Fili

11: Lost in Mirkwood (part 1)

In the morning, the company left Beorn's homestead and, with help from ponies, you reached the edge of Mirkwood in no time.

Gandalf, has once again, disappeared. This time he claimed he had "important business to take care of." His only instruction was to STAY ON THE PATH.

Fili gestures for you to go in front of him, putting a hand on your shoulder to let you know he'll be right behind you the whole way.

Thorin of course, leads the way, followed by Dwalin and his brother Balin. They start talking among themselves, probably about gold and dragons. After what feels like hours of hearing them ramble, decide to talk to Fili. The path is too narrow for the two of you to walk side by side, so you just talk louder than usual so he can hear you.

"Fee, how long does it take to get through Mirkwood?"

"A long time, (Y/N). Thorin said it would only take a couple of hours, but I'm almost certain he's being a bit overconfident. We all know how good he is at getting lost. He can't go anywhere without losing his way at least twice." Fili remarks.

You've always appreciated Fili's sense of humour and cheeky sarcasm. You don't have to turn around and look at his eyes to know he rolled them.

You burst into laughter, remembering how Thorin managed to lose his way TWICE trying to find Bag End. Fili begins to laugh too, finding your laugh even funnier than the joke.

"QUIET! We're being watched!" Thorin snaps.

Knowing that was directed at you, you go quiet and bite your lip, your laughter diminished.

Fili reaches for your hands, giving you some comfort.

•••

As night falls, it gets colder. You start to get a feeling that something is lurking in the forest... or many things. Like eyes are watching... no.... ~tracking~ your every move.

Fili reaches over to pull your coat tighter around your body, making sure you're warm. You stop to adjust your hood as well before pulling up Fili's hood too. The tips of his ears are turning red from the cold. You look up at him with deep concern. He kisses your forehead, telling you not to worry.

•••
Dizzy. Pounding headache. Everything around you seemed to spin. You tried to stop and steady yourself but your feet kept moving. You felt like you were walking in circles.
You don't remember wandering off the path, but somehow it happened. The trail was nowhere in sight. Even if you did stumble upon it again you wouldn't be able to follow it because your dizziness was causing your vision to blur.

The rest of the company had scattered. Meandering with no apparent destination.

You stumbled, putting your hands out too late to stop yourself from falling face first into the dirt. You stay on the ground, too exhausted to get up. You hear the shuffling of feet and then an "oof" as someone trips over your legs and lands beside you.

You squint through the blurriness, and see the shape of another dwarf. You inch closer until a head of tousled blonde hair comes into view.

"(Y/N)?" Fili lifts his head, "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me." You stand up before lending a hand to Fili, "Where are we?"

"No idea. I've lost all sense of direction," he sighs, "If only the sun were still out. Then we'd at least know which direction to head in."

You lean down and brush the dirt from yours and Fili's knees.

"What should we do now, Fee?" You question.