They walked at a leisurely pace toward mountains ahead, where bleak clouds rolled in. Ygritte knew that by the time they came to the mountains, that they would have to deal with the oncoming storm head on. But she had faced many a storm before ─ how could this one be any different?

She had spoken with Bilbo earlier. The Hobbit had taught her a new ballad he picked up one day at the market in the Shire, and even taught her a few of its verses before Bofur came to Bilbo's side, offering the Hobbit a sip of water. After that, Bofur and Bilbo made conversation of their own, leaving Ygritte to walk ahead of them in a comfortable silence. Until she spotted Kili Durin, that is.

The young dwarf's head was bent downward as he walked, which was odd since he makes conversation with his brother or stares off into the distance ahead of them as they'd walk. He was staring at something ─ but what?

Her curiosity getting the best of her, the woman came to his side, matching his pace. She peered down at his hand and found a small black stone as smooth as a flower petal laying within his grasp. There was an inscription of some sort, though she couldn't identify what it said as he kept smoothing his thumb over its surface.

Ygritte smiled down at him and gestured toward the stone with her hand. "It's beautiful," she remarked. "Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift from my mother," Kili replied. "On the day I left home with my brother, she gave this to me. She made me promise to return to her; I intend to uphold such promise." He glanced up at Ygritte and smirked at the curious gleam that shone within her eyes, resembling to that of a star. He reached across the space between them and picked up her hand, lying the stone within her palm.

Ygritte smoothed her thumb over the surface and smiled at the markings inscribed on the stone.

"Innikh de," he said. "It means ─ "

"Come back to me."

Kili smiled and his eyebrows lifted, impressed that she could understand the ancient dialect. An elf called Daeron, the minstrel of king Thingol of Doriath long ago had forged the language, but it has many branches now; one of which the Dwarves had developed into their own form of tongue.

"You know this branch of Cirth?"

As Ygritte placed the stone back into his palm, her skin lingering against his own and causing their eyes to meet, her lips curved into a small smirk. "A woman such as myself has to learn to speak such languages if she wishes to venture far and wide."

The dwarf bowed his head, hiding the smile and the faint blush of his cheeks at the linger of her touch that left his palm scorching.

"If you do not mind my asking, what is she like? Your mother?" Ygritte asked. She bit her lip, wondering if she had stepped over the line, but Kili didn't seem bothered by the subject. In fact, he welcomed it with a smile.

"Her name is Diś," Kili began. "I resemble her and my uncle. But Thorin ─ he says I am most like my mother." The dwarf smiled as he thought of the woman who gave him life. "She has wit and can make you laugh as easily as one breathes air. Her cooking ─ you would like it. Best I've ever tasted. And she always smiles. Even on days when one should feel sad, she will smile."

"She sounds like a remarkable woman," Ygritte said.

"She is," he said as his eyes lifted to meet her stare. "I dare say she would be fond of you."

Ygritte felt her cheeks grow hot at his words. "Would she now?"

"Aye, very much."

｡｡｡

When Ygritte was a young girl, she loved the rain. Playing in it, watching it fall, the way it felt as it dampened a flower petal in her mother's garden ─ everything about it. But now, as the dreary skyoverhead heaved a downpour upon them, Ygritte wanted nothing more than to make the rain go away.

She wasn't one to complain much, but it was hard to see through it as she shuffled across the narrow ledges of slippery rock. The woman ─ being much taller than the Dwarves, the Dragonkin woman and the Hobbit that she ventured with ─ had to walk with her head down to watch where she was going so she wouldn't plummet to her death. She was sure if it wasn't for the distant flashes of lightning that gave her short moments of perfect light, that she would have fallen already, as she walked with her back pressed against wet rock.

In this moment, with dripping hair and cold flesh, she was both displeased that her father had told her to remain with the Company, while also grateful that he had stayed behind so he wouldn't have to walk along such slippery ground at his age. She could only imagine how long it would take him to walk this path in such bleak weather. Too long, she guessed.

Then, as lightning flashed overhead, a sudden thought came to her.

Ryvniss. A small smile found her face as rain splashed against her skin from the fierce winds. He can fly! If we all were to climb onto his back, we can be out of this awful storm in a matter of no time.

Before she could address Aninth about this possibility, Thorin called out for them to all hold on. Or at least she assumed that's what he said. She couldn't hear him as clear over the deafening thunder crackling in the sky overhead and the howling wind that whipped at their hair.

