"You need to know something," said Fili, taking her face in his large warm hands. "You will always have me. Even if the Valar take you away tomorrow, I will always be your brother. I want you. I'm going to fight Thorin for you, but even if I lose, y...
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In which Dwalin seeks out Sara.
"We must find a way to warn Gandalf of Saruman's treachery," argued Nori, ringing out his tunic and jumping to the small dock as the raft bumped against it.
"First we must get away from the river," countered Legolas, hauling on the lines of the raft and securing it to the walkway. "Azog will no doubt follow us. We need to get to Lake-town."
"We need to tend to our wounded," interjected Oin seriously, already ordering Dwalin to the shore with a gesture. The healer began to pry open the large wine barrel for his medical supplies as a grumbling Dwalin obliged him. Kili limped past with Fili's help as they made their way to the shore as well.
"We should try to find Ruven's body," said Airidan quietly, standing at the raft's far edge surveying the river as it rushed to join with the lake. "He deserves a proper burial."
Thorin froze halfway out of his barrel and glanced towards Sara as she struggled to extricate herself from her own. At Airidan's words her hand slipped and she fell, banging her arm on the barrel's edge. Hissing curses under her breath she tried again. Quickly Thorin moved to help her, grasping her wrist and pulling her out in a smooth fluid motion, setting her feet on the gently rocking dock.
"Are you well?" he asked in a whisper, painfully aware how woefully inadequate his words were. She gave a small nod, holding her arm. Gently he reached to see but she pulled away slightly. He let his hand drop.
"I just..." she began, her voice quavering. "I need some space for a while." He studied her for a moment contemplating. The elf's death had been a harsh slap of reality and it had left her reeling.
"Alright," he said. "But try not to go out of sight. There may be enemies about." She nodded and set off, leaving the dock and walking north along the narrow rocky beach. He watched her hesitant progress for a moment before turning to help the others unload the rafts, his thoughts wandering back a few hours.
He had been in the midst of fighting Azog when he heard the elf brother cry out in grief and anguish. For one horrifying moment he had feared the worst, but when he turned it had been to see Sara's chalk white face splattered with ruby drops as the elf's, no... Ruven's dead body slid down her front, staining it crimson. His inattention had almost cost him the future use of his right arm. The white warg had taken advantage of his distraction, lunging forward but Legolas had caught the beast's attention, slicing a deep gash and it's white muzzle, sending in whining back a few steps.
Even with Legolas and one of the elf brothers to help they were still struggling to fend off Azog, as the pale Orc was driven by an insane fury to cut them down and claim Sara. They had been working their way slowly towards the shore, doing their best to fend off the orc, but now the urgency to reach Sara and the others had increased ten fold. Thorin had been contemplating simply breaking and running when the low clear note of a horn sounded over the din of the river and clashing weapons. From the tree line burst a group of at least ten well armed elf guards. Upon spotting them Azog gave a cry and the focus of his and his orcs attacks shifted.
