CHAPTER EIGHT
""The things bottled inside have finally begun to create so much pressure that I'll soon blow up."
-Reliant K: "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been"
Once again, it came vastly in handy that they had essentially no gear to pack.
From the moment Gwen had alerted him of the coming danger, the company was woken and prepared to go in ten minutes flat; maybe less. Kili would have been more impressed if he wasn't wishing them all to move faster. He had extinguished the fire immediately, and it didn't seem the wargs had caught their scent, but they were scouting the whole area around them, possibly only miles away. Either way, it was hardly safe for them to stay at their camp. Blurry with sleep, the company stumbled half-an-hour off the path, cutting up a steep slope to gain a vantage point on their attackers.
The sun was just beginning to stain the horizon pink with its rising when they stopped against a thick crag of rocks to catch their breaths. They had half a minute to catch their breaths before Thorin elected to send Bilbo up onto the rock to look for the enemy.
Gwen had offered to go up, much to Bilbo's temporary delight, but Thorin had ignored her request entirely, giving Bilbo a gentle but sturdy shove on the shoulder to get him started climbing up the narrow sort of path that had formed between two stones.
In less than two minutes, they heard Bilbo's footsteps patting the ground as he descended, half falling, and half running. Thorin and Dwalin rushed to meet him. "How close is the pack?" Thorin asked, not wasting a moment.
"Too close," Bilbo panted. "A couple of leagues. No more. But that's not the worst of it."
"The wargs picked up our scent?" Dwalin guessed grimly.
"No, not yet," Bilbo huffed as he picked the rest of the way down into the center of the company. "But they will. We have another problem."
Well, what in Mahal's name could be worse than that?
"Did they see you?" Gandalf asked cautiously. "They saw you!"
"No, that's not it."
"What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse!" Gandalf was nearly beaming. "Excellent Burglar material."
"Would you listen?" Bilbo said low as chatter broke out, Bilbo's urgency largely ignored. They were proud of their hobbit. "Will you just listen?" Bilbo said sharply, silence falling as he snatched their attention. "I'm trying to tell you there's something else out there."
Of course. Another enemy. That's precisely what they needed. By the end of the quest, Kili would know someone who would like him dead in every trail, forest or lane of middle earth.
"What…form did it take?" Gandalf asked slowly. "Like a bear?"
Kili's eyes caught Gwen's. She wasn't looking at him, her eyes flickering between Gandalf and Bilbo as she visibly blanched.
"Y—" Bilbo began haltingly. "…Yes. But bigger. Much, much bigger."
That didn't bode well at all if the look of increasing dread on Gwen's face was anything to say about it.
"Do you know this beast?" Bofur asked Gandalf.
Gandalf didn't respond, only turning, and Kili pushed past a few dwarves to get to Gwen's side, whispering, "Do you?
Gwen shook her head. "Heard of him," she replied, low enough that he was the only listener.
"I say we double back," Bofur suggested frantically as a howl rang through the dawn air.
"We'll be run down by a pack of orcs, Thorin growled.
"There is a house," Gandalf announced, breaking up their nerved mumbling as he turned, wisdom and exhaustion bright in his eyes. "It's not far from here; where we might take refuge."
"I don't like that," Gwen said, still nearly silently. Kili was lucky he hadn't spent too much time in the forges or else he'd never get to hear her.
"Better than any plan we've got," Kili murmured back, as Thorin asked who's house that was.
"It's daft," she bit out, her nerves making her terse.
"Neither," Gandalf said to the question of whether the host was friend or foe. "He will help us, or he will kill us."
Kili sucked on his teeth. Those odds weren't looking good.
"What choice do we have?" Thorin asked, voicing Kili's thoughts.
Just then, a terrible, ear-splitting roar rang up from nearby. They froze as Gandalf stopped to answer Thorin's question. "None."
Gwen shook her head but didn't protest.
They ran until the sun had risen, and then beyond that. They were able to take a few breaks to catch their breaths and furiously drink from their water skins, but after no longer than ten or fifteen minutes, they would hear a roar or howling or pounding footsteps, and Gandalf would rouse them to their feet and get them sprinting again.
