We ran until the tree line broke and gave way to plains scattered with jutting rocks. I kept up at an easy pace despite the lack of proper food and water these past few weeks. The other dwarves...not so much. They tried sprinting, but it just wasn't in their forte with their short, stocky legs and high-density content. I actually wound up right behind Gandalf, who ran super well for an old wizard.
Then again, I didn't know any other wizards to compare his running skills to. And the old hippie who called himself Weed Wizard and ran the dispensary five minutes from my house didn't count.
The howling from the wargs and their orc riders speared through the mid-afternoon sky and raised the hairs on the back of my sweaty neck. We only got breaks when we hid behind rocks and waited for Radagast to lead the pack away on his rabbit-pulled sled. This went on for the better part of an hour, but we were bound to be spotted before we reached safety.
My dread was validated when we stuck our backs against a large, lichen-covered rock. The dwarves tried to stifle their panting and wheezing. I glanced at the stone surface, and it took me back to hiking in Colorado between work stints. Craggy rocks and coniferous trees hid lakes and rivers, and mountains reached up to the heavens while the rest of the world sprawled beneath.
The sound of a warg scrambling on top of the rock we hid behind jolted me out of the recollection.
Thorin put a finger to his lips, then nodded for Kili to take the orc and its warg down.
I remembered how this was going to go.
Kili breathed once, twice, then nocked an arrow and darted out into plain view. The warg snarled and Kili shot it, but the arrow didn't land in a fatal spot. As the beast thrashed and roared, the orc attempted to blow a signal horn. Another arrow whizzed into its chest, but that hadn't been fatal, either. They both toppled down in front of the Company, injured but alive, and got back up.
The orc didn't need to blow a horn to alert the rest of the pack. The screams and squeals of both warg and rider sufficed.
I hid my eyes behind a hand, grimacing in second-hand embarrassment and terror, as the dwarves hacked their loud enemies to death.
The howling drew our way. "Move!" Gandalf shouted, and we broke into sprints again. "Run!"
I lost track of time, and I ended up holding Bilbo's hand so he wouldn't fall behind since his legs were shorter than everyone else's. Wargs darted in and out of my line of vision. This wasn't natural, not natural, not natural. How the hell did I deserve being chased by mutant wolves and the literal spawn of evil?
My foot caught on a hidden rock, and I pitched forward with Bilbo in tow. He yelped as we started to go down, but Balin managed to catch my elbow and pulled me back upright. The old dwarf shot me a wink before focusing once more on the danger all around us.
It didn't matter, though. That danger closed in, forcing us to stop running and move tight together. Arrows whizzed past, and one landed too close to Bilbo and me for comfort. Weren't we supposed to be finding a secret tunnel? Right? I couldn't think about the plot of a movie when there were fucking arrows flying at us.
"We're surrounded!" Fili shouted. Kili shot arrows back at the orcs, but we still remained outnumbered. Bilbo drew his sword, and I unsheathed Dwalin's dagger, both of us brandishing weapons we knew nothing about.
Stay calm, I chanted to myself, a familiar mantra. Stay calm.
"Where's Gandalf?"
"He's abandoned us!"
The pack drew farther in. I locked in on a warg and its orc. Better I died than Bilbo, because the chances of me coming back were, so far, proven to be substantially better than a normal hobbit's.
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]
