"I can't fight a mountain!"

Nymeria found herself struggling to sleep that night, constantly tossing and turning with a furrow to her brow and an ache to her chest as her hobbit slept soundleslly next to her, non-repulsed by the obvious struggle she seemed to be going through in his peaceful slumber. And it really was some form of small tragedy indeed for the young faè, considering it had been a good week or two since she'd had the opportunity to actually lay in a bed, and for the first time for a while that she had that opportunity, her mind decided to plague her with destructive thoughts and blistering feelings to the point where she couldn't even enjoy it.

Couldn't enjoy the soft silk pressing against her skin like some form of gentle embrace, couldn't enjoy the lavender smelling pillow that made her eyelids heavy with sleep and cushioned the headache steadily forming...and couldn't enjoy the comfort of knowing that her hobbit was safe and warm and protected beside her, not having to worry about threat or natural disasters that could dare to harm him in the safety of the walls of Rivendell.

The dwarves, however, didn't seem to share the sentiment, and had seemed far too content to sleep outside camping out and laughing boisterously amongst each other until the late hours of the night just under her window before snoring tools it's place, the warm glow of the fire below her dancing across the walls of her temporary bedroom that had her eyes aching the more she watched them, but still, sleep eluded her, shifted away and forced her awake everytime she even got close and eventually, Nymeria heard the sounds of birds calling through the gentle breeze of the open window, alongside the suns rays pressing against her eyes.

And so, she finally sat up, making peace with the fact that there was far too much turmoil on her mind for her to rest before crawling over where her hobbit lay on a small cot beside her, a small twitching smile curling over the corners of her lips as she watched him for a few moments, twirling her fingers in the air and encasing them in her red mist, forcing it to do her bidding...which was pulling Bilbo's blanket back up and over his shoulders, lest he catch a chill in the morning air as she moved over to where their bags lay and began to rummage through them, searching for the lilac flower to soothe the ache at the base of her spine that seemed to worsen with every breath she took.

However, when she finally found the elusive plant after a few rather dull minutes of searching, she felt her insides sour with something vile at the sight that greeted her, looking down at the dwindling supply in resentment and frustration because really? As any point in this journey was she actually going to catch a break? Or did whatever forces higher than herself just decide to keep knocking her down in the hopes she'd never get up?

But of course, she didn't voice her dangerous thoughts, instead tearing one of the petals in half and slapping it upon her tongue and almost instantly feeling the soothing relief like warm honey tickling over her back comfortingly, a sigh slipping through her lips without permission as she rose up and stretched her arms above her head, no longer having to worry about the simple moment crippling her as she yawned and moved over towards the window, wanting a closer look at the rising sun as it peaked over the horizon.

However, she found her gaze reluctantly adverting to where she knew the company of dwarves had slept the night before, only to find a curious sight that greeted her which was the fact there didn't seem to be a living creature there any more, their things packed in their bags and stacked up against one of the pillars. And yet, there was no sign of them anywhere, and after a few moments of searching for them with her dark eyes, she finally decided that she didn't care as she strolled away over towards the bedroom door, casting one last look over her shoulder towards the still sleeping hobbit and smiling gently and then closing the door behind her.

She had no real destination in mind, just content to walk to halls like a phantom in the night, avoiding the curious eyes of the other faè's just like she'd done the night before, though this time held alot more weight upon her shoulders than she would of liked as she hid around corners and leapt down stairs in her efforts to avoid the most simplest of interaction. And eventually, her adventures in cowardice moved her to the outside of the large home where the breeze welcomed her, magic that wasn't her own seeping into her skin like a greeting.

Nymeria allowed herself just a moment to stand in the peace of the courtyard, the air blowing through her hair and feeling it's way through each individual strand like a blessing, the sun's embrace against her battle-torn skin and warming it pleasantly until she felt not half as troubled as she had been mere hours ago and the natures calls gentle in her ears. The magic that had settled in Rivendell felt like home, no matter how much she tried to deny and ignore it, and it brought her comfort and anguish in the same breath.

