I do not own any of the characters or The Hobbit (just the AU storyline and my OC). Those are the work of the esteemed and brilliant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, and without his genius, this and many other fan fics would not be in existence.
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The ponies and horse took off at a brisk gallop as the sound of a warg's howl echoed through the trees behind them. It soon faded, however, but the group did not cease their brisk pace until they were well away from the skinchanger's house. As the ponies began to show visible signs of tiring, Thorin slowed their pace to allow the animals to rest for a bit.
They continued on at a brisk walk, and Cirashala was grateful to finally be able to loosen her tight hold on the young dwarf in front of her. Her left hand was beginning to ache quite badly from its tight grip on the opposite wrist, and her other hand was tingling very uncomfortably as the blood flow began to fully return to it.
The young woman thought back to that morning, when Kili had so vehemently argued against her sharing the pony with him. The whole incident continued to puzzle her greatly. He didn't seem to have any problem whatsoever sharing Deloth with her when they left Meril's house; however their freedom, and quite possibly their lives, had depended on it at the time.
But now that they have rejoined the company, she was finding herself more and more confused at his increasingly strange demeanor towards her, which was very different from how things had been before. Even now, when the others began to talk, albeit uneasily, amongst themselves to pass the time, the young dwarf in front of her remained strangely quiet. He didn't say a single word- not to her, nor to the others unless someone asked him a direct question. Even then, his responses to the other dwarves would be very brief, and it didn't take them long to stop talking to him altogether when it became clear to them that he wasn't in the mood for conversation. The young woman frowned, clearly feeling the enormous tension radiating off of his body in front of her, but was afraid to attempt to speak to him again after his angry responses to her before.
Is he really that angry with me for what he thought I told Meril?
Her heart sank at the thought. She'd apologized more than once, as she knew from the events outside Rivendell that his lack of dwarven appearance was something that hurt him very deeply. She opened her mouth to apologize again, but thought better of it as she swallowed heavily. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, but she blinked them back, keenly aware of the presence of the company both in front of and behind them.
She was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't heard Thorin's order to speed up again. As their pony jumped forward into a gallop, the young woman suddenly found herself lurching precariously far to the left. Eyes wide with panic, she attempted to grasp the leather of his jerkin with her broken hand to right herself, but the tightly bound limb refused to cooperate.
Her left hand frantically grappled for contact with the young dwarf's arm, but it was not enough to remain seated on the pony, and she cried out as the ground suddenly sped toward her.
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Bifur had been eyeing the pair on the pony ahead of him for a while. He was rather surprised that Kili had protested so much when asked to ride with the young woman, and even more surprised when he mounted in front of, rather than behind, Cirashala.
The young prince had insisted that her grip wasn't too tight before they left Beorn's house, but the toymaker had clearly seen that the ride had been very uncomfortable for both the young dwarf and the young woman. His suspicions were confirmed when she loosened her grip the second Thorin slowed the group down.
Bifur had watched as she flexed her left hand while wiggling her right fingers as much as the splint bandaging allowed, and noticed the young dwarf taking deeper breaths as though he had just run a race. The relief on both parties' faces spoke far more than Kili's words back at Beorn's had- she was holding him far too tightly, despite doing so at Kili's direction, and hurting them both in the process.
She should be riding in front of him so she doesn't have to hold him or her wrist.
As if something unknown had heard his thoughts, the toymaker saw her suddenly lurch toward the left. Eyes wide as he saw the danger, he immediately spurred his pony on at full gallop.
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Kili felt, more than saw, Cirashala start to slip as the pony jumped forward. Eyes wide, he grabbed onto her left hand as he tried to rein the pony in, but she had slipped too far already.
"Cir-!" Suddenly, a flash of black and white appeared beside him, and the young prince looked up as Bifur quickly reached out and grabbed the young woman, preventing her from falling to the ground. His pony was so close to their's that the braided stirrups threatened to tangle, and both riders managed to bring their animals to a halt to avoid making the incident worse.
The toymaker quickly pulled her onto his pony in front of him so she wasn't dangling between the two animals, before his eyes met the young dwarf's.
"Ride behind her, you fool!" the black and white haired dwarf commanded sternly in Khuzdul, his eyes quite clear and sparking with anger. "She cannot hold onto you with her broken hand. You should have known that."
Their halt caused the rest of the company behind them to do so as well, and at a shout from Dwalin, those in front of them also stopped. Thorin looked back at them impatiently, and Kili immediately dismounted the pony, winching as pain shot through his ribs from his awkward turn trying to catch her. He did not wish to argue with the angry toymaker, especially after what happened moments before. Cirashala looked at Bifur, confusion in her gaze, and he motioned toward the pony.
"Ride in front," he repeated. The young woman's brow furrowed, and she glanced down at the young dwarf.
"Ride in front of Kili," Bofur piped up, the miner and Bilbo directly behind them now as they had been riding behind Bifur before. "So you don't fall off again." The young woman glanced at the miner, recognition finally dawning in her eyes, before nodding.
Kili watched as she quickly slid off the toymaker's pony, hands at his sides but ready to catch her if she stumbled. Bifur eased her down as best he could from his position, and she made it safely to the ground without incident.
