Note: Italics is thoughts, unless specified otherwise i.e flashbacks or visions. / is timeskip

AN: WARNING! There are talks of body scars and self loathing. Please if you are uncomfortable with this or if this hits too close to home; please do not read it, if you do and it affects you, i'm sorry its not what i intended to do and please, please get help. Ask for it if you need it, be safe.


ALEXA'S POV

After a restless night of tossing and turning, Alexa gave up entirely on getting any sleep. Soon dawn would break, and the light would shine on a new day, waking the company. Exhaling deeply, Alexa decided to take advantage of the situation in front of her.

Reaching for her pack, she grabbed a pair of clean… Well, a cleaner tunic and pants than the ones she was wearing. As stealthy as she could, she grasped her cloak in hand and tiptoed over and around the snoring Dwarves, Hobbit and Wizard towards the big wooden door at the end of the barn.

Coming to the door, she huffed in frustration as she attempted to open the door. A few seconds passed before she realized just how stupid she was being; she shook her head, blaming it on the lack of sleep. Effortlessly the door creaked open, thankfully it wasn't loud enough to wake or startle the sleeping company.

A breeze of cold air blew through her auburn hair causing her to shiver. Not too soon after, a deep rough voice sounded nearby almost startling her, almost.

"Who are you?" the voice demanded.

Alexa peered over her spare clothes, towards the voice. A very large, very muscular man with unruly hair in the style of a mohawk stood just a wee way ahead of her, a wary look in his eyes. Remembering what Gandalf had said about their 'host' Alexa knew she had to tread softly.

"Alexa sir… I would bow, but…" she replied, eyes gesturing to her full arms. The man grunted in return; arms crossed in a defensive stance.

"And who are you, if I may ask?" Alexa questioned, schooling her face into one of innocence, to look as least threatening as possible.

"Beorn," he grunted; his eyes softened slightly, but still held a cautious tone towards her.

"Well Beorn, if you'll excuse me, I am in dire need of a bath," Alexa said, breaking the slightly awkward moment.

It was then that Beorn took a good look at the woman before him. Compared to him, she was rather short, but she must have been just under average sized for a human. Her eyes were light green with a flash of grey in them, freckles adorned her face. Her hair was ginger, that was as much as he could tell - but a thick layer of mud covered it, as well as the rest of her clothes. It looked as if she had gone swimming with the pigs in the mud; the image caused his lips to twinge slightly upwards in a smile.

"Wait here," he rasped before promptly walking away; to force knows where. Alexa stood there puzzled, as he soon returned with a small bar in hand.

"Here, it'll help get rid of the filth," he said, with an outstretched hand; Intrigued Alexa looked at what it was. A bar of soap! Oh, praise the force!

"Words cannot express what this means to me Beorn," Alexa breathed, pretending to choke on her gratefulness in humorous jest of his actions. This promoted a small smile from the large man and a nod as he sent her on her way towards a slightly secluded pond nearby.

— WARNING MATURE/SENSITIVE CONTENT —

A moan of relief escaped her as she entered the cool water, it had been too long since she had last bathed. Grabbing the soap Beorn had given her, she scrubbed hard over the filth seemingly attached to her body. As she scoured at the dirt, her fingers traced the burns across her abdomen, before heading down towards her ankles and then to the raised skin on her back; the only physical proof of the wars that she had been through.

Alexa hated her body; she hated the scars and burns that covered it and how they came to be. Self-loathing burned deep in her stomach, as she traced what the separatists had done to her, what war had done to her. To her, the scars, the burns, were just a constant reminder of just how weak she had been; she may not have died from the injuries but she wasn't strong enough to avoid getting them, she wasn't strong enough to save them.

Obi-Wan used to console her when she got like this; he would help her see that she wasn't weak, that she was strong and how her scars showed that she even though she had been through shit, she was strong enough to make it through, that she is a survivor. And when she said that they made her feel ugly and unwanted; he always assured her that he wanted her, cared for her and that no scar, no burn would make him think, no believe otherwise - that she was those things. But he's gone now, along with her master and the rest of the Jedi Order. Now, she has no one.

A shaky breath escaped her lips, her skin now red and raw from her harsh scrubbing. Alexa stood there in the water for a while, thinking, reconciling. The first light of dawn started to shine upon the pond, the arrival of it provoked Alexa to get out and changed; since the company would soon be up.

