"Like I'd ever allow that to happen to you."

When Nymeria awoke the next morning, it was to a rather painful crick in her neck from where her head had been positioned against the wall the night before, causing a hiss to slip past her parted lips as she lifted her hand to rub the sore muscles gently, before she turned her head to the side. Because sill in his ever gentle hold of sleep, her hobbit snored back at her softly with a grumble, his rather large and cute nose twitching against his face like a mouse as his dreadful morning breath washed over her, causing her to grimace and huff.

She slowly stood up quietly with a small grin beginning to curl at the edge of her lips, trying to make as little noise as possible as she walked across the floorboards and over to the door that creaked with her every moment, ear twitching against her head as she listened for any sign of movement coming from outside from their previous and downright boisterous company fron the night before, but she heard no hint of such beings, only silence answered her and when she opened the door to peak her head out, she could see no sign of dwarf or wizard anywhere...like they weren't ever there in the first place.

The faè took one last glance towards Bilbo, making sure he was still asleep before she strolled out of the room and closing the door behind her gently, glancing towards the kitchen and living room with dark suspicion, waiting for something, anything to greet her...but there seemed to be absolutely nothing left to assure her that last night hadn't been done terrible hallucination, until she came across the contract still resting against one of their small tables, opened halfway and taunting her with the contents that beckoned her forward with a whisper.

She allowed her finger to trail over the signatures with a quirked brow, and then lifting and bringing her hand closer to her narrowed eyes for inspection, just to find that the dark ink had stained the tip of her finger lightly, meaning that there was a large chance that she'd only just missed them leaving. But it also meant that they'd left the contract there purposely for them to find, if they'd only just signed it, and there was no doubt in her mind that it had been Gandalf's idea. After all, he seemed just the type to try and cause as much chaos as he possibly could.

Outside, looking through the window by her side, she could see that the sun had only just began to dance over the horizon, touching the lumpy hills of green with its golden glow, and Nymeria allowed herself a few moments to still and enjoy the peace, her magic humming inside of her. But, as she slowly opened her eyes, she felt a certain kind of promise inside of her that told her that something was about to happen and she had a rather sneaky suspicion she knew what, and without further ado, she twirled her hand in a circular motion, the red mist of her magic rising from the cracks in her skin before slithering through the home, as she strolled away to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

And when it finally finished boiling, she made herself and Bilbo a quick cup of tea, remembering to place the violet flower into hers lest she forget, knowing the pain in her back would only be worse after last nights scuffle, before sitting down onto her hobbits favourite arm chair, humming under her breath which twirling her glowing finger in the air, using her magic to keep the tea warm for when the hobbit once up.

Thankfully, Nymeria didn't have to wait long for company, as her ear twitched against her head barely half an hour later, picking up the sounds of the barely there squeak of the floorboards as, apparently, Bilbo did exactly what she'd done as she'd awoken, and scout through their home for any sign of dwarf and wizard with his voice a quiet whisper but his feet a rather loud echo as he moved from room to room. Until of course, he finally popped his head around the door and let out a startled shout as she stared back at him, obviously not expecting her to be up with her dark eyes glistening in amusement.

"Morning."

"Morning? Morning? You almost gave me a heart attack." Bilbo gasped, trying desperately to catch the breath that had slipped away from him as he heaved, glaring at her through narrowed eyes as he rested his hand on his hips, looking behind him and then back at her, unbelieving of her audacity especially this early in the morning as she chuckled at him, the rare but warm sound fluttering around the room as she smiled up at him gently, fluttering her eyelashes as she took a sip of her tea before gesturing her head towards the still steaming cup beside her.

"Oh, hush now. I would of thought you'd be still in bed until the afternoon, the shock of last nights imprudent socialisation must of struck you of energy." Nymeria said in mock concern, poking fun at his antisocial nature, while seemingly forgetting that it was a quality that they both shared as he picked up the offered cup of tea with a huff, obviously not finding her as amusing as she thought herself as he let the heat of the cup soak into the tips of his cold fingers, feeling the way it seemed to dance its way through his veins and curl in his chest like an embrace.

"Yes, yes, very funny." Bilbo shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he finally lifted it to his lips took a long sip of the warm brew, humming softly as the sugary taste washed over his tongue and soothed his aching throat that he hadn't even realised he'd had, before he pulled it away from his now flushed face to take another slow glance across the room, as if expecting someone to jump out at any moment...and, of course, wondering why he felt so disappointed when no such thing happened. "So...they've left then?"

"Mhm, I woke up perhaps an hour before you and they had already gone, must of been in a rather big hurry."

