Imagine: Alex has a secret and only Gandalf knows it. What happens when, whilst surrounded by far too many heavily armed orcs and blood thirsty wargs, the wizard reveals her well kept and most secure secret?? How will the Company react??
Gandalf's P.O.V
Our current situation could be....less life threatening. One minute, the company of Thorin Oakenshield and I were about to stop and set up camp for the night as the sun had recently set - we had been making our way through a thick forest, covering a lot of ground just as planned and had lost track of time. The next, however, we were forced to grab our belongings once more - we were grateful that none of us had begun unpacking - and began running as fast as our feet could carry us, soon being cornered by a pack of roughly twenty orcs and ten wargs. As the battle continued, the group was forced back to the edge of a steep cliff, fighting off the sworm of blood thirsty monsters who were far too eager to finish us all off. We were each trying our best to stay alive, but with every passing second, it was becoming even more difficult. "Any time you want to summon your eagle friends Gandalf, that would be greatly appriciated!!" Dwalin yelled as he stabbed one of the four orcs he was facing off against in the chest - they were all in familiar situations, trying to fend against a multiple of orcs and wargs at a time, other than Bilbo watched with fear as our human friend made sure to protect him. "If I could do such a thing, I would have already!!" I snapped back while beheading one of my three attackers, only for my eyes to catch a glimpse of Alex's brown thick leather bracelet which she never removed from her wrist. I knew why, of course, and could hardly blame her. For if she ever did, depending on if it was the night of a full moon, a side of herself - a securely hidden one - would be forced to come to light. Knowing this, however, didn't stop the sudden idea come to mind as I realised that we were all only a few minutes away from certain death. Unless....no!! I couldn't do that to Alex!! Not only would it destroy every ounce of trust she has in me, as well as most likely completely ruin our years old build up friendship, but there was also no telling how any of the dwarves and the hobbit would react to her greatly protected secret. Not to mention, if I did go through with the plan, it might backfire as it could force the woman to see her friend's as her attackers. But, on the other hand, if I didn't do something fast, we probably won't even have a future in order for her to be mad at me. And on top of that, with a less than a second check, it was a full moon tonight. Taking a moment to sigh out my already forming guilt while clenching my eyes shut, I quickly finished off the other two orcs in one strong spark of energy before turning towards the twenty five year old, gripping onto her thin forearm as she pulled back in order to strike her many apponents. Incredibly startled and highly confused by my sudden distracting action, Alex glanced over as she called out my name as the silent question "what are you doing??" which caught the attention of those closest to us, each of them raising a brow while continuing to fight our enermies. They were most likely wondered why I was halting our human friend from fighting, especially in our current situation; I could hardly blame them. I was thankful, how ever, as Kili and Fili both hurried to stepped in front of their human friend and took on the orcs that Alex had been handling, protecting their newest friend the best they could.
Alex's P.O.V
What the hell was Gandalf doing?! Surely he could see that I was rather busy at the moment, doing my part in stopping the orcs and wargs from beating us. Right now really wasn't the time to pull me aside!! As the ridiculous wizard, for god knows what reason, took my weapon from my hand, I glanced over to the four attackers that I had been fighting against, worry striking me before a sense of relief took over upon seeing Kili and Fili stepping in front of me and taking on my share of the battle; I was seconds away from briefly thanking the two brother's before demanding my old friend to return my sword, only to feel him all but rip my precious bracelet from my wrist!! As my eyes widened in horror, I nearly gave myself whiplash from turning my neck in order to stare at the wizard; I watched with a mixture of hurt, betrayal, fear and shock as he stepped back, a guilty expression staining his own face. "What have you done??" I breathlessly spoke, tears beginning to form as I felt the change begin to change, the pain kicking in as my heart raced and my beathing rapidly increased while tears began to form "wha have you done?!" I screamed in anger as I attempted to reach out and grab the special item of jewellry. How could he?! How could Gandalf, the only living soul who knew the importance of that brown leather bracelet, take it from me?! How could he betray me in such a terrible way?? My hurt filled scream had caught the attention of the entire company, pausing their movements as they watched with great concern and confuse filled gazes; the remaining orcs and their pets - we had yet to put even one of those damn things down - had even stopped their attack, watching causiously as they had no idea what was happening. Unable to successfull retrieve my bracelet from Gandalf as he kept it and himself out of my reach, the pain merely increased as I could feel my bones start crack and change; I yelled out in pure agony as the tears fell down my face while I stumbled back untilI was unable to hold myself up. Quickly finding myself on my hands and knees as the change contunued, somewhere only a few feet away, I could hear a familair speaking my name, asking rather panicked "what's going on?!" but I couldn't find it in me at that moment to care or identify who.I had must bigger issues to face. I could feel my normally deep blue eyes turn as dark as the night sky as matching black veins left them, continuing to spread all over my face, trailing down my neck and covering my body while fur began to force its way through my skin, doing the exact same. It felt as if my body was on fire as I, in a desperate attempt to put the stop to the pain, scratched at my face, neck and chest. And to my horror, the far too familiar fading feeling began to take as the monster within me took over. The monster that I had always made sure to keep locked away in a cage deep within myself that had only one accessable key - my bracelet.