— END OF MATURE/SENSITIVE CONTENT —

After putting on her reasonably clean tunic and pants, she made her way back over to the house; her dirty clothes in hand. After dropping her clothes just inside the door, she headed back outside. Not wanting to get back to the company straight away, Alexa decided to take in the scenery instead.

The first thing she noticed, was the animals. Horses galloped about, their manes swaying from side to side as they trotted along. The highland cattle mooed softly, chewing through the bailage in front of them. Pigs, chickens, sheep, goats it was all there. There were even some rather large bee's which made her eyebrows raise slightly in wonderment, having never seen one so big; Alexa had read about and even seen a lot of 'abnormal' and/or 'uncommon' things in her life that never phased her but she had never seen a bee that big.

To sum it up, it was peaceful. Sure, it wasn't anything fancy, a few animals here and there but it was still wonderful. Yet, nothing would ever compare to the rolling plains and green hills of Naboo.

The sounds of nearby grunting followed by thumping interrupted her gaze. Curious, Alexa wandered towards the noise; it was Beorn. Even though he hadn't been out there too long the shapeshifter was already surrounded by split wood. The thud of the axe chopping through wood sounded in continuous strokes, the motions almost peaceful. Alexa coughed, making her presence known to the man.

"You look cleaner," he grunted, swinging his axe once more.

"Yes, the first time in a while," she laughed, slowly walking closer to the man

"Thanks for the soap by the way," she added, now beside him; she held the soap out with an outstretched hand. Beorn paused, placing the axe down next to the chopping block.

"Keep it," he rasped; a kind look in his eyes. A shocked expression briefly flickered on Alexa's face before a smile formed. Instead of vocalizing her gratitude she merely nodded and sat down on a wooden stool at a nearby table.

Alexa's eyes drifted over his toned body, he was a massive man, very tall and extremely well built. His mohawk extended down his back, like a horse mane, tucking into his trousers. Alexa had seen many creatures in her life, and yet she had never seen one like Beorn. It didn't take long for Alexa to notice the shackle around his left wrist.

Sensing her staring, Beorn looked up at Alexa then followed her line of sight; a sad look crossed his face. Making eye contact with the man, Alexa asked with her eyes, what had happened.

"Long ago, me and my people lived in the mountains. Then the orcs came down from the north, and my family and I were enslaved by Azog the defiler. Not for work you see, but for sport. He found that caging skin changers and torturing them amused him. I managed to escape along with a few others, but they have all died now. I am the last of the skin changers," he finished, eyes downcast.

A wave of sadness passed over her. In some ways, she understood the pain that he was feeling. In others, her story was completely different; he had no one and she had Ben.

"So, what's your story little one?" Beorn asked.

Not any better. Alexa thought. She hesitated for a moment, not sure if she wanted to tell the story again… but this time sober. Exhaling softly, she knew, that she had to tell him. He had told her his story after all. So, Alexa gathering her bearings; then she spoke.

— Time Skip: Elsewhere —

THIRD POV

"Has anyone seen Alexa?" Nori asked, popping his head around the corner.

A resounding "No," came from the company, then they carried on with their own things for a split second before it fully registered.

"Alexa!"

"ALEXA!"

"Where are yer lass?"

The company went into a frenzy, searching everywhere for the 'missing' woman. Nori and Bofur ran up the stairs, Thorin and Dwalin searched the rooms on the left whilst Balin, Gloin, Oin and Dori searched the ones on the right; Fílí and Kílí had gone their own way, rummaging through the hay bales looking for her. -_(-_-)_-

"I think I found her," Ori piped up, causing the company to release sighs of relief.

"Good work laddie," Balin breathed, patting him on the back.

"So, where is she?" Nori asked his brother, who didn't bother replying; too busy staring out of the window.THE WINDOW!

Nori scrambled past Bofur, shoving his younger brother slightly to get a better look. There she was, sitting on a log, talking to their 'host', the skin-changer. Laughing with him, as if he wasn't trying to kill them last night… Well, at least she's she alright. Nori thought.

/

"I say we leg it, slip out the back way. Alexa easily overpowered him last night so she'll be fine," Nori suggested, eyes darting around the company.

