(I apologize for this chapter being lengthy. It's about a matter of a test of heart and character with Raven. Enjoy.
Sincerely, Tylene.):
Raven knew that Bilbo and the Dwarves were going to be hungry for breakfast when they wake up. After putting a protection barrier around the camp, Raven went into the forest to harvest various items for breakfast; grabbing a couple things to carry eggs and meat in. Raven knew Dwarves loved meat.
Raven put her nose to the wind and filtered the many smells of the forest and of the creatures through her nose until finding the smells she wanted: Deer and Bluebirds. Letting her nose lead the way, Raven followed a dirt path that led to a small lake not far from the campsite. The smell of Deer and Bluebird grew stronger; sweet Berry fragrance was given off by the animals' blood - stronger and stronger.
Raven ducked behind a boulder and gazed to the lake in front of her: Does with their baby Fawns and Does. Raven felt her heart grip painfully at the sight: mothers or babies. It would be kinder to harvest one of the babies instead of leaving one of them helpless by harvesting one of the mothers. The mother could go on living, having more babies if Raven harvested one of the babies. If the mothers and their babies were her only options this morning, Raven would rather go with option number three: leaving them alone and gather only eggs for breakfast, then tell Thorin she wants to find a river to stop beside for a lunch break so she could harvest fish for lunch. Raven groaned.
Seeing a nearby tree with a few birds' nests in the branches, Raven quickly gathered enough eggs. Raven was about to turn around and go back, when she heard the sound of hooves. Raven turned back in time to see some Bucks walk into her line of sight; heads bending to graze. Raven sighed with relief. Raven pulled a throwing knife from the holster strapped to her upper leg, drew her arm back, and when one of the Bucks walked into perfect range, Raven whipped her arm out; throwing knife sailing smoothly through the air in the direction of the antlered animal, and in one smooth fluid motion, embedded into the Buck's neck side. The antlered animal dropped to the ground and the other Deer scattered.
Raven hopped over the boulder and ran up to the dead Buck. Pulling her throwing knife from the antlered animal, Raven began harvesting the meat. After gathering the eggs and meat, Raven washed her throwing knife and hands, then slid the knife back into the holster and carried the breakfast items back to camp.
Soon, just when the sun began casting golden rays over the land, Raven put a big flat rock over the flames and had the eggs and meat already cooking; filling the air with a delicious aroma that began stirring Bilbo and the Dwarves. Bilbo and Bombur were the first two to wake when the aroma of cooking food filled their nostrils.
Bilbo and Bombur walked up to Raven and helped her by grabbing salt and pepper for the eggs and some seasoning for the meat that Raven had formed into sausage links, then grabbed flat stones to use as makeshift plates.
Bilbo and Bombur helped Raven dish breakfast onto the rock-like-plates just as Gandalf and the other Dwarves began to wake. One by one the Dwarves sat up and looked to see where the delicious aroma of food was coming from. When the Dwarves saw Bombur and Bilbo helping Raven with food, they all eagerly got up and got in line for breakfast, considering that Thorin barked at them to be polite.
"Good morning guys," Raven greeted sweetly.
"Good morning lass," greeted all of the Dwarves except for Bilbo, Bombur and Thorin - Bilbo and Bombur because they had greeted Raven when they had walked over to help her. Thorin didn't greet Raven due to still being weary of her and also because he studied her while standing at the end of the line.
Thorin studied Raven while she handed each one of the Dwarves their breakfast. Each time Raven took a plate from either Bilbo or Bombur to give the Dwarf that stood waiting for his food, Thorin noticed Raven wouldn't look at him directly; Bilbo or Bombur either. Thorin could tell something was off because Raven was the type of woman who dealt with matters face-to-face. Thorin, when it was his turn, moved to stand in front of Raven for his food. Thorin watched as Raven turned to Bilbo for another rock-like-plate, her gaze facing toward the ground while holding out a hand.
Thorin needed to find out what was wrong. Thorin, when handed his food; Raven's gaze still downward, he grabbed the rock-like-plate, lightly brushing his hand against hers. But Raven only angled her head so that, out of the corner of her eye, she could see if Thorin had a good grip on his rock-like-plate, but never looked up to meet his gaze. Thorin inwardly sighed after Raven let go and went to go find a place to sit.
