While I don't give a crap if you don't like this, please do tell me if you like it! Obviously I've already written it, and will continue to work on it, but if no one likes it, I'd just stop posting it. 'Cause you know, I've got better things to do. Probably.
Thorin didn't quite want me to come. Actually, that's a pretty big understatement. Thorin really didn't want me to come. He only softened slightly after Kili told him I could actually defend myself.
To Thorin, I was a weird little girl. To be fair, I was a weird little girl.
But you can't say no to a wizard.
The next day I found myself on a pony, amongst the company as we began leaving the shire.
"How'd you know to get a pony for me, Gandalf?" I asked him as we ventured down the path out of the shire.
The Hobbits had given me weird looks when we left, but that honestly could've been for any reason. Like the fact I was with a wizard and a bunch of dwarves. Or, the fact that I was dressed very strangely.
"My dear Malia, I knew your father and mother well. Only a child of Mirabella's would come at such a moment like this. And I knew you'd come eventually." Gandalf said, smiling down at me from his horse.
"So, you guessed then?" I asked him, and he frowned slightly at me as Fili, Kili, and Dori laughed behind us.
Silence fell over the company and I sighed, speaking up again.
"When do you reckon Bilbo is going to catch up with us?" I asked Gandalf as he started picking up pace and leading on his horse.
"The other hobbit isn't coming. He made that quite clear last night." Thorin said.
"Right so, in an hour, maybe?" I ignored Thorin's words.
"Lady Malia, He's not coming." Dori insisted.
"What do you wanna bet he is?" I said, stopping my pony to turn around and look at Dori.
"I'll wager you ten gold pieces that he is not going to show." Dori said.
I pretended to think it over, before shaking my head.
"How about, if I'm right, you guys have to quit it with the 'Lady Malia' stuff." I said. "It's too formal."
"And if I win?" Dori asked.
"Then call me whatever the hell you want." I shrugged while nudging my pony to continue walking. "Spawn of satan, Lassie, whatever."
"Deal." Dori said.
"Well, if you're not going to take the gold, I will." Gandalf added.
"Me too." Kili added, and I watched in amusement as the other dwarves made bets.
We continued out of the shire and into the woods on our ponies, and I began to realize how boring adventures could be. I mean, sure, the forest was lovely looking, but it was a lot of the same so far.
I was even bold and bored enough to braid my hair into a fishtail braid, getting at least some of it out of the way.
"Didn't I say it, that coming here was a waste of time?" Dori said.
"Rude." I muttered.
"Using a halfling. A hobbit, no less." Dori continued, and Nori grunted in agreement.
"Rude." I said again.
It wasn't much later when Bilbo came running to us, the contract in his hand.
"Here, I signed it." Bilbo said to Balin as the line up came to a halt.
"Everything appears to be in order." Balin agreed. "Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."
"Give him a pony." Thorin said, nudging his pony to continue.
"No, no. That won't be necessary." Bilbo insisted as we rode beside him.
"Thank you. I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. Even got as far as frogmorton once."
Bilbo's ramblings were cut short as the company kept moving forward past him, and Kili and Fili lifted Bilbo up and onto a pony. Which, he was very angry about.
"I suppose I was right to agree with you." Kili said as he trotted his pony up to mine, to ride by my side. "What else do you know, Lady Malia?"
"I know I'm not supposed to be called that." I remarked. He frowned, and was about to leave. "I'm sorry." I quickly added. "It's just, If I say anything, you'll think I'm insane."
I paused. "I think I'm insane, honestly."
I looked at Kili beside me to see him staring back at me, his eyes urging me to continue.
"Look, Killian," I started, but Kili quickly cut me off.
"Kili."
"Right. Kili," I sighed. "You're a very pretty dwarf, and now you're giving me a very weird look and I'm really starting to realize how about 95% of me isn't appropriate for this world."
He raised a brow, and I continued.
"I'm sure woman here don't swear, and normally wear dresses." I looked down. "Or at least trousers, and not you know, black leggings. And they probably cook, and clean. And they aren't vegetarian hippies, and they actually shower consistently in something other than chlorinated water. So what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry. But I'm naturally too offensive for this world."
"Did you say I was pretty?" Kili asked, a smile creeping onto his face.
Honestly, Kili was like a dog that had been given a bone.
