On we go! Thanks very much to Little Bucky and amrawo for your reviews!
Fili was plagued by strange dreams, finding himself back in the Ered Luin, joking in the tavern with his brother, then suddenly as a small dwarfling running toward his mother after he had scraped his knees in a fall. Then the scene changed again and he was sat around a large table while his uncle Thorin told them of his plan to march for Erebor. Fili could barely keep up with how fast time seemed to flow and blend together in his head, and he suddenly found himself at another table, surrounded by his companions and a hobbit that was fussing over them. He could see blocks of cheese, ham, bread, and other things spread on the table and was about to reach for something when his eyes were drawn to an opening door at the edge of his view. He was transported to yet another scene before he could see who walked through it, finding himself sat alone in a dark hall, his head feeling heavy as he stared at something in front of him, unseeing.
And then he suddenly woke up with a start, his eyes fluttering open and his breathing heavy. It took him a moment to get used to the darkness around him, and once he did, he could see a thick cover of leaves in the tree tops high above him. He tried to even his breathing and became aware of the sound of rushing water nearby. He frowned deeply. He had no idea where he was.
"Fili?"
The dwarf jerked upright at the sudden voice beside him and he instinctively pulled a large knife from the inside of his coat, pointing it through the darkness at the small figure opposite him as he scrambled backwards.
"Fili, it's me," the figure said and the blond dwarf blinked as he realised that he was faced with a small woman, who was looking at him with obvious concern. She had her hands raised appeasingly, her eyes trained on his face as he kept pointing his dagger at her. Long, black hair was hanging limply at the sides of her face, green eyes wide with fear and worry. She seemed somehow familiar to Fili, though he couldn't place her face.
"Who are you?" He finally growled, his voice sounding croaky and unused. He tightened his grip on his knife. "Where am I? What have you done to me?"
The woman's face fell at his questions and he watched suspiciously as she closed her eyes for a short moment, sighing deeply, before she looked back up at him. Fili didn't budge from his position, ready to attack should it turn out that this woman was dangerous. She didn't seem it, but looks could be deceiving. He narrowed his eyes at her warningly when she made a small move toward him, stopping her in her tracks.
"I'm Arinna," she spoke softly, her words slow as though she wasn't sure he was able to follow her. "We're in Mirkwood and I have done nothing to you. We're friends, Fili, you know me. We were traveling through the forest with Thorin and the others when you fell into the river. You've been asleep for two days."
Fili's brows drew together in confusion, and the woman continued quietly when he said nothing in return. "What's the last thing you remember?"
He thought for a moment, trying to gather his clouded thoughts. "The Shire," he finally said, shaking his head slightly to clear it. He wasn't sure if he should be telling a stranger this, but he couldn't quite help himself. "We were recruiting the hobbit as our burglar. And ate supper at his house."
Fili looked up at the small woman before him as her hands dropped into her lap and she inclined her head with a deep sigh. "That was months ago," she whispered, more to herself than to him but the dwarf still heard her, his temples beginning to pound with a headache as he tried to make sense of it all. She looked so defeated, he almost felt bad for her, though he didn't quite know why.
"You're saying I've lost my memory?" He finally asked, obviously ripping the woman out of her own thoughts as she looked up at him with a helpless nod.
"Or do you think you stepped out of Bilbo's hobbit-hole and landed directly in Mirkwood, completely abandoned?"
Fili just tilted his head slightly, not bothering to answer her question as it was clear that he was missing some bits of information in between those two scenarios. He heard her sigh again, but he didn't say anything else, lost in his own thoughts.
"Fili," the woman then said after a few long moments of thoughtful silence, looking up at him earnestly. "I… I think I can help you. With your memory. I think I can help you remember but you'll have to trust me."
"Trust a stranger?"
"I'm not a -" Arinna began but stopped with another sigh. She shook her head slightly to herself,3 trying to choose her words carefully as he eyed her carefully. "I'm a druid. I wasn't able to lift the sleeping curse but I think that my power might be enough to bring back your memories. Or I could at least try."
Fili said nothing for a few moments, keeping his knife pointed at her as he thought. He was trying to remember, trying to find some sort of memory in his head that would confirm her story, but all he had was himself sitting at Bilbo's dinner table with a piece of ham in his hand and then a complete blank.
"I would never hurt you, if that's what you're thinking," the druid added quietly, and Fili thought that her eyes were truthful as she looked at him.
The dwarf stared at her for another few moments, his dagger still raised, unsure of what to do. She didn't seem very dangerous, he thought, and he didn't really believe that she meant to do him harm. As it looked to him, they were the only two people on this riverbank, if she had meant to hurt him, surely she would have done it by now. And he definitely wanted to know how he had come to be in this place. And she knew his uncle's name, he thought, which would have been odd if there wasn't some sort of truth to her words. Fili finally took a deep breath and gave her an uncertain nod, slowly lowering his weapon and letting it drop to the floor beside him.
