Evil Author Day I

These are in my current WIP folder that I tinker with off and on - and they are the most likely to be published first more then anything else unless I'm involved in a NANO or something similar throughout the year. They are not much, just pieces of longer works, but those works have so many similar off-shots and re-do's of the same ones because I can't decide in what direction I want to go in - one of the reasons why I have so many problems posting works.

Harry Potter:
Holly Potter Verse

Lord of the Rings/Hobbit:
Mountains Daughter

James Bond/Skyfall:
There You Are Snippet

Inception:
The Merchant

There You Are

Title: There You Are
Author: Genna Gray
Fandom: Bond - Skyfall verse
Pairing: Bond/Q
A/N: A snippet I wrote to add in whenever I get around to finishing up this NANO

     Q frowned down into the pot of...what should have been beans to go with the toast but it was a rather burnt, disgusting mess of food that he doubted even that slob of a cat James owned would eat - and that creature from some unknown abyss of hell would eat every and anything it could fit into its mouth when it was even remotely hungry.
     "What's got you so fussy?" James murmured into Q's ear as tan arms wrapped around his middle, hands rucking up the dress shirt Q had shrugged on, and his chin rested on Q's shoulder. "What was that supposed to be?"
     "...Beans." Q said flatly and Bond shuddered. "James."
     "I...see." James choked out and Q valued his Mate in holding in the laugh that clearly wanted to escape - neither Serena and Roger had kept their laughter to themselves. [And they stilled laughed when they heard him attempting to cook.] "What do you think about eating out then?"
     Q pursed his lips and tried to stir the concoction that was the mess of beans - it was like stirring cement after it had dried out.
     "I...think that is a brilliant idea." Q decided and James pressed a kiss into his neck before reaching forward and removing the pot off the stove. "James."
     "Come along Dear," James tugged at Q and pulled him gently along back towards the bedroom. "Let's get dressed, we will have time to get to a little place I know that does the best breakfast bread - but only I you get there early enough."
     Q hadn't kept much at James' place, enough for a few changes, since James had a tendency to change his flats - in case of being spied upon or followed by enemies of the Queen - wholesale and while Q's clothes might not be the best clothes they were still his and Q didn't want to see them abandoned because James was too paranoid.
     James hated in being called paranoid - said it was a misleading label, that he was being properly cautious and that he could be worse.
     Q shuddered to think of James being worse.
     "I didn't pack any scarves," Q eyed his reflection in the bathroom suite's mirror where he had been finishing up; the hickeys on his neck, no matter how faint James made them, always stood out like bruises with his pale skin. Normally Q wore a turtleneck but it was too warm for that and scarves would have to do but Q had forgotten it at work. "It's draped over that chair."
     "I think it looks fetching," James told Q cheerfully from where he leaned against the door-jamb, his casual polo and slacks doing wonders for the thickening frame - Q was relieved to see that James was finally putting on weight after so many weeks of being scarily skinny from the weeks of lack James had dealt with.
     If it wasn't for the fact that Devereux was dead, deeply and painfully dead, Q would kill him all over again for the torture his Mate had undergone under his hands.
     "You would say so," Q shook off his thoughts. "I look like a chew toy for some canine."
     "Well, you are a chew toy," James smirked at Q and held out his hand. "Mine."
     Q smiled as he took James' hand, turning the offered hand over until his tanned wrist was bared and Q's name was bare for all to see. Q allowed James to use his free hand and turned Q's wrist so they were bare side-by-side, the names perfectly sized and perfectly theirs. [Both he and James refused to cover up their Soul-Marks - they would not be ashamed of each other - and they only allowed it when James would go on missions for MI6.
     They were Soul-Mates, true enough, and loved each other but above that they were loyal to Queen and Country - and they each had unique skills that would serve Her best and they would with the best of their abilities, no holds barred.
     Because that was who they were.]

Holly Potter Verse

Title: Holly Potter

Author: Genna Gray

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: N/A

A/N: Something I tinker with from time to time

      "Honestly, James, blue?" Lily shook her head as she rubbed her Bump - as Sirius called it - as she looked over the nursery that James had assembled in their summer home, Potters Glade. "I told you I wanted lilac."