"I'm sorry," I raised my brow at him. "Did you not know that?" I asked him.
Kili merely smiled and looked down at his pony's mane.
"Seriously, you didn't know?" I asked again.
"Dwarves are quite hairy." Kili lifted his hand and motioned to the company. "The lack of a beard on me makes me unappealing." Kili said, looking back down at his saddle somewhat distantly.
"But you have to have your beard cut, right?" Kili turned and looked at me. "You can't be an archer and have a beard. Not unless, you want your beard to get caught in it."
Kili stared at me, and at first I had thought I had said the wrong thing. It wouldn't have been the first time.
So I continued rambling. "I would know." I frowned. "Not because I've had a beard, but because when I was little my hair used to be very unkempt from all the chlorine and the swimming. I nearly tore out a chunk of my hair while practicing with my mom. After that, she would comb my hair and tie it back before practice."
Kili smiled at me. "You're the first person I've ever heard say that." Kili admitted, staring at me in awe.
I laughed, looking up at the beautiful blue sky. "That you're attractive, or that you can't have facial hair and do archery safely?" I paused and quickly added, "Or that they've nearly torn their hair out practicing."
Kili shook his head at me, the smile staying as he said. "All of them, I suppose."
I smiled back at him. "Tell me more about how you were so wrongly deemed unattractive."
"Arrows in general are considered a much softer weapon. I'm the youngest, and I have a very deep bond with my mother."
I looked back at him, bewildered. "Do many dwarves not like their mothers?" I asked.
Kili shrugged, then sighed and shook his head. "I'm sure they do love them, though none of them are as close as I am to her."
I sighed. "I loved my mother, too." I admitted. "She was my role model. A strong-headed individual." I paused, contemplating continuing.
"She was from this world, apparently." I said. "Ten years ago she disappeared from my world. I had thought she had left my dad and I, or died, but I guess." I sighed. "I guess she probably came back to Middle-Earth. To her real home."
"She left you?" Kili asked, and I looked at him and nodded my head before looking away.
My eyes began tearing up and I sniffled very unattractively, closing my eyes and taking another deep breath.
"I'm sorry Malia." Kili said, and I could tell by his tone that he had meant it.
"I would never do that to my kid." I said, then frowned. "I'm not saying I want kids, or thinking about having kids with you." God, I was really messing up this talking thing. "Well, at least I wasn't until I said it."
Kili chuckled, and I looked at him to see him wink at me.
"Don't wink at me." I said, a smile creeping back on my face. "You do realize I said I don't wear dresses, eat meat or bathe regularly." I added.
"Is that normal in your culture?" Kili asked.
"Well, not really." I admitted, shrugging.
"You certainly are strange." Kili said, smiling again. "What is chlorinated water?"
I smiled. "Do you want the whole story, or just a synopsis?"
"The whole story, Malia. The whole story." Kili said, flashing me another smile.
"Well, I'm not sure if its the same thing here, but the leading cause of childhood deaths where I'm from is drowning." I paused, watching as he raised a brow at me.
"Really morbid start, sorry. Anyways, my dad opened a swim school. A swim school has a pool, and our pools are man-made. They are dug into the ground, and clean water is put in the hole. To keep the water even cleaner, they put chemicals in it, like chlorine. Actually,"
I paused, pulling up the sleeve of my shirt. My arm still smelled like chlorine from the day before. "Smell my arm."
"I'm sorry?" Kili asked, looking at my outstretched arm.
"Is that an overreach? 'Cause I just thought you'd want to know what Chlorine smelled like. It has a very distinct smell." I grumbled.
I was about to put my arm down when he grabbed my hand, and carefully brought my arm to his nose and sniffed.
His face scrunched up in confusion. "I've never smelled anything like that before. Is that safe to swim in?"
"I mean, kind of? It dries the skin out like crazy, and lightens hair, and hurts your eyes" I paused, frowning slightly in thought. "But its safe…Ish."
"So you teach kids how to swim, in this chlorine water?" Kili asked, his eyes watching my hand as I brought it back towards my body.
"Yes."
A toothy grin spread over Kili's face, and he bit his lip.
"Are you all naked?" Kili asked.
"What?" My eyes grew.
"No." I quickly added. "We have swimsuits. Which is clothing designed to be swam in."
Kili nodded, although it was clear he wasn't quite grasping the idea of swimsuits yet, and I had a feeling he was still convinced we must've swam naked.
