"Are you guys happy now?" Thorin grumped to his nephews as well as Bofur and Ori - even Nori.
"Yes we are, Uncle. Thank you for asking." Kili chirped with glee while Fili nodded simultaneously with Bofur and Ori. Thorin mentally rolled his eyes. Dwalin shook his head.
Shadow POV
After a half hour of silence passed, ears perked up when the Dwarf known as. Thorin began negging at Gandalf for withholding information about me upon my request; carefully keeping quiet by making sure the leaves of the trees didn't get rustled while skillfully scaling the thick branches. "Gandalf, where is our Burglar?" His question was a bit harsh. Still keeping the Dwarves in sight; jumping to the other trees on the opposite side, heard Gandalf's reply after quietly landing on the thick branches of the trees on the Wizard's left side; speaking after some of the Dwarves protested.
"Shadow!"
Dwarves and Gandalf
Gandalf nodded. "Indeed." His steel grey eyes twinkled. "Shadow is following us, my dear Thorin. Don't fret."
"Really?" Thorin asked, "then why isn't our Burglar amongst the company?"
"Shadow!" Fili and Kili simultaneously spoke. Thorin ignored the outburst.
Gandalf smiled. "Shadow is our….guardian, of sorts; keeping to the shadows not only to keep watch over us, but also for any threats."
Thorin took a minute to think over the new information. "Have you seen our Burglar in person?"
"Our Burglar's name is Shadow." Fili, Kili, Bofur - along with Ori and Nori, spoke in unison.
Dwarves and Gandalf
The blonde-Dwarf's protest - as well as the Black-haired-archer's; including three other Dwarves, reached my ears while I kept to the shadows of the forest. Their protests amused me for some reason - most likely because Thorin was being majorly stubborn all because of not liking information being withheld from him.
"Yes, I have seen Shadow in person." I heard Gandalf say. A smirk parted my mouth when frustration began to creep its way into Thorin's voice when he prompted for more information.
"Okay - so tell me what our Burglar looks like."
"Can you tell us what Shadow looks like, Mister Gandalf?" Kili added, "please?" I realized I liked the manners from the black-haired-archer; smirking wider when Thorin shot him a glare.
"Only Shadow can do that."
"Why?" Thorin was becoming more impatient.
"That's for Shadow to tell."
Late afternoon was slowly turning to early evening when Thorin finally called for the company to stop and make camp for the night. Hopping off of the ponies, the company led the animals up a steep, jagged cliff with a wide opening carved out of the top; the only covering being an arc, jagged rock ceiling overlooking all of their heads.
Fili soon gave Kili's sleeve a gentle tug while pointing to the forest. "Let's go hunting for dinner." He led the way to the forest with his little brother at his heels.
"Where are you two going?" Thorin asked.
"Hunting for food, Uncle." Fili called over his shoulder, still keeping his dark eyes on the forest.
Shadow's POV
The two young Dwarves headed for the trees. Before following the two brothers, my Burmese Ferret poked his furry head out of my Kimono collar and met my eyes with his beady black eyes. "Did you finally wake up?" I stroked his tan-furred-head. Barrock bumped my fingers with his head. "We have stopped for the night, sweet boy. I'm sure Gandalf and the Dwarves would like to meet you - well, the Dwarves more so than Gandalf since you have already met the Wizard." I smiled as my Ferret tilted his head to one side. "Go say hi to Gandalf, sweet boy. Momma is going to watch the two young Dwarves while they hunt." I planted a kiss between my Ferret's ears and watched him scurry down the side of my person and along the ground towards Gandalf.
I caught up with the two young Dwarves - and while keeping in the shadows, peered at them from around a tree. The black-haired-archer had his arm pulled back; shoulder taut. Not far from the two Dwarves, stood a young buck with velvet antlers that looked as if they had just begun to spurt from his head. But the black-haired-archer froze at the sight of the young buck! The animal had the looks of an adolescent! No wonder the Dwarf froze. He didn't want to kill an animal that looked as if he was still in his late childhood.
"Are you alright?" asked the blonde-haired-Dwarf.
"An hour of searching for dinner and a baby buck shows itself." I heard the sorrow in the Dwarf's voice. "A baby buck, Fili."
"Kili, the buck is an adolescent." Fili's reasoning didn't seem to stick because Kili protested!
"That doesn't make me feel any better."
Had an hour already flown by? I shook my head! Time certainly was strange in this world. "I mean where is the buck's mother?"
"Kili, the buck is old enough to be on its own." Fili put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "The sun is beginning to set. Allow me."
"No." Kili shook his head, but he couldn't release the arrow. The young Dwarf had a big heart! My heart ached! But the buck had been weened from its mother and was just beginning to venture out on its own! As much as I understood the Dwarf's pain, I agreed with his brother: the sun was beginning to set!