"Bombur, I think Raven has you beat when it comes to making food," Raven heard one of the twins say…Fili or Kili, Raven didn't know which one spoke. "It's so delicious."
All of the Dwarves gave compliments on Raven's food, thanking her in unison. "You're welcome," Raven spoke.
"Can she stay after we retake the mountain?" Ori asked innocently.
"Raven can stay with my brothers and I," Bofur added.
"Sorry Bofur," Fili and Kili began, "but we're the ones who hold her heart, so she's staying with us."
"Enough, boys. Raven's not staying with either of you." Thorin shut them up with a snap in his voice.
Fili and Kili snickered after Bofur told them, "you're crazy. It's me that holds her heart." Laughter erupted from some of the Dwarves but instantly shut up at Thorin's stern look.
Bilbo, like Thorin, noticed that Raven only shook her head before taking a drink from the wine skin she held in her hand, keeping her gaze turned to the forest.
Gandalf, Balin, and Thorin watched as Bilbo moved to sit beside Raven, who now had her gaze turned to the Hobbit, her eyes not looking at him fully while, what looked like, him asking her what is wrong. Even Dwalin and Bombur had noticed - Bombur moving to sit in front of Raven.
All four watched while Raven talked to Bilbo and Bombur, looking between the two of them with a full on gaze this time. The way Raven had her body positioned and used her free hand to talk, something was definitely wrong, especially when Bilbo and Bombur put a reassuring hand on her.
The rest of the Dwarves watched Raven converse with Bilbo and Bombur when they noticed Balin, Gandalf, Dwalin and Thorin watching them - Raven now pointing to her heart while she looked to Bilbo and then Bombur. Balin got up to see what was going on when Raven grew tense after, what looked like, Bilbo asking her a question while making a gesture towards Raven's eyes.
Thorin and Dwalin - mostly Thorin, grew even more concerned when he, along with the others, watched Bilbo and Bombur nod after Raven, from the looks of it, had said something that made them nod their head to give an okay; Balin sitting down just in time to hear what the woman had to say while pointing to her mouth then the wine skin after telling Bilbo and Bombur whatever it was that Thorin saw, that caused the Hobbit and one of his fellow Dwarves to give a look of surprise.
Bilbo, Bombur, and Balin put a comforting hand on Raven after she pointed to the remaining meat, her heart and then the other Dwarves. Balin looked to Bilbo and Bombur, telling the Hobbit and the Dwarf something, then turned to Raven after Bilbo and Bombur stood up and walked over to the others. Balin put a comforting hand on the side of Raven's face, and by the way he talked to Raven, Thorin could tell that whatever Balin had told her was soothing because she gave a smile and rested her forehead against Balin's. Balin told Raven something else then tenderly kissed Raven's forehead like a way a grandfather would kiss his granddaughter.
Thorin stopped the Elder Dwarf when Balin was about to walk past him, asking, "what's wrong?"
"That's for Raven to tell."
"Is Raven okay?" Thorin asked, his voice full of concern.
"Raven's fine. She just had a rough morning," Balin assured Thorin, but Thorin felt his heart clutch, and knew that there was something wrong but didn't press the Elder Dwarf.
After breakfast, Thorin paused what he was doing when he saw Raven approach Ori, who was scribbling something in his sketchbook. Raven walked over to the youngest Dwarf and peered over his shoulder: the background was mountains behind hills, animals here and there in the background and middle ground. Ori began drawing the foreground - until the youngest Dwarf noticed her and paused. "Hi," Ori greeted, smiling.
"Hi Ori. What are you drawing?" Raven asked.
"The - I'm drawing all of us." Ori's cheeks and ears turned bright pink. Raven sat down beside him. "Do you need any help?" Raven asked. Ori shook his head. "I might later on. If Thorin decides to take a break for lunch, I'll let you know."
Thorin watched Raven look from Ori to whatever it was she saw him drawing in his sketchbook and heard her compliment, "you're really good."
"Thank you," Ori managed to get out after a minute, his cheeks and ears growing brighter. "The others tend to tease me because I would rather write and draw instead of do whatever it is they do." The young Dwarf grew silent and his thoughts started showing on his face.
