Oh my gosh you guys...should I even bother apologizing for the crazy long update?... This chapter did take a while anyway because there were just so many ways I could have gone and couldn't make up my mind. I hope you enjoy this chapter a lot more than I had fun writing it LOLOLOL. Truth be told I'm still not sure where I want to go with the next chapter. That being said if you have any thoughts, opinions, ideas, please please share them.

Chapter 22- Jump Scares

Once it was open Alicia ran again.
The ibex tore after her. She didn't need to look back to know it was following her. the thing sounded as if anything that stood in his way was broken to splinters as it pounded behind her.
"Leave me alone!" she knocked down a small table behind her as she ran. It did little to slow him down however. " I'm not yours! Not for sale! Go away!" She yelped as she could hear the thing behind her breathing laborously.
The ibex reached out his arm, missing her by a hair's length when she turned suddenly. Her turn was not a graceful one, as she bounced and sckidded off the opposite wall before righting herself. The ibex in his attempt to catch up to her, nearly broke it down.
Some man up ahead stepped in the way. "You-!" was all he was able to get out befoer she shoved him aside.
"Move it!" Alicia grunted. Nothing was more frightening than the thing chasing her right now.
It caught up to her though, yanking her to a stop. She gasped and flailed about in a wild frenzy.
The creature didn't give her any chance of even fighting back, picking her up as if she was nothing and clutching her to his furry chest. He bounded around a few close spaced buildings before stopping as if to listen for followers.
"Let me go before I make lamb chops outta you! You're still edible by human standards!" She yelled as she kicked at him and tried to claw at his face. The ibex moved his head away as he growled, litterally growled, at her. He adjusted his hold to cover her mouth.
Now her fear turned to panic. She was completely immobilized in every way, a muffled whimper escaped her throat, much to her mortification.
In her blind panic, Alicia flailed violently. The ibex bayed, rearing back his head to protect his eyes from her sharp finger nails. His powerful grip never wavered, other than trying to subdue her better.
Voices surrounding them, redirected their attention. His growl turned much more feral and his lips peeled back to reveal a sharp set of fangs. He had fangs and not just herbivore teeth too!
Alicia was about the same as a rabbit would be in a person's hand. She had no hope of getting away from him now.
Surrounding them were men and dwarves, some in their beastial forms. The ibex yanked her against his chest, bellowing at everyone. This confused Alicia to no end. She gasped again when his bellow was appeareantly answered by friends of his own. The large fox from before, the hyena too with a rider...Dwalin on his back. Dwalin jumped down easily, hefting his hammers defensively. That's also when she noticed another familiar face.
"Oin!" Alicia called out impulsively. The ibex still not relentling his hold on her. Oin did hear her though as he whirled around, his eyes widening at the sight for a second, then squinted in an angry snarl. He whirled back at the crooks nearest him. "Sniveling bunch of orc kissing liars!"

"Garuk Khuzaad!" A gutteral hollar from another side. A long boar spear was thrown with such a force that it stabbed right through some barrels like butter, cascading them to the ground onto the vitcims below. Alicia followed the trajectory of the thrown spear and her eyes landed on the most angry looking Bifur she had ever witnessed. He stomped and yelled out in his gutteral langauge.
Oin took in a deep slow breath. "I am done playing." He grumbled out ominously. From the corners of his mouth suddenly protruded two white teeth that went outwards to look more like tusks. Grey hair suddenly sprouted from his whole face. His body swelled and reshaped itself into a bellowing, bipedalling, angry wooly mammoth. His hairy fist banged into the wall, causing a ripples of cracks where he hit with a loud bang. He grabbed a metal pole to be his new battle staff and charged at the nearest crooks. Her eyes were as wide as they could be, gaping at Oin's monsterous new form, fighting back the surrounding attackers of both men and dwarves.
Back at Bifur, her eyes fell on him just in time to see him yanking the weapon from one to use it to block another attacker.
"Run!" Dwalin yelled.
Then in that split second, she was scooped up by the red goat who went dashing away.
They were making their way down the end of the slim road where it was blocked off by and old wooden gate. She knew exactly what was coming next.
