The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.
This is the last chapter following the movie-verse story line. As much as I love PJ's movies, I am not waiting until December 2013 for the next installment. I'm much too impatient for that. I finally found my copy of the Hobbit so I can continue the fic from where the movie ends and where the book begins :) I'll probably change some things around (damn PJ bringing back Azog :P) but it'll stick to book canon for the most part.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter :) Too bad Thorin hugs Bilbo before Relly does, hehe. I know last chapter I promised Relly's backstory/Ori's confession but...that will have be put on hold just an eetle bit longer. Forgive me?
Flame of Hope
Courage is found in unlikely places.
- J. R. R. Tolkien
There was never any rest for Thorin Oakenshield and his ragtag group of miners, warriors, knitters, toy makers, Hobbits, thieves and their token wizard. They had survived not going back for Bilbo's handkerchief, avoided being eaten by trolls, ran away from Wargs, ate green food, snuck away from the Elves, trekked across moving mountains during a storm, and now they had narrowly escaped a horde of goblins. However, this time looked far more bleak than any other situation the adventurers had been in. They were exhausted, hungry and they had none of their equipment or belongings thanks to being dropped down a chute to the goblin kingdom. All the company had were the clothes on their backs, trinkets in their pockets and their respective weapons. No food, no necessities, only a small flame of hope to keep them warm and the constant reminder of the aching of their bones.
Relly turned from red to white as color drained from her face, the moment between her and Bilbo over as the howl of the Wargs entered her ears. Relly grit her teeth, forgetting everything that happened in order to focus her exhausted mind on the present danger.
Danger. Funny to think that she willingly signed up for this all that time ago, eager to find some treasure and go on a grand adventure. Sure, she lived a vagabond life for two decades but the worst of her fears were angry bakers and shopkeepers. Never mountains, trolls or goblins and certainly not malicious Orcs riding on bloodthirsty Wargs.
The dwarves groaned, unhappy that evil was once again on their doorstep. Gandalf's wispy eyebrows were pressed together as the wizard gripped his staff, already concluding what was about to happen. Everyone was cranky, tired and bereft of any comforts they had carried with them. Relly was lucky her stolen objects were tucked safely in her cloak pockets. Despite all her running around in the Goblin kingdom, they never fell out. She patted her pockets for comfort as she drew her rapier, her bloodstream pumping with last-minute adrenaline to kick start her body into fight-or-flight.
"Out of the frying pan," Thorin gravely muttered.
"And into the fire. RUN!" Gandalf completed the phrase and yelled 'RUN!" once more. He didn't really even have to say that because everyone took off running after the first exclamation. Relly put her tiredness on the backburner as she gripped the hilt of her rapier, mentally kicking herself for leaving her dagger back in the Goblin kingdom.
The howl of the Wargs sent chills down Relly's spine as the quarterling sprinted across the forest, trying to outrun her enemies. This was unlike the first time they encountered the Orcs; they were much too prepared then and they had help from Radagast and the last-minute arrival of the Elves. Now, on their last legs of energy and with bellies grumbling, the company of Thorin Oakenshield had a significantly higher probability of not being able to complete their quest. There was no savior this time.
The once welcomed sight of evening was fading into night, the warm oranges and yellows twisting into unnatural shades of dark blue and black as Relly sadly realized they would be at a major disadvantage of running in the dark. Wargs could smell them, hear them, see them better and even with the natural Hobbit ability to slink away quietly, it would not work here. Panting, Relly kept up with her friends as everyone skidded to a halt when a ferocious Warg leapt over them and landed a few feet away, blocking their path with its menacing pair of teeth.
And the Warg leapt at poor straggler Bilbo, who had always been kind of the slowest runner of the bunch. Relly gasped in horror as the beast lunged towards the Hobbit's throat. She doubled back to Bilbo, only to discover that the gentle-Hobbit had stuck his sword into the creature's head...and the Warg collapsed and fell to its side. Bilbo stood there dumbfounded, hardly believing that stunt actually worked. Relly put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. She couldn't believe that just happened either.
"You idiot!" Relly yelled at him, embarrassed that moments ago she had basically thanked him for saving her life. Maybe that time was just a fluke. There's no way that Bilbo Baggins could really be so courageous, clever, handso— "That's not how you stab!" Great, now she was sounding like Fili.
