Hello, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my nuggets! I hope you all had a lovely holiday time!
Here is the next instalment, I hope that this is ok! Its a bit of a feelings based one, so heres hoping its not going to bore you all. Its also mean, because I have plans that will be less than kind!
Let me know what you think, i love to hear, it makes my day!
ALSO i received Attack on Titan part 1&2 as a christmas gift... its amazing, i see a new OC project on the horizon!
Thanks for the F/F: Still A Lover Of Franchises, AkyraSam, stickesandbones1795, G807G, Patchwork Knights & dragonfly1339.
Thanks for the Reviews: Silversun XD and Lucy (my lovely nuggets!).
I only own little Todd!
Chapter 24 – Hope
"You know what, get away from there!" Dori finally cut as he pulled Ori away from the door where he had been watching the beast retreat back out from the safety of the walls, along side the two young heirs of Durin. The eldest Ri Bother had been silently going mad at the thought of that great bear bursting through the door and finding his youngest brother first to snack on. The more he watched Ori peering through the door, the more he could feel himself getting worked up. It might have been the fact that he was still in shock from what they had been through, or that he was now extremely tired and needed a good sleep to clear his mind. Yet what ever it was, it was beginning to set him off on a wired one.
All three lads straightened themselves out and shuffled away from the door, Ori being dragged more than moving at his own will. Todd watched, catching Nori rolling his eyes at his older brothers protective antics. Dori started fussing over his youngest brother, brushing his clothes down, so that they were clear of dust and general dirt. Kili and Fili started sniggering a little at the older dwarrow, the rest of the company otherwise not interested in the slightest.
"I was only looking, it's fascinating…" Ori drifted off, Todd could already see him itching to sketch and write down everything about the beast that he could, and she didn't blame him at all, she quiet fancied helping him do it.
"Don't be daft, its not right, none of it, he must be under some kind of dark spell, witch craft!" Dori snapped, getting even angrier, and completely not minding his words in present company, at all.
Todd's ears pricked and she snorted a little, not being able to hold her disregard for his out of order statement. She understood what everyone had been through was scary, the chase was tiring and tense for everyone, but that was no excuse to become rude and brash. Todd didn't understand how shape shifting made someone the subject of black magic. She could shape shift, so did that make her a fallen creature of the black too? Her mind kicked into gear again, her nervous and second guessing side came out full swing. Had Dori just been pretending to like her for his brother's sake? Had the whole company been in on it too? Surely not, she had built such a good relationship with them all. She was even on the good side of Dwalin and her King, which really, had taken everything that she had.
"Don't be a fool, he is under no enchantment but his own!" Gandalf countered.
"I fail to see how being a shape shifter makes you a bad being!" Todd spoke up. The whole company turned to looked to her, some of them looking a little nervous, others nodding in agreement with her. She stood strong, angry for a second before she caught Thorin, her King eying her and Bofurs joined hands. She huffed angrily before dropping Bofur's hand, crossing her arms and wandering off to the back of the house, where there were a few broken bails of hay to sit and relax on. She plopped herself down and sulked. Sometimes dwarrows could be the most frustrating and one track minded beings in all of Middle Earth and it had finally driven her to distraction. She closed her eyes and let herself calm down again.
"That was a stupid thing to say…" She heard Oin comment.
"I didn't mean any harm to our Lass!" Dori protested.
"I think she needs an apology, don't you?" She heard Bofur say, quite firmly, followed by a few hums of agreement.
Todd, even though she was angry and wanted to be able to have a proper go at Dori for is naive and foolish comment, couldn't help but smile at the support she had received.
She tuned out then, letting the rest of the company get on with whatever checks and preparations they were making within the safety of the house. She listened as they all made their way around, the thud of their booted feet on the hay-covered floor. She felt herself drifting off to sleep as her ears filled with the sound of the soft buzzing of bees, the breathing and chewing of the bovine and sheep surrounding her. Her body went into complete relaxation, her tense muscles slowly started to feel warm and light, and her joints stopped aching, leaving her feeling as light as a feather.
It had been a long time since she had felt so relaxed and comfortable all at the same time. Being on the road caused these two rare conditions to be few and faw between. She hummed a little out of content, and she wiggled herbody down wards until she was almost nestled into the hay. Its heat crept over her and she let her mind drop everything it had been burdened with over the hellish run for her life. She let go of Dori's rude comment, of Thorin accusatory gaze, Gandalf's shortcomings and she let go of the fatigue of the rushed escape. She let her mind fill with a fuzzy kind of picture of the house she was in, she imagined the company eating and relaxing there for a while, all of them cheery and full of life. She imagined then them all getting on, with no awkwardness and bad blood between any of them. It was a beautiful picture, one that she wanted to see so desperately of them all within their rightful home. Erebor.
She could just imagine it now, she pictured grand halls made of emerald and shinning rock. She could almost hear the hum of dwarrows as they went about their daily business. She clanking of miners, burrowing further for riches left untouched and unseen. She saw a large dinning table, full to the brim of fresh cooked meats and potatoes, with cheeses and vegetables overflowing the bowls and plates. She saw wine and ale being passed around, the sound of laughter and singings echoing around her mind as it would a marbled hall. She smiled and her heart soared at the imaginary sight of the company sat together with their victory for all to see. She saw herself, sat side by side with the only Dwarrow she could ever want, a thought that made her mind jump and shine, at the sheer newness of the feeling.
