The light of the campfire spread eerie shadows over the walls of the cave they had chosen to spend the night in. Off to one side the two brothers huddled together whispering occasionally pausing to stifle giggles that threatened to erupt and awaken their sleeping companions. Little did they know that a pair of eyes were upon them, however their owner wasn't really paying attention as his mind slipped back into memories.

It was late as Thorin paced the corridors of the Blue Mountains. He found it hard to sleep troubled by thoughts of the dragon Smaug settling on the hoard of gold in the Lonely Mountain. Walking at night had become a habit, his feet leading him down the pathways he couldn't bring himself to think of as home. Lost in his own thought he didn't hear the giggling of two small and adventurous dwarflings.

"Where'd you think Uncle's going?" Kili asked smothering a yawn that threatened to escape his lips. Fili looked down at the rag tag mop of hair of his younger brother and scooped him up into his arms.

"I don't know but I didn't let you come with me so that you could fall asleep before the fun" The elder replied falling into pace behind his uncle. He felt Kili nod against his chest.

The two of them had snuck out of their chambers and had set up, well Fili had to admit it was mainly his doing, an elaborate trap for whoever stumbled upon it. They were hoping perhaps to trap one of the other young dwarfs who occasionally picked on them. As they whispered to each other about how funny it would be they failed to notice the direction their path was leading them in.

"Fili?"

"Yes what is it?" the older of the two brothers asked worried something was troubling his younger sibling.

"Where we going?"

"We're following Uncle, we might be able to spy on a council meeting or even they might be gathered telling tales, remember we heard them speaking about the dragon that one time" Kili struggled in his brother's arms twisting so that he was giving his brother the broadest of little dwarf grins.

"I liked that story." Fili as the elder had heard enough snippets of conversation in the corridors to know the 'story' of the dragon was more than some fireside tale. However he thought his brother too young to know such things and so merely nodded at the others statement. "Can you tell it?"

"No, I don't remember enough of it, anyway we don't know the ending, remember we had to run away before Uncle caught us eavesdropping"

"Do you think he'll be mad?"

"Mad about what?"

"That we aren't in bed?" Kili replied, his tiredness all but forgotten although Fili noticed he was clutching at the blanket he carried with him when ready for bed. It was green with interwoven gold characters depicting a mining scene and had been gifted to him by their late mother.

"He won't notice, remember we put those sacks in our beds to fall Balin when he comes to check" He saw his brother nod, his eyes gleaming with excitement at their adventures past their bed hours.

"What do you think dragons are like?" Kili asked. As much as he loved his little brother Fili did find his constant questioning could become a little irksome. Rather than admit he didn't know he begun spinning some line about them being big and scary and he added with extra flourish...

"They have the most terrifying roars you've ever heard" Kili's eyes widened at that statement and it happened to be at that moment that both brother's heard the roar echoing down the corridor. Talk of dragons in their minds the two looked at each other and begun to shudder.

Looming towards them in shadow form was the most terrifying shape they had ever seen. Kili curled into his brother for comfort and protection, muttering something about being too small for a dragon to eat. Fili gulped and tried to comfort him with words about there not being any dragons in the Blue Mountains. Even as he did so he begun making a hasty retreat back towards their bed chamber.

He almost jumped out of his skin as something heavy landed on his shoulder.

"Ah ha, got you!" the disembodied voice boomed out behind him. Fili tried to suppress the shaking that threatened to take over his body and he felt Kili shuffle to cover himself with the blanket. Slowly the pair were turned round to face not a dragon as expected but the towering form of their uncle.

"Eat him first Mr dragon, I'm too small" came a squeak from beneath the blanket and Fili felt like dumping the small form of his brother on the ground for such a statement.

"I shan't be eating anyone" Thorin replied, "although both of you will be punished for disobeying me, being out late at night and more importantly, for setting up this little prank of yours. " He gestured at the mess of feathers that had become entangled in his hair, along with some sticky substance he wasn't sure he wanted to investigate.

There was something in his Uncle's tone that made Fili wish that he had been facing down a dragon. Both boys found themselves being swept up into powerful arms and thus marched back to their bed chambers. Thorin all the while chastising them and warning of them of the dangers of sneaking out at night. What if they had become lost or worse fallen down a mine. His lecture of safety turning into an account of what punishments he would dish out to his two deserving nephews. However when it came to placing them in their respective beds he felt himself melting and his harsh words fading as he faced two sleeping dwarflings curling into the warmth of his fur lined coat.

A faint smile crossed the lips of Thorin as he glanced into the flames of the dying fire. He remembered the babble of the two in the morning about how they thought he'd been a dragon. Now he wished that the dragons of their young imaginations were the only ones they'd ever have to face. Why had he brought them on the quest with him. Then as he watched Bombur roll over he noticed the elaborate rope system around the camp and the hysterics from his two nephews as the cook pot upended covering the company in a wave of water. It was the Thorin knew the reason, he'd brought them along because on the hard and dangerous road his two mischievous nephews reminded him to smile.