"At least I killed it!" he argued back, even though both of them perfectly knew well this was no time for arguing. His first official kill, and Relly could see his uneasiness in the darkness around them. The yells and roars of the remaining army of Orc and Warg echoed loudly as Bilbo hurriedly walked past Relly to retrieve his sword.
He's going to get himself killed. Everyone else is already ahead of us, she grit her teeth as she tried to get her feet to move so she could catch up with the dwarves and Gandalf. Yet she didn't budge. I can't leave him behind again, not like we did back there, Relly reminded herself how she noticed his absence in the Goblin kingdom, Gandalf would hate me if I left him behind.
Bilbo tried to pull his sword out of the eye of the Warg. He was getting absolutely nowhere. Relly huffed impatiently as she rolled up her tunic sleeves and roughly pushed Bilbo out of her way. Relly placed both her hands on the hilt of his sword. She grunted and finally yanked the blood stained weapon from the carcass, pointing the sharp end at Bilbo with her eyes half-lidded, trying to pretend that she didn't care. "I'm not doing this as a favor, you just can't die after worrying Gandalf so much." Her lips were pursed together, nearly driving the sword into Bilbo's belly as he took it from her, the two avoiding glances at each other.
"What ever happened to 'You saved my life, Bilbo Baggins, thank you so much'?," Bilbo muttered as the land-thunder from their enemies was growing closer and closer. He couldn't help but mention that, even at the most inopportune time. Hobbit nature, after all.
His comment did not go unnoticed as Relly let out a loud 'tch' from her lips. I said nothing like that, Relly said to herself, merely narrowing her eyes at him and then focused back on running for her life. After what felt like forever, she finally saw her friends coming into her range of vision, everyone starting to gather at the very edge of a lonely cliff with some tall, scraggly trees. Relly stopped on her heels, looking over her shoulder to see Bilbo huffing and panting. He had managed to fall behind again. She shook her head, cursed to be stuck with a Hobbit who seriously needed to learn how to build up stamina.
What are we supposed to do now? Jump? For a moment there, like she had thought of back in the Goblin underground, she considered jumping to escape. But one distressed look from Ori changed her mind as she joined her close friend in their loose circle of tired comrades. Her smile was worn out and stretched thin but she gave him one nonetheless. "What's next?" she asked no one in particular.
Gandalf heard her as his eyes travelled up to the trees. "Jump into the trees! Climb, climb!" he urged, and Relly smacked her head with her open palm, feeling dumb that she didn't consider that option. Then again, she wasn't the plan maker around these parts.
"Relly, up here!" Ori asked her, and she joined him. The two climbed into one of the trees, Relly up a bit higher than her dear friend as she spotted Bilbo a little ways away from them. She dug her nails into the bark of the tree, hearing Ori shift nervously as they waited for their fate.
The beasts gnawed at the roots of the trees but the Wargs cannot climb, so the small victory went to the Oakenshield company. Relly sucked in her breath, afraid even a single gasp of air would break the good luck they had. She peered down at Ori, the dwarf lifting his head up with an unreadable expression on his face. Lately, the eager yet anxious young dwarf had been hard to decipher, unusual since Relly could usually tell what was up with her artistic companion. Men, they were hard to understand.
"I bet I can take 'em out with my slingshot from this angle," Ori tried to boast but Relly hit her foot against the trunk of the tree to dissuade him. "Well...I could."
She tasted iron in her mouth, realizing she bit down on the inside of her cheek too hard from her nerves. Relly did not want to admit she was nervous but she couldn't keep her pride when a white Orc was hunting them down. Wait, a white Orc? Relly squinted her eyes, finding an oddly bright white Orc down on the forest floor. He had a strange grabby fork thing attached to his arm, and if she weren't holding onto a tree for dear life she would have laughed. This was however, not the time to joke. This was bad, bad, bad. And judging by what she just heard, this villainous Orc knew Thorin personally. And now, this pale Orc had just set more hounds upon them.
"I thought they couldn't climb?!" Relly shrieked, the Wargs leaping into the air like they were spring-loaded, biting off the lower branches of their tree as Relly scrambled to get higher. Ori was frightened too as the dwarf followed her lead, his foot almost slipping as Relly let go of her branch with one hand to drop and try to grab Ori's hand. "Don't slip!"
