"You'll find out soon enough."

Sitting amongst his fellow dwarves on the short tables provided and listening to their complaints about the green food with an idle ear, Fili found himself a wee bit distracted in truth, hardly even aware of the way his stomach grumbled its protest at his lack of attention. No, he was far too busy staring at the entrance of the hall, awaiting the final member of their company with a certain restlessness inside him because no matter how hard he tried, his concerned gaze would constantly advert straight back over to the archway as if it hadn't strayed in the first place.

He sighed, a noise that was leaving his lips rather frequently with every minute that passed, looking down at his plate with a slight grimace on his face as he plopped a carrot into his mouth and grumbled under his breath with his mouth full, thankful that the others seemed to be sharing his foul mood, even if it were for different reasons as they were forced to listen to the gentle swaying music of the elves as they played their instruments in the background.

However, it seemed that at least someone was enjoying the elf maidens presence, if the way his brother hadn't been able to tear his gaze away from their fair features with awe in his eyes and his lips slightly parted, practically drooling as they walked past him or sat just a few steps in front of then, long and elegant fingers brushing over the harp strings and filling the air with their songs. Fili glanced back over to the archway, and looked away with another grunt as he stabbed his fork into the greenery on his plate rather aggressively...After all, how long did it take for a lass to get changed into some simple robes?

"I can't say I fancy elf-maids." Kili grumbled quite suddenly with his smile quickly dropping when Dwalin caught his eye in the middle of his adventures in flirtation, the tips of his ears burning pink as he grasped at an excuse for his less than subtle staring, feeling the others and their almost judgemental gazes as they all turned to look at him while Fili chuckled lightly under his breath, not even trying to help when his younger scrubbed at his cheek in anxious fashion.

"Too thin, all high cheekbones and creamy skin, not enough facial hair for me...though that one's not bad." He said, eyes trailing over another elf that walked on by them without so much as a backward glance as Kili looked around the table for support, and seeming to finally get it in the form of Bofur leaning towards him, eyes crinkled up in a smile and a placeting grin upon his lips as he patted the younger's shoulder in a show of solidarity who exhaled in relief, not seeing the way Bofur winked at an amused Fili from over his rather tall head who only just managed to muffle his snort in time as he leaned towards him grinning.

"That's not an elf-maid, brother."

Kili's face instantly formed into a one of absolute horror as he glanced down at the chuckling blonde, mouth hanging open just slightly in disbelief before he looked over to Dwalin in panic, searching, begging for reassurance...only for the bald dwarf to wink and send the whole table in hysterics at his misfortune as he nodded, digging his tongue into the side of his cheek with displeasure and a pout forming on his lips, looking very put out indeed as he nodded at them all. "That's funny, really funny."

"Least we know a real woman when we see one." Fili quirked his brows over the brim of his drink, taking a strong sip to hide his amused smile as Kili frowned and turned to face him, his betrayed and quite frankly, indignant gaze glaring towards him in vengeful frustration, his tone dripping with sarcastic interest as he leaned forward with his elbows against the table.

"Aye? And what does a real woman look like to you then, brother?"

But whatever words the blonde prince was going to say died on his tongue as he finally saw movement out of the corner of his eye, the last member of their company joining them it seemed, but when Fili turned his head to look up at her, he felt his throat constrict so that even if he wanted to answer his brother, he couldn't...jaw hanging open slightly and his breath practically being forced out of his lungs as he openly stared at the ethereal being as she stalked across the courtyard with his blood rushing straight to his head so he could hear nothing but the beat of his heart as it pounded.

Because beautiful seemed to weak of a word to describe her, too soft, too pliant..the crimson red of her dress that flowed around her like a haunting halo and moving like aching fire, so dangerous and loud in the soft colours of Rivendell, a colour that matched the glow that would overtake her eyes like a promising threat, bleeding down to her legs and practically dancing with magic that had the elves squirming in their seats, tasting the destruction, the chaos in the air as she walked upon them, hardly sparing them a glance with a cruel twist of her lips, and Fili thought that all of the treasure in Erebor couldn't even come close to her.

From the slope of her neck to the arch of her brows, Nymeria's beauty made a slave of him, making his veins run hot until they felt close to boiling, scorching beneath his skin and mounting and mounting like dragon fire to flesh, like he was stuck in the pits of hell with no sign of escape in sight...But oh, she was the most divine hell Fili would ever be in, and he found that he didn't mind burning at all as he looked at her, truly looked at her, her collarbones like wings spread from the base of her throat to the ends of her shoulders, like a bird held down by skin and leaving him awe.

