Bilbo was still smirking, even three days after the incident at the Prancing Pony. The game itself was unremarkable and had been won by Bilbo with a few fell swoops of a pair of his conkers. The other players still seemed entertained by the game and the drinks afterwards had been fun but that was not what had kept Bilbo in such an energetic state. What was hilarious, and slightly endearing, was the hero worship that burned in Ori's eyes whenever they fell upon him.

Bilbo rubbed his bandaged knuckles thoughtfully while guiding his pony along the road. Ori's soft and pleasant chattering provided a lovely background for his mind to wander along. The other dwarves had noticed the change in his and Ori's relationship even though none had asked after it. Kili was especially put out when Ori greeted the morning following the game by saying that it was the most shocking and exciting thing he'd ever seen. Since then, the young dwarf was attempting to weasel more information about the game from Ori while avoiding the curious gaze from his brother and the judgmental gaze of his uncle.

That night at the inn, Bilbo himself had been in the midst of his game when a lovely, if mischievous, idea occurred to him. Dwarves were quite a strong race, weren't they? And in being such a hardy group they probably prized hardiness in their companions. "No wonder the king and his kin were not fond of me, " thought Bilbo as he clobbered his opponent. "As a hobbit, I must look quite soft to them."

It was there that Bilbo decided to show his strength to those deserving of it. And that deserving person had been Ori. He had quickly ended his match, shook the bloody hand of his beaming opponent, and strode to the knitted dwarf.

And then Bilbo taught him the game, despite refusing to do so for all others that had asked him over the years. To teach a young faunt and then set them loose on the other children? Well, it just wouldn't have been fair, now, would it?

Ori had picked up the game well, considering the time they had to practice on the road. He was still quite hesitant to swing his own set of borrowed conkers at Bilbo for fear of hurting him but Bilbo was quickly forcing him out of that state by not holding back his own strength.

Oin had noticed a few sets of bandages missing from his pack, but Ori's gloves did a good job of covering the white gauze on their hands. Avoiding Dori's flinty gaze whenever Ori winced when using his hands was another matter all together, but what was life without a little danger? After two weeks of travelling, Bilbo and his apprentice had become thick as thieves.

Fili and Kili had also grown closer to their resident hobbit in order to discover the fun secret that Ori had told them he was 'sworn to protect.' They found themselves enjoying the hobbit's company despite their failure at worming the secret out. Kili did acknowledge that he had never learned so much about cooking in all his life, but he also began to notice the kindness and earnestness present in their Halfling.

However, the King Under the Mountain had not grown closer to the hobbit at all. The halfling was constantly laughing and smiling with Ori and his nephews. He was always stumbling when dismounting his horse and fretting about losing buttons on his coat. Not to mention, Master Baggins always seemed to be injuring his hands- the king had never actually seen the hobbit's undoubtedly smooth fingers.

"Tripped and caught myself on a rock," he told Oin one day.

"Burn from the kettle, silly me. Too eager for tea," he laughed another afternoon.

"Stabbed myself with my darning needle, would you believe it?"

Now that, Thorin really could believe.

"Anyway," he huffed on his horse, "what else could it possibly be?"

The party had journeyed quite far since they left from Hobbiton three weeks ago. In that time, Bilbo acknowledged that he had made headway amongst the dwarves. Gloin and Kili had been the first to come around, the former due to their mutual love of food and the latter due to his fumbling into Ori's practice time.

Bilbo and Ori had had a rare moment to practice when the company made camp a tad early. The pair went off into a more secluded area behind some trees and commenced with their practice. Amidst the solid THWACKs and the grunts of intense focus, Bilbo heard the shuffling of booted feet and the crunching of leaves.

"Kili, come out of the bushes, you're not a fauntling anymore!" chuckled Bilbo. A sheepish Kili emerged from the clump of dead trees and approached the two. Ori quickly hid his hands behind his back while Bilbo just slid his into his pockets casually.

"Sorry Mister Boggins, I just couldn't take it anymore and I didn't want to ask you becau-"

"Because your nasty uncle isn't pleased that I joined the company. It's alright, Kili, I'm not offended. I would hope that I have tougher skin than that." At this, Bilbo shot Ori a wink and the younger dwarf snorted loudly in an attempt to cover his laughter.

Kili did not understand the joke and was tired of being left out. "What is it? What's so funny?"

Bilbo just chuckled and shook his head at Kili. "If I tell you, you must swear to keep the secret," he was only half joking now. The hobbit couldn't imagine that Thorin would be pleased with him if the king found out what he was teaching his nephew.

"Ori has made the solemn vow- not to tell anyone." At Kili's puppy dog look, Bilbo added clarification. "Not even your brother, young man. If he wants to find out, he will have to come see for himself."

"But Mister Boggins-" began the young dwarf.

"No 'buts,' Kili. I'm sure he won't be able to stand being left out for long so it shouldn't be too difficult," Bilbo said as he gave Kili his most stern look. Ori was holding his wool-covered hands to his mouth to stifle his giggles.

With a look that was only half-distressed, Kili nodded his assent. "You can count on me, Mister Boggins. Fili can ask you himself, just like me."

Bilbo took his bloody and bruised hands out of his pockets and shook the hand of the beaming dwarf. At the sight of his hands, Kili's look of excitement turned to one of wonder.

That evening all three ate dinner around the campfire together, sitting slightly away from the others. Riotous bouts of laughter were heard as, unbeknownst to the others, Bilbo regaled them with different stories of the Hobbiton Conkers Championships he had won.

The fact that the troublesome three were all bearing wrapped-up hands and knuckles went unnoticed by all except the watchful Dori and- by proxy- his brother Nori.

Alright, I'm so sorry about the wait for this. Time escaped from me but this fun little piece was always in the back of my mind. I promise that I won't go so long without updating again but I need some help!

Are there any specific ways Nori and Dori should find out about the conkers? Any other ways you want specific dwarves to learn Master Baggins isn't necessarily the sweet grocer everyone believes he is?

Our Bilbo has been pretty patient with the disdain of a certain king so far, as well. I can say that that may not last much longer. Does anyone have an idea for how that might play out?