Thorin's P.O.V
What was happening?! Alex. Her body was changing, and not in the way a growing human should. Her bones cracked as she continued to groan and scream out in pain, the sounds merely making the company worry and panic even more as none of us knew what to do or say. She was covered in black veins, all coming from her eyes!! And...was that fur?! Her body was suddenly producing a white thin layer of fur!! But how?! And her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, were now completely black!! Even the whites if her eyes were black!! Not to mention her ears which were growing, now being pointly yet not like that of an elf's ears. Wait....were those...claws?! Her nails had suddenly grown in length, seeming to become sharp as well. How was this even possible?! "What....what's happening to her?!" Balin exclained, his voice sounding exactly like they all felt - confused, worried and slightly fearful; we all shared a gaze before merely staring at our friend on the floor helplessly - even the orcs and wargs were watching, unsure as to what they were witnessing and clearly feeling uneasy about it as they backed away ever so slightly. All of a sudden, Alex began to scratch at her fur covered body, tearing and shredding her clothes with her new found claws before the ruined dress, corset, trousers, boots and undergarments fell to the floor. Alex's screams finally began to ease, her breathing seeming to return to near normal as she continued to look down at her hands pressed against the floor; Nori seemed to regain his voice first as he called out our friend's name, asking if she was alright and needed help. All was silent as we waited for a reply, only it came in the form of...a growl?? "Lass??" Bofur spoke up, going to take a step towards the human before she finally looked up, only we were greeted by a sight none of us were expecting. Alex, the twenty five year old human, now had an animal like face; her eyes were still completely black, her ears pointy and her teeth as sharp as that of a wolves mouth. This...this wasn't Alex Hunter. It couldn't be...could it?? Growling once more, Alex suddenly sat up on her lower legs and arched her back as she let out a deafening howl, startling us all as we stepped back; she began to look around, snarling at all the being she saw - that unsettlingly included the company - until her changed eyes came to land on our previous attackers. Growling and sneering at the orcs and and their pets - the wargs all tried to return the aggression while backing away ever so slightly - Alex stood up on her furry and suddenly inhumanly skinny hind legs, making her once crouched form grow until she was at least a foot and a half taller than she usually was; she continued to glare at our hesitant before she startled everyone by pouncing at the creatures.
