Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from Jenna and Esme the rest are belong to Tolkien/Jackson
A/N: Sorry it's taken longer than I expected to update, we are currently in our 3rd lockdown and having everyone working/schooling from home is a bit of a nightmare when it comes to trying to find time to write. Hopefully the next update will be much quicker. Thank you all so much for the favs, follows and reviews :) Special thanks to DreamingGalaxies for accepting the role of Beta and always answering my million and one questions with patience. Hope you all enjoy the chapter, constructive criticism is as always welcome.
In The Wilds
Jenna's POV
Jenna wasn't really sure what she had expected traveling through the wilds would be like but it certainly wasn't this. She was never someone who shied away from physical activities, hiking having been a particular favorite pastime of hers, but this was a far different pace than even she was used to. Thorin pushed them on without stop until she felt as though her legs were about to give out, she could only imagine how much Esme and the hobbit must be struggling with the grueling pace. By the time Thorin called for them to stop for the evening she was aching in places she didn't even know it was possible to ache in. Collapsing onto the ground she groaned loudly as she stretched out her legs.
"Are you alright lass?"
Jenna smiled up at Nori who was standing above her with his face fixed in his usual smirk. "Perfectly fine Master dwarf, I can't feel my legs but otherwise we're all good."
Nori laughed at her response and settled down on the grass beside her, taking out his pipe and lighting it. "Get's easier. You'll get used to it after a few days."
Jenna propped herself up on her elbows. "A few days? At this pace? Really? Is he trying to kill us?"
Again the star-haired dwarf laughed at her and offered her his pipe which she accepted gratefully, the one thing she didn't like about this world was the lack of cigarettes. Across the camp Esme was lying face down in the grass under the shade of a large oak tree refusing to move, Dwalin staring down at her amusedly. The grey haired dwarf with the ear trumpet approached Jenna then with a cup of something that he called tea, promising it would help with the pain. She thanked him, Nori explaining that his name was Oin and he was the company's healer. The tea tasted vile but she swallowed down as much of it as was possible, she would try anything to help with the pain at the moment.
"Jenna, Esme, on your feet." Thorin's voice echoed from across the camp.
Jenna sat up and looked at him questioningly. Everyone else was still resting but he expected them to get up. If he thought they were going to cook for them just because they were women he was getting a punch in the nose, leader or not. Unfortunately what Thorin had planned was far worse than having to cook for the company.
"You need to start training. We'll protect you both as much as we can but you both need to know how to defend yourselves. You too Master burglar, get your sword."
Jenna could see Esme's mouth hanging open in disbelief on the other side of the camp. They were exhausted and he really expected them to get up and fight. "Are you serious?"
Thorin's scowl told her that yes he was in fact very serious. Sighing she pulled herself up off the ground and brushed herself off, making her way over to where Thorin, Kili and Fili were waiting for them. Esme followed her over albeit begrudgingly. Most of the training involved learning how to dodge and get out of certain holds rather than to actually fight but it was still every bit as draining as she had imagined. For the next hour or so the three dwarves put them through their paces. Jenna was a quick learner and had generally good balance and speed that benefitted her well but poor Esme and Bilbo landed on their backsides so many times that she was sure they would be black and blue. By the end of training she had managed to knock Fili over twice and was actually starting to enjoy herself despite her tiredness.
By the time Bombur had dinner ready their already tired legs were completely exhausted. Falling down beside Nori again Jenna laid back and closed her eyes, she had been worried whether or not she would be able to get comfortable enough to sleep outside but right now she would sleep on a sharp rock happily. Just as she was starting to drift off to sleep Nori nudged her.
"You need to eat first lass, you can sleep later."
Struggling to sit up this time she took Nori's offered hand gladly. Every bone in her body was hurting at this point and she'd gladly have drunk a pot of Oin's disgusting tea if she thought it would help. Instead she took the bowl of stew Nori handed her and tried her best not to fall asleep while eating it. As soon as she finished she placed her bowl to one side, curled up beside her friend and was asleep in minutes.
