The Path Through Mirkwood: 22B - Loyalty
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 22B: Loyalty
The next few days were spent in a haze of worry and boredom. Now that half the company had left and was no longer talking and grumbling, every rustling in the trees or undergrowth seemed magnified.
Fíli was too worried about Bofur to care about distractions. Bofur had mellowed a bit towards Fíli after Fíli had ensured he could stay, but he still wouldn’t let him or anyone else very close to him.
Still, Fíli was glad that Bofur at least allowed short conversations with him without snapping at him.
For a while, Fíli allowed himself hope that things were getting better. Then, he noticed that Bofur’s replies were getting shorter and shorter. He seemed to doze off more often as well, but the one time Óin tried to take advantage of this to examine him, Bofur snapped awake immediately, ready to defend himself.
One morning, about a week after they stopped their journey, Fíli woke suddenly, aware that something had startled him out of his sleep. He quickly looked around the company, but they all still seemed to be asleep. Óin, who was on watch, was nowhere to be seen.
Then, before he could wonder about this, he heard a strange sound coming from Bofur.
“Bofur? Is everything alright?”
Bofur merely shifted in his sleep and Fíli decided it must have been nothing important after all. He settled back into his bedroll, appreciating the warmth it offered against the chill of the autumn morning.
Bofur gave a low groan. Fíli clambered out of his bedroll and rushed over to him. He gently touched Bofur’s cheek.
“Bofur, what’s wrong?”
Bofur looked at Fíli with those green eyes Fíli could always have spent hours looking at. Bofur opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, something moved under his clothes. Since Bofur wasn’t objecting to Fíli’s presence for the first time in days, Fíli leaned over to get a better look.
A wasp launched itself at his face. It was black, enormous and even more terrifying than he had remembered. Fíli tumbled backwards instinctively, scrabbling on the ground to get away.
The wasp, however, didn’t seem to be interested in him and silently flew into the dark canopy above them, where it disappeared. Several other wasps followed immediately.
“Wasps!” Fíli finally found his voice again. “There are wasps!”
He reached for his swords, but he had left them by his bedroll. The others woke, jumped up drawing their weapons and rushed over. Óin emerged from the bushes, pulling up his trousers as fast as he could. Dwalin tossed Fíli one of his spare knives as he ran. Fíli caught it and hurled himself towards Bofur again. He slashed viciously at the wasp that had just launched itself into the air, but he missed and it escaped into the foliage above as well.
They stood around Bofur for a moment, waiting for more wasps to appear while Bombur kept a look-out for the wasps that had already flown away. After a few moments, Thorin nodded at Dwalin and spoke up.
“Try to get any wasps that emerge.”
Dwalin stepped forward and quickly slit open Bofur’s clothes. He immediately stabbed the wasp that appeared.
With a sick jolt in his stomach, Fíli realised that the wasp had been emerging through a hole in Bofur’s skin. There were several other holes scattered across Bofur’s skin, blood trickling down in a thin line. Bofur was nothing more than skin and bones, a stark contrast to less than two weeks ago when Óin had operated on him. Fíli supposed that Bofur’s clothes had done a good job in concealing his state and since Bofur had refused to be touched, nobody had realised just how thin he had become.
Bofur groaned again and Óin rushed forward while Fíli stood rooted to the ground in horror. Dwalin hurried off when Óin reached Bofur’s side, eager to get away from the wounds now that there was nothing more that needed to be fought.
Óin examined the wounds.
“I think they have all hatched. How are you feeling, Bofur?”
Bofur didn’t reply but his eyes met Fíli’s and Fíli finally remembered how to move. He rushed to Bofur’s side and clasped Bofur’s hands in his. Fíli realised Bofur’s breath was coming in rasping gasps.
“Please help him,” Fíli asked Óin.
“The wounds are deep and he isn’t in good shape. I think the wasps might have injured his lungs when hatching,” Óin replied, gesturing to the wound just below Bofur’s ribs. “I don’t know how much I can do.”
“Are you sure?” Fíli asked around the lump in his throat.
“I could try to...” Óin trailed off as Bofur shook his head.
“You want me to do nothing?” Óin asked him.
