It didn't take long for the group to find themselves at a long table, filled with vegetable platters and various forms of bread. Most of the company complained about the lack of meat, Dwalin especially. Percia didn't mind, enjoying a small salad and the fresh bread. Bifur apparently preferred the flowers originally placed as a decoration. Recognizing one type she stopped him from eating it, allowing her to dab a drop of honey on it before gesturing him to continue. He gave her an odd look but ate it all the same. His eyes lit up in genuine pleasure at the taste, so she plopped the jar of honey next to him for his use.
On her other side sat Kili, who held a whispered conversation with his brother Fili. It sounded serious, however she did not know the Dwarf language so had no idea exactly what they said. Instead she watched Dori try to foist his 'greens' off on Ori with no luck. She was also pretty sure Nori had slipped some of the silverware into his sleeve, but she wouldn't call him on it.
Glancing down she saw Bofur laughing, as Bombur stuffed himself, clearly not caring about the lack of meat as long as he had food. Balin was speaking quietly to Bilbo, while Oin and Gloin grumbled to each other. Though how the older Dwarf could hear anything after he stuffed the napkin into his horn to block out the music was beyond her. At another table sat Thorin, Gandalf and Lord Elrond. The three of them discussing the swords they found in the troll horde from the looks of it.
Turning back to her own meal determined to ignore the poor table manners of the others she noted a piece of bread on her plate that had not been there before. Shrugging she just accepted it and moved on.
When dinner finally ended she made her way over to Gandalf before he could slip out with Elrond and Thorin.
"Gandalf, you've been here before," she murmured quietly. "Do you know if there is a river or pond nearby I can utilize?"
"The Elves do have bathing chambers you know," he teased gently.
Percia rolled her eyes. "I am not going to bathe; I need a fresh source of water to heal my injuries," she reminded him wryly. "While in my world I could just use bath water, here it would likely be better for me to go to the natural source."
He blinked at her statement taking the time to digest the information. "My, you are powerful. Do all of Poseidon's children have this ability?"
She went to say yes, but paused. "You know, I honestly don't know. Tyson can heal to an extent if in water and I don't know my other half siblings well enough. Actually, now that I think of it, I don't think they do. Tyson actually got dad's ability to cause earthquakes, where I didn't. So I guess certain powers skip here and there."
His bushy brows rose high on his forehead. "Well, I imagine that would be an interesting ability to have."
She grinned knowing exactly where his thoughts were going. "Yes, thankfully Tyson has a very calm disposition and is not prone to temper tantrums. Probably why the Fates decided he should get that talent instead of me."
He chuckled. "Indeed. In any case, I know of several pools of water here in Imladris. I am sure one of the Elves will be happy to show you to one?"
"And it will not be a problem," she pushed, one eyebrow drawn up skeptically.
"It will not." The answer came from Lord Elrond and not Gandalf. Apparently Elves had better hearing than she first thought. "We have many pools formed from the waterfalls and even a few from natural springs. Merrina would be happy to show you." A female elf stepped up and bowed towards them.
"Thank you very much Lord Elrond," Percia responded politely before following the other woman out, picking up her pack on the way.
The Elf led her to a small hidden grove sheltering a lovely blue pool of crystal clear water. It reminded her of photos from a National Geographic of some exotic place in the world.
"Thank you so much," she told the other female receiving a smile in reply.
"Do you need me to stay?"
"No, I think I can find my way back. If anything I'll just follow the loud voices of my companions," she joked easily earning another smile.
"No one uses this grove so you will be safe from prying eyes," Merrina told her before bowing and leaving her to her own.
Stepping away from the main path to allow the bushes to grant her more cover she started to disrobe. She could have left her clothes on, but she really wanted to feel the water against her skin. It had been so long since she had a chance to just submerge in the life giving liquid. Once she had everything folded neatly by her pack she walked towards the water, stepping in slowly.
While temperature never really mattered because her body would regulate it if needed, she enjoyed taking her time. Already she could feel the water greeting her, kissing along her skin. When she finally waded out to where the water rested over her shoulders she ducked down allowing the pool to encompass her completely.
For one long moment she simply floated in the depths, allowing this water source to connect with her. It felt different from her world, younger, cleaner. Yet just as empowering, and it recognized her just as the waters of her world did. The feeling was nice and helped to ease some of her homesickness.
Already she could feel the slight burn from her healing ribs and bruises. Her energy levels also rose, giving back what she had lost in the past few days.
A few fish swam around her, one or two coming close enough to tickle her skin. Giggling she started to swim with them, relishing in the pain free movement. Her long hair drifted behind her in the water, unbound from its usual restraints.