      It was a nice nursery, don't get Lily wrong, but it was too well modeled and too...blue for her tastes. She had told James that the nursery needed to be purple, lilac preferably, and since it wasn't...it was making Lily agitated and her fingers itched for her wand so she could "fix" it.

     But, Lily huffed and rocked back on her heels, the Healers had told Lily no magic since the pregnancy was stressing both her Core and her body out to much to risk even the simplest of spells - even a color changing one. 

     "Tiger!" Sirius called as he bounded up the stairs, gift tucked under one arm. "Got a gift for the little Fawn!"

     "Sirius," Lily arched a brow at the brightly colored wrapping paper. "How are you, how's your day been? Me? Oh I'm doing great, my day was fantastic - you?"

     "Tiger Lily!" Sirius laughed as he took Lily's hands and bowed over them before leaning forward and pressing a smacking kiss to Lily's bump, regardless of the thick jumper she was wearing and the smack Lily gave over his head. "And how's my Fawn doing?"

     "Making me pee my weight out every few hours," Lily gave in and ruffled Sirius's hair. "Now, what's the gift for?"

     "I can't give a gift without being nagged?" Sirius mock pouted, hands pressed to his chest. "Is this the thanks I get?"

     Lily merely wrinkled her nose at Sirius and he laughingly handed over the oddly shaped package. Lily pulled the paper off, a rather gaudy mix of orange and pink, to have a plush Snitch sitting in her hands. It was incredible soft and Lily knew any kid would enjoy it - despite the fact it was an eye-searing gold. 

     "So?" Sirius said impatiently. "Do you think Fawn will like it?"

     "She'll love it," Lily smiled at Sirius who looked happy but frowned. "What?"

     "James said...you were having a son." Sirius said slowly and Lily scoffed. "I know it's a girl, he won't listen to me."

     "Oh." Sirius looked around the nursery nervously. "That's...a lot of blue for a girl."

     "I wanted purple," Lily muttered and crossed her arms. "He told me that purple wouldn't suit a boy."

     "Well, let's fix that shall we?" Sirius winked as he pulled out his wand and gave it a twirl. "Which purple would you like? Lilac? Mauve? Thistle?"

     Lily threw her head back and laughed. 

 

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     Holly stared at the pile of things sitting on her tiny bed, the smallest bedroom in Number 4, and then stared at Aunt Petunia who had crossed her arms and was muttering angrily to herself as she eyed up Holly's room. It was tiny, barely big enough for the bed and nightstand as well as the wardrobe - not to mention most of the space was full of Dudley's things that spilled out of her cousin's bursting room.

     "Aunt...Aunt Petunia?" Holly licked her lips and her aunt focused on the eight year old girl. "Why...why do I have all of this...stuff?

     "But it has come to my attention that outside of school, which you are lackluster for and we will be correcting that soon enough, that you are not involved in anything like the other neighborhood girls are - dance and music and the like." Aunt Petunia glared at Holly as if it was the little girls fault. "You will do your best, more then your best, and you will show all those busybody's that you refrained from participating because you didn't want to make the other girls look bad - you will do your best or die trying, is that understood girl?"

     "Yes Aunt Petunia." Holly nodded slowly, still confused but understanding that the neighbors had insulted her aunt because she didn't enroll Holly in things like the other girls were involved in things after school. "My very best."

      Petunia sniffed and turned on her heel, leaving Harry alone with a pile of things to sort out. Holly pulled at the pile of clothes, sorting them out into piles that Holly could put away later, until they were folded in neat and tidy little stacks. [There was a pile of extremely nice dresses, skirts and blouses as well as a pile of leotards and leggings clearly meant for dance lessons of some kind - there were some other clothing but Holly wasn't exactly sure what they were for.]

     The stack of books turned out to be beginner lessons in both French and Latin as well as several "help" books used for the slower students at Whinging Primary - Holly assumed those were for improving her grades at school. Not that Holly needed help but she hadn't wanted to get in trouble by doing better then Dudley - but she wasn't about to tell her Aunt that; Holly would get into trouble.

     Holly felt a grin start to creep across her face and she couldn't put a name to the fluttering in her stomach but Holly was sure it was happiness. Because maybe, just maybe, Holly had a chance to have a better life then what she thought - a better life then her Mum, jobless and married to a drunken wastrel according to her aunt, and Holly wanted to be more then what her Mum was really, really badly.