"I'm not running from anyone, beast or no," Dwalin seethed in Nori's face; which would have normally scared any Dwarf, but Nori was too focused on his impending doom by a bear to notice.

"There is no point in arguing, we cannot pass through the Wilderland without Beorn's help. We'll be hunted down, before we'd ever get to the forest," Gandalf reprimanded the two Dwarves, his eyes dark and wary.

BILBO'S POV

Bilbo had awoken just moments before; a muted buzzing surrounded him before something tickled his nose. His nose twitched, getting rid of the fuzzy feeling before it returned once more. Waking up, his eyes fluttered open to see the cause of the feeling; it had turned out to be a rather large bee. After swatting it away from his nose, he peered around the room full of empty bedrolls. Oh, for heaven's sake! He had slept in again!

Pushing off the makeshift blanket Alexa had given him, he moved to the side and began rolling up his bedroll, so it was nice and tidy again. A deep sigh left him as he looked around the room, no one could've woken him up? Usually, being a morning person, he would be one of the first up. On the off chance that he wasn't Alexa would wake him up. Why didn't she today?Probably felt bad about yesterday, he concluded.

His feet padded softly on the floorboards, soundless to any ears who weren't directly searching for the noise. Exiting the designated sleeping area, he heard the muted voices of some of the Dwarves and what he suspected was Gandalf. Coming around the corner, he came face to face with Thorin and the rest of the company.

THIRD POV

"Bilbo, there you are. Now, this will require some delicate handling. We must tread very carefully, the last person to have startled him was torn to shreds," Gandalf muttered, walking through the Dwarves and towards the opened door, staff in hand.

"I will go first. Err, uh Bilbo, you come with me," Gandalf said, hand raised towards the Hobbit.

"Hm? Err mm I-I-is this a good idea?" A baffled Bilbo stuttered, looking to Thorin for help who just motioned for him to follow the Wizard.

"Yes, the rest of you just wait here and don't come out until I give the signal," Gandalf spoke, his hand moving with his words.

"Right, wait for the signal," Bofur breathed, nodding frantically.

"And no sudden movements, or loud noises, and don't overcrowd him. Only come out in pairs. Okay?" Gandalf announced to the Dwarves, his eyes wide as they drifted over the nodding Dwarves. Just before the Wizard went through the door a thought popped into his head promoting him to turn back to the company.

"No, actually Bombur, erm, you count as two so you should come out alone," he mused, gaining a nod from Bombur, who was currently crunching on a carrot.

The sound of an axe chopping through wood echoed around them, bringing them back to the task at hand. "Remember, wait for the signal," Gandalf finished, before reluctantly opening the door and walking towards Alexa and Beorn.

"Right," The Dwarves muttered.

"What signal would that be?" Bofur asked the remaining company, who just looked at each other perplexed; realizing that the Wizard hadn't told them what the signal was.

/

The pair watched as the skin-changer, spilt another log in two. The action caused a flicker of hesitancy to flash in Gandalf's eyes; he fixed his hair slightly, anxious.

"Ahem," he coughed, clearing his throat. The unexpected noise, caused the Hobbit to scrutinize the Wizard; after seeing the sweat begin to build on his forehead, he gasped.

"Your nervous!" Bilbo remarked, causing Gandalf to snap his gaze down to the Hobbit.

"Nervous? Huh, nonsense…" Gandalf assured, not convincing either of them. The sound of another log being cleaved caused Gandalf's eyes to snap back to Beorn before wandering to an amused Alexa. Upon reaching the skin-changer, an uneasy smile settled on the Wizard's face.

"Good morning," Gandalf spoke in a hushed tone, his voice barely heard by Bilbo's ears, it was so quiet.

"Oh!" Gandalf exhaled, as Beorn's axe swung a little bit too close for comfort. This action, made Bilbo lose both his smile and remaining confidence as he hid behind Gandalf, much to the amusement of Alexa, who was watching the scene go down from her seat.

"Good morning!" Gandalf said once more, louder this time and in a sing-song tone.

"Who are you?" Beorn sneered, clutching the handle of the axe whilst the blade stuck out of the chopping block.

"I'm Gandalf, Gandalf the grey. I'm sure Alexa here has told you about me," Gandalf stated, bowing politely. At this Beorn wretched the axe out of the chopping block and onto the ground, where he held it and flexed his muscles; showing his strength.

