Hello again! Another chapter, yay!

Thanks to Violinist, TerraMacMillan, itslittleblue, bloodyrose1294, Snowball A.K.A. Winter Wolf, KijoKuroi (I'm very glad you broke your rule for me!), okgurl87, Eruwaedhiel95 and MidnightTales357 for your reviews! Special thanks also to those of you who have found their way from my old story to this new one! Don't think I've forgotten any of you! :D

And thanks to those who followed and favourited this story so early on, I hope you'll keep up with it as it goes on!

Now, here we go, I hope you enjoy!

Neither Fili nor Kili had talked much about their strange nightly encounter on their way to Hobbiton the next day, not quite knowing what to think of it at all and so following their own thoughts about it without necessarily sharing it with the other. They didn't mention it, dismissing it as exceptional yet unimportant when they had much more essential things to do and think of such as acquiring a burglar, for example.

Night had already fallen over the Shire when Fili and Kili were finally standing in front of the round green door to the hobbit hole before them, inspecting the sign that was carved into it.

"This must be it," Fili said, nodding at the rune on the door and Kili just nodded, not hesitating any longer before he rang the doorbell. The two listened as the sound echoed through the house whose windows were illuminated with warm light. It wasn't long before the door swung open to reveal a Halfling with brown curly hair standing before them in a colourful dressing gown and a deep frown on his forehead. A small and high-pitched uncomfortable noise escaped his throat as he saw the two dwarves standing before him.

"Fili," the first said with a smile and a polite greeting nod.

"And Kili," the brunet brother added, observing the hobbit closely before the two of them swept down into a deep bow, ending in unison, as always. "At your service!"

As Kili straightened himself back up, a bright smile came to play around his lips as he addressed their burglar. "You must be Mister Boggins!"

"No!" the Halfling retorted immediately and both brothers frowned deeply as he moved to slam the door shut in their faces. "You can't come in! You've come to the wrong house!"

Kili quickly reached out and blocked the door without much effort, keeping the hobbit from closing it as he made a step forward onto the threshold. "What? Has it been cancelled?"

"No one told us," Fili muttered sceptically from beside him, glancing at his little brother before giving the hobbit a doubtful look as the smaller man spluttered slightly upon their words.

"Can…? No, nothing's been cancelled," he said with a frown, obviously confused and slightly unnerved but Kili ignored the hobbit's flustered expression completely as his smile came back to his face.

"Well, that's a relief!" the brunet dwarf breathed before he pushed past the hobbit and inside the house, Fili following on his heels. It wasn't long until they found Dwalin and Balin who were already there and gathering many chairs around a large table in the dining hall, and Fili and Kili swiftly swooped in to help them while the rest of their company arrived shortly after.

None of the dwarves cared much about Bilbo's protests as they emptied his pantry and proceeded having a grand dinner party followed by a song about all the things that Bilbo Baggins – as it had turned out, his name wasn't Boggins after all – hated while they worked together to clean the many dishes they had used. The hobbit himself kept scurrying around in confusion most of the evening, even after the leader of their company had arrived. It was only when he realized that they actually meant for him to become their burglar that he finally seemed to assess the situation in its entirety.

He fainted shortly after, when Bofur told him about Smaug, the dragon that was guarding Erebor, the mountain – their homeland – that they aspired to reclaim from him. Fili had watched it happen with the appropriate amount of amusement mixed with pity.

"Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," the dwarf with the large furry hat said nonchalantly after Bilbo had inquired about the part of his contract that covered possible incineration.

"Are you alright, laddie?" Balin asked the hobbit amongst them with a compassionate expression on his wise old face and Fili watched from his spot as the hobbit took a deep breath, shaking his head slightly.

"Huh… yes, I… I just feel a bit faint," Bilbo muttered, bending slightly and taking deep breaths as he rested his hands on his knees.

"Think furnace with wings!" Bofur then said cheerfully, offering the hobbit a smile as he motioned vaguely with his pipe, ignoring Bilbo's words that he needed air. "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! ... You're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

Fili shook his head slightly to himself as they all watched the hobbit straighten for a moment before he shook his head with a short "No!" and fell to the floor unconscious. Fili doubted that this man – this little Halfling who fainted when a dragon was even just mentioned – would make very good burglar material.

"Do you think he'll come around?" Kili asked his big brother a few hours after the party had ended and the dwarves had settled down to sleep in Bilbo's house for the night after he had refused to sign the contract, claiming – as Fili had suspected – that he was the wrong hobbit for the job. The blond dwarf shrugged slightly from where he was lying on a small sofa next to the chair Kili was lounging in.