Bofur nodded. He turned to Fíli.
“Stay.” His voice rasped and was barely audible.
“Of course. Of course I will. I would never leave you,” Fíli said, his voice threatening to break.
Fíli sat down with his back to the tree as Thorin, Dwalin and Óin stepped aside to give them some privacy.
Fíli carefully shifted Bofur so that he could lean back against Fíli’s chest. Trying not to agitate Bofur’s wounds, he wrapped his arms around him, and took Bofur’s hands in his again. Bofur slightly squeezed Fíli’s hands and Fíli smiled down at him.
“Are you comfortable?” he whispered, trying to keep his voice steady.
Bofur nodded, his eyes locked on Fíli.
Fíli did not know how long they sat like that before Bofur’s eyes became unfocussed and glassy.
“Bofur?” he asked quietly, but he already knew there would be no response.
Fíli reached down to close Bofur’s eyes, tenderly stroking his face.
Bifur began screaming loudly in Khuzdûl and rushed about their camp like a caged animal. Bombur gave a muffled sob and ran off to be alone, his hands raised to his face to conceal his tears.
Fíli cradled Bofur in his arms, tears streaming down his face.
“Fíli?” Thorin asked softly, standing over him.
Not looking at his uncle, Fíli shook his head. “Leave me alone.”
Thorin must have conceded, because Fíli heard his footsteps retreat.
Fíli did not know how long he sat there cradling Bofur’s body.
After a while, Thorin came over again.
“I know you want time to say goodbye to Bofur properly, but we don’t know where the wasps went. It isn’t safe here, so we shouldn’t wait too long before resuming our journey. We have prepared the funeral pyre, so whenever you are ready...”
Fíli shook his head and Thorin left again. Fíli was vaguely aware of a muffled argument between Thorin, Dwalin and Óin, but nobody bothered him again.
Fíli’s throat hurt from crying and he was just about to fall into an exhausted sleep when he heard a soft rustling behind him. Before he could react, he felt a familiar sharp pain in his neck. On the other side of the clearing, he could see Óin being stung as well and sag where he was standing.
Fíli tried to call out as he felt the wasp take off again, but his muscles wouldn’t obey him, just like he had already suspected. It didn’t take long for the others to notice the wasps had returned though. Dwalin turned to say something to Óin just as the wasp that had stung Óin launched itself into the air again.
“Mahal no! They’re back!”
Bifur charged towards the wasp, screaming in fury. Fíli had seen him in battle before and thought him terrifying then, but that had been no comparison to now when he wanted to avenge his cousin.
The wasp tried to swerve out of his reach, but it was too slow. Bifur swept it out of the air with his boar spear and then skewered it.
By then, the wasp that had stung Fíli and at least three others were whirring above what remained of the company.
“Stand with your backs together!” Dwalin bellowed but Bifur didn’t seem to hear him in his rage. He ran after two more wasps that were buzzing over his head at a dizzying speed. Bombur dashed after him and tried to pull him towards the safety of the group, but couldn’t get close without risking injury.
“Fíli, to us!” Thorin shouted. He had temporarily made one of the wasps retreat and looked over at Fíli.
He froze for a brief moment as realisation dawned. Then he ran towards Fíli.
“Fíli!” Thorin yelled, paying no heed to battle formations or the wasps circling around him. Two of the wasps immediately took up pursuit.
“Thorin, no!” Dwalin shouted, dashing after Thorin, but Thorin had always been a faster runner than Dwalin.
Alerted by Thorin’s shouts, Bombur turned around. Seeing what was happening, he sprinted towards Fíli as well.
“Here, come and get me, you stupid wasps! Have some juicy fat dwarf!” He shouted, tears streaming down his face as he waved his spoon above his head.
Behind him, Fíli saw all tension leave Bifur’s body just as he killed one of the two wasps he was fighting. He collapsed on the ground with a look of surprise on his face, only barely missing his spear. The wasp on his neck took to the air again.
Not realising Bifur had been stung, Bombur managed to strike one of the two wasps following Thorin out of the air with his spoon and jumped on it, flattening it with a sickening crunch.