Thorin's POV
Thorin felt bad making the girls and Bilbo train after how hard he pushed them that day but it was for their own good. If they ran into trouble, and Thorin knew all too well that they eventually would, they would need to be at least able to defend themselves. Normally he wouldn't have entertained the idea of training women but with a group this small he couldn't guarantee that they would be able to protect them at all times. So it was imperative that they learn at least a few moves that might keep them alive long enough in a fight for the others to have time to get to them. He took his time training Esme; she wasn't a fighter that much was clear. Her mother had been a skilled fighter and her father even more so; it was strange that the girl seemed to have inherited none of their abilities. Thorin found himself helping her up off the ground more than anything as he tried to train her.
Fili seemed to be faring far better with Jenna. Though he certainly wouldn't be admitting it to her, he was impressed with the speed and strength that she showed while training. Her skill was made more impressive still by the fact that she was clearly exhausted and he wondered how she would fare with training if she hadn't been. It was the first time Thorin had allowed himself to look at her properly. She was fitter than he had thought her at first glance, slim but her muscles were well defined and she was much stronger than he had expected. He wondered what she had done in her old world that led to her having a physique like that; it certainly wasn't typical of how women looked in this world. He imagined that the world the girls had come from must have been vastly different from this one. She was pretty for someone from the world of men all the same. She had sallow skin and a slight dusting of freckles across her button nose. She had pulled her long blonde hair back into a braid and her pale blue eyes twinkled as she laughed after knocking Fili over for the second time. She had full lips and dimples that appeared on her cheeks when she smiled or laughed. Yes, she was definitely pretty, not that he cared either way, it was merely an observation.
As he watched her now from across the camp it seemed her strength had finally ran out as Nori had to help her to sit up to eat. Esme was in much the same state, Dwalin practically holding her up while she ate her stew. Perhaps he had pushed them too hard; he would go easier on them tomorrow. Jenna finished up her dinner and pushing her bowl to one side, she curled up next to Nori and fell asleep instantly. She seemed to get along well with the thief. That was unusual to say the least; Nori preferred his own company and didn't mix well with anyone outside of his brothers and perhaps Bofur.
Nori took a blanket out of his pack and placed it over her sleeping form and Thorin wondered if perhaps there was more between the two of them than just friendship. She was certainly feisty enough for the thief though he wasn't sure anyone could hold Nori's interest for more than a fleeting moment; he wasn't the settling down type.
Thorin was surprised to find himself concerned about the girl. She got under his skin like nobody else ever had before. She had been nothing but a pain in his side from their first meeting and yet here he was worried that Nori would hurt her. He briefly contemplated talking to the thief about his intentions before reminding himself that it was simply none of his business. Something told him that Jenna wouldn't appreciate anyone trying to look after her anyway, she seemed fiercely independent. Best to just forget about it, the lass wasn't his problem. Instead he stretched out on his bedroll and closed his eyes.
"Bofur take the first watch."
Esme's POV
Esme was sure she had never been this tired before, her legs felt wobbly and every muscle in her body ached terribly. As soon as Thorin called for them to stop she fell face down onto the grass refusing to move even when Dwalin had insisted she at least drink some water first. She could hear him laughing at her dramatics.
"I'm never moving again! He's trying to kill me!" she mumbled into the grass.
Dwalin couldn't hide the amusement in his voice. "If Thorin were going to kill you I highly doubt he would walk you to death amrâlimê."
Sighing she rolled over onto her back to look up at him. "Well it definitely feels like he's trying to kill me."
Dwalin smiled and sat beside her on the grass, taking her hand in his. "You'll have to get used to it lass. We have a long way to go to the lonely mountain."
Esme didn't like to think about the length of the journey ahead of them, she really wasn't sure her legs could hold her up for another day let alone weeks or months. Thorin was traveling far faster since they had left Rivendell now that he knew when he needed to get to Erebor and it was a far faster pace than she was used to.