Bilbo and Bofur had dismounted their pony, and the miner folded his hands to help her back up on her's. Nodding to him, the young woman managed to get herself up into the makeshift saddle, her face crimson with embarrassment as she avoided everyone's gaze. Kili's jaw tightened in frustration as he glared at her, before silently mounting up behind her and taking the reins.
I told her to hold me tightly- why in Durin's name did she let go?!
"Move out!" Thorin commanded, his tone clearly frustrated by the incident and the delay it caused, and the young dwarf gently but firmly kicked the pony's sides with his heels, his own frustration mounting. He was even more keenly aware of being pressed up against her than before, and his eyes widened in horror as he suddenly felt his body...unexpectedly reacting to the closeness. Quickly shifting his hips back a little as his face flamed, he swallowed thickly, hoping, no praying, that no one else had noticed, especially the young woman in front of him.
H-how did...? This is why I didn't want to share a pony with her. It's...I can't be too close to her, I just can't.
The rest of their ride continued on without any further incidents, for which the very flustered young dwarf was immensely grateful.
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Cirashala was absolutely mortified. Her face radiated heat as she fought to keep from breaking down into tears. She had ridden horses for many years- since she was five years old, in fact, and had never fallen off of one...until now. She glanced down at the injured limb, the dampness in her eyes making the bandages and splint slightly blurred.
It's this blasted broken hand...it's making me look like a helpless idiot.
She didn't dare look at a single member of the company, knowing that she was likely to see nothing but disappointment and annoyance in their eyes. All of the ground she had gained with them, all the respect she'd earned, all the confidence they seemed to have in her- she felt like it had all been negated now with her clumsy mishap.
I can't believe I almost fell off the damn hor-pony, whatever it is.
The sun slowly sank to the west as they rode, the day passing both slowly and quickly. They had followed the river for a while, before turning northwest. The dark eaves of Mirkwood were but a mere strip on the eastern horizon that sometimes disappeared behind the various grassy hills they passed, the forest barely visible in the distance. Though she remained in a rather bad mood, the young woman found herself marveling at just how BIG Middle-earth truly was as her gaze shifted between the hills and woods to the east and the great spiraling, snowcapped peaks to the west.
The books and maps do not do it justice by far.
The young dwarf behind here was still quite tense and remained silent throughout their ride. She wasn't quite sure, but she thought that he seemed even more tense than before, and her heart sank at the thought. She truly missed the close friend that Kili had become to her, and hoped that he was simply in a bad mood as well and would soon be himself again. But given his demeanor toward her since she first awakened at Beorn's house, the faint hope she had was quickly disappearing and she wondered if she'd truly lost his friendship over the unintended misunderstanding.
As the sun just began to touch the top of the mountains, Thorin called a halt. The company waited as Dwalin and Balin cautiously rode on ahead of them to scout the land at Thorin's direction. They returned about five minutes later and spoke quietly to the dwarf king, who nodded in return.
"We will make camp in here tonight," he announced as he nodded toward the large copse of trees that the two brothers had just emerged from. A small but clear stream flowed into it from the great river to the west into the thickly wooded area.
Kili steered the pony behind his brother's, and the group carefully entered the trees. The young woman ducked under some low lying branches along with the others, before looking up to see a small clearing in the wood. The others were already dismounting when the pair rode up, and she immediately noticed that Kili got off their pony before it was completely stopped. Waiting herself until the animal was truly still, she followed suit, stumbling a bit as she landed on the ground.
"You all right, lass?" Bofur asked behind her as he removed his bedroll from the pony he shared with Bilbo, and she nodded, her face red with embarrassment once more. Her eyes caught the splint again, and she was firm in her resolve as she stared at the hated contraption.
I don't care if my hand hasn't fully healed yet-this damn splint is coming off tonight. I am tired of being completely helpless.
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YAY my reviews are picking back up again (11 last chapter)! Thank you ALL! 3
A response to guest reviewer Guest- You're welcome :) Don't worry- he feels absolutely terrible about it, and will do so :) Yes, you do :) And I hope to update soon :) Keep in mind that I know I have at least one blind reader who can't see the difference in bold letters for review responses so out of courtesy to her and others who don't wish for spoilers, I don't give any out on guest responses. However, if you're curious about Thranduil and what I plan there, I am more than willing to give spoilers via pm ;) I understand your frustration (wish I had time to write more) as my internet keeps cutting out on me too lately, but I do hope to update soon to assuage your frustration :)
A response to guest reviewer Amanda- thanks :)
A response to guest reviewer Kaia- Onward ho! :)
A response to guest reviewer Guest- Thanks :) To answer your questions- yes, he will- but it will be extremely brief and whispered literally as he's passing Kili, much to the latter's surprise as he wasn't aware of Gandalf's having an inkling about his feelings. Gandalf is not a gossip or anything, so he won't be saying anything on this subject to Fili. As to your last statement, yes I know, I know- give it time ;) It's only been about five weeks or so since her family died in a traumatic car accident, and that's not something one can shake off so quickly. She needs to heal more before there is any chance of that happening. Please be patient with me- all good things come to those who wait ;)
Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- you guys are the best! Please keep reviewing- it really encourages me to update ;)