Bloodstained (Thorin x OC)

The Art of Distraction

The air seemed dead around the company as they hiked the entirety of the day and a bit into the night. With three of her closest friends among the company missing, she felt an air of awkwardness return that she hadn't felt since before they entered the Misty Mountains. When they finally set up camp, it was farther than they'd liked, but they couldn't go much longer into the night, as they all needed to settle down and rest.

"Agar?" Bilbo asked as Gloin lit a fire, adding more light to the area around them.

"Yes?" She asked.

"I've learned a lot already, but do you think you could teach me a few extra moves with my sword? You're one of the few that hasn't shown me anything yet."

"Of course. Come on over here." She grabbed the sword she'd been given from Laketown and walked a little farther away from the other dwarves. Bilbo followed with his little elvish blade. She went slow, and taught him how to best block attacks from taller opponents, something the dwarves couldn't really teach him.

It took a little while, but eventually, Bilbo had learned four new defensives and one offensive against big folk. It would probably come in handy at some point. During their session, other dwarves began to spar as well, trying anything to get their nerves out. The only ones who weren't fighting were Thorin, Balin, Ori, Bombur, and Nori, the latter having just been defeated by Dwalin a few minutes ago.

"Care to have a go, lass?" Nori asked.

"Sure." She adjusted the grip on her sword, and followed him back out to the edge of the fire light. "Want me to go easy on you and give you a fighting chance?"

"Nah, I want to see how long I'll last." He made the first offensive move, she parried and made an attack of her own. Their blades flew, but Agarwaen was barely breaking a sweat. Nori was a good fighter, but he was slower than Fili or Kili and his attacks weren't as heavy handed as some of the other dwarves. When the fight went on for a while, Nori, who was out of breath, spoke in between strikes.

"You're going easy on me, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I thought you said you wouldn't."

"Well if that's what you want..." She changed her style then to mostly offensive, blocking only when she had to, and within seconds, she'd spun around him, and had her blade against his throat, not even bothering to disarm him.

"That...that was faster than I expected." He admitted as they returned to the fire. Dwalin had also just finished off Dori and the two were also seated around the flames.

"She's undefeated against Dwalin, of course it would be that fast." Dori said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Thorin would give her a run for her money." Dwalin grinned, and said king just sighed and shook his head. "Come on, Thorin. Someone's gotta put the lass in her place."

"He doesn't have to, Dwalin." Agarwaen started, a smug grin growing on her face. She was quite interested to see if she could actually beat Thorin in combat. "After all, what dwarven king would want to be humiliated in front of his kin by losing to an elf?"

"Trying to bait me will not work." Thorin said, looking up at her with a slight challenging smile.

"Well then how about a friendly request to test my skill?" She asked with an eyebrow raised. The dwarves tried to persuade him to accept.

"Fine." He sighed and stood up, unsheathing his sword. She smiled as they stepped away from the fire and took up starting stances.

"Go!" Dwalin called, and Agarwaen waited for Thorin to attack. He came at her with a swing for her stomach, which she blocked before making a move towards him. His sword pushed hers away and he made a stab, forcing her to take a step back. She then went for his arm, which was unprotected for a few milliseconds, but he turned and hit her blade away.