"And is this sort of thing normal?" Kili asked.
"Yeah." I nodded, then stopped and paused. "I mean, kind of."
"Kind of?" Kili teased.
"Do you know how to swim?" I asked him.
"I can hold my own." Kili said as he smiled down at his pony.
"I bet I can kick your ass at it." I watched his eyes grow in shock. "Right, swearing."
Silence spread over the company, and I grew tired of the silence fast. It had been hours of this dull riding.
I started tapping the saddle.
"Under the autumn tree, the chair where you would swing." I started singing quietly. "A yard so full of leaves, comfort me."
"What are you saying Malia?" Kili asked.
"A man that resembles me, watching his young lady sleep, now I'm off to dream, comfort me." I smiled at him, watching as his brow raised in amusement.
"It's a song." I explained.
"A song of your people?" Kili asked.
"I guess." I shrugged. "It's a lot different in my world. Your job can be an entertainer, someone who makes music and produces it for all to buy and listen to."
"Buy?" Kili asked.
"Yeah. We have devices that let us listen to it." I sighed. Man, I missed my phone.
"Strange."
"Yeah, I suppose it would be strange to you." I said, sighing.
"Most of our songs are well known." Kili said. "Some are finely rooted in our culture, while others we make up on the spot."
"I'm assuming that song you guys sang last night after dinner was probably made up?" I asked, referring to the song they sang about Bilbo.
"Yes, it was." Kili smiled and nodded.
"It was very nice." I said. "You guys should make up songs all the time. Or, I'll be forced to sing whatever song I find fits the situation best." I smiled at the thought.
"And what song would you choose to fit this situation best?" Kili played.
It was a very somber day, and although the song I choose didn't quite fit it, I still went along with it.
"Old friends," I began, smiling at the trees. "Sat on their park bench like bookends,"
"A newspaper blown through the grass,
Falls on the 'round toes,
On the high shoes,
Of the old friends,
Old friends,
Winter companions,
The old men,
Lost in their overcoats,
Waiting for the sunset,
The sounds of the city,
Sifting through the trees,
Settle like dust
On the shoulders
Of the old friends
Can you imagine us,
Years from today,
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange,
To be seventy,
Old friends,
Memory brushes the same years,
Silently sharing the same fear…
Time it was, and what a time it was,
It was,
A time of innocence
A time of confidences
Long ago, it must be,
So long ago,
I have a photograph,
Preserve your memories,
They're all that's left of you."
I smiled, turning to look at Kili. He smiled back.
"That's beautiful." He said.
"That's Simon and Garfunkel." I retorted.
"What does it mean, how terribly strange to be seventy?" Kili asked. "I'm seventy seven."
I sighed. "That's old in my world. How old do Dwarves live to?"
"Well into our 200s. Normally around 250." Kili said.
"So lets say on average, you all die at 250." I paused. "Morbid."
Kili snorted.
"Anyways, on average, in my world, our people lived to like 90. So 250 divided by 90 is what, 2.7? So 77 divided by 2.7, would make you 28 years old in my world." I said.
Kili looked impressed by my math. Honestly, same.
"And alternatively that makes me…" I frowned. "62."
Kili let out a chuckle, amused by my sadness.
"God, that makes me feel old." I said. "I should be complaining about how my bad knee can feel the weather changing, and saying things like, 'My arthritis is acting up'."
"You have a bad knee?" Kili sputtered.
"No." I said, letting go of the reigns and rolling my wrists. "Although I'm starting to think my arthritis is acting up." I sighed, grabbing the reigns again. "That or it hurts to stay still this long."
"You're normally quite active, I'm assuming." Kili said.
"Yeah, I'm normally swimming after kids in a pool, and lifting them up." I nodded.
"Women in our culture do most of the child-rearing, too."
I ignored the majority of that comment from Kili. I knew he meant well, in his own way.
"I used to think I hated kids." I said. "But then I realized that I get along quite well with them, considering I have the mindset of a five year old most times."
"What is that to mean?"
"It means that I like playing games, teasing people, joking about." I shrugged. "Childish stuff."
He laughed. "My mother says I'm reckless."
I looked at him, raising a brow. "I'm inclined to agree with her."
Kili snorted, shaking his head bemusedly at me.