I could hardly believe my eyes as I watched Alex, now transformed into some kind of unfamilair beast, attached and slaughtered all of the orcs and their pets; she bit, scratched, ripped, clawed, chewed and gnawed at her apponents, grabbing their weapons before they could cause her any serious harm and throwing them over the cliff where they would never be seen or used by their owners again. Continuing to growl and snarl as she ripped one of the wargs heads from its body before throwing both at its riders, it appeared Alex had practically forgotten about the company who, along with myself, all slowly and silently backed away from the cliff while dodging flying orc and warg body parts. Feeling we were at a safe enough distance by the tree line, I glanced over to each company member around me, counting heads before feeling a sense of slight relief as no one was missing; I glanced down to Bilbo who was watching with both fear and horror "what happened?!" I demanded to know, startling the hobbit even more as I turned towards me "I...I don't know!!" he exclaimed, his voice being enough of a hint to say that he was telling the truth "she was fighting when Gandalf grabbed her and removed her bracelet while taking her sword from her". Upon hearing the curly haired hobbit's words, I moved my attention over to the said wizard who was staring at the scene before us all - much like my fellow dwarves were doing - yet there was the emotion of guilt consuming his face. This told me that whatever was going on and had happened to our human friend, he knew about it. "You know what's going on, don't you??" I questioned, my glare catching the old man's attention as he returned my gaze with a guilt and sad stricked one of his own; I could feel my anger and worry rise with the confirmation "what kind of sorcery is this?! Why would you curse Alex to become this...this..." I was unsure of how to end my question, still confused as to what she had transformed into. His figure standing tall and somewhat dark, Gandalf warned me to watch my tongue before letting out a sigh "for I have played no part in magics that changed our dear Alex into what she currently is, merely taking her bracelet to make it happen" he stated; my confusion, as well as the others who had listened in on the interaction, was never answered as our attention was drawn back over to the somewhat horrific scene before us. There was, at the beginning of this entire battle, twenty orcs and ten of their pesty pets. Now, however, there were merely three all together as body parts and blood were covering the ground near cliff's edge; Alex easily ripped one of the wargs in half before dropping it to the floor, moving onto its friend as it managed to scratch her arm before being kicked and hit away, quickly following all of the body parts to the ground below the cliff. Growling at the orc that tried, and failed, to retreat and run away from the strong and bloodied creature, Alex pounced and grabbed it, tightening her hold on the orc before sinking her newly sharp canines into its neck, earning a pained scream come from her prey. It appeared Alex didn't like the taste of orc, however, as she soon spat out the flesh and blood with a snarl before howling out into the night; she ripped their enemy apart, limb by limb, while making it look as easy as tearing a piece of paper in half.
Huffing as she realised the threat was no longer there, Alex began to look around till her black eyes landed on the tree line, staring at myself and the company; my breath was caught in the back of my throat, as was everyone elses, as we waited to see what the woman's next move would be. It was heart stopping when she resumed growling, bearing her teeth at the group as she began to slowly approach them; none of us could break from our worry and slightly fearful trance to back away. Even though her eyes were pure black, there was still something within them that was unfamiliar and....wrong. "You somehow did this" I kept my voice low as I spoke to Gandalf beside me "you better know what to do now" I warned; the wizard took a deep breath, mumbling how Alex - while in this form - didn't have her own mind and had no idea as to who any of us were. This merely concerned me even further as that meant, to Alex, we were a potential threat, one she needed to protect herself from. This was an extremely dangerous situation that we were in. By this time, Alex was less than three feet away from myself as she stared at me, growling and glaring while continuing to make her slow way towards us before...she just stopped. Pulling back ever so slightly as if to get a better look at the group, her wide eyes landed on myself; something within the dark pools changed, as if some kind of realisation over came the creature that was supposed to be our once human friend. Leaning her narrow head forward, Alex's snout was soon inches away from my neck as she sniffed a few times; I refused to move, forcing my breathing to remain calm as nervously gulped - I swear, you could see the movement of my heart thumping inside my chest. "Uncle..." Fili whispered with worry and fear as he, along with his brother and everyone else, watched the heart stopping interaction; I didn't even move my slightly parted lips as I spoke in a low voice, as soft as possible "this is still the Alex we know and travel with" I stated, never taking my eyes off of the creature as it smelt my scent "so somewhere in there, it's still her and she would never harm any of us". I kept the final word of that sentense, which was 'purposely', to myself in order to not alarm the others anymore than they already were. During this time, however, Alex had raised her head as she continued to smell my neck, moving up to my face; it allowed myself quite the close up to take in the twenty five year old's bloody and sharp teeth filled mouth - not the greatest smell to have right in front of ones face, but right at this moment in time, I was hardly going to say anything about it.
