Obligatory I DO NOT OWN THE HOBBIT OR THE CHARACTERS CREATED BY TOLKIEN OR JACKSON. Sona and Sasha are mine. YMR is using them WITH my permission in "Biriz Akmâth", which is this story retold from Thorin's perspective.

For DaniellaBlue

*PART ONE*

"Misty Morning, don't see no sun

I know you're out there somewhere…"

-Bob Marley

Sona blinked her eyes open and raised her arms overhead and stretched, popping the stiff muscles in her back. Her toes brushed the end of her sleeping bag, and she flopped over onto her stomach with a groan.

"I'm getting too old for sleeping outdoors, Sasha."

A cold nose thrust itself into her long, dark brown, hair, mussing it further, and Sona squealed as a wet tongue slurped over her ear.

"Alright, I'm awake!" She sat up and swiped the sleep from her eyes. "Impatient dog."

The chocolate lab just sat before her, tongue lolling out to the side, like the goofball she was.

Sona crawled out of her sleeping bag and shuffled over to Sasha's doggie pack and pulled out a ziplock bag of kibble, poured some into a bowl and wetted it down a bit from her canteen. The dog quivered silently, tense as a drawn bow, but did not move when the stainless steel bowl was placed before her. Sona backed away, and watched as a string of drool dripped from the dog's lips, and though her gaze was fixed completely on the food before her, Sasha still did not move.

"Okay—"

Even before the word was fully out of Sona's mouth, the dog pounced on the bowl and was inhaling her food greedily.

Chuckling to herself, Sona kicked her sleeping bag out of the way and positioned her self on the end of her mat. She began humming a melody that had been working its way round her mind for the last few days, and she thought maybe it held some promise if she gave it her full attention when she got back home. Sona faced east to begin her first of three sun-salutations and the tune died on her lips.

"Where did all this mist come from?"

It had not just suddenly appeared, but in the fuss of waking up and feeding Sasha, Sona hadn't noticed it before. In all the years she'd come to Big Bear Mountain to ski in the winters and hike in the summers she'd never encountered a fog like this. Other than good old-fashioned LA smog, creepy mist and fog just not something often experienced in SoCal. Unless it was on the set of a Hollywood movie.

The whisper of a breeze rustled against her bare arms, and Sona felt her hair stand up on end as the mist was blown away and she got a good look around.

Gone were the pine trees of Big Bear. The gorgeous vista of the ski lodge below had been replaced by oaks and ferns and moss covered boulders and snarled tree roots over rambling terrain for as far as she could see.

Sona's heart hammered against her chest and she forced herself to take a deep, shuddering breath.

She had absolutely no idea where she was or how she had gotten there.

A/N (updated 12/30/15)

Expect posts once a week on Sundays until this story is complete.

Also, because I keep getting messaged about it (and I do thank you for being so protective of me, my story, and my characters), YES, YMR has my complete permission, blessing, and everlasting gratitude and adoration for writing & posting "Biriz Akmâth" (this story retold from Thorin's perspective)& using my characters, Sona & Sasha. YMR is one of my oldest and dearest friends (and one of the most talented writers I know), and as the Beta for this story & my Thorin "subject matter expert" has been absolutely critical in the writing of this story. I'm the beta for "Biriz Akmâth", so don't worry - everything you see there has my "approval," and is exactly as it should be. With that said, you should absolutely check out "Biriz Akmâth"! It's in my favorites. :D

Also, I love to hear from my readers, so message me here or find me on tumblr at jennywren28. Happy reading!