"We will camp here." Thorin announced, startling me from my conversation with Kili.
I looked around as I got off of my pony. (Whom I had rightfully named Henry.) We were on a cliffside, which I supposed would make it easier for us to protect, not having to worry about all the sides.
So we set up camp near that cliff, and I found myself between Kili and Fili as dinner was being eaten. It was a rabbit stew, which, smelled amazing. My stomach was starting to betray me.
But I refused to eat. I was starving, but not that starving. I didn't fancy the idea of getting sick on the first night, and throwing up around people I wasn't comfortable enough with. I hardly liked
the idea of throwing up around my best friend, and I had practically known her since birth.
Bilbo seemed to notice me struggling.
"Here." Bilbo said, smiling at me and handing me a few apples.
I was so immensely thankful, and nodded towards him gratefully as I started eating them.
"Thanks, Cuz." I said teasingly, watching as Bilbo rolled his eyes.
Fili watched me as I ate, an amused glimmer in his eyes.
"I'm living for the braids, by the way." I mentioned between bites of apple as I looked back at Fili.
"Living?" Kili asked, and I looked at him and shrugged. He seemed somewhat offended, considering he was braid-less.
"I just," I paused to swallow the bit of apple. "I mean in my culture, we say 'we are living for' something when we like it a lot. I just, I like the braids."
Fili rolled his eyes at me, and nodded towards Kili.
"Braids are very important part of dwarfish culture." Kili explained as he pulled out his bow and quiver, and began counting the arrows.
"Should be braid-less?" I asked, looking from Kili to Fili, and grabbing my loosely braided hair. "'Cause I can totally take my braid out, it's no," I started, but Fili cut me off.
"You're fine, Malia." Fili said dismissively.
"Well." I grumbled, throwing my hair back over my shoulder. "I'm still living for them."
"Ya'll are going to need to tell me more of your culture before I, you know." I paused as I took another bite out of the apple. "Offend all of you."
Kili chuckled, looking up from his quiver to look at me.
"We guard our language, Khuzdul, from others." Kili said. "No non-dwarf is to learn it."
"What does that mean for me, then?" I asked him. " 'Cause I'm not a hobbit, but I'm not a dwarf either."
"Well then, Malia." Fili said, and I looked back at him. "You belong nowhere, then."
I glared at him for a moment before looking back at Kili.
"But I want to learn it." I said sadly to Kili.
"Well," Kili glanced at his brother before looking back at me. "You're a special case I reckon."
I smiled at him before looking back at Fili. "See, Ass-face. Special case."
Fili looked at me bewildered, and slightly offended.
"Right, sorry. Swearing. Damnit." I groaned as I put my face into my hands.
Growing up, I had gone to camp. At camp, we'd ride horses, and sleep in tents and under the stars. On middle-earth, however, it didn't seem quite as safe to be doing any of those things.
For one, we didn't have tents. We didn't even have sleeping bags. I used to comfort in the concept of a bag which bugs couldn't get into.
When night rolled around, Fili threw a fur blanket at my face instead. I didn't even ask what animal the fur was, because I had a feeling I wouldn't like the answer.
Most of the Dwarves fell asleep within the first hour. I, on the other hand, stayed awake in-between Kili and Fili, too scared and wound up to sleep.
Kili was busy sharpening his arrows, and Fili and I hadn't had the most civil of conversations yet. Actually, most of our conversations ended with one of us frowning at the other. We were both too strong willed, and Fili didn't seem to enjoy my sarcasm.
"The stars are beautiful." I whispered to Kili.
"Aye, they are." Kili agreed.
"Where I'm from, there's so much light in cities that it ruins the ability to see the night stars. My mom hated it."
"I saw a fire moon once." Kili said.
"A what?"
"A fire moon. It rose over the pass near Dunland." Kili's smile grew. "Huge, red and gold it was, it filled the sky." Kili looked into my eyes. "We were an escort for some merchants from Ered Luin, they were trading in silverwork for furs. We took the greenway south, keeping the mountain to our left, and then it appeared. This huge fire moon lighting our path."
Kili seemed amused by how I stared at him agape, astonished. "I wish I could show you."
"You've traveled the world, haven't you?" I asked him, still looking at him in awe.
He nodded. "We Dwarves find work where we can get it. Most of the time that leads us away from our families."