"Can you keep a secret?" Ori finally asked.
"I've been known to keep quite a bit."
Thorin tilted his head to hear the conversation when Ori, in a quieter voice, spoke, "I write and draw as a way to remember my sister. My sister always wrote her life's events in a journal because she valued memories. 'Memories are one of the most sacred things in life,' she would always say. 'What's the point of life if you don't keep memories?' She would add. My sister was that way with drawing, too." Ori sighed. "But after the Dragon took our home, my sister fell I'll while in the Wild, and she didn't make it." Ori dashed a hand at his eyes, sniffling. "Drawing and writing are the two things that help me remember my sister by. Drawing and writing helps me keep my sister in my heart since I'm losing memory of what she looked like. Drawing and writing helps keep the memory of my sister from fading completely because my sister was also the one who taught me to write and draw in the first place."
"Can I see your sketchbook for a minute?" Raven asked, holding her hand out to the young Dwarf. Ori gave Raven a curious look, but handed her his sketchbook regardless. Thorin felt his heart clutch when he watched Raven give Ori a sweet, kind smile while taking the sketchbook. What was she going to do?
Thorin watched Raven flip to a blank page and take the drawing pencil that Ori handed her. Thorin watched Raven put pencil to paper and begin sketching in different fluid motions; watching Raven take a pause after half an hour to look at Ori - a gaze that told Ori that Raven was studying him. Ori felt his cheeks and ears grow hot from being studied. After another minute, Ori and Thorin watched Raven continue sketching.
"You're drooling." Dwalin walked up beside Thorin, who had been fixated on the scene in front of him.
After another half an hour came, Thorin watched Raven hand the drawing pencil back to Ori, then used a pen to write something in the bottom corner of the sketchbook.
"Thorin," Dwalin spoke.
"What?" Thorin asked, annoyed at the other Dwarf for interrupting him.
"You're drooling."
"No I'm not. I'm observing."
Dwalin raised an eyebrow. "You we're watching Raven so fixedly."
Thorin turned his gaze back to look at Raven just as she handed Ori his sketchbook back along with the pen she used to write whatever it was that she wrote, in the bottom corner of his sketchbook. Thorin watched Raven give Ori a sweet kind smile when Ori took his sketchbook. Ori looked down at his sketchbook and let out a happy cry on top of a gasp. Why?:
There, in the not-anymore-blank-page, Ori saw that Raven had divided the page by sketching two pictures. On one side of the page was a picture of he and Raven sitting and talking with a wilderness scene behind them. Raven had captured every detail of she and Ori and of every detail in the wilderness scene: mountains, trees, animals, the sun casting warm rays of light on them, and Ori noticed that Raven had drawn herself with an arm around him - giving a sisterly hug.
On the other side of the page, Ori saw that the picture Raven had drawn was of the Lonely Mountain in the background with she and Ori standing victorious in the midst of the Dwarvish company - the stupid Dragon lying dead and defeated at the feet of the whole company; capturing the details of the company members along with every detail of the stupid Dragon. Ori looked down to the bottom corner of the page where Raven wrote: Always and Forever are family and friends. You now have another sister.
Thorin watched Ori burst into tears after looking at the sketchbook and Thorin's blue eyes moved back to Raven, fixating on the woman as she wrapped an arm around Ori when the young Dwarf leaned into her. Thorin felt his heart clutch when Raven gave Ori a sisterly hug. That moment, when Thorin saw Raven hug Ori, he began falling in love with her. Thorin decided he would go and see what was going on. While Raven and Ori stood after gathering the sketchbook, pencil and pen, Thorin walked up to them. "What's going on?" His eyes collided with Raven's while he took the sketchbook from Ori, taking in the happy tears on the young Dwarf's face.
Thorin kept his eyes locked with Raven's and in those eyes, he saw an emotion that was mixed with sadness, understanding and…haunting? Thorin felt his heart give a very hard pump when he took in the sight of the woman standing beside the young Dwarf. Raven broke her gaze from Thorin's, turning her attention to Thorin's meaty hands that held the sketchbook - still open on the page showing her two sketches. The company peered over Thorin's shoulders and took in the sight of Raven's sketches she drew as a gift for the youngest Dwarf.
