A Mercenary's Tale

The Great Discovery

But she was wrong.

She wasn't okay, and to her horror, she fainted as they made their way through the chasm. It was lucky that they were all stood so packed together otherwise she would have hurt herself. Instead, she landed on Dwalin- whose expression only darkened- halting the company to a stop.

As always- for this was not uncommon in her day-to-day life- it passed as quickly as it came, and she was desperate to be on her way and pretend it never happened, even if it meant threatening Oin to quit his frantic examinations. By that point, everybody was watching her as if they were afraid that she would faint on them again, and it was only Thorin who actually pushed his way through the small crowd to see if she was okay (besides Oin, of course), but Fith refused to meet his eyes, annoyed with herself for appearing so delicate.

She expected a snarky comment, but he said nothing, only offering her his arm. The rest of the company took steps back, (which was difficult, considering the size of the pathway), allowing her the space to get back onto her feet. Thorin's expression, however, had remained sullen despite his sudden act of aid: it seemed that he was just as displeased, if not more, about her presence.

"We must make haste," he reminded her, as if she was deliberately trying to slow the whole group down, as if she enjoyed spending time on this claustrophobic path. "If you would like someone to help you with your-"

"There's no need," she interrupted him, matching his glower. "I can manage." Fith knew that she would rather carry the entirety of the equipment than admit otherwise.

Thorin nodded, turned to look at the rest of his company, and barked: "we continue."

In haste, they all grabbed hold of their stuff, having used Fith's incident for a small break, and quickly followed suit, looking relieved at not having to carry her stuff. Overall, however, their responses to her were sympathetic. Several of the dwarves, as well as the hobbit, made sure to give her a comforting squeeze on her arm while encouraging her quietly; Bofur even cracked a few jokes, helping to distract her from the hell hole that was this journey through the rocks.

She wondered where it led to, and several times she tried to ask the others around her but it seemed that nobody other than the wizard, (who was strolling through cheerfully with the rest following suit,) knew where it was they were heading to. Not even Thorin. But they had little choice now. Whatever it was at the end of the path would have to be a lot closer to them now than the entrance back where the wargs were.

Feeling especially bare without her shield- which had remained safe all this time with Kili- and having nothing else to distract herself with, she decided to try and get it back.

So when Bombur needed help getting out of an especially tight corner- which required the strength of most of the dwarves- she used this interruption to sort it out.

Distracted by the drama going on behind them, he didn't hear her approach until she was stood right beside him.

"Oh," he started, his surprise instantly lifting to a warm smile. "Are you feeling well?"

She nodded. "Yes, I feel much better," she lied convincingly, or so she thought. Fith still felt horrible, her head burned, making her mind feel like a ball of cotton, while her body ached. Both the lack of food and sleep, on top of today's events, were taking its toll on her health today, and it was shortening her already frail temper."Better enough to take this," she reached for her shield, but Kili moved it away.

Frowning, he said, "I don't think you should take it, not just yet anyway. I'll carry it for a bit longer, at least until you look well enough."

"Kili, please," she pleaded. When that didn't work, she flared up. "It's mine," she said quietly, fiercely, "and I want it back."