"It sounds lonely." I said, looking away from him and back up at the stars.
"Aye, it can be." Kili said, his voice growing quiet.
"I don't do loneliness well." I said. "I mean, I didn't actively try to find people to be with, either. I had my dad, and my best friend."
"And that was enough?" Kili asked.
"It was." I said, sighing. "Now, I'm not so sure."
I sighed again, wrapping my blanket closer to me and looking back up at the stars.
Bilbo also had trouble sleeping, and I couldn't blame him. Not to trash on the dwarves, but none of them were from the same sort of comfort-zone as Bilbo and I were. I used to sleep in complete darkness, with a humidifier and fifty pillows.
I watched Bilbo as he stalked off towards his pony, and started petting it. At least him and myrtle were starting to get along.
The still-night air was disturbed by blood-curdling screeches and howls, and I found myself growing more nervous.
I instinctively grabbed out for Kili and Fili, as if they would protect me.
"What was that?" Bilbo asked, fear evident in his voice as he started to skip back towards the fire.
"Orcs." Kili said, and my grip on his forearm tightened.
"Shut up." I hissed at him, feeling my heartbeat begin to race.
"Orcs?" Bilbo asked, rushing back even faster to the fire.
"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there." Fili added, and I let go of his arm and glared at him. Fili raised a brow at me, and blew smoke in my face from his pipe.
"Where'd you get the pipe?" I asked, trying to stifle my cough as I brought my hand over my mouth.
"The lone-lands are crawling with them." Fili continued, his gaze turning back to Bilbo.
"Shut up!" I hissed again. God, these two jerks. I knew they were joking, and I was still freaked.
"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep." Kili added, his gaze turning to me, and a smile crawling onto his dumb attractive face.
"I know you're joking and I'm still never going to sleep again." I said to him, digging my fingers into his arm more. He didn't seem to care though, and merely smirked at me.
"Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood." Kili said gravely.
Kili looked away from me and to his brother, and they both shared a small laugh.
"You think that's funny?" Thorin spoke up angrily as he stood up. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"
"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili said, and his face fell in sadness. Poor guy, I'd hate to have a party pooper uncle like that.
"No, you didn't." Thorin hissed. "You know nothing of the world." Thorin stormed off.
My grip on Kili loosened, my hand sliding to his and shaking it reassuringly before dropping it.
I remember looking at him and wishing I could hug him, or try to make him feel better.
"Don't mind him, Laddie." Balin said.
"Thorin needs like a trigger warning for Orcs. Didn't they like, kill his dad?" I whispered.
"Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs." Balin agreed, nodding towards me.
"After the dragon took the lonely mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria." Balin paused.
"Fly you fools." I grumbled, and sighed when I felt their gaze on me. "That nearly fucked up my childhood. Don't ask." I shook my head, a shiver running down my spine.
Balin sighed. "But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of orcs, led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the defiler. The giant Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin."
"I'm sorry, but really?" I asked. "Like, isn't that really too much? Who has that much time and hatred to wipe out a whole lineage?"
"Orcs." Kili whispered, not looking me in the eye.
"Fuck." I whispered, looking to Balin to continue.
"He began by beheading the king. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing. Taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us."
Talk about the worst bedtime story ever, right? I mean, besides the camp story about the mental patient who escaped and killed the dog.
"That is when I saw him. A young dwarf prince facing down the pale orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken."
I had seen the movies, I knew I that the line could be broken, and with a heavy heart, I looked from Fili to Kili, knowing that they were supposed to die. I had only known them for a day, but I already knew I didn't want them to die. I already knew I really didn't want Kili to die.
"The line of Durin will not be so easily broken." I whispered, nodding my head and looking into the fire.
There was no guarantees I'd make it back to my home, and even if I did, who the hell would believe me? It was either help these brothers, or hide and go back to earth to be sent to an insane asylum, really.
"Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back, and our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast… nor song that night… for our dead was beyond the count of grief. We few had survived, and I thought to myself then… there is one I could follow. There is one I could call king."
"Same." I said instinctively.
God, Same culture on Earth ruined my conversational abilities.
I looked up from the fire and noticed that all the Dwarves had woken up, and some were watching me weirdly.
"It's been like one day here, and I'd already kill for a spicy potato taco. I'm so hungry." I blurted out, and right when the words came from my mouth I felt myself blushing.
