It was before the crack of dawn when Thorin awoke. He saw that Dwalin and Balin were waking up as well. He moved over to rouse his nephews... only to see that they weren't where they had been when he had fallen asleep. He looked towards the door.... their weapons were still there so they must be around there somewhere.
Finally making his way around the entire house, he made his way into the kitchen, only to find that his nephews were up and talking in whispers with Persephone at the kitchen table. There was a pile of biscuits and slices of bear meat on the table. He guessed that either his nephews or Persephone had gone hunting because he knew that there wasn't any food in the hobbit hole.
"Morning uncle," Fili whispered, "Hungry?"
Thorin walked over and considered the food, "I trust that it wasn't one of you two who hunted down this bear?" he asked of his nephews.
Kili smirked, "not nearly uncle! If we had, we would have been the ones on the plate, not the bear. Persephone did."
"Where did you find a bear in hobbiton?" Gloin inquired, speaking before Thorin could.
"I actually found it before I got here," Persephone replied, "Gandalf warned me that Dwarves are always hungriest in the morning and at night so I came prepared."
Balin smiled as he sat down, helping himself to a biscuit, "Well that is incredibly sweet of you dear."
"I'm glad I could help," persephone said, smiling.
"And it's so good!" Kili said, a little too loud so that everyone present shushed him, including Persephone.
"Where did you learn to make this anyway?" Fili asked, biting into another biscuit.
The room was swallowed into silence and Persephone refused to meet anyone's gaze. from the way her shoulders were hunched and her eyes averted, they knew that something was wrong.
"I'm going to go prepare the ponies," she muttered, almost too quiet for them to hear.
Before Kili and Fili could object, she got up and left the hobbit hole.
"What did I say?" Fili whispered.
"it's not what you asked laddie," Balin said, "I think it just reminds her of something painful. We should let her be."
"What if it isnt something she should keep to herself?" Kili whispered. "Sometimes its better to talk about things than keep it to yourself."
Balin shook his head, "I spoke with Gandalf last night... apparently she had a twin brother who was killed when they were young... It might have something to do with that."
"oh," the two brothers whispered, at once quieting down but feeling guilty.
Thorin looked over his shoulder at the window. Walking over to it, he crossed his arms and looked out. The sun was barely rising but he could make out the slender silhouette of Persephone as she began to saddle the ponies who all whinnied at her cheerfully.
He saw her approach his pony and smirked, knowing that the horse would probably cause her trouble. His pony was just as stubborn as he was. Instead, the pony considered her a moment, obviously sensing her mood and brushed its shaggy head against her chest. A small smile appeared on the girl's face and she hugged the horse's noble head as he brushed his nose against her stomach.
"I'm alright," he could hear her say.
TIME SKIP
When they stopped to rest that evening, Persephone stuck close to Bilbo, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable or left out. He helped her unsaddle the horses and rub them down so that their sweat wouldn't itch while the others prepared camp.
"Can I get some more water?" Bilbo asked, holding out his cupped hands.
Persephone swirled her fingers above his palms and soon his hands were full of water. Moving to the other side of Myrtle, he began to rub her down with the cool water. Persephone was rubbing down Daisy when she had an idea.
Twirling her fingers, she made a small ball of water appear behind Bilbo and smack him in the back of the head. The girl let out a laugh when she saw the look on his face.
"No fair!" he cried.
Bilbo charged after her with the intention of tackling her but Persephone was too quick. Crouching she bent down and went underneath the pony, before doing a summersault over the next pony. Bilbo soon gave up when he realized that the agile, elf like girl was too difficult to chase.
When the two returned to the camp, they were both soaked and Persephone was grinning, trying to not laugh while Bilbo was wringing out his jacket.
"What happened to you?" Gloin inquired, chuckling.
Persephone grinned while Bilbo gave her a fake frown, "Attack from a water wizard!"
Finally Persephone couldn't hold it and started laughing. This caught everyone's attention and soon half the camp was laughing as well especially when Bilbo looked confused as to why they were laughing.
Thorin rolled his eyes and walked a ways away, leaning against a rock to rest. When the laughter died down, Persephone helped Oin start the fire and made sure it was warm enough to dry Bilbo off.
Soon, the hobbit was dry and trying to sleep but Bombur was distracting him. Finally he got up and wandered. Persephone was just sitting back to read a book when a screech struck the air and her hand went to her sword immediately.
