Walking In Starlight

10

That same night, Ryneela decided to join the company, as they had built a fire with the wood Lord Elrond had provided, sitting down next to Kili with a small smile on her lips and Sebastian in her lap. All of the other dwarves were somewhat scattered around the fire, but still close together, a familiar chirp filling the air, a smile forming on Ryneela's lips as she saw Nix perched on a low hanging branch close to them turning her attention back to the dwarves. Bombur was sitting on one of the tables, a bowl of fruit in his hands, Bofur roasting a sausage over the fire, hearing the table let out a small creak under the weight of the rounder dwarf. Bofur looked at the sausage, then back to Bombur, a small plan forming in his mind, Ryneela and Kili talking quietly to one another, Fili seeming to notice how close they've gotten.

"Bombur!" Bofur called out

He tossed the sausage to Bombur, who caught it easily, looking at it, then looking down at the table as it let out one final creak, before collapsing completely, causing everyone to burst into laughter, Ryneela shaking her head slightly in amusement at their antics. She looked down at her lap, seeing that Sebastian was fast asleep, on his back, his front paws twitching occasionally in his sleep, causing her to chuckle slightly and softly scratch his belly, which caused his right foot to wiggle rapidly. Resting her hand on her lap, Sebastien fell back into his blissful sleep, knowing he was happy to be with his mother again,

"Miss Evantree?" Ori asked timidly

"Yes, Ori?" Ryneela asked, looking at him, seeing Dori giving him a small nudge in encouragement

". . W--why did you decide to join the Company?" He asked nervously

A small smile formed on her lips, seeing that every dwarf went quiet, wanting to hear her answer,

"Well . . I lived in Dale" Ryneela answered, looking at him "we both lost our homes, all I want now is to at least get yours back"

". . . What's your story, lass?" Bofur asked hesitantly

"I was six years old when Smaug came" she replied honestly "it was just any normal day, my brothers were watching over me while my mother was in Erebor collecting her payment for her healing a few days before. I went inside our home to fetch a toy to play with, and that's when everything happened. It was so fast, I didn't know what was happening, one moment I was picking up the toy I wanted, and the next, I was trapped under the debris of our home. My brothers, they tried to get me out, but their power had not yet manifested completely, but my mother . . she ran back to Dale and instantly went to our home. A large piece of debris landed on top of me, trapping me inside, burning me, I could hear the shouts of my mother wanting to get to me but it was hard for her to do so"

All of the dwarves were listening to her true story, Bilbo, however, felt bad for the woman, obviously not expecting her to have such a tragic life, but things happen for a reason. It was still painful for Ryneela to talk about it, but she wanted the Company to know all of what happened that day, or at least what she remembered, which was most of it.

"My mother ran inside to get to me just as another flame from Smaug came" Ryneela continued "she managed to find me and get me out, but I had breathed in too much smoke, and so did she while trying to find me. It took all of her power to keep herself alive when she did, and she carried me away from Dale, my brothers had ran away for safety . . I was dying, and she knew it" Kili softly placing a hand over hers "she had one ounce of power left, and used that to heal me, clearing my lungs and healing a good majority my burns, but not completely. When my vision cleared, she was next to me, looking at me with a smile, I knew what was happening even before I knew what everything meant. I begged her not to go, not to leave us and da. I still remember the last words she said to me. She would rather die knowing that I'm alive, than live her own life knowing she no longer had her little girl"