"Bits and pieces," Beorn remarked not interested in the old man before him.

"Well, in case she hasn't mentioned. I'm a Wizard, perhaps you know of my colleague, Radagast the brown? He resides in the southern borders of Mirkwood," Gandalf informed; anxiety once more creeping up.

"What do you want?" Beorn grunted, cautious of the Wizard despite what Alexa had told him.

"Well, simply to thank you for your hospitality, you may have noticed that we took refuge in your uh loggings here last night," Gandalf continued, pointing back towards the house with his free hand, unknowingly revealing Bilbo.

"Who is this little fellow?" A wide-eyed Beorn asked, axe now grasped in both hands and raised from the ground.

"Oh, this would be Mr Baggins from the Shire," Gandalf introduced, wrapping an arm around Bilbo and bringing him more into view

"He's not a Dwarf, is he?" Beorn questioned, eyes slightly narrowed. His action promoted Alexa to join the conversation, she coughed to alert him of her presence then when she had his attention; she nodded lowly, assuring the skin-changer that he wasn't a danger.

"What? No, no. He's a Hobbit. Good family and unimpeachable reputation," Gandalf assured patting Bilbo on the back.

"A Jedi, a Halfling, and a Wizard. How come you here?" Beorn questioned, having not heard the reason why they were here from Alexa quite yet.

"Well, the fact is that we've had a bad time of it. From goblins in the mountains," Gandalf said, shaking his head as he said the words.

"What did you go near goblins for? Stupid thing to do!" Beorn reprimanded as if it were common sense. Which it probably is, Alexa pondered from her spot.

"You are absolutely right," Gandalf agreed, moving his hand up and down as he tried to tread lightly.

"There it is. Go, go," Bofur uttered, misinterpreting Gandalf's actions as the 'signal'. The first pair sauntered out of the door, presenting themselves.

"Dwalin, Balin," Dwalin grunted, gesturing to himself and his brother before his hands clutched his belt awkwardly.

"And, I-I must confess err several of our group are in fact Dwarves," Gandalf muttered, bashful.

He looked to Alexa for help, for reassurance, for anything. But Alexa just sat there, content. She didn't sense anything wrong with the situation, Beorn was simply, just being weary. Which was fair enough, considering his past. So, she merely sat there, watching as the scene unfolded.

"Do you call two several?" Beorn asked axe raised ready to kill – if needed...

"Well err when you put it that way, th-th-the-there could be more than two," Gandalf stuttered, uncharacteristically spluttering over his words. He began counting the number of Dwarves on his hand.

"Oh, think that's us," Gloin rationalized, seeing Gandalf's 'signal', he and his brother Oin strode out. They walked in front of the Fundin brothers, simultaneously bowed lowly then advanced to the far side.

"Oh, and here are some more of our happy troop," Gandalf muttered, mentally face-palming himself. Oh, he was going to die because of these incessant Dwarves.

"And do you call six a troop?" Beorn scoffed,

"Ha-ha," Gandalf laughed anxiously, as the tension grew.

"What are you? A travelling circus?" Beorn jest,

"Ha-ha," Gandalf breathed once more, uneasy.

"Go, go, go," Bofur whispered, motioning the oldest and youngest of the Ri brothers out the door.

"Dori and Ori, at your service!" Dori muttered, his voice wavering slightly.

"I don't want your service," Beorn spat,

"Absolutely understandable," Gandalf agreed, hand raised in a non-threatening manner; not wanting to be split in half like a log.

"Go, go," Bofur whispered, once more misinterpreting Gandalf's gestures and ushered the next pair out.

"Oh, Fílí and Kílí. I had quite forgotten. Oh yes and err Nori, Bofur, Bifur, and Bombur." Gandalf smiled slightly, accepting the steadily increasing possibility of death.

Alexa watched the scene unfold with a grin on her face, it was getting ridiculous. When Bombur had finally waddled out she almost lost it, the obscurity of it all was just crack up. Never a dull moment with these Dwarves I swear ha-ha.

"Is that it? Are there any more?" Beorn asked, done with the Wizard, he turned towards Alexa, questioning.