     

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      Holly stared at herself in the mirror and wrinkled her nose at the picture she made. In a moss-green dress, and matching ribbons pulling her thick hair back, Holly felt like she looked like a dress-up doll the other girls at school played with. Not to mention the white stockings made her legs itch and she barely restrained the urge to scratch at them - Aunt Petunia would be really made and Harry didn't want to be locked up in her room as a result. 

     "Aunt...Aunt Petunia?" Holly licked her lips and her aunt focused on the ten year old girl rather than straightening her own pastel dress out. "Why do I have to go out there?"

     "I'm not fond of you," her Aunt said bluntly. "You are too much like your mother for my tastes and I swore that when we took you in I would stamp out that dangerous nonsense since I wasn't about to have an embarrassment living under my roof like that old bat June has been implying - so you will go out there, show those busybody's wrong about being an embarrassment or you will die trying, so help me God, is that clear?"

     "Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry nodded rapidly, fearing a backhand. "Die trying, understood."

     "Good," Petunia sniffed and looked Holly over. "You will not be let back into the house for a week if you fail to preform adequately."

     With that little piece of advice Holly's aunt flounced off, to take her seat the little girl thought, and left her alone to gather her nerves before being called out onto stage. She didn't look out past the lights reflecting on the stage, she would get too nervous, until she reached her seat and sat down. Holly took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, before getting her hands into position, her back ramrod straight, and pulled the bow gently against the strings of the cello sitting between her legs.

     Holly couldn't help her eyes from falling shut as she lost herself in the thrumming music. Out of all the instruments her Aunt made Holly learn to play, the cello was Holly's personal favorite and one that Holly played the most often outside of the piano. [Holly hadn't been sure, not until tonight, but it seemed that Petunia was equally as proud of Holly for being good at the cello, better almost then the piano and violin - Holly wasn't sure why but she wasn't about to question it.]

     It wasn't until her hands stilled, her song played, did Holly's hands stilled and a thundering applause made her eyes fly open to see the people who had come to see her play - and others of course - and stand. Holly barely managed to prop the cello back onto it's stand, the bow back on its own, and bow back with her flushing face.

     It felt...it felt really good.

 

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     "Malfoy is a twat," Holly muttered as she waited for Neville to get done patching up in the hospital wing. "A big self-centered toadstool."

      Ron coughed into his fist to hold in his laugh, mainly failing from the glare Holly gave him, and Ron turned away to get the urge pushed down. He had only just got his friendship with Holly back, after he was a complete and utter prat to her during third year - and Ron wanted to smack himself for how he acted in forth year - because he let Hermione and Ginny wind him up. 

     So to even be talking like this was a gift and Ron wasn't about to screw it up.

     "Oi! Pothead!" Malfoy called as he and his cronies started down the corridor. "What are you doing around here? So close to curfew?"

     "None of your business Malfoy," Ron scowled at the blond - he wasn't found of the prick when he was a first year and now that he was a sixth year he liked the ponce even less. "Piss off."

     "Is that anyway to treat a Prefect? Isn't that right boys?" Malfoy's grin was smug as he puffed out his chest so the Prefect Badge could still be seen better. "I think that comment deserves five points, don't you think?"

      Ron growled but held his place and his tongue - the one thing he learned by being with Hermione and Ginny all the time was watching his temper, loosing control of it was what drove Holly away and Ron wasn't about to do it again - so he seethed but made no move against the Slytherin. By that point the door creaked open and Neville slipped out, his arm no-longer broken after his "fall" down a flight of stairs, but still in a sling with his face looking like the other sixth year ran into a brick wall.

     "Getting more clumsy aren't you Fatbottom?" Malfoy's cronies laughed and Neville flushed. Ron took a step forward, not willing to put up with that shite any more when Holly held an arm out and blocked his way, and Ron stepped back. Holly stepped forward herself until she was almost on top of Malfoy and Ron watched as the blood in Neville's face drained of color suddenly. "What do you want Pothead?"

     Holly merely smiled serenely before Malfoy was on the ground, blood gushing from his nose and mouth, and Ron realized that Holly had punched the slimy git in the face.

