Thorin II Oakenshield (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
honorbound_heir) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
middlemuses2016-06-06 04:28 pm
honorbound_heir) wrote in middlemuses2016-06-06 04:28 pm
Entry tags:
When you come out of the storm
CHARACTERS: experting & honorbound_heir
DATE: Around September 14th
WHERE: On the edge of Mirkwood, near the Old Forest Road
SUMMARY: The dwarves have made it to the last major obstacle on their road to Erebor - Mirkwood. Unlike on Thorin's quest to reclaim the mountain, however, this time they're not to be left to blunder through on their own. A very uneasy agreement with the elves was struck, and part of it was mutual safe passage through each others' lands. Here, too, the group is to split up - with the majority going straight through, but Thorin has other plans.
WARNING(S): Do elves warrant a warning? Thorin would say so. But probably not.
[ It's no secret that Thorin has no love for elves, and perhaps even less so for their cursed forest that ever seems to stand between him and wherever he needs to go. He remembers the days of his youth when it was called Greenwood the Great, back when they were true allies with the Silvan elves that lived there, and is told that it has changed much since then. It's of little matter to him. Even though they are not enemies, as long as Thranduil remained their King, there would be no chance of resumed camaraderie as there had been in times past. They had mutual enemies now, and that was more or less as far as it went. The fact that Thranduil's son seems to have some sense of honor, and isn't a consummate coward like his father, is at least convenient when he has to speak to an elf.
He knew that the conversation with Bilbo wasn't going to be easy. Or pleasant. He is aware that he's going into what was not so very long ago a veritable stronghold of evil, a place so thoroughly corrupted that nothing green grows within miles of it. Gandalf told him that Necromancer had been banished, but an ill shadow still lingered over that place, one deeper even than the one that clouded the surrounding forest. That said, he suspected that things would once again begin to creep back in. It was all part of a slow, troubling turn of events that had been set into motion many, many years ago.
The point was, if Thorin was going to go, he needed to do it now. He didn't hold out much hope for finding his father alive - somehow, when Gandalf told him this time that his father was dead, it rang true in a way that it had not before. Even the vindication Thorin felt at being right, despite being the only one that still had faith, was little comfort when faced with the knowledge that he had been so close, and yet so far away, still. All this time, he had been so close...
This is about family, and there's no way around it.
There hadn't been any doubt as to whether or not the Company would come with him. His sister would stay with the rest of the group, and he trusted her to see their way through, perhaps all the way to Erebor should Thorin and the others not manage to catch up with them. While she's not pleased with this arrangement, she also understands, and is aware that trying to argue with her brother on this is an exercise in utter futility.
Thorin never doubted for a moment that Bilbo would insist to come with him. He would have preferred that Bilbo stay with the others, but Thorin has too much respect for him to dare make such a suggestion. Would he even listen if Thorin did try to order him to go anywhere? He's not certain, but that is very much a moot point here.
Instead he relays his intentions to Bilbo with a steady voice, and an almost defiant tilt to his jaw, his pony's reins grasped firmly in one hand as he flicks a glance behind Bilbo and to the edge of the forest just beyond him. There had been no set meeting time here, but he knew that the elves would be looking for them, as they were the last time they came through. It probably wouldn't take long before they reappeared - no doubt generally looking just as displeased with this arrangement as Thorin currently does. ]
As soon as our escort arrives, we leave. The others will stay here and make camp for the night.
[ The fact that he's forced to wait around on an elf still irritates him to no end, but he knows that it's the only reasonable thing to do here. ]
experting & honorbound_heirDATE: Around September 14th
WHERE: On the edge of Mirkwood, near the Old Forest Road
SUMMARY: The dwarves have made it to the last major obstacle on their road to Erebor - Mirkwood. Unlike on Thorin's quest to reclaim the mountain, however, this time they're not to be left to blunder through on their own. A very uneasy agreement with the elves was struck, and part of it was mutual safe passage through each others' lands. Here, too, the group is to split up - with the majority going straight through, but Thorin has other plans.
WARNING(S): Do elves warrant a warning? Thorin would say so. But probably not.
[ It's no secret that Thorin has no love for elves, and perhaps even less so for their cursed forest that ever seems to stand between him and wherever he needs to go. He remembers the days of his youth when it was called Greenwood the Great, back when they were true allies with the Silvan elves that lived there, and is told that it has changed much since then. It's of little matter to him. Even though they are not enemies, as long as Thranduil remained their King, there would be no chance of resumed camaraderie as there had been in times past. They had mutual enemies now, and that was more or less as far as it went. The fact that Thranduil's son seems to have some sense of honor, and isn't a consummate coward like his father, is at least convenient when he has to speak to an elf.