Thorin and Gwen were holding up fairly well, to Kili's surprise. He noticed Thorin clutching at his sides more than he usually would, and Gwen was clearly favoring her healing ankle, but they both kept up with the others.
They had to have gone at least ten miles by midday, and another five when the afternoon hit, and Kili wasn't sure that they'd ever make it to the safety Gandalf had spoken of. Still, fear kept him light on his feet. They scrambled over wide grassy hills and plains, sloshed through rivers, and crashed through forests, and Kili wasn't sure he had ever sweated this much before.
He was miserable.
Then again, they all were.
"We're almost there!" Gandalf's tone was relieved, but Kili hardly believed him. The wizard had been saying this for the past two hours. Kili would never say it out loud, but he was almost positive that they were lost.
Still, they had little choice but to press on, as they burst out from a cluster of trees, onto a grassy plain. They could hear the growls of a massive beast on their heels, closer than he had ever been before.
"To the house!" Gandalf shouted.
Kili looked up to see that in the center of the plane, a high, sturdy wooden fence was nestled into the ground, its gates wide open. Safety.
They fell into a line, sprinting faster than they ever had before down the lightly worn trail towards the doors. They spilled through the gate and had little time to take in their surrounding before they crashed face-first into something. The others crowded around him, just as confused as he was. He looked about frantically as another roar sounded, closer yet, accompanied by terrible, pounding footsteps.
The enemy was almost upon them.
They were all smashed up against a heavy wooden door, the large iron latch just above their heads. Kili ached desperately for it as more of his companions smashed into his back, almost knocking him off balance. "Open the gate!" Gandalf ordered.
Before Kili could reach the latch, an arm extended over his head—Gwen's arm—and shoved the latch open. They poured in, and Kili almost stumbled but managed to keep his balance on the dusty floor, turning to shove others in through the door.
He could see the enemy, a massive, pulsing bundle of muscle and dark fur, charging towards him faster than anything he'd seen. They needed to shut the door. Now.
"Move!" He shouted over his shoulder, as he saw Dwalin and Thorin trying to bring the door around to close.
Finally, the dwarves cleared out of the way, but it was too late. The beast smashed against the doors, its snarling teeth snapping closed only inches away from Kili's nose, showering him in a fine mist of spittle. Its roar was painfully loud, but Kili got ahold of the other door as they all scrambled to get it closed and force the creature out. "Come on!" Thorin spat, throwing his body against the wood.
With one final heave, the door smashed shut, that terrible, stinking maw disappearing with it. The slid the bolt in place, and Kili let himself breathe again.
They were all inside. All safe.
"What is that?" Ori asked, horrified.
"That," Gandalf said, sounding almost reluctant to answer, "Is our host." This certainly drew all of their attention. "His name is Beorn," Gandalf admitted as they all turned to look at him. "He's a skin-changer."
A what?
"Sometimes, he's a huge black bear," Gandalf explained as he turned, walking out of what appeared to be the massive entryway, into the rest of the room. To Kili's surprise, they weren't the only creatures there. A few long-horned cows munched on hay, looking up at them ruefully as they cautiously followed after Gandalf. "Sometimes he's a great strong man. The black bear is unpredictable. The man can be reasoned with."
Kili couldn't help but be amazed. They were inside a giant wood cabin. A few massive stone steps lead up to a dining room, three times the size anything he'd seen. The tables were easily twice his height, and the benches were as tall as Gwen's shoulders. The beams were made of a rich, light wood, carved richly in swirling images and stories.
"However, he is not over-fond of dwarves," Gandalf added with a grimace.
The tables were topped with great jars, fruits and breads scattered about, and despite his heart having barely slowed from their frantic flight, Kili found his mouth watering.
"He's leaving," Ori announced, as an irritated growl came through the door.
"Come away from there," Dori fussed, pulling his brother away. "It's not natural. None of it. It's obvious he's under some dark spell."
"Don't be a fool," Gandalf said sharply. "He's under no enchantment but his own. Right, now," Gandalf said louder, being sure all of them heard. "Get some sleep. All of you."