"Oh shale..." Alicia grumbled, closing her eyes and curling up as much as she could. The Ibex lowered his great horns and bursted through the feeble gate. Anyone on the other side quickly scrambled out of the way.
"Eeek!" Alicia squirmed to be released.
The ibex wasn't having it though. He held onto her, making some low baying sound. He grunted and bolted off once again. Jumping on a large cart, then from there on a low roof and then the highest roofs as he ran, hopping from one to the next. That ddin't take much effort though since all the buildings were so close to each other already. Alicia could probably clear the jump by herself too. But that wasn't really the scary part. For her, it was being held hostage by a monster on a whirling path. It caused her to have to shut her eyes for a moment to keep from getting dizzy.
At the last building, he jumped off the roof, landing easily on the ground with his large hooves. Alicia was impressed that she did not feel any sort of jarring effects by it due to the way the animal must have been holding her. He clopped further down the road.
There was an opening where he skidded to a stop. Alicia so wanted out of his grip, still trying to push away once he stopped. The red Ibex did not let her get far In fact, once he stopped running, he just stood there holding and watching her, ears twitching about.
The islander looked up to regard him, her own heart beating rapidly. His eyes were very hard to read, but his lips were not curled back to reveal those fangs at least. Once she had stopped struggling he loosened his grip a little as his great head leaned in closer in a sort of 'inspective' demeanor.
Alicia stared back at him like he was the craziest thing she ever met. (Right now he was the craziest thing she'd encountered.) His nostrils flaring from his sniffing. She had truly had enough of this thing. Leaning forward she bit his large nose and pulled at his ears like an angry kid. The ibex grunted, eyes crossing. He shook his face away with an agitated baying. He rubbed his hurt snout as he made another baying sound that sounded almost as if to say, 'why'd you do that for?' He nearly lost his hold on her except for one arm.
The biped ling ibex wrestled with her for a few seconds until he was able to over power her without breaking anything. He had both her arms now, regarding her like she did something bad. Was he waiting on something from her?
This was far too similar to the incident in the woods, her nerves were dancing like lightning and she couldn't think of a plan. Alicia tried kicking at his leg next, making him flinch from the contact, but still he didn't let go. He huffed. Then suddenly his form started to shift before her eyes.
"ohshaleohshaleohshale!" Alicia shrieked.
Desperately she tried to pull away. The large fured hand on her arm was shifting to a smaller size, though still quite strong. Only now grasping her wrist was Gloin.
"Calm yourself now will you? Tis but me." He watched her under bushy, knitted brows.
Staring owlishly at him, she fored herself to take a shaky breath. Gloin didn't move an inch as he watched her under red bushy brows, as if she might dash off the second he let go. Oh would she ever get used to the shapeshifting?
Alicia didn't know what to think though. Other than the fact that she was hurt and confused by him. "What the hell do you want from me anyway?!" She gasped out. "No! Don't answer that. I'm moving out of this town! You'll never have to worry about the trouble I cause again. Asshole, why'd you even agree on letting me stay-"
"Enough Alicia!" Gloin barked. "Whatever happened in that hideout it wasn't me. I swear on my beard."
"Is there another Gloin?" She quipped wrenching her arm free.
"Actually, there was. An imposter disguising himself as me. Perhaps the reason why I've got such a bad reputation on my head now." Gloin said in a sour tone.
Finally, it did start coming back to her. She had run into someone dressed as Dwalin and Bifur in the first place. Then the red head she was fighting off inside the building was also a fake? Her questions must have been clear on her face, as Gloin patted the top of her hand gently for her attention. "Alicia. I can't imagine your confusion right now, but you must believe me. I can prove this to you. And what ever happened to you, it will not go unpunished."
"How did you know how to find me?" She narrowed her eyes as she found her voice again.
"We were getting worried when you did not come home. Oin and I set out to search for you and that's when we ran into Bofur. Then Nori who brought Dwalin."
She noticed movement from her right, and looked that way just in time to see the hyena she had encountered from before. The creature rose his head, regarding them curiously. Slowly he approached in an almost awkward demeanor. Then his form too, also started to shift to another dwarf, Bofur.
