The Path Through Mirkwood: 3 - Recovery
Characters/Pairings: Fíli/Bofur, Thorin, Thorin's Company
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror
Warnings: Body Horror, Oviposition, Medical Procedures, Character Death, Hallucinations
Summary: The things Thorin’s company encounters in Mirkwood are beyond their worst nightmares. As Fíli’s uncle says, the faster they travel, the sooner they will leave the forest and all its horrors behind - if they manage to....
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit.
Chapter 3: Recovery
The gloom of the forest was slightly lighter when Fíli woke up again. His head had stopped hurting and he no longer felt inebriated. He sat up and realised he was ravenous. Small wonder, he thought, the last meal he had eaten had been breakfast the previous morning.
Woken by Fíli’s movements, Bofur sat up as well. “I can’t believe we slept so long. It can’t have been much later than late afternoon when we made camp. That horrible wasp really got us good, didn’t it?”
Fíli nodded. “Too bad the others didn’t end up killing that thing.”
“Well, at least we got away. I don’t even want to know what it would have done with us otherwise. Probably bitten us to mouth-sized bits and then had quite a feast. I watched a normal wasp, you know, one of the black and yellow ones, eat a slug once. It didn’t stand a chance. Two bites and the little thing’s guts were spilling from its body. Pretty gruesome.”
Fíli shuddered. “We really are lucky the others chased it away in time. I don’t fancy being a wasp’s lunch.”
“Talking about food: I’m starving. I’d say it’s just about time for breakfast anyway.”
They made their way over to their packs, where Balin, who had had the last watch, joined them.
“Up and about again, lads?”
“We couldn’t let Dwalin and Dori carry us all the way to Erebor, could we?” Bofur grinned.
“On second thought, perhaps we should eat quickly and then pretend to be asleep again...” Fíli pretended to contemplate.
“Don’t you dare, laddies,” Dwalin said, emerging from his own bedroll. “I dare say you’ve had quite a few roasts since you were the little dwarfling I last carried and it shows. Besides, I don’t want to know what that would do to your uncle.”
Fíli sobered. “He did seem fairly shaken yesterday.”
“Well, you seem to be alright now,” Balin said.
Fíli and Bofur nodded. “The headache is gone and I no longer feel as though I drank my way through an entire brewery,” Fíli said.
By now, the others were stirring too. Óin came over to check their stings.
“It seems to be healing well,” he said to Fíli. “There’s just a scab and it shouldn’t cause any problems. But let me know if anything is the matter.”
The sting on Bofur’s neck was also healing, but the one between his shoulder blades was still raised and lumpy.
“Is it causing you any pain or discomfort?” Óin asked.
Bofur shook his head. “I don’t even notice it’s there unless I run my hand over it.”
“Hmm. At least it’s really not inflamed but we’ll keep an eye on it,” Óin said. “If there is no change by tomorrow, I may have to do something about it.”
Bofur grimaced. “I’m sure it will be fine. In any case you wouldn’t have to do anything drastic about it, like cutting it open, would you?”
“I hope not. We’ll just have to wait and see,” Óin replied.
After a quick breakfast, they started the day’s march.
Everybody was tenser than they had been previously. They pointed out each time a pair of eyes, and in a few unsettling cases, three eyes, appeared. The shadows of the forest seemed to press in even closer and their hands went to their weapons whenever something rustled in the forest.
Bilbo jumped whenever one of the large black squirrels skittered up one of the tree trunks. Nobody dared to venture far from the company.
Towards evening, Fíli realised that he had seen Bofur rubbing between his shoulder blades a few times.
“Is it hurting you?” He asked.
“No, it’s just a bit itchy.”
When they made camp a little bit later, Óin had another look at it. Fíli hovered over his shoulder.
The lump where the sting had been was gone and the skin there now looked a bit like an old blister.
Óin wrinkled his forehead. “Well, I’d say we take it as a good sign. Itching can often be a sign of healing, which I think is the most likely explanation here. Let me know if there are any changes.”
