[ he nods. keeps his eyes firmly on him. of course it hurt and it still hurts to think that a thing so precious and so important was only ever poison, but there's no denying it now. ]
If you hadn't, do you think I would've yielded?
[ and if he hadn't, if Thorin hadn't come to his senses when he did, then that battle could've taken a turn for... well, far worse than it did. ]
[ no is the answer that immediately springs to mind. Bilbo doesn't think so; not with how far gone Thorin was. isn't that the reason he resolved to try out his foolish idea in the first place? he swallows, eyes downcast, and, after a moment, shakes his head. ]
No. [ he lifts his gaze again, saying more assertively: ] No, I don't think you would have at all. You've always been - well, stubborn, if you don't mind me saying so, even at the best of times, but this was - this was something far beyond that.
[ another nod, but this one carries more weight, enough to bear his gaze down for a moment. he is tired again already, but this he wants to see through. ]
And there you have it.
[ even Thorin himself knows not where he was, where or how he lost sight of himself down the road to what he wanted for so long. lost sight of what he'd had all along. ]
In the end- [ he falters, hesitant to say it, the words heavy on his tongue. ] In the end, even a jewel with no equal is just a jewel. It cannot save lives.
[ and in the end, lives are so much more precious than gems. what a fool he was to ever have forgotten this. ]
no subject
If you hadn't, do you think I would've yielded?
[ and if he hadn't, if Thorin hadn't come to his senses when he did, then that battle could've taken a turn for... well, far worse than it did. ]
no subject
No. [ he lifts his gaze again, saying more assertively: ] No, I don't think you would have at all. You've always been - well, stubborn, if you don't mind me saying so, even at the best of times, but this was - this was something far beyond that.
no subject
And there you have it.
[ even Thorin himself knows not where he was, where or how he lost sight of himself down the road to what he wanted for so long. lost sight of what he'd had all along. ]
In the end- [ he falters, hesitant to say it, the words heavy on his tongue. ] In the end, even a jewel with no equal is just a jewel. It cannot save lives.
[ and in the end, lives are so much more precious than gems. what a fool he was to ever have forgotten this. ]