     "You broke my nose!" Malfoy garbled out and Holly reached down and pulled the little ponce back to his feet with surprising strength. "I'll-"

     This time Ron saw Holly hit the git, this time in the mouth, and when he hit the stone floor he didn't try to speak as Holly loomed over him. Both Crabbe and Goyle, useless lumps they were, didn't move to intercede on their leader's behalf - even they weren't that stupid to mess with Holly when she was pissed off.

     "I hope I broke your bloody jaw too!" Holly told Malfoy fiercely as she shook a finger at his curled up position. "And if you touch or mess with any of my friends like you did with Neville I'll do more then just break your face!"

     With that Holly flipped her hair over her shoulder, like Ron had scene Hermione and Ginny do when they wanted to make a point, turned on her heel and start down the corridor towards the dormitory's. Scrambling after her Ron and Neville hurried to catch up and Ron couldn't wipe the curl of a smile off his face - he had forgotten how hot Holly's temper ran on a good day. 

     It was...it was good to see that Holly hadn't changed in the three years Ron was out of her life.

The Merchant

Title: The Merchant
Author: Genna Gray
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Pre Arthur/Eames
Warning: NA


      “Screw you Dom,” Arthur hissed into the phone as she watched his God-children giggle to each other in his small backyard, it wasn’t the sprawling one that Mal’s home had but it would sue since it was either this small patch of grass or her condo high-rise downtown. “What the hell did you think I would say?"

     “Arthur-"
    
      “No, no,” Arthur whispered as he kept a smile on his face so the children wouldn’t hear. or understand that Arthur was upset. “You took off like a coward, a guilty coward, and left me holding the bag with Mal’s children – I can’t drop everything just because you say so.” 
  
     “Arthur,” Dom’s voice was desperate and panic threaded through it. “I didn’t have a choice then, you know how Mal is!”

     “Yes,” Arthur’s smiled slipped and he glared at a tree. “I do know how she is – which is why if it wasn’t for the fact you had run you might be a free man right now! It makes you like guilty as fuck

     Arthur closed his eyes as she restrained the urge to throw his phone across the room in anger, Goddamn Dom, Arthur thought viciously, as he heard his God-children laugh freely in the backyard, goddamn him to hell and back. It was his fault that Arthur was now in this mess as it was - Mallory wouldn't kill herself, it wasn't in her to abandon her children that way, and Arthur was damned sure that Dominic Cobb did something.

     And Arthur was going to protect those children or die trying so help him God.

     "This is what we are going to do Dom," Arthur said pleasantly. "We are going to hang, pretend this never happened, and go our support ways and never interact with one-another again. If you fail to do this not only will I turn over everything I know about you to the cops but I will also burn you bad enough in the Dream Share that you will never get work there again - are we clear?"

     There was a pause on the phone before Dom hung up on Arthur.

     "I'm glad to see that you do, have a good day Dom." Arthur hung up his phone sharply and wished for a land-line so he could have slammed it off - it would have been more satisfying that way then hitting a tiny chirping button. "That's one problem taken care of."

     And a thousand others left for Arthur to fix up.

     After a moments pause Arthur opened his contacts list and scrolled down until he reached an old classmate of his back in the day and pressed call. He would be upset, Arthur freely admitted since it was ass-crack early back on the east-coast, but time was of the essence and Arthur was running out of time to ensure his Godchildren were safe.

     "It's midnight - someone better be dead and you have been arrested for their murder otherwise I will be the one calling somebody about a dead body." Harvey's sleep-heavy voice was thick but aware - a trait that Arthur always liked having in his lovers, both former and present. "Arthur. What's wrong?"

     "I need your help and I'm calling in that favor of yours that you owe me." Arthur began with preamble. "Dominic Cobb pulled a runner and I've been left holding the bag in regards to my Godchildren; the Will cannot be found, their care seeking custody all the way from France, and I need a way to ensure they are safe from both Dom and Mallory's parents."

     "Well, now, that is a bit of a problem." Harvey sounded more awake now and Arthur could hear the sheets rustle. "I can tell you that off the bat that even if Cobb comes back, is cleared of Mrs. Cobb's death, that it would be a long-shot if he ever got more then visitation - not unless her parents or you were taken out of the running."