He shifted on his feet a little, looking unusually penitent. His face didn't have that jolly look she always associated with him. His face had an unexpectedly more solemn crestfallen gaze as he inspected the two. He did smile at her when their eyes met but it seemed forced. "Hullo lass." He said in a surprisingly soft voice that really caught her off guard. "Are ya alright?"
The muscles of her brows bunched up at his odd behavior. "Uh huh..." Alicia made a cursory glance around the little clearing, still skeptical on how he even knew how to find her.
"We ought to keep going. Don't want anymore angry mobs."
Alicia jumped and whirled to face her left. Gloin's hand rose halfway in case he needed to grab her before she ran off again.
Out from seemingly nowhere, (becuase she swore no one was there at all last she looked,) but there he was, seemed to have just materialized out of nowhere. Nori again standing near them. Behind him was a narrow alcove. Did he really just walk all the way, ten paces, without her detecting him? Alicia felt suddenly very helpless.
Questions she wanted to ask wasn't coming up. Gloin took the liberty of speaking for her instead.
"Nori is right. Let us keep going." He looked up to Alicia when she did not move, jerking his head to where Nori took the lead. "The others are worried sick. Nadhia's probably having enough trouble keeping Gimli from running off."
He walked beside her, Bofur taking up the rear and Nori up ahead. That didn't really answer her question, so when she finally did get her voice back, she tried the first question. "So how did you find me?"
"When we knew something was wrong, we traced back to the last place any of us had seen you. Then we followed your scent till it led us here."
"My scent.." Of course why did she forget that?! Stupid! stupid!
"Aye." Nori agreed. " Ya see I've been on the hunt for the fakers for over a month. Tricky bastards know how to cover their tracks well. I should thank ya too, even though you weren't trying to, you found one of their hideouts. Oin, Bifur, and Dwalin and his boys are taking them to jail as we speak."
"Dwalin?"
"Tattooed dwarf. Bald on top. Warrior and' captain of the guard. Can't miss 'em when ye see him." Bofur added.
No he certainly wasn't a forgettable guy. Alicia mused. But now she wondered how she might tell the fake or real one was. " You all should wear bandannas."
Nori snorted quietly in front.
"What for?" Bofur asked.
"So I can tell the difference between which Dwalin owes me money."
Gloin cast an odd side glance look at her in between Bofur's quiet chortles. They made it out of the slums, passing by one of the few stone built buildings in the town where a group of people were there, some arrested, some doing the arresting. Masks were off, only genuine glares could be seen.
"Keep the costumes in tack too." Dwalin ordered. "Once we're ready they'll be shown to the whole town, revealed for the crimes they have committed in our names."
Oin turned around when they had approached, sharing a nod with his brother. His staff in his hand hinted that he had a fight of his own to confront.
Bifur growled and spoke in his harsh tongue, things Alicia was both curious and glad she didn't understand. He stopped immediately when they had all reunited.
"These are the few remaining that tried to escape when you flushed them out." Oin said. His eyes flicked up to Alicia. "Are you uninjured?"
"Yes. Thank you."
Oin grunted. His eyes lingering on her facial features for another second before rounding on his heels. "At last. Maybe we can get a minute of sleep for once." The grizzled healer stormed off. "I'll see you at home once we've wrapped things up 'ere."
Gloin jerked his head to the group, one in particular who was staring balefully at Alicia and she realized that was the faker who pretended to be Gloin.
The islander was hardly fazed by it though. She didn't care about his stupid looks. Too much relief washed over her, at the danger finally being subdued. Her eyes passed over everyone's faces, gauging what might be going through their heads. Bofur had a smoothened face of approval at the tables having been turned. Nori was always the hardest to read, other than having a dark smirk on his face. Gloin was an angry, firm father with his arms crossed as he conversed with Dwalin. Their eyes almost met each others' at the same time. Dwalin dipped his head slowly towards her, good at not breaking eye contact. He kept a pretty calm demeanor under Alicia's scrutiny, and she hadn't snapped to the fact that she was staring had it not been for Gloin's subtle movement at the side. Alicia blinked from her stare, returning the same head nod with lips pursed in a half smile.