But for once, instead of focusing on the grief, she found herself focusing on the familiarity as she smiled to herself gently, nothing more than a mere curl of her lips as her heart practically expanded in her chest, without armour, without pain to protect her...Nymeria had never looked more like herself than she did in that moment and it brought her such strange and longed for peace.

...Until, of course, she heard the sounds of what she could only describe as pure mischief coming from just behind the bend, and only able to ignore it for so long, she found herself sighing before moving towards the noises, brows lightly furrowed at the splashes and shouts and downright atrocious language that seemed unfortunately familar to her. And yet, nothing could of prepared her for the sight she'd see with horrified and now scarred eyes, as the bare asses of the dwarven company she currently resided with greeted her.

"I really don't know what I expected." The faè said to herself blankly, not even attempting to hide herself as she crossed her arms over her chest and simply quirked a brow at the group seemingly having the times of their lives desecrating the elves rather pretty fountain, the once shimmering blue of the waters turning a rather darker colour as it washed what she could only hope was dirt from their bodies, soaking each other through and performing rather impressive acrobatics amongst each other, laughing and yelling all the while.

And unaware of the curious eyes watching him, Fili was rather enjoying himself as his wet hair clung to his features and almost obscured his vision, quickly pushing his fringe out of the way of his eyes with a grunt as he searched the waters for his hiding brother, the need for vengeance shining in the blues of his gaze after a rather vicious attempt at drowning him as the others chuckled, obviously enjoying watching the two princes become nothing more than children again as they squared off against each other.

"Come on Kili." He sang, voice deep and rumbling as he began wading through the waters quietly, looking over the others shoulders but unable to see anything but their amusement as they shrugged, secretly assuring him that they had no idea where the younger had gone as he cursed softly, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth to show his mirth as he looked around searchingly. "Don't tell me that you're scared now."

And then he heard a gasp for breath and quickly spun around to where the noise had come from to find his brother, pink in the face with his eyes wide, sputtering as water rushed out of his nose, coughing dramatically as he was forced out of his hiding space due to the water he'd somehow managed to swallow...only to wince up at the dangerous glare in his older brothers eyes as he swam towards him with a rather terrifying grin, getting flashbacks to when they were younger and Fili would get that exact same look on his face before he'd do something unpleasant, like slap a brussel sprout into his hair that would take him ages to get out.

So, thinking fast in his rather comedic looking fear, Kili decided to do the only thing he could do in that moment...play dirty. "Wait, is that Nymeria?" He yelled out, pointing out towards the courtyard desperately, only to freeze when he realised that there was actually someone standing there watching them be fools with her arms crossed, right at the very end of his finger and he quickly sunk back into the water, cheeks feeling strangely flushed as he frantically gestured over towards her in an effort to warn his brother.

"Oh, I'm not falling for that Kili. Nice try." Fili chuckled, shaking his head as he moved closer and then standing up from his crouched position so he could walk with intimidating purpose, feeling the water droplets drip down his aching back muscles into the shallow depths below as he stalked closer like a lion to a mouse, though a small part of him wondering why it had suddenly got so quiet, and why the others seemed to be trying to make him look behind him with flickering eyes and grimaced upon their weathered faces as he frowned at them.

"What is that matter with all of you-?" He began to ask, before finally turning around only to have the words die upon his tongue as the sight of the most exquisite treasure in all eternity to be staring back at him with a delicate brow quirked and hip cocked out to the side a few paces in front of him. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even force anything out of his mouth to acknowledge her, all he did was stand there, dripping wet and blinking stupidly and wanting to bash his head off the nearest wall as she shook her head and turned her back with a roll of her eyes.

Dwarves, Nymeria thought to herself in distain, feeling their amusement to their fellows misfortune as she disappeared off into the courtyard, forcing one foot in front of the other until she could no longer feel their overwhelming presence. And the moment that happened, she brought herself to a stop, gaze flickering around herself at where she'd ended up with a hum vibrating through her throat at the vibrant colours of the flowerbeds that greeted her, a welcome sight indeed compared to the absolute nightmares behind her.