Ori was alright but he appreciated her selfless gesture as the two avoided the jaws of death, quite literally. Ori clung close to the trunk of their tree, his eyes peering out from the opposite side as Relly white-knuckled from holding the branch in front of her so tightly. She felt the tree sway ever so lightly and it dawned on Relly that the Wargs weren't trying to bite them.
They were trying to topple the trees into each other. Once again, all color drained from her face as her neck slowly turned to face Ori, motioning to him that they were rapidly falling. Fear was written all over his face as both of them let out a yell, the tree crashing into the one next to them, everything falling over as if it were a game of knock-downs.
"We need to go now!" Relly yelled, already flinging herself to the next stable tree as Ori copied her, the two safely, but not gracefully, clutching onto the same branch of tree. She felt her hands touch his as she safely flung to the next one. That was weird.
"Relly, we have to jump again!" he alerted her as Relly realized her mistake as the two continued to hop from tree to tree like they were frogs in a dangerous game of lily pad hopping. Eventually, she and Ori finally clung to the one tree everyone had managed to latch onto: the sole remaining tree unaffected by everything. The beasts snapped at the ground below them, preventing them from coming down.
Relly was on one of the higher up branches, Ori on the one next to her as she spotted Gandalf above her. She wanted to feel relieved, to feel safe but not even the presence of Gandalf calmed her worries. What if we don't survive? The half-Hobbit woman rested her head against the bark of their tree, a deep frown etched onto her face. She wanted to bring her knees close to her chest and wrap herself in her cloak like she used to back when she was a vagabond, but it would solve nothing.
Relly never really thought about death despite her high-risk thief lifestyle. If anything, once upon a time she could have said she was used to death. Her father had died before she was born and her mother caught pneumonia and died. And yet death never bothered Relly. Not until the past few days where their quest had become less of an adventure and more into a game of falls, cliffs and evil creatures. Now, death bothered Relly Crillynook. I don't want to die. I may not have much to live for but...I don't want to die. Not like this.
A bright flame caught her eye, her thoughts concerning death temporarily pushed to the side as she watched Gandalf light pine cones and throw them onto the ground to scare the Wargs. She didn't smile but a wave of relief finally washed over her, glad that for the moment Gandalf wasn't so keen on everyone dying tonight. She waved her arm to grab his attention as Gandalf tossed her a flaming pine cone.
"Ouch!" she yelped, her little cry heard by Ori as he asked her what was wrong. "Just toss them!" she explained to Ori as she threw her flaming pine cone onto the ground, rolling to its eventual spot. The fire scared them, which was quite effective in driving the Wargs away from the base of their tree. The dwarves began to cheer loudly for their success, Ori joining in on the short-lived mirth.
And short lived it was. The tree, probably cracking under pressure of its many occupants, began to lean towards the gaping edge of the cliff, everyone freaking out. After thirty or so seconds, the tree finally stopped leaning but the tree was now at an 180 degree angle. In other words, they were about to plummet to their deaths. Relly wasn't counting on any miracles tonight.
Relly's heart stopped when she heard Ori shout, her dear friend slipping from his branch and falling. Relly almost dived after him had it not been for Dori that Ori could cling to. Dori grunted, unprepared that his baby brother would be hanging on for his life over the vast expanse of the deadly drop. "Ori, hold on!" she yelled towards him. Ori had been her best friend, besides Bofur of course, on this entire journey. She would be beyond upset if he fell. Relly did not want to think about her best friend's death.
"I'm-I'm trying!" Ori wanted to assure her but he couldn't hide the fright in his voice.
"Mr. Gandalf!" Dori choked out, his neck hitting the branch. "Please, help us! I cannot hold on much longer!" and he let go, two dwarves falling to their deaths. Relly screeched, falling from her own branch as she managed to land on one at the last second. Luckily, Gandalf lowered his staff at the precise moment so both Ori and Dori could grab onto it. The weight however, was too much as Gandalf strained to pull them up.