"Jenna, Esme, on your feet."
Esme sat up and looked over at Jenna who had raised an eyebrow in question at Thorin. "You need to start training. We'll protect you both as much as we can but you both need to know how to defend yourselves. You too Master burglar, get your sword."
Esme's mouth fell open in disbelief, he couldn't be serious. She could barely move and he wanted her to train to fight? Dwalin stood, offering her his hand to help her up from the ground. She took it begrudgingly muttering to him as she made her way across the camp to Thorin.
"I told you he was trying to kill me!"
Dwalin laughed and pushed her towards the leader of their company. "It will do you good. You need to know this."
Frowning, she walked over and stood in front of Thorin. Fili would be training Jenna and Kili would be training Bilbo. She wasn't looking forward to this, she was all too aware of the fact that she had the coordination and balance of a new born giraffe and she doubted Thorin would go easy on her. She was right. An hour later and she had fallen over more times than she could count. Her muscles, which had already been aching, felt like they were on fire and she doubted she'd be able to sit comfortably for a week. She trudged back across the camp to where Dwalin was smoking his pipe and collapsed on the grass beside him.
"Are you alright lass?"
Esme couldn't even answer him. She was so tired so she simply shook her head instead. He grinned down at her, grabbing her arm and sitting her back up.
"Time to eat lass."
She hadn't the energy to even sit up unaided so she slumped against Dwalin's side as Bombur handed her a bowl of steaming stew. Swallowing as much of it as she could manage, she handed it to Dwalin and laid back on the grass again. Everything hurt. She didn't care what Dwalin said, Thorin was definitely trying to kill her. Dwalin laid down beside her, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight against his chest. She looked up at him and smiled sleepily and he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Sleep lass."
She nodded and rested her head against his chest deciding she could put up with all the walking and training if it meant she got to fall asleep in his arms every night.
Dwalin's POV
Dwalin looked down at Esme and leaned forward to give her a kiss.
"Sleep lass." He commanded.
She nodded and snuggled closer to him, resting her head against his chest. Within minutes she was asleep. He knew she was exhausted but the training would do her good. While he would do everything he could to keep her safe on this journey it eased his mind greatly to know that she would at least be able to defend herself if she needed to. Well if she could manage to learn to remain upright for more than 5 minutes in a fight that was.
Watching her with Thorin had been rather amusing to say the least. Thorin had been surprisingly patient with her, simply helping her up each time and explaining what she had done wrong. It was rare to see his friend so patient and he wondered if it was because Esme was a woman or because she was Cadence's daughter. Whatever it was his friend certainly seemed to have a soft spot for her. Bilbo had fared about as well as Esme had, he had constantly dropped his sword and fallen over his own feet half a dozen times at least which had seemed to amuse the wizard immensely. Dwalin wasn't sure how someone so uncoordinated could be a good burglar but he chose to keep that to himself.
Jenna had been a surprisingly quick learner, only having to be shown the moves once. With time she would be well capable of defending herself. He had noticed Thorin watching her as he trained Esme; his friend was clearly impressed by her though Dwalin was sure he wouldn't admit it. Looking across at where Jenna slept beside Nori he wondered what it was about the lass that got under Thorin's skin so much. He had been rather surprised that Thorin had decided to let her come with them but he was glad she had, for Esme's sake.