Since it was already nearing sunset when they reached Beorn's home, they settled down easily, exhausted from their day's run. Gwen had no further information to offer on their gracious host, as she had only ever heard rumors of his ferocity. Kili could tell that she disliked being there, but hadn't gotten much of a chance to prod her about it. She'd been taken up talking to Gandalf for more than an hour.
Meanwhile, they had scrounged up whatever food they dared. Since they had no chance to hunt, they had nothing to eat and were ravenous from the day, but they dared not take more than a few stale loaves they found on the back of a shelf.
Bombur argued that if their host was trying to kill them already, they should just take their fill of the fine bounties of honey, cream, and mead that filled the kitchen, but Thorin wouldn't allow it.
Though still hungry, they had no struggle settling down for sleep, eager to rest their aching legs. Kili would have happily rested, but as they were staking out their spots to sleep in amongst the straw, Gwen disappeared after a while of speaking with Ori. Kili spoke with the dwarf briefly, if only to find out where the girl had gone.
Kili found the ladder easily, and after telling Fili where he was going, crawled up it, through a narrow hatch, onto the live sod roof. "For someone who doesn't like stars, you look at them an awful lot."
Gwen looked up suddenly at the sound of his voice but relaxed back after a moment. She was lounging just a few feet shy of the apex of the building, leaning against one of the chimneys. "How'd you find me?"
"Guess I just know you too well," Kili said with a smile, crawling up towards her.
She shifted to allow him room to sit beside her but raised a brow.
"Or I asked Ori," Kili added, smirking.
She let out a laugh that was little more than a breath.
"You know," he began, settling in next to her. "I've known Ori for more than seventy years, and I've never talked to him for more than twenty minutes. And that was about knitting."
"Master Dwarf, he's happy to speak to you if you're actually listening," she explained drily.
"Perhaps, but you don't strike me as the knitting type." She shrugged, acknowledging this as true. "So what is it that's got you talking for so long?"
"I'm teaching him Rhunish."
"Really?" Kili asked, honestly surprised.
"Aye. He's got quite the mind for language and writing. Dori's tried to scare me off, but I think Ori's genuinely curious about it all."
"Why haven't you taught me any Rhunish?" Kili asked defensively.
"You haven't asked," she explained. "Besides, I only teach those of a certain mental caliber."
Kili scoffed. "Mental caliber? My ma's always said I'm mental."
Gwen snorted, unable to hide her smile. "You're daft."
"Not so daft though," Kili said, sitting up a little straighter.
Gwen nodded, her eyes falling closed as she leaned her head back. The stars were half veiled in clouds, and the moon was no more than a sliver, but there was enough light for him to see her face.
She seemed to be sucking in every bit of the night that she could. It was a pretty night, anyway. The warm wind brushed steadily over them, tugging bits of her hair free to dance over her cheeks, the smell of rain distant but sure. The last gorgeous throes of summer before the fall.
His mouth ran dry as he looked back up at her, close enough to see the space between each of her dark lashes against the paleness of her face. She was so…
He cleared his throat, and she cracked an eye open at him. He merely looked at her expectantly. "Aren't you going to teach me?"
She sighed, but sat up, opening her eyes and facing him. "I don't have anything to write on."
"Then don't teach me characters, teach me words."
"What words?" Gwen asked, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She was acting like Kili was a bother, but he knew it wasn't really true.
She liked him. He was certain of it.
"Start with 'Hello,'" he suggested.
"Fine," Gwen said, sighing even deeper than before as she faced him fully. "Repeat after me. Ashdau-vra."
"Ashdau-vra," Kili said back slowly, rolling the word around on his tongue. It was quick and light, sounding somewhere between Khuzdul and common. "And that means hello?"
"Mostly," Gwen said with a shrug. "It's a greeting. It's a shortening of a phrase that translates directly into 'someday, I shall kill you'."
Well. That wasn't entirely what he was expecting. "And that's…what you say to each other every morning?"
"No," she corrected. "That's what you say at first. The correct reply is Nar-Udat."
"And that means?"
"Not today," she replied with a smirk.
