*trigger warning*
"EMERYYYYYY!"
Jolted from her daydream, Emery checks her watch. Panic rushes through her as she scurries to her feet. She was supposed to have the dishes and the laundry done by 4, and she's still scrubbing dishes! She quickly and carefully rinses the dishes and sets them in the drainer to be dried and put away later, then rushes to the laundry room. Tiffany, as always, is standing with annoyance and anger clear on her face. This time, however, she's wearing baggy jeans and a t-shirt instead of her usual leggings and hoodie.
Regardless of her foster mother's strange attire, she needs to get the laundry done now. She can finish the dishes later. She makes her way to the table, keeping her head down, and begins to fold a pair of shorts.
"No, that's not how you're supposed to do it," Tiffany says and yanks the shorts out of her hands. She stands very close, almost brushing against her. She folds the shorts and places them at the end of the table, then gestures for Emery to try again. Emery pulls a shirt from the pile and begins folding, but again Tiffany isn't satisfied. "Have you gone brain dead?" Tiffany's voice is deeper this time and coming from above Emery's head instead of beside it. She folds the shirt, this time her arm rubs against Emery's, and she puts the folded shirt on top of the shorts. Once more she gestures for Emery to try again. Emery takes a pair of leggings from the pile and begins folding. Again, Tiffany isn't happy, but this time she wraps her suddenly long arms around Emery and presses against her back. Emery tries to turn around or squirm away but a voice in her ear says "Now now, let's not do that. You're supposed to be folding clothes, right?" That's not Tiffany's voice. Those aren't Tiffany's hands. She turns her head. Standing behind her in the baggy jeans and t-shirt is not Tiffany, but Anthony, his eyes darkened by more than boyhood mischief.
She jerks and screams, but he pulls the leggings in his hands up to her face and shoves a wad of the fabric into her mouth. She flails har ams and legs and tries to make contact with something that'll hurt, but he wraps her in a bear hug to restrain her movements. He laughs and whispers something unintelligible into her ear. She jerks her head back to try and break his nose, but his head isn't there. It disappears, along with the rest of him, and she falls onto her butt. It takes her a second to get over the surprise, then she yanks the fabric out of her mouth and throws the offending garment away from her.
"Aw, now that's no fun," Anthony laughs from in front of her. She scrambles back as he saunters towards her.
"Whatsa matter, lassie?"
His eyes trace over her body.
"Wake up, lassie."
His face splits into a grin as he reaches for his belt. She starts sobbing and...wait...Kili?
"Come on, lassie, it's only a dream."
He...Fili?
Emery's eyes snap open and she jerks awake, breathing heavily. It takes a minute for her vision to focus. When it does, she's met by two concerned pairs of eyes. The brown ones look worried, but the blue ones are sympathetic. Fili probably recognizes the signs of a nightmare, and Kili is a bit slower to make the connection.
Hissssssssss. Snap!
Kili's eyes widen and the blood drains from his face. He opens his mouth to speak or cry out, but grey foam blocks any sound and begins to choke him. His brother frantically calls his name as he collapses, his face quickly turning blue. He grasps at his throat while Fili kneels beside him, crying in fear.
With a jerk and a gasp, Emery finally wakes up.
Panting heavily, with eyes wider than half-dollars, she scrambles to her feet and scans the room. The two little pairs of shoes haven't moved, neither have the day clothes the boys tossed to the floor instead of putting away before going to bed. Fili and Kili themselves are in their little bed, snoring softly and sleeping soundly.
Unable to calm herself and knowing she probably won't be able to as a wolf, Emery pads softly towards the foot of the bed and hops the short distance up. Carefully inching forward, she lied down and nestles herself between the two dwarflings. To her surprise and amusement, both of the boys roll over almost instantly. Fili runs his left hand over the fur on her back a few times before once again becoming still, while Kili simply throws his arm over her neck. All the while, both of them continue to snore.
Chuckling silently and suppressing tremors, Emery closes her eyes, convinced she won't be able to catch any more sleep. A few minutes later, however, she proves herself wrong as her subconscious takes over and she slips into more restful dreams.