The journey would have been far more miserable for her if Jenna had remained behind in Rivendell. At least now she would have the company of a friend when the time comes for her to leave for the Iron Hills to be with her father. That thought had Dwalin's good spirits disappearing rather quickly. He didn't like the idea of letting Esme go but he knew he couldn't bring her with him, not where he was going. She would be safer in the Iron Hills. Pulling her closer to him, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Jenna's POV
When they had first set out from Rivendell the company had been in good spirits. They had spoken of the mountain pass ahead as if it would be simply a nice stroll through the mountain side and they would come to the other side swiftly and unscathed. Unfortunately the reality turned out to be far different. A week into their journey the paths, which had at first been level and easily traversed, began to get steeper and more dangerous. In some parts the paths had almost completely crumbled away, leaving nothing but ledges so narrow they had to pass over them in single file with their backs pressed against the cliff face for fear they may tumble down into the deep valleys below. She had never particularly liked heights and she found herself wishing, more than once, that they could have found a safer path through these mountains. It didn't help that her legs were tired and aching from all the walking and training they had been doing though they were certainly not as bad as they had been the first night. The further they had travelled along the mountain pass the more despondent everyone had become. Even the hobbit, who Jenna had noticed was generally always in good humour, was grumbling about all the things he was missing at home.
"The summer is getting on down below and haymaking is going on and picnics. They will be harvesting and blackberrying before we even begin to go down the other side at this rate."
That had earned the hobbit a rather nasty glare from Thorin and a few "Oh shut up Bilbo!"'s from the others in the company. Everyone was missing the comforts of home right now and nobody was interested in listening to the hobbit reminding them of everything they were missing while up here in these mountains.
By midday on the eight day it had started to rain which did little to alleviate their bad tempers. It had also made the paths muddy and slippery and their journey far more difficult. They struggled on slowly until early evening when they came to a wider part of the path with a rocky overhang which sheltered them fairly well from the rain and wind. Thorin, deciding it was too risky to continue on in this weather, called for them to make camp early and they all settled down for the evening. Gloin got a fire going and Jenna was glad for the heat and the chance to dry out her traveling cloak the elves had given her. Sitting down beside Nori she smiled at the star-haired dwarf, wondering briefly if there was any significance to the braids or whether the dwarf simply enjoyed being over the top.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Nori raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh I was just wondering if you always style your hair like a starfish or do you imitate other sea life also? Maybe you could do a shark tomorrow." Jenna joked, earning herself a light slap in the back of the head from Nori.
Laughing at the dwarf Jenna asked, "How long will it take us to get over these mountains do you think? I can't wait to have my feet back on safe ground again; falling to my death from a dodgy mountain path isn't high up on my to-do list. Wouldn't you think a wizard would be able to arrange a safer path for us? He doesn't seem to be too much help really, does he?"
Nori smiled at her. "No, I can't say I'd be too interested in taking a tumble off the edge myself. About a week we hope. Two weeks maybe, if we run into trouble."
"Trouble?" she inquired.
"Oh aye, there's plenty of places to find it up in these mountains if you go looking for it, sometimes even if you aren't looking for it you'll be unlucky enough to stumble upon it anyway."
Jenna was going to ask what he meant by trouble when she noticed Esme shudder at Nori's words. She remembered the creatures her friend had described to her back in Rivendell. Esme was clearly distressed by even the mention of trouble so she chose to say nothing and instead took the pipe that Nori offered her and asked him what the lands were like on the other side of the mountains. She had always loved geography and she found this new world enrapturing.
"You seem very interested in our world, do you like it here so far?" he asked. "Or are you, like the hobbit, missing the comforts of home?"
Jenna smiled at him. "I really do like it here so far, though I won't lie, I absolutely miss the toilets in our old world!"
The two of them laughed at that and fell into easy conversation, Nori explaining all about the lands on the other side of the mountains and what they could expect to find there. Nori seemed to know the lands well enough and she wondered what his life was like before this quest. Maybe this wasn't the first quest he had been on. She made a mental note to ask him about it later. She was so engrossed in Nori's description of the dark forest of Mirkwood and the surrounding lands that Esme's sudden shout caused her to jump.
"Oh my God! You haven't thought this through, have you!? Have none of you even given a thought as to how you are going to do this if that dragon is still alive!?"
Jenna looked over at her friend who was standing now looking down at Dwalin with a horrified expression on her face. The rest of the dwarves were all sitting in silence looking anywhere but at Esme and Bilbo was feigning interest in a small rock he'd picked up from the ground beside him trying his hardest to pretend he hadn't heard her. Only Gandalf was blatantly staring at her friend with a highly amused look on his face.
