Luka POV
I had met the company outside Mister Baggins house, bright and early. I had spent most of the night watching over them, but when the first light had broken, I had shifted back and readied myself for the trip. My bow and arrows were strapped snugly on my back, while my twin swords rested at each hip. I had also stashed a few daggers in each boot and packed a lot of changes of clothes, in preparation for any unwanted shifts. My cowl covered the iron collar around my neck, but every now again it would clink when I moved.
I wore clothes that covered up most of my body, afraid of the company seeing my scars and asking questions. I covered my face by pulling the cowl up like a hood, making sure it covered my hideous scar that my hair seemed to be failing to hide. I watched as the company staggered around, yawning, as they readied themselves and their ponies. Any time I got near the creatures, they spooked and shied away. I decided it was best if I kept my distance.
"Do you have a ride?" A deep voice asked from behind me. I whipped round to face Thorin. The beast purred in content at the sight of him. My eyes softened.
"No, horses and ponies have never really liked me. But I can keep up on foot, I promise" I hastily added onto the end as Thorin opened his mouth to complain. He stood there a moment, staring at me with an unreadable face. I shifted nervously, but when his face hardened and he stalked away, I felt empty.
"Mount up!" Thorin growled angrily at the company. My heart clenched. Was I the one making him angry? What did I do?! The company did as told, and soon we were trotting our way through Hobbiton, towards the old woods.
I kept a good distance from the horses, but I always kept up with them. It made me nervous how Thorin kept casting scowls in my direction. Did he really dislike me that much? The beast whimpered and mournfully howled inside me, dreading the thought of our Vasva rejecting us.
When my kinds other half rejected them, it meant certain death. Your soul would collapse, and your body would be in constant pain. But death would not come quickly, oh no. It could take months and months for the end to finally come, but most couldn't stand the pain, so they would end it themselves. The thought of going through that made me shudder with fear. It was quite a cheerful process...
I was torn from my thoughts by a voice.
" what do you recon, lass? Will bilbo join us or not?"
The voice belonged Nori.
Ah, they were making bets. Not far behind us, I heard the frantic foot falls of a hobbit. I smirked.
"I bet you 20 gold he turns up in sixty seconds!" I challenged the dwarf, smiling more when he accepted the bet.
"Miss.Luka, you do know that Nori has never lost a bet in his life!" Bofur shouted back from the middle of our convoy. I smiled and tapped my ear, a gesture that completely confused the dwarf. We had reached the woods now, plodding along a worn dirt path. The dwarves were clearly not happy with the hobbits absence. I kept catching onto a few words of their words, such as "waste of time" and "useless hobbit".
'56...57...58...59...annnnnd'
"Wait! Wait!"
"Woah!" Thorin called, stopping the whole company. I couldn't help but smirk as Bilbo ran up to Balin and handed him the contract.
"I signed it!" Bilbo gasped, trying to catch his breath. Balin chuckled, before taking out a pocket-glass and inspecting the document closer. After a second, he smiled widely.
"Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." The dwarves cheered, though thorin did not look impressed.
"Give him a pony." He growled, before kicking his pony on with out waiting. I quickly followed behind, awear of Master Baggins frantic voice.
"No, no, no, no, that--that won't be necessary, thank you, but I--I'm sure I can keep up on foot, just like...Luka. I-- I--I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton once--WAGH!" I glanced back to see Fili and Kili pull bilbo up onto a rather muddy pony. I laughed quietly at the terrified look on Bilbos face as the pony whinnied and tossed its head.
"Come on, Nori, pay up. Go on." Oin laughed, catching my attention. I laughed at the look on Noris face. He scowled, before tossing me a sack of money. I caught it with ease, and threw it into my bag. Money sacks went flying left and right, as those who bet for, won, and those who bet against, lost. I smiled softly as the dwarves erupted In to laughter, their high spirits becoming slightly contagious. We plodded on for a few more minuets, the dwarves exchanging small talk whilst Thorin and I walked at the front, with stoney faces.
"No, no, wait, wait, stop! Stop! We have to turn around." Master Baggins suddenly cried, making the entire company come to a stop.
"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked, a bushy old eye brow raised.
"I forgot my handkerchief." Bilbo gasped, as if it was the end of the world. Bofur tore of a strip of cloth from his clothing and tossed it to bilbo.
"Here! Use this." Bofur laughed, cheerful as always. I shook my head as bilbo caught the rag and gave it a look of disgust.
"Move on!" Thorin snapped.
The dwarves laughed and began to continue on. I waited until I was beside Master Baggins, taking out my crisp white handkerchief and placing it in Bilbos hand.
"Here, use that. You can keep it" I softly spoke, before jogging back up to the front beside Thorin. Even now the beast pushed for us to stay close.
"You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead." Gandalf tolled Master Baggins, though his voice traveled to all of us.
We continued through the wood, the ponies trotting on obediently as I ran beside them. Every now and then, they'd speed up, Thorin glancing back to test if I was still keeping up. I was pleased to say I kept up with ease.