The other wasp got Thorin just before he reached Fíli. Fíli watched helplessly as his uncle crashed to the ground in front of him. Fíli had thought he would not be able to feel any more pain than he did on losing Bofur, but now, he felt the last bit of hope slip away.
“Thorin!” Dwalin screamed, reaching him just a moment to late. He swung his axes, but the wasp had already taken to the air again.
“Come and get me, you awful monsters!” Bombur screamed, waving his hands. “I’m the one you want to have for dinner!”
The wasp that had stung Thorin swerved towards Bombur. Dwalin followed in hot pursuit. He did not see the wasp that had stung Bifur fly after him.
Against better knowledge, Fíli tried to call out, but of course, it was in vain. The wasp jabbed Dwalin’s neck and he fell, hitting the ground. Fíli could hear the air being knocked out of his lungs.
Bombur watched him fall, his mouth wide open in horror. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Bifur’s motionless body. Bombur stood rooted to the ground for a moment, quivering. Then he ran.
Bombur didn’t get far. One of the wasps flying after him swooped down onto his neck and delivered the sting in one smooth motion. Bombur crashed down, his speed still propelling him forwards to the side of the road.
The wasp settled on Bombur’s back, briefly cleaned itself with its forelegs and then sunk its stinger between Bombur’s shoulder blades. The second wasp did the same with Dwalin. Then it flew over to Thorin. As it began laying its eggs, the first wasp flew towards Fíli, no longer bothering to hurry or approach from where he wouldn’t be able to see it.
Its eyes seemed even larger as it approached and Fíli saw the huge mandibles. He remembered that they had chewed their way out of Bofur and shuddered inwardly. It landed on his head and cleaned itself some more, covering most of Fíli’s sight. Its claws clung to Fíli’s face unpleasantly, just short of breaking the skin. Finally, it crawled over the top of his head onto the tree trunk Fíli was leaning against. Pushing and pulling at Fíli with surprising strength, it shifted him so that it could reach the space between Fíli’s shoulder blades.
Fíli felt it pierce his skin and pump up and down, injecting its eggs.
A great calmness engulfed Fíli as he finally sank into the darkness.
Previous Chapter <> Chapter Index <> Epilogue
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 22B: Loyalty
The next few days were spent in a haze of worry and boredom. Now that half the company had left and was no longer talking and grumbling, every rustling in the trees or undergrowth seemed magnified.
Fíli was too worried about Bofur to care about distractions. Bofur had mellowed a bit towards Fíli after Fíli had ensured he could stay, but he still wouldn’t let him or anyone else very close to him.
Still, Fíli was glad that Bofur at least allowed short conversations with him without snapping at him.
For a while, Fíli allowed himself hope that things were getting better. Then, he noticed that Bofur’s replies were getting shorter and shorter. He seemed to doze off more often as well, but the one time Óin tried to take advantage of this to examine him, Bofur snapped awake immediately, ready to defend himself.
One morning, about a week after they stopped their journey, Fíli woke suddenly, aware that something had startled him out of his sleep. He quickly looked around the company, but they all still seemed to be asleep. Óin, who was on watch, was nowhere to be seen.
Then, before he could wonder about this, he heard a strange sound coming from Bofur.
“Bofur? Is everything alright?”
Bofur merely shifted in his sleep and Fíli decided it must have been nothing important after all. He settled back into his bedroll, appreciating the warmth it offered against the chill of the autumn morning.
Bofur gave a low groan. Fíli clambered out of his bedroll and rushed over to him. He gently touched Bofur’s cheek.
“Bofur, what’s wrong?”
Bofur looked at Fíli with those green eyes Fíli could always have spent hours looking at. Bofur opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, something moved under his clothes. Since Bofur wasn’t objecting to Fíli’s presence for the first time in days, Fíli leaned over to get a better look.
A wasp launched itself at his face. It was black, enormous and even more terrifying than he had remembered. Fíli tumbled backwards instinctively, scrabbling on the ground to get away.
The wasp, however, didn’t seem to be interested in him and silently flew into the dark canopy above them, where it disappeared. Several other wasps followed immediately.
“Wasps!” Fíli finally found his voice again. “There are wasps!”
