Óin's bizarre weather predictions proved to be correct as the next morning brought an uncharacteristically hot sun. The day passed slowly and I could tell from the constant stream of angry mutterings and mumblings surrounding me, that the dwarves greatly disliked the heat. I quickly developed an aversion to the higher temperature along with them as I found that my head began to swim if I tried to move too fast, and I could not seem to drink enough water to feel hydrated.

"Can you sing?" Bofur asked me out of the blue as we began to trail further behind the others.

"Probably not." I replied in a dull voice, wanting to change the topic already.

"What do you mean 'probably'?" he persisted. "Don't you know for sure?"

I shrugged. "Honestly, it's been so long since I've even tried."

Bofur's eye lit up and he opened his mouth to speak, but I immediately cut him off. "I'm not going to try right now." I stated firmly.

"Oh come now, I'm sure you have a lovely voice!" he insisted with a smile. "I'll sing for you, if you sing for me?"

"No." I repeated, shaking my head, but smiling a bit at his enthusiasm. "Besides, that's not a fair trade at all! You're a great singer. Everybody knows it, so you have nothing to worry about. But I could end up being total rubbish."

We walked a bit more in silence. Eventually I peered at him; he had his mattock balanced up on his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows when he met my eye.

"Is it weird for you to have to look up at a woman?" I asked, suddenly curious. I was slowly growing accustomed to the height difference between myself and the group; it was almost becoming second nature to meet an eyeline below the level of my own. And, though taller, I had never felt in any way more authoritative then any of them, in fact most of the dwarves still rather intimidated me.

"I've grown used to it." he said with a cheeky grin. "Besides, you're definitely not broader or stronger or heavier then I am, so don't worry, I still retain my ironclad masculinity around you."

I laughed.

"Is it strange for you to be so tall?" he continued after a few paces. This made me laugh again.

"I'm not so tall!" I replied. "I'm perfectly regular sized. All of you are just very short." I shot him a teasing look.

"Oh no." Bofur rebuked with a chuckle. "You're all giants. We dwarves are the regular-sized ones."

"Are you sure?" I asked playfully. He clucked his tongue in exaggerated annoyance but shot me a quick wink.

Once we found a completely shaded location the dwarves quickly called an end to our procession and sat down wearily. The lot of us simply lay down and rested until the evening's coolness set in, and even still I used my blanket as a pillow that night as I was warm enough simply in my jacket to sleep.

I was dismayed to wake up the next day feeling slightly ill as it was already too warm. I became increasingly more agitated as the temperatures climbed throughout the morning and by midday it was sweltering. On the other hand, it was better than travelling in the rain, but I was still utterly miserable. I was tired and sore, granted, and my shoulder still ached, but worst of all was that I felt grossly sticky from the accumulated layers of sweat, dirt and blood. By mid-morning I was sweating even more, and I was certain I could even smell myself. I fell to the very back of the group, feeling very self-conscious and wanting to avoid as much contact with others as possible. I couldn't understand how the rest of them could go any span of days and look relatively unchanged, good even, whereas I knew for sure I looked as awful as I felt - if not worse.

I had been wistfully gazing at the River Anduin as we followed its course, and had made up my mind that when we stopped I would wade in to wash off. However, as the morning progressed we began to veer away from it once more, heading deeper into the forest. It took all of my willpower not to shout for them to stop, but I knew that Thorin's opinion of me was still shaky at best. We had to be breaking for lunch soon, any moment really. I reasoned I should still be able to get back to it while the others ate, yet I grew more anxious with every step I took away from the water. Eventually it was out of my sight altogether. I strongly considered speaking up, but after another few minutes it finally sounded as if they had found an area to stop. As I caught up with the group I saw they had chosen a sheltered little glade, surrounded by thick trees and flanked on one side by a large rock face. It was an ideal location to make a small cooking fire and still stay unseen.

"Kili, Fili, take the canteens and go refill them at the river." Thorin ordered briskly.