She reached out slowly, gently tracing her fingers over the petals, feeling the soft press of the almost velvet-like flowers as they danced over her fingertips, smiling gently as she sat down to simply watch them simply sway in the gentle breeze, content in her own company and taking the welcome break as she could as she moved further and further back down until her back was laying against the grass and her head was facing the sky, staring up at the light sprinkling of clouds as they moved by overhead...and finally beginning to feel her exhaustion creep up inside her until she was smothering a yawn into the palm of her hand tiredly.

Perhaps...perhaps she could rest her eyes for a few moments. After all, Rivendell seemed to be safe enough, and although she detested to think about it too much, the dwarves were still close by if danger would befall her. Not that she'd need their help of course, but it was nice to know that her hobbit would have an extra seal of protection when she'd fight off whatever threat was stupid enough to attack, not having to worry about keeping him safe and using her chaos to stain her hands with sin.

So, with that thought in mind, Nymeria allowed her unconscious to take her as she rested her head against the ground below her, eyes feeling heavy in her exhaustion until it all turned black, dreams coming and going as they usually did, memories of old, stories that were almost impossible to follow...and strange visions of red clashing with the most gorgeous blue she'd ever seen before it faded into nothing as she slept on soundleslly, soft snores slipping through her lips every once in a while in her peaceful state.

However, she was awoken to frantic hands pressing everywhere, against her face and tapping the skin they found there anxiously, shaking her shoulders in a hesitant grip as for a moment, she almost lashed out with magic that dropped crimson destruction...until she felt who it was and her eyes snapped open, meeting her hobbits worried gaze with her own and instant moving so her hands where holding his own in an effort to comfort him, still beady eyed and weary as she mumbled. "What's going on? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, no I'm fine. But we're leaving, the company is leaving. We've got to go."

"We're leaving now? Why?"

"Thorin has decided to go on without Gandalf, and believes he's wasting time I believe. Now hurry up before they leave us here. I've already packed our bags while you've been having some well needed shut eye, and don't think I haven't noticed that you've barely been sleeping-" Bilbo's rant carried on only she didn't even pretend she was listening, glancing over at the dwarves that were thankfully fully clothed now with a light frown on her brow, a bad feeling brewing in her gut that ordered her to wrap herself and her hobbit in her chaos and not let go until the night was over.

But she ignored that urge, instead focusing on wiping the sleep from her eyes as she cast a suprised look towards the darkness that had befallen around her, the cover of night already taking place and making her wonder just how long she'd been asleep. Still keeping her strange anxiety at bay as she moved to help her hobbit secure his backpack over his shoulders and chuckling along to his rant with amusement in her dark eyes, because after all, what was the worst that could happen?
________________________________________________

...As it turned out, the worse seemed to be a storm that had some vendetta against everyone and everything that dared step in its destruction-craving path, because it seemed like the second the company's feet had touched the outside of Rivendell, the heavens had opened, thunder rumbling like a starving stomach, bathing the dark sky with bright flashes that sent their hearts plummeting, the rains that drowned them obscuring their visions and leaving the rocky trail they moved on nothing more than dangerous territory that was slick with the skies vicious tears.

Not even Nymeria was saved from its onslaught, her whole body trembling as she walked with her hands outstretched in front of her, desperately grabbing onto the slippery wall beside her in a bid to keep her balance. Unable to even attempt to use her chaos in the onslaught, her trembling hands far too heavy and her body far too weary to try, forced to do nothing more than listen to the terrible roars and the howling of the storming air, far louder and heavier than it should of been as it forced them all against the stoned mountain with gasping shouts and heaving cries.

She'd long since lost sight of Bilbo, only truly being able to feel his terrified fear and holding onto that connection desperately as she focused on keeping one foot in front of the other as the cruel winds wreaked havoc across her body. Somehow managing to find herself sandwiched between the two dwarf princes with Kili in front of her, his dark hood soaked through and doing nothing to protect his dark hair and Fili just behind her...and the only reason she knew he still was there was because of the fact that everytime she feared she'd lose her balance, she felt his warmth suddenly practically on top of her, his hands hovering near her hips prepared to catch her.