He knew that the conversation with Bilbo wasn't going to be easy. Or pleasant. He is aware that he's going into what was not so very long ago a veritable stronghold of evil, a place so thoroughly corrupted that nothing green grows within miles of it. Gandalf told him that Necromancer had been banished, but an ill shadow still lingered over that place, one deeper even than the one that clouded the surrounding forest. That said, he suspected that things would once again begin to creep back in. It was all part of a slow, troubling turn of events that had been set into motion many, many years ago.
The point was, if Thorin was going to go, he needed to do it now. He didn't hold out much hope for finding his father alive - somehow, when Gandalf told him this time that his father was dead, it rang true in a way that it had not before. Even the vindication Thorin felt at being right, despite being the only one that still had faith, was little comfort when faced with the knowledge that he had been so close, and yet so far away, still. All this time, he had been so close...
This is about family, and there's no way around it.
There hadn't been any doubt as to whether or not the Company would come with him. His sister would stay with the rest of the group, and he trusted her to see their way through, perhaps all the way to Erebor should Thorin and the others not manage to catch up with them. While she's not pleased with this arrangement, she also understands, and is aware that trying to argue with her brother on this is an exercise in utter futility.
Thorin never doubted for a moment that Bilbo would insist to come with him. He would have preferred that Bilbo stay with the others, but Thorin has too much respect for him to dare make such a suggestion. Would he even listen if Thorin did try to order him to go anywhere? He's not certain, but that is very much a moot point here.
Instead he relays his intentions to Bilbo with a steady voice, and an almost defiant tilt to his jaw, his pony's reins grasped firmly in one hand as he flicks a glance behind Bilbo and to the edge of the forest just beyond him. There had been no set meeting time here, but he knew that the elves would be looking for them, as they were the last time they came through. It probably wouldn't take long before they reappeared - no doubt generally looking just as displeased with this arrangement as Thorin currently does. ]
As soon as our escort arrives, we leave. The others will stay here and make camp for the night.
[ The fact that he's forced to wait around on an elf still irritates him to no end, but he knows that it's the only reasonable thing to do here. ]
no subject
Bilbo's gentle insistence is easy enough to understand, and Thorin is willing. The fact that he is mirroring a gesture that he's seen them do, one that Thorin has personally used on him, is almost too much. Thorin has been struggling with keeping his emotions in check as it is, and this threatens to utterly undo him in a way he hasn't quite felt before, but he quietly welcomes it and the warm sense of comfort that it accompanies. And for once he doesn't move to steer this where he wills it, he simply stays, his forehead pressed lightly to Bilbo's, his eyes calmly open and lingering on Bilbo's face.
Because I know you. They've been through some of the most triumphant and the worst moments of Thorin's life, there's no doubt about that. The fact that these times have happened in such close proximity, and yet there is still that understanding and unwavering faith, only serves as a testament to Bilbo's perceptiveness and his steadfast refusal to accept anything less except the truth. He's truly known Thorin's heart for some time now, even before Thorin showed up on his doorstep some weeks ago.
He must know that Thorin could not easily stand to lose him now, as he has lost so much that was dear to him before, which would put his unwillingness to even attempt to force Bilbo to stay here in a rather different light. He'd let Frerin go, many years ago. He had been too young, too inexperienced, and Thorin would have been well within his rights then to insist that he stay behind. It was bad enough that Thorin was helpless to help his father and grandfather fight their own internal battles, but he very much failed to protect his little brother, in turn. That responsibility had fallen on his shoulders more so than anyone else's.
He knows what Bilbo is saying, and he does understand. It doesn't make the truth much easier to stomach right now, nor is it a simple thing to soothe over such long held scars, but right now, this is enough. For once in his life, he can lean ever so slightly on that determination, the loyalty and faith, and admit to himself - even if not out loud - that a moment of weakness does not make him weak.
This is why Thorin had told him that he would have been lost without him. ]
Has anyone ever told you that you speak with wisdom well beyond your years, Master Baggins?
[ This can't last too long, though. Inevitably Bilbo's awareness of their not exactly private spot will settle back in any moment bow, and they will go back to a more proper distance. ]