Fili POV
I patiently waited for my younger brother to release the arrow. But Kili seemed…stuck. For a moment I swore my younger brother was remembering something by the way his brown eyes glazed over. I took a closer look at my little brother's face and realized the memory Kili was remembering was no ordinary memory! Kili began shaking as if he had walked out into a horrible winter storm!
When Kili began to lower his bow, I took hold of the weapon and after pulling the arrow back, told my brother, "look away, Kili." Before he could, though, a sudden blur flew between us and in a blink of an eye, the adolescent buck dropped to the ground!
Kili and I simultaneously furrowed our eyebrows in curiosity and question when we spotted the throwing knife embedded in the buck's neck!
Shadow POV
"There you two are." I heard Thorin speak before seeing him approach his nephews when they walked back into camp. Fili had the adolescent buck draped over one shoulder while carrying Kili's bow with his opposite hand. "I was beginning to worry."
"Sorry, Uncle." Fili offered a smile - though it didn't meet his eyes. "We had a situation."
Fili watched his younger brother walk over to his sleeping pelt and roll it out before dropping down to sit on top of it; face still pale.
"What happened?" I heard the concern and worry in Thorin's voice.
"Kili and I found this buck when we were hunting…." Fili didn't finish his sentence due to thinking his words through before saying what he wanted to say.
"And?" Thorin prompted, worry growing stronger.
"Kili saw the buck and couldn't shoot because the animal was an adolescent and a horrible memory was triggered when he saw the buck. So I grabbed his bow and I was about ready to shoot the animal, but before I could, the buck suddenly fell over dead and when Kili and I looked, there was a throwing knife embedded in the animal's neck."
"I see." Thorn's face was thoughtful. "And where is this throwing knife?"
"Kili has it. We think…"
"What?" Thorin prompted his oldest nephew with the single word.
"Kili and I both think Shadow was the one who killed the buck for us, since we were the only two in the woods and the knife came flying out of the trees for the buck." Fili let Dwalin take the adolescent buck from him so Bombur could begin preparing dinner.
"You both think our Burglar helped kill the buck for us to eat?" Thorin ignored the Dwarves outburst of them reminding him their Burglar has a name. He was more concerned about the matter at hand.
"We….we don't think, now that I think about it. We know for certain Shadow was the one who killed the buck for us to eat." I heard Fili tell his uncle before I stealthily moved in the shadows to sit in the shadows behind the boulder Kili's back rested against.
I could feel sadness and pain radiating off his person. His face was still pale! Between his hands, my throwing knife reflected the orange-ish-red hue of the flames of the fire off the metal.
Kili twirled the throwing knife in his hands absentmindedly. He was grateful for Shadow killing the adolescent buck so he wouldn't have to. But the horror of the still-lingering memory had his blood still turned to ice!
Cautious footsteps approached as if he were a scared-cornered animal poised for attack from having no way out! He looked up to find his uncle kneeling down before him. Kili appreciated his uncle for that — having slightly calmed down, but he was still uneasy.
"Irakdashat." His uncle's tone was cool and gentle; balming his heart so the pain would ease up some. "What happened?"
Kili took a moment to enjoy the pleasant balming effects his uncle's cool, gentle tone had over his pained heart when uttering the khuzdul word for nephew. However — unfortunately, the pain had hooked its horrifying claws into the organ pounding against his chest. He could only shake his head.
Thorin was very pained to see his nephew so pale! Reaching out a hand, he gently cupped the back of Kili's head; cobalt blue and deep brown crashing against each other. "Irakdashat." The word was uttered in a pleading — yet still gentle way.
"Shadow killed the adolescent buck."
Thorin furrowed his eyebrows. "Our Burglar did that?"
Kili scoffed! "Seriously, uncle?" He heard many other voices chide Thorin.
"Her name is Shadow!"
Kili repeated those words in a low, stern voice laced with anger and annoyance. "Her name is Shadow."
"'Her?'" Thorin asked. "How do you know our Burglar is a female?"
"I don't." Kili twirled the blade again. "I just have a hunch."
Thorin sighed internally but his nephew spoke before he could. "But seriously, Thorin? The way you call Shadow our Burglar is beginning to get annoying. Shadow dropped everything to aid us on this quest, she killed the adolescent buck so all of us could eat, and all you keep doing is — with a lot of disdain in your voice, call her our Burglar!"
Kili slowly rose to his feet. He turned away from his uncle after gathering up his sleeping pelt and began to walk away when a thought hit him. He found his uncle's blue eyes filled with concern when his deep brown eyes locked on the Dwarf King! "I have a pretty good idea Shadow is female; why else would she hesitate to show herself to you other than you being a judgmental brat?!" He snapped.
