The top of the rising sun peeked through the trees and the birds began to chirp as the company still slept away. Senka was the first to wake and lifted her head from Akara's shoulder. She rubbed her tired eyes and stood up, stretching her back. Quietly she tiptoed around the dwarves and went to the cliff edge. She sat down and smiled as she watched the sun rise. It was one of her favourite time of the day to watch such a beautiful sight. She was so engrossed with the view, she did not notice someone come up behind her.

"Your up early." She heard a deep voice say. She looked up to see who it was and found that it was none other than the dwarf prince, Thorin; who was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Senka smiled softly and looked towards the sun rise.

"I always rise early to watch the sunrise. It's my favourite part of the day and I can be able to tell Akara what it's like." She explained softly to him. She heard the crunch of gravel and glanced at Thorin who sat too her left.

"You tell her what it's like? Every morning?" He asked with a smile at the kind thought.

"And evening." Senka smiled as she turned her gaze back to the sky as the sun began to peck over the horizon. Thorin looked down at the forest then back up to the sky, wondering what it would be like if he was unable to see all the beauty of the world around him.

"I cannot imagine what it's like to loose sight like her." He muttered in deep thought. Senka sighed softly as her eyes fell to her lap, where she played with her fingers.

"It is not completely lost like we said. She can see perfectly, but just doesn't want to hurt any of you. You see, her eyes are said to be the windows to hell. Full of darkness, nightmares and death. One look in her eyes and your done basically." She explained as she moved her eyes to watch the sky, a quarter of the sun was showing now. Thorin didn't show it but he felt fear build up inside him. He glanced back at Akara cautiously, as she was sleeping peacefully against a rock, or that what it looked like. She had been awake since Senka had left her side and was now listening to their conversation. Senka could see the tension within him as his muscles tightened under his shirt and his back straighten, as if he was ready for an attack. Senka was proven right in her thoughts as his hand rest on the hilt of his sword and gripped it. She hated the way people got when they heard of her eyes, nor did she like the look of distrust towards her or Akara because they were so different from normal beings.

"Look, I know what you are thinking, Thorin. You think she will use her curse against you all because of what people say about us. How we are evil and hurt others for our own amusement and play. But I assure you that none of that is true. Trust me, Thorin Oakenshield, she does not want to hurt you or anyone in this company, nor do I." He heard Senka say. He turned back to her with a confused look stretched across his features.

"You? Your practically harmless by the looks of it. You do not seem to hold any sort of threat like your friend." He grunted as his hand left his swords hilt. Senka frowned and bit her lip, her eyes fell and looked at her gloved hands.

"Harmless? Maybe by the looks of it yes... But I far from being harmless. It is why I wear more clothing than any of you. That day, years and years ago, we were cursed. Akara lost her sight and... My skin became like poison." She said bitterly but softly. Thorin looked at her as she allowed her eyes to look over the forest and to the sky as the sun was now over the horizon and slowly climbing higher.

"I loved to be able to have contact with everything. Fur, plants, even hugs. I truly miss the feeling of being embrace by another, without the fear of harming them." she laughed slightly.

But her smile fell as she slowly took her glove off from her right hand. Thorin watched as she picked a flower beside her with her left, gloved hand and held it up for Thorin to see. The thin white petals dancing gracefully in the gently breeze. With her right hand she touched the petals briefly and Thorin watched in horror and sympathy as the flower turned to black in her hand. It crumbled down into a pathetic wilt of black petals and stem and slowly turned to dust which blew away with a gust of wind. Thorin looked up at the young woman before him. Senka's eyes where echoed with pain that not even he, whom had his homeland stolen from him, had ever felt.

"I am so sorry for all you have been through. The both of you..." Thorin said in sympathy to her, feeling guilt for the horrid thoughts he had had about them both. Senka just waved it off and straightened her back.

"It's fine. We can live with it, we have lived with it for so long." She smiled a saddened smile as she stood to her feet. The other dwarves began to awaken and pack up their things for the long journey ahead. Senka nodded to Thorin and left him alone. She walked to Akara and sat down next to her. Both were silent as a few members of the company rose from their sleep. They themselves did not have many belongs, only their bed rolls, provisions and the clothes on their backs.

"Tell me, my friend. What was it like today?" Akara asked with a gently, almost unnoticeable smile. Senka smiled softly and laid a hand on Akara's shoulder.

"It was beautiful this morning, Akara. So many different reds, oranges and purples. A few clouds but nothing too bad to obstruct the view. It was warm against my skin, and the rays reached so far into the open. Truly it is a magnificent sight." She explained in great detail. Akara laughed dryly and cracked a wider smile.

"I miss it. I miss seeing everything around me. The colours, the texture, the beauty of the world." she chocked slightly at the memories she has of seeing things. While no one was looking, Senka reached over and squeezed her friend in a hug; being careful of skin contact. Normally, Akara despised hugs from anyone, but a hug from her oldest and dearest friend always made her feel better.

"Hopefully we can find something or at least someone who can break these horrible curses on us. We won't... We won't have to be called evil anymore, or get kicked out everywhere, or get dirty, disgusted looks as we walk around." Senka whispered. Akara patted Senka's red hair to comfort her, Akara knew how the way people treated them effected Senka.

"One day, little one we shall. But for now, we have a company of dwarves to protect. Not to mention a dragon to slay." Akara chuckled as she stood up out Senka's embrace. She held out her hand with a smile down to Senka. Senka looked up and smiled to the woman who has saved her life on so many occasions. But what Senka loved most about Akara, was she never asked for anything in return. Akara trained her, feed her, took beatings for her and still never wanted a thing in return. Senka reached her hand up and placed it into Akara's, she was then easily pulled to her feet. Soon enough everyone had awoken and packed up the camp, ready to depart for another days ride. Everyone mounted their horses and they were off once more. Once again Senka remained nearer the front, slightly scaring Bilbo while Akara chose to remain silent at the back. Everything was normal around them with quiet chatter and some jolly laughs but clouds had turned dark and the thunder rumbled in the near distance above their heads. Akara tensed up and cursed under her breath at the sound. She despised the rain as well as the thunder. Sure she could have manipulated it to her liking but she didn't want to reveal too much of her ability as of this moment. She wasn't in the mood for any questions. But she knew it was going to be a long day....