Where She Went

Recoveries

It felt like she was out for a mere blink of an eye. The young woman forced her eyes open and groaned at the pain of her aching body. She looked around to see that she wasn't dead, or laying against a stone wall on Ravenhill. Talia observed further to see that she was on what looked like some kind of stretcher, in a tent.

The Terran attempted to sit up, but gasped immediately. Her entire body felt completely bruised and burned. That mithril shirt may have protected her from death, but it most definitely did not protect her from pain. Talia heard heavy footsteps entering the tent, and she soon felt large hands on her arms, bringing her back down to her bed. "Easy, little Terran." a gruff voice said. The young woman blinked and looked up to see Beorn stroking the side of her face, trying to calm her down.

Talia slowly brought her hands up to rub the sleep from her eyes. She looked at the Skinchanger with a small smile, but it quickly faded. "What happened?" she asked, her voice tired and hoarse.

"I found you on Ravenhill, unconscious. You looked...terrible." he explained, causing Talia to raise her brows.

"Did I? Like, worse than you when someone decides to poke the bear?" she retorted, bringing a chuckle from Beorn's lips.

"I'd like to think so." His smile dissipated quickly. "We were looking for you for hours. All of us. We nearly thought you were gone." he said.

Talia furrowed her brows. "Wait, what do you mean by "us"?" she asked. "How long have I been out?"

The Skinchanger sighed. "You've been unconscious for two days. The Dwarves you were traveling with joined the search for you of course...at least, those that were able." he elaborated.

Talia widened her eyes. "Who wasn't able?" The Skinchanger didn't reply. "Beorn. What happened?" she asked as firmly as she could.

Beorn finally met her eyes. "The Dwarf...the one who had the axe in his head...he didn't live." he confessed. Talia looked up at the ceiling of the tent, trying to blink away the tears.

Bifur...oh God, no! Though she never had much with him due to the language barrier, Talia was very fond of Bifur. He always treated her decently, and she always tried to listen to what he had to say, despite the fact that she knew that she would never understand him. And now he was gone...and Nori was gone...why did this have to happen? They didn't deserve to die! Talia wiped away the tears that had escaped and looked at Beorn with wide eyes.

"What about the others? Where are they now?" she quickly asked, ignoring the pain her ribs gave her as her muscles tensed.

Beorn sighed. "The king and the princes..." he began, and Talia viciously shook her head.

"No. Don't tell me they're-"

"They're not, little Terran. I promise. Now please, try to relax." he assured her. Talia took a deep breath, and tried not to give in to the tears that burned in her eyes. "They were wounded, all three of them. Badly. They've been confined to bed. I hear that they don't wake often." he confessed.

Talia's breathing began to grow faster in pace. They were alive. But for how much longer? How badly were they wounded? The young woman longed to be there so badly, but she remembered that she was banished. That was probably why she was there in a tent in...probably Dale, and not with her Dwarves.

"How are the rest of them?" she asked.

"They're fine. A few cuts and scrapes...and mourning their losses. They asked about you." Talia gave a small smile, but Beorn could tell that her heart wasn't into it. He could tell that she missed them. "The one with the hat...Bafur-"