She merely smiled and nodded in the direction of the Dwarves. As soon as Beorn had turned back around, Thorin, the leader of the company stepped outside and leant against a wooden post. Upon seeing him, realization and understanding flashed upon Beorn's face.

/

The company all sat around a large table, way too massive for any of them. Hell! Alexa could barely even touch the floor, but to be fair she wasn't exactly 'tall', just under average for a woman her age. Beorn filled yet another tankard of milk for Fílí, the blonde prince had taken somewhat of a liking to the highland cattle milk.

"So, you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me why is Azog the defiler hunting you," Beorn announced, breaking the tense silence.

"You know of Azog? How?" Thorin asked, avoiding answering his questions; in an attempt to find out Beorn's motive.

"My people were the first to live in the mountains before the orcs came down from the north. The defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved not for work you understand, but for sport. Caging skin changers, torturing them seemed to amuse him," Beron finished, clutching the mug of milk close to his chest. During this time, Bilbo noticed a shackle around the skin changers wrist.

"There are others like you?" Bilbo asked, innocently. His question caused Alexa to flick her eyes over to Beorn, gauging his reaction; she knew he wouldn't attack Bilbo, but she was still on alert just in case.

"One there were many," Beorn muttered sadly, casting a look at Alexa who returned it.

"And now?" Oh, force Bilbo!

"Now, there is only one," Silence once more encased the room. The tension could be cut with a knife it was so thick, thankfully Beorn broke it once more.

"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn," Beorn informed, knowing this information from Alexa.

"Before Durin's day falls. Yes," Gandalf confirmed,

"You are running out of time," Beorn said, stating the obvious.

"This is why we must go through Mirkwood," Gandalf says, making Alexa snap her gaze over to him; she had heard a lot of bad things about that place from Lord Elrond.

"A darkness lies upon that forest, fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the orcs of Moria and the necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need,"

Well isn't that just fan-friggin-tastic! Alexa thought. Not only does that stuck-up blonde Elven king dwell there, but there are also creepy crawlies and a damn necromancer. She shivered at that, it just had to be creepy crawlies, oh force there better not be spiders.

"We will take the Elven road; their path is still safe," Gandalf assured,

"Safe? The Wood Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin, they're less wise and more dangerous. But it matters not," Beorn mentioned, causing Thorin to finally speak up.

"What do you mean?" Thorin asked, his voice a low hum.

"These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive," Beorn admits; his answer caused looks of shock to appear on most of the companies faces. Standing to his full height, Beorn made his way towards the uncrowned Dwarven king.

"I don't like Dwarves. They're greedy and blind. Blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own," Beorn began, gently holding a mouse that one of the Dwarves swatted away in his hand. He stood before Thorin; his large frame towering over him.

"But Orcs I hate more, what do you need?" Beorn finished.

/

Well, as it turns out, Thorin decided to stay for another two night's; deeming it safer for the company to hang around Beorn's. Since he provided protection and therefore, they would have plenty of time to gather needed supplies rather than taking off straight away with nothing. So, in the meantime the company - excluding Thorin and Gandalf who were working on a list of supplies needed - the rest of them were stuck doing nothing, bored out of their minds; That was until...

"Hey Alexa, how about some truth or dare?" Nori spoke up, his announcement caused the rest of the remaining company to let out noises of agreement and excitement. All except for Alexa.

"NO!" she yelled, her unexpected outburst caused many of the Dwarves and Bilbo to jump from their seats in surprise.

"Uh, I-I mean… I don't really feel like it" she said, a lot quieter this time.

The Dwarves exchanged looks of confusion, they had such a great time last time, so why was she? Alexa's face blushed a deep red; feeling this, she instantly leapt away from the eyes of the company and into her bedroll.

"Alexa?" Nori asked, slowly approaching her form.

"Yer alright lass?" Bofur asked, worried about his friend.

ALEXA'S POV

Oh force, this cannot be happening.

"Al?" She heard Nori whisper; soon she felt his hands touching her arm.

Breathe, breathe Alexa. You can do this, just breathe. Peering up from under her lashes, she stared at a puzzled Nori. Exhaling deeply, she pushed herself up so she was in a sitting position; hoping that her blush wasn't as noticeable as it felt.