Bilbo paused, taking some time to process the news as he stood another absentmindness sip, before nodding his head idly. "Ah, well then...probably for the best really." The hobbit said, nodding to himself once more in affirmation and seemingly forgetting they'd been in the middle of their morning tea time, strolled back out of the room, cup still in hand as he went around the corner and out of view from her.

Nymeria didn't follow after him, didn't question him either and instead finished the last of her drink before placing it back onto the small table beside her, humming under her breath as she leaned against the chair arm, resting her chin in the palm of her hand with a smirk curling over her lips as she, inside the safety of her own mind, began to countdown from ten. And sure enough, when she finally got to one, Bilbo came rushing back around the corner with his dark blue eyes frantic but steely in determination.

"Yes, I though as much, that's why I took the precaution of already packing out bags." She stood up with an exhausted sigh and wiggled her long fingers in the air, the red shadow of her magic swirling around them as she grinned, and she was awarded for her quick thinking by the sight of Bilbo's face lighting up in delight and adoration, before he marched across the space, did a little jump so he could grab the sides of her face in his gentle grip and then slapped a rather noisy kiss on her forehead, leaving Nymeria wide-eyed as he rushed off to find his coat.

"Hobbits." The faè said, shaking her head with a fond sigh as she grabbed her cloak from where it was resting against a table, and then pulling her hand towards her, her magic yanking the two bags it had packed through her instructions came floating through the air, the satchel dropping down onto her shoulder, while the back pack lay at her feet, awaiting Bilbo's return who thankfully didn't keep her waiting for long.

Contract in hand and muttering excitedly under his breath, he'd barely even given her a chance to put her shoes on properly before he was rushing out of the door, either ignoring or not hearing her call after him, shaking her head in amusement as she finally sunk the heel of her foot into the boot and took off after him, her longer legs making her catch up to him in no time, and, upon deciding she wanted a little bit of revenge, she wrapped a hand around his wrist, and then really ran for it, becoming nothing more than a blur to the confused inhabitants of the Shire as Bilbo screamed and Nymeria laughed, absorbing his excitement for her own to battle the ever forming dread of having to be stuck with their vile company.

But it seemed that finally someone recognised the strange duo as they leapt over a creek and charged up a hill, her poor friend still being dragged behind her as a hobbit popped his head from around a thick cluster of lush bushes with his eyes wide and confused. "Here, Mr. Bilbo! Who's that? And where are you off too!"

"I can't stop! We're already late!" Bilbo shouted, barely even sparing a glance behind his shoulder as he giggled breathlessly at Nymeria who practically threw him over a rather steep hill before she followed after him, unknown to the happy hobbit her face shifting in displeasure, hands trembling by her sides the further and further they got away from their home, but trying to put on a brave face, lest her trauma swallow her whole.

"Late for what?"

"I'm going on an adventure!"
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Nymeria, of course, found herself being forced to run ahead, focusing hard on her empathic bond with the hobbit behind her lest he fall into some great danger...and by that she meant falling into a hole or over a branch or some other great misfortune that she'd definitely spend more time laughing at than actually being helpful to the small halfling, all the while as she sought out the strange company of dwarves and wizard, magic unfurling around her palms, drifting through the air before she finally heard their voices carrying over the gentle winds and dancing over to her like a dream.

And so with that, she swiftly broke through the line of the trees, feeling the leaves brush against her flesh before she landed and skidded to a stop just in front of them, crouching low as their various ponies came to a rather quick halt as they hesitated, jolting and shifting in unease at sight of her, taking in the unnatural glow of her eyes with nervous huffs, trying to pull themselves back as she stood straighter, watching the way Thorin's hand inched towards his weapon with his eyes narrowed hauntingly, suspiciously. "I was under the impression that you would only come if your little grocer came with you."

"You're correct." Nymeria said slowly, tilting her head to the side with something dark and dangerous twisting her lips into a grin that set their nerves on end as they all awaited for her to do something...but instead, it seemed and it that just as the words slipped through her mouth, Bilbo came bounding up behind them all, his chest heaving with frantic breaths as he tried desperately to catch up, shoulders slumping in relief as he realised that the faè was holding them up to let him so so, his hand holding the contract high in the air as he wheezed, still smiling brightly.

"I signed it. I signed it."