     "My history is clean," Arthur said ignoring Harvey's snort and the soft murmurer of another voice in the background. "This one at least since it's the one I use for the front-of-house work. Mallory's parents...they could cause problems for me - they adore Dom, more then they loved Mallory I think."

     "And you worry that they would take the children, hide them in France and contact Dom to pick them up, and never see them again?" Harvey said and Arthur cleared his throat. "Yes, it's...not the top concern of mine but in my field of work I need to consider every possible outcome - and that's one of them and I can see them doing it."

     "Don't worry about anything and don't do anything stupid." Harvey advised Arthur. "I'll set Michael on the case, he will make damned sure that you'll get full custody without Cobb or Mrs. Cobb's parents getting within two states of them."

     "Thank you," Arthur said gratefully and Harvey laughed, soft and warm, and if it wasn't for the fact that Arthur wasn't into threesomes he would have taken both Harvey and Michael up on their offer years ago to join them. "If there is anything-"

     "It's fine," Harvey assured Arthur. "Just act normal, don't do anything stupid, and stay in the goddamn country - preferably California but I know you - we will handle the rest of it, no worries."

     Arthur took a deep breath and nodded.

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     “Doctor Darling,” An Asian man in a suit said and Arthur barely flicked an eyelash as he tucked her book away, the children playing a scare ten feet away in the sandbox. “I am Saito Yamamoto and I have an offer-“

     “As I told Dom Saito-san,” Arthur interrupted the man and waved a hand at Mal’s children. “I have responsibilities right now, if Dom wanted me back into the field and working for him – he should not have run when the police were coming to arrest him.”

     “I understand,” Saito nodded and gave a glance at the bench and Arthur nodded his consent. “I do but I think you should hear my offer out first before saying no.”

     “You have,” Arthur glanced at his wrist-watch before nodding. “Thirty minutes before I take my Godchildren out for lunch – that is all I can afford to give you and I won’t do more.”

     “Have you heard of Cobal Engineering?” Arthur nodded cautiously. “Dominic Cobb preformed a job for them, his Architect couldn’t make the world realistic enough so the Dream did not work as Cobal hoped. He is currently on the run and I had made him an offer – if he could break Fisher Industries stranglehold on the green-energy sector I would clean his record and he could home to his children.”

     “And that concerns me how?” Arthur crossed his legs amused as James knocked over his sandcastle and began again. “I’ve already done that much – it took only four months and he refuses to come back for whatever reason.”

     “He fears it will not work, he would be arrested and placed into jail for the rest of his natural life,” Saito shrugged. “The actions of a guilty-conscious I can only presume.”

     “Yes.”

     “He had told me he would need to assemble a team, you were at the top of his list and when you repeatedly turned him down he did something rather…foolish.” Saito said and Arthur got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “He’s putting pressure on you – he said that you were one of his crew that he used-"

     Arthur held up a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose when Saito fell silent. Wasn't it typical of Dom that when he didn't get his way the man threw a fit bad enough to get others in trouble? Arthur had always told Mallory that this was his failing, that it would get him into trouble one-day, and was she sure that Dominic Cobb was the one for her?

     Mallory couldn't help but smile, happy and glowing as a result, and that was all the answer she needed.

     Fuck.

     "I see." Arthur took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It seems it was up to him to haul Dom's ass out of the fire once again. "I understand. Thank you for the forewarning Saito-san."

     The older man merely bowed his head briefly before turning to watch the two children run about and play in the nearly deserted park. Arthur leaned back against the bench and let his mind wander over his choices - he had precious few right now, not if Cobal was coming after Arthur. [He would have packed up the kids and gone to a safe house but Arthur had lived that life as a child and he wasn't about to do the same for his Godchildren - it was no life for a child.]

     "I cannot send the children away," Arthur told Saito quietly. "I'm currently in a custody case over them with their grandparents in France - I'm not even supposed to leave the city according to my attorney's."

     "I understand," Saito nodded his hand as he folded his hands on his knee. "Is there nothing...?"

     "There is something you can do for me," Arthur told the Yakuza Father - in his line of work it would stupid not to. "I will need a protection detail set up for my Godchildren - I do not trust the Miles' to not try something if they thought I wasn't around - and I would owe you a favor."

