The beginning is a bit childish (and poorly written, I suppose), but I truly hope, it's catching your interest and you will follow those two passing childhood and going on an adventure.

„Uncle, can we keep that cat?" Fili asked in his high childish voice.

Thorin glanced above some papers he had to read and he writhed with disgust, as he saw that filthy little thing in his nephews arms. "No."

„Why not?"

„I hate cats. And it's filthy."

„But this one saved my life," the twelve-year-old dwarf replied, cuddling the black kitten which quietly purred.

Thorin glanced at him again. Surely, his nephew got some nerves. He would always come up with another story just to get some attention. Dís would say, that he was lonely as a lonely child without a father, but Thorin really doubted that. In his eyes his nephew was a little crybaby that showed nothing of the pride of the heirs of Durin. And he would always come up with ridiculous stories, so that he got some of his or his mothers attention. The only one who would listen to him was Dori. But he was away doing some business for Thorin with the miners in the east of the Ered Luin. "Than I'm thankful to that cat, but you can't keep it."

"But it even can talk. If you would listen to him, than..."

"Stop that bubbling, Fili."

"But he can really talk!" the little dwarf said.

"I said stop it! Grow up. Cats do not talk. It is just your imagination." Thorin really got a headache. He pressed his hand against his forehead and rubbed his fingers on his skin to lessen the pain.

"But if you would listen, than you could hear him say somethin'."

"Fili!" he yelled. "Stop that already. At first: cats don't talk. And second: get out of here and let me work. I have business to do and finish this before sundown."

"But..."

"And third: no buts anymore. You understand me?" He looked really angry above his table and Fili avoided his gaze.

"Yes, uncle," he whispered, pressing the kitten against his chest and leaving his uncle's room. Before he reached the door, he turned back and said. "I'm sorry for the disturb." Then he moved into the floor, closed the door behind him and ran to the front door, leaving the Halls.

.xxXxx.

Six hours ago:

A hot wind blazed from the mountains into the valley of the dwarfs around the Halls of Thorin, the heir of Durin, king under the mountain, king of Erebor. It was so hot, that Fili only wore light linen pants and a short shirt. His long blond hair was tied up in a tail, so that his face was at least free and wouldn't soaked with his sweat.

Fili was bored, nobody had the time to play or to teach him, even if he disliked history lessons with Dori (he preferred sword lessons with Balin and Dwalin), he would have loved to be with someone, who cared leastwise a little bit about him. As usual his mother wasn't home, because she went to another village with Balin doing some trading. She would never take him with her, because she said, he was too troublesome cause he would always run away. But the young boy didn't run away, he just explored. He wanted to know about his whereabouts, their neighbors and even about the villages and the mountains around him. He just wanted to have variety of his boring and most lonely daily routine.

That was why he decided to explore the mines not far from his home today just for fun, too. As soon as his mother left the house he sneaked out, and ran up to the mines, which were watched by some dwarfen warriors Fili knew.

"You again, lad?" said one of the guards.

"Yes. You let me in?"

"Pay attention, young one. It's dangerous. I've heard that some dwarfs mentioned a broken tunnel."

"Thank you."

"Does your uncle know, you're here? He'll beat me to death if something happens to you."

"He knows," Fili lied and passed the guard. And even if he knew, Thorin wouldn't care. He was just too busy and he didn't... well... cared much about him.

"Hey, Fili!" the guard called. "Who is this fellow? Is it yours?"

The young dwarf turned and saw a dark stray cat with green eyes. It looked like it wanted to follow him.

"No. I don't know him," said Fili still looking at the cat.

"Him?"

"Uhm, it's male, isn't it?"

"How should I know?" the guard asked. "Well, take care."

It was just a small mine with seams of silver, copper and malachite, but sometimes they found a few gram of the best mithril, that was worth a week of hard work. He often wondered, why Thorin hadn't ordered to build an underground city like Moria, but then Balin explained, that the rocks around the mine wasn't that steady to allow such buildings.

He chose the empty path through the mine, that he knew, would lead him to an underground waterfall. He loved that place and he loved the sunlight that would shine trough a small spot between the rocks. The cat was still behind him. Fili didn't mind. He somehow enjoyed the company.

It was quite a way left, when the ground began to rumble and to bluster. Stones and small rocks were falling in his way, dust everywhere blocking Filis sight. He coughed terribly and his heart was beating fast, his whole body trembling of fear. Than he turned and knew, there was no way back. It was blocked from a thick wall of rocks and stones. The few light, that was illuminating the tunnel, came from some blue mushrooms, that gave the Ered Luin his name, the Blue Mountains. Well, at least Fili found, that this was a great explanation.