"Think that answers yer' question, laddie." Dwalin's deep, baritone chuckle shook him out of his enamoured trance, no longer it seemed that the birds were singing just for him, that the sun was shining brighter, that the air felt crisper against his face and that he felt stronger than he ever had been before as an illusion was maimed in its place, his daydreaming daze firmly popped and ruined by his fellow dwarves just as quickly as it had taken him...but still, his eyes didn't, wouldn't, couldn't stray from Nymeria as she stalked across the grounds like a phantom in the night.

"I think he's in love!" Bofur said, laughing loudly and freely as the others joined in shaking their heads at the sight of him stretching over the dark-haired princes head to pinch at Fili's cheeks, cooing mockingly under his breath as he teased him, and only laughing louder when the blonde shoved his arm away distractedly, finally tearing his gaze away reluctantly to glare at his fellow dwarves who all seemed to have the same shit-eating grins on their faces as he shook his head and huffed.

"He doesn't even know her!" Kili scoffed, clasping a hand on his elders fur-lined shoulder in support, quickly coming to his defence against the companies good-natured ribbing to their youngest members when it seemed that his brother wasn't able to, too tongue-tied by a pair of breasts it seemed.

"I want to." The confession left his lips breathlessly, as if torn from his throat without permission, primal and raw with a pain settling in his stomach as Nymeria came into view once more and he found his gaze going straight back to her, unaware of the way the table has stilled into a hush at his confession with wide-eyes and quirked brows, mumbling to each other quietly as the blonde prince tried to stand and greet her, only to jam his legs against the table with a loud and pained curse.

"Oh, I don't think I can watch." Bofur whispered, pulling a sympathetic grimace as he watched the love-struck lad stumbling over the table like some form of a fool, cursing and grumbling in pain as he held onto his wounded leg but quickly dropping it back onto the floor nonchalantly when Nymeria glanced back over to him finally, her brows lightly furrowed in annoyed question as he smiled sheepishly and waved, such a difference from the proud and confident lad they were used too.

"Oh, I definitely can." Kili grinned mischievously with a spark in his eye that hadn't been there before as he watched his brother, because all his life it had been Fili who'd got the lasses swooning with ease, though there hadn't been alot of dwarven ladies lumbering around there still had been a good couple, and each and everyone of them had fallen for his charms quicker than an idle breath...and now it seemed that he'd finally met his match in the strange creature that was her...and he was more than excited to see how it would end.
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Nymeria could feel the tension in the courtyard brimming the moment she set foot into it, red dress infused with magic dancing over its every seam like a sprinkling waterfall of chaos, her eyes instantly zeroing in on where her hobbit sat talking to one of the white-haired dwarves by his side, his own face lighting up when he seen her as she shared his sentiment with a soft smile only to realise with a light furrow to her brow that there was no place to sit beside him, huffing under her breath as she turned her head only to blanch in some form of horror.

A faè was standing just a ways in front of her, half concealed in the gentle shade with his wings fluttering anxiously behind him, large tawny things that showed he was barely even on the crusps of adulthood yet as he nervously waddled closer, stumbling slightly, obviously not used to having to use his legs when he had his feathered freedom on beck and call...and she couldn't help but wonder if he was walking, or at least trying to, to try and not offend her.

However, Nymeria just breezed on past him as if she hadn't even seen him in the first place, her back straight and face cool and collected as she strolled over to where the blonde dwarf who insisted on somehow occupying her mind with questions was making somewhat of a mess with the grumbling curses and mutters that kept leaving his lips as he stabbed his fork into some of the green stuff in his bowl, too busy groaning about something to see her head towards him until Kili cleared his throat loudly, and Fili looked up like a deer caught in an archery tournament.

"Nymeria, I had assumed you'd be eating with your own ki-"

"Well, you assumed wrong." She quickly snapped over her shoulder at the old wizard as she came to a stop in front of the dwarves table, her eyes beginning to brim with a certain kind of chaos, of warning that they should keep their tongues firmly planted behind their teeth if they wanted to keep them, but Gandalf only raised a bushy brow at her, obviously unamused and unthreatned at the display of raw magic, long since used to her dark aura by now and simply shook his head with a huff, turning to face Elrond and speaking to him lowly.

She narrowed her gaze towards him for half a second, ear twitching against her head in frustration, knowing, just knowing that the two were gossiping about her before she turned her head to look down towards the dwarves, but, more accurately Fili...who seemed to read her mind as he roughly shoved his brother along the already too-small benches to make room for her, not without sending a smug smile at the faè she could still feel hovering behind her like a bad smell.