It was funny, how attached Relly had become to the company. Relly had only ever relied on herself for the past twenty years. She ate alone, travelled alone and all her stolen spoils were never shared with an accomplice. She didn't need anyone. And then she bumps into Gandalf and everything changed. Relly could no longer sneak off in the night or act so rashly without consent. The choices of Thorin Oakenshield affected her, and her interactions helped mold the friendships she now carried. Now, she relied on others. I need them. Relly glanced at Ori, then Dori and slowly looked around to every single dwarf on the tree, Thorin being the last dwarf she looked at. She gazed at Gandalf and lastly, Bilbo Baggins.
Relly's head hurt. It had been a long time since she had such an emotional epiphany, if ever. Feelings hurt. No wonder she tried to avoid them for so long. Her moment of self-reflection ended as her eyes shifted to the slowly moving form of Thorin Oakenshield. Relly watched him, confused as to why he was leaving the tree. Weren't they supposed to hide in the tree?
He was a mass of tangled grey-black hair, a hulking frame against a backdrop of flame and night. Thorin Oakenshield was majestic. She knew he was heir to the line of Durin but it wasn't until now that she saw her near father figure as an actual future-king to the throne under the mountain. He had substance and a powerful bloodline, Relly was a nobody with dead parents and an Elven rapier. For a split second, the dam holding back her insecurities started leaking as she fought back the urge to succumb to her worries. No, not now. We need to get out alive.
Relly saw his stride as Thorin walked through fire to face Azog the Defiler, to show how defiant he was in the face of the awful Orc who was the source of all their problems. Well, except for Smaug but Azog ranked like second on that list. Wanting a better look, she crawled down the trunk, exchanging glances with Bofur as she stayed by her hat-wearing friend. The cheerful dwarf had no trace of a smile on his bearded face.
"Is the lad alright?" Bofur seriously asked her. She nodded, pointing over to where Dori and Ori were clinging onto Gandalf's staff.
She still feared for their safety. Dori was barely holding on and Ori was slipping every second. Relly had nothing else to say as everyone watched their leader go forth into the flaming forest, sword in hand. If Thorin could slay Azog, they had a chance of surviving this.
The chance was snuffed out as Thorin Oakenshield fell to the ground with one swift move from Azog. Relly's guts knotted up, feeling very ill all of a sudden. Was he...dead? He couldn't die, he was Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain. They had just mended their friendship. Thorin respected her now. Relly almost saw him like a father of sorts, a very serious but caring dwarf who did have his best intentions at heart. Much to her relief, Thorin managed to stand up again but Azog knocked him down once. It was a powerful hit and Thorin the Mighty toppled.
At the very sight of Thorin suffering a mighty blow from the mace, Balin blurted out a guttural cry. Fili looked on in horror as Kili yelled out for his uncle. Relly didn't yell or screech; she was far too tired to do such displays of emotion now. She stared at the spot where Thorin fell, watching the pale Orc laugh cruelly at the dwarf lord's demise. Thorin can't die. He's the leader. We just started to be friends...he can't just go and die on us! On me...
Thorin Oakenshield was about to make her cry for a second time, and she was tired of tears. Through smoky, blurred vision Relly raised her head to see Bilbo Baggins letting go of the tree branch and following in the steps of Thorin. The curves of her mouth twitched, on the verge of screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" but decided against it. Bilbo was being an idiot, a courageous idiot. The modest, unassuming Hobbit that had initially refused to sign the contract, the very one who wanted to go back for his hankie, was about to ambush the Orc executioner. A very stupid move, but a brave one nonetheless.
A small smile carved itself onto her face. She was changing, and perhaps Bilbo Baggins had changed too. That smile dramatically twisted into a frown as Relly saw Bilbo almost had his head cleaved off by the giant Orc. He was squirming about, using his wily Hobbit frame to evade every move even while being pinned down. The tables turned when Bilbo came out on top and with one deft stab, he drove his sword straight into the Orc's chest. Relly couldn't help but admire that Bilbo actually stabbed the bad guy right this time around.
It was Bilbo Baggins against Azog the Defiler, a showdown no one could have predicted. Anyone could tell that Bilbo was still unfamiliar with his sword, wildly slicing the air. His stance made Azog chuckle darkly and slowly, ever so quietly the Wargs circled around Bilbo, prepared to rip him apart. Relly steeled herself, hand going for Toothpick. She couldn't just hang back and judging by the looks from her fellow companions, it was about time for everyone to join Bilbo.