And there was some small part of her, a part of her that was hidden deep in the lining of her stomach and hadn't been ruined by malice, treacherous and blossoming that was almost...grateful, perhaps even thankful for his presence that surrounded her like thick smoke, making it hard to breathe, to move, to simply be without feeling choked. But she'd die before admitting such a thing, and instead, she kept her gaze ahead, pretending that she couldn't feel his efforts to keep her safe in her desperate attempt to add coals to the burning embers of her hatred that had made her who she was.

Nymeria's foot gave a sudden lurch as she stepped too close to the edge that sent stray rocks tumbling down the cliff face, a startled yell trapping against the walls of her throat as she stumbled only to feel an arm wrap around her waist, yanking her back from what would be a rather ironic fate indeed considering and holding her close to a shaking chest as they steadied her quickly, just as Fili's voice tickled over the shell of her ear and left frustrating goosebumps in its wake. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, no I'm fine. Good catch, dwarf." She gasped, holding tight to his burly forearm with her trembling fingers clutched tight in the corse material, glancing down at the dark abyss that flickered under them like a raging sea of shadows and felt her heart skip a beat at what could of very well been a messy end...and the situation as hand leaving her unable to find herself to spit something venemous to the blonde behind her as she moved from his hold with an awkward clearing of her throat, quickly catching up to Kili in an effort to escape.

"We must find shelter!"

Thorin's deep voice hardly carried over the raging winds that swarmed them in their terrible embraces, and it was only through some miracle that the comapny managed to hear them as they moved along, and almost as soon as those words had left his mouth, Nymeria's eyes had begun to flicker weakly, the bright crimson glare shining through the darkness around them like a beacon that had gazes flickering over towards her as she searched through the dredge around them, her eyes far sharper than their own as she looked for something. For anything.

"Just beyond that ridge! There must be some form of cave there, it seems the earth around it has dulled through!" The faè shouted quickly, tilting her head up to look over the others heads, which was a rather easy feet considering she had at least a foot on the good majority, and meet Thorin's gaze with her own just in time to catch his nod as he turned his back, beginning to lead them over towards where she'd gestured with a certain sturdiness in his step that she was almost jealous of as they followed, hopeful for a place to lay weary heads as the storm carried on.

But unfortunately, what Nymeria had forgotten in her haste for shelter was that hope was a terrible thing, because it always seemed like the moment it was pushed out into the universe on nothing more than a desperate feeling, it was as if the fate conspired to take it away in the same breath you'd given it. Because she'd barely recovered from her near-death experience a few mere minutes ago before she heard Dwalin shout, and looked up with wide eyes just in time to see a large boulder flying from out of the heavens, hitting the edge of the mountain and shattering into pieces around them as she cursed, instantly trying to look through the mist for the cause of such destruction.

"Nymeria! What do you see?"

She heard Fili call behind her, knowing that her eyes had caught something they hadn't as she suddenly stiffened, and it was then that she felt the tell-tale signs of her own chaos as it desperately called to her, wrapping itself around her hands in their ever shifting glow, feeling her fear as her gaze caught on...on something she'd truly thought had been nothing more than a myth that she'd heard all that time ago as something tall, immovable and unstoppable moved in the distance with creaking limbs encased in rock.

"This isn't an ordinary thunderstorm...it's a battle! They're giants! Stone giants!" Her voice had started as nothing more than a whisper, a shocked exclaim to herself but it had ended in a shout, warning the others of what kind of threat they faced as the mist finally cleared to the point that even their lacklustre gazes could see what misfortunes awaited them as the large being ripped a boulder from the mountain and threw it onto another head, shattering it in halves as the company screamed, scrambling around each other in their attempts to grab onto the wall of stone behind them as the pathway underfoot began to decline.

