And here's a new chapter. Yaaay, celebrate, fireworks, pa-kew pa-chew! Yaay, Anders. No wait. Wrong show. xD
Uh, well, back to business :D
Special thanks to you lovely people who keep reviewing each chapter! I really, really appreciate that! It keeps me motivated!
Sam0728: It does definitely hurt to know that. And she'll probably not forget it very soon, either.
Doodler100: Oooh, Thorin got bitch slapped xD I laughed so hard when I read that :D And well, he's just good at ruining things it would seem. I'm not so sure if he's also good at making things up, though :D
kaia: Ahh, I hope you'll be happy with this chapter then :D Mirkwood will be quite interesting for Tarya either way, though, I can tell you that :D
DwarvenWarrior: Poor Thorin. First he gets bitch slapped by Doodler100 and then he gets yelled at by you. Dude just can't do things right :D
Also, thanks to the people who followed and favorited!
Well then, I'll leave you to it.
Enjoy and leave me a review of what you thought at the end! :D
Tarya was furiously stomping through the bushes, not even looking where she was going. The only thing that mattered was to get as far away from those bloody dwarves as possible. She kicked and hit the twigs away that got in her way for a while, not knowing for how long she had been walking when she finally just stopped in her tracks right in the middle of the oak forest that surrounded Beorn's lands. Her breathing was going fast and her thoughts were whirling in her head.
How could she be so stupid? Of course, he – they – were hoping to get an advantage out of her. People always wanted that. That's why Amarok avoided them. People were greedy and selfish, all of them. Elves, Men, and – although the realization really made her want to throw up – these Dwarves were no different at all, either. She felt completely betrayed. Used. How could they do this? How could she only be a source of supposed power to them, when she had continuously helped to save their lives? Did all of them think of her like that? Or was it just Thorin? Tarya didn't want to believe that Kili could feel the same way. He had always said he was her friend and he had been there for her, even when she'd still been a wolf and he hadn't even known that she was an Amarok. There was no way she was just a useful curiosity to him, was there? She couldn't be sure, though. What if she had committed herself to a dwarf that wasn't even her friend, really? She felt like a complete naïve fool.
Clenching her eyes together, she let out a short frustrated scream and in her fury kicked the nearest tree. It hurt but she didn't care. Why did she ever have to transform? She didn't want this. She had never asked to be human and right now, she just wished she could be her own animal self again. She wanted to get away, to get back to her own life, in which she had been lonely, yes, but at least no one had been able to treat her like that.
Her whole body was trembling with hurt and anger and she just couldn't handle it. And then there was the heat. That incredible heat that was threatening to overtake her every limb. She felt her breathing become harder as she tried to fight it and calm down, fearing like she would probably burn from the inside if it continued, but it was to no avail. She felt like she was on fire and as she opened her eyes, she suddenly saw things completely clear, although the forest was shadowed by darkness, for sundown was long past by now.
Tarya forgot her aching body for a moment, as she scanned the area, surprised at how clearly she could see everything. She had never been able to see this precisely during the night ever since she had transformed into a human. But now, she saw everything dipped in different variations of grey around her. Single leaves on the trees were moving slowly in the wind, producing a soft rustling that was being carried through the air.
Tarya was amazed. How was this possible?
Her ears were seemingly working better, as well. She heard the near rustling of something that she identified being the noise of a rabbit, and then there was a little squeak of a squirrel high up in an oak tree. Tarya looked up to the sky that was being covered by treetops, so that she couldn't actually see the night sky, as the soft hoot of an owl swept over her.
She tried to ignore her burning skin for another moment, although the sensation was becoming more demanding again, and closed her eyes. As she concentrated, she was able to hear faint voices echoing through the woods. Familiar voices. She tried to withhold a smile as she realized that they had come after her. That they cared enough to search for her.
And then there was another sound. Heavier. More dangerous. And as Tarya opened her eyes, she didn't hesitate for a second. She ran.
Kili made his way through the bushes carefully, trying to be as quiet as possible and at the same time seeing as much as he could. But there was no sign of Tarya whatsoever, except a few broken twigs here and there that they were following along, and he could feel the frustration and worry grow bigger within him with every further step he took.
"In which direction do you think she went?" Fili asked behind him when there were suddenly no more broken twigs that went on in a consistent direction. The blonde dwarf had both his swords drawn and his eyes were scanning their surroundings attentively.
"I don't know," Kili replied with a sigh. "I can't even find any footprints here. She could be anywhere."
"Maybe she's too light to leave footprints…" Fili mused. "You know, like some elves."