The dark-haired woman released a low breath before she moved toward him, her movements still slow as not to spook him again, as though he were some sort of frightened animal. Fili watched her, suspicion still heavy in his heart, remaining silent when she came to kneel before him. He flinched when her hands reached up to his face, her fingertips pressing gently against his temples. She gave him a moment to reject her touch, but Fili stayed still. The dwarf's eyes were a mixture of suspicion and curiosity as he watched her close her eyes and taking several deep breaths.
"Ren sal len uth," she then murmured lowly and with great care, speaking in a language that Fili had never heard before and didn't recognise. For a moment, he wondered, whether she was cursing him after all. The dwarf felt a slight sting where her fingers touched his skin and he twitched slightly, though he didn't move away. "Ren sal len -"
Arinna's eyes shot open when Fili let out a small yelp, jerking his head away from her touch. She looked at him with wide-eyes as he brought the palm of his hand to his forehead, rubbing against it, seemingly to get rid of a sudden headache. The druid dropped her hands as she watched him cautiously, and it was a few moments before the dwarf looked up slowly, his pale blue eyes staring at her in disbelief.
Fili was breathing heavily and for a second Arinna worried that her spell might not have worked, that his memory was still lost, before the dwarf suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the front of her collar, pulling her into a tight hug. Arinna felt her heart leap into her throat and she let out a relieved breath as she returned Fili's embrace eagerly.
"By Durin," the blond dwarf breathed heavily into her hair, squeezing her tightly and letting a few seconds pass between his sentences, still recovering from the sudden return of his memories. Pictures had flooded his mind at incredible speed, it had seemed, and he let out a deep sigh as he held the druid close, remembering now the first time he had seen her and everything else up until this very moment. "I'm sorry I pointed a knife at you, Arinna."
The druid couldn't help but laugh as she leaned back, sending Fili a happy smile, feeling tears well up in her eyes. He seemed to be wholly himself again, looking her over with slight concern. "It's quite alright," she answered thickly and they looked at each other for another long moment before Fili finally let go of her and they moved apart.
"I thought you said you would never hurt me," he muttered then, slightly rubbing at his still throbbing forehead as he raised one eyebrow at her.
Arinna gave a small shrug, sensing the humour beneath his words. "Well, not on purpose, anyway."
Fili gave her a small, crooked smile upon her words, before he looked around himself properly, his gaze drifting over the silent riverbank and the dark trees around them. There were tracks on the ground leading from the water to where he had woken up earlier. He shook his head, looking back toward the druid, who was wiping slightly at her eyes. "You dragged me out of the water," he realised and she simply nodded in return. He took a moment to take in the information. "And I was asleep for two days?"
Arinna nodded again, her expression sobering quickly as she began to explain to him what had happened and what she had done while he slept. "I kept calling for the others, and I went into the forest as far as I dared to look for them, but I couldn't find a trace, nor the way back. The forest grows so thick here, it's impossible to find a way back upstream. I don't know how far the water carried us, or in which part of the forest we are. But we're completely off the path now and the forest is much darker here, you can barely see your own hand in front of your face during the night. And I couldn't leave you here alone. I didn't know what to do, Fili…"
Fili reached out and put his hand over hers, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. "It's alright," he muttered, trying to think of what they should do now, while he somewhat failed to give her an encouraging smile. "It's alright, we'll figure it out together, Arinna… The way I see it, we should keep heading East, toward Esgaroth. That's where the company will be headed."
"But we won't know which way is East after one day in the depths of the forest," Arinna answered seriously, feeling slightly comforted by the feeling of Fili's large hand still wrapped firmly around her own small one. "This place is treacherous, Fili, and we don't have the sun to follow. We'd be going in circles before long. That's what Gandalf meant when he told us never to leave the path."
The blond dwarf sighed deeply and then nodded. He couldn't deny the truth in her words. It had already been hard enough not to lose their way when they had still had the path to follow, without it, they barely stood any chance of going the right way. He frowned, thinking, when his eyes fell on the fast flowing river at their side. Arinna followed his gaze.
"The river," he said slowly. "It flows North, does it not?"
Arinna thought for a moment before she nodded, returning Fili's gaze as he looked at her, an idea forming in his head. "Yes, it does. I believe it joins the Forest River at its end."
"Which flows into the Long Lake," Fili concluded. "I say we follow it and make our way to Lake Town that way. What do you think?"
"The forest might grow too impenetrable for us to follow it eventually," Arinna said quietly but Fili just shrugged at her words.
"What choice do we have? I believe we should try."
Arinna took in a low breath, inclining her head slightly as she thought about his suggestion. He was right, she knew, they had to at least try. There was no way they could stay here, and this idea might be their best chance.
"What about the Elves?" She offered up thoughtfully. "This would bring us right on the doorstep of the Woodland Realm."
