I do not own any of the characters or the Hobbit (just the AU storyline and my OC) those are the work of the esteemed and brilliant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, and without his genius, this and many other vfan fics would not be in existence.
Please review! I love getting them-they keep me encouraged J
Bofur looked askance at the eagles, before glancing at his cousin in confusion. The dwarf in question all but trembled with excitement as the eagles lowered themselves onto the bottom of the eyrie so the dwarves could climb upon their backs.
"What's gotten into ye, Bifur?" the miner asked, brow furrowing in confusion. The toymaker grinned, before pointing at the giant birds and muttering in Khuzdul.
At the blank look from both of his cousins, the dwarf sighed loudly, before pulling out the eagle toy. He pointed to the wooden contraption, then to the giant eagle. Bofur shook his head, bewilderment clear in his gaze.
"He's excited about riding the eagles again, brother," Bombur muttered beside him, having finally caught on to what his cousin was so desperately trying to say. "He must have a very short memory at the moment, because my ride here was far less than pleasant! My arms still ache from hanging two thousand feet in the air all night!" Bofur looked at his brother with an eyebrow raised, crossing his arms in front of him.
"Would you have rather stayed behind and been a warg's supper?" he asked nonchalantly, cracking his neck to the side as he did so. "I for one would honestly rather be eaten by those dimwitted trolls. At least they were going to swallow you whole, rather than tearing you to shreds first."
Bombur looked at his brother closely, a frown on his face. Though Bofur had attempted to appear as though he was simply jesting, the flash of fear in his brother's eyes was not missed.
"I'm fine, Bofur," he said quietly, all jesting aside. "The trolls didn't eat us, thanks to Bilbo and Gandalf. And I got up into the tree same as you all did. I may have a few bruises and scratches from those infernal goblins, but that's it."
Bofur's face fell at his words, the miner no longer trying to hide the worry in his gaze. He glanced over at Fili, who was having his arm gently but securely tied to his chest to restrict any movement on the injured limb during the flight.
"I don't want to lose my brother either," he all but whispered, and the rotund dwarf's eyes widened as his younger brother's shoulders begin to tremble. Reaching a hand up to the miner's shoulder, the elder dwarf turned him around and gently pressed his forehead against Bofur's. They locked eyes, and Bombur could see the tears that his brother tried to blink back clear as day.
"You won't lose me," Bombur whispered. The miner shook his head.
"Ye can't promise that," he whispered, shaking his head. "Look at Fili. It's always been him and Kili, ever since that lad was born. They were inseparable…..or so we thought." He swallowed thickly, and Bombur sighed, patting his brother's shoulder.
"You won't lose me," Bombur repeated more firmly, before giving the miner a wry smile. "Contrary to what some may believe, I am by no means stupid, nor do I have a death wish. Noni would absolutely kill me if I were to leave her with those 12 troublemaking bairns all by herself! I was barely allowed to go on the quest as is! I would survive this quest just so I can avoid her wrath following me around for eternity in the halls of Mahal!"
Beside them, Bifur burst out laughing.
XXX
"That should do it," Oin spoke up in approval as Balin cinched the last knot securing the young heir's arm to his chest. The old dwarf stood up, before glancing at Gandalf, worry in his gaze.
"Are you absolutely sure he can be moved now?" Balin asked, looking back down at Fili. Glancing around him, the wizard noted the looks of apprehension that passed between the young dwarf and the company.
"Yes, he should be able to," the wizard spoke up, making sure that every member of the company heard his reassurance. "Gwaihir has given myself and Thorin his word that young Fili will be given a very gentle ride." Balin nodded, sighing heavily. Behind him, Dwalin growled low in his throat.
"It had better be gentle," he muttered, his grip tightening on the hilt of his axe as he glanced suspiciously at the eagle lord. "Or else I—" Gandalf stopped him with a sharp look.
"You will do nothing," the wizard interrupted sternly, eyes narrowing at the burly dwarf. "Gwaihir is an eagle of his word, else none of you would even be here at all, let alone having been fed and sheltered for four days. I suggest you consider that, before daring to insult your host. Our next host may not be quite so accommodating." At his words, Thorin's head shot up.
"What do you mean not quite so accommodating?" he asked, and Gandalf sighed loudly, leaning on his staff and wishing for the umpteenth time that dwarves were not so stubborn or suspicious.
"I shall explain later," he replied carefully. "Suffice it to say that I have never met our next host, though Radagast speaks very highly of him. I trust Radagast's judgment, for despite how he may appear he really is a very great wizard, and very intelligent. Even if he can be absentminded at times."
