Starcrossed Losers - [A Kili X OC fic]

Chapter XV

Every badass character needs a unreasonable fear to make them more human....right?

Tw: Arachnophobia (mention of spiders, not yet real spiders), description of phobia, not a simple fear. Raewyn swears. Dwalin being a bitch (instead of Thorin). Sweet Raeli moment UwU. Raewyn cries again I am sO SORRY! Raewyn being made at Gandalf. References to a panic attack (thanks to fear)

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"The Elven Gate." Gandalf announced, stepping off of his horse.

The forest did not appear as anything Raewyn had expected. And she had expected a lot of things. Yet none of them came close to what she saw in front of her. It seemed as if the top of the trees had been melted off, the branches close to falling off as the once green grass had turned into a somewhat swamp-like design. An immediate wave of discomfort washed over her. Bilbo visibly shivered in front of her, having noticed the distressing feeling too.

"Here lies our path through Mirkwood." The wizard continued.

Mirkwood; a fitting name for a forest this ill. Raewyn remembered the tales of the Great Greenwood, and she knew how the people had begun to change the name over time, but she had thought it was merely a hyperbole. But it seemed as though it wasn't.

"No sign of the orcs." Dwalin mentioned. "We have luck on our side."

Gandalf gazed towards the horizon, spotting Beorn scouting the area, but not looking quite alarmed yet.

"Set the ponies loose." He concluded. "Let them return to their master."

And so the company did. The dwarves began to dismount the ponies, taking off their baggage as they gently removed the reins. Raewyn was quick to loosen her pony, setting it out into the wilderness.

"This forest feels sick, as if a disease lies upon it." Bilbo remarked, speaking Raewyn's unspoken worries. "Is there no way around?"

"Not unless we go two hundred miles north. Or twice that distance south." The wizard explained, gesturing towards the line of trees.

And with those words, Gandalf walked towards the gate, as if inspecting its structure.

"What is he doing?" Bilbo whispered to Raewyn, but all the ranger could do was shrug, oblivious to the actions of the man she spent her childhood traveling with.

"How's your leg?" Fili interrupted, nearing the pair as he secured the knives around his body.

"Better." Raewyn answered curtly. When the blond dwarf raised his eyebrows at her, she let out a sigh, nodding her head towards the injured leg.

"It's obvious there's a wound there, but at least I can walk again." She tried to soothe.

"And your hand?" The dwarf went on. Raewyn shot him a nasty look, not used to the sudden fuss around her, and - in all honesty - it was bothering her. She could manage easily. They shouldn't be worried about the state of pain she was in.