there and back again

4

Raine looked up when Kili barged into the small clearing.

A few minutes earlier Bilbo had taken him and his brother bowls of food.

Kili dropped the bowl. "We encountered a slight problem."

Raine sat in a tree, staff and sword in hand and watching. Turned out the 'slight problem' was three trolls planning to eat four of the Company's ponies and Bilbo aiming to free said ponies.

She smacked her palm against her forehead when the dwarves charged in to save the hobbit -- who was now in one troll's grasp.

She watched for a moment as the dwarves valiantly faught for the hobbit.

Sighing to herself, she launched herself out of the tree, aiming for Bilbo. She sliced at the troll's fingers as she caught him in mid-air.

"Raine!" he cheered happily. "I thought you would never come!"

She grinned. "Keep to the shadows, Master Baggins. You will find they are a bit safer at times."

He did as she asked, scuttling to hide beneath a bush.

She swirled around and stabbed her sword into the foot of a troll, weaving between the well-oiled machine of fighting dwarves.

She vaulted onto the largest troll's shoulder, giving him a slice over the back when she was yanked back by her cloak.

She grunted, falling heavily on her chest before she was lifted from the ground.

Two trolls stretched her limbs and the third held her thrashing head still, keeping his knife at her neck.

She froze instantly, chest heaving.

"Drop your arms!" one of the trolls ordered. "Or we'll rip hers off!"

"Thorin Oakenshield you listen to me," Raine said. "You will not drop your weapons for me. Ever."

The dwarves looked back and forth between her and their leader.

Thorin watched as Raine tried to pull her neck back, a small trickle of blood running down her throat.

He looked at the dwarves around him before sighing and dropping his sword.

They followed suit.

•••

Raine lay next to Thorin and half of the dwarves, all of them in bags.

The other dwarves were tied to a stake over the fire.

She was glowering into the flames. "I told you not to do that," she said lolwy.

He turned to face her. "As you might recall, I am the leader of this Company. Strictly speaking, you can't order me to do anything."

She glared at him. "If you'd listened, we wouldn't be tied up like this."

Thorin opened his mouth to retort, but Bilbo spoke to the quarreling trolls.

"You are making a big mistake with the seasoning," he declared.

"What's wrong with a bit of sage?" the largest troll asked, his voice rising above the objection of the dwarves.

Raine watched as the hobbit continued to argue with the troll on wether to skin and bone the dwarves or squish them to jelly.

"I prefer to be roasted!" she called to Bilbo.

He nodded. "Me, too, really. I don't fancy being jelly myself although I do like the taste."

She grinned, nodding to a large boulder behind the trolls. "What do you prefer, Gandalf?"

He met her gaze, eyes twinkling and answered. "I prefer that dawn take you all!"

He slammed his slaff into the rock and it cracked. Sunlight burst through and the trolls turned to stone.

Bofur, who was still over the fire, grinned at them. "Who's hungry, then?"