"B-but we have already saved you a seat-"

"No thank you, I am quite content here with my-" she took a pause, feeling bile rush inside her mouth, threatening to spill out of her trembling lips, throat spasming in disgust as just what she was about to say as she coughed into her palm to disguise it before shaking her head and smiling, something so unhinged about it that it caused chills to creep up spines and bodies to erupt in goosebumps. "-my friends."

And before she could give herself a moment to think things through or change her mind through said thinking, she plopped herself down in the tight space on the rather small bench, physically fighting off a shudder when she felt Fili's warm arm brushing against her own as she stubbornly glared down at the table in an attempt to ignore the faè behind her, hating everyone and everything alongside every bad decision she had made in her life that had brought her here, stuck between a rock and a hard place and hoping she'd chosen the lesser of two evils.

Nymeria could feel him hovering behind her, arm outstretched as if to touch, a decision he quickly decided against when Dwalin leaned forwards with a dangerous scowl heavy on his forehead, bulging arms crossed against the table as he stared the shaking faè down, accent thick and nothing more than a deep rumbling growl that had even her impressed. "Ther' a problem with that, laddie?"

Whatever the fledgling was going to say behind her died upon his tongue at the intimidation, and she could feel the nervous energy swarming the poor thing as he scurried away, stumbling over his legs in his quick effort though obviously not far enough as she continued to feel his weak magic by the archway but she refused to turn around to watch, her bubbling frustration continuing to mount and mount inside her like a deadly disease that she struggled to keep at bay, between the elves, the faè and the dwarves around her, it was safe to assume that she was feeling a bit on edge.

"Are you alright, lass-"

"I am perfectly fine." She scoffed as soon as the concerned words left the blonde dwarfs pink lips, taking some food from the table as if to prove it and popping the reddish purple circle of something in her mouth and began to chew, mainly in an effort to keep herself from replying to any sort of conversation on the table only to freeze mid-chew as the flavor hit her like a punch to the face, a grimace twisting her features at the salty taste and awful texture upon her tongue.

"Wha' did I jus' put in my mout'." Nymeria warbled in horror, and quickly, without thinking spat the food back into her palm in panic, her mouth feeling tingly and gross as she frowned in disgust at the chewed up leftovers...just to freeze as she remembered she had an audience as around her the tables filled with rowdy laughter as the dwarves watched her, missing her wide-eyed lost look as she looked around at the shaking shoulders and pounding fists of the company who'd found her accidental disrespect to the elves hilarious.

And somehow, in the midst of his giggles, Kili leaned across the table and slapped her hand...sending the food soaring out of her palm and flying into the air and she could only watch in slow motion as it landed upon the faè's head who was still watching them, dripping down his face as he looked ready to take flight...which only caused the dwarves to dwell into even more laughter from the boisterous lot as Nymeria winced, hiding her head in her palm as Elrond and Gandalf both swiveled their head to glare at her.

This was going to be a long lunch, she thought to herself as she sunk into her seat with a long suffering sigh.
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Night has fallen quicker than she'd expected it to as she roamed the halls quietly, ducking out of view from prying eyes and feathered wings whenever her magic flared inside her like a living thing, twisting around her flesh and squeezing it with its harsh grip, as if warning her away from the threat of company. The moment dinner has ended she was back on her feet, assured that Bilbo would be safe in the...somewhat capable hands of Gandalf and knowing that if anything happened to change that, she'd be the first to know.

But in truth, she'd needed a break away from them all, her years of isolation in the Moors, and then the comfort of home with her hobbit had made her to be rather overwhelmed indeed with the constant presence of others, especially with the boisterous nature of the dwarves who seemed keen on testing her patience with every single breath they took that had her practically seething in rage.

Though she's somehow found that she preferred their company to the faè that watched her every move, their eyes wide and cautious, as if they knew something she didn't, as if they wanted to come closer and touch but knowing if they did they'd loose a hand. What bothered her so much about it was the fact she didn't know why, and the only conclusion she came to was something that filled her with resentment and spite...the faè were probably looking at her because of her lack of wings, probably staring at her and poking fun like she was some freak of nature, some cursed creature that should be locked away never to be seen.

Nymeria.

She jumped, a curse slipping through her lips as she spun around in a circle, eyes flashing with dangerous intent and shaking hands begining to glow as she searched for the disembodied voice that had swept across her mind like a sudden breeze...but there was no one there in the lonely corridor, no sign of a heartbeat, no sign of magic...just herself and her everlasting pain, as it always was.