Kili shook his head. "You shouldn't try and trick me, love. I'm not that much of a fool."
Her eyes widened fractionally. "I'm not lying! I don't lie. That's our greeting!"
His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I don't believe you."
"Well you bloody should," she huffed. "It sounds terrible, but it's just become a colloquialism. Only used between friends."
"Bloody violent colloquialism," he observed, starting to believe her.
"We got it from the ones down south," she explained. "It's just become part of our speech now."
"By 'ones down south' do you mean orcs?"
She nodded. "All of our languages came from the same root. They've since divided and become fairly different, but if you know Rhunish you can get by just fine in Black Speech."
Kili gasped in exaggerated horror. "You're teaching our sweet Ori Black Speech?"
She gave him a dry look. "Don't tell Dori."
"Did you ever meet any orcs?" Kili asked, leaning in, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Oh, aye, of course. You can hardly avoid it."
"Didn't they attack you?" he pressed.
She snorted. "No, not often. They're no fun at all to handle, they either chase you out of house and home or drink and eat you out of it, but they often travel through Rhunish villages. They wouldn't risk being too aggressive, because they know we're used to killing them en masse. They keep to themselves usually, so long as we do too. They're a bother, but nothing compared to when the Haradrim drift north."
He'd never thought of this, and couldn't help but be a little bit amazed. "That's incredible. You've seen the enemy face to face."
"You know, Master Dwarf, some might consider my people and myself the enemy as well."
Kili waved that off. "Nonsense. You're just people. And you're just a person."
"We do terrible things, Kili." Her gaze had turned serious, but Kili wasn't having any of that.
"We all do. And so long as you're not fighting in the enemy's army, I'd say you're no worse than me or Thorin."
She let out a soft, humorless laugh. "Some standards you've got there."
"They're a bit wishy-washy," Kili admitted, with a shrug. "But this world is curious. You never quite know what's true."
She didn't respond, just nodded slightly as she leaned her head back, taking in a deep breath of the cool night air. Kili found himself watching her again. She didn't look any different than usual. Same clothes as always, same freckles, same eyes, same scarf-wrapped loosely about her head, but not loose enough that it would ever slip away to expose her ears.
Her damn ears.
He wanted little more than to reach up and yank it out of the way, even just to dispel that awful twisting feeling in his gut whenever he thought about whom or what she really could be.
But…could he handle what the truth might be? Did he want to know the truth if it didn't end up being the truth he needed to hear? Thorin and Balin and his mother had always told him that the truth was important, but he just didn't know if that was true enough.
The breeze made him stop, close his eyes and take a breath. The air was clear and sweet, sweet with flowers, night time, and that warm thing that Gwen smelled of. His mind was beginning to still when Gwen's voice broke through the softly moving air. "Kili, what's wrong?"
His eyes slid open to see that she was looking at him, something in her eyes that he had never quite seen before. In their darkness, there was something hard and tangible, and odd. His mind danced between the easy lie and the devastating truth, and he settled in between, wetting his lips as his mouth ran dry. "Gwen, I know you're hiding something."
Everything dropped out of her eyes but fear and his stomach twisted awfully as she nearly leapt into movement. "No." She stopped, freezing at his grip on her elbow. "Please," he almost begged. Anything to get rid of that look in her eyes. "Please, love, don't be scared. Don't run."
She was cautious and careful, but sat back, hugging her knees to her chest as her eyes flickered over his face. "Kili—"
"Let me speak," he said gently, though firmly. She obeyed and he let himself squeeze her elbow a moment longer before his hand fell back to his side. It missed her warmth. "You're…" The words weren't coming to him, sucked down into the whirlwind of thoughts behind her soft brown eyes. He managed a smile. After all this build-up, he didn't even know what he was trying to say. "You don't have to say anything. Not about…about what it is. To be honest, I don't know if I really want to know. But I…But I do want you to tell me what it is."
In the moment of silence, Gwen's mouth open and closed a few times before she could get words out. Her voice was smaller than Kili had ever heard it. Hurt. "Why…why are you saying this?"
"Don't…" Kili swallowed back the tightness in his throat. "Please don't look at me like that, Gwen. You're breaking my heart."