When Ygritte stopped as per Thorin's request, she took a moment to ensure the safety of those behind her. Counting heads, she found all the dwarves accounted for. Turning back around, she faced Bilbo who, in that moment, had stepped on risky terrain. As it collapsed beneath his weight, her heart lept into her throat. The woman watched as the Hobbit she vowed to protect with her life began to fall, his arms flailing and his panicked screams howling with the wind. She didn't hesitate to lunge forward.

"Bilbo!"

She clasped her hand around his arm and pulled, securing him against her chest and folding her arms around his chest, which heaved with panicked breaths. She held him there and breathed the same as him, letting her panic show as she pushed them both back against the wet rock.

"Are you alright?" she asked, slowing uncurling her arms from his body.

Bilbo nodded. "Thank you, Ygritte."

Her features relaxed, knowing that he was alright. "You're welcome," she said into the wind, blinking away the rain from her eyes as she met his grateful stare. "These are perilous paths Bilbo; try to avoid walking too close to the edge. It will not fair you, nor the Company, well should you fall."

"Yes," the Hobbit agreed while staring at the long fall, which he couldn't see the bottom of. His was quiet, but loud enough for her to hear him. "I dare say it wouldn't."

"We must find shelter!" Thorin shouted from up ahead.

"Look out!" Dwalin yelled.

They all turned their attention forward, seeing a massive boulder flying at them. Ygritte's eyes grew at the massive size of it, watching as it soared through the air before crashing into the rock above their heads and splintering into smaller pieces, which were still large considering its former size. Those smaller pieces began to fall down over their heads.

Everyone pressed themselves back against the rocks to shield themselves from the falling debris. Ygritte gripped onto Bilbo and used her taller body to shield his. She could feel gushes of wind rush past her with each rock that fell, and it sent her heart into a wild gallop as she feared one of them would crumble the rock beneath their feet and send them plummeting downward.

"This is no thunderstorm," Balin said, stepping forward once the rocks had stopped falling. "It's a thunder battle! Look!"

Ygritte's heart almost stopped beating as her eyes rested upon what Balin was pointing at.

In the distance, the woman could make out a large shadow of a figure. Given the structure she could make out from such a distance, it appeared composed of rock; large limbs and even a disfigured rock formation as a head. The figure turned its back on them to rip a chunk from the mountain before turning towards them once more. She had heard legends as a child from her mother. Melisandre spoke of them only a few times, always encouraging her daughter to believe in the legends ─ and Ygritte had. Every legend her mother told her was always so fascinating that she couldn't help but believe in them. However, this one... how she wished what she was looking at wasn't real.

Before her stood a Stone Giant.

And she was right in the line of battle.

"Well, bless me," Bofur said, stepping up to the edge, "the legends are true. Giants! Stone Giants!"

The Stone Giant threw the chunk of the mountain in his hand past them and they followed its trajectory. Ygritte's neck craned to her right, watching as it struck another of the Stone Giants as it was attempting to get up, knocking him back down again with a screech that sounded much like thunder.

"Take cover, you fool!" Thorin shouted to Bofur before Kili pulled him back.

"Hold on!" someone yelled.

Ygritte didn't have a think about who had advised her to brace herself. With a small gasp falling from her lips, she flattened herself against the rock beside Bilbo and Dwalin once more, watching in horror as their narrow ledge began to crumble away. The Dwarf and Hobbit kept still on both sides of her as they watched the rocks fall. The woman frowned, wondering if their situation could get any worse.

It could. And fast.

Bilbo and Bofur had been walking in front of Ygritte before. And ahead of them, she had made out the shapes of Thorin, Fili, Kili and Aninth. So when she overhears a voice shout the words grab my hand, the woman's body filled with a new wave of panic, and she leaned out to see what was happening now.

She found the ledge splitting open, separating Fili and Kili from one another. The brothers stared at one another in fear as the rock began crumbling between them, separating the Company into two groups of near equal count. Fili had been the one who cried out, pleading with his brother to take his hand so they wouldn't lose each other. But it was too late. No matter how far Kili leaned out, the gap was too massive and he couldn't reach his brother.

For a moment, Kili's eyes found her own, and fear washed over the blonde woman. This Dwarf has made her smile and laugh like no one has in such a long while, and now she was watching as distance continued to separate them. She wanted to cry when she thought of his mother, Diś, who gave him the stone Kili was telling her about. Kili had said he promised to return to his mother after they had accomplished their journey. But in this moment, Ygritte could see no such future for the young dwarf. In her mind, she could see only herself delivering the tragic news of Kili's death to his mother's face. She imagined herself embracing the dark-haired dwarven-woman as she wept over the loss of her youngest son. The imagery of grief was enough to spring tears into her eyes.

