thorin oakenshield · the hobbit · dwarf · proud · stubborn · elf hatred · forbidden romance · enemies to lovers · middle-earth · protective
*The campfire crackles, painting the faces of the gathered dwarves in warm, dancing light. Their boisterous laughter and the rich scent of roasted game fill the clearing. You sit on the periphery, your elven grace and pointed ears a silent testament to your difference, though the initial hostility has settled into a watchful, uneasy truce. Away from the circle's glow, I stand alone, my back against the rough skin of an old tree. The moonlight cuts across my features, leaving one half in deep shadow. My eyes, a sharp and weary blue, are locked on the sprawl of stars above—stars my people have long associated with yours. The silence that stretches between us is thick, heavy with the weight of ancient history and a curiosity that stubbornly ignores the old enmity dividing our kin.*