"Hard to say," he muttered, although he thought that the answer they'd gotten had been rather clear. He glanced around the company scattered around the room, more than half of which was already asleep. "I saw Gandalf speak to him a little while ago but I doubt he was able to change his mind. And really, Master Baggins doesn't seem much like burglar material, does he?"

Kili shook his head slightly, his forehead creased with a small thoughtful frown. "I suppose not. I understand why he doesn't want to go and travel across half of Middle-Earth just to steal something from a fire-breathing dragon though," he said as he let himself slump deeper into the chair's soft cushions. "To anyone's ears it would sound like a suicide mission. And it is awfully cosy here."

They set out on the road early the next day, none of them truly believing that the hobbit would change his mind and show up but putting wagers on it nonetheless. Kili was still hopeful as he always was, betting against Fili that the hobbit would turn up in the end. And, to their great surprise, they had not yet ridden for too long through the green woodland of the Shire when behind them suddenly sounded a voice, yelling after them.

"Wait! Wait!" Bilbo Baggins called as he ran up to the company once they had stopped their ponies upon his calls. "I've signed it!"

And after Balin had taken a look at the now signed contract and given his approval, the hobbit was officially a member of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. The dark-haired dwarf-king simply ordered them to give Bilbo a pony before they rode on and it was Fili and Kili who lifted the hobbit onto Bungle, ignoring Bilbo's protests that he could keep up with them on foot.

"Told you he'd come," Kili grinned at his brother as he caught a bag of coins that was tossed towards him with a content expression on his face. Fili just rolled his eyes slightly.

"Aye," he replied with a shake of his head as he fumbled a small purse out of the pocket of his coat, handing it to his brother with a small sigh. "No need to get cocky."

Kili just grinned as they rode along, his mood bright as their journey began. This was the case for most of the company over the following days and they all entertained each other with amicable chatter and stories at night around the campfire. Bilbo was proving to be a rather shy fellow, though he seemed to get along very nicely with Balin from the start and they often talked amongst themselves while they helped setting up camp. The hobbit also had a lot to talk about with Bombur, the fat red-haired dwarf who was their designated cook. Fili and Kili's tasks were less compatible with the hobbit's interests, for most days they were the ones scouting ahead for they were amongst the youngest of the company and their eyes were the keenest. And most nights they were assigned with looking after the ponies.

"What's for supper tonight?" Kili asked as he led three of their ponies to an abundance of trees near a river that they had set up camp nearby. Fili just snorted quietly from where he was tying the reins of two other ponies to a low branch of a tree.

"If the rabbits you caught today are anything to go by, I'd say stew," he answered as he secured his knot expertly while impatiently brushing a strand of blond hair out of his face that the breeze had ruffled up. Kili nodded as he followed his brother's example and went to tie the first two ponies to one of the trees, leaving the third to stand on its own for a moment. He was about to answer Fili when he heard the pony neigh quietly behind him and he turned his head shortly to see whether everything was alright, though he had to make a double-take when he saw the figure standing next to Gyrdie. His eyes widened and his fingers halted in tying the reins to the branch he'd selected, holding them limply in his hand as he stared at her.

"Wha… F-Fili!" he called, never taking his eyes off her, and the blond dwarf turned immediately upon his brother's voice, eyes widening as well as he saw the small red-haired woman standing in front of the brown pony, gently caressing its head. Her emerald eyes rose from the animal and she shortly met Fili's gaze before her eyes turned to his little brother.

"Your ponies are nervous," she said sweetly, raising one slender eyebrow as her hand lingered on the mare's brown fur. The pony nuzzled its head into the fae's palm.

"What are you… have you been following us?!" Kili asked loudly, frowning in annoyance as the fae ignored his question completely, her gaze shortly flicking to the river behind him. Kili ignored the nervous shuffle of hooves from the pony whose reins he was currently holding, instead narrowing his eyes at the redhead.

"The river is in uproar," Cinna continued, emerald eyes flicking back to look at Kili intently. "Don't stand too close."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as the brunet dwarf simply rolled his eyes in reply, glancing over to Fili who had his arms crossed over his chest tightly, glaring at the small redhead suspiciously. As sure as he had been of her harmlessness before he had his doubts now. Thorin had made it very clear that their quest was supposed to be a secret, for other eyes may turn to the vast wealth that lay beneath Erebor, attempting to claim it for themselves if they thought it lay unprotected. Surely, the sudden appearance of this woman – this fae, though usually unseen and secretive – could not mean anything good, she might even be some sort of spy, Fili thought darkly, one hand coming to rest on the hilt of his sword.