"You absolute idiots!" Esme all but roared at them when none of them offered her an answer. With that she turned and stormed off around the next corner with a sheepish looking Dwalin trailing behind her.
Jenna locked eyes with Thorin across the campfire, she had seen him roll his eyes at Esme's outburst as if she was being completely unreasonable by expecting them to have had a plan in place to deal with the possibility of a live dragon. Surely her friend was wrong and he had some sort of plan for it that he just wasn't telling anyone. He was hardly foolish enough to attempt this quest without one? Thinking of what Elrond had said about the madness that ran in Thorin's family had her wondering though. He was hardly so blinded by the gold in the mountain that he had forgotten to take the dragon into account at all. Deciding that she would at least like to know if her new found friends were following a mad man off to certain death she decided to go and speak with the grumpy dwarf. Standing up and brushing herself off she made her way over to him.
Esme's POV
As the wind continued to howl around them, Esme shuffled closer to Dwalin for extra warmth. He pulled her closer to him and she rested her head on his chest. The camp was quiet and she found herself starting to drift off to sleep as she listened to the steady beating of Dwalin's heart. She could hear Jenna talking quietly with Nori about the quest, her friend asking how long it would take them to get over the mountains and what the lands beyond were like to travel through. Nori had replied that they hoped to make it through the mountains in a week, two weeks if they ran into trouble. A shiver ran through here as she thought about the orcs and wargs that had chased them before Rivendell and the giant trolls that had almost cooked and eaten her friends. She hoped with all her might that they wouldn't run into trouble like that up here with nowhere to run to apart from off the side of a cliff.
As Nori described the lands beyond to Jenna, Esme found herself wondering about Erebor. How long would it take to get there? When would they send her to the Iron Hills with Jenna? What would happen when the dwarves reached the mountain? Would the dragon still be alive? Shivering again she clung tighter to Dwalin, the warrior wrapping his strong arms around her.
"Dwalin, can I ask you a question?"
Dwalin looked down at her and smiled. "Of course you can."
"What happens if the dragon is alive when you reach the mountain? How do you kill it?"
She could feel him tense immediately at her question. "The dragon has not been seen in decades, Smaug is dead."
"I'm sure he is, but what if it isn't? Surely you have some sort of plan to kill it?"
Dwalin didn't answer. In fact, apart from Jenna and Nori talking quietly, the whole camp had gone silent as the other dwarves, the hobbit and the wizard listened to her and Dwalin's conversation. Esme straightened up and looked at Dwalin, he could not look her in the eyes. She looked around at the other dwarves in the camp; they all looked dumbfounded, as if they hadn't even thought about this possibility. Jumping to her feet she looked back down at Dwalin in horror.
"Oh my God! You haven't thought this through, have you!? Have none of you even given a thought as to how you are going to do this if that dragon is still alive!?"
Again her questions were met with absolute silence. Nori and Jenna had stopped talking now too and all the attention in the camp was on her. She couldn't believe this; these idiotic dwarves were going on this journey hoping that the dragon was already dead without even preparing for any other eventuality.
"You absolute idiots!"
Esme's head was spinning, they were all on a suicide mission. She had been so happy when Dwalin had kissed her in Rivendell but now that she thought about it, anything between them was going to come to an end when she left for the Iron Hills and he left for Erebor. If that dragon was alive it would kill them all and she would be left alone and miserable without him. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she thought about the possibility of never seeing him again. How had he become so important to her in such a small space of time? Not wanting to cry in front of the others she turned and stormed away from the camp and around the next bend in the pathway. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself down. Dwalin, who had left the camp after her, sighed heavily from behind her.
"I'll come back for you lass, you know that. I'll meet you in the Iron Hills."
Esme's chest was tightening and she could feel the pins and needles starting in her hands. She had to keep telling herself to breathe slowly and deeply and not to hyperventilate. The last thing she needed right now was another anxiety attack. Taking another long deep breath she turned towards the warrior dwarf.