Then, her eyes found Aninth.

The other blonde woman reminded Ygritte much of herself and of her mother. In all of Ygritte's life, she has never met another woman eager to hold a weapon or go on her own adventures. Sure, there were the occasional Elvish woman she came across in Rivendell, but none of them picked up a sword or left the safety of their home. And yet, this woman ─ so small and so fierce ─ has not only weaponry, but a dragon companion. She was a woman most people fear because of the dragon she keeps close by, but Ygritte did not. She considered the daughter of Anhro and Alio a great friend. But now it seemed this friendship would not have the chance to grow, as their panicked stares met and the gap between them grew.

Something caused Ygritte's eyes to travel skyward, where she learned the cause of the ground splitting apart. They were standing on a Stone Giant of their own, and he was waking up.

One of the other Stone Giants head-butted the one the Company was standing on, causing him to fall backwards and them to go hurling through the air. Everyone was yelling as they took hold of the slippery rock behind them, hoping it would make them more secure.

As the Stone Giant's leg rammed into the mountain, Ygritte had only a moment to jump for safety. Grasping new rock, she landed ungracefully on a small ledge she was far too large for. Her shoulder rammed against the solid surface, causing the woman to grimace. The pain passed after a moment.

The battle grew more intense with each moment that passed by. Now they were not just throwing chunks of rock at each other, but throwing punches. Ygritte muttered under her breath as she gripped onto the wet rocks as if her life depended on it. Which it did.

As if things couldn't get any worse, a third Stone Giant threw a chunk of rock at the head of the one they were on, knocking it clean off. As the Stone Giant stumbled backward, his movements causing them more panic as they scrambled to grasp for a good piece of rock to hold on to, debris from the head fell past them. There was a piece so large that it came close to hitting Ygritte if she had not hunched over on time.

Her stomach formed tight knots and her eyes grew wide as she watched the other half of the Company fly past them. Her eyes darted between Kili and Aninth more than any of them. Over the sound of the rain and the battle still raging on, she heard Thorin shout for Kili, Aninth and the rest of them to jump, but they didn't. They couldn't.

Instead, they began to fall towards the ledge on the other side. Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what was happening and that there was nothing they could do about it.

With a thunderous crash, the Stone Giant's leg collided with the mountain.

Ygritte felt her body grow stiff, and her corneas burned with fresh tears as her heart broke in two. Her friends, they were all dead. She heard a woman scream and for a moment; she had thought it was Aninth. That maybe the woman wasn't dead.

But it wasn't.

It had been herself.

Ygritte screamed so loud, her voice seemed like it had conquered the thunder and the wind and the surrounding battle. She could have sworn she heard Thorin's voice, but she wasn't certain. The woman became paralyzed by what has occurred in the events of the thunderous battle to even care about her surroundings anymore as she watched the rock her friends once settled on crumble away into nothing.

"No! Kili!" Thorin shouted. He disappeared around the corner, and Ygritte followed with a gentle nudge from Dwalin from behind her.

Ygritte pushed her way down the much smaller ledge, and what she encountered on a ledge ─ whose existence she did not know of before, she now welcomed ─ made her blinding tears fall.

They were alive.

Ygritte's eyes drifted over each of them, a weight lifting off heart when she found Thorin and Fili embracing Kili. Figuring that she should give the family a moment to cherish each other's existence, she started scanning the area for Aninth. When her eyes found a blonde head rising from the ground and into a sitting position, she grinned.

"Aninth!"

Ygritte rushed over and tugged the Dragonkin woman onto her feet, enveloping her into a tight hug. "I feared the worst!" she cried in relief, her words muffled by Aninith's damp hair. Now she was glad that it was raining, as she refused to let people see her cry. It always made her feel vulnerable.

"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur asked, sounding panicked. "Where's the Hobbit?"

Ygritte's looked around, not seeing their burglar among the group of Dwarves still yet to rise to their feet after falling. In fact, she didn't see him anywhere. She felt guilt seep into her veins. While so concerned over Kili and Aninth, she hadn't even bother to see if Bilbo was still standing beside her. If he fell ─

She grew pale, a sick feeling creeping up on her and making her feel lightheaded.

"There!"

