His Amorem

Amorem And Sodales

Ok, back to normal hahah

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They arrived at the Carrock just past nightfall, dragging a large buck behind them, while Kili's pack was filled with already cooked squirrel, bird, fish and rabbit. The company had already had their dinner, but Bifur, Dori and Nori were quite pleased to get started on preparing the buck so that they could travel with the meat.

"Any trouble?" Thorin asked, eyeing the two as they sat down, looking entirely exhausted, "You look like you didn't get much sleep."

"It's not as easy without the safety of the company," Kili shrugged, avoiding his brother's wide grin, and tried to pull the collar of his shirt a little higher up his neck.

Keerla noticed and looked away, wanting to hit herself. What had she been thinking, biting him hard enough to leave a mark? Well it wasn't her fault; he kept biting at her ears and her breasts. She had only aimed to pay him back.

"I'll take watch tonight," Dori offered, still slicing at the buck, "I don't mind. It'll take a little while longer to get this all sorted."

"Right then," Thorin agreed, "The rest of us should get some sleep."

"How are your injuries?" Keerla asked, as she passed him to sit on a free patch of grass.

"Fine," the dwarf shrugged, raising an eyebrow at the mark behind her ear. He brushed it off as an injury from the last attack before getting comfy.

Across the camp, Kili and Keerla caught each other's eyes and grinned, before letting sleep take them into a world of dreams. The Elleth was up first the next day, and stretched a few times, making sure nothing was as sore as it had been the morning before.

When she saw Dori asleep instead of being on look out, she grinned and snuck over to Kili, pressing a chaste kiss on his lips before she moved around waking everyone. It was almost silent as they made their way across the plains, keeping low, as if they could feel Azog and what was left of his army creeping closer.

Nearly eleven months of running from orcs, and as far as Keerla was concerned, they seemed to be getting no closer to the Lonely Mountain than they were to getting to the moon. Their path had taken so many twists and turns out of the general direction of their mountain that it was as if they'd gone in circles, but it had been the only way to avoid crossing paths with the orc pack. Everyone had become a little grouchy over the months, her and Kili especially as they had very little time to themselves.

Since the night in the valley, they'd only been able to be alone with one another seven times, which was definitely not enough to calm their raging needs for each other. Their shared kisses and light petting every night they made camp did enough to keep it under control, but sometimes Keerla was sure Kili was ready to pounce at her. Were it not for his brother and Bofur, he would have. And she at him, were it not for Gandalf keeping her company.

They both knew why. For elves, they were called Sodales or soul mates in the common tongue, for Dwarfs it was Amorem, or One's love. Essentially, it was their other half, the being created to complete them, to love without reason and without rule. When these pairs first shared themselves, a bond would be created, a bond that practically tied them together for the rest of their lives.

Or that was what the stories told. But the stories forgot to mention the insatiable need for the other, the need to touch, to hold, to speak, even just to look at one another until they were bound not just in body but in soul as well.

The ceremony was old, and very few knew how to perform it, which made things all that much harder for Keerla and Kili as the days went on. Balin knew the ceremony, but it wasn't as if they could come out and tell him they needed to be bonded because they had jumped in head first without thinking it through.

By mid-July, they were given a distraction. Azog and his scouts were catching up incredibly fast. There had been no confrontations since the Lonely Mountains though a few near run-ins, but it seemed as though the Pale Orc had finally picked up their scent.

Keerla sat on a rock near Gandalf, playing with the braid hidden beneath her curls as she watched the sun begin to rise. Unlike hers, Kili's didn't stand out in his hair, and no one seemed to notice the difference in colour of the bead, where as she had to leave her hair down to hide it. She jumped up suddenly when Bilbo scrambled back into view and gave his terrified expression a soft smile to comfort him. The others just pounced on him expectantly.

"How close is the pack?" Dwalin demanded.

"Too close. A couple of leagues, no more, but that is not the worst of it," Bilbo panted, placing his hands on his knees to steady himself.

"Have the Wargs picked up our scent?"

The hobbit shook his head at Dwalin, "Not yet, but they will. We have another problem."

Keerla raised an eyebrow at his words, but no one else seemed to pick up on what he'd said.

"Did they see you? They saw you!" Gandalf jumped to conclusions.

"No, that's not it."

The wizard grinned turned to the dwarfs, boasting about the skill of his burglar while Bilbo tried to get himself heard over the talk. Rolling her eyes, Keerla placed her two pointer fingers between her lips and gave a sharp whistle. Everyone jerked to face her immediately.

"Well, even if i did get the attention of those trying to kill us, you lot finally shut up," she sighed, then pushed Bilbo into the middle of the group, "I think our little hobbit is trying to tell us something."

"Yes, thank you Keerla," Bilbo nodded, "I'm trying to tell you there is something else out there."

Worry flashed over each face, other than Gandalf's and Keerla glared at him, he knew something. Kili grasped her hand, pulling her closer to him when he saw her lip curl into a slight snarl. Allowing her temper to run free would not help them.

"What form did it take? Like a bear?" said wizard asked.

"Ye-" Bilbo cut himself off, surprised by what Gandalf had said, then continued, "Y- yes. But bigger, much bigger."

Bofur turned to Gandalf with a scowl, "You knew about this beast?"

The wizard turned and took a few steps away, peering into the valley. The dwarfs glanced at each other, and Bilbo cast Keerla a worried look, but all she could do was shrug and hold tighter to Kili's hand.

"I say we double back," Bofur then piped up.

"And be run down by a pack of Orcs?" Thorin asked, causing the others to mumble between them.

"There is a house," Gandalf spoke over the noise, turning back to face them, "It's not far from here, where we might take refuge."

"I couldn't help but notice the way you said 'might' Gandalf," Keerla stated, "Which suggests this person is neither friend nor foe, which makes it an incredibly dangerous decision."

"Indeed," Gandalf agreed, "He will help us, or he will kill us."

"What choice do we have?" Thorin asked, and a howling roar split the silence of the night from the rocks behind them.

"None," came Gandalf's reply.    

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