Her eyes slid to the ground as she hugged her knees tighter.
"I'm not going to force you," Kili continued, drinking in a deep breath. "I never would. I just…I want you to know that you can trust me. Because you can. Whatever…whatever you have happening, I can help you."
Fear. There was dead fear in her eyes as they flickered to find somewhere to look. "Kili, you can't—"
"You know, when first I met you, I couldn't imagine you being afraid of a thing." He felt a bit bad about interrupting her, but he had something he needed to say. She started shaking her head, but he pressed on, deciding that it wasn't the time for her to protest. "You were hauling Bilbo, shouting about wolves, and then scolding us, and holding your own against a dozen angry dwarves, and you were blazing and strange and you seemed invincible."
"I'm not." Even in the poor lighting, he could see that her eyes were misty. He had never heard her more defeated, and he knew deep in his gut that she thought she was telling the truth. "I'm so scared, Kili."
"I know." Mahal. He knew. "But you shouldn't be. You don't have to be."
It seemed all of her snarky responses had run dry as she looked up at him through her lashes, and just shook her head. She looked exhausted from the inside out.
"Look at me."
She blinked, unmoving. "I am."
Kili shook his head. "Come on, love." Slowly, she lifted her head to look him properly in the eye. "I don't have the answers," he admitted. "I can't save you. I don't…I'm scared too." That was the first time Kili was hearing that, and he realized it was probably truer than he would admit to himself. "But I think we can figure it out together. I'll help you, and you help me, aye?"
She didn't respond. Or couldn't.
Kili sniffed back that stuffy, hot feeling in his throat and eyes and offered a hand out. "Two brains are better than one."
She lowered her legs away from her chest, and took his hand, giving it a firm shake. "Unless that brain's yours, Master Dwarf."
Her smile was shaky, and her joke dull, but Kili couldn't help but grin. There she was. "You agreed to it anyway."
She rolled her eyes.
"It's terribly late," Kili observed. "And I think we'll have a busy day tomorrow. Let's say we go join the others in resting."
She started to shake her head, but Kili didn't let her. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist." His tone was light, but he was serious, and Gwen knew it.
While he did trust her well enough, he was worried that she wouldn't get a wink of sleep, or even worse, might try and slip away during the night. He wouldn't be letting either of those happen.
She seemed to sense his resolve and started getting up. "Aye. It is late. Fili will be missing your embrace."
Kili snorted as he hauled himself up onto his hands and knees to follow her towards the hatch.
The water was moving too fast.
It choked and swirled and grabbed around him, and he couldn't even stand without it ripping his legs out from under him. It filled his nose and his mouth, icy cold, and drowning. He couldn't see, couldn't tell up from down, could only thrash. He wondered if there even was air, or if he'd be left in this twisting, tumbling, drowning hell.
It felt like an eternity was passing, but it could have been minutes. He lost all concept of time in the murkiness of the waters, but at last, he was free. Scrambling and choking, he tore his head out of the water, sitting up to realize that he was on the riverbank. The sun was too burning hot, searing his chilled skin, the water burned his eyes and it was all he could do to suck in coughing lungfuls of the sick, cloying air. "Kili!"
The scream had him raising his head.
"Kili!"
The shrieks came from the whirlpool's twisting waters. She was there, her hair matted and tangled with water, flailing, choking. Her lips were blue with lack of air. He reached for her, but she was too far.
"Kili, help!"
Her head kept dipping under, for longer and longer each time, her hands flashing out of the water, but never close enough for him to grab.
"I'm trying! I need you to reach out!"
"Please help!"
He thought that perhaps, she couldn't see him there, but on closer inspection, every time her head burst through the water, her eyes burned into him, desperately seeking help. "Help me!"
"I can't! I need you to reach out!"
She kept screaming for help and he kept begging for her to stretch a hand out towards him. She could. But she wasn't. The flashes where she resurfaced became less frequent, as the look in her eyes turned from pleading to hateful.
"You said you would help," she said softly before she disappeared under one last time. Gone. Gone. Gone.
He screamed, but jerked, letting out a startled sound as he woke.