Nori looked at her with a raised eyebrow, silently questioning. Instead of answering, she glanced over the Dwarfs shoulder towards the Dwarf on her mind; Dwalin. His form was rigid, arms crossed tightly across his chest, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. The last part made Alexa look down at her hands, embarrassed. Before a puzzled look fell on her lips, then the realization of what had happened hit her like a brick.

Lightning fast, her head snapped back up; making eye contact with the burly Dwarf who coughed audibly upon contact. Oh, please no! Don't tell me I've done it again! She pleaded. Gaping openly at the Dwarf, before she noticed Thorin looking at her with a confused look on his face.

When she glanced back at Dwalin, he was no longer blushing red with embarrassment but with anger, sporting a deep scowl; he scoffed and left the room leaving a bewildered look on Alexa's face. What was that?

"So, do you want to play Alexa?" A voice asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Broken from her trance, she snapped her gaze towards the owner of the voice. Nori kneeled before her, along with the Durin brothers Fílí and Kílí, as well as Bilbo and Bofur. "Uh… ye-yeah sure," she stuttered, not wanting to dwell on those thoughts at this moment in time.

THIRD POV

"Truth or dare Bilbo?"

"I'd rather not do a repeat of last time," Bilbo muttered, earning him a load of scoffs and a 'what do you mean, it was awesome!' from Alexa.

"Truth," Bilbo spoke firmly,

Alexa stared at the Hobbit, wondering what she could ask him… surely, he hasn't done anything considered 'naughty' but maybe… oh yes!

"What is the craziest fantasy someone has had about you or wanted you to do?" She asked, hoping she didn't just waste her question.

Turns out she didn't, as no sooner had she asked Bilbo had turned a deep red, stuttering a poor excuse to leave. "Oh, come on Bilbo, we aren't going to judge now," Alexa assured, intrigued as to what had happened to the Hobbit.

Bilbo sighed, staring around the group of Dwarves he had come to see as friends. "Well, before I start, I just need to say that it was quite a long time ago and- "Bilbo began,

"Get on with it laddie," Gloin interrupted,

"Erm, okay. So, the girl I was seeing at the time, well she told me about her fantasy she had of us," Bilbo said, pausing briefly, his face red.

"Ah, so she erm, she wanted me to erm," Bilbo stuttered, turning redder by the second. Everyone leaned forward in their seats, not wanting to miss a detail. Exhaling sharply, he decided to just get it over and done with, rip the bandage off.

"She wanted me to strip her down, naked. Tie her up, then release her into the woods just outside Hobbiton and 'chase' her, catch her and then have my way with her," He finished, breathing sharply as he tried to catch his breath.

Alexa's eyebrows raised along with the rest of the company who sat their dumbfound. Not for long though, as Bofur soon came to his senses and slapped the Hobbit on the back, laughing. His laughter snapped the rest out of their shock.

"Wait-wait the question is did you do it?" Alexa cried, tears of laughter pouring down her cheeks. That made the Dwarves pause in their laughter, wanting to hear the Hobbits response.

"No! Of course not! I'm a respectable Hobbit," Bilbo defended, slightly offended that they would think for a split second that he would've.

"Oh, that's a shame laddie, I would've," Bofur chuckled, breathing heavily as he tried to control his laughter.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay that's enough," Bilbo said, hands raised in front of him. Eventually, the Dwarves and Alexa wiped the tears from their faces and sat still, well as still as they could; grinning at the Hobbit.

"Okay, Balin truth or dare?"

/

"Alexa truth or dare?" Ori asked, causing the eyes of the company to fixate on said woman.

"Dare," Alexa said without hesitation,

"Do your worst," she challenged, greeny-grey eyes narrowed into slits, a daring look flashed through them.

Ori sat pondering, contemplating and assessing what he could dare her to do. His brother Nori seemed to know, same with Bofur as they were giving him rather lewd gestures then pointing to the lass. Sighing heavily, he motioned Alexa closer with a tilt of his head. Curious, Alexa complied, crawling over in a childlike fashion to Ori, before sitting beside him on the ground.

Bifur huffed in annoyance, as he watched the two whisper to each other. He watched as Alexa let out a snort, playfully slapping a grinning Ori. He could not take it anymore; he began slapping his arm wildly with precise movements.

"I agree brother, how rude of em. Not even lettin' us hear em," Bofur tutted, shaking his head with disappointment.