Nothing but strong praises and approval came from the lips of the whole company when every single one of them took in the very detailed sketches. Even a very stubborn Thorin Oakenshield, who met Raven's eyes again with a somewhat of a smile. "And Raven made such excellent breakfast as well!" Chorused the whole company.
Thorin watched while Raven walked over to her horse, Ori beside her, and packed her saddle with everything she had. Dwalin walked up beside Thorin while Thorin watched Raven intently. "Drooling," Dwalin told Thorin.
Thorin frowned at Dwalin, who only shrugged.
While the company got ready to get back on the road, Raven noticed Gloin looking at an open locket he wore around his neck. Raven approached the Dwarf with the cool beard and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Gloin looked to Raven when he saw her looking at the picture of his wife then the picture of his son. "My wife and wee lad, Gimli."
"You have a beautiful family, Gloin," nodded Raven while she complimented the Dwarf's family.
"Thank you, lass. I would have brought him along but he's still too young. So the picture of him and my wife are what keep me going - why I'm so eager to help Thorin with his quest to reclaim the mountain."
Raven gave the Dwarf a sisterly side hug that she had also given Ori. "And you will succeed Gloin - all of you will succeed, because Thorin is hell bent on seeing this quest finished to the very end," Raven explained assuringly. Gloin smiled, giving Raven a side hug in return.
Bilbo, Gandalf and the Dwarves watched, and when Raven saw their gazes, she told not only Gloin, but the rest of them, "Thorin is so hell bent on seeing this quest finished to the very end. Not only will Thorin succeed, but in turn all of you will also succeed. This quest is only going to get harder because we all dare to do something that no one else has had the guts to do: retake an ancient Dwarf city and slay a stupid Dragon. Be on your A-game and fight tooth and nail so not only Thorin, but the rest of you can make your families proud by finishing this quest to the end. Protect each other.
"I will protect all of you, because as I see it," Raven's eyes met Gloin's, Bilbo's, Gandalf's and all the other Dwarves in turn, leaving Thorin's beautiful blue eyes for last, directing her words to him when she concluded, "all of you are my family, and you will see me bare my teeth and nails, because I protect those I love. And all of you will see sides of me that I don't show unless I'm backed into a corner. And right now, all of us are backed into a corner and being threatened. You guys may be able to kick ass, but I will kick bigger ass to get my point across to those who dare back us into a corner or doubt us." Raven sighed. "Because I love all of you." She looked to Bilbo, Gandalf, Gloin, the other Dwarves, then to Thorin. "So let's go kick some ass."
Applause and many whoops filled the air as the company mounted onto the saddles of their horses. Raven rode up to stop beside Thorin. Thorin met Raven's gaze and in those purple eyes, he saw a woman who, like him, was a leader at heart. Raven and Thorin held each other's gaze. Thorin, in Raven's eyes, read permission to lead the company as well. Raven, while holding Thorin's gaze and letting her eyes ask for permission to lead the company as well, waited for the Dwarf's response. Finally, Thorin nodded his head in approval.
Thorin watched seriousness and danger of what looked like a predator fill those beautiful purple eyes: Leader, mixed in, and Thorin inwardly sighed, silently confirming the one thought that never allowed him to deny the truth during the past nine months: Thorin had fallen in love with Raven, and he needed to figure out how to make her his before someone took her heart that was rightfully his.
There was one way to do that. Not caring that the others were watching, Thorin fully met Raven's gaze, and grabbing Raven who sat on the horse beside him, pulled her toward him and met Raven with a full on kiss to her mouth, making his statement clear: Mine! Thorin released Raven before she had time to think or react and led his horse forward to lead the company; at his side the woman he had claimed as his. Applauses, whistles and whoops of happy shouting escaped the company, because their King had finally found his woman to love and cherish for the rest of his life. But first, Thorin needed to find the time to braid Raven's hair and secure the braid with a courting bead as a way to officially claim her as his to make clear he's the only one who will court Raven, then wed her after retaking the mountain, since Thorin planned to wed Raven at the mountain.