Kili didn't reply and after a moment, Fili continued hesitantly. "Maybe we should go back," he muttered. "I can hardly see a thing anymore and it will be pitch-dark further inside."
Kili shook his head, choosing to walk straight on forward. Going back was not an option for him and Fili knew it.
"You go back if you want to," Kili grumbled. "I haven't gotten past those dogs to turn back now. If I'm going back, I'm going back with her, Fili. I won't just leave her out here alone."
Fili sighed silently, looking at his brother's back as he followed him. He had known he wouldn't turn around, even though it was probably quite dangerous for them to be out here if Beorn's warning was anything to go by. But then again, Kili was right. He had gotten past the dogs – although he had had to draw his sword in order to get them to finally back down – and had defied Thorin when he ordered him to wait inside Beorn's house until she came back on her own. Might as well go through with it now. And of course, Fili had followed his brother. He would never have let him to something as reckless as this on his own and he wouldn't have felt comfortable just sitting around and waiting for Tarya to return when really anything could happen to her out here, either. She was his friend as well, after all.
"We'll find her," Fili mumbled to his younger brother who shot him a short look over his shoulder.
They made their way through the forest in silence then, searching the floor for eventual signs of her. Kili was slowly starting to lose every hope of finding Tarya when he suddenly heard a rustling sound a bit further ahead. Fili was beside him in an instant, having heard it as well. The brother's exchanged a short glance.
"Tarya?" Kili called out, although not too loud, for he couldn't be too sure what the origin of the sound had been.
There was no answer and both brothers tensed up when the rustling reached their ears again, this time seeming closer. Kili was about to call his friend's name a second time when suddenly, there was a loud growl coming from the darkness before them and just a moment later, a huge black bear emerged from the shadows of the trees and bushes. The two dwarves stumbled backwards as the beast – which was definitely bigger than any bear they both had ever seen – bared its teeth at them, growling and snarling wildly.
There was a short moment in which dwarves and bear just stared at each other, both keeping still in their positions, before Fili made a small step backwards and a twig cracked beneath his boot.
It was as if a spell had been broken. The bear roared viciously, baring large sharp teeth, spittle dropping from its mouth, before it lunged at them. Fili and Kili reacted simultaneously, both diving out of the way to the opposite direction. As they scrambled to their feet, they saw that the bear had turned around and was coming at them again, but just as it raised itself on its hind legs to attack them, something else came dashing through the bushes and lunged at the beast, knocking it off balance. The bear fell with a loud, angry roar and as Kili looked up, he met the familiar gleam of a pair of golden eyes. The face, however, belonged to the large black wolf he hadn't seen since Rivendell.
He just stared at her for a seeming eternity, his brother doing the same. However, not even a second had passed before Tarya barked wildly at them.
They didn't move.
Of course, they didn't. They never moved when they ought to. They just stared at her with wide eyes and although she understood why they might be surprised – she was so herself and not just a bit – there was no time to revel on her new old look now.
Tarya let out another frustrated and urgent bark at her friends as the bear – which was most likely Beorn himself – got to its feet again. Now finally, Kili flinched and seemed to understand that she was urging them to run for their lives. He grabbed his brother by the shoulder and Fili understood within an instant, as they both took off running the way they had come not even half a second later. Tarya caught a last worried glance from Kili, which he threw at her over his shoulder, before he disappeared in the bushes and out of her sight.
Of course, the huge bear made to chase after them but as it was about to set off, Tarya growled aggressively and lunged at it again, biting its right hind leg. The bear roared in pure fury and pain and hit her hardly with one paw. The strength of the impact had her let go of the leg as she was dashed away, a pained yelp leaving her throat when she landed hardly on the forest floor. But at least, the action had made the bear's attention settle on her now and not on the fleeing dwarves. However, she knew she didn't stand a real chance against a huge beast like that, even in this form, and she would have to run for her own life rather sooner than later. He was quite a bit stronger than her; one strike with his paw had been enough for her to figure that out. She wasn't keen on feeling that again. But at least now – as a wolf – she was definitely faster than him.
The bear roared at her as she got to her feet and Tarya quickly dodged the paw that was coming at her, jumping out of the way. And then she set off running as the bear turned around and came after her. She dashed through the bushes and if she hadn't been in danger of being killed by a huge bear, she would have revelled in the feeling of how swiftly she was able to do it again. But since her ears could clearly make out the beast trampling through the woods behind her, she just concentrated on setting up a quicker pace. Tarya ran zigzag; slowing the bear down a bit as it wasn't as agile as her with its large body. Jumping over roots and low bushes that were threatening to hinder her, she made her way through the nocturnal wood. It was just a few moments later that she emerged from the forest itself and quickly made for Beorn's house.
