Niatha was awakened from a fitful rest by a firm hand shaking her shoulder. Alarmed, the woman jerked awake, pulling a dagger from beneath the pillow and pressing it to the person's throat.
"Now, now my dear, that is the second time you've threatened me without first knowing who I was."
"I am so sorry Gandalf!" Niatha dropped the knife immediately and looked around: it was not yet the beginning of dawn. "Why have you woken me at such an hour?"
"Because I must go to the White Council; Saruman and Lady Galadriel are here. You need time to go to a stream and wash before dawn so you can rake the dwarves and leave at daybreak. Carry on to the Mist Mountains and I will follow. Keep them safe and keep your secret well guarded."
"Alright." Mithrandir left to attend the council of Guardians.
Now fully awake and alert, Niatha bundled all but a tan leather bodice and her weapons into her pack and made for one of the many wash fountains of Imladris. She chose a fountain with winged men standing on either side. This fountain was fed by a small waterfall and released at a stream to ensure the water was always fresh. The fountain part, on he other hand, was marvellous. In the middle of the fountain--on a sort of marble dais--stood a great weeping willow. The water seemed to be sucked up through the trunk and trickled out the top and through the branches to land smoothly back in the pool. It was honestly the most beautiful piece of craftsmanship Niatha had ever seen. This would do nicely for bathing.
The Skinchanger stripped down to her underclothes and left her pack, weapons and clothes on the side of the fountain. The water was cool and refreshing when she dipped a toe in to test it. Eventually, she stepped in and sunk to the bottom, submerging herself in cool bliss. The fountain was much deeper than she'd first anticipated, meaning when she stood only her head was above the water. A smile crept upon her face as she dived once more. In the middle of being underwater, Niatha shifted into the ebony tiger with silver stripes that she longed to be so much. It had been too long since she'd last shifted and it was like giving an ostrich the power to fly just for a little while.
In her feline form, Niatha swam beneath the water and into the canopy of willow branches to wash shielded from view. There she popped and cracked her bones back into their human form and scrubbed herself clean. She dipped under for a moment to rinse her hair out well before swimming, in human form, back to the edge of the pond where her things were set.
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Thorin rise before dawn to get his company ready for travel at daybreak. He went quietly to the balconies and chambers they shared to rouse the sleeping dwarves and hobbit then went in search of Niatha.
When he got to her room, Lindir informed him that she had gone to bathe before dawn. A faint glimmer of pink peaked over the horizon to the east so he had to hurry to find her before it was too late. Lindir had told him of the fountain she went to and walked briskly towards it.
On arriving at the other end of the elegantly pillared, outdoor corridor from the fountain, the dwarf prince stopped. The swimming shape of an ebony haired head emerged from the fronds of a weeping willow to glide its way towards the bank. Even from his substantial distance, Thorin could tell all Niatha was wearing was her underclothes so averted his gaze to the suddenly extremely interesting pillar he was leaned against. It was carved to look almost exactly like a tree!
Hesitantly, he peeped back round, feeling it was at least safe to look. And it was: the tall woman was had on dark tan leggings and was currently tugging a green shirt over her sopping head and onto her damp torso. But something caught his eye just before her back was concealed. He couldn't be sure, but Thorin was certain he had seen a number of long scars mapping the woman's pale back. They crisscrossed in lashing patterns and deep scores. They would have been painful.
"If you are here then do not linger where you believe I cannot sense you." A voice snapped Thorin from his thoughts. He looked up to see Niatha's back still turned to him but it was definitely her who spoke.
He coughed a bit to try and loosen his tongue and say something. "Umm... I did not mean to pry, I did not know you were... Anyway, we will be leaving the moment the sky is golden."
"I will meet you at the bridge then. Gandalf will catch up with us in the mountains."
"Very well, I shall see you there and then." As Thorin turned to leave, he could not help but marvel at the muscular build this immensely tall woman had; her damp body made the shirt cling about an athletic frame and- No. He should not have been thinking such disrespectful things of their protector.
Thorin pushed it from his mind and began to wonder of the journey lying ahead. It might take a couple of day to reach the Misty Mountains and then a further few to cross them. If all went well...
Eventually, all the dwarves, plus Niatha and Bilbo, were waiting at the very same bridge they had crossed on entry. Niatha looked around at the company, her eyes lingering on their leader, before informing them if the plan.
"Gandalf will rendezvous with us before, in or after the Misty Mountains, I am not sure. But he will meet us. He is in a meeting of the White Council to discuss delicate matters that do not concern our quest. He is giving us this as a distraction of the elves so that we may leave unchallenged before it is too late. Lead on Thorin."
They began the long hike towards the mountains, Thorin in lead.
When the company reached the exit Niatha could not help but feel a little gloomy. This was the edge of the Wild. Across here was untamed land and untold dangers. Across here was the path back to her home and what lurked beneath it.
"Be on your guard; we're about to step over the edge of the Wild. Balin, you know these paths, lead on."
"Right you are. Well then, follow me." And they did. Thorin drifted into place behind the wise dwarf and was now strolling along next to Niatha.
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Sorry this was actually a very short chapter. I didn't mean for that but I felt what happens next should have its own chapter. I will try and update soon but I'm starting my GCSE studies tomorrow so I might have a bit less time. Plus I have to do DofE at weekends so I will publish whenever I can. Thank you.
-WWM
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The Last of Her Kind (hobbit fanfic)
Fanfiction"Once there were many... Now, there is only me." Beorn's eyes held a shadow of sorrow and loss beneath them. "I might not be so sure of that." *** The Skin-changers were once a proud people who lived in the Misty Mountains. That was before the orcs...