Thorin's eyes blew wide with shock from his own nephew talking to him like that! It hurt when his nephew had called him by his name — something he only does when he's mad; the words his nephew said afterwards had definitely taken him by surprise. His nephew continued talking.
"Honestly, I can't say I blame her! I would do the same thing too. So unless you start talking nicely about Shadow, I refuse to talk to you any further."
Gandalf and Balin simultaneously patted Kili on the back in hopes to comfort him when he sat down on top of his sleeping pelt.
I silently moved in the shadows to sit behind Kili. This Dwarf had a huge heart of gold! Gandalf catches my movement out the corner of his eye as I perch in the shadows behind Kili and when no one is looking, the Wizard discreetly hands me some venison.
If one were to look at my hiding place, the shadows would look like there was a huge deformity jutting further out of the shadows behind the black-haired-archer. The only way one would tell someone was hiding in the shadows, is by taking in the pair of ice blue eyes being a hovering contrast to the dark.
Awkward silence filled the camp until Bofur piped up. "So I have a crazy idea, lads."
"When don't you ever have a crazy idea?" Some of the Dwarves simultaneously asked.
Bofur laughed. "True…but you lads will like this crazy idea."
"Well, are you going to tell us your crazy idea?"
Bofur smiled. "So we have come up with a name for our Burglar, right?"
"Right?"
"Yes?"
"Okay, so dig this idea: giving one another nicknames. Huh?"
Kili ignored the different nicknames that were now being tossed around. But when it came to coming up with a nickname for Thorin, Kili perked up a bit.
Thorin rolled his eyes while listening to the different nicknames the company tossed around. He did, however, frown when he heard Kili utter a nickname for him. He whirled around to meet his nephew's cold hard eyes with a hard stare. "Do you want to repeat that?" He couldn't believe his own nephew was becoming cold towards him…or maybe he could. His voice was always filled with disdain whenever he referred to Shadow as their Burglar.
Not once had Gandalf budged when he bugged the Wizard over and over for information regarding their Burglar! The only answer Gandalf gave him was Shadow is the one to tell him the answers to the information he seeks!
Kili confirmed to him he thinks Shadow is a female. Why else would she keep herself hidden other than keeping an eye out for danger. It was true, Thorin always had a slight disdain in his voice whenever he talked about their Burglar; not to be mean, no. Thorin — like all Dwarves, was suspicious and distrustful towards outsiders! And Kili didn't hesitate to chew him out; calling him judgmental.
"I called you a Judgmental Dwarf." Kili's tone was flat and cold and Thorin could only sigh. Yeah, he deserved that.
Shadow POV
I quietly slipped out from the shadows after all of the Dwarves had went to bed. Gandalf being the only one who had stayed awake to keep watch while the Dwarves slept.
"Good evening my dear." Gandalf greeted when taking in my black form.
"Hello, Gandalf."
"Are you doing okay?"
"I am."
"Why do you sound worried, then?"
"Not worried; guarded. There are two Orcs watching us front the opposite ridge."
"So they finally found us." Gandalf spoke more to himself than to me. "How did they find us?" His steel grey eyes were now suspiciously squinting at a sleeping Thorin.
"Thorin didn't tell anyone about the quest beyond his kin. The Orcc's are riding Wargs and the Wargs caught the scent of the Dwarves along the way."
Gandalf nodded. "Hopefully the rains will slow the Orcs and the Wargs down tomorrow."
"Hopefully." I agreed.
Looking down, I took in the peaceful sight of a sleeping Kili. Kneeling down beside the young Dwarf, I pulled at my mask to bare my mouth. Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Oh sweet Dwarf, I've always loved your heart since the day I found you underneath that pine tree."
When dawn approached, I set to work with preparing the Dwarves breakfast: eggs, deer sausage, and oat bread. I had just finished eating a very small amount on top of leaving a sweet note for Kili to read. I also left a note for Thorin and the rest of the Dwarves. The Dwarves began to stir. Gandalf and I had been so wrapped up in different conversations: how we are doing, Thorin's grumpy, distrustful behavior, Kili's flashback when he saw the adolescent buck I killed instead of him and his brother and so much more; I almost spaced out the sound of stirring Dwarves again due to the air now being filled with the wonderful smell of cooked breakfast; the night sky slowly began being eaten up by the first rays of sunrise.
After saying goodby to Gandalf, I managed to conceal myself in the shadows of the forest as the sound of surprise hit my ears!
Oh, Kili! You have such a huge heart of gold! Any woman would be happy to call you theirs!
What is the story Shadow and Kili share? What exactly happened to Kili that made him hesitate to kill a buck? And what will happen between Kili and Shadow while the quest continues? And what did Shadow write in the sweet message for the young Dwarf Prince? And how will the company be affected with news of Kili's and Shadow's shared past? Especially Thorin? Stay tuned for more!
Irakdashat: Nephew.