     "Having the great Arthur owing me a favor?" Saito was surprise, that much Arthur could tell even if it was deeply hidden. "Consider it done. Are you...are you agreeing to work with Cobb? Even after turning him down."

     "Working with him? No. Finding out what exactly happened to Mallory? Oh yes," Arthur grinned, all teeth and darkly pleased, and Saito looked away from that deadly grin. "I'm going to find out what he did to Mallory, depending on what he did either beat him or kill him for it, and then I'm going to ruin him afterwards until not even Mafia would be willing to touch him."

     "Ruin him? For what?"

     "I don't take cowards and liar well nor will I tolerate back-stabbers," Arthur said. "He threw me under the bus with Cobal - if I had the time to deal with them...since I can't right now I will take my pound of flesh from Cobb, and I will enjoy every last ounce of it while I carve it out of him."

     Arthur was many things but he rarely, if ever, was vindictive but when he was? God help that poor soul because Arthur wouldn't have it in him to be merciful - he wasn't born and raised that way, God bless his parents, and it made it easier for Arthur to move through life as a result.

Mountains Daughter

Title: Mountains Daughter
Author: Genna Gray
Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Pairing: Nothing as of yet
Warning: Gen
Summary: It has been fifty years since the Battle of the Five Armies and peace hasn't settled as it ought have had. Orcs and Goblins are attacking, the Elves of Mirkwood have closed their boarders to all, in the Shire there has been a rash of kidnappings, and in Gondor Civil War is brewing. It will take a determined Hobbit, a teenage Elf, a lost Man, and a rather curious Dwarf to uncover the dark secret running it all.