"How are you going to come back for me if you're dead!? How are you going to defeat a dragon Dwalin!?"
He didn't say anything in reply but then she hadn't really expected him to. There was nothing he could say. He knew it was the truth as well as she did. If he continued on this quest then he was throwing away their future together. The tears finally started to fall now as she begged him.
"Please Dwalin, please don't do this. Don't leave me."
"Lass I have to do this."
"No you don't!" She all but screamed at him.
"You don't understand lass."
Looking down at the ground Esme's reply was barely a whisper. "No Dwalin, I understand perfectly."
He stepped closer to her then and tried to put his arms around her but she angrily pushed him away. If he was going to throw away what they had so easily what was the point in pretending it was anything important. He clearly didn't care about her as much as he professed to.
"Lass, when I get back I promise..."
"Don't Dwalin! Don't make me a promise that we both know you can't keep."
With that she pushed her way past him and walked slowly back to camp, tears still rolling down her cheeks.
Dwalin's POV
Dwalin stood at the edge of the camp looking at Esme. She had curled up in her bed roll with her back towards his. His heart hurt to see her turn away from him. He knew why she was upset and she was right to be. Truthfully he did not know what to expect when they reached Erebor. If the dragon was alive he very much doubted Bilbo would be able to take the Arkenstone from him without wakening him and if he woke that dragon then none of them would be making it out of Erebor alive. When he'd signed up for this quest that thought hadn't bothered him in the slightest, for a warrior he'd lived a long life already. Now? Well now things were different.
Now he had Esme. For the first time in his life he had allowed himself to think of the future he could have, a stable home, a beautiful wife, maybe even children one day. Yet here he was marching towards a mountain he barely remembered to face a dragon of all things. It was a fool's errand and he knew it. Would they survive this quest? He couldn't promise her that they would. Would he ever see her again after she left to see her father? He couldn't promise her that either. He knew he should have thought this all through before he told her how he felt but he hadn't and now he was left in a horrible situation, having to choose between his love for Esme and his loyalty to Thorin. The worst part was he knew that as much as he loved her, his loyalty to his king would come first. She was right to be angry with him.
Sighing heavily, he made his way across the camp pointedly ignoring the look his brother shot at him and laid down on his bedroll. It felt wrong to be this close to Esme and not hold her but he knew he would be rebuffed if he tried to, so instead he turned his back to her. He could hear her still sniffling from crying and he felt like the worst dwarf in the world right now. Hurting her had been the last thing he had wanted to do.
What would she do without him if he didn't return? Would her father accept her back with open arms? Would she even be happy in the Iron Hills? His head hurt just thinking about it. By going to Erebor he was leaving her unprotected and unhappy and it pained him greatly to know that but he could see no other way. Sighing he pulled his blanket around him and closed his eyes. Perhaps things would look better in the morning.
Thorin's POV
As Jenna made her way over to him Thorin sighed and rolled his eyes. He had thought glaring at her would be enough to put her off; it worked with everyone else, apparently not this one though. She stopped about an arm's reach away from him but said nothing. He thought about ignoring her but he highly doubted that would work with her either, she'd probably stand there for the night just to annoy him.
"What do you want? If you've come to tell me that you also think us all idiots then save it! I've had enough of hysterical women for one day."
He wasn't sure what reaction he had been expecting to his words but the girls answering grin caught him off guard completely. She never did react in the way he expected her to.
"Esme does tend to be hysterical at times, she means well though. Can I join you?" She gestured to the ground beside where he sat as she spoke. Nodding his agreement, Thorin looked back down at the blade he had been sharpening before Esme's outburst and continued his work.
"I didn't come to tell you I think you're all idiots, though I'm pretty sure I made it clear that was my opinion back in Rivendell. Esme does have a point though don't you think? I mean I don't know a whole lot about dragons but I would imagine that if you're planning to go see if this one is still alive then it would be a good idea to have a plan of some sort to deal with it if it is."
