It's Bilbo who notices it first. He's sitting next to Fili near the fire. It's a calm night, a little chilly but not enough to be uncomfortable, and the ground they're sitting on is neither too hard nor too lumpy. Kili had begun the evening sitting next to Fili, the brothers cheerfully engaging Bilbo in conversation about dwarf versus hobbit customs and their own childhood in the Blue Mountains. After a while the conversation had petered out into comfortable silence and Kili had slumped down into Fili's lap, fast asleep. That's when Bilbo hears it. At first he thinks he's just hearing things that aren't really there. After all, there are no cats in the company. The sound persists, though, and soon enough he turns to Fili. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Fili cocks his head slighty, listening for anything out of the ordinary.

"That… It sounds like a cat. Purring."

"Oh!" The confusion clears from the dwarf's features immediately. "Kili does it when he sleeps."

Now that he knows, it's clear the sound is coming from Kili. "I've seen him sleep before and he wasn't purring."

"He only does it when he's warm and comfortable." Fili brings a hand up to stroke his brother's hair and the purring increases in volume. "None of us have been either of those lately."

"Ah… alright." Bilbo doesn't see much point in continuing the conversation and they lapse back into silence, both listening to Kili purr. The rest of the camp is unnaturally silent, everyone listening in now it's been pointed out to them.

The first person to move is Ori. He stands up and nervously creeps over to sit by Fili, taking care not to disturb Kili in the process. Shortly after Ori moves Bofur follows and it seems they have opened the floodgates. Within the next few minutes everyone has crept over to the group, huddling around Fili, Kili, and Bilbo. Even Thorin is hovering on the outskirts.

There's some moving around and jostling for space until Kili sighs and shifts, pulling himself further into Fili's lap and pressing his face into his brother's chest. They all freeze, remaining as still and as quiet as possible until the purring resumes. Finally Bofur comments, "Reminds you of a kitten, doesn't 'e."

There's a murmur of assent from the rest of the group and Ori adds, "He even enjoys being petted."

Fili lets them sit there and listen for several more minutes until he finally announces, "Show's over, go to sleep."

They all slink back to their bedrolls in disappointment as Fili shakes his brother awake and tells him it's time for bed.

After that Kili starts finding himself with the most comfortable spot in camp, starts ending up with extra blankets or coats draped over him. Once he even wakes to find himself wrapped up in Thorin's coat, something that hasn't happened since he was nearly too young to remember. He doesn't notice when everyone moves their bedrolls closer to his, and nobody points it out to him. He does notice the raise in group morale, but he doesn't know what's caused it. He's just happy everyone else is happy and happy he's getting a good night's sleep most nights.