He reached for his swords, but he had left them by his bedroll. The others woke, jumped up drawing their weapons and rushed over. Óin emerged from the bushes, pulling up his trousers as fast as he could. Dwalin tossed Fíli one of his spare knives as he ran. Fíli caught it and hurled himself towards Bofur again. He slashed viciously at the wasp that had just launched itself into the air, but he missed and it escaped into the foliage above as well.
They stood around Bofur for a moment, waiting for more wasps to appear while Bombur kept a look-out for the wasps that had already flown away. After a few moments, Thorin nodded at Dwalin and spoke up.
“Try to get any wasps that emerge.”
Dwalin stepped forward and quickly slit open Bofur’s clothes. He immediately stabbed the wasp that appeared.
With a sick jolt in his stomach, Fíli realised that the wasp had been emerging through a hole in Bofur’s skin. There were several other holes scattered across Bofur’s skin, blood trickling down in a thin line. Bofur was nothing more than skin and bones, a stark contrast to less than two weeks ago when Óin had operated on him. Fíli supposed that Bofur’s clothes had done a good job in concealing his state and since Bofur had refused to be touched, nobody had realised just how thin he had become.
Bofur groaned again and Óin rushed forward while Fíli stood rooted to the ground in horror. Dwalin hurried off when Óin reached Bofur’s side, eager to get away from the wounds now that there was nothing more that needed to be fought.
Óin examined the wounds.
“I think they have all hatched. How are you feeling, Bofur?”
Bofur didn’t reply but his eyes met Fíli’s and Fíli finally remembered how to move. He rushed to Bofur’s side and clasped Bofur’s hands in his. Fíli realised Bofur’s breath was coming in rasping gasps.
“Please help him,” Fíli asked Óin.
“The wounds are deep and he isn’t in good shape. I think the wasps might have injured his lungs when hatching,” Óin replied, gesturing to the wound just below Bofur’s ribs. “I don’t know how much I can do.”
“Are you sure?” Fíli asked around the lump in his throat.
“I could try to...” Óin trailed off as Bofur shook his head.
“You want me to do nothing?” Óin asked him.
Bofur nodded. He turned to Fíli.
“Stay.” His voice rasped and was barely audible.
“Of course. Of course I will. I would never leave you,” Fíli said, his voice threatening to break.
Fíli sat down with his back to the tree as Thorin, Dwalin and Óin stepped aside to give them some privacy.
Fíli carefully shifted Bofur so that he could lean back against Fíli’s chest. Trying not to agitate Bofur’s wounds, he wrapped his arms around him, and took Bofur’s hands in his again. Bofur slightly squeezed Fíli’s hands and Fíli smiled down at him.
“Are you comfortable?” he whispered, trying to keep his voice steady.
Bofur nodded, his eyes locked on Fíli.
Fíli did not know how long they sat like that before Bofur’s eyes became unfocussed and glassy.
“Bofur?” he asked quietly, but he already knew there would be no response.
Fíli reached down to close Bofur’s eyes, tenderly stroking his face.
Bifur began screaming loudly in Khuzdûl and rushed about their camp like a caged animal. Bombur gave a muffled sob and ran off to be alone, his hands raised to his face to conceal his tears.
Fíli cradled Bofur in his arms, tears streaming down his face.
“Fíli?” Thorin asked softly, standing over him.
Not looking at his uncle, Fíli shook his head. “Leave me alone.”
Thorin must have conceded, because Fíli heard his footsteps retreat.
Fíli did not know how long he sat there cradling Bofur’s body.
After a while, Thorin came over again.
“I know you want time to say goodbye to Bofur properly, but we don’t know where the wasps went. It isn’t safe here, so we shouldn’t wait too long before resuming our journey. We have prepared the funeral pyre, so whenever you are ready...”
Fíli shook his head and Thorin left again. Fíli was vaguely aware of a muffled argument between Thorin, Dwalin and Óin, but nobody bothered him again.
Fíli’s throat hurt from crying and he was just about to fall into an exhausted sleep when he heard a soft rustling behind him. Before he could react, he felt a familiar sharp pain in his neck. On the other side of the clearing, he could see Óin being stung as well and sag where he was standing.