Thorin didn't bother to look up from his blade. He knew well the dangers they would face at the end of this quest if the dragon still lived and was awakened by them. But his men didn't need to listen to this, they were braver than most to have come with him to begin with and he wouldn't have them be put off by a child who knew nothing about their world.
"This quest doesn't concern you so keep your mouth shut and don't annoy me."
Jenna narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't speak to me as if I were a child! You know what I'm saying is the truth you're just too pigheaded to admit it!"
Thorin put away his blade and growled at her. "I won't warn you again. I don't know why I even brought you along! I should have known you'd be nothing but trouble, all of your kind are!"
The girl seemed taken aback for a moment by his outburst. He hadn't meant to sound so harsh; she just had a way of riling him up even if it was unintentional. He was just about to apologize when she spoke again, quietly this time so that only he could hear her.
"She really did a number on you huh?"
That caught him off guard completely and he found himself wondering, not for the first time what Jenna's experience was with Cadence. She certainly didn't hold any sort of affection for her, that much was evident. He thought about asking her outright but talking about Cadence wasn't something he wanted to do right now and it certainly wasn't something he wished to talk about with this girl. She had a way of infuriating him and he couldn't quite figure out why.
"For the last time, mind your own business and keep your mouth closed or you'll find yourself left behind out here!"
Jenna just rolled her eyes at his outburst this time. "Just like you were leaving me behind in Rivendell? Yeah, ok."
Nori didn't quite manage to disguise his laughter as a cough and Thorin glared at him, making a mental note to give him first watch tonight. He should have known the thief would be listening to their conversation. Nori had a habit of eavesdropping and was the best at feigning disinterest as he did so leaving you thinking he wasn't actually paying attention at all. It was a skill he had perfected over the years and one that had served him well in his profession. The lass seemed to have noticed his poor attempt to hide his eavesdropping too as she smiled across at him and Thorin found himself wondering again about their relationship.
"Are you and Nori?"
He felt the girl stiffen immediately at his question. Perhaps it was too forward to have asked, he wasn't even sure why he had asked. It wasn't like he particularly cared whether they were or they weren't, he was simply curious. At first he thought she wasn't going to answer him at all but eventually she seemed to snap out of her shock.
"Of course we aren't! Why would you think that!?"
Thorin looked up at her and shrugged, evidently he had assumed too much from their familiarity. It seemed there was nothing more to it than friendship after all.
"My apologies, I didn't mean to cause you offense, you just seemed... close."
The girl narrowed her eyes; he had clearly offended her again albeit unintentionally.
"So what, just because I talk to someone then I'm clearly interested in them is that it!? Just another dumb girl that will fall for the first man that shows her any attention, is that how you see me? I'm beginning to think Esme was right, you are an idiot!"
Part of Thorin thought about apologizing but the girl seemed too irate now to listen to him, he had clearly hit a nerve though he wasn't quite sure how. Another part of him thought about explaining that he didn't see her in any particular way at all apart from being a hindrance on their quest but deciding that would probably end up causing this situation to escalate into an even worse argument, he simply rolled his eyes and picked up his blade again ignoring her completely.
Jenna rose from where she had been sitting next to him and stomped away to the far side of camp sitting down with a huff beside Nori. Thorin nodded to Dwalin who had just returned to camp and began sharpening his blade once more as he listened to Jenna and Nori's exchange.
"What are you smirking at!?" She growled at the thief.
"Oh nothing, just never heard someone talk to Thorin like that before is all."
"Well he's an idiot, he deserves it." She spat back at Nori.
Nori held his hands up in defense. "I never said he didn't."
Jenna huffed at that and laid down on her bedroll throwing her arm over her eyes. Thorin still couldn't work out why his question had caused her so much offense but he made a mental note not to mention Nori again to her. Perhaps it wasn't proper in their world to ask such things. He resolved to ask Esmeralda about it in the morning.
"Nori, take the first watch!"
TBC