I stood back, watching the two dwarves as they collected the remaining water carriers. When they were about to head back down the trail I accosted them.

"Please, let me do it." I said, stepping in front of their path. They looked at me confused. "I need to wash off." I explained quickly. "I might as well take care of the waters at the same time." I smiled and grabbed the canteens from Kili before he could protest, then turned to go.

"Well, you can't go alone." Kili explained as he caught up to me. "It's not safe; the orcs are still hunting us. Plus you're injured." He looked around the camp, his eyes settling on Bofur who was standing nearby with his brother. He raised his eyebrows at us when he saw us both glancing at him. I looked back at Kili, about to protest when I saw the small, expectant smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Someone should go with you." Kili continued loudly before I could speak. "To stand watch." He might as well have added a huge wink for all the subtlety his words possessed.

I rolled my eyes and began to tell them I was fine on my own, but Bofur agreed to accompany me despite my objections.

"Really Bofur, you've done too much for me." I retorted as he took some of the canteens from my arm and urged me onwards. In good spirits as usual, he insisted it was no trouble so I eventually nodded and we began to backtrack towards the river. I fell in step slightly behind him and we walked mostly in silence, but as we began down the slope towards the banks I could not contain my excitement and quickened my pace.

As we came up to the river's edge, I let the canteens fall to the ground then sat to take off my boots.

"Come in the water with me?" I asked, turning to look back at Bofur, grinning.

"Oh no, that was not part of the plan." Bofur replied, shaking his head and pointing his finger at me in a teasing manner. "I am simply your humble guard. You bip into the shallows to wash up while I keep watch for bandits and beasts and monsters."

I laughed. "But what if there are bandits in the river? Would you come in then?"

"Bandits in the river!" Bofur repeated incredulously. "Well, I've never heard of an aquatic band of thieves."

"But what if? Would you come in and save me?" I urged with a smile.

Bofur grinned, leaning on his mattock. "Perhaps."

I began undoing my overcoat. "Well in that case I would just suggest coming in now, to save you the trouble of making that decision later. The water looks something fierce; anything could be lurking in its depths." I stated lightly. "Plus this is maybe the hottest day we'll see on this journey. You must be warm?"

I looked at him again; he didn't respond but looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I'm leaving my underclothes on, if that's what you're worried about. No need to break any gentlemanly habits." I said tartly as I untied my hair. As mean spirited as it was, I was actually enjoying watching him squirm, but enough of the mockery. I put on my brightest smile and tried a different approach. "Come for a swim?" I asked politely. "There's no harm in it. I promise it'll be worth it."

When he failed to reply once more I decided to no longer pester him. I sighed but continued to remove my leggings and other garments until I was only clad in my now rather not-so-white white shift. It was definitely not proper to be in front of anyone in such a state of undress, but I was desperate and hadn't anticipated an audience. I presumed Bofur would actually be a gentleman anyway and keep his gaze away from the river while I entered it. Plus, he had come across me in more compromising situations; I shook my head in slight amusement as I recalled the time my clothes had been stolen away as a prank, courtesy of the meddling Kili of course.

I wandered up to the water's edge; I could see the shore disappear relatively fast underwater indicating its depth. I stuck my foot in. It was cold, shockingly so. I looked around and noticed that up the shoreline an old tree had fallen, likely many years previous; its trunk was suspended partially over the water. I nodded to myself and made my way to it. I tested its strength as I lightly stepped up onto it, taking slow, careful steps forward. Age and the elements had stripped away a lot of the bark and most of its branches, but it felt quite stable so I walked to the very end of it. I aimed to make use of it as a platform to quickly lower myself into the deeper water from, which I felt would be easier than tiptoeing my way out from shore.

I stood there for a moment, taking in the scene, it was a beautiful day, and the river itself was pristine, the sun warming my bare skin.

I gasped loudly and almost lost my balance as I felt something grab hold of my arm. I swung around and Bofur used both hands to steady me. I began to smile, thinking he had changed his mind about accompanying me into the water, but then noticed he was wearing all of his clothing, and a dark expression.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked sternly, removing his steadying hand from my waist but keeping a firm grip on my arm.