Gwen was awake in an instant, her eyes blinking wide as she sat up on her elbow, looking at him warily. "Dream?"
Instead of answering, he found himself half upright, grabbing at her hand with a passion that surprised even him. When it was in his grasp, he let out a long sigh, holding it firmly against his chest. He wasn't letting go.
"Kili?" He glanced up at her. Her eyes were soft, searching, curious, though she didn't pull her hand back.
"Can I keep this?" he asked, indicating her hand with a nod of his head.
She smiled slightly in confusion, her brow furrowing, but she settled back down onto the hay, shrugging.
"Thank you," Kili breathed, bringing her fingers up to his mouth to kiss, before letting it fall away between them, so that he could sleep comfortably, both of his hands enveloping it entirely. He wasn't planning on letting go.
They all slept fitfully, deep into the midmorning. They awoke hungry, and likely all smelling of the goats that had wandered in, but they were well rested at the very least. Food, though much desired, was deemed having to wait.
Gandalf had decided it was time to meet Beorn face to face.
They had discovered the man inside the outer gates, chopping wood in the yard. Though Kili had only seen glimpses through cracks in the door, he didn't like what he saw. The man was massive, towering at least three times Kili's height. He wielded the massive axe as if it was nothing, chopping wood for an hour, and not tiring or pausing even for a moment. If he chose to turn on them, things would go very badly very quickly.
To Kili's dismay, Gandalf had cracked the back door open and was preparing them to go out and meet the man-beast. Nori had just mentioned a plan to sneak out without Beorn's noticing, when Dwalin stepped up, puffing out his chest. "I'm not running from anyone, beast or no."
While the noble side of Kili agreed with this, the side of him that just wanted to get out with the least possible trouble was certainly siding with Nori.
"There's no point in arguing," Gandalf admonished, quelling the fight that threatened to break out. "We cannot pass through the wilderland without Beorn's help. We'll be hunted down before we even get to the forest. Bilbo," Gandalf called as his eyes skirted about them until he found the hobbit. "There you are. Now, this is going to require some delicate handling. We must tread very carefully," he explained as he pushed his way towards the door. The last person to have startled him was torn to shreds."
Kili frowned. Well, that was bloody encouraging. His eyes flickered over to Thorin's, who seemed to be feeling a similar moment of apprehension.
"Bilbo, you come with me."
Stuttering, Bilbo stepped up from between Kili and Thorin. "Is…is this a good idea?"
Gandalf waved off his nerves with a dismissive hand. "Yes, now the rest of you, you just wait here and don't come out until I give the signal."
"Right," Bofur said. He had climbed up into the hayloft a few minutes before, looking out the small glass window at their host. "Wait for the signal."
"No sudden moves or loud noises," Gandalf continued. "And don't overcrowd him! Only come out in pairs."
He started to turn away, but Gwen's voice called out, low but sharp, turning him back around. "What about me?"
Gandalf turned, a silent sigh slumping his shoulders as he looked back at her, something sinking in his eyes. Odd. "You'll come with us, dear girl."
She didn't question it, stepping away from Ori's side to go to Gandalf.
Kili frowned. Why was she to go with them? Wouldn't it be better if she came in pairs, like the rest of them?
Gandalf almost left again, but turned back, his gaze finding Bombur. "No, actually Bombur, you count as two, so you should come alone."
Now that was a perfectly reasonable assertion.
"Remember," Gandalf warned. "Wait for the signal!"
With that, Gandalf was ushering Bilbo out the door, Gwen following closely behind.
"What signal would that be?" Bofur called down, just as Gandalf stepped out of earshot.
Damn. That would have been good to know.
Kili realized all of the sudden that Gwen was gone. She had left with Gandalf and Bilbo, and now she was at the mercy of Beorn.
Oh, he did not like that one bit.
He shoved his way up, not daring to poke his head out, but needing to at least hear what was happening in case something went wrong. Beorn was still at work, and the thud of steel on cracking wood made Kili jump every time. He said a silent prayer to Mahal that that day wouldn't end in a fight.
"Good morning!" Gandalf called out loud.
