"It looks like we may get rained on tonight."

"I hope not. I don't think anyone packed a tent—a couple of lean-tos, maybe, but no tents. At least, I know I sure didn't pack one."

"Ah, I wouldn't worry, lads. It's late spring—any rain we run into won't last long."

Ori frowned as he listened in on the conversation between the three human guards; he didn't mean to eavesdrop—he really didn't!—but when he had happened to hear mention of 'rain', he couldn't help but to pay attention. Subtly looking up at the sky, he could see dark clouds coming in from the west. "Did you two hear that?" he asked, turning towards Baylee and Fili.

Baylee looked down at him from atop her horse. "Hm? Hear what?" They had been following the river south for three days now and the lands were finally shifting from rocky hillocks to flat grasslands. She was more than a little thankful for this, as it was easier for their mounts to navigate, given they no longer had to go around large boulders or over steep hills.

"The guards said that there's a chance it's going to rain tonight," he replied. "Did either of you pack a tent? I'm not very fond o' the idea o' gettin' wet…"

"No, I didn't," Baylee admitted, an amused smile on her lips, "but I did bring a cloak just in case. Bein' the time o' year it is, whatever rain we do get usually doesn't last too long, so I wouldn't worry much."

Shaking his head, Fili chuckled. "Mother wouldn't let me leave Erebor without a tent," he said, "so if it ends up being longer than a little shower, we can set that up for a bit of shelter." He brushed some hair from his face before turning his gaze to the horizon; he thought he could see the very tips of trees, but it could have easily just been his imagination.

"How many can it hold?" Ori asked.

"About five dwarves—or two dwarves and a human, if she doesn't mind stooping."

"Oh, Baylee won't have t' worry about that," Ori chirped, making Fili and Baylee both snort in amusement. "She's dwarf-sized, remember? The same height as Dwalin, even!"

"If the weather turns that foul, I'm not entirely sure it would be proper for me t' share a tent with two males who aren't related t' me," she told him, laughter in her voice, "but I appreciate the thought, Ori."

Fili pouted at her words. "And I don't think it's proper to let you sit out in the rain after you and your family have given us shelter," he retorted with feigned sternness. "And you're being extended an invitation from royalty and it's terribly rude to decline such a thing."

Then, leaning over so only they could hear him, Ori added, "Not only that, but it'd save you from possibly havin' t' snuggle up with a certain ranger who'll surely offer you his cloak."

"That…is very true," Baylee murmured, her cheeks going a bit pink. "If the weather gets that bad, then I'll happily accept your offer."

Fili glanced at the front of the traveling party, where Rán was riding alongside one of the senior guardsmen. "I take it, then, he hasn't given up his rivalry with Bofur?" Reaching into the inner pocket of his vest, he pulled out his tobacco pouch and pipe.

She shook her head, sighing quietly. "If anything, ever since they started puttin' love-knots in my hair, their rivalry has gotten stronger," she said. Seeing the prince beginning to tamp the tobacco down into his pipe, she twisted round in the saddle before slipping a hand under the flap of her saddlebag. After blindly groping around, she pulled out her own pipe and tobacco.

"I thought those may have been love-knots in your hair, though it's a bit hard to tell from down here," Fili said, his pipe held betwixt his teeth. From his tobacco pouch, he produced a small match holder, which he opened. "Which one did them?"

"Bofur."

Ori and Fili both grinned widely when they heard that. "Ooh, so that's why Bofur was wearin' a crap-eating grin the morning we left," snickered the former. "He knew Rán would be havin' t' look at those braids for a couple o' days at the very least!" Seeing his friends bringing out their smoking supplies, he joined in and retrieved his pipe and tobacco from a pouch on his belt.

Though she rolled her eyes, Baylee wore a small grin. "Aye, I suppose that's a good reason for it," she chuckled. She wouldn't tell them, but she knew the real reason why Bofur had been grinning so broadly three mornings ago: Before they had left, she had made sure to steal a few moments with him in order to give him a proper goodbye hug and kiss.

