"Wisteria Greenleaf at your service." I bowed at the halfling. He gulped, "I never knew an elf was to come to my home." "Neither did I." I whispered as I walked inside only to see a large group of dwarves sitting in the dining room. My teeth ground...
I padded next to Bilbo in the form of the Ghost Wolf, except now with two braids with Durin beads on the end near my left ear, searching the perimeter for any trace of orcs. Bilbo jumped as he looked over one of the numerous boulders, "Wisteria... There's a bear over there. A huge one." I tilted my head slightly as my eyes widened as I saw the bear Bilbo was pointing to. I shook my head, "That's not a normal bear Bilbo. We have to get back to the company!" Silently I motioned for Bilbo to get on my back, as it was the quickest way back. He gulped and held onto my neck fur tightly as I kicked off and ran through the bushes towards the company. Once we arrived, Bilbo dismounted and panted heavily. I rolled my eyes, "Don't worry, everyone goes through that after they mount me for the first time." Bilbo nodded as the rest of the company noticed our arrival. Kili and Fili rushed to us first, along with Gandalf and Thorin with the brothers heading towards me and the other two to Bilbo. They then enveloped me in a huge hug whilst asking how I was and what I saw on my patrol with Bilbo. I let out a small chuckle and morphed back into my elven form, "Calm down you two! Everything will be answered in time, by Bilbo." The hobbit groaned once the attention was turned to him. "Did the orcs see you?" Fili asked. Bilbo shook his head, "N-No. But there-" Gandalf then interrupted him, "See, quiet as a mouse!" The dwarves started to cheer but I raised my voice to get their attention, "That wasn't all! We saw something out there..." Gandalf the turned to me with eyes full of concern and curiosity, "Did it take the form of a bear?" Realization hit me like a ton of bricks, "Y-Yes. But the orcs are closing in on us. There are but a couple miles away." The company groaned in disappointment. Thorin growled, "Now we are still being chased by a pack of orcs." Gandalf went to the side and though for a moment, "I know a place. He doesn't live far from here. But he will help us, or he will kill us." It wasn't much to longer after that that my ears picked up the sounds of crunching leaves and twigs. I swerved around with my bow at the ready and my eyes turning to that of a cat's pair of eyes. It was silent for a moment until Gandalf yelled, "RUN!" I rolled my eyes sarcastically and then sprinted with the rest of the company into a nearby meadow. It wasn't too long afterward that I saw a cottage that seemed uninhabited, which was where Gandalf was directing us to. We ran through the gate as a huge black bear covered in battle scars burst through the foliage. "Get in the house!" I yelled as I then morphed into a hawk to distract the bear. "Wisteria no!" I heard Fili, Kili, and Gandalf yell but I was already heading towards the mammoth of a bear. He seemed concentrated on me, which helped as I led him back into the foliage. I wasn't looking in front of me as I saw the company make it safely into the cottage, so moments later I went smack into a tree branch. I dived into the ground, morphing back into my elven form, and unsheathed my sword. The bear stopped, looked at me with what I believed to be curiosity, and walked away calmly. I raised an eyebrow in confusion but shrugged it off and noticed that it was getting late. I morphed into a smaller black bear and followed the bigger bear and saw him lying on the ground. I lied down next to him, and he didn't object, so we both fell into a deep slumber.
Kili's P.O.V:
After Fili and I made it into the safety of the cottage, we both realized that our One wasn't with the company. "Where's Wisteria?" I asked while I was still panting from the long run. Fili then noticed and asked the same question later on. Gandalf shook his head as he gestured to a nearby room that looked like the inside of a barn, "She will be fine Master Kili. I assume that she has now met our host." Dwalin groaned, "That thing is our host?" The wizard nodded as he once again gestured to the area of hay that we were to sleep on, "Rest now, for we will see both of them in the morning." Each member of the company muttered their own response but eventually gave in and laid on their own spot in the hay. Fili situated himself next to me and sighed, "I hope she wasn't hurt." I shook my head, "Like Gandalf said, she can take care of herself just fine." This conversation about our concerns about Wisteria and the quest dragged on for hours. By the time Fili and I stopped talking, it was nearly midnight. Before I could suggest us heading to bed, we both spotted a glowing celestial being outside. I looked to Fili, and he gestured to the door for me to open it. I did so silently and was shocked at what I saw.
Once Fili and I exited the seemingly uninhabited cottage, we saw a ghostly figure of a lion pacing back and forth. It seemed to notice us as it had stopped the moment it locked eye contact with us. Once it did, the beast sighed with relief and sat down, allowing us to come closer. Fili then asked, "What are you?" The glowing celestial scoffed, "Shouldn't you know? I'm Wisteria's lion form, Aslan." (The references!!! :) ). Aslan cocked his head and smiled once he saw our confused faces, "You just haven't seen me before without Wisteria in control." I tensed slightly, "Then why are you here? Is Wisteria ok?" Aslan nodded, "She is fine. She has simply met the owner of this cottage. She will be back in the morning but she sent me to make sure her courtiers were well." Both Fili and I smiled, "Well we are okay. She doesn't have to worry about us." I said as Fili spotted another celestial emerging from the underbrush, his hand brushing one of his daggers for a spilt moment. Aslan noticed this and shook his head, "There is no need for that Fili Durin. That is simply Ravenna, she is what you call a snow leopard." My eyes widened, "So Ravenna is Uncle Thorin's-" "Bond. Yes, she is." Aslan interrupted as the graceful cat bounded towards us.
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Once she took a whiff of the house, she sneered, "How many dwarves again are here Aslan?" The older lion rolled his eyes, "Thirteen Ravenna," He then flicked his tail in the direction of the company, "Now go, do what Wisteria told you to do." The leopard nodded and headed to the company, but stopped halfway to bow to both of us in a cat-like way. "What was that for?" I asked as soon as Ravenna was out of earshot. Aslan chucked, "That was her way of showing her acceptance of both of you. Some of the forms, including Ravenna, didn't agree with Wisteria's decision to court you both. I was one of the minority that supported it at first." Ravenna peered down at the sleeping forms of Thorin and Dwalin, almost trying to decide on something. Fili noticed this and asked, "What is she doing?" Aslan smiled, "This is a rare moment of our kind, when a form decides who they will protect the most once Wisteria shifts. You may also hear it called "bonding"." "I thought that she already bonded to Uncle Thorin?" I asked confused. Aslan nodded acknowledging my confusion, "Ravenna is a complex form. She cares very deeply for your Uncle, but also for the one you call Dwalin." Our question was answered once Ravenna shied away from Dwalin and rubbed her head across Thorin's forehead and then disappeared out of nowhere. "Where'd she go?" I asked Aslan. The lion nodded solemnly and backed away slowly, "She chose Thorin indefinitely. Nothing can break that bond anymore, not even death. Wisteria has called me back, I must go now. Goodbye sons of Durin." Before we could say our goodbyes to the lion, Aslan disappeared into the underbrush.