Previous Chapter <> Chapter Index <> Next Chapter
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror
Warnings: Body Horror, Oviposition, Medical Procedures, Character Death, Hallucinations
Summary: The things Thorin’s company encounters in Mirkwood are beyond their worst nightmares. As Fíli’s uncle says, the faster they travel, the sooner they will leave the forest and all its horrors behind - if they manage to....
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit.
Chapter 3: Recovery
The gloom of the forest was slightly lighter when Fíli woke up again. His head had stopped hurting and he no longer felt inebriated. He sat up and realised he was ravenous. Small wonder, he thought, the last meal he had eaten had been breakfast the previous morning.
Woken by Fíli’s movements, Bofur sat up as well. “I can’t believe we slept so long. It can’t have been much later than late afternoon when we made camp. That horrible wasp really got us good, didn’t it?”
Fíli nodded. “Too bad the others didn’t end up killing that thing.”
“Well, at least we got away. I don’t even want to know what it would have done with us otherwise. Probably bitten us to mouth-sized bits and then had quite a feast. I watched a normal wasp, you know, one of the black and yellow ones, eat a slug once. It didn’t stand a chance. Two bites and the little thing’s guts were spilling from its body. Pretty gruesome.”
Fíli shuddered. “We really are lucky the others chased it away in time. I don’t fancy being a wasp’s lunch.”
“Talking about food: I’m starving. I’d say it’s just about time for breakfast anyway.”
They made their way over to their packs, where Balin, who had had the last watch, joined them.
“Up and about again, lads?”
“We couldn’t let Dwalin and Dori carry us all the way to Erebor, could we?” Bofur grinned.
“On second thought, perhaps we should eat quickly and then pretend to be asleep again...” Fíli pretended to contemplate.
“Don’t you dare, laddies,” Dwalin said, emerging from his own bedroll. “I dare say you’ve had quite a few roasts since you were the little dwarfling I last carried and it shows. Besides, I don’t want to know what that would do to your uncle.”
Fíli sobered. “He did seem fairly shaken yesterday.”
“Well, you seem to be alright now,” Balin said.
Fíli and Bofur nodded. “The headache is gone and I no longer feel as though I drank my way through an entire brewery,” Fíli said.
By now, the others were stirring too. Óin came over to check their stings.
“It seems to be healing well,” he said to Fíli. “There’s just a scab and it shouldn’t cause any problems. But let me know if anything is the matter.”
The sting on Bofur’s neck was also healing, but the one between his shoulder blades was still raised and lumpy.
“Is it causing you any pain or discomfort?” Óin asked.
Bofur shook his head. “I don’t even notice it’s there unless I run my hand over it.”
“Hmm. At least it’s really not inflamed but we’ll keep an eye on it,” Óin said. “If there is no change by tomorrow, I may have to do something about it.”
Bofur grimaced. “I’m sure it will be fine. In any case you wouldn’t have to do anything drastic about it, like cutting it open, would you?”
“I hope not. We’ll just have to wait and see,” Óin replied.
After a quick breakfast, they started the day’s march.
Everybody was tenser than they had been previously. They pointed out each time a pair of eyes, and in a few unsettling cases, three eyes, appeared. The shadows of the forest seemed to press in even closer and their hands went to their weapons whenever something rustled in the forest.
Bilbo jumped whenever one of the large black squirrels skittered up one of the tree trunks. Nobody dared to venture far from the company.
Towards evening, Fíli realised that he had seen Bofur rubbing between his shoulder blades a few times.
“Is it hurting you?” He asked.
“No, it’s just a bit itchy.”
When they made camp a little bit later, Óin had another look at it. Fíli hovered over his shoulder.
The lump where the sting had been was gone and the skin there now looked a bit like an old blister.
Óin wrinkled his forehead. “Well, I’d say we take it as a good sign. Itching can often be a sign of healing, which I think is the most likely explanation here. Let me know if there are any changes.”
Previous Chapter <> Chapter Index <> Next Chapter