Dwalin's P.O.V
To my, and I'm sure everyone else's, split second horror, Alex suddenly continued to growl while less than a few feet away from our king. From where I was stood - not too far from Thorin - I could see our friend glare at the dwarf in front of her before she faced up to the late night sky, letting out a deafening howl that made us all jump. Thorin, seeming to move on instinct, couldn't stop himself as his feet forced him to step back; he knocked into my arm, not even bothering to see who had placed a hand on his shoulder. Before the fur covered skinny creature could do any further, however, Gandalf rushed towards our transformed friend while she was distracted and....returned the brown leather bracelet - the one he had originally snatched from her, if what Bilbo had said was true - to her wrist, easily clasping it together by pressing it against the skin. The echoing howl was cut off abruptly as she looked down at the wizard with a snarl - he was backing up, seeming somewhat pleased with himself, though the previous guilt was still there. A sound of pain left the creatures mouth as she tripped away from the group, clawing at her body as fell to the floor in the middle of where she had handled all of the orcs and wargs; her entire transformed body was changing once more, just like before, and the pure agony that fell through her now normal teeth was soul shaking. We all watched with concern. "What did you did to her?!" Kili yelled at the wizard, his voice sounding fearful for our friend; Gandalf sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment while explaining how he had merely helped Alex return to her human form. Upon hearing this, we all continued to stare at the sight before us, noticing how he was right as the fur was disappearing back into the skin, her pointy ears returning to their normal shape and her body molding and shrinking back into its original thin yet short size. It was as the obviously excruciatingly painfully transformation was nearing its end when we all realised that one thing could go back to how it was - her clothes; they were still ripped and shredded, lying on the floor not too far from her curled up form. This meant, obviously, that she was as bare as the day she was born. Some of the dwarves, along with the hobbit, averted their eyes in order to allow the woman to keep her modesty, but many of us were unable to tear ours away, still struggling to accept that all of that had happened and was still happening. Not to mention how we were all far too worried for our friend; we needed to know that she was going to be okay, and by the pain filled sounds she was coming out with, it was questionable. At least she was facing away from us.
To my relief, Alex's screams had degraded down to groans. She remained lay on the floor, curled up in the fetal position with her arms wrapped around her thin frame. All was silent for a few breath holding seconds before a new sound came from the woman; it sounded like....her sniffing, maybe?? Her shoulders began to shake, making us all realise - and making our hearts crack even further - that our dear human friend was crying, trying her best to remain quiet and hold back her sobs. The first person to move was Gandalf as he was about to step towards his years old friend, only to be stopped by Thorin as he reached out his arm and grabbed his staff "don't" was all our leader said before, with slight hesitation, began to make his way over to Alex's curled up shaking form as she used her arm to slowly push herself up into the sitting position, earning a multiple of pained sounds leave her mouth.
Alex's P.O.V
Everything hurt. My entire body was burning and aching. The last time I had my whole body had hurt like this was after my last transformation on a full moon, but surely I hadn't....right?? I could feel that my bracelet was on my wrist, telling me that my thought was impossible, but suddenly, I recalled the last thing I could remember. The company and I were surrounded by orcs and wargs, nearing a steep cliff that had an over three hundred feet drop; Gandalf had grabbed my arm and...he snatched the bracelet from my wrist!! How could he?! He knew what it would do!! Knew what that brown leather bracelet did and protected!! As the tears began to flow down my face, I realised there was a foul taste within my mouth, as well as some kind of disgusting liquid covering my mouth and chin. Before I could inspect any further, however, a voice startled me out of my thoughts by speaking my name; it sounded familiar, yet my fazed mind struggled to recall who it belonged to, so I hesitantly glanced over my shoulder. God, doing this hurt like pure hell. To my horror, I realised that less than five feet away from me was a worry looking Thorin Oakenshield; the expression he had painted on his face practically told me everything I needed to know. I had one hundred percent transformed during the battle. He had seen my monster form, which meant the rest of the company had also most likely seen it as well. While transformed and not having control over my mind, body and actions, I had done something that both scared, shocked and somewhat horrified him. Staring at the dwarf with wide and fearful eyes, the tears continued to fall as I, in my hoarsed voice, pleaded at him to not hurt me. I was naked, unarmed and completely vulnerable, at the mercy of someone who had just witnessed the true monster that I am. To my utter shock, however, Thorin's gaze softened as he held up both of his hands, reassuring me that no one was going to harm me "may I come closer to you??" he asked, earning a hesitant nod of approval; he knelt down beside me, taking off his large fur coat before wrapping it around my shoulders once he saw me wrap my arms around my bare frame in an attempt to cover myself. "There we go" he smiled kindly, making sure to tie the coat close "don't want you to freeze and catch a cold now, do we??" he brushed some of my messy hair out of my face. Remembering that disgusting taste as I gulped, I slowly reached up and wiped my mouth, looking down at my now blood covered fingers; my heart began to race as I glanced around at what I recalled to be where the battle was taking place, bloody limbs and red liquid all over the ground. I knew, instantly, that this was due to the moster side of me. "What have I done??" I mumbled to myself as the tears quickly resumed, trying to wipe the blood off of my face; I failed, however, as my hands were already covered in the red substance. Thorin, seeing this, reached forward and gently grabbed my wrists in order to stop my "what you did...was save the company" he stated firmly before asking if the others could come over; I was reluctant, but upon hearing him ask and reassure that no one was mad or going to harm me, I agreed - he motioned the group to move over. Yup, they definitely saw the monster. Just great.
