Last time:
"What choice do we have?" Thorin questions just as a loud roar splits the night. No one had to voice the question they were all thinking, they all knew it was the bear. Thorin locked eyes with Gandalf and guessed the wizard's response before he even spoke it.
"None."
…..
The Company of Thorin Oakenshield are running through plains and streams, racing to get away from two very different dangers. At the same time, Azog and his Orc Pack are racing through the forest after them. Both groups stop when another loud roar splits the air.
"Come on!" Gandalf recovering quickly and breaking back into his run. When he looked over his shoulder and saw that the dwarves were still frozen in their spots he called to them again. "This way! Quickly!" Almost all the dwarves break out of their states of shock and start running after the wizard. Bombur however remains in shock until Bofur pulls him forward. As they exit the forest, they spot a house surrounded by a hedge in the distance.
"To the house! Run!" Gandalf calls out to the dwarves. The Company takes off running across the plain towards the house. Bombur outruns them all in his fear.
"Come on get inside!" Gandalf shouts out once again as he runs through a gate in the hedge. Bombur reaches the front door of the house and throws himself against it but falls back onto his back. The rest of the dwarves catch up and start throwing themselves against the door too, trying to get it to open. Gandalf looks back as a massive black bear breaks out of the trees and barrels towards them.
"Open the door! Quickly!" Gandalf yells out still watching the bear running at them. Thorin pushes through his companions to reach the exterior bolt on the door and barely manages to raise it. The entire company bolts through the doorway into the house and try to slam the door shut, but the bear was already shoving its head through the door. The bear roars and tries to push the door open. In response, the dwarves yell and strain to try and get the door shut. Gandalf watches in amusement as the dwarves press against the door. Then just as Bilbo pulls out his sword to level it at the bear, an arrow lodges itself in the bear's snout.
Taking advantage of the bears distraction, Dwalin shouts out to his companions encouraging them. With one final heave, the dwarves finally manage to shut the door and drop the bolt across it. Sounds of sighing for many reasons fills the air before the dwarves find themselves looking around. After all, an arrow just didn't come out of nowhere.
It didn't take them long to discover the source. High above them, up in the rafters of the house, sat Nariel with a smile on her face. Many of the dwarves smiled at the sight of her. Thorin smiled at first but then his expression changed into a glare. Nariel noticed this but chose to ignore it for the time being, She was just happy to see them all safe.
"What was that?" Ori asked once he'd gotten enough courage to do so.
"That….is our host," Gandalf stated, pausing for a slight dramatic effect that made Nariel roll her eyes. The members of the Company turn and look at Gandalf in bewilderment. "His name is Beorn and he is a skin-changer." Oin checked his hearing trumpet to make sure he'd heard Gandalf correctly. The rest of the dwarves turn around quickly as they hear the dull thud of Nariel landing on her feet. She couldn't help but smile as she watched a few of the dwarves look up at the rafters, wondering how she could jump from that high up and not be hurt.
"And I imagine that Beorn isn't too happy with me right now. Me shooting him with an arrow and all," Nariel added but then shrugged slightly, her eyes falling on Thorin. Thorin met her gaze and gave her a look indicating that he wanted to talk to her later to which Nariel nodded her head slightly.
"Sometimes he's a huge black bear. Other times he's a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not overfond of dwarves," Gandalf finished speaking. The dwarves look at each other in dismay while Ori decides to peek out a crack in the door.
"He's leaving!" Ori announced rather loudly causing Dori to pull him away from the door.
"Come away from there! It's not natural," Dori said as he pulled his brother close. At this statement, Gloin snorted.
"None of it is. It's obvious he's under some sort of spell," Gloin retorted. Nariel glanced at him after rolling her eyes again.
"Don't be a fool, Gloin. He's under no enchantment but his own," Nariel stated looking at not just him but the other dwarves as well as she spoke. Gandalf nodded in confirmation then smiled at them all.
"Alright now, get some sleep all of you. You'll be safe here tonight," Gandalf said as he shared a look with Nariel. The female nodded then watched as the dwarves began spreading around throughout the house.
"I hope," Gandalf whispered to himself when he was sure everyone was out of earshot. The only one that might have heard him was Nariel and if she did she gave no indication that she had.
...
Later that night, most of the dwarves are sleeping throughout the house. A mouse or two scampers out of hiding, one going across Beorn's chess board with pieces shaped like bears, in search of food. At the same time, a few of the Skin-Changer's goats are happily munching on hay. Bilbo sits up and looks around to make sure no one else is awake before he pulls out his Ring. However, what Bilbo didn't know was that Nariel was watching him examine the small piece of jewelry.
Nariel watched as Bilbo looked at the Ring a few minutes more before putting it away and going back to sleep. Once he had, she sighed quietly to herself. There were many things going on now. Some of them good. But others were not so good. Nariel glanced over at the sleeping form of Thorin and couldn't help but let herself smile. That smile however quickly turned into a frown for the King had still wanted to talk to her about what had transpired.
