Taming the Wolf (A Hobbit Fanfic)

Chapter 18

With Gandalf having returned not long after the sun has set - just as he had promised - Frêllian and Thorin filled the wizard in on the plan. And after the decision had been made, Bilbo had gone ahead to scout for their enemy. Not that Frêllian had been pleased about that decision though. But there had been no use in arguing. Their enemy knew the scent of Frêllian and the others would be too loud.
No, it had to be Bilbo. His scent foreign to the ferien and wargs and his feet moved almost soundless. And much to her surprise, the hobbit had seem eager for the job too. Having put on a brave face to assure Frêllian he should be the one for the task. Not that it had eased the ferian's nerves.
'I don't like this one bit,' Frêllian muttered as she glanced towards the path Bilbo had taken. 'Bilbo has been gone for quite a long time. And I can't hear anything.'
'Have a little faith in our hobbit,' Balin said, petting her shoulder. 'You of all should know what his capabilities are.'
'Balin is right,' Kíli chimed in cheerfully. 'Bilbo has surprised us many times. Do you remember how he had sneaked up on us after we escaped Moria?'
That put Frêllian in an even darker mood. She didn't need to be reminded how her dear little hobbit friend had silently sneaked up on them. She had feared for his life when Gandalf had pointed out they had been one hobbit short.
Suddenly her head perked up, alerted by a disturbing sound. A loud roar had filled the air not a moment ago and near to where Bilbo had disappeared. The sound alone sending shivers down her spine as a couple of curious eyes set upon the alerted ferian.
'What is it?' She didn't look at Thorin, nor did she answer him. So he asked again, this time more urgent. 'Frêllian, what did you hear?'
'I... don't know.'
After her confession, Frêllian searched her mind for any creature she knew that could have roared like that. It could not have been a warg, nor a ferian, for canines don't roar. Orcs do roar, but they couldn't roar that loud. Besides, it hadn't sounded like an orc anyway.
What about a feline though? Their roar could carry around for miles. But their roar was much more different. Higher than the roar she had heard. That left only one creature she knew of and she didn't like it one bit.
In the corner of her eye, Frêllian saw something move and soon after Bilbo appeared. The poor hobbit desperately tried to catch his breath as he was bombarded with questions. He tried to answer Dwalin's questions the best he could, before answering Gandalf's.
'But we have another problem.'
Upon answering the question on whether or not he had been spotted, Bilbo was ignored.
'What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse. Excellent burglar material.'
The dwarves chuckled loudly in appreciation of Bilbo, as Gandalf stood proudly. Even Frêllian had to admit she had underestimated Bilbo. Still the roar she had heard bothered her and she turned her gaze towards the hobbit once more.
'Bilbo?' Upon hearing his name, the hobbit turned his head towards Frêllian. 'What else did you see? What else roams these woods?'
That got the attention of Gandalf. He asked Frêllian if she had heard anything, before turning to Bilbo when the hobbit stated he had seen something big.
'What form did it take? Like a bear?'
'Ye...' Bilbo began, but paused, looking at the wizard curiously. 'Y-yes. But bigger.'
'So he has settled here it seems.'
Though Frêllian had only mumbled the words, the others had heard her. Questioning her how she knew of this beast. But she didn't answer immediately, for she had heard his roar once again. This time even more dangerous. Then she turned to face the others again. She promised that she wouldl explain later.
'But first we need to get away from here.'
'I say we double back,' Bofur suggested frightfully.
'And be run down by a pack of orcs.'
Frêllian agreed with Thorin. Saying the only option was to find shelter. Mirkwood would be preferable, but the forest was still too far away. Especially with the orcs still hunting them.
'There is a house,' Gandalf stated. 'It's not far from here. We might take refuge there.'
The look in his eyes betrayed he wasn't certain about his option. Still Frêllian feared they didn't have a choice. Whether a friend or foe lived there, they needed to get away from here. Now!
'What choice do we have?'