"What was that?" Bilbo whispered.
"Orcs," Kili replied.
"Orcs?" the hobbit asked, trotting over in fear.
Thorin was awake instantly and alert. Persephone had risen to her feet and had approached the edge of the cliff, scanning the area.
"Throat cutters," Fili replied. "There will be dozens of them out there."
"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quickly and quietly no screams. Just lots of blood," Kili whispered.
Persephone didn't move but she felt tears prick her eyes.
"You think that's funny?" THorin's stern voice cut in. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"
"We didn't mean anything by it," Kili replied, crestfallen.
"No you didn't," Thorin snapped, storming off, "You know nothing of the world."
(I"M GOING TO SKIP THE STORY OF MORIA BECAUSE IT TAKES SO LONG!!)
"And the pale orc?" Bilbo asked, "What happened to him?"
"He slunk back into the hole wence he came," THorin growled, returning to his spot, "That filfth died of his wounds long ago."
Just then, FIli and Kili looked around and realized they were one member short, "Where's Sepha?"
All eyes looked around, even THorin but there was no sign of the girl.
"She left right when you first mentioned Azog," Ori pointed out.
"Must have scared the poor lass," Gloin suggested.
Balin shook his head and looked at Gandalf who sighed heavily. both knew why she had left.
"Will she come back?" Kili whispered.
"In her own time lass," Balin replied. "She has had a rough life."
As the other dwarves went to bed, THorin couldn't help but think of what Balin had said. Did Persephone have a past with Azog as well? He looked around, wondering if he could see her but there was no sign. What he didn't know was that about a half mile away, Persephone, in her giant wolf form was running around the woods, crying hysterically.
About an hour later she came back into camp, human form and slipped to the camp site. She relit the fire which awoke Thorin who had remained slightly alert.
"Where have you been?" he asked, sternly but calmly.
Persephone shook her head, "Trying to clear my head."
With that, she laid down a good distance from the other dwarves and curling up into her cloak, fell asleep. Thorin headed to the fire and laid down next to his nephews, but not before noticing that Persephone's shoulders were shaking from sobs as she lay there.
About an hour later when she was sure the dwarves were asleep, she got up and ran off into the distance. She quickly morphed into a wolf and ran around, sniffing out the terrain and making sure that no orcs were within several miles of them. She was just walking back towards the camp when she heard a twig snap behind her.
Spinning around on her paws, she expected it to be an orc... only to see Fili standing there! The girl at once relaxed, knowing that Fili would mistake her for a wolf.
"How do you do that?" Fili whispered.
Persephone cocked her head to the side but the dwarf just smiled, "I Saw you morph.... how did you do that?"
Persephone sighed and morphed back to human, making FIli jump, "I'm part skin changer."
"I thought you were part wizard, part dwarf," FIli pointed out.
She nodded, "I'm all three... as well as elf."
FIli's eyes widened, "DOnt tell uncle!"
"Tell me about it," Sepha muttered.
"How come you didn't tell us about you being a skin changer?" the dwarf inquired as they began to walk back to camp.
Sepha shrugged, "I feared the others would just consider me a beast."
Fili smiled and drew the girl in for a hug, "We'll never think of you as a beast. Though I understand if you wanted to wait to tell the others. Dwarves aren't exactly known for being understanding."
Sepha smirked, "All but one apparently."
Fili blushed and smiled, "I'll keep your secret Seph. I promise."
Sepha smiled and kissed the dwarf on the cheek, "Thanks Fee."
"Here! Mister Gandalf! Cant you do something about this deluge!?" Dori called.
Persephone smirked, knowing full well that Gandalf couldn't and neither could she. She was just nearly as miserable as Dori, her cloak drenched through and doing nothing to keep the rain from her eyes. She was constantly reaching up and wiping the water from her face so she could see.
As Bilbo and Gandalf began to talk somewhere in front of them, Persephone got more water in her eyes and almost collided with the person in front of her.
"Sorry!" she apologized.
The person looked over his shoulder and as she wiped the water from her eyes, she realized it was Thorin. He considered her a moment while she held a hand over her eyes to keep out the rain.
