Reverie - 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓷 𝓞𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓮𝓵𝓭 𝔁 𝓞𝓒

Chapter 7 - Breathe

"Wait!" Bilbo called, as Blair and him spotted the company. "Stop!"

Gandalf gave a content and knowing sigh as he turned his horse around. Thorin turned his pony around, a look of disbelief on his face. Blair caught this immediately as her and Bilbo stopped in front of them, completely out of breath. She lifted her head a little in pride and made eye contact with him. In return, he turned his pony back the other way. "I signed it!" Bilbo said, holding up the contract. Balin reached to grab it, taking out a pair of small glasses to confirm his signature. He examined both names.

"Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield, you two!" Balin said, smiling down at both of the hobbits. Bilbo looked to Blair and gave her an appreciative smile, which quickly turned into a look of disgust as the head of Balin's pony came right up to his face. Blair giggled.

"Aww, looks like he likes you, Master Baggins!" Kili said, elbowing his brother.

"Give them both ponies," Thorin shouted back, not bothering to turn around. Bilbo immediately tried to stop this arrangement, but Blair excitedly waited for hers. Dori walked a shiny, curly haired pony with a sleek black mane and speckled white coat. Blair immediately put a hand to its head. She'd always dreamed of having her own pony. Now it felt like she did.

"Ready to hop on?" Fili said, jumping down from his pony, and offering his hand to help her up. Dori did the same from the other side.

"Thank you!" Blair said, as they both hoisted her up.

"There you are, miss!" Dori said. Blair smiled in response, trying to maintain balance on the back of the pony.

"Just give it a little kick to the sides to get it moving. By the end of this journey, you'll be as good a rider as any of us," Bofur said to Blair, noticing her struggle. "You're probably already a better rider than Bombur!"

Various shouts and grumbles came from the dwarves at the remark. Everyone started to urge their ponies to move, forming an orderly two by two line. Bilbo was hoisted up on a chestnut pony with a blonde mane via Fili and Kili, who held in a laugh as they did this. Blair had to hold in a laugh, too, after seeing Bilbo's grimace. Suddenly, money bags started flying back and forth. Blair found herself next to Gandalf in the orderly line, and decided to ask him.

"What's that all about?" She questioned.

"Everyone took wagers on whether or not you'd both show up," he replied, facing forward. Blair turned to look ahead as well, thinking about their bet.

"What did you think?" She asked. Gandalf smiled as a small pouch of coins came flying into his hands.

"I never doubted either of you for a second," he said, dropping the small pouch in his big satchel.

"That makes one of us," Blair muttered. Her eyes landed on Thorin, leading the company on. He was the only one without someone at his side. He rode alone. Blair couldn't help but wonder if this was by choice. Perhaps his pride made him think he was too important to be beside anyone. Or maybe no one wanted to ride next to him. Either way, she couldn't help but feel pity for him for some reason. Blair scoffed at the feeling, remembering his doubts and rude remarks at Bag End.

"STOP! Stop, we have to turn around," a voice that could only have been her brother shouted from the back. "I've forgotten my handkerchief!" Blair sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed. She wanted to scold him but held her tongue.

"Here!" Bofur said, ripping off a piece of his clothing. "Use this!" He tossed the dirty cloth to him. Bilbo caught it and cringed at the grime on it. All the dwarves laughed.

"Move on!" Thorin said.

Through forests, they walked. Under lush trees and cloud filled skies, over little, rushing rivers and various logs, or twigs, through mist and sunlight. Blair was captivated by the beauty of this unknown nature. She kept on taking deep breaths, afraid she was walking through a dream. "You've never been outside the Shore borders?" A deep voice questioned. Blair quickly opened her eyes, not even realizing she had shut them and in her moment of stupor, her pony had walked right up to Thorin's.

"Um, no," she answered quickly. He didn't say anything. "Leaving the Shire is basically forbidden in Hobbiton. There's no law against it, of course, but no one there would treat you the same again," she continued. Thorin continued looking forward. He felt something strange when she said this, almost a sort of regret of his efforts to get her to stay behind. She had basically thrown away her respect for a band of dwarves she had just met. He straightened and prepared to give her proper thanks, before a loud boom sounded throughout the air. Blair looked up and flinched. Thunder.

"Let's quickly set up camp here before the storm," Thorin shouted to the company. The grey clouds seemed to be rolling in from a few miles away. They had some time. Blair slid off her pony and walked over to sit on a nearby rock. She hated storms. They were frightfully loud and destructive. Bilbo walked up to her after getting off his pony, with much difficulty. He put a hand on her shoulder. 

The dwarves quickly started a fire and Bombur started making some sort of stew. Thorin and Dwalin walked around the perimeter, scanning for anything they might need to be wary of. Fili and Kili tied up the ponies and started sorting out packs. They all worked so well together. Like one unit. Bilbo noticed this and watched in wonder, but with a hint of shame. He already felt useless and it was the first night. Suddenly he looked down at his sister and saw her looking down at her feet. He sat next to her.

"Don't worry, it'll pass," Bilbo reassured looking up at the clouds. Blair followed his gaze to the dark clouds and gave him a half smile. As Bilbo watched the clouds, he remembered his reasoning for coming after reassuring Blair. She needed him to be there.
From afar, Thorin watched the two siblings with curiosity. He noticed Blair's worried expression as she looked at the rolling storm clouds.

"Let's get a few tents made up," Thorin asked Nori and Ori.

"But we've slept through storms before! We need to save the tents for-" Nori argued but stopped after seeing Thorin's expression. "How many?" Ori asked.

"One will be fine."