But after a few moments of nothing, she finally allowed herself to relax, blaming it on her exhaustion of the rather stressful two weeks that she'd had with her rather unfortunate company, shaking her head and turning her back to continue her calming walk across the halls, but it seemed that the moment she did, the voice returned with another call of her name, Nymeria, light and breathy and wrong as she snarled, her hands clenching by her side into tight fists as she shook with rage. "Who's there?"

Nothing answered her once more, well, nothing physically answered her anyway...but there was a certain stirring in her gut, like a calling, like a tether begging her to follow, and, after a few minutes of silent deliberation, she decided to follow it, not happy about this in the slightest but having a sinking feeling that if she ignored it, it would only get worse and that was something she really didn't wish to have on her mind for the rest of the night as she once more, began to walk, strolling through the halls and up large staircases with nothing but her heart to guide her.

The faè finally came to a stop on a large balcony overlooking the beauty of the Rivendell night air, the dark skies touching the earth like a lovers kiss as the stars danced above them, each glistening and shining through the shadows of the night, and once more, Nymeria's chest seemed to ache with longing as she breathed out shakily, blinking up at the view mournfully and imagining herself flying on raven's wings, fingers brushing over the waters, moving through the air and talking to the stars above like an old friend...missing the embrace of flight, of freedom like a phantom limb.

Only to find herself freezing when she realised she wasn't alone here, enjoying the night air...because sitting in the middle of the balcony facing her with their eyes closed was another faè, tall, probably even taller than Gandalf himself by far if he stood with midnight locks of dreaded hair that faded into the sky behind him perfectly as he sat there, completely still and immobile. The only sign given to Nymeria that he wasn't actually dead was the slight movement to his chest every time he took a breath.

She took a cautious step back, wincing slightly when she heard a birds call through the distance, praying to whatever higher force there was that he wouldn't awaken from his seemingly entranced state as she continued to walk further and further away, delving back into the shadows and preparing herself to run as fast as her legs could carry her. However, it felt like she'd only just managed to make it to the archway when he smiled quite suddenly and she felt herself cursing internally in despair.

"Hello there, young faè...I've been expecting you." He said softly, before he opened his eyes to show a rather strange sight indeed...starlight greeted her, shining and white and sparkling brighter than the moon in the sky, staring straight through her as if glaring into the gaping hole that was where her soul used to lie amongst her withering flesh...and then she felt it once more, that strange calling singing in her ears, making the tips of her fingers tingle and her chest ache...and realisation dawned upon her rather quickly.

"It was you? You led me here?"

"Yes, my name is Ezekiel...and you are Nymeria, yes?" The faè said, standing from his sitting position finally and proving Nymeria's intuition true about his rather looming stature, a larger than life presence that filled the space with a certain kind of energy, of magic...somewhat different to the others around them, something almost familar that had her frowning, shoulders rolling to release their ever mounting tension as she narrowed her gaze.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you. Though you've managed to make that rather difficult by ignoring your kin at every turn." He spoke slowly, softly, an almost rich tone to his lilting voice that seemed almost as ethereal as the breeze in his hair, the effortless glow of his skin and blinding shine of his golden wings that stretched high and proud in the space above them, filling her every sense with memory of old as she scoffed and shook her head in distaste. "You are not my kin."

The words were spat out through trembling lips, teeth bared and fingers shaking with unbridled rage as a red mist threatened to encase them, but Ezekiel only stared down upon her with some akin to pity in his white eyes, somehow both un-seeing and all-seeing as he shook his head and sighed. "Such hate has settled in your bones, such misery...we have all felt it the moment you stepped in Rivendell...but we can't condemn you, not when there are many out there, feeling the pain you do so strongly, feeling so abandoned and betrayed by the world."

Nymeria forced her gaze away, rage simmering in her gut like a wanding snake as her hands clenched by her side and eyes watering reluctantly as she tried to keep her emotions at bay, not wanting to be ripped open and found unsightly and yet being picked apart all the same as he walked past her, moving over to the very end of the balcony with his hand brushing over the beautiful carvings of the railing almost absentmindnessly. "We faè are so few in number now, isolation is no longer our safety, it's our death...and we've been forced to gather here, away from the threats of the outside world."

"What are you talking about?"

"We are being hunted, young faè. Orcs, humans, goblins...even dwarves know of our wings healing properties, the magic that lies within them...and they will stop at nothing to get them."

Her mind flashed, going back to primal screaming that left her throat raw and bloody as she choked upon it, both starving and empty as she shook and howled, the sky shaking above her in terror as golden magic began to blossom, trying to heal what greed had touched as she yelled and raged, raged, raged in the dyling light. Her heart had burned, was burning and burning in dreadful fire...and then it had turned to ice, and gold had shifted into the crimson red that stained the corner of her lips as she snarled and let her magic run free.