Looking down, Ygritte felt relief wash over her when she found the Hobbit hanging by his hands from the ledge. But the relief did not come to stay for a long time, as panic soon gripped at her heart. His small form was just hanging there without security. If Bilbo made one wrong move, his hands could slip and he would fall. She couldn't help but think of how things just keep getting worse and worse.

What more could happen?

"Get him!" Thorin shouted.

Both Ori and Bofur launched forward and told hold of Bilbo's hands, but this only caused him to slip further down the ledge so he was only hanging by one hand on a small handhold.

"Grab my hand!"

"Bilbo!"

Looking beside her, Ygritte urged her friend to help in the only way they could not. "Use Ryvniss!"

"In this rain?" Aninth replied, "there's no way! He could never fly!"

Ygritte bit her lip, and her panicked eyes turned back to face Bilbo and the others. She watched as Thorin jumped down to a narrow ledge below the one everyone else was on and grab Bilbo, taking advantage of the Hobbit's small stature to throw him up to Ori and Bofur, who began to pull him over the edge.

A cry fell from Aninth's lips as Thorin himself slipped. But Dwalin was there and grabbed his arm to stop him from falling. Then, from beside Ygritte, Aninth flattened herself against the rock and extended her arm to Thorin.

"Take my hand!" she shouted to him.

Thorin looked hesitant, but with how Dwalin was groaning against his weight, he seemed to push aside his thoughts. Thorin took her hand and Ygritte took a step back so Aninth could put all her strength into pulling him up and over the ledge without them getting in her way.

Within moments, they had pulled him up far enough that Aninth shifted to her knees as they kept pulling. A minute later, the momentum they had gathered was enough to get Thorin over the ledge. As Dwalin let go of his arm, that momentum shifted and Aninth fell back, Thorin falling on top of her. Their eyes found one another and Thorin man no move to stand up and remove his weight off of Aninth. Ygritte, despite the situation, raised a suggestive eyebrow in their direction.

At Rivendell, she had sensed something between them when she saw them leave to be alone multiple times. Then again at the waterfall, when Thorin was almost admiring her from afar. Now this. What was happening between them? She had so many questions to ask her friend, but this was not the time to ask them. Not when Bilbo and Thorin had almost fallen to their deaths.

After a moment, Dwalin pulled Thorin to his feet, allowing Ygritte to step forward and help Aninth to her feet once more. The blonde looked dazed, lost in her own thoughts. Glancing toward Thorin, she found him in the same state. Her brows furrowed, wondering what could have happened during their stay in Rivendell.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar," someone said, drawing Ygritte away from her curious thoughts.

"He's been lost ever since he left home," Thorin scowled. "He should never have come. He has no place amongst us."

Ygritte's eyebrows raised, and she narrowed her eyes at the back of Thorin's head. Before she could say anything in Bilbo's defense, as the Hobbit had every right to be here ─ for without him, there would be no journey ─ Thorin was already disappearing around the corner without another look back.

"I wonder what's put Thorin in such a foul mood," Aninth said to her. "One would think that after thinking he lost his family and not doing it and also not falling to his death, he would be in a more grateful mood."

"Who could say." Ygritte glanced down at her friend. "Keep in mind that this is Thorin we are talking about."

Behind them, someone called that they would make camp in a cave they'd found up ahead. Aninth turned and Ygritte followed close behind her, dropping her head as she entered the low opening of the cave while thinking, so this is how my father feels.

Brushing her wet hair out of her face, Ygritte glanced around the cave for somewhere to rest, thankful to be out of the rain and the cold. As more of them piled inside, the cave grew warmth with the heat of their bodies.

Gloin dropped some sticks to the ground. "Right then. Let's get a fire started."

"No," Thorin said. "No fires. Not in this place. Get some sleep. We start at first light."

"We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us," Balin pointed out to Thorin. "That was the plan."

"Plans change," Thorin said. "Bofur, take the first watch."

Ygritte stood and walked toward Thorin, opening her mouth to speak with only him. "What, may I ask, have you changed of my father's plans?"

Thorin met her stare. "That is of my concern and not your own." His tone was still harsh, and she thought the same as Aninth. What had changed his mood? "I suggest you rest, Ygritte. We have much a journey ahead of us."

With that, Thorin brushed past her and began setting up a place for himself to sleep. Ygritte's eyes followed him. After a moment, she scoffed and moved to find somewhere comfortable to rest for the night, while wondering why Thorin was defying her father's plans.

On what path does he plan on taking us?