We traveled until night fall, where we set up camp for the first night near a stream. The sound of bubbling water was calming and soothing as the dwarves talked and laughed around the fire. I sat well away from the company, but close enough to keep an eye on Thorin. Unlike the others, he would only smile softly on occasion, but for the most part he sat looking at the key in his hand.
Bilbo sat between Kili and Bofur, looking extremely uncomfortable as he was shoved from side to side as the pup and Bofur laughed and joked. Bombur sat beside Bifur, preparing dinner over a steaming pot. My mouth watered every time I saw the raw meat he was cutting up, but each time I would tell myself off.
I needed to separate myself from the beast.
To distract myself, I decided to fletch some new arrow heads. Every so often, I would hear the dwarves sharing tales while the food cooked over the fire. Gandalf and Balin seemed to have the most tales, being the oldest, and Balin drew every one in as he spoke. The pups eyes were big and curious as they listened to the old dwarf, making me smile.
"What about you, miss Luka?" Bofur called over at me, drawing the attention of the whole company. I tensed, hastily carving at the forming arrow head.
"Hmm?"
"Do you have any tales?"
I looked to Gandalf, who shook his head. I lowered mine, but then looked back up at the staring company.
"Perhaps..."
"Luka!-" Gandalf warned, but was cut off by Thorin who had taken a sudden interest.
"Do tell" as if by his command, by body moved till I was sitting beside him in front of the fire. I had long since taken down my hood, but constantly I made sure my left eye was covered. I didn't even have to think of the story I was going to tell. I was going to tell them about my kin. I felt the need to introduce them into their minds, like planting a seed.
"Have you ever heard about the great skin changer, Kazac'ra?" I asked softly, smiling at the mention of my farther.
"Skin changer? They're just myths. Isn't that right Luka?." Gandalf snapped harshly, casting me a dark look. I got the message, holding his gaze for a few minuets before looking away moodily.
Silence followed, but I was too consumed by my memories that I zoned out. Only when I heard Thorin speak was I pulled from my thoughts.
"Master Baggins, I remember you mentioning a beast called the...blood runner? Care to elaborate?" Bilbo looked flustered as he tried to gather his thoughts, as the dwarves watched him eagerly. Luckily, my tale was soon forgotten.
"Er, y-yes...since I was a child, I was constantly told stories of a terrible beast-"
I shut my eyes, but still I listened.
"With fur as black as a starless night sky, it's claws like polished ebony. They say its one eye was as red as blood, whilst it's other a blind milky white. It's fangs could bite through dwarfish steal, it's strength break a dragons neck-"
I couldn't help but scoff at this. I mean really...a dragons neck?
"-and any who met the monster lived in constant fear and horror at what they had seen. Lately it's been said to roam in the lands near the shire, looking for its next victim to drag back, kicking and screaming, to its den. But...my mother said she once met the beast-"
At this my head shot up, startling the dwarves, but my eyes were fixed on Bilbo.
"-I still remember the night my mother came crashing into the house, out of breath as if she had been running. But...she-she wasn't scared. She was sad. She told me she had been walking home from a friends house when she first head the howl.
At first she had ran out of fear, but no matter how far and how fast she ran, she always seemed to be running towards the beast. So she stopped and listened. She said she could still remember the howl on her death bed; she said it was a sound of a beast in pain. Not physical pain, no she said it was in a worse kind of pain. The howl had made my mother want to cry at the sad, fearful, lonely sound. She told me she had never really heard pain before she heard that howl, and she had never heard it since...well, not on that scale at least. But that's not all. Soon the sorrowful noise stopped, and there, trotting across the road in front of her, was the beast!"
Now I remembered. Yes, the hobbit lass and I had met. I'd been careless that night, drowned in depression.
" As big as a bear it was, with silk-like fur that made you want to run your hands through it. It's eye was not blood red, but a soft golden amber, filled with pain and loneliness. It's body was covered in cuts and bruises, ands it's ribs stuck out as if the beast was starving itself. Running across its left eye was a painful looking scar, that must have been the cause of the creatures blindness. The once golden eye was dulled by a milky white sheen. But the beast wasn't a blood thirsty monster every one feared it to be, it was just lonely and afraid. It took one long look at my mother before slipping back into the shadows... That was the first and last time anyone ever saw the beast, but we all still heard it at night, howling at the stars. Each time I hear its howl, I remember my mother words. 'Even the darkest of pasts can have the brightest of futures' I don't know why, but every time I think of that dark fur, I think of the light..." Bilbo trailed off, staring into the fire. Every one had a thoughtful look on their faces, accompanied by fear. I sighed, before standing up.
"We should get some sleep, we still have a long way to go."
I walked away from the others, picking out a soft patch of grass before settling down, Thorin always in my sights.
'Even the darkest of pasts can have the brightest of futures'...
Was it true?
***
Sorry about how short it was and crappy :/ I'll do better next time, it's just not flowing in my mind just yet :( I'll get there soon. Vote comment and have a good one! :D xx