I would like to request a Dwalin x Ori x Reader. The reader has had a dream of meeting her soulmate. All she sees is a hand grabbing for her own, stopping her from falling into the darkness. Sometimes her left hand and sometimes her right hand. Never both, it never occurred to her that it was two different people.
You were slipping. The abyss of darkness below waiting to swallow you whole and toss you aside like you were one single pebble in a huge colony residing at the bottom of a river. Your fingers clawed and the Earth beneath you dirt piling up underneath your fingernails. You were falling now. Limbs flailing in the air trying desperately to grasp a hold of anything to stop your fall. Dirt fell beside you almost in slow motion, falling deeper into darknesses eternal slumber until they were no longer Just witnessing a twisted example of your fait made your stomach twist in fear you couldn’t wish to any other.
You were so close to the darkness you could almost feel it’s cold hand wrapping its fingers around you. It was toying with you leaving its grip loose enough for your nerves to eat you alive. Air flew past you caressing your falling body rippling through your clothes and dancing up your skin. Tears spilled from your eyes leaving tracks so cold and rich in raw emotion. Your heart pounded against your chest for what would’ve been the last time before your inevitable death. You were practically touching the dark, your feet moments from being snatched by its gruelling hand dragging the rest of you with it. You closed your eyes unwilling to bear witness of the fall that would break you.
Fingers grasped around your right hand stopping you from falling. The grip so tight and unwilling to let go it turned your fingertips red. The darkness beneath you subsided growing smaller and smaller until it had completely vanished in defeat. It’s cold grip that hovered around you ceased to be present. You wanted to scream out in relief. The fall constricted your bodies every ability so greatly talking was an impossibility.
The fingers suffocating your hand were rough and weathered yet held an amount of comfort it made you feel a way you had never felt before. Somewhat safe and assured but also something deeper something that made your heart pound, not of fear but a mix of warmth and affection. A spark ran through your body encasing you in bliss despite almost falling into the pit of darkness. You shifted your head to peer up a little still shaken you decided not to make big movements.
The hand was clearly that of a man. Short finger nails rimmed with dirt and grime, somewhat muscly; the hands of heavy labour, veins rising against the lightly tanned skin and littered in tattoos of various shapes and markings ones you could not make out yet made sense. Normally body markings didn’t affect your perception on appearance but the ones engraved on the hand that held you were strangely captivating you felt your eyes resting on them unable to shift your gaze. You found them right as if if they weren’t there it wouldn’t look right.
The day following was confusing. Waking up was even more so. You had been so immersed in your thoughts even Thorin threw you a few glances. You barely uttered a word.
“Lass you seem distracted.” Dwalin sat beside you shifting the log you too resided on. The sun’s last rays dipping below the horizon leaving the trees shadows creeping further up the ground. A moment ago one lay atop your foot but had since seemed to crawl back a little. You thought nothing of it, your thoughts quickly wrapping you in a steel grip.
“Just been thinking about some things.”
Dwalin hummed in understanding. He always seemed to be the one to understand you providing quiet support. When you first joined the company you were rather lonely often hanging back with the brothers Fili and Kili. To say you were intimidated by the axe wielding dwarf was an understatement the first time you saw him you could’ve sworn he disapproved of your existence. However, in a short amount of time you became one of the few people he trusted and he became one of your closest friends.
“If you need anything don’t hesitate to ask lass, I’ll fetch you some food you could do with some.” He patted your shoulder and you felt a familiar spark course through your body. You jolted in shock causing Dwalin to quickly remove his hand.
“You sure you’re alright lass?” You looked up to meeting his eyes. The confusion and worry that glassed over his blue ones made you feel a sense of uneasiness. Seeing such emotions were rare coming from him. You swallowed thickly nodding your head unable to form words. His eyes narrowed as if he had caught you out on a lie but whatever he was thinking he dropped for your sake.
“Come let’s get you to bed, I’ll sleep nearby if you need anything.” He offered you his hand to help you rise from the log. Admittedly it wasn’t terribly comfy the bark had scratched into the back of your legs leaving the skin undoubtedly irritated and red. You raised your hand to grasp his but stopped midway. The dying embers of the suns rays fell gracefully upon his hand illuminating his short nails layered in dirt, the way his veins rose slightly above his skin, the toned edges of his muscles reaching up his arm and out of sight underneath his sleeves and finally his tattoos each section of inked skin matching up exacting to the ones you had dreamt about.
Everything was happening so suddenly the links your brain drew fuelled the panic rising in your chest. The shadows growing on you causing your heart to beat wildly against your chest. The deja vu was overwhelmingly identical. Your breathing became shallow and almost rapid. Looking again into the blue eyes of the dwarf you only managed one word.
“Dwalin.”
