the ledge everyone else was on. There was also no way she could climb back up. She was trapped.
Cliffie! Please don't hate me... XD
I hope you liked!