Washed up - A Hobbit story

XIV

We wait anxiously for Bilbo to come back from another scouting out trip. Fili and Kili are getting restless.
"Don't worry, we get to run real soon again." Kili opens his mouth to say something but Bilbo runs down the hill as the others gather around him.
"How close is the pack?" Thorin asks Bilbo, who is panting,
"Too close. A couple of leagues, no more. But that's not the worst of it." Dwalin lifts his head, with a grim look in his eyes,
"They have picked up our scent." Bilbo shakes his head and is still trying to even his breath.
"No, we have another problem-" He is cut off by Gandalf,
"Did they see you?" His voice is suspicious and Bilbo turns to face him quickly.
"No, that's not it." I know that we are just wasting time here and pick up a small rock.
"What did I tell you, quiet-" He stops talking as the said stone hits him in the temple.
"Shut your mouth and listen what Bilbo is trying to say. I don't want to be eaten by a bear." Gandalf turns his head to Bilbo who looks at me with a stunned expression.
"What form did it take? Like a bear?" I huff and roll my eyes, as Bilbo mutters an affirmative answer.
"What part of the sentence 'I don't want to be eaten by a bear' you did not get, Gandalf?" I ask him, annoyed, stressing the word 'bear'.
"I say we double back," Bofur is sounding nervous as he moves turns to look at Gandalf and the other dwarves move on their feet, looking tense.
"Then we'll be run down by a pack of orcs," I answer to him, talking at the same with Thorin. Fili and Kili shift nervously on my sides and the dwarves chatter to each other, not knowing what to do.
"There is a house. Not far from here, where we might take refuge," Gandalf speaks and everyone turns to look at him.
"Whose house?  Are they friend or foe?," Thorin asks, sounding suspicious.
"Neither," Gandalf speaks with a bleak tone.
"He will help us or ... he will kill us." I stretch my legs, preparing for the run to come.
"What choice do we have?" Thorin asks and a deep and loud roar sound from behind us. Gandalf looks at the direction the sound came from as I answer with him.
"None."  I grab Fili by his hand and Kili by his shoulder and drag them moving. We start running through the forest and I let go of them and stay next to Bilbo as we jump over roots and boulders. 

We make our way through a meadow with a shallow stream after we exit the forest. I run next to Fili and Kili and they are already panting heavily as I am feeling well. The exhaustion is not catching up with me yet, although I'm sure it will, eventually. I took a lot of runs while I was seeing my ex, and I usually ran as long as my legs could carry me, sometimes seven days a week, so I can now run pretty long before it has an effect on me. We make our way into a forest and yet again, we are forced to jump over roots and rocks, sticking out of the ground. Another roar is heard and the dwarves stop in fear,
"Keep running!" I yell at them, pulling the nearest one of me with me as I make it towards the house.
"This way, quickly!" Gandalf yells and all of us, except Bombur, start running after him. Thorin pulls him along and I run next to Fili for a moment. I have started to pant and my legs are growing tired. He glances at me, nervously as we run. I shake my head after returning the glance, "I'm fine, don't worry about me. Focus on the path." I pant out and jump over a rock. 

We reach the last meadow and I can already see the house.
"To the house!" Gandalf's voice sounds from the front of the group, as I am at the rear end, behind Bilbo. Bombur speeds past the line and they look quite stunned.
"Run!" Gandalf yells from the beginning of the line again and I yell back,
"What do you think we are doing back here? Having a tea party?" Bofur lets out louder a breath that sounds like a laugh as we get closer to the house.
"A little more, come on. You can do it." I encourage myself in my mind and soon, we run through the gates of the yard and the dwarves slam against the door. I yell out angrily,
"Open the latch, you bloody idiots!" Someone hears me and they push the door open and flood in, one after another. Gandalf and Balin slip in last and the dwarves start pushing the doors close.  As they do so, Beorn's head appears and the dwarves fight to close the door. I jump next to Dwalin, right under Beorn's snout as the dwarves yell at each other to "push!" Together, we slam the door shut and place the wood across it so it can't be opened from the outside. We gasp for breath and I lean on Kilis shoulder as Ori looks at Gandalf with fearful eyes,
"What ... was that?" Gandalf smiles slightly,
"That is our host." The dwarves look at him in stunned silence, I just smile as he continues.
"His name is Beorn. And he's a skinchanger." Gandalf starts to walk around the house and continues as the dwarves fan out as well,
"Sometimes he's a huge black bear, sometimes he's a great, strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However," Gandalf pauses and turns to look at the company,
"He's not overfond of dwarves." A slightly lighter roar ins head outside, and Ori, who had been peeking out of a hole in the door, sounds relieved,
"He's leaving." Dori darts forward and pulls Ori away from the door,
 "Come away from there. It's not natural, none of it. It's obvious, he's under some sort of dark spell." Dori leers at Gandalf, who sounds annoyed as he retorts to Dori,
"Don't be a fool. He's under no enchantment but his own." I pat Dori's shoulder as I walk towards the brothers,
"Not everything new or different is dangerous." I slump down on the straw as Gandalf urges us to get some sleep. The brothers soon land next to me and I pull off my shoes and shake of my jacket. I roll up my jacket and place it behind me to use as a pillow, and I grab my blanket and place the roll next to it. I straighten my legs in front of me and leaned down, so my forehead is touching my knees. I reach with my hands and grab my ankles as the muscles on my legs scream with pain as I stretch them.
"How are you doing that?" Kilis shocked voice comes from next to me and I straighten up and notice that all of the dwarves are staring at me.
"A lot of practice." I get up and grab my ankle and start stretching my thigh, standing on one foot. "What are you doing now?" Kili asks, sounding curious as I switch the leg I am holding on to.
"I am stretching my muscles so they don't hurt so much tomorrow." Kili gets up and tries to copy the position I am in but falls down time after time.
"How do you stand so still? I can't stand on one leg, I keep falling down?" He whines as I look forward, not wanting to lose my spot. I answer to him without looking at him,
"Pick an item and stare at it. It helps to keep your balance." The does as I tell him and he stays standing up, even if he wobbles a bit,
"I did it!" He sounds so pleased with himself and I let out a light giggle as I let go of my foot. I slump down on the hay again and yank my blanket from under me. Fili is looking at me, his eyes never leaving me as I spread the blanket on me. I start to get a little nervous at his never-shifting gaze,
"What?" He blinks and looks at me,
"Huh?" He looks a little bit zoned out.
"You were staring at me, do you want to say something?" He shakes his head, quickly, No... I was just thinking..." His voice trails off yet again as he looks me directly in my eyes for a moment. "His eyes are so nice. They are nowhere near the color he had in the movies, but I am not complaining, the green is much nicer. And as always in the movies or pictures, he looks even more handsome up close like this..." I yank myself out of my thought as I realize what I have been thinking. "Where these thoughts come from? It's not like I like him in that way."  I blink my eyes numerous times, trying to clear my head a little, before laying down quickly. "He's my friend. Nothing more." I repeat to myself, over and over as I am falling asleep. "I am not crushing on him."