You were easily hoisted up into his arms. To Dwalin you felt awfully light. He’d never seen you so lost and consumed in your own thoughts that you lost touch with the world around you. He had witnessed people seriously overwhelmed before he took pity on them and continued about his activities however upon seeing you, a brave and powerful women become reduced to your most vulnerable in his arms shook him to his core.
You felt the wind whisper in your ear as Dwalin ran to the area Thorin had set up for the night. Dead leaves and twigs crunched under his heavy boots alerting everyone of your presence. The company drew silent. Thorin had sat upright against the rock he laid on seemingly more awake, Fili and Kili stopped sharpening their weapons offering you a worried, sympathetic look, Bilbo had looked up from tending to the horses his brow creasing in confusion. Bombur had jumped up in fright. Your face was buried in Dwalin’s chest still panicked, the reaction from the company didn’t even hold place in your mind.
“Y/n what happened?” A gentle voice rang from beside you. Ori had been your best friend and fiercest protector alongside Dwalin. He always managed to soothe your every thought that bled you dry with anxiety or anger. Despite being the youngest of the group he still remained grounded and ever so polite no matter the situation. Just his voice simply asking you a question felt as blissful as a warm summers day. The company reeled their heads in a little awaiting the answer to your current state unwilling to pry open your personal thoughts they held their tongue.
“The lass is worn out, Ori, take her to bed and set up our rolls near should she wake and need anything I’ll fetch some food she could do with a little to eat.”
Ori took you from Dwalin’s warm embrace entering you into his. Reality slowly began enticing you back into its clutches. Cold gusts of wind clashed with your shaking figure, subconsciously you curled up into a ball. You were tired. So tired, it were as if you had been conscious for weeks on end. Your stomach ached for food but your body yearned for sleep so desperately. Your eyelids gradually got heavier and heavier until the forest around you transfered from beautiful scenery to a blur of greens and greys. Your body succumbed to the allure of slumber in Ori’s warm arms.
It was the same dream that haunted you. You were falling, quicker than last time. It was as if you grew tired of watching the same scene, the same emotions that you decided to race forward in time. The dirt around you only paused to entertain your vision for a few seconds. You anticipated the cold, malicious hand slowly suffocating you taking your every will, ambition and achievement in its wake and in quick time it came. It was almost more agonising the second time. You fell deeper and deeper into the dark. The shadow crawling up your skin until it had reached your midsection. You drew one final breath.
You should’ve known a hand would catch you right before the hand of darkness grasped you fully. Your left hand ached in pain upon supporting your whole body weight. Your feet swayed upon your sudden departure from falling. The dark pit of fear below shrunk in defeat until it ceased to exist once again. You had to know the person that saved you a second time.
The hand clinging to yours was frail yet firm. Rather small yet masculine. His fingernails were well kept, clean and short. His fingers so thin it made his knuckles protrude outwards allowing them to easily account for the magority of his hands distinguishable features. The hand holding you up was soothingly soft and you couldn’t help but feel familiar with the touch. Despite hanging meters from your death you were pulled into such a rich sense of security courtesy of the contact you were blessed with. You dared to look up just a little more. A blinding white light stole the face of your saviour whisking you back into consciousness.
Your body automatically jolted upwards and you gasped for air as if you had been starved of it all your life. Light beads of sweat populated your forehead while cold chills shuddered down your body. A rough hand clasped upon your shoulder pulling you into their lap.
“Lass what’s been going on with you?” Dwalin spoke his voice softer and quieter than usual.
You couldn’t hold back the tears that threatened to spill from your eyes any longer. You clung to Dwalin seeking any sort of comfort you could. His other hand found its way to your back rubbing circles in your skin and easing the painful tension that knotted your shoulders together. Faintly you heard him shushing you, trying to calm your shaking, tired body.
“Y/n?”
Ori questioned beside you. He rubbed his eyes clearly having woken up from the commotion. His hand placed over yours. The feeling was too familiar resurfacing every detail of the horror your mind had conjured just moments ago. You stared blankly at him for a moment almost scared to look down having already anticipated what you would see.
His hand matched each fraction of the one that caught you. Not one tiny marking was out of place.
“Ori I..I..”
It took a while to calm you down; the sun had since risen over the horizon it previously fell below. Finally you fell back asleep again. Ori and Dwalin had decided to leave you to rest a while longer after the company had awoken. Mid morning slowly passed by the suns golden rays hitting your body as you lay asleep now in Ori’s lap. Never once did his grip falter on you. Dwalin made sure of that too, informing Thorin of your hectic nightmare.
For once there was no cold hand constricting you. You only felt warmth and safety laying in the arms of your two dearest dwarves. Some day you’d figure out everything but for now you were happy.
@swoopswishsward I am so so sorry for being so late for this one. Please forgive me I hope I did a good enough job