"Bofur. Take Alicia home aye? We'll be there soon." Glion ended the tense silence.
"Right." Bofur smiled, tugging Alicia's elbow gently. "Best not tarry 'afore Nadhia comes hunting us down." He joked as they went on.
The rest of the walk home was quiet and swift. Nadhia ushered them in the house, sitting down with Alicia to envelope her in a huge hug. "Where did you go? Oh poor deary."
Seeing the mother in this state, It was one of the most foreign things to see Nadhia in no joking mood at all. No mischievous glint, no smile or anything. The fact that Alicia was so crushed to Nadhia's chest that it constricted her breathing didn't have enough humor to ease the situation either. It was actually a little hard to see her in such an unhappy state and Alicia secretly hoped to never have to see it again without having some way of cheering her up if possible. Gimli too, was not any better. His own face had taken a darker look on it.
The mother once again scent marked the islander, as she calmed herself back down."Thank Mahal for his watchful eyes."
The islander was at a loss of words, so touched by this open concern by a mother who was technically not her own.
Bofur commended Gimli for standing guard over the house and his mother quietly to the side, giving the ladies their needed space.
Alicia hugged her back, offering what comfort she was able to while the mother took the time to calm herself down. Quiet whimpers or cries would escape the she dwarf while she nuzzled Alicia.
Alicia's empathy had her rubbing circles on Nadhia's back. Unsure of what rules about hair was when this was happening, Alicia did try to avoid touching it too much anyway.
When she regained composure, Nadhia got up and put some tea on the stove, her own kind face shadowed with a grimace. Gimli sat right next to Alicia next. Close enough that he could have easily thrown his leg over her lap. He didn't, but he looked as grumpy as his dad. He seemed edgy as if ready to snap at anyone that ventured too close.
"What happened?" Gimli grumbled.
"I thought I saw Bifur, but it wasn't him." Alicia answered easily.
"Everything is easier when there's a pleasant drink in your hand." Nadhia said to break the silence. Bofur tipped his head and rose his mug of ale from the table he sat at.
Alicia took a tentative sip from her cup passed to her by the mother, eyes still cast upwards at everyone, though she was also beginning to lose her own patience in the awkward silence of just sitting there. Her eyes met Gimli, still looking like one angry furball. Offering a smile and a playful pat on his knee, Alicia tried to ease the awkwardness.
Gimli's expression didn't really change much. He did suddenly wrap his arm around her waist, also nuzzling his face against her side. "Don't go anywhere without me." He mumbled.
Alicia couldn't think of anything yet really to say. She humored him at least, embracing him tightly back.
Bofur kept the silence at bay with idle chat of pleasant compliments or anything he could think of to help Nadhia feel better, stressed as she seemed to have been.
Until finally the door was unlocked again, letting in Gloin, followed by Nori, Dwalin, and Oin who locked it behind him.
The red haired father surveyed the gathering. His eyes landing on Alicia and made a smile so feint she might not have been able to tell he was smiling at all had it not been for the crinkle around his eyes. Gloin had R.B.F. after all.
Nori ventured to the kitchen where he made some extra drinks for the others while Gloin took his usual place in his armchair across the way.
Oin shuffled over with his satchel, his arm reaching up to cup Alicia's face, maneuvering it for his better reviewing. "Hm, just a bruise.." He mumbled. The others in the room had dispersed their attention to various things until Oin and Alicia had finished up. Thankfully Alicia did not suffer anything lethal.
The islander had been trying to hold back her questions for a while, waiting to see when the best time to ask them might be. Her patience was warring thin now that everyone looked more relaxed, if Nori and Bofur prattling over some pastries and Dwalin chowing down on some of them wasn't proof enough.
"Why would they go so far as to imitate you to give you bad reps?" Alicia finally spoke. "Did they start the whole 'Thorin's Thirteen' scary story to frighten people?"
"They're not just a stage name lass." Nori said with a humorless smirk. "They're real folk."
"Right, but not everything I might have heard." Alicia frowned. "And if they weren't bothering anyone, why go so far as to tarnish their image?"