The girl smiled at him, trying to understand why the dwarf was so against her being part of the company. Thorin shrugged and urged his horse on again. Persephone was about to do the same when something stopped her. Jumping off her horse, she began to walk a ways off. No one would have known she had moved unless Kili called out.
"What are you doing Sepha?"
Most of the company turned and seeing that Sepha was walking off the path, her pony following her, they all stopped.
"Why have we stopped?" Thorin asked, obviously not pleased.
Gandalf turned his horse and rode towards the girl, "What is it Persephone?"
The girl placed her hand on the tree in front of her and rubbed it, before bringing her hand to her face and sniffed.
"Trolls," she muttered.
"Trolls?" most of the dwarves asked, tensing.
"But there are no trolls around here," GLoin pointed out.
Gandalf shook his head, "That is a problem though. We should remain wary."
Sepha nodded and headed back to her pony. She soon discovered that since she had no stirrups and she and the pony were drenched, she couldn't get onto the horse.
"Up you go," Fili said, holding out a hand to her.
Sepha took it and he hauled her onto her pony and she grinned, "Thanks!"
Fili did a mock bow with a big sweep of his arm which earned a chuckle from the girl. Fili had a huge grin plastered to his face as he urged his horse back to where Kili rode. Thorin didn't fail to miss the grin on his nephew's face. If he wasn't as smart as he was, he would have thought that Fili had a crush on the girl, however he knew that his nephews' fondness for the girl was mostly due to her unusual abilities and how Kindly she treated them.
When they finally broke free of the rain, they were in a large open field so they stopped to dry off. Removing the saddles, they wrung them out before placing them back on and they removed their drenched cloaks.
"Uncle!" Kili called, "There's a stream here! Could we wash off?"
THorin considered the company, minus Gandalf, Sepha, Balin and Bilbo who were all giving him pleading looks. They were coated in mud and rain so he shrugged, "Make it quicK!"
The dwarves let out a whoop and rushed to the stream. as they did, they left a trail of jackets, hats and cloaks behind them. Soon they were all naked except for the pants they wore.
Thorin returned to his pony and saw that Bilbo was trying to not look startled at the dwarves' actions and Gandalf was talking with Balin. Sepha however had quickly turned from the sight and had begun to dry off her pony's saddle so it didn't itch.
She was just about to wring out her cloak when she stopped and looked at Bilbo. the hobbit was sitting on the grass at the top of the hill, lying on his back and enjoying the sunlight, his eyes closed. Creeping up to him, Sepha dangled her cloak over his head and squeezed. The water splashed into Bilbo's face and he was up in an instant with a girlish squeal.
"What is it with you and water?" he insisted.
Sepha laughed and quickly avoided the hobbit, throwing the soaking wet cloak into his face. Soon the two were both lying on the grass, doubled over in laughter.
Balin looked over at the two and smiled. he was about to turn back to Gandalf when he caught sight of Thorin. The dwarf prince had been saddling his pony but hadn't gotten past buckling the girth for his eyes were occupied watching the hobbit and the halfbreed.
The old dwarf smirked before nudging Gandalf and nodding towards Thorin. The dwarf had no idea that he was being watched, even though it was quite obvious since he had stopped mid buckle and was watching the two intently.
Gandalf smiled, "It's amazing what can happen when you meet someone like Persephone."
Suddenly, the dwarves all came back up the hill, their clothes in their arms and were beginning to redress. Sepha got up and helped Bilbo to his feet and started for the ponies. She purposely didn't look at any of the dwarves as they pulled on their clothes, not wanting to stare. However, she didnt have a choice when Kili came around her pony and crossed his arms at her, still missing his shirt.
"Would you mind?" Sepha inquired, "There is such a thing as a cowl dude!"
Fili laughed and tossed his brother's shirt at him, pulling his own on
"Just admit it," Kili remarked. "I'm hot."
Sepha decided to play along with kili's playful mood and poked him in the chest. Shaking her head she gave him a pitiful look, "Sorry, your temperature is below normal. Water must have been too cold."
FIli snorted when he saw his brother's eyebrow cock in confusion at Sepha's twist at Kili's words.
"Nice try brother."
Kili grinned good naturedly, "I actually have something for you."
Sepha raised her eyebrows, "Couldn't you have waited until after you were fully clothed?"
Kili smiled, "I couldn't wait. Here."