     When Sarnwen had been given a mission to preform on her own, tasked to her by her King, she had thought it would have been more grand that what it actually was. Sarnwen had thought it would have involved patrols along the Dol Gor or perhaps one of the spider hunting parties; perhaps joining one of the southern scouting parties towards the Rhuin.
     What she wasn't expecting was to be running herbs to Lord Elrond.
     But, Sarnwen told herself sternly, they all had to start somewhere. Her Adar was a captain but had spent years out on patrol - he was good enough and valued enough amongst her King's soldiers that he had been allowed to take Sarnwen with him as well.
     Her pack was carefully secured to her saddle, the large packets and bottles of herbs, both dry and fresh, were secured and she led her mare through one of her favorite trails out of Mirkwood. Her Adar had warned her of the forest, of its trickery, but Sarnwen had never such problems with it - the forest was very gentle with her and more often then not it showed Sarnwen quicker paths through it.
     And how to avoid the spiders that some times traveled in groups.
     Sarnwen, even though she kept her guard, was very relaxed in the forest as she calmly walked through thick brush until she reached the flood plains between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. It had been an easy trip, only a day or so on foot even with her mare walking, and it gave Sarnwen time to decide on which path through the mountains she could take.
     The more obvious one was over the mountain, it was safe for all it could be but it would take much longer then what it needed to be. However, Sarnwen was aware that there was a goblin tunnel that led straight through the mountain - with a possible detour or two through Goblin town - but it would shave at least a week or two worth of her journey to Elrond off.
     And it seemed better for Sarnwen to preform her duty quickly and with post-haste.
     [And a part of Sarnwen was very curious about Goblin-Town and wanted to explore since the last few times Sarwen and her father had passed by the Misty Mountains they had taken the over-path or had gone around the southern tip near Isengard. So, while Sarnwen was well aware that her Adar would have her ears, she mounted her mare and headed towards the Goblin-tunnel.
     What her Adar wouldn't know wouldn't hurt him after all.]
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     Narrowing her eyes Sarnwen perched on her tree as she watched the Goblins swarm around several of their bon-fires that they had set up. She hadn't been exactly sure of what the Goblins had planned but it couldn't be anything good when it involved the Shire and "Halflings". Anything involving the Shire was of some importance to Sarnwen, it had been where she had been born after all, and Adar had patrolled that area with some regularity whenever they could.
     He said that it took the bravery of a Halfling that had stopped the Arm from completely seizing control over Erebor and most likely Mirkwood; and that if to repay that bravery and kindness meant more patrols along their boarders during the harsh winter months it was the least he could do.
     So, yes, when a few of the goblins she had overheard in Goblin Town mentioned moving past the boarders of Bree and more fully into the Shire Sarnwen had followed as that was more important then some herbs to be delivered to Lord Elrond. Which was fine and good but Sarnwen was slightly confused as to the matter of the Goblins.
     To invade the Shire, and Hobbits were no pushovers when it came to defending their own, there would need to be a good number of Goblins, at least five or seven hundred, but there were...there were barely fifty, if that much. Sarnwen wasn't sure what game the Goblins were playing out but she was confident that she could take on all fifty Goblins - even in the dead of the night.
     Creeping down the tree Sarnwen carefully made her way through the Goblin camp, slipping from shadows to shadows, her bone-knives easily slipping through leather armor and killing her prey instantly as she slowly circled the camps. It was only until Sarnwen couldn't get any closer without waking up the remaining Goblins did she tuck her knives away and slink close enough to reach the fire-pits.
     Carefully opening a pouch on her belt Sarnwen tossed in a good handful of brightly colored flowers before moving onto the next fire-pit. By the time she was done Sarnwen was dizzy and sick to her stomach from the clear gas the Ambarlothe produced when heated - the Goblins would surely be dead as a result.
    Stumbling to a halt Sarnwen braced a hand on a tree and dry-heaved the contents of her stomach out onto the roots and grass below. The Ambarlothe wasn't deadly in Elves like it was for the other races but it made them incredibly sick and the symptoms got steadily worse with the higher of the intake of the gas.
    Stopping to make sure that her stomach was level, the urge to heave was there but Sarnwen could keep it under control, she pushed away from the tree and made her way back to her mare. She would bed down for the night and check on the Goblin camp in the morning, ensuring they were all dead, before making her way to Rivendale where Lord Elrond was waiting for the herbs.
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     The forest shrieked a warning but it was seconds too late as something hard and heavy struck Sarnwen in the back of the head, knocking her from her horse to tumble to the ground heavily. The pain was blinding, her whole skull felt like a mountain had dropped on it, and the forest around her didn't help matters as it shrieked and raged.
    Rolling onto her side Sarnwen tried to push herself up, hot liquid pouring down the side of her face, but something wide and heavy struck her side and Sarnwen was thrown clear across the footpath she had been using to slam into the tree as her ribs cracked from the force of it. Darkness crawled along her vision and she vagually heard her mare taking off - Sarnwen hoped it would head to Rivendale so the herbs could be delivered - as she shuddered in pain, hands grasping for her bone-knives.
     Thick, wide, hands gripped her long braid of hair and ripped her head up. The sun glittered brightly in Sarnwen's face and her eyes slide shut from the piercing light but not before taking in a heavily armored masked face. One of the hands moved from her gripping her braid to wrap around her throat and squeeze down tightly, the other hand slowly winding the braid around its' hand like a chain of rope.
