Inflamed (Harry Potter & The Hobbit/LOTR Crossover) (LegolasxOC)

12- Descent

Hey guys! How are your days going? I just went back to school yesterday (ugh). But I will still be posting on the normal schedule as much as I can. (Wednesdays and Sundays)

I climbed down the first couple steps and then turned around to help Thorin. "Try to not to worsen you condition." I advised, earning a glower from the Dwarf. "I assure you that any injury I get from this experience will not be deliberately." he snapped. I held my hands up in surrender as I watched him slowly lower himself onto the first step.

He kept a cool, collected expression, but I narrowed my eyes at him. "One down, five thousand more to go." I said cheerfully, testing him. "M-Miss Paige, please be quiet." he pleaded, panting just a little. That was all I needed to know. I pursed my lips and stepped down again, holding out my hand for Thorin. Reluctantly, he grapped my hand and cleared two more steps painfully slow.

I heard his heavy breathing as he made his way down the fifth step and noted, "Take your time. We don't have to rush." He looked up from the stone staircase below our feet and nodded slowly. And within thirty minutes, we had made it down two flights of stairs.

~

He collasped when his feet hit the next landing, a soft groan escaping his mouth. I immediately plopped down on the first step of the next stairway, offering him a skin of water. Thorin took it graciously and chugged most of it, coughing as he swallowed it too fast. When he gave it back to me I drank the remaining drops before refilling it with the Water Charm.

I noticed Thorn's chest heaving up and down from exhaustion and I knew we needed to take a five minute break. "Five minutes." I huffed, leaning against the landing and watched as he rested his head against the last stairs and closed his eyes, breathing out a shaky sigh. When those five minutes were up, Thorin got up slowly with no complaints, ready to trudge on.

At one point, the steps became very narrow and uneven, as if they were hand-made. "Be careful, the stairs are unstable." I warned. Just as I did, I slipped and almost fell off the side of the staircase. Thorin's hand, however, shot out and grabbed my arm. My mouth went dry as I teetered on the edge of the stairs, a very long drop below me.

Grunting, Thorin hauled me back and away from the edge. My back hit the wall as I slowly sunk down against the Carrock, my mouth agape. My heart was beating erractically against my ribcage, the fear of falling still very present. "Are you alright?" The Dwarf asked, eyebrows furrowed. I nodded silently, afraid of what would come out if I spoke.

I cautiously stood back up and inched my way down the stairs, making sure that Thorin did not slip. When we got to the next landing it was about noon or one in the afternoon. We ate a small lunch, both silent as we passed the waterskin back and forth. Then we continued on, both of us wary and exhausted.

By the time the sun was setting we still hadn't even made it halfway down the damn stairs what with the amount of caution we were taking with Thorin's injuries. Every few hours I would check on his injuries and applied the salve, following Óin's orders. A few more steps and we were about to get to the next landing. And from the panting I heard behind me, I knew it was time to call it a night.

We both collapsed the moment our feet touched the leveled stone. I caught my breath before crawling over to Thorin, announcing, "I should check your wounds again." He grunted and then proceeded to heave off all his shirts. "The amount of clothes you Dwarves wear is absolutely ridiculous." I murmured. Thorin snorted. At last, I unwrapped his blood-soaked bandages and continued to examine them in the setting sunlight.

They looked slightly better, though they were still bleeding and looked painful. I reapplied Óin's salve and wrapped fresh bandages around his torso. Against my better judgement, I gave him some lily tea to help with the pain. With his layers back on, Thorin ate a pathetic dinner while I watched the sunset and the scenery with the beautiful colors creating a natural, pretty filter. "What are you looking at?" Thorin finally asked, sipping our waterskin.

"The sunset." I replied softly. "Where I'm from, you don't ever really have the time to enjoy simple things like sunsets. Nobody appreciates them." I elaborated, trying to ignore the hunger pains I was feeling. Thorin needed to keep his energy up so that he didn't die from starvation and malnourishment while nursing some serious wounds. I could skip a couple meals if I needed to. Thorin hummed, cocking his head. "That's quite sad. Not even the Elves appreciate nature?" 

I chuckled, resting my chin on my knees. "There are no Elves, Thorin. Or Dwarves or Hobbits. It's a world of Men. Sometimes it's a good thing, but there are times when other races' intervention or ideas would probably solve many of our problems. Unfortunately, they are all myths, stories on Earth. No one, unless you're a Wizard, believes in magic."

Thorin made a face. "Well, that's unfortunate. Your world sounds very dull and dark." I winced, slightly offended. "It can be dull and dark. But not everywhere. You just have to look for the light." He shrugged. I rolled my eyes and started rummaging through my bag. At last, I pulled a blanket out of it and threw it at Thorin.

The blanket fell on his face, sadly hiding the probably priceless expression on his face. I snorted when he glared at me as he pulled the blanket off. "What's this for?" I settled against the Carrock wall and responded, "Get some sleep. I'll take first watch." "Miss Paige." he growled. At this point, I was too tired to argue with him. "Rest. I'll wake you in a few hours." I retorted.

Grumbling, Thorin laid down with the blanket around him, using his bag as a pillow. I half-smiled at the sight of his pout. Honestly, he looked like a six-year-old! He eventually dozed off, leaving me to my thoughts and the darkness swallowing us all whole. It was amazing that I was able to keep my eyes open for the whole night.

They ached and burned, but I wasn't going to wake Thorin, for he needed the sleep more than me. I tried really hard to not think about how I haven't slept in forty-eight hours. I took a couple sips of lily tea to keep hunger and sleep deprivation away. Just as dawn was breaking, it couldn't have been later than two in the morning, Thorin woke up. He yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then noticed me.

I must have looked like death, but at this point I didn't really care. "Why didn't you wake me? You said 'a few hours.'" He grumbled, his voice raspy from sleep. I shrugged. "You needed the sleep." I bit back a yawn, but the Dwarf narrowed his eyes at me. "Well, now I have rested and it's your turn to sleep."

I pointed to his stomach. "But your wounds―" I protested, cut off by Thorin's firm retort, "Can wait. I'll wake you in a few hours." I glared at him as he chucked the blanket at my head, hearing him chortle. "Very funny." I mumbled, laying my head down on my bag. After a few minutes, I dozed off, never falling asleep so fast in my life.