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Thorin sat next to Valadhiel, keeping an eye on her every now and then. Kili and Fili had gone off in search of shelter while Oin had applied some healing herbs to Valadhiel's wound, a big gash in her thigh. Why she hadn't said anything about it, he wasn't sure. Surely she'd known it was there. Then again, with the adrenaline rush, she may have felt it but not realized how bad it was or how much it was bleeding.
Oin had gotten the bleeding to stop, and shortly after the herbs were applied, they watched Valadhiel's wound begin to heal like magic. It must have been the elf or the dragon in her, or perhaps even both. No doubt there would still be pain, and Valadhiel might be weakened for a little while, but she should be fine. Oin had also found a small cut on her wing, but he said that it shouldn't be any threat to her being able to use it and that it should heal up soon.
Thorin breathed a soft sigh after a moment and looked down at the ground from where he sat. She could have died back there before she saved him, and what did he do? Get into a serious argument with her. He knew that she was right. Bilbo truly was useful. He still wasn't fond of him, but he needn't be so harsh, especially after he'd almost died a couple of times, and especially after the halfling had already done so much to save their skins.
Now, he was waiting for Valadhiel to wake up so he could apologize to her. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to. Besides, Valadhiel would be cross with him until he did so, and he knew that she could easily make him miserable. However, it had been an hour, and she still hadn't woken.
"Vala," he murmured, gently taking her hand into his and brushing over it with a rough thumb. "Please wake up soon."
<3~~~~~~~Dream~~~~~~~<3
Valadhiel walked alongside her father and her mother in dragon form, looking around at the beautiful blue skies and at the vibrant green grass. After a moment, she looked at her mother again and furrowed her scaly brown. "Mother, why am I capable of skin-changing even though you and Daddy are normal dragons? And why am I part elf?"
Valadhiel's mother glanced at her husband, then she looked at her daughter. "It is an awful long story, and I am afraid that there is no time to tell it right now."
Valadhiel sighed a little, though she nodded. "I understand, Mother." She then looked away from them before using a quieter voice. "I was just wondering because... because the other dragons say I'm a mongrel, so I can never become the next ruler."
Her father furrowed his brow with a frown, a fire blazing in his eyes. "You are no mongrel, Angel. You are my daughter, so you will become the next ruler, whether they like it or not."
"I sense something." Valadhiel's mother suddenly said, stopping in her tracks, smelling the air, and swiveling her ears as she scanned the area before them. She snorted when she smelled an all too familiar smell. "Goblins are near."
Valadhiel's eyes widened when her mother said that goblins were near, then she flattened her ears and mentally prepared herself for a fight. She was no longer a youngling and could defend herself, so that was just what she was going to do.
Valadhiel's father sniffed the air, then his eyes widened. "Vala, Night Fury is here as well. You need to leave."
Valadhiel looked at her father, and she twitched an ear nervously, then she shook off her fear before shaking her head. "I'm no longer a youngling, and I have not been a youngling in a long time. I will stay here and fight with you and Mother."
"Vala, he wants you dead so he can have the throne! Please, do as I say!"
Valadhiel was about to give in and leave like her father wanted, though she yelped when she felt something heavy land on her tail and she looked back to see a large, black dragon with fiery red eyes. Her heart sped up and she tried to think of what to do, but how could she get away when the heavy dragon was standing on her tail?
Her father charged at the dragon, slamming his body into it, causing it to stumble away from Valadhiel and allowing the young female dragon to get out of the way. "Vala! Leave! Now!"
Valadhiel was again about to take off, but she then spotted several goblins come out of hiding, and one of them aimed a spear for her father's weak spot. Without a second thought, she rushed forward and knocked the spear away from the goblin with her tail, then she pierced its skull with her claws.
Several other goblins came running to the dragons to join the little battle, many surrounding Vala's mother to keep her distracted from her husband and her daughter. After a little while, Vala's mother let out a pained cry, and Valadhiel whipped around to see what had happened. Her eyes then widened in shock. One of the goblins, the Pale Orc, had thrust a spear into her mother's soft underbelly. "Mother!"
Vala's mother looked over at her right as the Pale Orc removed his spear from her, and though she knew it was being lifted so he could again stab her, she didn't look his way or make any attempt to move. She knew that she couldn't move fast enough with this injury. So, after looking at her mate, she looked at her daughter and spoke to her telepathically. "I love you, Valadhiel. Look after your father for me."
"Mother!" Valadhiel screamed, eyes wide in horror as the spear came hurtling towards her again. "Mother! No!"
<3~~~~~~~End Of Dream~~~~~~~<3
"No!" Valadhiel cried out, practically screaming. "No!"
"Valadhiel! Valadhiel!"