As the whispering continued an uproar sparked among the company; as the Dwarves and even Bilbo yelled out asking what the dare was. Hearing the protest, Alexa held a hand up to her mouth and made an equally as loud shushing noise. It worked however, the group shut up straight away, there were, of course, a few indecent huffs.

Her eyes glanced towards the lone figure crouched over a table in a separate room several feet away from their game, going over the list of supplies needed. Turning her attention back to the restless Dwarves and Hobbit at hand, and made a moving motion with her hands to come in closer.

Now in a much smaller, exclusive group formation consisting of herself, Ori, Nori, Bilbo, Bofur, Bifur, Fílí, and Kílí. Alexa told the group her dare from Ori. From hearing the dare, a proud Nori had slapped his brother on the back.

"You want her to what?" Bilbo muttered, not believing what he had heard.

"Oh, come on Bilbo, live a little," Fílí chuckled. That earned him a deadly glare from the friendly Hobbit.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Kílí snickered, a grin plastered on his face.

"Can you even do that Alexa?" Bilbo murmured, generally worried about the woman.

Alexa huffed, insulted. She made a show of puffing out her chest before saying "Pfft telepathy is a piece of cake," Cracking her fingers, she sat cross-legged, eyes closed. Breathing in deep, long breaths, she opened her eyes, a small smile appearing on her lips.

— Elsewhere —

"Thorin," a voice whispered.

"Hm?" Thorin asked, not looking up from the list.

"Thooooooorrrrriiiinn," it said again.

"What?" He asked, his eyes leaving the parchment to the voice. But no one was there. Peering around confused, he shrugged blaming it on the lack of sleep. Turning back round to the list once more, the voice sounded once more.

"Thorin!" The voice said, louder this time.

Flinging his head around towards the voice, his hair whipped at his cheeks; he turned so fast. Still, no one was there. Oh, Mahal was he hearing things? Scratching his head, he looked around the empty room. Strange, he thought.

He had barely even turned around before he felt something pinch his ass. Startled, he jumped. Once back on the ground, he grabbed his ass. Something had pinched his ass! He could still feel it.

"Now that's Middle Earth's ass," the voice said in a husky tone.

"What in Mahal!?" Thorin whispered, rubbing his sore ass, a faint blush on his cheeks.

— Back to Alexa and the gang —

"Did you do it?"

"Did it work?"

"What happened?" They all asked simultaneously, curious.

"Oh, it worked," Alexa grinned, before bursting into laughter.

"So, who's next?" She snickered, rubbing her hands together in delight.

/

"Truth or dare Al?" Nori asked; promoting a warm smile to appear on Alexa's lips at the nickname.

"Hmmm… Truth," Alexa replied after pondering for a moment. Her answer had made a sly smirk appear on Nori's face.Oh, force, what have I done?

"What's the best you've ever had lass?" she faintly heard Nori inquire. Alexa looked at him, a puzzled look etched on her face.

"Best I've had? For what?" She asked. Now it was the others turn to look confused, looking to each other in question.Had she never?

A raised brow and a few lewd actions were all she received in response. OH!

She blushed a deep red, embarrassed. Her hands shot up to play with a few strains of her hair, not wanting to face the delicate situation at hand.

"I've-I've erm never err…" she stuttered, wanting the ground to swallow her whole.

"Wait what?" Nori spluttered, not expecting that response at all.

"How?" Fílí asked, bewildered at the fact that Alexa hadn't, in fact, had sex, considering the mouth that she had on her. (AN: THE WAY SHE TALKED TO ALL YOU DIRTY BUGGERS OUT THERE)

"You're a virgin?" Kílí shrieked, eyes blown wide in surprise.

His outburst caused the newly returned two brooding Dwarfs; Thorin and Dwalin to turn their attention towards the company, curious as to what caused the youngest Durin Prince to yell. No longer discussing the route to Erebor, their eyes fixated on the very embarrassed and fidgeting woman in the company. The room had gone silent, all holding their breaths for the lass's confirmation, for anything.

"Al?" Nori questioned, breaking the now awkward silence.

Alexa let out a few more calming breaths and flicked her auburn hair to the side. Lifting her head, she glanced at a worried-looking Nori. She huffed lightly, shrugging off his concern.