Thorin sighed, before donning his coat with Dwalin and Balin's help. The rest of the company had managed to gather all their things and don all their coats and furs and weapons, and glanced nervously at the giant birds.
The wizard glanced at the expectant look of the eagles, before nodding and turning back toward the group.
"Let us get on with it then."
XXX
The pair watched in silence as the flames quickly burned the young family, the oil from the bottle effectively accelerating the cremation, when suddenly the unmistakable howl of a warg sounded through the trees.
Blue eyes met brown in a panic, and Cirashala watched as what little color remaining in Kili's face disappeared.
"Wargs," he whispered, before glancing around frantically. "Find a weapon. Quickly!" Cirashala's eyes scanned the forest floor as well to no avail, before her eyes landed on the tree just past the bodies, which were already half burnt. The limbs were mostly higher up, but she immediately saw a few limbs close enough to the ground to be within reach, and a sudden memory entered her mind.
"Fifteen birds in five fir trees," she whispered, before her eyes widened, the memory now clear. "Fifteen birds in five fir trees!"
"What?" Kili asked, turning around to look at her, a bewildered expression on his face. He shook his head and reached for her hand. "Cira, we need to find something to defend ourselves with! The wargs are getting closer, and will be upon us in just a few minutes! Now is not the time to be bird watching!"
"No," she said quickly, grabbing Kili's arm with her free hand. "Get in a tree!" The young prince looked at her as though she had just declared the sky to be purple.
"Are you out of your mind?" he asked, disbelief in his gaze. "Orcs can climb!" The young woman gritted her teeth in frustration.
"Only if they know we are up there," she said quietly, despite wanting to smack the young dwarf over the head. "The leaves in that tree can hide us, as can the trunk." Kili shook his head, his expression quickly turning to a mix of exasperation and fear as the howls sounded again, clearly closer than before.
"They will smell us," he said, and she shook our head.
"The smoke will hide our scent," she replied. "They won't even know we're up there, especially if we don't leave any tracks." The young dwarf looked at her, his expression unsure.
"I don't know—" he began, but was cut off as another howl echoed through the forest. Glancing behind him in fear, the young dwarf turned toward her, eyes wide as he swallowed nervously.
"I hope you're right," he whispered.
XXX
The young dwarf made his way to the tree, before reaching for the lower branch. Hoisting himself up, the young prince had to bite back a cry as the branch collided with his chest.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Kili swung his leg up, managing to get it over the branch and move himself to a sitting position. Reaching his arm down, the young dwarf's face paled.
"Cira, your hand," he whispered worriedly. She immediately reached up her left hand to grasp his, but he shook his head.
"Your other hand," he whispered. "It's broken. You-you can't climb!" Blue eyes widened as she glanced down at her side, her face paling slightly.
"Yes I can," she whispered after half a second. Swiftly taking her arm out of the sling, she jumped up, catching the branch with a strangled cry of her own. The young prince watched as her face twisted in pain.
"This isn't going to work," he whispered, swallowing thickly. She shook her head, jaw set even as nausea threatened.
"Just-just help me get up the tree," she barely managed to gasp out. "They are coming!" He nodded, before reaching under her shoulders and tugging her onto the branch. The two managed to get to a standing position on the thick branch, and Kili glanced up with a frown.
"Put your arms around my neck," he gasped out, in pain as well as he tried to suppress another cough. Gaze worried and concerned, Cirashala did as she was told, grateful that Kili wasn't taller than her.
The wounds on her back burned, and she could feel the slight trickles where the scabs cracked open slightly.
Don't show it, she thought to herself as she gritted her teeth together, thankful that the adrenaline coursing through her body helped to suppress the pain a little. He's hurt worse than you are.
As Kili managed to climb up the tree with Cirashala on his back, limbs shaking from the effort as pained grunts emanated from his lips, she silently pleaded to Eru.
Please, please don't let them find us, she cried out silently, hoping desperately that her silent words were heard. And please don't let this dislocate his ribs.
XXX
Azog and his mount skidded to a halt, narrowed eyes taking in the scene before him.
That someone had been here after them was clearly evident. The pale orc's eyes drifted to the bier, where the dead dwarves had been carefully laid. Their smoldering bodies were little more than skeletons now, but the red coals surrounding the bier were still glowing. The scent of burnt flesh hung thickly about the clearing, the raw flesh eating orcs detesting the foul smell.
He knew what the burning signified. Despite his severe injury after the battle of Azanulbizar, the scouts that had survived the battle had reported back to him the very unusual news that the dwarves had burned their fallen kin in addition to the bodies of the orcs, though the dwarves had been burned on wood biers rather than in a heap.
