A Shot in the dark (Bagginshield)

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Master Baggins?"

The Hobbit looked up and squinted through the glare of the setting sun at the speaker. "Yes, Tauriel?"

Tauriel—who was bloody and sporting a limp but was still very much alive—nodded to the Hobbit's arm. "How are your injuries? Do you need to see a healer?"

Bilbo shook his head and patted the shallow slice going down the outside of his left arm from his shoulder to his wrist. "No, I'm fine. My injuries are all minor. Let the healers focus on the ones who need them."

Tauriel nodded. "I understand. Would you... Would you like to visit Erebor?"

Bilbo glanced to the east where the Dwarven city stood. After Thorin and Fíli had been taken away, he had returned to the battle with Beorn and Tauriel and his remaining Dwarves. The battle had lasted for the rest of the day and it was not until the late afternoon came to pass that it finally ended. Their side had won, of course, but it had come at a great cost. The bodies of every race littered the ground in every possible direction and went on as far as the eye could see. Bilbo could smell nothing but blood and rotting flesh as it baked under the sun. If he had anything in his stomach, he was sure he would have thrown it all up long ago.

"No. I'm still banished from the mountain," he replied as he looked back up to the Elven maiden. "I don't want to go where I'm not wanted."

"They seemed quite concerned over you earlier," the Elf pointed out as she tilted her head to the side; causing bits of loose hair to fall into her face. Her braid had come undone over the course of the day and clumps of hair now fell around her face in a mess of autumn sunshine. The look made her face seem softer and younger than she really was.

"I do not doubt their affection for me," he reassured, smiling slightly. "It is just that their king has set a decree and I do not wish to force them to choose between his word and me. I will stay away for now."

The warrior nodded. "I understand. Would you like to visit the camp then? I heard that Master Bard is there resting. Apparently he was the one to end Azog for good."

"He did? I will have to thank him for that later," he mused, scratching at his face only to wince as he snagged an open cut. "For now though I'm going to help the healers with the wounded. My skills are not much, but I can still help them with the menial work."

"I understand. I will return to helping Master Beorn with burning the bodies," Tauriel replied, pushing back her messy hair behind one pointed ear. She licked her lips and seemed to think about something for a moment before she spoke again.

"Are you... Will you be okay helping the healers?" she asked slowly as she stared down into his eyes. "I know that earlier you were understandably upset over your friends..."

Bilbo nodded even as the memory of Thorin and Fíli's injuries flashed through his mind. "Yes. Helping them will give me something to focus on and keep my mind off of them."

Tauriel blinked her hazel eyes slowly. "Running away from your pain will not make it disappear."

"No, but facing it now will not do me any good," he explained, looking away from the Elf's starlight eyes. "I can't let my thoughts or my emotions consume me. I have too much to do still."

"I see. Well, try to remember to stop and breathe, Master Baggins," the Elf advised before bidding him goodbye. He watched her walk back to where the corpses of the Orcs and Goblins and Wargs were being burned. They had dug a pit as far from the city and camp as possible, but Bilbo could still smell the burning flesh in the air.

To the north of him, he could see the camp that the healers had set up for the wounded and dying. He began to make his way there slowly; his right leg throbbing with every step as he had twisted something earlier. When he got there, the healers welcomed his help and bid him to grind herbs for them, or to fetch water and supplies. He easily accepted their requests and helped them the best he could.