Relly flung herself into the fray, a gaping grin on her face as she furrowed her eyebrows and sought out the closer Warg and rider to her. With a quick cut and plunge, Relly took down the Warg before moving onto the Orc itself. She felt her energy draining, using every ounce of adrenaline to pump her heart and stay on her feet. Her cheek stung from her earlier injury, ignoring the sudden pain as she locked herself into battle.
"Guh!" Relly's throat became constricted, a sudden yank of her cloak made her choke from lack of air. A Warg had attacked her from behind and was now biting down on the hood of her cloak. Relly struggled for air, letting go of her rapier as she made the universal sign of choking, hands clutching her neck as the Warg dragged her on the ground. If she didn't do something quick she was going to suffocate to death, or worse.
If I let go of this cloak, I'll lose all my stolen stuff, she briefly contemplated in her mind as she felt her face go blue. She saw the jaws of the Warg, its rider laughing as the Orc told the Warg to eat her. I can't keep wriggling. Ultimately she would hate this move as she undid the hook around her neck, finally free from the Warg's grasp. I didn't want to do that, she frowned. Relly was quickly reunited with Toothpick only to turn around and see that Dori and Ori had let go of the tree. They fell.
"NO!" Relly yelled, running back towards the tree, forgetting about Azog. She halted in surprise as she saw giant dark forms in the night sky, flying about. She closed her eyes, not sure what to make of all this chaotic mess. She thought about running back to see if she could possibly save her cloak but one fell swoop of a giant eagle changed her plans.
Having developed acrophobia since her escapade in the goblin kingdom, Relly was internally freaking out as she felt the grip of the talons around her body, staring down from the high altitude as the eagles picked off Orc and Warg on the fiery battlefield. It was different being high up in a tree since she could actually see ground but in the air...Relly wasn't faring so well.
"Let me go, let me go!" she squirmed. Like the eagle had listened to her, it let go. Relly screamed again, rapidly plummeting to her assumed death. "NO, NO I WANT TO BE ON THE GROUND!" In a matter of seconds, something soft and downy cushioned her fall, even though she was still flying. She flipped onto her stomach, gripping the feathery surface as it dawned on her that she was riding an eagle.
Letting herself breathe through the small anxiety attack she was currently experiencing, Relly lifted her head up to see more of these giant eagles. It comforted her to know these birds were on their side, or so she believed. She saw all her dwarf friends on the backs of eagles as she saw Gandalf flying the biggest eagle of all. Gandalf had truly saved their hides this time around. And here she thought they would not have a last minute miracle.
The tired party of Thorin Oakenshield flew without stop into the night, Relly watching the pale moon following their every move. Relly wanted to sleep but she couldn't close her eyelids. It was hard to rest knowing you were thousands of feet off the ground and her fear of heights was in overdrive. Her breathing had become regular but her heart was banging around in her rib cage. Goosebumps formed on her skin, Relly not used to travelling without her cloak keeping her warm. I can't believe all my goodies are back there. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Relly hated that all her stolen stuff was forever lost from her. The doll she found, the elven accessories, the little sack of rubies and gold coins...all gone. All the trinkets and "novelties" she had picked up on this journey were out of her reach. Granted, she did have her trusty Toothpick but it ached knowing all her thievery had been in vain. I'll just have to find more things to replace them.
The quarterling let out a sad little laugh to herself, eventually drifting off to sleep despite her fears.
The rising morning sun filtered through Relly's eyelids. Relly's heart raced when she learned she was still on the back of a flying eagle. However, she tried not to flip out too much. She saw mountains scrape the sky, gripping the feathers when they made a sudden dive off a cliff. She squinted her eyes, curious as to why the eagles were now circling around this weird rock formation. I just want to be on land again.
One by one, the eagles perched on the rock and allowed their passengers to jump off. Thorin was laying on the flattest part of the rock, still out cold from the battle. When her eagle finally made contact with the rock. Relly could not have left the eagle any faster. It was a wonderful sensation for her bare feet to touch land again. She still didn't like how high up they were but at least she could feel the earth beneath her. Not long after, Bilbo also got dropped off as he made his way towards Thorin and Bilbo. She awkwardly avoided him.
"Is Thorin okay?" she asked Gandalf, concern in her tone as she frowned. "He's...he's gonna make it, right?"