"And here I was thinking it was because he managed to sneak a mug o' beer before Bifur could stop him," Fili joked, shaking his head. "At least he wasn't bawling his eyes out like mother had been." Getting his pipe lit, he took in a mouthful of the smoke, savoring its flavor for a few seconds before exhaling and scenting the air with clove.

"Was she really cryin'?" Ori asked, his brow lifting slightly. "Dís doesn't seem the sort o' dame t' burst out cryin' at such a thing…"

"She is if the last time her eldest son went out on a journey away from home, he lost his leg and nearly his life." Fili shook his head again, letting out a soft chuckle. "I think it's also because this is the first real step in seeing if I'm fit to take over the throne from uncle."

"That makes sense," Ori said with a small nod of understanding. "At least she can rest assured that this is just a little trip down t' Laketown. What's the wor—" Before he could finish the sentence, Fili had reached over and clapped a hand over his mouth. A look of confusion came to both his and Baylee's faces.

Pulling his hand back, Fili gave him a scolding look. "Anytime that phrase is uttered, something bad happens and that is not what we want, now is it?"

"You do have a point," Ori said, a bit of a sheepish smile on his lips.

"Aye, he does," Baylee said, letting out a small sigh. "Especially with Mannus possibly hidin' out in Laketown." Putting her pipe between her teeth, she lit a match and held it against the tobacco.

Fili cocked a brow. "Mannus? Who's he?"

"The arse who owned the inn that got blown up," she answered, watching as the leaves started to catch. "Everyone thought he had died in the explosion, but it turns out, he faked his own death." She shook her head, cursing the man under her breath before taking a pull of blackberry-flavored smoke. "Bard thinks he did it t' avoid havin' t' pay his debts."

"…He blew up his inn and killed people to avoid paying debts?" Fili repeated, his voice heavy with disgust. "How did he manage to survive, though?"

"There's a tunnel under that inn," Ori explained, smoke furling from his mouth as he spoke. "One that Miss Adela didn't know about because he had it hidden behind some shelves. It led all the way out o' the city."

"And no one else knew about it?"

"No. It's outer entrance is apparently well-hidden behind some boulders," Baylee explained. "He apparently had help, too. Rán an' the rangers found multiple hoofprints outside o' the tunnel's entrance."

Fili's brows now furrowed together. "And I take it he's the reason why Rán and the other two rangers have joined the company?" Baylee nodded. "That makes sense…We had gotten word that there was a wanted man on the run, but I wasn't aware of why he was wanted."

"I don't think your mother would have let you step foot out o' Erebor if she knew there was a chance o' us running into a murderer," Ori said, a dry chuckle leaving his mouth. "Raiders on wargs, aye you can handle those easily—but a single human murderer could be far riskier, given how easy it'd be for him t' sneak up on us."

Baylee shook her head. "I doubt Mannus would try t' murder anyone should he come across our group," she admitted. "Not unless my da' or Will were here."

"Why's that?" Fili questioned.

"He an' my da' are mortal enemies an', since Will is da's son, he hates his guts, too."

Ori cocked his head, confusion on his face. "I wouldn't expect your da' or brother t' be the type o' people t' have mortal enemies."

Fili nodded in agreement. "Quite the opposite, really."

"Well…Mannus is a special case," she sighed. "He was obsessed with my mum when she was alive. Despite havin' a wife an' children o' his own, he was convinced that she an' him were destined t' be together." Her nose scrunched up in disgust for a few seconds. Taking a pull from her pipe, though, made her expression soften up a bit again.

"That's disturbin'," Ori murmured, his brows now knitting together. "Has he ever hurt your da' or brother before he blew up his inn?"

"He managed t' break papa's nose once when Will an' I were toddlers, but he ended up with way worse: A broken collarbone, a broken hand, an' a couple o' cracked ribs."

"I take it they got into a brawl, then?" Fili asked. When Baylee nodded, he couldn't help but snort. "No wonder he ended up so much worse than your father—given Warren's size, he'd be a challenge even for a dwarf!"

