A pack of orcs, riding on wargs, was chasing right behind The Company of Thorin Oakenshield, through a forest. Gandalf the Grey was leading the way, knowing exactly where to go. Suddenly they heard a wolf howl, and the orcs scream of fear. "Come on, no time to loose!," Gandalf yelled, looking back at the dwarves and Bilbo following him.
The company broke through the forest, and a big field opened before them. Something came right behind Bilbo, the last one of The Company. Something fast. Something big.
Gandalf stopped and turned around, making the others do the same. Towards them came a big, majestic, white wolf with black blood around its mouth, in high speed. Suddenly it stopped, only a few meters in front of them.
The dwarves and Bilbo drew their weapons, as Gandalf stood there calm. "Just keep calm, maybe it will calm down too," Bilbo stuttered, but Ori was adverse and fired a stone from his slingshot. It hit the wolf between its eyes.
The wolf started circling them, and growled low. "I did not mean that, I am sorry," Ori said careful. The wolf stepped closer to Gandalf, but he did not move. The others in The Company stepped closer, ready to protect him.
"He will not step any closer," Fili said, making sure to move his sword a little more, as a show-off.
"But wait," Bilbo said. "Where is the orcs?" They all started looking around in wonder.
"The wolf must have eaten them," Balin said surprised.
"Then it helped us. We cannot kill it," Ori said, stepping forward.
"Shh! The wolf tried to kill us, but failed. Now it will serve as a nice fur coat," Thorin said proudly.
Gandalf, who had been standing silent besides Bilbo, suddenly spoke up. "Thorin, that is not a nice thing to say about our host!"
Thorin looked shocked at him. "What? Our host? Why did you not tell us that when it came chasing after us?," Thorin asked frustrated, and switched his look between Gandalf and the wolf.
"Because I thought you, who have been in this land for so long, knew who she is," Gandalf started as he stepped closer to the wolf. "She is one of, or should I say, Beorn's closest friend. She is, in a way living with him. That girl have never hurt an innocent soul, ever. She is a smart girl, and knows when to save a life, and when to take one. Her name is Aspect; a majestic, mysterious and fearless wolf, and a lovely, kind and beautiful girl. Her eyes as green as the grass midsummer, her hair white as the snow in deep winter. The whole girl is a big mystery." He lay his hand on her head and looked at her as he spoke, and she suddenly calmed down. "Say that you are sorry when she changes back," Gandalf commanded strictly, looking at Thorin and Ori.
Suddenly, Aspect changed back to human. She slowly stood up at her bare feet as she dried blood away from her mouth, and spit. "You can say it now and get it over with," she said, trying to calm down her wild hair before brushing off dirt from her clothes and straightening a white stone hanging from a necklace around her neck.
"Excuse me, Lady Aspect," Thorin said and bowed deeply.
"I am very sorry," Ori said, trying to bow as deep and majestic as Thorin. Aspect nodded satisfied before she turned to Fili who had been standing speechless, staring at her.
"And I am not a boy!," she snarked at him.
"I can see that now. I am sorry," Fili said, bowing too.
"I would never kill anyone without any reason. And I ate none-tasteful orcs for lunch, thank you for asking," Aspect said. "I saved your life, and maybe I will one more time when Beorn heads home, if, of course, none of you use my fur as a coat before that time." Aspect glanced over them all. "It maybe looked like I wanted to kill you, but I know who you are. I was full of adrenalin. I had just killed some orcs and fought some wolves-," Aspect suddenly stopped and stared into the forest behind them. Her white wolf-ears shot out from her head.
"We have to go," she said. "Now. Move!" Aspect started running, and the others followed her.
The Company heard something coming up behind them. "It is Beorn!," Aspect yelled. "Keep running to the farm, and I will stop him!" Aspect stopped while changing to wolf. The others kept running.
When The Company reached Beorn's farm, they were quick to close the big gate into his house. From the outside, they could hear growling. "What will she do?," Ori asked, looking up at Gandalf.
"They will fight," Gandalf said, and sat down on a wooden box.
"Beorn looked much bigger than her! She won't survive that!," Fili said worried, ready to open the gate.
"Beorn may be big, but he also got a big heart. He will not kill Aspect. At least I hope," Gandalf said, the last sentence under his breath.
Suddenly, the growling changed to loud whining, then footsteps. The dwarves looked surprised and shocked at each other. "One of them are running away!," Bofur said. "We should open the gate."
"Wait," Gandalf said, and everyone got quiet. Light scratching could be heard from outside the gate. "Let her in." The dwarves helped each other to open the gate, and in came Aspect in wolf-form. She barely got through the door before she collapsed.
Aspect had small cuts, mostly down her neck and on the sides of her stomach. She bled from a big scratch behind her ear, and a bigger wound on her neck. Her front paws was full of red blood. "Will she be okay?," Fili asked worried as he looked at Gandalf. Aspect lay still, barely breathing with her eyes closed.
Gandalf sat quietly down beside her. "I hope so," he said, as he started to whispering spells to heal her wounds.
"Try not to change back yet, Aspect. You do not have the powers to heal," Gandalf said, but in that moment, Aspect changed to human. She rolled from the side, over to her back before she slowly opened her eyes.
"Did Beorn beat me?," Aspect asked, looking at Gandalf.