Thorin didn't have to wait for his answer for long. Right after the words had left his mouth, a roar came from behind. It was all the dwarf-prince needed for an answer. Without a word, everyone ran off, following Gandalf to the said house.
They ran and ran and ran even more. With an occasional jump over a tree trunk. And even when they reached the end of the forest, the kept on running. That was, until an ear-splitting roar sounded nearby. In panic, some of the dwarves had stopped running to look around. But after a shout from Gandalf, they quickly continued.
'To the house,' Gandalf shouted as they crossed a stream. 'Quickly now!'
They were almost there, Frêllian realised as she pulled Bilbo along. Luck might be on their side still. But her hope was quickly shattered as a giant black bear bursted out of the forest with a loud roar. And to her horror, Thorin had fallen behind. The small movement of his hand were quickly picked on by her predatory senses.
His wounds!
A quick whiff confirmed her thoughts. The scent of fresh blood filled her nostrils, telling her his wounds had reopened. And with his current pace, he wouldn't be able to make it to the house it time. Frêllian grinded her teeth in frustration as she argued with herself. She had made a promise never to do such a thing. Never!
As she glanced over her shoulder, she fell back a little. Ignoring the startled cry of Bilbo. She urged him to keep on running and not to look behind. Then she looked over at Thorin again. The bear was now getting awfully close to the said dwarf. If she didn't break her own promise, then Thorin would surely die!
And with that, her decision was made. Without a second thought, she quickly shifted into her wolf form and made a u-turn. Attacking the bear would be very unwise indeed. But her eyes were not fixed on the approaching bear.
Instead her yellow eyes had locked in on Thorin. Assessing his movements as she ran over to him.
'Climb on,' she commanded, stopping in front of him. 'Now.'
Thorin was about to protest - probably because of his pride. But she ordered him to shut up and threatened to carry him likes pup otherwise. Not liking the sound of that, Thorin quickly climbed on top of Frêllian and the ferian dashed off. Her feet now moving quicker than before, they quickly passed by the others.
As they reached the house, Thorin quickly jumped off of Frêllian to open the door, keeping an eye on the roaring bear. Once everyone was inside, the door was slammed shut. And not a moment too late. Just as the door was shut, something big collided with it. An angered growl was heard from the other side which Frêllian answered with a growl of her own. Even snarling as the bear tried to open the door.
'What was that?'
'That would be a skin-changer,' Frêllian answered the scribe. Then she shifted back again. 'And something tells me this is his house. Tell me, Gandalf. Did you know Beorn lives here?'
She turned to look at the wizard accusingly. She had seen the look in his eyes when Bilbo had mentioned a bear. Bewildered at the sudden attention, Gandalf tried to recompose himself. Then he answered the female. Admitting he had known about the skin-changer and his house. Then he explained to the dwarves what they were dealing with. That their host sometimes was a huge black bear and sometimes a great strong man.
'The bear is unpredictable,' he told them. 'But the man can be reasoned with.'
This earned a scoff from the ferian. She had dealt with the skin-changer before. And she knew it was all rubbish the wizard was telling them. There was no reasoning with Beorn. Not after what had happened to him. Especially not after what had happened to him.
'You forgot to say that he despises dwarves,' Frêllian grumbled darkly.
'Now now, my dear. "Despise" is such a big word,' the wizard argued, though she could see the uneasiness in his eyes. And he could not hide the fear she smelled on him. 'But he is indeed not overly fond of dwarves.'
As Frêllian heard the bear leave, a heavy hand is placed on her shoulder. And without turning to face him, she already knew who it is. His scent betraying him.
'Thank you,' Thorin said in a deep voice, 'for saving my life.'
'Don't thank me just yet.' She turned to face the dwarf, seeing him frown at her words. 'There is no saying in how Beorn will react when he has shifted back to a man. He might help us, but there is a change he will kill us.'
'In that case we will have a fierce warrior with us, able of fighting such a foe.'
Not daring to answer the dwarf, she only smiled weakly at him. Which seemed to be enough, for Thorin left her side. Then her eyes shifted back to the door, not feeling at ease at all.