by my oath [oakenshield] [spin-off]

two

preparing for war

Everyone was herded to the armory after the little encounter with Bard and Thranduil. At the moment, Anne was checking out various things of armor. She ran her hands along with smooth and golden Dwarven breastplate, sighing quietly.

"So, he's chosen war, then," she said sadly. "Great."

She stared at the breastplate a little longer, frowning when she saw something behind the mirror of her reflection. Anne turned, squeaking in surprise and catching the shield that was being thrown her way.

"Suit up, Princess," Fili said with a smirk.

"I don't use shields," Anne said, tossing the shield back to Fili.

"How about this?" Kili asked, throwing her a bow.

She laughed maniacally, inspecting the bow carefully. She had lost hers in Dale when she was helping Bard trying to shoot the dragon down before Bain came with the Black Arrow and the bell she was sitting on got knocked over, thus causing her to lose her bow and make her fall unconscious from hitting a building and banging her head really hard before falling in the water and just drifting. Fili found her on the shore much later and hauled her on a boat with the rest of the company, where she then woke up on the boat and nearly caused everyone to fly overboard because she screamed so loud and thrashed around because the very fact that they were on a boat in water made her flip out.

The bow she was tossed was just her size, and it made out of the finest wood. The bow string was made out of the silk of a spider, and she grinned when she pulled it back. The bow itself was light, the string strong. Anne put the bow on her back, her quiver of arrows on her waist.

"That's more like it," she said with a wink.

Fili groaned and put his armor on, Kili snickering before strapping his sword on his side next to his own quiver, his bow on his back. Anne walked around, occasionally helping a few Dwarves with their armor before stopping at the Hobbit, he of which was staring at his reflection blankly. He was wearing a loose white chainmail-like shirt with a gold markings and designs filling the collar and down the middle.

"What is that you're wearing?" she questioned, truly curious.

The Hobbit jumped, glancing at her before looking at himself again. "Mithril," he said. "Thorin gave it to me. It's made from dragon's scales, I think. I'm not so sure. But it's supposedly tougher than the toughest armor."

"How does it feel?" Anne asked him.

He spun around, looking at the Mithril as it seemed to dance and flutter around, its chains rattling like tiny bells. "Light as a feather," he answered truthfully. "I can hardly feel a thing."

"Good," Anne said. "When in battle, you don't want heavy armor."

"Considering that you're not wearing any," Bilbo defended.

"I'm wearing chainmail," she defended.

Bilbo gave her a look. "Seriously?"

He did have a good point. Despite the chainmail that she was wearing, she still looked very casual with her white shirt and brown leggings and combat boots. He could see the little knives hidden in the slots of her boots, though, and it made him grimace a little.

Anne smiled at the Hobbit, approaching him slowly. Bilbo gave her a look. "What?"

Anne shrugged. "The courage of Hobbits," she said. "Even when there is a crisis, your kind never fails to either keep the vibe positive, or bring hope to all."

Bilbo shrugged, blushing slightly. "What about you and Thorin?" he asked. "I mean... you seem to be the only one who's keeping him sane at the moment."