"How did the brawl start in the first place?" Ori asked. Holding his pipe between his teeth again, he turned slightly to fetch something out of a different pouch on his belt.

Adjusting her leg slightly so it sat more comfortably on the horn of her saddle, Baylee chuckled—though, it was a humorless sound. "He picked Will up without permission."

Both dwarves winced at this, each making a quiet, almost pained 'ooh' sound. "And I'm guessing it wasn't to save him from any sort of danger?" Fili questioned.

Baylee shook her head.

"No wonder your da' hit him," Ori mumbled. "Everyone knows that unless they're lost or in danger, you do not pick up another person's child if they don't belong to one o' your friends or family. The git had it comin'."

Fili nodded in agreement, twin puffs of smoke leaving his nostrils. "Aye. Combined with how he was obsessed with your mother, I'm surprised he got off with so few injuries."

"Papa wanted t' hurt him more, but he couldn't. Mannus was a friend t' the old Master o' Laketown—who happened t' not be a friend o' papa's. The fight earned him four days in jail."

"What!? But he had every right t' beat him up!" Ori argued, his tone betraying how outlandish he felt this was. He would have said more, but Fili gave him a warning look.

"Humans have different punishments for these sorts of things, Ori," he gently reminded him. "And with how corrupt the former Master was, it doesn't surprise me that Warren, though in the right, was the one who ended up punished."

Baylee let out a small sigh. "Aye…From what I've been told, things would have been worse for papa if Hilda Bianca hadn't been there t' vouch for him. She saw the whole thing happen."

"Do you know what your mother did when the fight happened?" Fili asked, his head tilted somewhat in curiosity.

"From what auntie says, mum passed me off t' Hilda Bianca before goin' over an' threatening t' tie Mannus t' four horses an' having them all run in different directions."

Once more, the dwarves winced; this time, however, they were amused and impressed. "That sounds like a very painful punishment," Ori snorted.

Grinning, Baylee nodded in agreement. "Aye. My mum was a gentle woman until someone threatened or hurt her loved ones. That's when her temper came out." She quietly laughed, remembering the times her mother had threatened or scolded someone who had upset her. "The women o' Rohan are tough an' can be even tougher in their threats."

"Rohan?" Fili repeated. "Your mother was from Rohan?"

"Aye, she was. She an' my auntie came t' Laketown t' do a bit o' trading when they were younger. While there, they met the loves o' their lives an' the rest is history." She tucked a bit of hair behind her ear; though it felt nice to share these amusing memories of her mother, she couldn't help but worry if she was going to end up having nightmares that night because of it.

"Have you ever been to Rohan?" asked Fili. Pulling his pipe from his mouth, he looked down into the bowl to find only a few embers left.

Watching the prince check his pipe, Baylee copied him; hers still had enough tobacco in it for a few more good pulls. "Once, when I was about ten or eleven. Mum an' auntie took me, Will, an' our cousins down t' meet our grandparents. Will was terrified o' the large draught horses they had on their farm." She laughed at the memory of seeing her brother scared stiff by the enormous creatures.

Ori exchanged a look of confusion with Fili. "How big are draught horses?" he asked for them both.

She cocked her head, confusion on her face now as well. "You've never seen a draught horse?" They shook their heads. "Oh. Well, they're huge—big enough that my da' looks like a normal sized man when standin' next to one." Seeing their looks of awe, she giggled. "You actually might get t' see some tomorrow as the farmers take their crops t' the city."

"If they're large enough that they make your father look like a normal sized man, I'm not sure if I want to see some," Fili thought aloud, making both Ori and Baylee laugh.

By the time the group of merchants and guards had stopped for the evening, the predicted rain had arrived. However, it was nowhere near as bad as Ori had thought it would be: It had been little more than a sprinkle that lasted for all of half an hour and, within two hours' time, it was almost impossible to tell that it had rained at all due to how quickly the dried earth had absorbed and the sun could be seen hanging low in the sky.