The kitty mewed low-voiced behind him and Fili turned. "You fine?" The dwarf asked his fuzzy companion.

The cat didn't answer, of course not! He was just looking at the dusted dwarf and then as if he knew, what he had forgotten, he licked his left leg.

Fili sighed. Kittens! Fili looked around and strained his ears. No sound from behind the stony wall of rocks. "Well, lets look for another way out of here, Kitty. I guess it will take to long to get the stones out of the way and I even didn't know if someone will look for us in this area. No one uses it anymore."

And if the cat understood him, he got up and followed the dwarf trough the tunnels. Fili plucked some of the mushrooms to light his way. He found emptied small halls and even a small streamlet he and the kitty could drink out of his cupped hands. He never has been in this area of the mines before, he had found a way, he already knew, but than he saw, that this tunnel was blocked, too. He couldn't get to the waterfalls.

It took him hours to realize, there was no way out. All ways were blocked. He grew hungry and to his surprise the Kitten wasn't at his side anymore. He was left alone again, standing in a small limestone cave. He sat down on one of the stones and watched how the water was dripping from the dripstone column. It would have been quite interesting, if he wasn't in danger to die on hunger and maybe loneliness. But well, his uncle wouldn't even know if Fili wasn't in his room in the evening, because he came home late everyday so that the young dwarf had to make supper for himself, eat alone and was in bed without any adult telling him. His mother would come home in a couple of days, when she had finished business. The guard, who knew he was here, had come off duty, and if he didn't tell the on duty guard that he was exploring the mines again, then there would be no reason on looking in the mines for Fili. So there really was a chance that he might be forgotten. He got scared and he felt that his eyes were getting wet.

Green eyes were shining in the dark and a small kitten came out of the dark. It tossed a bat before Kili's feet and looked at him in joyful anticipation.

Fili patted softly the kittens fur. "Good boy," he said. "Even if I don't eat bats."

"I do not like them either," said the cat.

"Yeah, there have no meat... wait! What?!" Fili jumped to his feet, staring at the cat. "Did you just... did you just talk?"

The cat smiled, but didn't answer.

The young dwarf shook his head. He must have misheard, cats didn't talk. He looked around and was well aware that maybe someone made a joke and would come out just to surprise and rescue him. But no one came.

"My imagination," he murmured and sat down again. The cat hadn't moved an inch. He seemed relaxed and not even the slightest bit worried. "It's great to be a cat, isn't it? At least you won't starve."

The kitten chuckled. "Is this all you can think of? Eating?"

Fili jumped to his feet again. "You can really talk!" he shouted pointing his finger on his companion. "You just talked!"

The kittens ears turned to him. Fili got his full attention. "But maybe you're just fantasizing, little dwarf," the cat said calmly.

"No, I'm not!"

"Fine. Then do you want to get out of here? I followed the bats and found a way out, I guess. But it's really small. I don't know if it will fit your size."

"I could make me fit."

The kitten chuckled again. "We will see."

It was strange for Fili to see a cat using his mouth as it was a dwarf, human or an elf. It looked really strange, when the kitten talked to him like a usual humanoid, and the whiskers also he decided not to care too much, as long as he got out of here.

The black cat lead the way through the cave into a tunnel, then followed an underground river to a smaller cave. He then stood in front of a wall Fili was sure was a dead-end.

"You have to climb up there."

"Where to?"

"Don't you see the small entrance? Behind this there is a natural tunnel the bats use to leave the caves."

"I can't see. Wait." Fili tossed one of the mushrooms to where he thought the opening was. "It's really high."

"I'm sure, you can do it," the kitten said.

"By the way, why are you able to speak?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm a magic cat like in the stories I heard from dwarfen tales."

"I've never heard of it." He frowned.

"Than never mind." The kitten jumped and climb the wall as if he would do nothing else than this. This movement revealed his strong muscles under the dark hair that appeared a little blue in the light of the mushrooms. He looked really gorgeous.

Fili followed him slowly and uneasy, but the kitten comforted him with words, told him where he had to grab the rock and where to move his foot. The bats path was really small. Fili's shoulders were scraping painfully on the walls as he moved his body. The kitten took one of the mushrooms in her mouth and lead the way. Fili could hear the bats screams and got scared again. The kitten moved slowly so that the young dwarf could follow, and than they reached a bigger cave where a small ray of light was shining through the ceiling.

The kitten moved his nose in several directions. "I can smell grass and flowers. Follow me!" He jumped from the ledge to the ground and Fili did the same. He didn't try to wonder why this kitten talked and helped him. He couldn't care less.

Soon they found an opening that would fit Fili's size and then they breathed fresh air as they walked out of the small passageway. It was late afternoon and Fili could clearly see the roofs of the village.