I stared at him, confused. "I am going for a swim." I replied stupidly. "I thought we went over this already."

"You can't jump in." he stated, taking a step backward towards shore and pulling me with him.

"What?" I asked, planting my feet firmly to keep myself from being tugged further. "I wasn't-"

"It's dangerous. Your shoulder isn't fully healed. There could be a strong current, or an undertow."

"No. There isn't." I retorted briskly, growing frustrated that my much needed wash was being unnecessarily delayed. It was all I had been looking forward to for days and I wished nothing more than to go hide beneath the surface until I could at least wash the grime from my skin.

"I grew up in a town in the middle of a lake, Bofur! I'm a fine swimmer, even with a bad shoulder. Just let me go, I wasn't going to dive anyway." I stepped back, trying to gently pull my arm of his grip. I forced him to take a few steps forward with me as he tried to adjust his grip without tugging on my bad arm or grabbing overtop the scratches on my other.

"Let go." I growled, pushing his hand away, and quickly moving to the edge of the log, thinking to just jump in anyway. He saw me look at the water and hurried forward to stop me. Our combined weight at the very end of the log was more than the steep bank could bear, and without its support, the log - large as it was - gave way and dropped nearly a foot.

Suddenly we were both tipping over the edge, carried by our own momentum supplemented by that of gravity's own gentle, malicious pull. I fell backwards, and was thankful in my very brief moment above water to see Bofur's wild grab at me had caused him to spin off the log to one side as well.

I broke surface, sputtering and blinking water out of my eyes. I looked around and saw Bofur's hat floating nearby and then Bofur himself popped up. I tested my shoulder, ensuring I hadn't done harm to it. The cold water stung my flesh wounds but otherwise it seemed fine as I had tucked and held my arm against myself as I had fallen.

"Are you alright?" Bofur asked quickly.

I smiled brightly at him and nodded. He nodded as well but did not seem bemused. He swam forward and grabbed his hat, tossing it up onto the fallen tree which, while considerably lower to the water, was still dry along its top.

"Well, it is a good day for a swim." I said flippantly when he continued to frown, moving forward and splashing him full on the face.

He reached a hand off to wipe clear his eyes and then a mischievous glint appeared in them. "That was a bold move, missy, something you might come to regret."

I looked at him challengingly and then ducked under before a large wave of water could hit me. I surfaced, mocking offence and anger and splashed him back. After a few moments of chaos we eventually made peace and fortunately he seemed in good spirits once more.

"Here." Bofur said with a smile after rummaging in his very wet and heavy looking coat. He swam closer and handed me a misshapen light brown square of something. "Soap," he explained when I looked at it quizzically. "You can use it in your hair too."

I gasped in delighted surprise. "I cannot believe you still have soap, of all things!" I thanked him profusely and swam until I found an area shallow enough to stand up in to wash. I heard him splashing towards shore and glanced over to see him remove his coat and boots when he reached land. I looked away, unsure how many other articles he was going to remove and wanting to give him privacy. Mid-wash, though, a thought occurred to me and I paused. "Why didn't you tell me you had this sooner?" I demanded, feigning severity. "I would have given anything for a piece of soap if I'd have known someone had one."

His voice sprung up closer than I expected, I turned to see him waist deep in the water nearby. I tried not to gape at his bare chest.

"Anything? Well if I'd have known that..." Bofur quipped playfully, but cut his words short when I shot him a mocking glare. He chuckled. "To be honest, I didn't want the other lads knowing I stashed a bar, or else it would be gone in a flash." he said with a grin. "You've no idea the amount of product it takes to keep a dozen dwarves smelling fresh."

I snorted and tossed the soap back to him, then ducked under for a rinse.

"Didn't I tell you it would be worth it?" I shouted a few minutes later as I lazily floated on my back, letting the current take me. I felt completely refreshed by the cool water, especially since it had numbed my injuries.