'It left a refreshing smell behind, though,' Baylee thought as she knelt down beside the river, her over dress in hand. Dunking it into the icy water a few times to thoroughly soak it, she felt a shiver run down her spine. 'I hope the lake isn't this cold…I'd love to drag Elle swimming with me while we're there…'

Picking up a bundle of soapwort leaves and roots she had gathered, she began to rub them into a large stain on the garment's chest area. The stain was a result of her being startled by a large spider crawling up her leg and making her spill some of her soup in shock. Luckily, Ori had been sitting beside her and rescued her by flicking it away.

'It's been quite a while since I've had to use soapwort,' she silently remarked to herself, her brows furrowing as she continued to scrub. A bit of a green-tinted lather began to form and started to lift the stain from the fabric. 'I almost forgot how tedious a plant it can be…'

"I am surprised Prince Fili or Ori are not with you."

A quiet squeak left her mouth and she looked up only to see Rán standing near her, a bit of amusement on his face. "O-Oh, hello, Rán," she said, sighing in mixture of relief and amusement. "I didn't hear you come over."

"A habit we rangers have, I am afraid. I do apologize for startling you, though," he said with a soft chuckle. He moved to sit near her, one leg extended out while the other was bent upwards, allowing him to drape his arm over his knee. "I do wish you had brought someone over here with you, however."

Her brow rose slightly. "Why? I'm still perfectly visible from camp."

"You were half an hour ago, yes," he said, his own brow rising a bit, "but you are to the west of camp and, with the sun setting, it is rather difficult to tell the difference between you and a rock. Especially when you are hunched over like this."

She snorted and shook her head. "Rán, I'm barely twenty yards from camp," she told him. "Even if it is a bit hard to see me, the worst that could happen t' me is I trip an' fall into the river."

A more serious expression came to his face now. "Baylee, you and I both know full well that something far worse could happen."

At that, she sighed and sat upright for a moment—both to ease the ache growing in her back and to look over at him. "There's nowhere for Mannus t' come from, Rán," she told him, sounding the slightest bit exasperated. "Unless he came from the depths o' the river itself, which I doubt could happen, given how cold it is an' the fact that he can't breathe underwater."

"I know," he assured her, his tone understanding, "but I would much rather err on the side of caution in a situation like this one."

Brushing a bit of stray hair from her face, she closed her eyes and exhaled a silent sigh. "Believe me when I say I know better than anyone the sort o' danger I'm in," she told him, her voice softer. "It's the only reason I've kept this on me." She patted a knife she had strapped to her belt; Demelza had given it to her the morning they left. It would be more useful than her spear should Mannus or one of his friends try to ambush her, she had told her. "An' given that everyone was busy readyin' their bedrolls for the night, I didn't want t' bother anyone t' come watch me wash a stain from my over-dress."

He watched as she picked up the garment and dunked it into the river a couple of times only to lift it up and squint at the stain. "I assure you, it would not have been a bother to any of us. Least of all to me." He reached over and gently brushed his knuckle against her cheek, a fond smile coming to his lips when he noticed her skin pinken under his touch. "You should let me redo your braids," he then said, his voice a bit softer now.

Biting her tongue, she plucked up the muddled mess of soapwort and looked down at the over dress as she began scrubbing the stain once more. "Perhaps tomorrow," she answered. "I know it looks like a bit o' a mess right now, but I'd rather take a bath an' get it nice an' clean before anyone touches it." It wasn't entirely a lie—it had been nearly a week since she had last washed her hair and it was beginning to get a bit on the greasy side—but for the most part, it was a lie, as she wanted to keep Bofur's braids in just a little while longer.

Rán, thankfully, didn't seem to suspect her true intent and nodded in understanding. "Fair enough," he instead said, chuckling as he turned his head to look at the setting sun. "I do believe a bath will be one of the first things we will all be seeking out once things get settled tomorrow…I know I am in dire need of a shave as well." He rubbed his chin, which was sporting a thick, auburn beard; while it would take months for a human to grow such a handsome beard, thanks to his dwarven blood, he had grown it in less than a week.