He was quick to hand it over to Balin as he grinned his thanks at his friend, looking back over to the dwarf who read over it slowly, looking at the quick signature and just under it, written in brackets was his strange companions name too, but the old bwarf wasn't stupid, and he couldn't stop the chuckle that slipped through his lips as he realised that the shorter lad had feigned it...before deciding that he didn't care, instead smiling down at him gently with a wink. "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, master Baggins, Mrs. Nymeria, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

Nymeria closed her eyes for a moment, face contorting into a pained grimace at the spoken declaration, because it truly meant that there was no going back now, and for once in her life, she cursed her loyalty to the hobbit, before she shifted her face to an utterly indifferent one when she felt Bilbo staring at her, sending him a hollow smile to not damper his spirits even though everything inside of herself begged for a chance to scream, to fall into divine violence and make a world a fool for the chaos she breathed like an blessed omen.

"Get them a pony." Thorin ordered, his baritone voice cutting through the chatter as he finally looked away from the strange woman currently walking towards the hobbit, instead staring ahead of him, avoid Gandalf's gaze because this is exactly what he didn't want to happen, he had no time for either of them.

"Uncle, we only have one pony." Fili said with his brows furrowed as he looked over the company, ignoring the hobbits protests as he realised that they didn't have enough for both of them. However, in all of their defence, Gandalf had only said they would be one more joining them on their journey...because it appeared that even he hadn't been aware of the woman with magic in her eyes and glowing around her hands like some sort of angelic creature of shadow that seemed to radiate raw power.

"Good. I'd prefer to walk."

"Lass, you'd barely be able to walk a few miles before you'd pass out like your hobbit friend there. Perhaps you can share min-" Fili began to offer, ever the gentleman his mother liked to joke, his eyes flickering and breath catching in his chest as her dark gaze rose to meet his and he was entranced for a moment by the glow inside them, shining brighter than any ruby, any treasure that the world had to offer to his sudden greedy hands that wanted it all...and then she spoke up with her voice a mere growl and that illusion was quickly shattered like pieces of a broken mirror by his feet.

"I'd rather die."

Gandalf chuckled low in the back of his throat as he watched the two interact before stepping in, looking over his shoulder to give the young dwarf an reassuring look as he gestured towards her. "That won't be a concern, Fili. Her kind are well known for their stamina. She'll be just fine."

"That...that won't be necessary for me either. Thank you. I'm sure I can keep up on foot. Yeah, I...I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know? Even got as far as Frog Morton once." Bilbo said, his expression panicked because he'd actually never ridden a horse, the closest he'd come was when he was younger and he'd accidentally fallen onto a pigs and it had taken him for a rather rough ride. However, what he failed to realise was that he didn't have much of a choice, as two of the dwarves, the brothers, walked their ponies on either side of him to scoop him up by the arms and plomp him down on the pony they'd pulled into the middle of them.

Nymeria kept her eyes on him for a moment longer than was entirely necessary, her magic swirling around her fingers anxiously as she awaited his inevitable fall ot stumble or hiccup...but instead she was left pleasantly suprised at how well he was handling himself as she began to walk alongside the company, far enough that she was no longer startling the ponies that still seemed so uneasy in her presence, but close enough that she could get to Bilbo in a moments notice, keeping him in her sights as all times as she ignored the money being thrown through the air as bets had been made.

"So...are you a witch then?"

"What?" She turned her head to the side to find one of the younger looking dwarves breaking away from the rest to talk to her, his dark hair tumbling over his shoulders and features rather not what one would expect from a dwarf, but it seemed that his blonde haired brother wasn't far behind him.

"Kili-"

"Well you can obviously use magic, I think my brother here had a rather good demonstration of it last night." He laughed, brown eyes twinkling with mirth as he just managed to duck away in time as Fili swiped for his head with a heavy hand, shaking his own with brotherly affection as his blonde locks swayed in the gentle breeze. Nymeria only quirked a simple brow as she continued to walk undeterred, her eyes continuously flickering over to where her hobbit rode his horse with her cursed hands folded almost protectively behind her back as she refused to apologise for the mishap.

"He shouldn't of tried to attack me."

"My apologies, I thought you were trying to kill us, you can probably understand my reason." Fili replied rather sarcastically, voice low and surprisingly gentle as a small smile curled around the corners of his lips as he looked down at her, pulling his pony back a bit so he was waking behind Kili, next to the strange woman who was getting more and more mysterious by the second and wondering why he wasn't doing the more sensible thing and staying as far away from her as he dared...instead of wanting to be so much closer than the distance she'd placed between herself and the world.

"Ah, well your assumptions were correct."