After receiving the handkerchief from Bilbo, the king began to wipe away all of the blood from both my mouth and hands the best he could; I knew, from past experience, that I'd be needed to take a trip to a near by river or lake. "We need to move" Balin spoke up, catching everyone's attention "more orcs might be on the way and we need to find somewhere safe to stay the night" he reminded, having a point; it was suggested that, due to the clear fact that my entire body was still burning and aching, one of them carry me back to where we were going to originally set up camp before wer were attacked as the orcs wouldn't think we'd return there. Knowing I wouldn't have a say, I allowed myself to be lifted up into Thorin's strong arms before we all left the bloody area; I closed my eyes as I tried to calm my racing heart, taking a few deep breaths which didn't go unnoticed as our leader whispered out soft reassuring words. I had yet to even glance at Gandalf, unsure of what I should even say to him. That could wait, any how. While my body continued to hurt, I could barely even focus on noticing where the group was going - even though I tried to. Unsure of how much time had passed by, I eventually heard some of the dwarves agree that they had covered enough ground for them to be safe until morning at the very least. Thorin, as usual, handed out jobs to each company member before carefully lowering down to his knees where he gently placed my aching form a few feet away from where Bofur was preparing and lighting the fire. The leader made sure to tighten and secure his fur coat around my thin frame as he began to run his fingers through my dirty and bloody tangled hair, trying to subtly work on the knots. No matter how much I tried to force my body to relax from its tense state, it refused as my mind continued to race; I was trying to recall what had happened, only to fail and let out a deep and somewhat panicked breath. Whatever I had done, it resulted in orc and warg body parts and blood covering the area that we had all been on whilst fighting, their blood also covering my mouth and hands; I still felt somewhat nauseous from the fowl taste, even after Thorin had placed his canteen agaisnt my lips and allowed me to down half of the water to sooth my sore throat. "Here, Miss Hunter" that was Ori as he was the only one within the group to use such a formality "these should help with any pain that your in, though they'll take at least an hour to kick into your system" he politely explained; I hesitantly took the offered vial of medicine and swallowed its contense - the taste was nothing compared to the orc and wargs blood.
No Ones P.O.V
As all of the multiple jobs eventually came to be completed, everyone within the company hesitantly gathered around the hot and roaring fire as their eyes subtly moving to land on the human's curled up form; she looked so small in that moment, drowning in the king's fur coat as she allowed herself to warm up by the fire, her head resting in the coats owners lap. After a silent ten minutes, however Alex took a deep breath as she opened her eyes once more before using her aching arms to push herself up into the sitting position. She made sure to keep herself covered with coat, wishing to keep her remaining modesty and dignity; Thorin tried to encourage her to lie back down and rest, only to be ignored as she refused and went on to make herself comfortable now that she was finally sat up. Taking a long moment to allow the increased pain to ease before glancing around at the gathered group, Alex studied them each to see if she could read their current emotions. They were all staring back at her, only with a mixture of confusion and worry it wasn't all that much of a shock, knowing what they had witnessed less than an hour ago. Gandalf, who lowered his gaze in an act of guilt and shame, was the one that the twenty five year old gazed at the longest, with the obvious hurt and disbelief leaving her eyes. "Why would you do that??" she spoke for the first time in a while, her voice stained with betrayel and pain "you know what this bracelet does....what it keeps hidden" I held my wrist up, revealing the leather bracelet as if to aid the point I was making while tears began to form "and yet...knowing the kind of risks it would hold...you still took it from me". Knowing who the words were aimed at by her intence stare, all eyes turned towards the wizard as he took a deep breath before meeting her gaze "I know, and I am sorry Alex" his voice was sincere at the very least "but I did not know what else to do in order for us to survive that attack". Remaining silent as she allowed Gandalf's reasoning to sink in, Alex blinked away her unshed tears "you didn't even give me the choice" she mumbled, loud enough for the group to hear if they strained their ears; she let out a sigh, knowing she couldn't completely blame her years old friend for his actions as - in hindsight - they were for the right reasons. "Never make that decision and take the option from me again" she warned, earning a promise from the wizard who swore to never do such a thing in the future; he was relieved that the human had found it in her heart to forgive him, though he was sure he had some making up to do in order for things to be like they were before.