When Valadhiel heard her name and felt someone gently grasp her shoulder and shake her, her eyes shot open and she bolted upright, her eyes wide and her breathing coming out heavily, sweat dampening her body. When she saw Thorin, Kili, Fili, Bofur, Balin, and Bilbo standing around her, and the rest standing near them, she calmed down. She then furrowed her brow as she looked around. "What happened? Where am I?"
"You passed out, lass." Balin told her, looking at her in concern.
"Aye, you had a nice sized rock stuck in your leg." Gloin added. "Oin here fixed you up. Says you should be feeling better in no time."
"We managed to find shelter." Fili added, then he tilted his head and looked at the dragoness in concern. "Are you okay?"
Valadhiel looked at each dwarf that spoke, then when Fili asked her a question, she nodded in response. "Yes, I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" Kili asked, also looking pretty concerned. "It seemed that you were having a nightmare."
Valadhiel was quiet a moment, then she looked away from the dwarves before she spoke. "I... I really don't want to talk about it." She told them quietly, then she looked up at them with a hopeful look, hoping that they wouldn't press her for details. She looked over when Oin said he needed to check on her wound, so after many of the dwarves had turned away, she allowed the dwarven healer to take a look at her wound. She no longer needed a bandage, and it simply felt like a large, stinging bruise by now.
Fili nodded, his back turned to her since Oin needed to check on the wound in her thigh. "We understand, Vala." He replied, then he yawned. "Now that I know you're alright, I'm going to get some sleep."
Several of the other dwarves murmured their agreement with Fili before they shuffled off to makeshift beds and all got settled down for bed. Balin smiled at Valadhiel and placed a hand on her shoulder before he walked off to his own bed, and Bofur smiled at the lass, glad and relieved that she was alright, before he walked off to get some rest.
"Goodnight, Vala." Kili, once Oin had finished with her wound, said before he went over to his bed between Fili and Bofur.
Bilbo also bade Vala a good night before he went off to get some sleep as well, his makeshift bed near Kili, Fili, Bofur, and Balin.
Valadhiel had smiled at them all and wished them a good night as well, then her smiled faded some when they were no longer looking, and she looked down at the ground with a small sigh. She didn't look up until she heard someone approaching her, and she looked up to see Thorin, who looked like he wanted to have a serious conversation with her.
"I... want to apologize." Thorin said after a moment, looking off at the cave wall before he turned his head to look at her. "I realize that I was being harsh and rude. I'm sorry."
Valadhiel blinked when he apologized to her, but she then tried to keep the look of surprise at bay when Thorin turned his head to face her so he could look at her. She smiled softly after a moment. "Apology accepted, Dwarf." She replied, using the word "dwarf" in a playful sort of way, then added quietly, "I'm sorry, too. I didn't need to get so worked up."
Thorin smiled softly at her after she apologized. "Apology accepted, Dragon." He replied, using "dragon" in a playful way just as she had used the word "dwarf". He then became a little more serious. "And thank you. For saving my life, I mean." He hadn't gotten to thank her, as he'd started to bicker with her instead. He felt bad about it now.
Valadhiel's cheeks flushed, and she glanced away briefly with a shy smile before she tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear. "Of course, Thorin. I couldn't just let you fall."
As the two quietly conversed, Kili, Fili, and Bofur sat against the wall and watched them, then Kili smiled a little, almost in a mischievous way, as he watched them. "I bet they're gonna fall in love." He said quietly after a moment, keeping his voice down so that Valadhiel and Thorin wouldn't be able to hear him.
"I can see it, oddly enough." Fili replied to his little brother. "They already argue like an old married couple, after all."
"You know what they say." Bofur said with a chuckle. "Opposites attract."
Kili smirked and looked at Bofur. "Twenty coins says Vala's going to kiss him first."
"Thirty says Thorin will kiss her first." Bofur replied, giving Kili a grin.
"I'm with Kili, but let's say twenty five coins goes to the winners." Fili replied with a smirk, already confident that he and Kili were going to win the bet. There was no way that their uncle would kiss her first. He'd never shown much interest in women until he met Valadhiel, but even then, his focus was on his quest, not so much her.
Bofur looked at the two brothers and nodded. "You're on."
"What's going on, lads?" Balin asked after a moment, having heard some of what they were saying, but not catching all of it.
"Kili and Fili think that Vala will kiss Thorin first." Bofur replied, looking over at Balin. "But I think that Thorin will kiss her first."
Balin chuckled. "I doubt Thorin would kiss her first, Bofur. You do know the guy, don't you?"
Bilbo looked over at Balin, Bofur, Kili, and Fili, then he looked over at Thorin and Valadhiel, who were still talking. Both seemed to have a light blush on their face, though it was difficult to tell with Thorin. He had facial hair covering his face, after all. He watched them interact a moment before he looked at the dwarves again. "I'm... I'm with Bofur. I think Thorin will kiss her before she kisses him."
Balin looked at Bilbo after he spoke, then he looked at the other dwarves before he again chuckled and shook his head. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, now, won't we?"
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