Then just before she completely drifted off to sleep, she heard footsteps approach and a familiar smell envelop her. She cracked her sleepy eyes open a second to see Bofur settling down on the hay next to her, she moved a hand up to wipe away the stray bits of red curls that had fallen into her face from beneath Bofur's hat, and she let it then fall to rest on his arm, her fingers grabbing at his jacket, the fabric soft between her fingers.
"Todd?" He whispered, his voice humming in her ears and making her skin get ghost bumps.
"Mmhmm…" She hummed to him, leaning into his voice subconsciously.
"Everyone is going to sleep over there now ok?" He whispered still. "You don't mind if I stay here with you do you?"
There was a bit of a silence that hung in the air for a second as Todd realized what this meant. It meant that Bofur wanted to stay close to her, which filled her with such an up lifting feeling that she thought she was going to open her eyes and find herself floating above the hay. She felt her cheeks heat up and her stomach pang with a feeling she had never really felt before. Before she even knew what she was doing in her dopey sleep induced state, she was wriggling herself into Bofur's side He reacted immediately, by lifting his arm up for her to nestle into his side, letting his arm fall and rest above her shoulders.
"I don't mind at all, Bofur."
And with her reaction and her words she knew that she had let slip to him more about how she felt than she ever thought she could. She knew that if this were back at home, before her Father and her Mother she would have been in so much trouble, and they would have chased Bofur over every hill possible. Yet this was different, they had shared so many perils, and so many obstacles, who was to say that the next danger would be their last. It was strange, for the notion of constantly being in danger, or heading towards danger made one move far quicker than they ever really wanted to in the first place. Todd had been brave and brazen in her answer to Bofur, and how she had positioned herself to be nestled in his arms. It was a privilege only Dwarrows bound by marriage were privy to. Not two dwarrows that had not even engaged in the proper courting before hand. Yet in that moment, after all she had been through before the journey, let along joining the company, she didn't really care all that much, at least not in the sleepy state that she found herself in. Her last thoughts were completely centered on Bofur, and the notion that he must know now. She must knew after her actions that she held feelings for him, and she just prayed that he would not take offence or use them against her, or hurt her. She had put her heart on the line.
Thorin made the last check with Gandalf around the inside of the house, making sure everyone was accounted for and they were all resting like they had been told to. Thorin was adamant that as soon as the company had recovered from all their running and they had had a proper meal and restock as much of their equipment and resources as they could from their beast of a host, they would be off again. He had started to get antsy and didn't want to have to stay in the Bears home any longer than needed.
"And you are sure that he will lend us ponies?" Thorin asked again to the Wizard beside him as they rounded a corner of the house where Fili, Kili, Bilbo and two of the Ur family members were fast asleep. Bombur snoring loudly, Thorin noticed that Bofur wasn't with his brother and cousin, and this greatly confused the rightful King. His eyes then doubled checked and came to the conclusion that Bofur was definitely not there, and that was when he noticed another absence. Todd was not with their burglar either. He didn't voice his observation, and let Gandalf reply. Yet in his head he was already picturing what he might find.
"I should think so, with the right degree of charm and sophistication we might be able to swing it…" The old wise Istari stated, nodding his head as he looked up, contemplating his own answer as he said it.
They rounded another corner then and spotted the rest of the company, sleeping in a large huddle, snores and snuffles were coming from every each member. They were never known for being the quietest of companies that was for sure. Thorin, knowing that there were still two unaccounted for, carried on going till he came to a pillar towards the back of the house, and truth be told, Bofur and Todd were fast asleep, Bofur with his arm around the fox woman, herself tucked neatly into his side, hat falling over her eyes. Thorin stopped short and stared at them a while, recalling a conversation he had had with Balin and Dwalin where they had commented on the trouble they would have when the two realized their feelings. He couldn't help but feel like the trouble was going to come a little quicker than they had originally planned for.
"Interesting…" Came Gandalf's pondering toned from behind him.
"Is it?" Thorin countered, eyeing the wizard. "I see it as a major distraction!"
Thorin had gotten used to the fact that the foxwoman had joined them. He had not liked it one bit at the beginning, yet she had proven herself time and time again, and he knew that she was meant to help them, and be a part of their journey. Yet what he hadn't wanted was for her to become a distraction, and by her falling for Bofur and vice versa, not saying that's what he thought had happened, yet, a distraction had appeared.
"That is not what I see…" Gandalf stated, a smile tugging at his lips. He knew what was ahead, he knew that now, with the position they were in, they would have to take a dark path to their destination. Todd was going to have a big struggle ahead, and Gandalf had started to worry himself over it. Yet here, seeing her asleep, with such a peaceful look upon her, with the Dwarrow he believed held more than platonic feelings towards her, he felt as though he might not really need to worry too much. "I see hope."