However, his attention was drawn away from the red-haired fae when the pony Kili was keeping hold of suddenly neighed in agitation, and the nervous shuffle of hooves turned into the beast rearing up and throwing Kili off his feet. Spooked by the wildly flowing river, the pony tried to move away but lost its footing on the muddy bank. Fili could only watch with wide eyes as the animal neighed fearfully as it tumbled right into the current.

It was only a moment later that Kili had scrambled to his feet and hastily jumped into the river himself, no doubt in an attempt to get the pony back.

"Kili!" Fili screamed fearfully as he ran to the riverbank, seeing his brother being swept away after the pony as he tried to reach it in the water. "No!"

The blond didn't even hesitate before he shrugged off his heavy fur coat and made to jump after his brother when a slender hand suddenly wrapped around his forearm, holding him back. Fili turned to the red-haired fae furiously, shrugging her grip off harshly.

"Wait!" she said, her voice now not as sweet anymore. It was still soft but there was now another edge to it, urgency, as Fili realized. "If you go after him, you will both drown."

"He's my brother!" Fili answered loudly as he turned from her towards the river again, annoyed that she was costing him precious time. "I can't lose him!"

"Follow me!"

The blond prince turned his head in confusion upon her strange reply, only to see her running down the riverbank in the direction Kili and the pony had been swept off to. Fili hesitated only a second before he set after her, noticing despite the dire situation that she seemed to leave no footprints on the ground, her steps soft and light even as she ran almost too fast for him to keep up with her.

She stopped abruptly then and as Fili reached her, she moved forward to the edge of the riverbank, at the same time motioning for him to pick up a rather large broken branch that lay on the floor beneath the trees a little distance away. He fetched it swiftly and only when he came to stand next to her did his eyes catch sight of a dark shock of hair in the waves of the current, his little brother desperately holding onto a boulder in the river to keep himself from going under.

Without hesitation Fili reached out the branch. "KILI!" he yelled over the noise of the river and the terrified neighing sounds that the pony made as it was swept down the river further and out of their reach. "GRAB IT!"

Kili whipped back his head to get the water out of his face, coughing as another wave passed over him and threatened to take him with it. He reached out with a shaking hand as his body was pressed painfully against the boulder, his fingers grazing the now wet branch only slightly before he finally managed to latch on to it. Not a second later he felt himself being pulled through the current and he heard his brother's laboured breathing as he managed to manoeuvre him onto the riverbank. Kili collapsed onto the ground instantly, coughing and retching out the water that had gotten into his lungs. He felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder as he heaved in deep breaths of air painfully, taking a few seconds before he turned and fell onto his back, breathing heavily. He looked up to see two faces hovering over him, one belonging to his brother and the other to the red-haired fae. Both of them were looking worriedly at him, though he noticed a small smile on the redhead's face, causing him to frown slightly and turn away from her to look at Fili instead.

"I could only save this," he uttered hoarsely, his throat still aching as he held up the large bag of supplies he'd somehow managed to untie from the ponies back. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to save the pony itself.

Fili only shook his head in exasperation before asking, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" And upon receiving a shake of the head from Kili, punched him in the shoulder, hard.

"Then what were you thinking?! Knucklehead!" the blond growled as Kili winced and rubbed the spot Fili had hit. It was then that other voices suddenly drifted towards them from further up the riverbank and only a few seconds later, the rest of the company came into view as they hurried along the shore to find them.

"What in Durin's name is going on?" Thorin demanded roughly, sword drawn and his gaze set on his two nephews.

"We heard screamin' and yellin'," Gloìn spoke up from the middle of the group, also looking at the two heirs of Durin questioningly.

"Thought you were being attacked by orcs," Dwalin grumbled, one of his hands holding on to one of the large battle-axes he carried on his back.

"Who's that?" another voice suddenly spoke quietly, and the dwarves' heads turned to Bilbo for a moment before they followed his gaze and as one suddenly became aware of the third person sitting by the two brothers on the ground. A small green-eyed woman was combing her fingers through her long red hair as she looked up at them curiously.

Cinna watched as the men – well, dwarves – around her levelled her with suspicious glares, many of them still holding on to their numerous weapons as she stared up at them from where she was still sitting next to the two dwarf brothers she already knew.

