It was my first time bathing while with the Company, and oh boy, was it needed. I had gone without bathing for longer periods of time, depending on where my work took me, but I always had baby wipes, bottled water, and deodorant on hand.
I didn't have those luxuries here.
Bilbo lent me soap, a comb, and some sort of powder I probably guessed was for hair. It smelled faintly of lemongrass and some other scent I hadn't come across. I thanked him, unable to keep from ruffling his damp curls. Bilbo laughed and ducked away. He put his fists up.
"I wouldn't do that, my lady," he said, exaggeratedly squinting one eye. I strained to not call him unbelievably adorable. He looked just like Luis.
"Sorry, sorry, I'll go before I get a beating," I joked, then headed off to the stream left unoccupied for me.
"Don't get yourself into too much trouble, lass!" Nori called. "Those things swimmin' in the water are just fish!"
I ignored his guffaw and the other dwarves' snickering.
The stream, rocky and bubbling, came up to my thighs. I stripped first and used the soap to wash my clothes. Everything was stanky, but because all the fabric except for the underwear and socks was made for exercise, it'd dry fast enough. The cloak seemed to be made from woolen material and would easily wick moisture out, so I washed it as well.
With the clothes draped on a couple branches, I plunged into the water. Better to just get through the initial shock, scrub, and leave. The frigid temperature locked me up for a moment, but then I brought my head to the surface and breathed deeply. Sunlight dappled the grass and water between emerald leaves. Sweet-smelling, unfamiliar wildflowers clung to the base of trees and rocks, dotting the landscape with whites and pale pinks.
Bathing in a stream reminded me of work. Not that I took actual baths in one, but more often than not the water was always cold, whether it be in China, Kenya, Columbia, or even Mexico.
I should have been in Nepal, by now.
Weeks of grease and grime ran into the stream when I dunked my head underwater again to wash the soap out of my hair. After I came back up, I gave it all a few twists. Excess water ran down my front, and as I followed its paths, I found myself staring at the faded, dark pink splotch that sat on the top of my right rib cage.
A wild boar gouged one of its tusks in the spot three days into this world. I had been bathing in a stream then, too, and couldn't outrun the animal.
I bled out beneath the late afternoon sun.
And woke up to the pale orange sunrise.
Nervous that there was another wild boar somewhere nearby waiting to spear me, I clambered out of the stream and started to air-dry since nobody offered a towel of any sort. I doubted such necessities existed among a pack of thirteen hairy men traveling to reclaim their lost kingdom.
After checking the state of my clothes—which were close to being good to wear again—I laid out Fili's impressively dried cloak and sat on it once my bum wasn't too wet. I took out Bilbo's comb and started the long process of detangling my hair. But without conditioner and other helpful products to manage my curls, it quickly became a fight with the angry Hispanic waves.
"Ow. Fuck. Ow! Hijo de puta! Come—on—"
Snap!
I froze.
Half the comb stuck in my hair while the other half now lay broken in my grasp.
I gritted my teeth and uttered a few forsaken curses.
YOU ARE READING
Renacida || Fili x MGIME OC ||
Fanfiction[Fili x OC] Bilbo finds kinship with her. They're both so very far from home. He doesn't realize just how far away she is. [available under the same name on ao3]