The mountain seemed to tremble, beginning to shift and shimmer with unbridled rage that the faè could feel in her bones as she cursed, the screams of the others drowned by the hammering bangs and crashes of boulders continuing to sail through the terrible winds as a crack began to form just in front of her, the ground finally splitting in two and separating the company as they shouted their protests.

And Nymeria suddenly found herself returning a favour as she quickly moved, grabbing a hold of the fur on Fili's shoulder and yanking him closer to her ever-breathing corpse as he swayed dangerously in the forming cavern beneath them in his effort to reach his brother who was staring at him in absolute terror.

She quickly placed her glowing hand upon his chest to keep him close and away from the insured death below them, glancing up above her into the flashing sky to see the thing she'd hoped against hope to be untrue as the mountain they stood on awakened with a terrible groan that seemed to rattle the very bones that lay beneath her skin into the loudness of the already roaring night and instantly begining to clash with its brethren, rocks falling down upon them like the heavy rain only now far more dangerous.

But, as she looked towards the others that had managed to leap to a different spot in the never-ending mountain around them as the earth moved beneath them, she felt relief settle in her stomach at the sight of Bilbo with them, safe and away from the destructive giant where she still stood with the other half of the comany, entrapped by the growing space between them and feeling her hobbits concerned fear as he stared at her, hearing his screams and shouts as if she could answer him with any reassurance, as if she could somehow manage to fight her way out of this.

"Lass! Do something!"

"I can't fight a mountain!" She snapped hysterically over her shoulder behind her at whatever dwarf had called upon her, vision too blurry to even attempt to place a name to the voice as she squinted in the pouring rain, practically able to feel her heart as it beat steadily in her flesh...but there was a sudden movement in front of her, a sudden twist of the tables as one of the giants gained the upper hand and sent the other falling, its body whipping through the air sharply and the noise grating heavily on her ears, but she couldn't complain...because it was heading straight towards them with no sign of stopping, and it was going to be hard to complain when she was embedded into the wall behind her.

Nymeria heard the others scream, felt their horror as if it was her own, seen her impending doom as it rushed towards her before she was shoved against the wall behind her, finding two familar arms caging her in as if he could protect her from being crushed. And as she met the blue of Fili's eyes, shining in his absolute fear...she felt something inside her burst with promise, with determination as her whole body became encased with her haunting red glow, lashing out from her every crevice, rising to meet the giant as it fell...and then there was a hammering bang that echoed across the space, as her magic and the giant clashed, pressing against her shield of red as she screamed out, holding it with all of her might and pushing it as far as she could.

And finally, it fell, falling into the darkness below as she collapsed into familar arms as Fili caught her, holding her close as she trembled and barely even sparing the others a glance as they all looked at each other in bewilderment, their own legs unsteady as they laid down around her gasping for breath, hearts pounding at would could of been a very messy fate indeed.

"Mahal, I can't believe you did that." The words rushed out of Fili's mouth far too quickly for her to be even able to comprehend as she rested her head against his chest for a moment, listening to his heartbeat as it skipped a beat, but far too exhausted to do anything more than nod and snuggle just a bit deeper into his warmth with her whole body shaking...until she head frantic footsteps and yells coming from behind them, and she weakly lifted her head to find the other half of the company rushing around the corner and visibly sagging in relief as they looked at them all, Thorin's dark eyes instantly moving to his nephew that he'd been sure he had lost with aching pain.

"Is everyone alright? Any of you wounded?" Thorin asked, stepping forward as the others began to help each other up, and Nymeria allowed herself just one more moment to be swallowed in the blondes protective embrace before she moved, rising on unsteady feet and offering him a hand as she did so, desperately trying to ignore the look in his eye and the sudden swell of emotion from him as he took it, letting her haul him up while opening his mouth to thank her.