"You're home," said the cat scratching his ears.

"Yes." But it didn't feel alike.

"Than why are you not going?"

"No one is waiting anyway. It doesn't matter if I go now or in two hours."

"But you were hungry just an hour ago."

"I'm not that hungry anymore. But where is your home, lil' Kitty? I haven't seen you before in the village."

The kitten looked at him softly. "I have no home. I'm a stray cat. You've heard the guard."

Fili's face brightened up. "Than come with me! I'm always alone. I have no friends and the adults don't care about me."

The kitten sighed and rubbed his head on Fili's leg. "Only if you have some fish. I love fish!"

"You're welcome!" Said Fili and laughed the first time in several weeks.

.xxXxx.

"So what now, your uncle don't want me to stay by your side."

"I don't care. I just have to hide you in the morning and maybe mom will allow me to take care of you."

"You sure, you want to betray your uncle like that?" the kitten asked from the desk in Fili's room.

"It's no betrayal. It's just, well, hiding."

The kitten didn't answer. "I accept your offering," he said in a majestic way raising to his feet and jumping to Fili's bed, where he was sitting. Fili cuddled his new friend and then hold him at arm's length. "You stink," said Fili.

"You, too," answered the kitten in his majestic behavior, looking down on him with this green-brown eyes. "By the way, you're rude. I have feelings, too, you know?"

"I'm sorry. Will you except my apology, lil' Kitty?"

"I'll think about it," said the kitten. "Put me down now."

"No, we're going to take a bath."

"We... what?!" the cat moved in his hands, trying to get free. He didn't look majestic at all as he began to fidget like a fish. "I hate water! Don't do this!"

"Oh, common. You can't sleep in my bed when you're that dirty!" Fili snapped, heading to the bathroom. "Your fur is black, isn't it? But it looks brown and gray, too. There's mud everywhere and you really smell of something I can't even name."

"That comes out of a dwarfen mouth," the cat snapped.

"You can't sleep with me if you didn't take a bath!"

"I'm fine. I'll sleep somewhere else."

"No, you're sleeping in my bed. We're friends now," Fili claimed, shutting the door of the bathroom.

The kitten gloom about his words and then sighed. "You may wash me with warm water, little dwarf."

Fili laughed again and hugged the kitten, who didn't seem to mind at all even if his words where a little harsh.

Soon the dwarf brought hot water from the kitchen and mixed it with cold water and dipped the paw of the kitten into the bathtub.

"You okay with that?"

"I'm fine."

Fili got himself and the kitten into the bathtub and enjoyed the pissed of face of his fuzzy companion.

"I hate water," the kitten mumbled letting Fili wash his fur. "Not in the ears!" He shook his head and Fili ducked to not get splashed.

"I'm sorry!" But soon he saw that the kitten closed his eyes and enjoyed being washed with warm water.

As soon they got out the cat licked his whole body and sat down with Fili at the fireplace in the living room.

.xxXxx.

"Hm, you need a name, lil' Kitty," Fili said, watching the cat licking his soft paw. "I can't call you kitty all the time. You need a strong name like... uhm... Melengar or Gronk."

"Seriously?" the kitten replied looking not really convinced. He held his paw in the air and stopped that licking. "You want to name me Gronk? Am I looking like an orc?"

"What? You don't like it? Than tell me, what you would like to be called?"

He moved his whiskers as if he would smell something nice. "Oh, fish," said the kitten turning his head in the direction he smelled it. "It's salmon!"

"Oh, common, Kitty, stay here."

"Than choose a name now. I want to eat fish!" the cat answered jumping of a small fence and looking Fili into his weary eyes.

"I don't know. I like Kitty, to be honest, and I would like to have a connection between our names. And your really small, that's why it has to be something with lil' and Fili and Kitten."

"Then how about Fililki or Lilkili?" asked the kitten.

"It's too long. I can't call you that."

"Than just Kili?"

"Fili and Kili?" said the boy looking as if he was thinking hard, than his face lightened up. "Yeah, it's good. Your name will be Kili, is that okay?"

"Sure," said Kili the cat. "You're my only friend and only you will use this name. Besides you chose this name from your heart, so I'll gladly accept it." The cat moved his head to Fili just to get patted. "See ya," said Kili. "I have to get some of the salmon."

"Ok. Will you come home to me, when it's getting dark?"

"Of course, Fili. I'm yours." His green eyes blinked at him and then the kitten vanished behind the fence.

.xxXxx.

Ah, that's the first chapter. I hope you liked it, otherwise leave a comment or just praise me :3

Some chapter will follow in the next couple of days, I hope.