The Undecided Title Of Sara Miller *Hobbit Fanfiction* (Thorin/OC)

Chapter 37: Dark Inhabitants

Hello there! Thanks for being patient. I got distracted with anime the past few days and was going at a slower pace but every now and then you just have to consume instead of create. Hopefully it was worth the wait. Once again I have taken liberty with this chapter and it's not quite what your expecting. I hope that it thrills, chills and excites you.

Chapter 37: Dark Inhabitants

In which Fili goes fishing and Sara takes a disturbing photograph.

"I feel as though the forest itself wishes us harm," said Bilbo quietly after several slow hours on the trail. "The air is thick, foul, and it clings to my lungs, almost as if it resents being breathed. I feel I shall suffocate!"

Sara could hardly agree more, looking around in the green gloom under the canopy. The trees that had once grown healthily, judging by their size, now produced only dark oily leaves to which the forest dust clung. The air was thick and moist and she frequently had to wipe the beating moisture from her face, but unlike the humidity of her summers in Kentucky, the cool damp air of Mirkwood chilled her. It had taken some time for her eyes to adjust to the dim light, but the white stones of the path seemed to glow in the perpetual twilight. Oddly enough, though the forest floor was littered with all manner of organic detritus, the path itself remained clear of debris. What's more, Sara was surprised to find that the path was also free of spider webs. She had thought they would be clearing the tiny arachnid's nights creations off the trail continually, as one was want to do on any path that hadn't been used recently. The trees to the side however were strung with glittering gossamer threads, thankfully none of them substantial enough to house anything larger than a common house spider.

"It's like walking through an underwater tunnel in an aquarium, but made of magic," she said, peering into the leaves overhead. Her foot caught on a protruding stone and Fili gripped her pack, steading her. "Thanks," she said, returning her eyes to the trail.

"What's an aquarium?" asked Bilbo, his eyes scanning the forest. "And why would you tunnel through one?"

"It's a glass tank full of fish. People come to walk through a transparent tube and the fish swim all around. It's like being underwater but without getting wet."

"Well I feel as though we are the fish," grumbled the hobbit. He jumped at a sound in the underbrush to their left. "I just wish it were brighter. All that rustling, moaning, and sighing, and yet I can see nothing. Who knows what monsters lurk out there." A squirrel leapt from the grey dying ferns to the side of the path and dashed across Bilbo's feet making him stumble backwards into Sara clutching his chest. "Mercy me," cried the hobbit before righting himself.

"Well there's your monster," said Fili, looking after the scurrying animal. "It's a pity Kili could not have shot it."

"It's probably for the best," said Sara as they quickened their steps, catching up to the tail end of the company. "The book says that squirrels here don't taste good, and besides, how would you get it once it was shot? We're not supposed to leave the trail."

"Surely it can't hurt to take a few steps off the path. I mean I would be able to see and hear you."

"Well maybe so," said Bilbo. "But I wouldn't like to chance it."

"Bilbo's right. Both Gandalf and Beorn warned us not to leave the path for any reason. Beorn says there are foul creatures in the forest and the path is the only safe way through."