Nymeria's eyes snapped open with a quiet inhale of breath, not even aware that she closed them in the first place as she rubbed her hand across her shoulders idly, as if wanting to ease the sudden ache she found there as she looked up to frown at the back of Ezekiel's dark head of hair with reluctant concern. "Then you should take them yourselves so they have nothing left to take, faè can survive without their wings...I have, it's painful but it's manageable-"

He was suddenly in front of her before she'd even had time to blink, either ignoring or not noticing her flinch as he hurriedly bent down to hold her gaze, large hands cupping hers gently and holding them towards his chest as he shook his head once more, begging her to see instead of look for once in her short immortal life. "No, Nymeria, no...that is the thing, the reason why everyone knows your name, your story, why they are so fascinated and desperate to catch a glimpse of you...is because no faè has survived the loss of their wings...expect you."

"I- I don't understand-"

"Faè control magic. We control earth, fire, air and water...and some have even been given rarer gifts, such as healing or foresight. And yet, the things you can do...you believe your powers are unstable because of what was taken from you but you are wrong. Your powers aren't unstable, they are some form of magic that hasn't been seen for eons now but you, you somehow turned your rage, your suffering, your pain into power and that...that is chaos magic Nymeria...and no faè, no wizard, no creature had ever been able to control it...except you."

She slowly took her limp hands out of his hold, throat spasming as she tried to keep her bile at bay as nausea rocked her stomach, making her feel sick and all sorts of queasy as she stumbled away from the faè, eyes flickering desperately at the words...the confession spoken. What he'd described, what he'd told her was impossible, it had to of been, she had been nothing but a healer all those years ago, and she was expected to believe that pain had turned her from a abandoned faè into a myth, a story? No, she was just...broken, ruined, scarred. A stupid fool who had believed the lies of another and played the price with her sanity, that was all.

And yet...yet she had already called her magic chaos whenever she called for it, a subconscious thought hollowed in the back of her haunted mind that constantly shrieked with vengeance and pain, begging for the sweet relief of death or peace but never getting either one, and as that realisation dawned upon her, she shot a dangerous look over to Ezekiel, her hand pressed against her chest as if that would stop the pounding of it, and looking nothing short of devastating in the pale moonlight. "Why are you telling me this?"

He stood taller, as if suddenly he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and was proud of the burden, proud but tiring with old bones and crows feet tickling the corners of his eyes, because while immortality was ever present in faè blood, its trauma's, always so terrifying and raw, could age you within a night...and Ezekiel had watched many horrors unfold behind his glassy eyes. "Because it's what I have been destined to do. That is my gift, young faè, my gift and my curse is that I see all, what has happened, what is, and what is still coming to be."

Oh, he was one of those bastards, Nymeria thought tiredly, resisting the urge to chuckle in disbelief at the absolute turn her night had taken, an indignant smile crossing over her exhausted features as she gestured for him to continue, thinking at this point? This might as well happen.

"This journey that you go on...it has two paths for your company of dwarves. The first will lead them to their fates, ones that Gandalf nor I, nor anyone else can hope to stop...But the second, well, the second will bleed into your story, young faè. The choices you make, and the love you give can tip the scales of fate to either direction. You will be either their salvation...or help in their destruction." There was a finality to his words, a touch of foreboding, and although Nymeria desperately wanted to scoff at him, turn her back and walk away at the sham of a faè, she couldn't.

It was like her feet were tied down to the earth below her, and no matter how hard she squirmed or tried to move, it wouldn't release its hold, not until they were finished, not until she knew the consequences of what she'd sow. "What is that supposed to mean? And most importantly, why should I care about those dwarves?"

But Ezekiel only seemed amused, unseeing eyes twinkling with a certain kind of glowing mischief, as if he knew something she didn't, and with the previous conversation still weighing heavy upon her fragile mind, she was absolutely sure that he did. However, instead of telling her so, telling her even a little of a hint on what he'd found so funny, he simply smiled, showing biting teeth filled down to straight points as he bowed his head in respect towards her. "You'll find out soon enough...I wouldn't want to spoil the suprise."

He seemed to finally turn to leave with his large wings stretching and curling through the light breeze and Nymeria finally felt as though she could breathe again, stumbling back against one of the balcony walls and heaving, gagging, gasping and crying...his parting words hanging heavy in the air around them as he slipped into the intimacy of the night. "And one last piece of advice before I go, young faè. Remember that suffering is a terrible fire, because it either purifiers...or it destroys. But in the end...the choice will be yours."