Finally Gloin spoke, his barrel chest expanding with a deep inhale. "Thorin's Thirteen. A group of dwarves that once ventured out to reclaim their rightful home, sadly returned unfulfilled. Ered Luin to Erebor is like and old inn to a castle and thus in need of much improvements. They tried to do so, in an effort to redeem themselves from their costly failure. Things did not go as planned completely, and now we are scattered. Myself, Oin, Dwalin, Bofur and Nori, we are members of Thorin's Thirteen."
He paused then, waiting for Alicia's response. He probably expected her to gasp or scream in outrage or heaven forbid, faint. She didn't do any of this other than cast a small smile at Bofur and Nori. She didn't know they were part of the team either, but thanks to the time she got to spend with Gimli some times, she was not completely caught off guard either.
Her eyes met Gloin's again. " You found out why you've been getting blamed for things. and now that they've been stopped it should start getting better from here on." She said softly.
"Hmph. It'll take more than this to fix everything." Gloin rumbled.
"Oh come off it. Tis still a good start to righting it." Bofur retorted.
"A small start, but one none the less." Dwalin mused from the table too.
"Right now, it's hard to say what their true motives behind it is." Gloin continued. " They've been planning these things for a long time though. Buggers. Most of us are related to the king you see. If the whole family looks unfit to rule, then naturally they must be replaced." The father said pointedly.
Alicia took the time she needed to process this. " That... is a lot of trouble to go through..."
Dwalin snorted. "Tis no easy task over throwing a monarch."
A sullen silence befell the house until Oin looked up from his work at everyone. "The danger is passed. Justice is served. So stop your sulking now eh?"
That was the ice breaker that people needed to pick their shoulders up again. Alicia and Bofur being the first to grin.
"Tis late, stay over the night." Oin told Nori, Dwalin and Bofur.
Gloin's hard stare had softened a little now, pensive as he watched the house mood turn from solemn to more of a light hearted gathering.
Alicia felt Gimli tap her arm for her attention. "You still want to train?" he whispered.
"Yeees." She answered.
"Good. We start tomorrow. Not that I couldn't keep you safe, but it would be good to know a few things yourself." The son rambled in a coy manner.
Alicia resisted the urge to roll her eyes bemusedly at him. She had gotten used to his boasts.
When the others had fallen into conversation, Alicia quietly excused herself to the kitchen to get another cup of tea. She could feel eyes on her and turned to see Gimli regarding her. Only offering a smile of reassurance, she stepped out in the back porch for some silence.
The night air was not as cool as she might have preferred but still it wasn't hot and sticky at least. The islander sat on a bench, leaning against the wall, not really caring to watch anything. Her eye even zoned out the moment her thoughts drifted home.
She felt her own smile sag into a more solemn thin line. On home, Alicia knew she had much to learn before she could ever say she's a hundred percent leader quality. Once she became an older sibling though she naturally stepped up to become better. She was very good at keeping a level head in highly emotional situations and not too shabby with her unofficial counseling knowledge too. So to be rendered completely helpless, with not even an action plan or even figuring it out a lot sooner that the 'scary monsters' were her friends coming for her...that was a wound to her pride for sure. She didn't like it. From the point of view of someone who was always jumping in to help when someone else needed and extra hand on something, the rescuer being rescued left a bad taste of shame for her poor performance and unwanted begrudging for those who knew how to react to get desired results.
She scowled in result of these thoughts. Come on! You're in a whole new world. You can either be the naïve young damsel in distress or be the knight. Be dependent or independent. Use your own common sense and brains or lean on everyone else's. She remembered the slap to her face from the kidnapper and it made her hang her head in shame at the tears it produced. 'Maybe I should learn to be more of a jerk. Maybe that way I can take and retaliate what people want to dish out.'
Bitterness prickled inside her. How does one train to be an asshole exactly anyway?
She sensed the door open more than heard it, and saw a shadow at the corner of her eye. It made her try to smoothen out her face subtly, very thankful for the lack of light.
Light footsteps came tapping up to her, revealing the owner to be Nori. "Ya alright?"
Alicia couldn't really find words, trying instead for a nonchalant shrugging of her shoulders, and pretending to blame it on a slow sip of tea.