"You was the one whining, he was the one running away. If you think that is loosing, then yes," Gandalf said with a small smile.
"I was the one getting hurt, though," Aspect murmured.
"Just be careful. I do not have the power to heal all your scars," Gandalf said as he helped Aspect up at her feet again.
"Where is Beorn now?," Thorin asked, looking out the gate.
"I think he ran back into the forest," Aspect said, and hesitated before continuing. "It is better to tell you now than later; Beorn do not like other people. Sometimes it feels like he have barely accepted me, who is one of his kind. We will not see much of him before tomorrow."
Aspect started walking further into the house. "You must be hungry?," she asked. "Everything is a bit bigger here, but please make yourself feel at home." Aspect started to find food, and put it on the table. Gandalf helped her to find plates and cutlery. The Company sat down, and gladly sent the food around.
"Which path will you choose now? Around or through Mirkwood?," Aspect asked, looking around at the thirteen dwarves, the hobbit and the wizard sitting around the table with her.
"The path is already chosen, but I will not come with them into the forest of Mirkwood," Gandalf said as he looked at Thorin.
*
The dwarves all sat around the campfire Aspect had lit for them, and hummed quietly. Aspect had just made places for everyone to sleep, and came up to the dwarves. "It is getting late. Maybe you should go to bed?," she said, looking at Bilbo who was dozing off besides Gandalf. The dwarf agreed, and one by one, they went off. "Mr. Baggins, bedtime," Aspect said laughing. Bilbo woke up, giving Aspect a tired look.
"Yes please," he said, getting up and slowly walking towards the beds. Fili got up after him, giving Aspect a small smile and a nod, before walking after Bilbo. Aspect sat down by the campfire by Gandalf.
"How did you get the hobbit dragged into this?," she asked Gandalf when the others was gone. "He does not seem like the adventurous type."
"Mr. Baggins just needed a little push out the door. I promised Thorin a burglar, and that is what he got," Gandalf said, smoking his pipe.
"A burglar who have never stolen a single thing in all of his life," Aspect laughed. She slowly stood up. "You always surprise me, Gandalf the Grey. Sleep well." Aspect turned around, and snuck through the door.
"Where is she going?," Bilbo asked Gandalf.
"The wolf should be alone," Gandalf said, walking to the beds.
"Are we safe here?," Nori asked.
"Of course we are. Go to sleep now, everyone," Gandalf said, before finding his own bed.
Aspect ran over the field and through a the forest, now as a wolf. She howled through the lonely night, in hope to contact other wolves.
In the meantime, Fili was the only one awake. He lay in his bed, but couldn't sleep. He stared at the wall on the other side of the room, which was lit up by the moonlight. In the distance, he could hear Aspect howling.
Aspect went home when she didn't reach any of the other wolves. When she came outside the house, Beorn came up to her. She changed back to human. "We have guests," she said quietly, looking up at him.
"I know, and you know what I think about them," Beorn answered. He was at least four heads taller than her.
"Please, be nice to them. They will be gone in a few days, they just need some rest and recover their strength. I promise," Aspect said, looking up at Beorn with hope in her eyes.
"Since you promise," Beorn said, nodding. "Goodnight, Aspect."
"Goodnight, Beorn, and thank you so much," Aspect said and smiled to him, before he turned and went towards the forest.
Aspect opened the door as quiet as she could, and went inside. She quietly sat down by the campfire. After a while, Fili got up, and went to sit down by the campfire too.
"Problems sleeping?," Aspect asked quietly. Fili nodded. "Me too." Aspect looked into the flames. "It is Fili, right?" Fili nodded once again, this time with a small smile.
"How long have you been living here?," Fili asked after a little while.
"A few years," Aspect said and gave Fili a small smile. "I am not always here. This time, you were lucky. My plan is to visit Elrond in Rivendell when the full moon approaches, and stay there a while. He is helping me to stay calm and relaxed." As Aspect talked, Bilbo had woken up by their quiet talking.
"If you do not mind me asking, where are you from?," Fili asked.
"I do not get that question very often," Aspect said, casting a glare with a small smile to Fili, before looking into the fire again. "My mom and dad came here when they got chased by orcs and wargs away from the Grey Mountains, my kin's old home. They followed the Misty Mountains and met Beorn. They then built a small farm and got my two brothers, and then me." Aspect smiled sad.
"Where are they now?," Fili asked carefully. Aspect sat quiet a while. Her eyes started watering.
"They passed away, when I was just a small pup," she answered with a cracked voice. Tears slowly started streaming down her cheeks. It was still hard for her to talk about, after all these years.
"You do not have to tell me, Lady Aspect. Not if it hurts you," Fili said, moving closer to Aspect. He gave her a soft hug.
"Thank you, Fili," Aspect whispered into his shoulder. Aspect slowly pulled away, and looked into Fili's eyes reflecting the orange fire.
Fili smelted by the sad, but warm smile Aspect smiled to him, as she looked up from his shoulder.
They sat there, just staring into each other's eyes, without saying anything for a while. Suddenly, Fili broke the silence. "I think I have to go to bed," he stuttered before he stood up. Aspect stood up as well.
"Goodnight," she whispered, giving him a shy smile.
"Sleep well, my Lady," Fili said, trying to hide his big smile and red cheeks. They both went separate ways.