Daughter Of Dragons: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Transportation

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     Valadhiel pulled herself out of the barrel that she and Bilbo were in, climbed onto a branch hanging out over the water, shifted into her silver leopard form, then jumped back into the water. Her wings had begun to cramp in the barrel, and she would rather paddle with four legs than allow a barrel to carry her along with the current.

     "Anything behind us?" Thorin asked after a moment.

     "Not that I can see." Balin replied.

     "Vala?"

     Valadhiel lifted her head and looked behind them, scanning the area the best she could. "I don't see anything."

     "I think we've outrun the orcs." Bofur said, looking around as well.

     "Not for long. We've lost the current." Thorin told them.

     "Bofur is half drowned." Dwalin said, looking over at his fellow dwarf in concern.

     "Make for the shore!" Thorin ordered them before beginning to paddle towards it. "Come on, let's go."

     Valadhiel gladly began making her way to the shore, and she was one of the first ones there. Once on the shore, she shook the water off of her fur before she began to count everyone. Thorin, Bilbo, Kili, Fili, Dwalin, Balin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Gloin, Oin, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur were all there.

     Fili and Bofur had gone over to Kili shortly after they'd climbed out of the barrels, and they both seemed to be pretty concerned about him. Valadhiel noticed this and walked over to them, giving a concerned look of her own when she noticed the condition that Kili's leg was in.

     "I'm fine." Kili assured them. "It's just a scratch. Nothing more."

     "On your feet." Thorin ordered them all, looking over at Kili, who was sitting.

     "Kili's injured." Valadhiel said, looking over at Thorin.

     "His leg needs binding." Fili added.

     "There's an orc pack on our tail. We keep moving."

     Valadhiel frowned a little when Thorin spoke, then she shifted into her elf form, looked at Kili, and placed a hand over his wound. "Keep still. I should be able to do this quickly. Driving out any poison may be painful, however."

     "I'm fine, Vala, really." Kili told her, moving his leg away. "Don't waste your energy. We can tend to it later."

     "To where?" Balin asked Thorin after the king had said they would keep moving.

     "To the mountain; we're so close." Bilbo replied.

     "A lake lies between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it."

     "Couldn't Vala fly us across?" Ori asked.

     Valadhiel looked from Kili to Ori before she shook her head. "It would take too long, as I can only carry a couple passengers at a time in dragon form. I wouldn't feel safe taking only two at a time. We have no weapons, so we need to stick together."

     "So then we go around." Bilbo suggested next. He wasn't about to let anything stop them now. They were so close, and he hadn't left home for nothing!

     "The orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight." Dwalin said. "As Vala mentioned, we have no weapons to defend ourselves. She is, in fact, our only weapon as of now."