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"Valadhiel, should anything ever happen to me, there's something I need you to do."

"What is that, Mother? What would you have me do?"

"Go to a place called the Carrock. There, you should meet someone named-"

"Valadhiel?"

Valadhiel flinched when her name being said pulled her out of her daydream, and she looked around to find out who had called her name. Upon seeing Bilbo, she smiled. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Thorin is ready to set out." Bilbo informed her. "He wanted me, uh, to come and... and let you know."

"Oh, yes. Thank you, Master Baggins." Valadhiel replied as she got to her feet. She looked out at the sky to see the sun rising. Had she really been thinking for three hours? Well, there were other things she had done, though there hadn't been much to do while waiting for the dwarves to all wake up.

Bilbo nodded, then he furrowed his brow and looked at her curiously. "Did you... did you sleep at all last night?"

Valadhiel looked at the halfling and bit her lower lip briefly. "A little, though it wasn't the best sleep I've gotten." She then smiled at him. "Don't worry, I'll be quite all right. It would not be the first time."

Bilbo didn't look very convinced, but he offered her a smile before he turned and led her to the others. Gandalf and the dwarves had just finished gathering what they needed when the two came back over.

"You've been wandering off quite a lot lately, lass." Balin commented, then he furrowed his brow. "Are you all right?" The dwarves had spent a lot of time with her by this time, after all, as she had gone to their home and had traveled back with them to the Shire. By this time, many of them knew what was typical of her and what wasn't. It was normal for her to wander off every now and then, though not this much.

"Yes, I'm all right. I've just been thinking a lot." Valadhiel replied, smiling at them again before she looked at Gandalf, who had begun speaking.

"Master Dwarves, there is something I need to discuss with you." Gandalf began. "Along our journey, we will pass by Rivendell. I think it would be a good idea to not only stop there and rest, but to speak with Elrond The Half-Elven."

"I disagree." Thorin spoke up immediately after Gandalf spoke. "I have no intention of stopping there. The elves would not approve of this quest."

"We don't need their approval." Valadhiel replied, looking at Thorin. She had looked back at him before he'd even spoken, knowing that he would disagree. "We only need their help. I know that Elrond would be able to read parts of that map."

"What makes you think he would help?" Thorin asked grouchily, looking over at the elf with a look of annoyance.

Valadhiel sighed and crossed her arms. "Because even if he disapproved, and even if he did try to talk you out of it, he would neither stop you or deny you help."

"We don't need help from them."

"If Gandalf suggested it, then I tend to think that we do."

Bilbo, as the two began to bicker back and forth, walked over to Balin before speaking in a hushed tone. "Are they always like this?"

"Not always, but oftentimes, yes." Balin replied, shaking his head a little. "Both of them are very stubborn."

Bilbo furrowed his brow. "Valadhiel isn't like the elves I have heard about in stories." The elves he had heard about were wise, calm, and patient.

"After the time we have spent with Vala, we have learned that she is not most elves." Balin replied to the halflings comment.

Dwalin, who had overheard, replied to them in a low tone of voice as well. "Aye, you can say that again. She has the temper of a dragon."

"Though when she has a clear head, she still has the wisdom of an elf." Balin added, that way Bilbo would be sure that Valadhiel wasn't an impatient child of a skin-changing elf.

"Thorin, please, just listen!" Valadhiel said after forcing herself to calm down a little. "I have lived among these elves, and I know Lord Elrond. He would offer advice and counsel, and he would try to talk you out of this, but he would not send you away without the information you seek. He would help us." She then hardened her stare. "Not all elves are the monsters you seem to think they are. That is a lie of Sauron himself."

"And why should I listen to you?" Thorin spat. "Of course you would try to talk me into it. You yourself are a high and mighty immortal."

"It would be wise to not anger an immortal heart." Valadhiel commented, turning around before she began walking off. She knew where she was going, so she didn't need them to lead her anywhere. She had traveled just about all of Middle-Earth at some point, after all.

"Vala, where are you going?" Kili called out to her. He had been hoping that she would stick around so that he and Fili could talk to her. Ori had wanted to talk to her as well. She was a very interesting person, after all, when she wasn't being feisty.

"To escape the stubbornness of your uncle!" She called back to him before she turned around a corner, hiding her behind trees, bushes, and weeds.

Fili watched her leave, then he looked at Bilbo. "Maybe you could catch up to her and calm her down."

"Me?" Bilbo asked, looking over at Fili with a nearly startled expression. "How would... how would I be able to help?"

"Because you're a hobbit," Fili began.

"And not a dwarf." Kili finished. "She might calm down easier-"

"If you were to talk to her-"

"Since she's upset with our uncle."

Gandalf looked back at the two before he shook his head a little in slight amusement. He doubted that Valadhiel would get angry with those two if they were to go find her and talk to her, but perhaps sending Bilbo after her would be a good option. After all, he was a kind and gentle soul, so he very well may be able to calm the angry elf. "Go on ahead, Bilbo. Vala won't bite."

"I disagree." Bofur commented, though when Gandalf gave him a look, he looked at Bilbo before he added, "But that is only if you startle her awake when she's in leopard form."

Bilbo gave Bofur an unsure look, then he looked over at Gandalf before he set off ahead of them. Finding Valadhiel shouldn't be too difficult, as she couldn't have gone that far. Plus, she either had fiery red hair, or she had silver fur with spots. She'd be easy to see, surely.

He kept walking, though after a moment, he stopped. He hadn't found Valadhiel yet, and he was far ahead of the dwarves, though not too far ahead. He furrowed his brow as he looked around. "Now where could she be?"

A rustling sound came from the bushes, causing the startled hobbit to whirl around. "Miss Valadhiel?" He called out to her. He got no response however, and he swallowed nervously. He quickly turned around when he heard yet another sound, though he saw nothing. "This... this isn't funny."