Knowing that burning their dead was highly unusual amongst his enemy, the pale orc had made inquiries once he had healed enough, and had discovered with a bit of pride that their dead had been too numerous to bury in tombs.
He loathed himself for not having killed more dwarves before that insufferable dwarf whelp had hacked off his arm, and subsequently losing the battle, but to hear that they had inflicted such damage upon their enemy that they were forced to defile their own fallen kin had eased his self disgust somewhat.
This was definitely a dwarf's doing, the pale orc thought to himself. The bier looks exactly the same as the ones after the battle, if not a little flat rather than raised.
Turning toward his scouts, the pale orc's eyes flashed.
"Dwarves did this," he growled in the black speech. "And they cannot have gone far- this burn is only a couple of hours old. Find them!" His lieutenant turned towards him, confusion on his face.
"Which direction, master?" he asked, and the pale orc sneered, grinding his teeth together.
"They're obviously heading east," the pale orc growled. "We go east. Move!" The orc pack quickly left the clearing after their master, heading east.
They were completely unaware of the two terrified, trembling beings in the tree above them.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some people asked me what "Gaubdùkhimâ gagin yâkùlib Mahal" means, and I apologize- I had meant to put the translation at the bottom of last chapter :/ Sorry. Anyways, it means "May we meet again with the grace of Aulë" (Mahal being the Khuzdul name for the Valar Aulë who created the dwarves for anyone who doesn't already know :)
A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan: Thank you :)
A response to Lette1685: I reply to all my reviews. If it is a guest review, I cannot reply via pm, so the replies end up being down here. I love replying, and interesting questions can come up. I have also made a few friends this way ;) And it's courteous to reply if someone took the time to review, in my opinion. I will try to update soon.
A response to guest reviewer Guest: Here you go :)
A response to guest reviewer Aziraphale: I am glad you like it so much :D It's not like I am deliberately trying to make people cry (you should read my one shot Laments of the Broken-hearted ;) but it is wonderful to hear that I am emoting well enough that my readers can feel what the characters are feeling :) I am glad you find my characters believable- I actually did a reader poll last chapter asking if people thought Cira was a Mary Sue (I did base her off a real person, but did not idealize her in any way), and I didn't get a single person saying she was- so I am glad to hear that new reviewers think that as well :) There will be a reunion hopefully soon ;) Don't worry- it's coming. But there are some important events that have to take place first. It will be probably about a week or so story time, so hopefully in less than 10 chapters they will be back together. I don't mind sob stories ;) Cira is in mourning, but at the same time she knows the importance of the Quest of Erebor and its impact on the War of the Ring, and knows that she doesn't want any more innocent people killed because of her unexpected presence in Middle-earth. That gives her the determination to not allow her grief to consume her, but rather to fight it. I will try to update when I can, but I have two small children in real life, and some recent health concerns, so it comes as it comes. I don't like to make readers wait either, but my husband gave me strict orders to make sure to take care of myself ;) But I will try.
A response to guest reviewer Kaia: Glad to hear she isn't a sue :D So far no one has said she is-everyone said nope :) That makes me very happy ;) Here's your update :)
A response to guest reviewer guest: Yes they will :) Something has to happen first, but it will be soon, I promise.
A response to guest reviewer Elisa: I will do what I can to update soon, if real life allows. I am glad you are liking it :)
A response to guest reviewer Elisa (there were two, so this is the one who reviewed 1/14): Thank you :) I will try to update soon, if real life allows. I will try to split next chapter so that it shows both the company and Kili and Cira's point of views so that you can see what's happening with them too. Thanks I am glad you think Cira is a cool character and not a sue! So far no one has thought so, which is awesome!
A response to guest reviewer Isabella: You are very welcome :) Wow. I admire your dedication to read it through twice! That makes me thrilled that it doesn't get old :) Well, given how slow I am going, it won't be ending for a while ;) Awesome! Glad she isn't- no one has thought she was so far even after 18 reviews! I am glad that I am doing Tolkien's world justice- so many stories on here seem to be little more than cosplaying modern people in a facsimile of Middle-earth- or as one person put it, Disneyfying it. I am glad my world is believable as Tolkien's. I am sure 10 kids are quite busy for you! My husband is the eldest of 7 with four of them adopted special needs, so I hear you. It is wonderful that people specifically make time to read this :D Thank you- I finally got the appointment with a specialist I have been waiting for, so fingers crossed I can get some answers. I am glad- that is something I strive very, very hard to do- keep the canon characters IN character, not OOC. And it will indeed continue to develop :D
A response to guest reviewer Guest: here you go :)
Much thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- you guys are awesome :D :D :D