     Sarnwen knew, suddenly and terribly, that she was going to die right then and there if she didn't do something.
     Her hands, slick was blood, trembled as they slid as they tried to grasp her knives. It took a moment, a precious air-filled moment, to get one of her hands secured, before she pulled the knife free and she shoved the knife blindly up-wards towards the armored face she barely got a glimpse of. There was a rasping inhale as the hand wrapped around her throat tightened until she felt bruises form and the air-way to seal shut on her; her lungs used the last of the air in them and Sarnwen began to panic.
     But then, thank Eru and the Stars, the hand let go and a heavy form landed on her.
    Sarnwen gasped and panted in the effort to take in more air, body shuddering in the attempts, and she allowed her attack to stay where he was as he slowly bled out as she recovered. She quickly found that both her attacker and his armor were too heavy for her to bare and painstakingly wiggled her way out from underneath the weight.
     Freed enough, even though her legs were trapped, Sarnwen laid under the canopy of forest around Rivendale as she tried to make sense of what the trees were telling her. All they did was shriek warning after warning at her, in ways that Sarnwen could understand but she was still fighting off the darkness wanting to drag her under.
     A flash of metal out of the corner of her eye made Sarnwen turned but- it was too late. An armored boot kicked her in the head and the darkness attacked from down deep and dragged Sarnwen down with it into the abyss.
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     Bilbo was frantic.
     There had been as rash of sightings of Orcs in the hills, not quite in the Shire boundery's but close enough that it made most Hobbits nervous. But it wasn't the Orcs' that had Bilbo worried and frantic - it was the glimpse's that both Man and Hobbit's saw of armored figures skulking in the wilde's. It hadn't been cause for concern, not at the start of it, but then the disappearances began to happen whenever there was a sighting.
     A sighting near Bree? A few of the residents would be gone the next day. And, at first it was only one or two of the more elderly ones, but then it was the youngers ones in a few more numbers. But now? Now it was children being taken, from their beds even in some cases, and it wasn't just one or two - it was close to a dozen each time.
    And anyone who interfered? Well, they were swiftly identified from the pulp of flesh and blood that was left of them.
     All help they had didn't seem to work; the Rangers stepped up patrol both in and around the Shire and Gandalf tried his best to track down the armored figures to no luck, even the Elves from Rivendale tried their hand at trying to stem this tide but nothing seemed to work - at least not for long.
     It had gotten to the point where Bilbo was tempted to pack up his belongings, his nephew as well, before making his way to Dale or even Erebor at this point - anything, anyplace, would be safer then the Shire and Bilbo did not have it in him to endure another Fell Winter. Bilbo couldn't and he wasn't about to try - he would risk the roads if it meant safety in Dale and Erebor.
     Which Bilbo had been planning on purposing to his neighbors, not like they would listen but Bilbo had to try, but then he realized he had not seen Frodo since early that morning. Even though Bilbo told himself he was being silly, that Frodo was safe and sound with his friends, the part of Bilbo that had stepped aside after Erebor's battle knew that something terrible had happened.
     When Bell Gamgee had burst into tears when Bilbo had knocked on her door it had only confirmed his worst fears.
     "My Samwise," Hamfast said softly as he rubbed Bell's back. "We felt him...the terror he felt..."
     "I am so sorry," Bilbo Signed himself. "Is there any preparations...?"
     "No, no." Hamfast bit his lip. "We saw what happened when the Brockle's girl was taken...we couldn't...I..."
     "Samwise might not be dead?" Bilbo asked shocked and the couple looked away from him. "You...you Cast him and he's not even dead!"
     "Don't you go telling me how to treat my children Bilbo Baggins!" Hamfast said as he glared at Bilbo. "None of the children have been found yet so they are probably dead! I won't have this family suffering as a result of it!"
     Bilbo huffed and glared back at Hamfast before he turned on his heel and walked off. To think, that they Cast Samwise out, removed him from his family so that they wouldn't have to deal with Samwise's possible death hurting the family Garden. That was no excuse and it clearly showed that Bilbo hadn't known the Gamgee's as well as he thought.
     Slamming his door Bilbo stomped his way back to his study and threw himself into his armchair. He stayed there, stewing, until he reached for his pipe and Pipe-weed, then tasked himself in cleaning off his desk. He had maps to look at and Bilbo was going to need the space - there had to be a pattern of the kidnappers on why they were taking children now.
     Because Bilbo wasn't going to standby any longer and do nothing - he was going to find those children then take Frodo and Samwise away from the Shire and to Dale. [He would prefer Erebor but he worried that Thorin's banishment would still be upheld even after his death so Dale would probably be his safest bet - if Erebor wouldn't take him he would go south, into Rohan or Gondor if he had to.]
     Bilbo had allowed himself to be a Baggins since he had returned from his little adventure but now it was time to dig the Took out again.

Weekends Rock!

I will tell you why the weekend rocks right now. 1] The Walking Dead comes back after the Mid-Season break this Sunday from 2014, and while I'm still pissed about Beth, I am willing to turn my check to that. So my ass is going to be planted in front of my TV in the pitch-black so I can enjoy myself. And 2] I have a four day weekend. Four. Day. Weekend. You heard that right! I'm off until 10pm Tuesday night and I plan to enjoy all four days of it by marathoning my favorite Walking Dead episodes and John Wick.

Debts - Master Post

Debts Master Post
     Debts 1/3
     Debts 2/3
     Debts 3/3