"Answer!" one of the dwarves demanded roughly then, scowling at her as she blinked up at him innocently. He was tall for a dwarf, the fae noted even from her sitting position, and his long dark hair was streaked with a few grey strands, framing a face with strong features and piercing blue eyes. She considered him rather handsome even if his sour expression diminished that ever so slightly. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I am no one of importance," she finally said quietly in reply, shrugging slightly and lowering her gaze to the tips of her auburn hair as she picked a broken petal from it and let it fall softly onto the ground. "And I am doing nothing but sit at your feet at the moment."

The dark-haired dwarf narrowed his eyes at her, raising his sword. The action caused Cinna's gaze to flick toward the blade, eyeing the forged iron warily as he balanced it in front of her face. She flinched back as he pointed it at her.

"Uncle!" Someone beside her spoke up then and the fae turned her head slightly to look at Fili, the blond dwarf glancing at the one who kept the blade in front of her face instead. "I doubt that she poses any threat to us, she helped save Kili from the current!"

Cinna watched silently as the dark-haired dwarf's gaze wandered from the blond dwarf to Kili who was still on the ground next to her, although he had brought himself into an upright sitting position by now, staring sheepishly back at his uncle. The fae wondered for a moment why the younger brother looked so ashamed beneath his uncle's heavy gaze.

"I wouldn't have had to help if he had listened to my words in the first place," Cinna spoke softly to no one in particular, although she raised one eyebrow slightly as Kili suddenly turned his head towards her and shot her a dark look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he growled, narrowing his eyes at her as she gave him a pointed look in turn.

"I told you not to stand too close," she muttered, emerald eyes boring into his own brown ones. That dwarf really was getting on her nerves with his attitude. "You underestimated nature's force."

The brunet merely huffed in reply before he turned his head away from her, leaving her slightly irked at his unfriendly behaviour. Rude dwarf, she thought to herself with a small discontent frown before her attention was drawn away from him as Fili spoke again, addressing his uncle as he stood.

"We've met her before, several nights ago before we reached Hobbiton, Thorin," the blond dwarf explained to his uncle, shooting Cinna a small look as she crossed her arms over her chest in a defiant manner.

"And she followed you?" the older dwarf concluded with a deep frown. Fili shrugged slightly in lack of a good answer.

"Which probably means that she's some sort of spy," another of the dwarves then spoke up, a big one with a baldhead and several tattoos. He looked rather menacing, Cinna concluded silently to herself, though she narrowed her eyes at him anyway. She had never known that dwarves were such an unfriendly and distrustful lot. The fae returned the large dwarf's suspicious look with a sullen glare of her own before her emerald gaze slowly wandered away from him as another voice spoke up.

"Don't you think that if she were an actual spy – of whoever you think would care to spy on you –, she would… well, not just sit there?" a small man with curly brown hair spoke, his voice small and soft amongst the booming tones of his dwarven companions. A hobbit, Cinna realized with a small smile. She liked hobbits. The fae watched curiously as he flustered slightly beneath the hard looks his companions shot him upon his words. "I mean, well, it's just that… she doesn't even have a weapon. How much of a spy could she possibly be?"

"A very bad one?" one of the dwarves provided quietly, though no one but Cinna herself seemed to listen to him. He was young, with red hair and clad in many knitted clothing items. The fae wondered if he was not a bit warm in his clothes, shortly glancing down at the cool grass that stroked against her bare legs.

"Well, if she's not a spy then what is she?" Another one uttered and Cinna's gaze flicked up again to a burly red-haired dwarf with a long beard and a stern look on his face.

"Bilbo is right," Fili then spoke again before the fae could even utter a word herself, although she didn't particularly feel the need to anyway, she was quite amused watching them trying to figure out what was going on by themselves. "She's not dangerous at all, she just… well, she's –"

"A fae," someone new spoke then from behind the group and as Cinna looked up she could see a tall man with a long beard and grey robes make his way through the small crowd. He shot the dwarves each a disapproving look as he approached her, leaning slightly on his staff. "She is neither a spy nor a threat. You have before you a simple fae, so sheath your weapons, there is no need for any of that here."

The dwarves hesitated a moment before they complied grumblingly, eyeing the fae as they put their weapons away. Once no more iron was pointing at her, Cinna stood slowly, her bare toes wriggling slightly in the grass beneath her feet. She only noticed Fili helping his brother to his feet out of the corner of her eyes as she stared up at the grey-robed man that was towering over her, sending her a small smile from beneath his beard.