Beorn's axe still swung, and he did not respond.
"Good morning," Gandalf said again, more pointedly, and with a rasp, the great axe fell silent.
Kili couldn't make out words, but he heard a deep growl, which he could only assume to be Beorn's voice.
"I am Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey."
"Never heard of him," Beorn said, the low, animalistic timbre of his voice almost impossible to hear.
Gandalf paused but found words eventually. "I'm a wizard. Perhaps you've heard of my colleague—"
"Who is she?"
Gwen spoke then. "Gwen," she introduced. "Of Rhun."
"You stink of sand and wood-rot," Beorn snarled.
"Guilty as charged," she replied stiffly.
"What do you want?" Beorn asked.
"Well," Gandalf stepped in. "Simply to thank you for your hospitality. You may have noticed that we took refuge in your uh—lodgings here last night."
"Who is this little fellow?" Beorn asked suddenly, and Kili cringed at the sound of his axe shifting on the ground.
"Ah well, this would be Master Baggins, from the Shire," Gandalf said graciously.
The axe clinked dangerously as Beorn's tone took on a wary edge. "He's not a dwarf, is he?"
Oh. Well. That didn't bode entirely well for them.
"Why no," Gandalf assured him as if it was mad to even propose that a dwarf would be in their company. Kili decided that this might be where they die. Torn to shreds by a giant axe-wielding bear. He wondered how the stories would recount it…
"He's a hobbit! A good family and an unimpeachable reputation."
At least Bilbo would appreciate that compliment.
"A halfling, a girl, and a wizard. How come you here?"
"Well, the fact is, we've had a bad time of it," Gandalf said. "From goblins in the mountains."
"What did you go near goblins for?" Beorn asked, almost mockingly. "Stupid thing to do."
Well, it hadn't been on purpose.
"You are absolutely right—"
"There it is!" Bofur called down nervously. "Go! Go!"
Really? Gandalf had signaled?
Whether it was really the signal or not, Dwalin and Balin were at the door.
Beorn growled and Kili turned back to Fili, who was right over her shoulder. "We don't even know what the bloody signal is!"
"So it could be anything," Fili sighed, tugging nervously at his mustache. "This isn't good."
"Thorin!"
The dwarf had barely made it to them when Bofur was calling out, "Go!" again. Before Kili could stop them, Oin and Gloin were out the door. Brilliant. "What happened?" Thorin asked.
"I don't think Gandalf's given the signal," Kili said.
Thorin raised a brow. "Then why are we going out?"
"We don't know what the signal is," Fili hissed.
Beorn spat something about a circus and out went Ori and Dori.
Thorin shrugged, sighing. "It's too late now, lads."
Kili opened his mouth to protest, but Bofur was calling for the next group, and Thorin gave them a sharp "Go."
And so they did. The sun was almost too bright, but the air was sweet and clear, like flowers. Beorn was more fearsome than Kili would admit. His body was broad and massive, worked with scars, his face strange and almost animal like itself. He wasn't human, that was for sure. Nor was he quite like any beast Kili had seen before.
A ruckus rose from inside, and all of the remaining dwarves save Thorin tumbled out, almost knocking Kili off his feet.
Based off of Beorn's growl, this wasn't very good. He held his axe, but still, Gandalf droned out their names, utterly defeated in his efforts for a careful introduction.
"Is that it?" Beorn asked. "Are there any more?"
Thorin stepped out, and after a short pause, Beorn set down his axe with a growl. He still seemed on edge, but perhaps less angry than before. "Follow me."
Breakfast was a more than welcome affair. Kili was somewhat surprised that Beorn was willing to have them sit at his table and serve them food, but he wouldn't dare peep out a complaint. The others seemed to be on the same page.
All of them but Balin, Gandalf and Thorin, did their best to scramble up onto the benches set around the tall wooden table. It was a tight fit for all of them, but they managed to get up, Gwen's height allowing her to help many of them sit.