Fíli tried to call out as he felt the wasp take off again, but his muscles wouldn’t obey him, just like he had already suspected. It didn’t take long for the others to notice the wasps had returned though. Dwalin turned to say something to Óin just as the wasp that had stung Óin launched itself into the air again.
“Mahal no! They’re back!”
Bifur charged towards the wasp, screaming in fury. Fíli had seen him in battle before and thought him terrifying then, but that had been no comparison to now when he wanted to avenge his cousin.
The wasp tried to swerve out of his reach, but it was too slow. Bifur swept it out of the air with his boar spear and then skewered it.
By then, the wasp that had stung Fíli and at least three others were whirring above what remained of the company.
“Stand with your backs together!” Dwalin bellowed but Bifur didn’t seem to hear him in his rage. He ran after two more wasps that were buzzing over his head at a dizzying speed. Bombur dashed after him and tried to pull him towards the safety of the group, but couldn’t get close without risking injury.
“Fíli, to us!” Thorin shouted. He had temporarily made one of the wasps retreat and looked over at Fíli.
He froze for a brief moment as realisation dawned. Then he ran towards Fíli.
“Fíli!” Thorin yelled, paying no heed to battle formations or the wasps circling around him. Two of the wasps immediately took up pursuit.
“Thorin, no!” Dwalin shouted, dashing after Thorin, but Thorin had always been a faster runner than Dwalin.
Alerted by Thorin’s shouts, Bombur turned around. Seeing what was happening, he sprinted towards Fíli as well.
“Here, come and get me, you stupid wasps! Have some juicy fat dwarf!” He shouted, tears streaming down his face as he waved his spoon above his head.
Behind him, Fíli saw all tension leave Bifur’s body just as he killed one of the two wasps he was fighting. He collapsed on the ground with a look of surprise on his face, only barely missing his spear. The wasp on his neck took to the air again.
Not realising Bifur had been stung, Bombur managed to strike one of the two wasps following Thorin out of the air with his spoon and jumped on it, flattening it with a sickening crunch.
The other wasp got Thorin just before he reached Fíli. Fíli watched helplessly as his uncle crashed to the ground in front of him. Fíli had thought he would not be able to feel any more pain than he did on losing Bofur, but now, he felt the last bit of hope slip away.
“Thorin!” Dwalin screamed, reaching him just a moment to late. He swung his axes, but the wasp had already taken to the air again.
“Come and get me, you awful monsters!” Bombur screamed, waving his hands. “I’m the one you want to have for dinner!”
The wasp that had stung Thorin swerved towards Bombur. Dwalin followed in hot pursuit. He did not see the wasp that had stung Bifur fly after him.
Against better knowledge, Fíli tried to call out, but of course, it was in vain. The wasp jabbed Dwalin’s neck and he fell, hitting the ground. Fíli could hear the air being knocked out of his lungs.
Bombur watched him fall, his mouth wide open in horror. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Bifur’s motionless body. Bombur stood rooted to the ground for a moment, quivering. Then he ran.
Bombur didn’t get far. One of the wasps flying after him swooped down onto his neck and delivered the sting in one smooth motion. Bombur crashed down, his speed still propelling him forwards to the side of the road.
The wasp settled on Bombur’s back, briefly cleaned itself with its forelegs and then sunk its stinger between Bombur’s shoulder blades. The second wasp did the same with Dwalin. Then it flew over to Thorin. As it began laying its eggs, the first wasp flew towards Fíli, no longer bothering to hurry or approach from where he wouldn’t be able to see it.
Its eyes seemed even larger as it approached and Fíli saw the huge mandibles. He remembered that they had chewed their way out of Bofur and shuddered inwardly. It landed on his head and cleaned itself some more, covering most of Fíli’s sight. Its claws clung to Fíli’s face unpleasantly, just short of breaking the skin. Finally, it crawled over the top of his head onto the tree trunk Fíli was leaning against. Pushing and pulling at Fíli with surprising strength, it shifted him so that it could reach the space between Fíli’s shoulder blades.
Fíli felt it pierce his skin and pump up and down, injecting its eggs.
A great calmness engulfed Fíli as he finally sank into the darkness.
Previous Chapter <> Chapter Index <> Epilogue