Shaking her head of such thoughts for the time being, Nariel got up and quietly made her way outside. As soon as the cool air touched her skin, Nariel allowed herself to take a deep breath. It was beautiful outside and if she didn't know anything about the journey she was on, she would have been happy to stay in a moment like this forever.
But as soon as she started thinking these thoughts, Nariel heard footsteps coming up behind her. She'd learned the difference between Gandalf's footfalls and the dwarves, but she still didn't bother to turn around and see who it was. She could feel the warmth radiating off the being as they stopped beside her, gazing out into the night just as she was. When she finally couldn't stand it anymore, Nariel glanced to the side to see that it was Thorin Oakenshield who had joined her. Without a word, she turned her head back and was staring straight out into the night again. It was Thorin who had wanted to talk, so she was going to let him speak first. There was a few more minutes of silence before the dwarf beside her actually spoke.
"How'd you get here so fast? Why did you leave? Why come back?" Thorin blurted out the questions before he could even stop himself.
"I suppose you wouldn't be familiar with the fact that elves are fairly good and fast runners considering you hate my race. But I ran behind you then doubled back so I'd be in front of you. I figured I had to warn Beorn that you were coming. I left because I still felt that my loyalty to the Company was being questioned. That some of your kin still did not trust me. And I came back because I have an obligation to this Company. I committed to this cause and I'm not just going to drop it because things are bad. You dwarves deserve a home too," Nariel answered Thorin, though she did not make eye contact at all. Thorin nodded as he listened to her words.
"Why warn the Skin-Changer?" Thorin inquired and this time Nariel looked down at him. Although instead of being angry, her eyes held a hint of amusement.
"Did you want him chewing you to bits?" Nariel countered. Thorin shook his head and then realized Nariel's point, his mind also going back to Gandalf's words on Beorn earlier.
"I'd prefer to remain whole actually," Thorin stated, "And I think it's safe to say that the rest of the Company would say the same." Nariel laughed at this which amazed Thorin mainly because she didn't really laugh all that often.
"So I noticed that Bombur beat you all to the door. What was that about? The rest of you weren't scared enough?" Nariel teased the King slightly. Thorin just sent her a small glare rather than dignify that with an answer.
"How do you know Beorn?" Thorin asked. He'd learned not to question exactly how long she'd known certain beings after he'd learned her age.
"Well….." Nariel started but then paused to gather her thoughts," I told you before that I travel quite a bit. On one such travel I came across Beorn's house. I was actually greeted much the same way that you were today. He didn't trust me at first although I was an elf. But after we had many lengthy talks about the animals he possessed and gardening, he started to warm up to me. The bear side of him is quite a different story that is better saved for another day. One where you are less sleepy than you are now."
"I am not…." Thorin started to protest but then was cut off when Nariel raised a hand to silence him. He closed his mouth and raised an eyebrow. Not many had ever dared to silence him when he spoke but then again Nariel was of a completely different race. And he had to admit that she was very different from other elves.
"Please, Thorin, you were snoring up a storm when I walked out here. Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when morning comes and Beorn returns," Nariel said and turned away from him before he could say anything. Once again Thorin closed his mouth as words refused to come. He had to admit that he couldn't bring himself to be angry with her right now. Although he'd never normally let anyone get away with treating him like she had since he'd walked out here. With a glance up at her, Thorin nodded and headed back inside. However he did hesitate in the doorway. A part of him didn't think it right that he leave her outside on her own, but another part (the part that actually got him to close the door) knew that she could take care of herself.
Once she hears the door shut, Nariel focuses more on the trees. She could've sworn that she could spot the bear making its way back towards the house, changing into Beorn as it got closer. Because the next thing Nariel knew, she was staring right at Beorn as he watched his house. She kept herself calm as he got closer, and she was relieved to see that he didn't seem to be too mad at her. But then again she could never tell exactly what Beorn was feeling.
When Beorn finally reached her and was standing in front of her, Nariel forced herself to look up into his eyes. When she'd first met him all she'd been able to do was stare at his feet, but now she was confident enough in herself to look him in the eye. Beorn looked down at her in response and didn't say anything. He stared at her long enough to make her want to look down but instead Nariel just kept shifting her feet.
"Why did you shoot me?" Beorn finally asked her, the sound of his voice making her jump just a little after so much silence.
"I couldn't let you hurt them, Beorn," Nariel replied," Even if I did warn you that they'd probably be coming before hand. You know the bear in you is unpredictable. I never know what you will do."
"Perhaps it is best then that you did shoot me," Beorn nodded only slightly. Nariel nodded as well and resisted the urge to bite her lip as silence fell between them again. Eventually Nariel broke the silence by starting a conversation about the animals that she'd seen on her last journey. Beorn quietly sat down beside her to listen and the two ended up talking about the topic till the sun rose.
And that's the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it longer than the previous ones. I also apologize if I made Beorn a little OOC. I've never really been that great at writing him. Please write a review and let me know your thoughts.
