The Shapeshifter (A Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 15

I struggled to get up as I watched Bilbo wrestle with the Orc, pure rage surging through my veins.  First, the Orcs attack us, catch me, then they nearly kill Thorin...  Now, Bilbo is in danger?  I snarled and nipped the Warg on the muzzle, freeing myself as I shifted.  I attacked the Orc, as he went to strike Bilbo, and ripped off his head.  The pale Orc roared in anger but didn't charge.

I stood beside Bilbo, placing myself between the Orc and the dwarf, and growled menacingly.  Bilbo held up his sword, looking scared out of his mind.  Behind us, the dwarves were shouting and holding on for their lives.  Suddenly, I heard what sounded like eagles and watch a giant one fly in and knock him to the ground while others flew in and helped the other dwarves.  I shifted to my dwarf form and caught Bilbo's arm.

"Get ready to run straight for the cliff..."  As soon as one caught Thorin, I nodded.  "Now!"  We both jumped off the cliff and landed on the back of one of the eagles.

As soon as we landed, I winced.  My side was worse than before, and I could barely stand.  Bilbo helped me sit down and held tight as we flew.  We flew through the whole night, flying east, towards the mountain.  Soon, we landed on a mountain side a good distance away.  I stumbled as I rushed towards Thorin.

He was still breathing, but he was hurt pretty bad.  Placing my hand on his side, I noticed a few ribs were out of place.  I muttered a simple spell had had learned from the elves which would mend bones without having to cut into the person.  This spell was the first one any of us were to learn before we trained because it helped to heal in the middle of the fight.  I stepped back and waited.  Before long, his eyes fluttered open.  As he got to his feet, he looked at Bilbo, clutching his side.

"You!  You foolish hobbit!  What were you thinking?!?  You could have been killed!  You shouldn't have come, like I said..."  I stepped forward, ready to protest, but he brushed past me and hugged Bilbo.  "I've never been so wrong in all my life!"  He looked over at me and released Bilbo.  "Are you okay?"  I looked down and saw my side was bleeding again.

"I'll be fine...  I don't have the energy to try to heal myself, so I'll just bind it."  He hugged me and kissed my forehead.

"I thought I told you not to scare me again!  When I saw you hit the ground...  I thought we were going to lose you!"  I rested my head on his shoulder and trembled.

"I'm sorry, Thorin.  I had to do something...  They would have killed you all!"  He looked down at me and smiled.

"I'm glad you did, but that doesn't mean that you can go rushing into battle like that."  I looked down and blushed.  Everything Balin had said about Thorin before the trip was proven to be true right then and there.  He worried about me because he loved me...

"Hey, what's that?"  I turned and looked out onto the horizon.  A dark shape broke the beautiful sun rise.  My jaw dropped.

"It's the Lonely Mountain!"  The others cheered as they looked upon it.  Thorin rested a hand on my shoulder.

"It's home..."

I worked hard, trying to bind my side as Bilbo scouted out ahead.  Since I was injured, Thorin insisted I stayed close to the group, afraid the scent of my blood would attract the Orcs.  It was still bleeding, which was odd since I never continued to bleed for more than a couple minutes.  I worked while Thorin had his back to me, not wanting to worry him any further.  As soon as it was bound, Bilbo came running.

"We have a problem..."  Gandalf frowned.

"Did they see you?"  Bilbo shook his head, doubled over to catch his breath.  "What did I tell you?  Quiet as a mouse..."  Bilbo finally stood up straight.

"There is something else out there!"  I trembled slightly at the fear in his voice.  Gandalf froze.

"What form did it take?  Was it that of a bear?"  Bilbo frowned and nodded.  While the others started to argue, I watch Gandalf, who seemed to be processing what was happening.  Then, he spoke.  "There is a house nearby.  If we can reach it, we will be safe."  Thorin cast a nervous glance at me before he responded.

"What other choice do we have?"  A roar startled us all.  Even Gandalf seemed afraid.

"None..."  We all took off, running as fast as possible.  I found myself towards the back as we ran down the mountain, trying to make it to the valley at the bottom of the mountain.  The thunder of paws followed closely behind me.  This urged my steps forward, making me run as fast as I could.  Thorin had slowed down enough to stay by my side.  When we reached halfway across the field, the bear emerged from the woods and roared at us.  I stopped and turned.  Thorin stopped as well.

"Come on!  We have to reach the house!"  I shook my head, watching the bear charge.

"You go...  I'll buy you guys some time..."  He took off as I shifted into a bear, equal in size to the one charging at us.

At first, the bear didn't even notice.  Then, when it reached me, it stood on its hind legs and roared at me.  I stood and mimicked its roar, ignoring the pain in my side.  It lowered itself back to the ground and started to sniff me.  I growled and swatted at it with my paw.  It backed away before I hit it and took off for the woods.