"Mind if I join you?"
'Dangit! NOOOO!' She yelled in her head. If he joined her now he might see her cry. She was not at a very stable state right now. Alicia was still, hoping to get her voice in check enough to politely decline the offer. It took too long however, as Nori lowered himself on the bench. He didn't say anything for a short while, which Alicia was relieved. Maybe she won't need to say much and he'll leave after some small talk.
Nori rubbed his pointed nose as he head tilted upwards. " It's alright you know. To be upset. S'not like you're breaking any rules by it."
Alicia huffed, lazily casting a miserable look downcast.
" People around here are all arses. One big herd of smelly chicken hearted cads with nothing better to do than foppling around." The shifty dwarf ranted.
The islander started to smile. She really appreciated how her friend was trying to cheer her up. As much as she wished it would last, she couldn't keep the smile on her face for very long.
Nori had stopped, watching her out the corner of her eyes. When she took too long to talk, he playfully tapped her on her knee, prompting her to try again.
"It's just, I got a little spooked is all."
"It's alright. That was a scary mess." Nori replied. "I'd be suspicious if you weren't spooked."
Alicia laid her head back, sighing for what seemed like the hundreth time. "It feels like I've sailed onto a bigger wave than I can handle ever since coming here. Not like I haven't been warned from the beginning that it might be dangerous. But I thought if I could keep my head down and just mind my own until I got what I wanted, then it wouldn't be so bad."
"Bad?" Nori said. " Living with Gloin and his family is bad?"
"Gloin and his family are one of the few good things that's happened to me since...Are you trying to turn this around?" Alicia pouted at Nori.
The dwarf smirked. "Nah, just askin' about how rough you have it."
The islander bit the inside of her lip, choosing her words carefully. "Guess I don't really have it as rough as others might..." she grumbled, looking away when Nori didn't give a snippy comment. By now Alicia took that as a sort of 'approval or silent agreement' from Nori. "But I was hoping I wouldn't have made things worse for me and my own."
"Ya didn't make things worse. Sometimes bad things just happen no matter how you try to avoid it." The dwarf stretched his chest.
"Yeah. True." Alicia sighed.
Another silence fell over the two as nothing but the first frogs and crickets could be heard. "For someone green to the art of disguise, I suppose you weren't so bad if you were just trying to fool humans." Nori went on, referring to her alias as Leto.
Alicia side glanced to him, a hint of a humored smirk. "I gotta make more money. And women's jobs are a little limited around here."
"While I do not like the idea of putting yourself in too much danger, I do understand. You'll need ta try harder than that though to fool a dwarf."
Alicia turned another humorous smirk to him. "Like what?"
"Walk like you're more top heavy for starters." He answered. " Not quite so light on your feet."
"Have you mastered the art of disguise then?" the girl asked grinning a little more at his show of pride.
"I daresay I have." Nori puffed out his chest. " I could show you a few tricks, for some more of that pecan pie?"
"Deal." Alicia turned fully towards him. "So lesson one is stance?"
"Aye. the walk and stance. We'll find you some more suitable attire that can hide your figure better. I'll bring some scent mask too, and you can practice on Bofur. He'll be the easiest to fool."
The islander was back to grinning again during her little practice walks with Nori for the fun of it.
It was an odd change of subject, but still a welcome one. She started to, notice, Nori a little more as she watched him, wondering if he was like this with everyone, or was she just lucky. Was this the real Nori, or was this his own second alias he liked to use?
One thing was for sure, as Nori demonstrated a few of his examples between lessons. He certainly knew how to bring out his feminine side. When he twirled his body, arms out and made that comical flirty face, Alicia nearly lost it, doubled over in her giggles.

Well! I can confidently say that I know how to write an action scene pretty well at least. Truth be told, this story has not been going the way I might have hoped. Even for short chapters it's taking a long time just to get all the characters in. Sooo, I have three options I've been juggling: 1)Keep writing this how it is. 2) Start over. or 3) Scrap it entirely. Another thing I would like you to share your opinions on if you please and thank you so much. I have been thinking the same about my other stories too.