The bear snarled in anger as it chased after her and she felt slightly worried at how close he actually was, as she rounded the gate to Beorn's lands again. Further ahead, she saw Fili and Kili running straight up the stairs to the house where the companions were just opening the great wooden doors, probably having heard the two brothers scream for them to let them in. Tarya didn't know whether what she was about to do was a good idea. Maybe she should have led the bear away, further into the woods and not straight to the company. But she would eventually have been closed in on and she didn't want to know what Beorn would do to her in his current condition if he actually caught her. He'd probably tear her apart. The skin-changer didn't seem to really have control over what he was doing right now. He was bear thoroughly and at the moment, he was wild and angry. And she knew the only place to be safe from him now was his own home, since he had invited them to stay there.
"Tarya!" she heard someone shout but she couldn't quite make out whom of the dwarves it had been, as she came running down the small hill that led to the house. The Amarok felt every muscle in her legs ache but she forced herself to go even faster for the last part of the way, hoping that she would gain enough advance so that the others could close the doors behind her before the bear could get into the house.
When she reached the veranda, she jumped right over the stairs with one great leap, before slithering over the wooden floor of the porch right through the door, as the dwarves had hurriedly moved out of the way. She braked her own slithering sharply and turned around in one swift motion just in time to see her companions forcefully pushing the massive wooden doors closed. But just before they could lock into place, the black bear slammed against it with its huge head, the dwarves fighting with all their might to keep the door in place at the impact and not let him further in. Tarya saw Bilbo draw his sword, his face showing a peculiar mix of fear and courage, Gandalf – who had apparently returned – drawing his own sword beside him. Next to her was Oin who had his axe ready for battle and as Tarya looked back to the door, she saw that her companions were slowly being forced further back into the house together with the door they were so desperately trying to close.
But Beorn was sticking his head through the gap between the two doors, as the dwarves tried to hold against it. The room was filled with their pained and strained groans and the roaring and growling of the black bear. Tarya quickly lunged forward again then, coming to stand on her hind legs, towering over Kili who was on his knees at the bottom of the door, trying to push against it and shielding him a bit like that. She fought her whole weight against the door, pressing her paws to it as she strained her neck to reach the bears head, before she vigorously sank her teeth in Beorn's snout that was sticking through the gap. The bear roared in pain, jerking its head back as she let go and the door immediately slammed closed with the weight of a whole company and an Amarok on it. Tarya quickly pushed herself off the door and took a few steps backwards as the others blocked the entrance with a large wooden beam.
Her breathing was going heavy and fast and she watched the door closely, cocking her ears as she heard Beorn scratching and pawing against the wood from outside and she let her muscles relax slightly only when she was convinced that he couldn't get past the door. And sure enough, after a few moments, the noises stopped and as Tarya perked up her ears, she heard the bear trot off back the way it had come.
When the noises finally faltered and they were sure Beorn had left, the dwarves slowly let their weapons sink down and slid them back in their sheaths. The small group turned around then and all their gazes settled on the large wolf that was standing in their midst, panting heavily. The golden eyes of the familiar figure of the Amarok scanned the group until they settled on Kili who was making his way past the others, coming to a halt awkwardly as he met his animal friend's eyes.
She looked at him attentively as he shook his head slightly, his eyes still wide in shock when he gazed at her. The thoughts were swirling in Kili's head – How had she become a wolf again? What had happened? What did this mean? Would she stay like this forever now? Was the spell that had her being human broken? And what, in Mahal's name, had she been thinking when she had endangered herself for them like that again?!
But the only thing that really made its way into his conscious mind was that his friend was still alive and here, even though she had changed her form again. He smiled at her then, relief washing over him and the wolf made a small noise, resembling a whine, shifting her weight from one paw to the other. Kili took the last steps towards her ten and crouched down before her, putting his arms around the wolf's neck. As Tarya made a low grumbling sound, he started rubbing her neck affectionately, laughing as she pressed her head against his chest, leaning into his touch.
The company had fallen completely silent beside them, looking at the scene that unravelled before them.
"I'm really going to have your head one day soon if you keep doing things like that," he mumbled into the silky black fur, only for her to hear, before she took a small step back.
"What in Aulë's name happened?!" Gloin cried out to no one in particular, cutting through the silence in the room as he was completely at a loss of a coherent thought at the sight before him and the bear attack they had just survived.