The elleth from under the mountain

Bofur the aid

Bofur's P.O.V

"How hard could this really be?" I asked myself earlier on this morning as I finally managed to catch Ontario's horse.

Little did I know there was very little else that could have gone wrong.

Catching Lukaine wasn't the hardest task, nor surprisingly was trying to mount the beast, which was no easy feat.

It required a bucket full of apples, a rope for Lukaine, and a rope for me to swing down off a nearby branch so I could land on his back.

Which I will admit took more than one attempt.

The first ended up with me face down in the mud.

The second ended up with two horse shoes imprinted on my forehead.

And the third.... Well it's not every day you end up with a horse sitting on you.

The single most terrifying event that has happened so far today was once he started to move.

Apparently he has his own sense of direction, and only has one speed.... A dead gallop. The crudely made set of reins that was acquired, doing very little to rein in the demonic horse.

After being violently jostled around like a loose sack of potatoes for most of the day, barely managing to cling to his neck for dear life! We finally reached the edge of the Clütha river by late afternoon.

I made sure to keep a firm grip on his reins as I literally fell to the ground. My legs having long ago gone numb.

I groaned loudly, my face buried in the dirt of the forest floor. Everything hurt when I moved, I don't know how Ontario managed to do this every day, muscles I didn't even know I had hurt.

Spitting the leaves from my mouth I managed to pull myself into a sitting position. Straightening my hat I drug myself to a nearby log, securely tying Ontario's beloved horse to it. I gave it a firm tug just to be sure, as I eyed up the beast that stared down at me distrustingly.

"You stay right here," I told him as I wondered over to the edge of the river. The stones churned loudly as I slid down the bank to the waters edge.

I dipped my hand in the cool water, kneeling beside the fast moving current as I greedily drank my fill.

Splashing some of the refreshing liquid over my face and down the back of my neck. I sighed heavily in relief. It had been a long, hot, uncomfortable ride.

Lukaine grumbled loudly pawing at the ground in front of him. I shook my head, untying the empty pail from my bag. That horse was crazier than Bombur when he hadn't had anything to eat. And I should know, he was my brother!

"Yea, yea, I hear you. No need to get your tail in a twist," I mumbled filling the pail.

Walking back up the rocky path I placed, the pail in front of him. The horse immediately shoving his head in as far as he could, right up past his nostrils as he proceeded to skull the river water as fast as he could.

I unclipped my bag, dropping it to the ground as my shoulders sighed with relief. Turning to face the slurping beast, I'm certain Ontario mentioned something at some stage about not giving cold water to a hot animal.