Gandalf hummed under his breath, his eyes curving into little half-smiles as he gingerly pressed his hand above Thorin's face and then hovered above the rest of his upper body, muttering words Relly couldn't understand. She grinned when she saw the dwarf lord's eyes open.
"Thorin!" she let out a weak cheer, still aching. Nonetheless, she was more than happy to see Thorin breathing and alive. His eyes darted over to her, recognizing her form as Relly held her hands behind her back.
"Wh-where am I?" he breathlessly asked Gandalf, weak from all the injuries he sustained. Gandalf quietly hushed his old friend. "Are we safe?"
"We're all fine, Thorin. We're quite safe. Even Bilbo is here," and Gandalf motioned to the attention-shy Bilbo, who merely stood there with a funny little look on his face.
"You!" Thorin confronted Bilbo, pushing away his comrades as he stood up on his own. "What are you doing here?"
Relly slid her hand down her face, shaking her head as she watched the scene unfold between Bilbo and Thorin. Frankly, Thorin owed an apology considering Bilbo risked his life for Thorin and was the first to fight against the Orc riders, something none of them were willing to do. She ignored her own personal thoughts that were mainly about how brave he was. Relly Crillynook did not gush.
"You nearly got yourself killed!" And with every step, Thorin said another insulting comment. "Did I not say you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild?"
Relly wanted to intervene, to defend Bilbo and tell Thorin he was just trying to save him, but the expression on Bilbo's face changed her mind. It was like he wanted to hear whatever Thorin had to say. Bilbo was going to stand up for himself. Thorin was close enough to Bilbo that he could swiftly punch him and knock Bilbo's lights out. Relly put one step forward but Bofur's hand on her shoulder held her back, a light smirk on his face as he kept Relly from cutting in. She grumbled softly, biting her lower lip out of worry. Worry.
"You had no place amongst us," Thorin spoke so quietly that hardly anyone heard what he said. A tension-filled minute passed before Thorin spoke once more, his gaze softer and more appreciative. "I have never been so wrong in my life."
Thorin wrapped his arms around Bilbo and gave him the most emotional, manliest hug Relly had ever seen. She tried to stifle a giggle but a little snort squeaked from her nose as she sucked her lips in. The caught off-guard look on Bilbo's face was priceless. Relly heard her dwarven brethren cheer as she figured it would be okay to giggle now, her giddy laugh joining the chorus of dwarves who had been waiting for ages for Thorin to accept Bilbo in their company. Kili and Fili cheered the loudest while everyone was patting each other on the back or exchanging glances of relief and comfort. She kept a wide smile on her face as well, resting her hand on her hip as she swore she caught Bilbo smiling as well.
"I am sorry I doubted you, Bilbo Baggins," Thorin apologized as he also turned his head to look over his shoulder to see Relly. "I should have never doubted the both of you."
Relly shrugged, wishing he hadn't done that. Thorin already apologized to her, accepted her, let her hug him. She was just happy Thorin recognized Bilbo as a member of their company. True, she didn't particularly like his annoying nature at the beginning of their quest but his cooking was quite good. He was...useful, even if he had never left his hobbit-hole or actually stolen anything despite his title as "burglar".
"It's alright. I would have doubted me too. I, er, did doubt myself," he admitted, eyes averted to the ground before he faced Thorin again. "I'm not a hero, not a warrior," and the way he looked at Relly when he said "or a burglar" caused a horrified blush on her face. She had to turn her back away from him for a few seconds, cursing herself as to why she was acting so dumb and weird. Relly continued to listen to his little speech, constantly rotating her head to make sure no one saw her beet red face. "I'm just Bilbo Baggins of Bag End. And like I said before, I will help you in any way I can to reclaim your home."
The flapping of the eagles wings echoed softly in Relly's ears, the young woman lifting her head to see the giant birds flying away from them. How come they get to come and go as they please? What important business do giant birds have? Then again, she didn't want to fly on the backs of eagles again lest she get another panic attack. She stared down at her bare feet, sighing as she felt a breeze on her cloak-less body.
Relly watched the sun take its place in the sky as a close-lipped smile formed on her face, her red blush fading to a light pink on her cheeks. So long as the mornings arrived after the long nights, the company would forge on.
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