After several minutes of playing she broke the surface, leaning back to float as she watched the twilight fade into night.
"Are you healed yet?" Kili's voice broke through the quiet startling her.
For a moment she panicked and slipped under the water only to come splashing up coughing after swallowing wrong.
"Are you okay," he asked worriedly.
"Yes, you just startled me," she admitted, finally catching her breath again. Treading water she looked over to where he stood by the entranceway, his form lit by the light of the dying sun. "Why are you out here?"
"You shouldn't have come out here without someone," he retorted clearly annoyed. "You could have been attacked."
"By who? The fish," she asked incredulously. "Gandalf said this place was safe from orcs and wargs."
"But those are not the only dangers here," he shot back.
"The Elves?" She frowned in confusion. "If they meant to harm us I don't think they would have invited us to dinner first. Seems counterproductive."
"Perhaps they meant to lure us into a sense of false safety," he countered stubbornly. "Regardless coming to a secluded place, and leaving all your belongings too far to reach is not a smart move."
He now stood by the edge of the pond, his deep eyes staring at her as if willing her to understand. Sighing she finally conceded.
"You're right. It was foolish. I should have at least kept my knives closer," she allowed him the small victory. "But may I ask why you care so much when clearly the others do not?"
He balked a bit not expecting her question. "They… they care, they just figured only one of us needed to come. I volunteered."
"Oh? You wanted to save the others the offense of seeing me naked," she asked sarcastically, still a bit peeved at his reaction from before. "Which for the record, all the important bits were covered so I wasn't actually naked. I am now though, so you might want to run away before I ruin your eyesight with my hideous nature."
"I don't think you're hideous," he snapped. "You just shouldn't be so liberal in who you let see you without clothes!" He stepped forward as if to emphasize his point.
"Kili don't it's…"
Sure enough his foot hit the wrong patch causing his arms to cartwheel as he lost his balance and splashed down into the water with her.
"Slippery," she finished with a sigh. When he came up sputtering and spitting out the water she just chuckled. "You okay?"
"You could have warned me," he growled out, looking very disgruntled like a wet cat.
"I tried," she stated cheekily. Pushing closer to him she reached out to brush his hair out of his face. "Don't worry I can dry you off easily enough."
He reached up to grab her wrist stilling her movements and keeping her hand in place. It was then she realized just how close they were. She could feel the flaps of his coat shifting slowly against her skin in the water. Their eyes locked again and she felt her heart skip once more. Warmth swirled through her lower abdomen and her breath came a little faster. Kili seemed to have the same issues but managed to keep it together. Slowly he lowered the hand he kept trapped and his free hand slid on her skin finding its way to her lower back. Her other hand gripped the edge of his coat. Neither could say who moved first, but their lips met in a heated kiss.
Percia had never felt such sensations before. Not with Luke, or Leo or any other boy she had any feelings for in the past. Kissing Kili made her think of tsunamis, powerful and fast, encompassing all in its path. Soon both of his arms were wrapped around her pulling her flush against him, the contrast of his clothing against her skin felt amazing. Her own hands found their way around his neck and into his hair.
When air became necessary they pulled apart just enough for their foreheads to rest against each other. Both gasped for breath trying to calm their racing hearts.
"Wow," she muttered softly once she found her voice.
"Yeah," he agreed, equally affected by the kiss.
Just as they motioned to continue a loud voice interrupted.
"Kili! Where are you," Fili yelled from close by. The two jumped apart much like naughty children.
"Give me a minute Fili," Kili called back, hoping his brother didn't notice his nervousness.
Thankfully the blond Dwarf didn't come into the grove.
"Hurry up. Thorin will be back soon and we may have to leave sooner than we thought," the other cautioned.
Percia grabbed his hand and helped pull him from the water, using her power to dry his clothes and hair. He blinked in shock from the sensation and patted his clothes in disbelief. Meanwhile she was gathering her own clothing and pulling them on as quick as she could.
When she turned back to Kili she found him watching her closely, especially certain parts. Clearing her throat she got his attention only to earn a rather unrepentant grin. Rolling her eyes she tossed her bag over her shoulder and made for the trail, Kili following immediately.
Just as they made it to the main path they found Fili waiting for them, his arms crossed and eyes gazing at them sternly. Both of them shuffled sheepishly, not really meeting the blonde's eyes. Finally he just huffed and turned to lead them to the others.
Of all the things Percia could have anticipated happening, the events of this evening were not among them. Sadly she knew she couldn't let these new feelings affect her quest.