"Being a Jedi is not easy, it is a commitment. There are rules we must follow, obey," The company nodded already knowing this; they looked at her with puzzled expressions, not understanding why she was bringing it up now.

Peering back down at her lap, she picked at the dirt beneath her nails. "It is forbidden for Jedi to have an attachment, to own anything. .. Or to love another," She began, looking back at a bewildered company. Bet they don't want to be a Jedi now... Alexa thought bitterly, thinking back to the other week where quite a few of them had admitted to wanting to be like her, a Jedi.

"Attachment can get in the way of the job and result in other emotions to come forth, like jealousy and possession. An attachment was known to make us weak, vulnerable. We were allowed to have…" she explained, gesturing what her lips would not say.

"But I never wanted to, I was afraid it would develop into something more, that I'd yearn for something more. So, I never…" Alexa said nonchalantly as if it didn't affect her one bit, but she knew otherwise. Her life was both a blessing and a curse.

"What about Ben?" Ori asked, a sad look on his face.

"Ben…" she began, a distant look in her eyes.

"That's different, Ben is my Padawan learner… Nothing more," Alexa poorly defended, not believing it for a second.

"Oh, that bullshit Al and you know it," Nori remarked, earning a few nods and noises in agreement.

Alexa huffed a dry laugh, arms crossed firmly against her chest. "It's been drilled into me my entire life, no attachments," she sighed "Even if I wanted to… I just can't Nori – not after what happened to Ani," she whispered sadly. Brushing off the non-existent dust on her pants, she stood, said her goodnights and made her way to her bedroll, settling in for the long night ahead.

"Well… Tha' went well," Bofur sighed, gazing off at the sleeping lass.

"Yeah! Good job Nori," Kili pouted, knocking said Dwarf's shoulder.

"Hey! It's not like I knew about the whole 'attachment is forbidden' crap," Nori defended; his tone bitter. It's not my fault! He thought.

— Time Skip: A few hours before dawn —

A blue light shimmered throughout the barn where the company slept, casting light into the once dark room. The light moved from side to side for a moment, as if looking for something, or someone. It seemed that it had found what it was looking for as it moved once more towards the unconscious female in the group. The blue light grew bright briefly before a tall figure took its place; a hand reached out, cupping the young woman's shoulder.

"Alexa,"

"Hm? What?" she groaned, rolling away from the voice and further into the pile of straw.

"Wake up Alexa,"

"Nori If this another one of your-" the words died in her mouth as she looked upon his form.

"Glad to see you haven't quite forgotten me, it has been a good long while since I've seen you," he chuckled, slowly retracting his hand from her shoulder.

"Qui-Gon? … Is this-are you?... Am I dreaming?" she whispered, not believing her eyes

"This is not a dream young one, I am here through the force," he spoke matter-of-factly; as if it was common knowledge.

Alexa lay there dumbfounded, staring up at the man she used to know. The man who had died when she was a mere Padawan, a twelve-year-old girl. At the beginning; she had seen him due to her relationship with Obi-Wan but had never had a conversation with him. That all changed when it turned out that they both had a common interest; and so, their relationship began.

On the off chance, he was free, they would talk about ancient prophecies; and since he was the one person in the temple with the most knowledge about the subject their talks would last hours. Thus, a friendship was founded. It had been seventeen years since that day, since the day that Obi-Wan had come back from the mission to Naboo alone, the day she found out that her friend and Obi-Wan's mentor and father figure had been murdered.

"I must say, blue is not your colour," Alexa said after a while, unshed tears in her eyes. A soft laugh bubbled up from Qui-Gon.

"You haven't changed I see," he jests, a soft smile on his lips.

"Neither have you," she whispered back, as she looked at him with a soft expression, one of familiarity.

Alexa opened her mouth to say something when a faint thud echoed around the barn. Quietly, she unwrapped her cloak from around her body; once free, she stood and crept towards the noise, her lightsaber hung inactivated at her hip. Flicking her head around the corner, she searched for the cause of the noise. After coming up short she huffed, relieved.

"So, where were we?" she asked, turning around towards the Jedi Master. Upon facing the snoring company, the smile on her lips dropped. He was gone.


AN: So, Jedi can project images/thoughts into someones head. I cannot recall if this only works for force users or what, but this is fanfiction so...