There was a certain heaviness to her step as she tried to focus, a catch in her throat that made it hard to breath, because really, while Gandalf had believed that Bilbo was the one that was so used to such luxuries of his home that he now ignored the world outside, he'd been wrong. The truth was...it was her. Every step she took make her bones ache in her prison of flesh, her back felt like it had been torn open once more as she took in the trees surrounding her, remembering bloody hand prints as she clutched onto the rough bark and screamed into the heavens above at such a devastating loss, the tree wintering and dying as she pushed her pain into it, wanting not to feel it, not wanting to feel anything because it hurt.

A babbling brook that splashed softly against the sticks and rocks that had made their home there, her mind flashing back to her shaking hands cupping the water as she took desperate gulps with her bloodied fingers trembling and dripping with crimson sin, soothing and cold and familar as she pressed her face into the waters and hoped for it to drown her in its clear abyss, scratching at her shoulders, sinking her nails beneath the flesh and yanking at the bones she found there, as if to relieve the empty burden that was no longer there and sobbing and howling and begging.

Animals chirping around her, dancing over branches or strolling across the mossy floor, and another memory struck of the moor creatures unable to recognize her when she stood amongst them like a ghost, seeing nothing more than a threat covered in blood and seeping with a darkness that she couldn't hide as it lingered around her like a shadow, and the sky overhead turning dark as she allowed the pain to overtake her, wind howling, blowing down their habitats and homes as the earth rumbled beneath her until they had no choice but to drive the threat away and let her rot in the dying light of the world that had cast her away from heavens door.

"So are you?"

The question quickly snapped up her attention and brought her back to blissful reality, and she turned her head to the side so quickly her neck gave a sudden painful lurch as she blinked up at the dark haired dwarf, who obviously hadn't taken her silence as a cue to stop talking which, much to her frustration, was actually quite a relief considering the memories that had overtaken her. And after all, how could he be quiet or silent when he'd witnessed the girl use actual magic as if it were some weapon, he wasn't even sure Gandalf could do that and he wanted to know so much more. "Am I what?"

"A witch?"

"Am I wearing a hat?" She said swiftly, quirking a dark brow up at the young dwarf and causing the blonde one to snort, shaking his head in amusement as he looked ahead of him at Gandalf, who was now highter up the front of the company, probably giving directions to Thorin because Mahal knows their uncle struggled with them, struggled with even looking over his bloody nose really. But Nyneriw brought his attention back over to her as she shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes on the road ahead but indulging them. "No, I'm not a witch, dwarf."

"Then what are you?" Fili asked slowly, his brother almost falling off his horse in anticipation as she finally turned to look at them, her face masked into an indifferent smirk.

"Well, I guess that's something you'll have to find out for yourself." And with those final, taunting words that sounded a whole lot like some kind of challenge for him, she was off, strolling away from them and heading over to the hobbit that her loyalty and what was left of the ruin of her heart had been sworn too, who's small face had instantly light up in affection as he talked town at her, finally at the right height to do so and enjoying in immensely, unaware of the way that Kili had looked over at his brother with a large grin, noticing where his eyes hadn't strayed from and chucking loudly.

"Oh, I think he wants to do alot more than that."

"Shove it, Kili. Or I'll knock you right off that pony."
_________________________________________________

They'd settled for camp against a cliff side, its bouldering formation enough cover from the elements, and they'd done so when the sun had begun to kiss over the horizon, painting them all in its warm golden hue and they'd all been rather quick to make their beds and set to making their dinner all while Nymeria looked on. But only when their food had been eaten and their hunger sated and they'd fallen asleep in their sleeping mats did she allow herself to move closer to the company, noticing the way her hobbit was shivering and knowing he'd be too stubborn to leave her by herself, so she had no choice but to go with him...after he finished bribing his pony that is.

"Good girl! Here's a good girl. It's our little secret, Myrtle. Just tell no one. Shh-shh-" and then there was a sudden shriek in the wind that interrupted Bilbo's gentle pets, one that had him gasping, a haunting scream that sounded wild and dangerous and all sorts of wrong, and Nymeria quickly spun around to face the wilderness in front of them, glowing eyes of a red hue searching through the darkness for the call of whatever creature had cursed their ears, magic swirling around her hands as her chest burned. "What was that?"

"Orcs." Kili said simply, watching the two react to the noises and trying desperately to hide the mirth shining in his eyes, lest they see and know that he was trying to pull their legs, unaware of the way his uncle's eyes had snapped open, his body on high alert as he reconsidered the horrifying shrieks, his gaze turning as dark and as stormy as the night sky.

"Throat cutters. There'd be dozens of them out there. The low lands are crawling with them." Fili said ominously, the fire bathing his face to add onto the suspense as his gaze trailed ever so slowly over the two, taking in the fearful expression of the hobbit and the firece expression of the woman who looked as though she'd rip them all apart by the roots if they dared come close, her hands clenched into fists but even he could spot the red dancing over her skin and painting her into an intimidating picture indeed. "They strike, in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood."