Baylee couldn't help but giggle at his comment, her brow rising as she glanced over at him. "Make sure Ori an' Fili aren't around when you do it—they might faint from the horror o' seein' you shave."

"Oh, I am certain it would take far worse than merely shaving my beard to make the two of them faint," he chuckled. "However, if I were to perhaps cut my hair as well as my beard, then they might feel a bit lightheaded." Plucking up a lock of his hair, he held it out so that the strands were completely straight; he was a bit surprised to see how much it had grown since leaving Dorwinion. "…Actually, I may just do that, though not to horrify them, of course." He let go of the lock and it bounced back into place, partly curled up once more.

"Why do you shave and trim your hair?" she asked, her head tilting somewhat. "If you don't mind my askin', that is."

He let out a soft laugh. "I do not mind in the least—in fact, I was wondering when someone would ask such a thing." Smiling, he closed his eyes and let his head tilt back; by all means, he looked like the epitome of relaxation. In truth, though, he was keeping an ear out for any sounds that didn't belong. "There are only two reasons I shave my beard and cut my hair," he began. "The first being that Dorwinion is very warm. I know I must have mentioned to you how hot it can get in the midst of summer."

"Hot enough that you swear you once baked a loaf o' bread in an iron pot with the sun's heat alone," she laughed. "I still can't imagine a place bein' that hot…"

"Thank the Valar those days are incredibly rare," he chuckled. "But yes, it can get very hot and having this much hair can make things uncomfortable—at least, in my case it does. Especially when, at the time, I was apprenticing at the bakery." He lightly shook his head, amusement still on his lips. "There are some bearded folk that I know of who claim their facial and body hair help keep them cool, however."

"Maybe you just don't let yours grow long enough?" she suggested. "Maybe a beard needs t' be down t' your naval before it starts t' repel heat rather than trap it."

He quietly snorted. "I would much rather stay cool by way of removing the hair than keeping it, to be honest. Which, as it turns out, leads to my second reason: I find it quite itchy, especially when it is about half an inch long. I am not sure why, but I always find it to be itchiest at that point."

She nodded in understanding before moving to rinse her dress off a second time. "I can believe that. I've heard plenty o' men complain about how itchy their jaws get when they haven't shaved for a couple o' days."

Holding the over dress up to inspect her work, she ended up having to turn away from Rán in order to see the stain thanks to the setting sun; part of her hoped he didn't think she was snubbing him. She found that the second scrubbing had done the job and the stain was practically nonexistent. Just to make sure the garment was properly rinsed, she dipped it into the water a third time, swishing it around to agitate it and get all the soapwort out.

"Really, I find it to be the only downside of being half dwarf," he said, not noticing how she had turned away from him. "Everything else more than makes up for the occasional bout of facial itchiness." Hearing her grunt, he looked over in time to find her beginning to wring out her dress. "Would you like some help with that?" he offered, his head tilting.

A small, sheepish smile came to her lips. "A bit o' help would be lovely," she admitted. She watched as Rán stood up before holding the bundle of wet cloth out to him.

Taking it from her, he held it over the river and started to wring it out. He was much stronger than her and, as such, he was able to quickly squeeze out far more water than she could have managed. "There," he said, untwisting the over dress and shaking it out. "It should not take very long to finish drying now."

"Thank you." Baylee smiled as she stood up. Taking the dress back from him, she gave it a few, hard shakes in order to get some of the larger wrinkles out. "At least now I'll be wearin' one clean thing when greetin' my cousins tomorrow," she thought aloud, making Rán quietly snort.

A/N: Hello, my lovely readers~ I'm sorry it took so long to get this update out, but as I mentioned over in Her Dreams Became Nightmares, my fanfic updating schedule is kind of out the window for the time being thanks to Real Life. I'll update when I can, and I'll try to stick to the Nightmares-Azying-PotC order I have going, but it'll no longer be once a month for each of them. 😟

Also, a bit random, but how do you all like the author notes at the end of the chapter? Or do you prefer having them at the beginning?