They had finally all sat down, Gwen wedged between Fili and Kili when Beorn brought out the food. Kili couldn't help his mouth watering. There were great plates of colorful cheeses, saucers of butter, bowls of golden honey, platters of sweet fruit, troughs of toasted grain and nuts and loaves upon loaves of bread, some crusty and grainy, others soft and white. Compared to their recent fare of meat and the occasional scavenged plant, this was more than welcome.
They didn't dare waste time, filling their plates, chattering happily as Beorn filled massive cups with what looked to be cream. While still slightly wary of him, Kili had decided that Beorn was quite alright.
"So you are the one they call Oakenshield," Beorn prompted as he passed Thorin, filling Fili's mug. "Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"
Kili didn't say a word, but perked his ears, eagerly listening in to the conversation—Sweet Mahal, that cheese was good. He would probably feel sick in a few minutes but he bloody missed good food.
"You know of Azog," Thorin said. "How?"
"My people were the first to live in the mountains before the orcs came down from the North," he explained. "The Defiler killed most of my family." Kili's attention was rapt upon Beorn. The slow, gravelly pace of his voice seemed to draw him in. The man—beast?—was fascinating. And this bread was absolutely lovely. He really shouldn't be thinking about things like this during Beorn's truly terrible tale, but he was so hungry. "But some, he enslaved." Beorn raised his left hand, which still bore am an iron shackle. Smoothed and worn with time, but heavy and cold. Kili sobered slightly. "Not for work, you understand. But for sport. Caging skin changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."
Bilbo was the first that dared to speak. "There are others like you?"
"Once there were many," Beorn replied simply.
"And now?"
"Now there is only one."
Kili frowned, taking a deep drink of milk.
"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn," Beorn said, sitting down in a giant, hewn wooden chair.
"Before Durin's day falls, yes," Gandalf agreed.
"You are running out of time," Beorn observed.
"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood."
Kili glanced at Gwen, who had paused, midway through chewing. Her eyes seemed unfocused all of the sudden, and Kili set a gentle hand on her lower back, as a silent question of her wellbeing. She blinked, and in a moment, whatever had come over her was gone and she was giving him a quizzical look as she swallowed.
Kili didn't let the questions he had show on his face, moving his hand away to continue eating, but he made a careful mental note of what had just happened.
"A darkness lies upon that forest," Beorn said. "Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the orcs of Moria and the Necromancer at Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."
Through Mirkwood? Kili hadn't imagined Thorin would ever allow this. Kili glanced over his shoulder, but Thorin's face was virtually unreadable.
"We will take the elven road," Gandalf said. "Their path is still safe."
"Safe?" Beorn repeated. "The wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They are less wise and more dangerous."
Kili would be lying if he said his eyes didn't momentarily slide over to Gwen to catch her reaction to this. To a certain degree, it felt like he was betraying her trust. Her eyes were true, fixed to Beorn, their shadows impenetrable.
"But it matters not," Beorn sighed.
"What do you mean?" Thorin asked, turning to face Beorn.
"These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing," Beorn said grimly. "And you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." Beorn suddenly stood, his full height looming over them. Kili shifted nervously. The strange man had been acting friendly, but he had tried to kill them only the previous day. And Kili wouldn't be entirely surprised if he did it again.
"I don't like dwarves," Beorn said, his pace and tone even, but something dangerous flickering over his mostly placid face. "They're greedy and blind. Blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own." Beorn stooped slightly, scooping a tiny white mouse from the table. It chirped as he lifted it into the air, its fragile body engulfed in his scarred, calloused hand. He studied the tiny creature as he cleared the distance between him and Thorin in two long strides. Kili held his breath as the man stood directly over him, his gaze the color of honey but almost painfully piercing, even when not directed on Kili.
"But orcs, I hate more."
Kili let his breath out.
"What do you need?"
Hello, all! This is a couple hours later than usual, but do forgive me. I just got back to school and got thrown right into being the assistant stage manager for a production, so life has gotten a little crazy. Hopefully, update schedules will not be disrupted, but I'll let you know if I'm going to skip an update or something to catch up. Your reviews really help me have the energy to keep this up, and I read and love every one of them, so please, please review if you have the time. Thank you for reading and reviewing, and I'll catch y'all with one of my favorite chapters next Wednesday!