"There's still," Kili started, but I cut him off.
"Meat? Yeah, I know. It's going to take me longer than a day to break down and eat a bunny." I looked at Kili and saw him smile at me. "My best friend's mom had a bunny when we were like, 10. His name was Pablo. He ran away. Don't ask."
"And the pale orc, what happened to him?" Bilbo cut in, apparently more interested in Balin's story than mine about my friend's runaway bunny.
"He slunk back into the hole whence he came." Thorin grumbled as he stalked towards the fire. "That filth died of his wounds long ago."
It had taken me a lot of self-restraint not to scoff at his words, and say 'Uhh, no he did not.' On the other hand, I watched Balin and Gandalf share a knowing glance, which I could only assume was this world's way of saying 'And about that.'
"I'm never sleeping again." I mumbled, groaning as I watched the crowd re-disperse.
Kili sighed. "You'll be fine, Lady Malia."
"Sing me a song before I hear Orcs again and scream." I said, looking back up at the stars.
"Aye," Kili paused, thinking. "I'll sing you the song of Durin." Kili said, putting his arrows away.
"The world was young, the mountains green,
No stain yet on the Moon was seen,
No words were laid on stream or stone
When Durin woke and walked alone.
He named the nameless hills and dells;
He drank from yet untasted wells;
He stooped and looked in Mirrormere,
And saw a crown of stars appear,
As gems upon a silver thread,
Above the shadows of his head.
The world was fair, the mountains tall,
In Elder Days before the fall
Of mighty kings in Nargothrond
And Gondolin, who now beyond
The Western Seas have passed away:
The world was fair in Durin's Day.
A king he was on carven throne
In many-pillared halls of stone
With golden roof and silver floor,
And runes of power upon the door.
The light of sun and star and moon
In shining lamps of crystal hewn
Undimmed by cloud or shade of night
There shone for ever fair and bright.
There hammer on the anvil smote,
There chisel clove, and graver wrote;
There forged was blade, and bound was hilt;
The delver mined, the mason built.
There beryl, pearl, and opal pale,
And metal wrought like fishes' mail,
Buckler and corslet, axe and sword,
And shining spears were laid in hoard.
Unwearied then were Durin's folk;
Beneath the mountains music woke:
The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,
And at the gates the trumpets rang.
The world is grey, the mountains old,
The forge's fire is ashen-cold;
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:
The darkness dwells in Durin's halls;
The shadow lies upon his tomb
In Moria, in Khazad-dûm.
But still the sunken stars appear
In dark and windless Mirrormere;
There lies his crown in water deep,
Till Durin wakes again from sleep."
When he had finished singing, I kept my eyes closed. I heard him sigh beside me, patting my shoulder.
"I'm not asleep." I said, opening my eyes and smiling.
He chuckled. "It appears that you're not."
"Should I choose a song of my own that suits this?" I asked him.
He smiled at me, nodding his head.
"Should I stray away from Simon and Garfunkel, and do something else?" I asked myself. I smiled when I figured out the perfect song, and started a beat.
"If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone,
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.
A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
Lord I'm one, lord I'm two, lord I'm three, lord I'm four
Lord I'm 500 miles from my home.
500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles.
Lord I'm five hundred miles away from my home.
Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name
Lord I can't go a-home this a-way.
This a-way, this a-way, this a-way, this a-way,
Lord I can't go a-home this a-way
If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles."
There was silence after I finished singing, and I sighed.
"I'm not quite sure what some of those words meant." Kili admitted, sighing as well. "You miss home, don't you?"
I looked at him to see he was staring at me, a sad smile on his face.
"I think what I miss the most is my comfort zone." I admitted, looking away from him and to the fire. "I woke up everyday, and for the most part, I knew what was going to happen. Out here, all bets are off. I don't know where I stand in this world, or who stands with me."
"I'll stand with you." Kili said.
I rolled my eyes and looked back at him. "You don't know me well enough to say that."
"Aye, but I know myself well enough to know you are the kind of Hobbit I'd stand with." Kili said, a smile donning on his face.
"I could be a murderer, you don't know."
Kili snorted. "I know you're not a murderer. Believe it or not, I can read you quite well, Malia." Kili winked at me and I rolled my eyes.
"Well, that makes one of us." I remarked dryly as I smiled and looked away from him and up at the stars.