Taking yet another deep breath, Alex moved on as she addressed the rest of the silent company; she firstly asked if they were all okay, if any of them had been injuried at all in anyway. It was a great relief to see each and everyone of them shake their head, reassuring her that - beside a few scratches and bumps which were inflicted by the orcs and wargs - they were all completely fine. "Good...good" the human nodded her head, repeating it to herself before a voice caught her attention; she looked up from the ground, her eyes landing on the owner of the kind voice "lass...none of us will force you to explain what just happened" Balin stated gently yet firmly, ready to continue but was cut off by the twenty five year old as she saw where he was going with this. "No" she took a second to make sure that she was actually sure with what she was about to do "you...you all deserve to know and understand what you just witnessed" the human admitted. They were hardly going to say anything against her decision; their growing curiousity was becoming somewhat unbareable. Taking a spare second to think as to where to begin with this none spoken about story, Alex adjusted the fur coat around her naked body as she struggled "em...how about you lot ask any questions that you have??" she suggested, earning a multiple of nods and shrugs.
Alex's P.O.V
And so it began. Kili, speaking up, was the first to find enough courage to ask what was on his mind. "You...you changed into some sort of creature...what was that??" he asked, having never seen such an animal before in his life - neither had the other dwarves or hobbit; I smiled, thankful that he had begun the difficult conversation "have any of you ever heard of a werewolf before??" I answered with a question of my own, earning a bunch of nods. Gloin added how they had each heard many stories and read books on the said creature. "Well....that's what I was, what I became" I sighed before nodding towards our second main light source, the fire being the main one of course "it's a full moon tonight which is why I transformed". My latest comment appeared to confuse Dwalin and a few others, however, as he recalled how I had been travelling with the company for nearly two months now, one of those sixty days being another full moon "how come you didn't....change that time as well??" he asked, struggling to pick the right word. Sending him a friendly smile in order to reassure him, I lifted up my wrist once more "because of my bracelet" all eyes gazed upon the brown leather around my thin wrist, examining it closely "a witch oncd found me after I had gone through yet another full moon" I recalled "upon learning that she was incredibly powerful and rather friendly, I pleaded for her to use her magic to help me". Whether it was to remove the damn curse or at least ease the pain, I didn't mind. You could imagine the pure joy that I felt when she told me she could do something that would prevent the full moon transformations. "She enchanted this bracelet to counter attack the curse, that way I wouldn't change and become a mindless monster every full moon" I finished with a small smile as I fidgitted with the brown leather wrapped around my wrist; the group all frowned upon hearing my use of the words "mindless monster" but decided to move on as there were many more questions. "Were you born with this curse??" Nori asked, seeming to be sure to use what words I myself had used in order to avoid any offence; I shook my head with a sigh, telling them about the time I had been attacked when I was fourteen years old by a werewolf "it had managed to bite me which cursed me to be just like it before it moved on, though I have no idea as to why it didn't just finish me off" I shrugged at the memory before looking up at the group. Their eyes were as wide as a plate, shock being their clear expression; I rose a brow, waiting for someone to speak. There was an element of amusement to the moment, but I knew it was hardly time to burst out laughing.