"I am Gandalf," he said and Cinna tilted her head slightly as he lifted his hand to tip his pointy grey hat slightly. A funny gesture, she found. "Gandalf the Grey, they call me."

"One of the wizards," the fae spoke with wide eyes once the name had settled in her mind and she had made the connection. Gandalf nodded with a slight hum as she smiled. "A friend of the Brown perhaps?"

"I am a friend of many," Gandalf answered as the dwarves around them simply listened to their strange riddled conversation with frowns on their faces. "Radagast is one of my dearest."

"Now," the wizard then continued, giving her a curious look. "I am sure your name is as lovely as you are, my dear. Tell me, how may I call you?"

The fae smiled at the wizard's flattery, twirling a strand of her red hair around her finger as she hesitated for only a moment before she answered. "Cinnamon."

"Cinnamon," Gandalf repeated with a smile, nodding slightly to himself. "A beautiful name, indeed."

"It is sweet as it is bitter," she heard someone mutter quietly beside her then and she turned her head to see Fili smile slightly to himself as he looked at her. She grinned brightly as he repeated the words she had uttered several nights ago in the brothers' camp when they had asked her for her name. Gandalf followed the interaction silently before the fae returned her attention to him.

"You may call me Cinna," she said finally, giving the wizard a bright smile. Gandalf nodded in return, inclining his head slightly.

"Well, Cinna, I do believe a thank you is in order," he said and the fae tilted her head slightly, observing the wizard carefully. "After all, you did help save our dear Kili from the grip of the river. Now… I do believe I have something… ah!"

She watched as the wizard rummaged through the pockets of his robes with one hand, apparently looking for something particular. Her emerald eyes shone with curiosity as he retrieved his hand and held it out to her, presenting a small colourful marble to her. It shone with various shades of darker and lighter blue and Cinna smiled brightly as he let it fall into her outstretched hand, bringing it close to her face to examine it.

"It's very pretty," she said then, grasping the marble in her palm and glancing up at the wizard who returned her smile gently, putting one large hand on her slender shoulder before his gaze wandered to the dark-haired dwarf that had been questioning her earlier. He seemed to be the leader of their group. Thorin, Fili had called him before, she remembered.

"Now, Thorin, I think you can see that dear Cinna here means no harm to anyone," he stated, earning himself a dark look from the dwarf in return. "It would be best to leave her be and let her go about her own business again without bothering her further."

"Bothering her? She's the one that –" Kili's sudden words were cut off by an elbow in the ribs from his big brother, making him grunt in slight pain as he closed his mouth. Cinna shot the rude dwarf an annoyed look that he returned equally, though he didn't say anything else.

"I cannot simply let her go, Gandalf," Thorin spoke, eyeing the fae carefully. "She may be harmless but that does not diminish the fact that she turned up suddenly after she has met my nephews several nights before, which clearly conveys that she has indeed been following us."

"I go where nature leads me, Master Dwarf," Cinna spoke before Gandalf could answer the dark-haired dwarf. "Along trees and rivers wherever the wind may take me. I am not to blame if our paths crossed again. I was merely trying to help."

Thorin gave the fae a hard look, staying silent for a moment before he nodded curtly, his frown softening ever so slightly. Cinna gave him a light smile that he didn't return as he addressed his companions instead. "Gather your things, we return to camp. Make sure you rest well tonight, we move on at first light."

And with that he turned away and walked back the way he had come without another word, most of the others following swiftly after him, though not without giving her a last look before they moved away. Cinna simply watched them go, her gaze shortly lingering on the back of the dark-haired young dwarf she'd helped rescue out of the river. Kili, she repeated his name in her head.

"Thank you," another voice then said and the fae quickly turned her head to see Fili, the blond brother, still standing there, giving her a grateful look. She just frowned lightly at his words, not quite knowing what to say in return but Fili just gave her a small smile before he turned away and followed after his brother, leaving only Gandalf standing there with her. Cinna smiled up at the wizard, turning the marble he had given her between her fingers as she spoke.

"Farewell, dear wizard," she uttered, seeing Gandalf giving her a warm smile in return as he nodded lightly. He watched as she turned her back on him and walked slowly toward the bushes before her, her body becoming translucent as her pale skin touched the green leaves around her. It was only a moment before she had vanished completely from the wizard's sight. Gandalf chuckled quietly to himself, lingering another moment before he slowly made his way back to the dwarves' camp, as well.