However, he didn't exactly get much of a chance, because Kili had suddenly came rushing out from behind his uncle to move towards his brother, his dark gaze frantic as they collided, the youngest hands moving frantically over his body as if expecting to find him some form of ghostly apparition, speaking to him in dwarvish quickly, far too quickly for anyone to understand until he finally calmed when Fili brought their foreheads together, smiling softly, unaware of Nymeria watching the two closely as she leant against the mountain behind her.

"Aye, we're alright. Thanks to Nymeria here, of course, if it hadn't of been for that strange magic of hers...well, I'm afraid we would of been a whole lot flatter." Balin chuckled, and just like that, the faè felt herself squirming inside her own body as they all turned to look at her with new eyes, no longer holding that caution that they once did, no longer holding that suspicion. All that was left there was gratitude, and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as she looked away, staring up at the storming sky and praying to whatever higher force there was that they'd soon stop.

So, like she usually did when she felt uneasy in the dwarves presence, her eyes searched for Bilbo...only to feel her heart plummet to the pit of her stomach when she couldn't see and sign of him, and could only feel his overwhelming horror and fear that struck her chest and made it ache as she stood straighter with a frantic look upon her weary face. "Where's Bilbo? Where's my hobbit!?"

The company began to mumble amongst themselves in obvious panic at her words, twisting this way and that amongst the other as they searched for the small halfling, Nymeria almost feral as she began to glow, hands twisting, trembling by her side as she searched for her hobbit with her back turned towards the others until she heard their startled yells, and she spun around with darkness in her gaze to see them all swarmed around the cliff face and she quickly rushed towards them, almost slipping in her haste if it wasn't for Dwalin catching her by the arm.

"Easy lass, yer' won't be any use to the hobbit dead." He snapped, trying to hold her close so she didn't do something stupid like leap into the abyss in an attempt to save him, but those words only made her struggle harder until her magic finally lashed out, forcing him back a few paces as she threw herself over the others heads, hearing their sharp yells until she managed to catch a hold of a large rock pointing out from the side of it, body smacking against the cliff with a grunt where she met Bilbo's terrified eyes with her own.

"I've got you." She promised, righting her grip against the mountain before lifting her glowing hand, magic winding around his small body like winding snakes as she pulled him up to safety, feeling the rain pelting down upon her steadily until it felt like it was trying to push her down to her messy end below, but still, she didn't move, didn't falter until she seen Thorin grab onto her hobbit and yank him into the safety of the others.

And, after allowing herself a single second to breathe, she pulled herself up, watching as a certain blonde prince pushed himself to the front of the others, the stunning blue of his eyes blinding her before she grabbed a hold of the offered arm he gave her, grunting slightly as he yanked her up with a great strength until her feet were firmly planted on the ground, so close to the dwarf that she could feel his breath against her chest as she pulled her hand away slowly, entrapped in his kind gaze like prey to predator.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar."

But it was Dwalin's deep voice that broke her from her trance as she quickly shook her head, stepping away and rushing towards her hobbit still sprayed out against the floor, trembling like a leaf because of his near-death experiences and clutching at her desperately as she took a knee, wrapping her cloak around his shoulders before pulling him closer, gushing him gently as she thanked whatever higher force there was for his safety, peace working it's way inside the ruined confines of her heart as she held him tightly.

However, it seemed that not everyone shared her relieved sentiments as something foul blossomed from Thorin like the roaring winds around them, filling with resentment and anger as he scowled at the halfling in the safety of the faè's arms in something akin to disgust as he smat against the ground. "He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us."

"Watch your tongue." Nymeria snarled quickly like a viper in grass as she shot her eyes up to glare at him, but he'd already turned his back to the strange duo, storming away as if the weight if the world was on his shoulders, but before she could say something else, or perhaps do something else as her haunting glow began to swirl around her fingers darkly, she felt Bilbo place a gentle hand on her forearm as her gaze snapped towards him...and with hurt eyes, he simply shook his head and pulled himself closer to her warmth as she sighed.

This journey was getting more and more troublesome by the minute, she thought to herself tiredly as she began to move...and in more ways than one, as her eyes drifted over to the blonde dwarf.