"I'm glad I listened." he responded, and I heard him splashing his way towards me. I opened my eyes and squinted around to see him floating nearby. I smiled and let my body sink back down into the water. Kicking to stay afloat and treading water with my good arm, I noticed how different he looked without his hat, or many other clothes for that matter. I smiled, trying to think of an excuse to make it seem like I wasn't outright staring.

Then something slimy slipped around my ankle. I shrieked in panic, trying to swim away but feeling more groping things tangle about my legs and feet. I crashed over to Bofur as best I could without straining my shoulder, and then grabbed about his neck with my good arm, trying to pull my legs up as high as possible.

"What is it! What's the matter?" he cried, trying to keep us both afloat.

"There's something in the water." I yelped. "It tried grabbing my legs."

"What! Oh, wait, calm down." He said, trying to still my movement. "You've only just drifted into a weedy section."

Immediately I knew he was right and stopped squirming. I looked at him guiltily, but his eyes were bright and amused, a grin playing across his face.

"And here I thought you just couldn't stay out of my arms any longer." he commented slyly.

I smiled, feeling embarrassment flush across my cheeks. It didn't help that I became suddenly acutely aware that I was nearly pressed up right against him, my arms wrapped around his neck, his one hand at my side to steady me. I looked way quickly, clearing my throat, and then let my arms loosen. Yet some bravery (or foolishness) compelled me to not immediately pull back but instead let my one hand slowly trail down his bare shoulder, my fingers tentatively coming to rest in the middle of his chest while I let the other lightly grasp his arm for support. I knew the dwarves were built more rugged then human men, but I was suddenly conscious of his extreme muscle tone. Next to him I began to feel somewhat delicate in comparison, and I inexplicably enjoyed the sensation of it.

Another spot of courage dared me to glance back up into his eyes. He was looking at me curiously, cautiously. I wondered if we were both debating what to do next. I soon reasoned, however, that he wouldn't want to do anything next. I was a human. He probably found me just barely tolerable at best. I involuntarily stiffened at the notion, and he quickly pulled away from me.

"We should start drying off." he said, giving me a small smile before beginning to swim back upstream to where we came in. I stayed put for a moment, lost in thought, but then another plant stroked my leg and I retreated for shore as well.

By the time I reached land Bofur had already slipped into his pants and was sitting on the grass checking over his boots. I walked out of the water, feeling rather exposed as I felt my slip cling to my body in a rather extreme fashion. I clenched my jaw and tried to act more confident than I felt as I walked towards him. He looked up at me for a long moment with a weird expression on his face as I approached. I hoped he wasn't judging my body too harshly, knowing it likely appeared rather alien if dwarf women were indeed much like dwarf men in physicality. I tried to act informal as I sat down beside him and began wringing out my hair, finally enjoying the warm sunlight that beamed down upon us.

"It's unfair how easily you bruise, how thin your skin is..." he mused softly after a minute, quickly glancing down at a large yellowing discolouration that spanned down the side of my thigh. His gaze then landed on marks on my arm, travelled to my shoulder and then down to another partially healed bruise on my wrist. His frown deepened. I realized, although now clean and shining in the sun, as marred as my body currently was, I probably still looked somewhat wretched.

"My face?" I asked, suddenly concerned, my hand flying up to touch around my nose. I had nearly forgotten the painful blow I had received from the back of the orc's head, and had not even bothered to glance at my reflection over the past few days. I looked at Bofur worriedly, wondering if there was an unsightly dark bruise he was seeing in the middle of my face whenever he looked back at me.

"Looks fine." he assured quickly. "You had black eyes for a few days. Now there's just a hint of bruising left here." He reached up and stroked a finger along my cheek."

"Azog has a good backhand." I replied cynically as I flopped down onto my back, closing my eyes and planning to let the sun dry me off. After a moment I heard Bofur follow suit, I smiled to myself and creaked open an eye, turning my head just slightly to try and look at him better.