There was again no response. Bilbo turned around when he heard the dwarves and the ponies, and he gave a small sigh of relief. When they reached earshot, he called over to them. "I couldn't find her."

Bofur's eyes widened, as did many of the other dwarves'. "Bilbo, look out!" Kili, Fili, Balin, and Bofur all called out at once. Many of the other dwarves rushed forward.

Bilbo whirled around, startled, and he backed away when he saw a large, foaming, snarling, gray wolf standing there. He stepped back, though tripped over a root and fell to his seat. Just as the wolf gave a growl and leaped at him, a silver leopard, taller than it by a little, leaped from the right and body slammed it.

"Bilbo, run!" Valadhiel shouted after she'd leaped back from the wolf to avoid getting bitten, locking her stare onto the foaming canine. When the overgrown dog got up and tried to go after Bilbo again, she ran into its path and swiped her paw at its neck, causing it to yelp.

The wolf, now even angrier than before, snapped its jaws at Valadhiel's throat, though she dodged its bite and clawed at it again, drawing blood. It growled and snarled before lunging once more, then it jumped back before it attacked from the side and managed to pin the large cat onto its back.

Valadhiel pushed at it with her hind legs, though she was having trouble gripping its underbelly with her claws to force it from staying put. She pushed on its chest and throat with her front paws to keep the rabid wolf's mouth away from her. She didn't want to get this disease! Even if it would not kill her, it would not be a pleasant thing to go through.

"Vala!" Kili shouted in horror.

Valadhiel pushed with her back paws and claws once more, then she quickly got up when the wolf suddenly leaped off of her with a yelp, though not because of her. She noticed two arrows in its left shoulder and glanced over at the dwarves. Both Kili and Thorin had drawn their bows, and they were currently knocking in another arrow.

The leopard turned her attention back to the wolf just in time to jump out of the way when it lunged once more. The wolf yelped and growled when two other arrows hit it, one on the flank and one in its withers, so it turned and ran towards the dwarves.

"Ori! Get back! Ori!" Nori shouted when the wolf made its way right for him.

Valadhiel let out a low growl and leaped onto the mad wolf's back, digging her claws into it and causing it to rear up on its hind legs, then kick out its hind legs once on all fours again in an attempt to throw her off. It then rolled onto his back to throw her off, then rolled over, pinned her, then sunk its fangs into her shoulder.

Valadhiel let out a pained roar, then she kicked with claws until the wolf released her and jumped off. She rolled over, got to her feet, then, when it made its way to the dwarves again, she blocked its path, sunk her teeth onto the lower part of its jaw, as its mouth had been open, and she pulled down on it until a sickening crack was heard.

Valadhiel backed away from the wolf after releasing its jaw, then grimaced a little when its jaw hung and flapped. It would not be biting anyone or anything again. "It is time we put this thing out of its misery."

Dwalin came forward, raised his axe, aimed carefully yet quickly, and brought it down hard on the wolf's skull. Another crack sounded, and a small yelp could be heard, but the wolf was soon bleeding as it lay on its side, not moving a muscle.

Valadhiel let out a shaky sigh before she began shifting back into her elvish form. She winced and raised a hand to her shoulder, placing it on her shirt underneath her armor.

"Vala!" Kili said, rushing to her with both Fili and Thorin. He stopped by her side and was about to ask if she was all right, but he was beat to it.

"Are you all right?" Thorin asked in concern, then he frowned when he saw her holding her shoulder. He gently grasped her wrist, pulled her hand out from under her armor, then his eyes widened when he saw that she was bleeding. "You were bitten."

"Yes, I know." Valadhiel replied, trying to keep herself from saying anything snappy or sarcastic. She was indeed aware that she had been bitten, and no doubt she would get the dreaded disease that caused madness, dehydration, and starvation. She got to her feet with Thorin's help, placing her hand back over her wound.

"Oin is skilled in medicines. Let him take a look at it." Balin said, gesturing for Oin to come forward.

Oin walked forward and, once he reached the elf, he ordered that her armor be taken off so he could tend to her wound. "This wolf appeared to be rabid." He commented as they took her armor off. "There will be nothing I can do to rid of the disease, only prevent infection and sooth any pain on the surface."

Gandalf walked forward just then and, upon hearing this, he furrowed his brow and walked over to them. "What happened?"

Thorin told Gandalf what had happened, some of the dwarves adding bits and pieces to it, then he cast a glare at the hobbit. "Had it not been for him, Vala would be perfectly fine."

"Not necessarily, Master Thorin." Gandalf said when he noticed Bilbo look down guiltily. "Vala still wandered off on her own. Had the wolf not seen Bilbo first, it would have seen her. If not her, then we would have come across it at some point."

"I agree with Gandalf." Valadhiel commented, biting her lower lip briefly when Oin touched her wound. "Don't you dare blame the halfling, and considering I am in pain, you being rude to someone I like is only going to worsen my mood."

Thorin looked from Gandalf to Valadhiel, and his expression softened, though only slightly. He wouldn't argue it right now. He looked at Gandalf again. "Is there any way we can rid her of the disease?"

Gandalf looked off into the distance thoughtfully, then he nodded softly before looking at Thorin again. "There is one option, and we would get there in time to save her." He replied. He very well knew that elves could not die of disease like others could, though the disease could still negatively affect her, including her sanity. If she was not cured soon, she would go mad and may not fully recover mentally. "We must take her to Lord Elrond in Rivendell. You can get no better healing elsewhere."

Thorin wasn't very pleased to hear that, and all could tell. However, he looked over at Valadhiel with a worried expression, and bitterness seemed to vanish. He gave a resigned sigh before he looked at Gandalf. "Very well. We will go to Rivendell."

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