"Nymeria..."

"Hush, like I'd ever allow that to happen to you." Nymeria snapped, barely even letting him finish his own thought as she bared her teeth dangerously, glaring over at the two brothers in contempt as they chuckled loudly amongst themselves while seemingly finding themselves hilarious as she pressed a reassuring palm to Bilbo's shoulder, using that grip to lead him over to the fire once she felt the shivers racking his body that she was sure he hadn't even noticed and sat him down on a nearby log, upper lip curling into a snarl as she prepared to snap at them...but someone got there first.

"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" Thorin's deep voice broke their laughter as he stepped into their view, his unexpected presence causing his nephews to flinch with wide eyes, obviously not expecting for him to have awoken.

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili said apologetically, casting his gaze downcast in something akin to embarrassment as the dwarf walked past him, facial expression holding such disappointment in their antics as he shook his head, the winds blowing through his dark locks as he moved away from the company, wanting to be away from them to be by himself, with his own thoughts with his parting words nothing more than another slap against their faces, burrowing them further down the abyss of shame and guilt.

"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world."

"Don't mind him, laddie, Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria...But our enemy had got there first." Blain smiled reassuringly as he took pity on the boys, before the story began to unfold and that expression was lost, his eyes fogging over as he lost himself into the ruins of his memories, remembering the bloodshed, the loss, the fear as if it were mere weeks ago instead of years, his eyes fluttering shut as he began to spin the tale for their willing ears, capturing their attention with ease.

"Moria had been taken by legions of orcs, led by the most vile of all their race, Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin...He began by beheading the king." Balin said heavily as if the words were lead on his tongue, mind flinching back to anguished screams of horror. "Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief and he went missing, either taken prisoner or killed, we did not know and still do not. But we were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us...and that is when I saw him...A young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc."

Balin's old and weary eyes finally flickered away from the burning flames to stare over at his Kings back, staring at him with such an admiration that even Nymeria felt a catch in her throat because she recognised that loyalty, and almost without her permission, she turned to gaze down at the hobbit by her side who was deeply enthralled in the story. "He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield...and Azog the Defiler learned that day, that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken."

"Our forces rallied, and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated, but there was no feast, nor song that night for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few, had survived...And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow, there is one I could call king." And as soon as the words left the old dwarves mouth, Thorin had turned to face them once more, to find that his company had risen, standing up from their seats, from their beds, their eyes holding nothing but respect for their king, and he met their gazes evenly as he slowly walked down the edge of the cliff slowly, back into the campsite to join them.

"And the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked, his head moving back and forth to look between them in confusion.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin snarled darkly, aware of the way his strange companion had turned her head to watch him, her gaze unreadable as she pressed a hand against the hobbits shoulder as he flinched away from the dwarves words as if stung, all unaware of the way Gandalf and Blain had exchanged quick...and very unsure glances.

Eventually however, the camp settled once more as they all crawled towards their beds for the nights, soon snoring filling the air as they fell ever so quickly into the gentle caress of sleep, a sudden silence taking its place that not even the thoroughly chastised Kili and Fili tried to break. Nymeria sat with her back against a rock and her gaze set on the forest below, her magic brimming under her veins as her sensitive ears continued to pick up noises the others simply couldn't, feeling tense and apprehensive because now there seemed to be worse things hiding out through the cover of darkness instead of the unfortunate company she kept.

However, before she could fall into her own consuming fear, she heard a soft sound hitting off of the uneven ground coming right next to her, and she turned her head, it was to find Bilbo uncurling his bed roll beside her, huffing and puffing under his breath as he mumbled to himself about stains and spiders and dirt and all of that dreadful nonsense that he really hadn't given a second thought to when signing up for the adventure, and the simple familiarity of it caused the faè to chuckle gently. "Shouldn't you be sleeping closer to the fire? You'll get cold."

"If it's all the same to you I'd rather sleep right here...where I'm the safest I could ever be."

"Oh, Bilbo. Did their stories scare you?" But he didn't dignify her gentle taunting with a responce as he tucked himself into his blankets, pausing for a moment to make sure some of them were covering Nymeria's legs, though he was sure she didn't need it as he snuggled himself closer to her side, the continuous running and riding of the day leaving his body sore and exhausted to the point he could no longer keep his eyes open, and Nymeria didn't even try to hide her adoration as she looked down at him. "Go to sleep, my dear hobbit. I'll be right beside you when you awaken."