His eyes were closed, so I finally had free reign to observe him. His shoulder span was large, as was his chest, which was covered in a moderate amount of brown coarse hair. I had wondered about the true hairiness of dwarves, as I had heard folktales that they were covered nearly head to foot like a bear, but this was normal. I had seen human men with body hair comparable to this. His arms were larger and more toned than I would have guessed, at least double the thickness of my own. One of his hands was resting on his chest and I noted that they appeared wider than mine, and though I suspected I had longer fingers, his were much thicker. I wanted to grab it and hold it against mine to compare. My curiosity was about to get the better of me when Bofur stirred.

"You're staring." he stated, matter-of-factly, his eyes still closed.

I started to protest then he opened an eye and squinted over at me, a smile starting at his lips.

"Oh fine." I huffed, sitting up. "But in my defence I've never seen a dwarf without a top on, so you can't blame me for taking a peek."

"Hmm," he mused with a grin. "Is it what you expected?" he asked after a moment's contemplation, sitting up and turning to face me as well.

I bit my lip for a moment, unsure how to answer. "Yes... And no. I didn't expect dwarves to look so... normal." I flushed. "Sorry, that's not what I meant." I stammered, trying to explain. "I mean, you look so similar to human men... Not that I've seen many naked men." I added quickly, and then realized what folly I had just voiced. I groaned, embarrassed, then gave him a shove him after seeing his bemused expression.

"Oh, you know what I mean." I snapped, trying not to smile. "But really, I don't know what I would have expected to be different about you anyway." I added thoughtfully. "I assume all the... parts are the same for men, dwarves and elves..."

Bofur smirked as I trailed off awkwardly. "Oh aye, though dwarf 'parts' are far superior I hear." he retorted with a gleam in his eye.

"Oh, shut it." I said exasperatedly, hoping my blush would disperse quickly. My focus fell down to his hand once more.

"May I?" I asked, gesturing to it.

He looked at me curiously but lifted his hand to me. I grabbed it and held it up, then pushed my palm up against his, lining my fingers up with his. We both looked at them, the differences, and similarities. As I suspected, my fingers were much slimmer than his, and longer by almost an inch, however the breadth of his hand was wider then my own. His skin was darker, marked by a few faded scars. Conversely, my own fingers still had a few scabs and some new pink scarring from the traumas of the mountain pass, and my nails were just beginning to grow out nicely again. I brought his hand back down then lined up my wrist against his. The difference in size was rather considerate; it looked like he would be able to snap my arm with just his hand if he so desired, whereas I wouldn't be able to even fully encircle his wrist in my grasp.

He looked down and then traced his hand along my arm. He paused, then gently took my hand in his. "You are so fair. In every sense." he said quietly. I sat as still as possible, my heart hammering. He looked up into my eyes; his usual light sparkle was replaced by something else.

Slowly, carefully, he reached his other hand up to my face, I felt his rough fingers brush my cheek and I very slightly leaned into his touch. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and then moved his hand to rest against the back of my neck.

I could literally hear my own heartbeat.

He looked down at my lips and back up, meeting my eyes. A question?

I was more nervous then I have ever been in my life but managed to think clearly enough to lean in, just a tad. An answer.

I closed my eyes as he pulled me towards him, our lips met. He kissed me gently, maybe too gently, so I leaned into him further and reached out to steady myself with a hand on his chest.

And then suddenly, it was over. He pulled away from me rather abruptly, his expression riddled with worry.

"I'm sorry." he began, almost in a fluster, moving to get up. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have-"

Quickly, I grabbed hold of his lower arms and pulled him back down. "Bofur, please, it's alright." I tried to reassure him. I smiled shyly but his face remained tense. "Don't apologize." I let my grip on his arms lessen. "I... wanted you to..." I finished awkwardly, looking down and biting my lip.

"But why?" he asked. I peered up at him, his eyes had softened and he had a small, sad smile. He shook his head slightly then looked back to me and placed his hand on my cheek. "You're too young, and beautiful. Especially for me." he said quietly, he stroked his thumb along my jawline then removed his hand and sat back.

