The Night Walker (A Hobbit Fanfic)

Thirteen ~ Cave Dwellers

I wake from my nap to the quiet sounds of the dwarves whispering and chatting quietly to one another. The rain outside sounds quieter and there isn't any wind pushing it into our cave. Smiling to myself, I stand and walk over to Thorin, Fili, Kili and Aragorn to return Aragorn's blanket. My head feels much better so I can move about without feeling dizzy and my face isn't swollen from the scratches. I keep my shoulder still and hold my arm to my chest.

As I approach, Aragorn looks up to me and gives me a warm smile. Kili and Fili grin to see me up and about.

"How is your shoulder feeling?"

"A little better, thank you, Fili." I smile at him as he looks concernedly at my shoulder.

"Do you want me to put it back into place?" Aragorn pats the ground beside him and I carefully lower myself to sit down.

"Please, thanks. Will it hurt?"

"I'm afraid it will, but it shouldn't last too long." Aragorn moves to kneel beside me and places a strong hand on the front of my shoulder.

"Take a deep breathe slowly." I do as he says and as I inhale he shoves his arm against the back of my shoulder and pushes forward from the other side. I let out a short grunt and gasp in air as the bone is shoved into the socket past my nerves, veins and tendons, making my body tingle through the pain. I shut my eyes tightly as Aragorn removes his first hand to grab some cloth to make a sling. He wraps it around my elbow and neck to keep my arm in place.

"Okay. You can take the sling off when you go to sleep. I'm sure your healing should kick in and finish it off in a while." He smiles to me and holds my left shoulder which doesn't hurt.

"Thank you. Mind if I sit with you all?" I look at the various faces huddled in the little circle. Fili and Kili smile up at me and Thorin gives a small nod and holds his arm out to let me sit between him and Fili. Aragorn sits opposite me.

"I really am so sorry about this, Valia. Had I known, I -" I cut Fili off with a wave of my good arm.

"Fili, it's alright. I'm healing and you never meant it. It was an accident, and accidents happen the whole time around me." I grin and he sighs with relief. I let my head fall to his shoulder to comfort him further. I hate to see him tearing himself up about me.

Thorin starts speaking quietly about his plans and what we'll do as we near the mountain. He wants to keep our food rationed so we have plenty for the long journey - which is fine for Bilbo, Aragorn and I as we can share lembas bread.

After a long while of planning and discussing, Fili decides to move away to a quiet spot to lay out his bedroll and sleep. "Sleep well. We'll have a hard trek tomorrow." Thorin keeps speaking for a while, occasionally glancing at me with interest in my opinions. After Fili moved away, Kili shuffled up beside me and wrapped his blanket around my shoulders, so I'm sharing it with him. He also kept one arm low around my waist, keeping me warm secretly, but I'm afraid that Aragorn caught on. I see him sometimes glare at Kili and give him a stern look. Maybe he's just concerned about my shoulder.

Slowly, other dwarves part from their groups to lay down and get some rest. Thorin, Kili, Aragorn and I stay awake latest. Bofur still sits playing with the ash on the floor, occupying himself, as does Bilbo in the corner by himself. No doubt thinking of home.

"Bofur."

"Aye, Thorin?"

"Can you take the first watch?"

"Aye."

Bofur moves quietly, tip-toeing over snoring dwarves to position himself against the wall by the entrance, looking out into the misty rain.