The dwarf held out a longbow to the girl. It looked like he had handcrafted it himself for she could still see the chisel marks from his knife. It was incredibly strong and probably one of the harder kinds of bows to draw. He also handed her a quiver of white shafted arrows.
"I thought that since you're so quick with your reflexes that I could teach you a bit."
Sepha smiled, "Thanks! I love it!"
With that, she leaned up and kissed the young dwarf on the cheek which only made him go bright red, gaining a laugh from Fili who was already crying from laughter.
Sepha grinned and ruffled Kili's hair playfully before shoving his shirt at him, "Come on. Before you know it Thorin will be telling us to move out."
Right at that moment THorin would have said 'move out', but he was too busy watching the girl and his nephews from his position on his pony. He quickly snapped out of it when Dwalin hopped onto his horse next to him and almost whacked him in the face with his ax.
"Move out!"
He could hear his nephews and Persephone chuckling at that behind him and found himself smiling slightly.
Is he coming back?" Bilbo whispered to Balin.
BAlin shrugged, not sure that after Thorin and Gandalf's squabble that the wizard would return. Sepha smiled and patted the hobbit's shoulder as she walked past.
"He'll be back."
That seemed to make the hobbit more at ease as they began to settle in for camp.
Bofur soon began to make dinner but after he sent Bilbo to take two bowls to Fili and Kili who were on pony duty, the dwarves began to complain that it didn't taste good enough.
"A little help Sepha?" Bofur inquired.
Sepha smiled, surprised that someone other than Gandalf, Fili and Kili used her nickname. Getting up she tasted the soup and froze the moment she tasted it.
All the dwarves were watching her reaction and Bofur had a look of fear on his face. Swallowing the tasteless soup, Sepha smiled, "It's not bad."
Bofur relaxed and turned, beginning to gather herbs to add. When he wasn't looking, Sepha cringed which caused Dwalin and Oin to chuckle.
Bofur held out a group of herbs to her and Sepha chose a few, "Do you have any rosemary?"
Bofur raised his eyebrows in confusion, "What's that?"
The girl smiled, "Oh you'll love it! I'll go see if I can't find any."
With that, she trotted off with Bofur and Oin close behind, both curious as to the herb she had mentioned. When she returned, she and Bofur were laughing about something and she had her hands full of a pale green plant.
Thorin looked up from his spot near Dwalin where he was sharpening his sword. As she walked past, he got a scent of the plant and he had to admit, it did smell good.
After a while, Sepha finished stirring and handed a bowl to Dwalin. the large dwarf took a taste and his eyes widened, "By my beard this is the stuff!"
Sepha beamed and at once Bofur began to refill everyone's bowls. Thorin suddenly got some smoke from Bombur's pipe in his nose and he had to walk off to cough it up before it clogged his breathing. When he returned, he realized that he had left his sword at his spot and now, there was a bowl of hot steaming soup there.
Glancing up, he saw Bofur stirring the pot to keep it going and was talking with Bifur. Looking around, he spied Sepha who had sat down a little ways off and had pulled her hood over her head. She sat back against a tree and opened a book, a small smile on her face.
After finishing the food which was, to Dwalin's word, amazing, Thorin approached her quietly and she didn't look up. He glanced at the book she read.
"The Tales of Erabor?" he asked.
Sepha looked up and pushed her hood off her head, "Yeah, I thought I might catch up on some Middle Earth history before I got tested on my knowledge of the place we're out to reclaim."
Thorin nodded, finding himself smiling just slightly, "What have you gathered so far?"
Sepha shrugged, "That it was an amazing place to live... though I don't know how I could imagine that."
Thorin stopped and furrowed his brow, "how come? It really was a wonderful place to live in."
"well... I don't know what it is like to live somewhere," Sepha pointed out. "I don't remember anything before my brother's death... and after that I never really lived anywhere."
THorin knew had treaded too far as the girl looked back at her book, pulling her hood back on. he was about to say something else when Fili came tearing through the woods.
"Trolls uncle!" he cried. "They've got Bilbo!"
"What about Kili?" Thorin inquired
"He's trying to save Bilbo," Fili panted.
Sepha leapt to her feet but THorin shook his head, "You stay here. If we're taken, we need backup."
Sepha nodded, not objecting which surprised the dwarf prince as he tore off after his eldest nephew.