I stared at him, a confused smile playing around my lips. "No. I'm not." I responded seriously, I leaned towards him, wanting to kiss him, to reassure him, but he turned his head. I stilled my advances and when his gaze returned to mine his eyes had lost their sparkle.

"We need to get back." he said stiffly.

We got ready in silence. His words were heavy on my mind. I wasn't sure what to make of them. Did he sincerely think he should not be with me, even though he wanted to be? Or did he not want to be with me at all, and that was simply the best and most polite-sounding excuse for it. What of all the flirting? Was it harmless? Could anything come of it anyway? The differences between us were rather severe. Have dwarves and humans ever mingled in a more... intimate manner? Regardless, I could no longer deny my feelings for him, as confused as they were, yet I did not want to subject myself to further embarrassment, so I decided I would not bring it up again.

Kili eyed us as we ambled up the path and approached the group, his eyes bright and a hidden smile in his expression. "I hope your swim was worth it! You missed a good lunch." he said to us, looking at me knowingly after glancing at Bofur's wet attire. I could not prevent what I knew was a blush spreading over my face, so I hurriedly busied myself in passing out the full water canteens, trying to ignore my racing thoughts.

The remainder of the day proved to be quite uneventful, yet it began to cloud over in the afternoon and by evening the heat had finally broken. We were so low on food that Thorin ordered Kili and Fili to scout the area to try and find anything for dinner. They returned after dark and the group shouted and hurrahed to see a doe draped over Fili's shoulder.

It was a late night as we waited for the deer to cook. I shivered, scooting closer to the fire and pulling my cloak tight about my shoulders.

"Here." Bofur said, handing me a huge portion of venison. I looked at him incredulously. "You need some meat on your bones." he added lightly. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the proffered piece. Despite our puzzling riverside moment, it seemed that Bofur was still acting normally around me, for which I was grateful. I vowed to behave tactfully in return.

"So what are your plans?" he continued after he fetched a helping for himself and settled down next to me.

"For what?" I asked.

"When you make it home?" he looked at me curiously in between bites.

"Oh. I hadn't really thought that far ahead." I said, pondering for a moment but keeping my eyes on my food. "Obviously I'll reunite with my family when I arrive. Then I suppose I'll have to find a job... or a husband." I sighed and glanced at him for a moment. "Truthfully the lives of mortal woman are not often noteworthy."

Bofur looked at me sceptically, then nodded his head thoughtfully and looked down to his food.

"What?" I demanded, my eyes narrowing.

"No, never mind."

I brandished a bone towards him in a mock threat. "Tell me."

He looked up at me, his expression suggesting that he thought it was obvious what he was going to say, but I truthfully had no idea, and so once he realized this he went on.

"You're going to settle into a life of mediocrity after all this? The woman who saw the stone giants straight out of legend. The woman who rode with a warg pack and lived to tell the tale. The woman who dragged an orc off a cliff to save the life of another! I mean, who does that? You - you have to be one of the most courageous, reckless, and damned lucky people I've ever met!" His passionate response was drawing glances from the others, and I shrunk down into myself, wishing I could meld into the stump, saving me from embarrassment. Bofur noticed, and began again in a more hushed but still powerful tone.

"People aren't born to live noteworthy lives. The lads and I are an exception to the thousands of dwarves back home who are living normal, settled lives. We chose to be here, just like you chose to run halfway across the world. And just like you chose to be a crazy, idiotic vigilante and nearly got yourself killed more than once. But now, look at what you've seen, at what you've done, you'll have more stories than any other maiden, that's for sure... We can't go back to the settled life - none of us, Thorin, Kili, Óin, Bifur - we're all going to make our lives noteworthy or die trying, and if I'm not mistaken, maybe..." he smiled a broad smile and reached out to clasp my shoulder. "...just maybe, you'll do the same."

"Besides," He added cheekily, "If you wanted a life that wasn't noteworthy, you could'a saved yourself the trouble and stayed in Bree."