1 | dark pasts [oakenshield]

Thirteen

"Melkor, may Manwë and Mandos find you once more and chain you forever!" she cursed.

Thorin seemed to also notice the presence. He looked to Kayla, who slowly looked up to meet his eyes. Then, ever so slowly, the two of them turned around. Moving a bush out of the way, Thorin gasped out loud.

"Azog?!" he whisper shouted.

The pale Orc was indeed alive, and the same as before (if you don't count his missing hand, that is). His scars seemed to be deeper than last time, and his blue eyes were just as bloodthirsty. His beast was still coated in a beautiful white fur, though red streaks covered its back. His teeth were yellow and red, and spit flew everywhere when he snarled. They were perched on a bolder, the other riders yielding as the pale Orc looked on, the creature he was still snarling. Azog soothed his pup by gently moving his metal hand around, sniffing the air.

"Do you smell that?" he asked in Black Speech with a sneer. "The scent of fear? I remember you grandfather reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain."

Thorin shook his head. "It cannot be," he whispered, his voice breaking.

Azog turned his attention away from the shocked Dwarf, eyes widening and sneer growing. "And Anne. Hello, child," he cackled. "The same scent wafts off of you, only stronger. Do you remember how I slayed your mother? How I broke her and drank her blood?" He laughed. "I found you, Princess."

Kayla was too petrified to make a snappy comeback. That voice... it was the same as her dreams. Azog the Defiler was a hunter, and he would get his kill. He even said that he would find her. All he needed to do was kill her. Step one was down, and he only had one more step to go. She shook her head and turned away, almost hiding in Thorin's neck. He used his left hand to place it on her back.

"I told you I wasn't lying," she whispered, and Thorin believed her.

Azog laughed at her weak state and pointed his mace at the Elf and the Dwarf. "Those two are mine," he said. The pale Orc swung his mace around, riling up the other riders. "Kill the others!"

On cue, the riderless Wargs attacked the trees. They jumped and raked their claws along the bark, trying to grab them all. Thorin lost his balance and hung on a branch with one hand. Kayla, however, lost her balance completely. Before she could fall, Thorin grabbed wrist and pulled her close. She wrapped one arm around his neck tightly, holding on the branch he was clinging to with one hand.

"Is your strength back?"

"Somewhat, yeah," she answered.

"Then why aren't your vines working?"

"I'm not as strong at night, it's my weakest stage," she explained, looking down below. "And there are too many Wargs. I can't defeat them all."

Thorin cursed at her words. "We're sitting ducks."

The Wargs knew that their situation was hopeless, and they could only hope to have their first (or hundredth) taste of Dwarf and Elf.

"Drink their blood!" cried Azog, and the Wargs went nuts.

"No, no, no. Be a good Warg, and don't drink blood. Don't be a bloodsucker! No, no, no, don't be a bad Warg!" dissuaded Kayla.

But the Wargs would have none of that. As they jumped and snapped branches apart, the roots of the trees started to give away. With a groan of the trees, they started to tilt backwards one at a time. With a shriek, Kayla and the Dwarves on her tree jumped. Unfortunately, a domino affect took place, so everyone had to jump tree to tree. With one final jump, Kayla landed on a branch on a tall oak tree, as did everyone else.