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The fish splattered onto the wooden planks as Bard tipped barrels over, sending loud thumps into the air.
"Get your hands off me." Dwalin growled, as he emerged from his barrel, the top of his head poking out of the scales.
The rest of the Company struggled out of their own barrels, more of the fish flopping onto the floor. Bofur helped Bilbo out, as Alenia climbed out slowly, before she stood again, rubbing just above her wound.
Kili caught her movement, and saw the pain on her face before she could wipe it away. He gave her a pointed look, and she rolled her eyes, straightening.
"You didn't see them, they were never here. The fish you can have for nothing." Bard said, slipping a coin to a nearby fisherman, before gesturing to the Company to follow him. "Follow me."
The group rounded a corner, before a teenage boy raced into their view. "Da! Our house, it's being watched."
Bard paused, scanning the wooden houses, thinking, before he turned to the dwarves, Bilbo and Alenia and said, "Here's what we're going to do."
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This is gonna be great for my leg. Alenia thought, desperately trying to ignore the smell wafting from around the group in the water. Infection builds character. Oh, and so does hypothermia!
It turned out that Bard's brilliant idea had been for the Company to swim through the freezing cold water under the house, before climbing into his house through the toilet, while he and his son, Bain acted completely normal.
Alenia shuddered. Feces. Yuck.
The group paused, treading water under the house that Bard had directed them to.
A knock sounded from above, signalling that the Company could start to climb up.
Bilbo disappeared through the hole, followed by a growling Dwalin. Then it was Alenia's turn.
Bain's hand popped through the hole, which she gladly took, as he pulled her closer to the hole, for her to grab ahold of the side and push herself out.
"Thanks," she said. Bain nodded and gestured to the staircase.
"Da...why are there dwarves climbing out of our toilet?" The eldest daughter asked.
"Will they bring us luck?" The youngest daughter asked.
Alenia grinned as she turned the corner of the stairs before entering the room. "Only the brothers. The rest are far too serious and grumpy."
The young girl gaped at the half-elf, who's pointed ears were on full display. "You're an elf."
"Elf Princess." Kili corrected, as he appeared beside her, grinning.
Alenia groaned, as the young girl's already wide eyes grew exponentially.
"I take it back." Alenia said. "Only the blonde one is lucky."
The girl laughed, before dragging her into a room for a fresh pair of clothes.
"What's your name?" Alenia asked.
"That's Tilda," the eldest daughter said, appearing with a bundle of clothes in her arms. "And I'm Sigrid."
"Alenia Damenor, at your service." The half-elf replied, as she took the new clothes gratefully. "Lovely to meet you two."
Then she eyed the bundle. "Please tell me those are pants."
"They're my mother's." Sigrid said, and Alenia's eyes softened. "Or were, at least. She wasn't fond of dresses."
"She must have been a wonderful woman to have birthed two amazing girls like yourselves." The half-elf replied.
Tilda's little chest puffed up with pride, and Alenia grinned down at the little girl.
"She was." Tilda replied, causing the other two females to laugh softly.
"I'd better get these out to your friends." Sigrid realized, grabbing a bunch of blankets, and dragging Tilda along behind her, leaving Alenia alone to change.
Finally alone, Alenia chucked off her dirty clothes, leaving them in a pile. She pulled her new undergarments on, following it with a tunic. Then she paused to look at the wound in her leg.
The bleeding had stopped for the most part, but the clotted blood had turned black, and the dark had seeped into her veins, and without the half-elf's movements, she realized that it throbbed, sending shots of pain down her calf.
The arrow was poisoned then. She thought. I'm gonna need something stronger than the herbs that Bard will have, and we don't have time to look for it.
She struggled with her pants, before finally slipping into them, and pulling the thick socks onto her feet. Those feet ended up in durable boots, with a nice grip, most likely from Bard's deceased wife.
The Valar bless her, but at least the woman had a sense of practicality.
Alenia strode out of the room, the throbbing disappearing with the movements, before she sat down next to Kili.
He wrapped the edge of the blanket around her, along with his arm, and leaned his head on her shoulder.
And so, Alenia stared into the flames of the fireplace, finally warm and safe for the time being, and tried to ignore the wound that would undoubtedly get worse.
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a/n:
omg i'm so sorry it's so short but it's the week before xmas break and i have too much work with school and i have a church thing tmrw and i had a soccer thing today.
i hope the next one will be longer but it probs won't be :((
