Renacida || Fili x MGIME OC ||

Official Document

A shadow blocked the sunlight. I glanced away from my lap and saw a pair of familiar, mud-covered boots pointed at me.

"Yes?" I asked Dwalin, unmoving from my toe-touch stretches. My body had suffered these past few weeks, and I wasn't as flexible as I wanted to be. The slight, cathartic burn in my calves and glutes proved it, so I bore down more into the fold and increased the strain.

"What're you doing, lass."

"Well, I'm stretching right now, then I was going to go for a jog up this one mountain path."

"You're gonna jog for fun?" Skepticism, but not full-fledged derision, edged Dwalin's voice.

"Yeah. Keeps me in shape. And since we haven't been traveling the past couple of days, I decided to do some exercising on my own."

I pressed down hard for a few seconds before releasing the stretch and coming back up. Since Dwalin's big head shaded me from the sun, I didn't have to squint at him. I wore the same Nikes and dry-fit clothes I came here in, hair pulled back into a ponytail. Dwalin, it seemed, finally conceded that the elves wouldn't murder him in his sleep and no longer donned his heavier armor.

"This is normal for your people?" He had his arms crossed, and I wasn't sure about the point of our conversation, but I answered.

"Oh, some. It's encouraged to be fit, but not a necessity. I personally like it."

"Aye. You're a fast runner, I'll give you that."

Dwalin didn't say it like a compliment, but I took it as one. "Thanks," I smiled. "And, uh, I guess I should apologize for running from all of you in the first place. I was...scared."

He rubbed the side of his head in remembrance of the rock that struck him. "Pretty good aim for someone scared."

My smile broadened.

Dwalin started to walk away. He gestured for me to follow him. "Come on," he gruffly said. "You can run for your own amusement another time. You need to learn what to do when you can't flee from danger."

I rose to my feet, eyeing the dwarf. He didn't look back at me to see if I trailed behind, so sure that I would join. An idea of what we were going to do nagged at the back of my mind, but Dwalin didn't explain himself, and I didn't have much desire to ask. Let it be a surprise!

About five minutes later, the surprise confirmed my idea. I held a heavy wooden sword in my hand that matched Dwalin's. He showed me the proper ways to hold it and where to put my feet, and I asked questions about everything. Though he answered like it was an inconvenience, I took the information all the same. I dealt with rough and annoyed people on a daily basis at work; the attitude rolled off you after a while.

While Dwalin taught the basics, the Company started to gather, little by little, and soon coins glinted in the daylight from the corner of my eye. A training session with an audience. How fun. I even glimpsed Bilbo's curly mop of hair and corduroy jacket amidst the crowd, as well as Thorin lounging in the back.

"Go on, let's see some fighting!" Bofur shouted, and the others loudly agreed. Dwalin looked at me, and for the first time since we'd met, he directed a smile my way.

It wasn't a good smile.

"Ready, lass?"

"No?"

Dwalin moved so fast that I didn't have time to do anything but block once before the wooden tip of the sword pressed against my neck. My hands stung from the hit.

"Again."

The next hour ensued with me either getting my sword knocked out from my grip or knocked into me with the blows. Though I had muscle and a height advantage, I still couldn't match Dwalin's years as a battle-hardened warrior. I maneuvered too slow with the heavy sword, and that got me in trouble.