"While you were as a werewolf, Gandalf mentioned something about how you didn't have your own mind" Bifur began, catching my attention as I focused to make sure I understood what he was saying "what did he mean??". Sighing as I rubbed my forehead, I allowed myself a moment to think of my explanation as, this one, was a difficult one. "You see...when I transform due to the full moon, that's the only time that I have no control over my actions and mind" I tried to word it as simply as I could "the wolf has that control while its as if I've passed out or gone to sleep from eight pm to seven am". Seeming to understand, Balin moved on as a question had come to mind due to something I had said "when you transform due to the full moon?? Am I looking into it too much or are you saying you also change from something else??" he asked, earning a chuckle from myself as I nodded, confirming his well caught on thought; I explained how I could also transform whenever I wished to and with a lot less pain "but it's a lot different from a full moon transformation". If I changed when there was no full moon, I would still have my human mind and have full control over my body and my clothes wouldn't be destoryed in the process and would strangely be on my body once I transformed back. Not to mention I look a lot less monster like and merely looked like a normal white fur covered wolf; it was much more safe, yet I rarely changed even into that version of my wolf. I couldn't risk becoming the monster. "Anyway" I shook my head of my previous thought as I glanced around the group "what exactly did I do after I had transformed??" I questioned, instanty noticing the sudden silence and shared nervous gazes. I already knew, whatever I had done, wasn't something good. To my surprise, Thorin - he hadn't moved from his place by my side - spoke up and reluctantly explained all they had witnessed. I couldn't blame them for their previous silence. Watching someone you were supposed to call a friend change into a murderous creature, rip apart and destroy all of the remaining orcs and wargs in the most horrific way possible and then have that same creature approach you. Not the greatest thing in the world I imagined. Letting out a deep sigh as I allowed my gaze to fall to the floor, I apolagised yet again for the fact that had to witness such a disgusting scene; I was startled, however, when they each practically jumped in their seats on the floor and protested against my words. "You saved us lass!!" Bofur exclained, stating how they were far too out numbered and tired from their long days of none stop venturing to win the battle; they all agreed, adding their own words of encourgement. I felt my cheeks begin to burn as Thorin placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, making sure to look me in the eye as he spoke "while it was the mother of all shocks and somewhat frightening due to the confusion of what was happening, you still fought and saved us Alex" his voice was both sincere and strong "even when you weren't in control of your own mind, you still didn't harm us and, in fact, defended us" he smiled with price "never forget or doubt that, for you might just be one of the greatest amoungst us all".
Thorin's P.O.V
I was relieved to know my words comforted our human friend as she returned my smile with one of her own. "Thank you...for being so surprisingly understanding" Alex spoke as she made sure to look at each and everyone of us, earning a multiple nods of reassurance "you saved our arses back there, lass" Bofur grinned "so how could we say a bad word against you or Hunter??". Raising a brow in confusion, Alex questioned what the dwarf meant by "you or Hunter??", only for the sing loving dwarf to widen his grin even more as he explained how, from now on, we were all going to refer to her full moon wolf as Hunter. While his suggestion was highly amusing, we all nodded in agreement as it wasn't all that of a bad idea. "You...you've named the wolf??" the twenty five year old repeated before chuckling and shaking her head in an act of amusement "god, you lot really are something" she mumbled to herself. Realising just how late it was, I called for the group to hurry up and eat the food that Bombur was in the middle of serving "we'll clean up in the morning" I reassured; they all did as told, downing their food within ten minutes before moving over to their bedrolls. Alex, on the other hand, was hesitant to move as she glanced around for something; I questioned if everything was alright, only for the human to look at me with what look to be burning cheeks "em...my clothes were obviously destroyed when I transformed" she reminded, making me realise where she was going with this "and I doubt I can just wear your coat for the remainder of the quest". Why my first thought was 'why not?? It suits you??' I'm not too sure. And for the time being I pushed that sudden thought to the back of my mind. Nodding in understanding, I reached over and grabbed both mine and Alex's bag as I asked if she had any spare clothes; all she had was a pair of trousers, a small black corset and her undergarments. "You're in luck" I smiled as I rummaged through my own bag "I have a spare shirt, though it will be on the larger side" I warned as I pulled out the grey material from the bottom of my bag; the human shrugged, saying how she could easily use the ribbon she had to tighten what was going to be an extremely loose shirt before thanking me. "I should really wash up before I change into clean clothes though" she realised, glancing down at her body which, last I had seen, was indeed covered in both her own, orc and warg blood, dirt, mud, scrapes and cuts; I agreed, but suggested she do so in the morning and - for now - merely sleep in my fur coat. "Are you sure??" Alex questioned, most likely concerned that - without my coat - I would freeze through the night; I sent her a soft smile as I reached forward and gently moved a strand of hair from her face "I'll be more than fine" I reassured, somewhat heart warmed by her worry "but for now, rest and regain your strength". Doing as she was told, Alex allowed me to pick her up aching body and lay her down on her bedroll that Kili, who had carried her belongings after the battle, had set up; I secured my fur coat around her thin frame and wished her a good night before moving over to my own bedroll where I began to both clean and sharpen my weapns. I was on first watch after all.