Fili's gaze darkened for a moment at the unpleasant reminder, as another sigh left him. He knew about the treachery and dangers of the Wood-Elves from his uncle's stories. And even Beorn had warned them about them before they had departed from his lands. He shook his head then.
"Perhaps they won't notice us if we are careful," he suggested quietly, and she heard the determination swing in his voice. He had made up his mind, and the druid looked at him for a long moment before she drew her mouth slightly askew and nodded her head. Fili gave her hand another small squeeze. "Alright then. North it is."
And with that he stood slowly, pulling the druid to her feet at the same time. They picked up what few provisions they still had, giving each other another determined look before they began their trek along the riverbank, following the current. It wasn't long before they had to move further into the trees, though, the foliage at the river's edge growing too thick to make their way through. They moved slowly, only going as far from the river as they absolutely had to, careful to make sure that they could always still hear the water flowing somewhere beyond the trees.
Arinna and Fili made their way through the forest, walking for hours at a time and only stopping at night, when the darkness around them grew too impenetrable to see where you were putting your feet. They used their provisions sparingly, realising that it would only be a few more days until they would run out of drinkable water completely. Neither of them spoke much during the day, and the nights had become haunted with large yellow eyes staring at them from the thicket, preventing them from getting any proper sort of sleep.
"I could try and get a fire going," Arinna suggested into the darkness one of those nights, after they had stopped for the day. They were sitting not too far from each other, and she heard the leaves rustle on the ground as Fili moved somewhere beside her.
"With what? We have nothing to…" The dwarf's voice echoed through the black night, and Arinna smiled slightly at his tone when he realised that she was suggesting magic. "Oh. I didn't know you could do that. Create a fire from thin air."
Arinna shrugged slightly, though Fili didn't see. "I didn't think my powers would be strong enough to give you back your memory," she muttered, more to herself than to him. "I suppose I won't know until I try."
"You needn't try. There's no point, anyway," Fili answered after a few moments of silence, sighing quietly. "The light only attracts strange creatures. We might as well leave it."
Arinna nodded, though of course Fili couldn't see that. He was right, of course, but the shiver that ran through her limbs reminded the druid that she would have welcomed a fire nonetheless. The nights had grown much colder now than when they had first entered the forest weeks ago and she sighed to herself as she rubbed her hands along her arms, another shiver running through her.
"Arinna? Are you cold?"
Fili's voice was coming from somewhere close by and the druid tried to make her words sound light as she answered, failing completely at it as her teeth continued to chatter through her speech. "No, I'm alright, F-Fili. Perfectly f-fine."
"Arinna," the dwarf's voice was more serious all of a sudden, a quiet rumble in the darkness. The druid pressed her mouth shut. "I can hear the chatter of your teeth from here. How am I supposed to find any sleep with all that noise?"
"Charming," Arinna commented dryly at Fili's jest, drawing her knees up to her chest with a slight huff.
"Come over here," Fili said softly after a moment's silence and the druid's brows lifted slightly, though she followed his request anyway, her body almost moving of its own accord. She got up halfway and slowly began crawling toward where she thought he was, holding out her hand to stop herself from knocking into anything. She heard his quiet voice through the dark. "Take my hand."
Her outstretched fingers suddenly came into contact with Fili's, making her flinch slightly at the unexpected touch of skin in the darkness. Fili quickly linked his fingers with hers and pulled her toward him until she felt herself bump into him. Instinctively, her other hand reached out to touch him, trying to figure out which way he was facing. Her fingers traced upwards through the fur on his collar until they found his face, and she realised she was touching his chin when a small braid from his moustache grazed her knuckles. Fili's breath was fanning warm against her skin.
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness then and she could see the dwarf's contours now before her. He was very close, his chest brushing against her own with every breath he took, his hand still curled around her own, while her other remained on his beard. Arinna swallowed tightly, her stomach suddenly tying itself into an uncomfortable knot.
Fili had been able to see the contours of her face a few moments before and his gaze was set firmly on it as he felt her lingering touch on his face, her fingers resting gingerly against his beard. His heart was suddenly in his throat, and he did not dare speak, for fear of breaking the mesmerising silence between them. And it was then that he suddenly thought that perhaps he had never told her about the intimacy of touching a dwarf's hair because he was afraid she'd stop if she knew.
He didn't find the courage to tell her this, though, and he didn't want to think about the unsettling feelings that followed his realisation. Instead, he merely took his free arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her further against him. Her hand fell from his face to his chest and grabbed a fistful of his furs, and he released her other hand to wrap his second arm around her as well, feeling her shiver against him.
"You're so warm…" the druid whispered, her body unconsciously snuggling closer against Fili, who swallowed past the uncomfortable lump in his throat.
"Try to get some rest," he finally murmured, his voice seeming uncomfortably loud in the quiet forest. He felt her tired head drop against his shoulder as she sighed. "I won't let you freeze, promise."