The Next Day / Alex's P.O.V
Last night was...a strange and emotional one. I still needed to work on my feeling towards Gandalf after the stunt he pulled, even if I knew and understood his good hearted reason. But on top of that, the last thing I was expecting, after my secret being revealed, was to be accepted by the company with such open arms. I was sure that, if they ever found out that I was a werewolf, they could - at the very least - kick me out and tell me I was no longer wanted. Nope. They praised me for my glorified scene involving the orcs and wargs, as well as made sure that I was alright. Upon waking up this morning, Ori had looked over my wounds and supplied me with an ointment that he reassured me would ease both the pain and speed up the healing process; I thanked him before excusing myself to head down to the river which was only a few minutes away from where the camp was located, only for Thorin to accompany my after noticing my slow movements due to the achiness and stiffness of my body. While it was a tad bit embarrassing, I knew it would make our leader feel more at ease and would speed up the process, so I hesitantly accepted his offer to help me bath and wash up; he used a cloth and soap in order to rid both my hair and body of the dirt and blood, being extra careful when it came to any of the wounds. Thorin was gentle with his work, asking me every few minutes if I was alright to which I would merely nod; it was a rather quite fifteen minutes, yet the silence was comforting for the both of us. As soon as I was as clean as I was going to get from bathing in a chilly flowing river, I gladly took the towel that the dwarf offered with a mumbled "thank you" before drying off; I brushed my damp hair used a dark blue ribbon to tie it up into a ponytail before changing into the spare clothes that we had managed to find and throw together. Of course, my trousers fit like a glove but Thorin's light grey shirt was practically falling off of my thin frame; I held it up right as I grabbed my corset and, with the shirt's owner's help, put it place and laced it up. I was right. The corset held the oversized shirt up and kept it in place, other than the shoulders which slipped down ever so slightly but I didn't overly mind. Noticing my lack of foot wear, Thorin explained how there was a small village around seven minutes away from our current location where we would surely find someone selling boots and shoes. After having finished by the river, we made our way back to the camp where we sat by the fire and ate some breakfast with the group, each making some kind of point to compliment my appearance; the sun was still rising, meaning it was around half seven in the morning - we had quite the journey ahead of us.
By the time it was three in the afternoon, we had reached the village that Thorin had told me about and bought a pair of sterdy grey boots; I put them on my feet after finding a pair of socks at the bottom of my bag and thanked the group as they had all pitched in, using the excuse of "it's our way of taking you for saving us yesterday" for me to not argue against it. We had travelled a good twenty miles and decided to stop for a short break before, to our horror and annoyance, the sound of wargs roaring and their riders letting out a battle cry could be heard fastly approaching. We gathered our things, much like we did the previous night, and made a run for it. Of course, the orcs had to make a smart move and brought even more of their kind in order to find and attach us and, before long, the company was surrounded as they began to close in. Huddled together with our weapons at the ready, we knew this was going to be a fight that we were going to suffer through. That was when an idea came to mind. Glancing around, I returned my sword to its sheath attatched to her belt as she began to take a few deep breaths; this caught the attention of the group, however, as Dwalin stated how right now was a time I'd really be needing my weapons in my hands. Shaking my head as I stepped forward, away from the group, I glanced over my shoulder with a smirk "you lot aren't afraid of me" I stated, only confusing them more; Gandalf appeared to catch onto what I was suggesting, sending me a proud and pleased look of his own to which I returned.
No One's P.O.V
Smirking at the confused group, Alex allowed her eyes to grow a beautiful shade of bright blue, shocking the group as they stared; she turned her attention back to the orcs and wargs who all appeared visably suspicious, knowing human eyes didn't tend to glow. Allowing her body begin to change, Alex lowered herself down to the ground, crouching down as she used her hands to her balance. Unlike the transformation from the night before, this was a swift and silent one. There were no screams or pain filled howls. No scratching at her changing body. There was nothing of the sort this time. Instead, a beautiful white fur grew out from her skin and somehow over her vanishing clothes, her face morphing as a tail unwinded frm around her now much shorter leg. Within less than five to seven seconds, Alex was no longer the human they knew and was now a gorgeous pure white wolf, standing on all four of her legs as she growled at their enermies who had halted in their tracks upon witnessing her transformation with wide eyes. Glancing over both sides of her shoulders, Alex let out a bark as her eyes eventually landed on Thorin's; she was communicating with them and, somehow, it was as if they knew what she was saying. "Always" their leader nodded, raising his weapon as the rest followed his action before they all let out their own battle cry, running to wherever they see an orc whilst they left the wargs to their werewolf friend; Alex let out a howl before jumping into the action, feeling her own sense of pride as she realised, after all this time, she finally had a pack of friends that accepted and stood by her. Who'd have thought??