A/N: I finally got a laptop of my own! It's not the greatest, it's my dad's old one, which originally belonged to my brother, but at least I have a laptop instead of always being on my phone. So, in this chapter, we meet Radagast, we fight off a few Orcs, we arrive in Rivendell, we find out Bilbo's land shift, and we see Thorin being a douche as well as Kili acting very mature and, dare I say, noble? By the way, I realize I may be making Thorin seem like a very big douche, but badgers aren't exactly the most social of animals, and combined with his life experiences, not to mention how wolves can sometimes get, I see it all bleeding together, though Thorin tries to keep it all separate. I also just want everyone to know, I chose a barn owl for Bilbo because some see it as a rather plain looking owl (I personally find it quite beautiful, especially when its flying and the sun shines through its wings) but is in fact a carnivore, so it can be rather vicious, rather like a crazy little Hobbit taking down an Orc all by his lonesome.

Chapter 4

Bilbo was in a sort of meditation phase, keeping his ears pealed for any unwelcome sounds, when Fili suddenly came over.

"Mr. Baggins, I would just like to thank you for saving Kili back there; if you hadn't of first blinded the Troll, and then shoved Kili out of the way, I don't think we could have gotten there in time to save him."

"It was my plan in motion that put him in that situation; if he had died; his blood would have been on my hands. Besides which, if I had informed the two of you of my trap, then he never would have done something as stupid as he did; I just didn't want to have to explain the whole business about being an owl; especially not at that moment." Bilbo replied as stretched his body out.

"Yes well, you see the thing is, as far as Dwarves go, my brother and I are somewhat odd, Kili even more so. For one, Dwarves seldom have shifts that are anything but land animals, no family has ever had a pair of otters. For another, the Durin line does occasionally produce felines, however, they are usually felines built for strength and power, sometimes for sneaking about unnoticed; there have been a few ocelots, jaguarundi, and other big cats that lack in size, but there has never been a cheetah. I'm afraid Kili has always been picked on, whether for his cheetah shift or his almost Elvish appearance. I can get rather… protective of him." Fili finished and he saw that while he had been talking, Bilbo had looked for more plants for his herb and medicine bag, but he knew Bilbo had been listening.

"Hobbits don't have shifts for water either, which I always thought rather stupid, since Hobbits themselves can't swim. Also, in reference to your protecting him, I imagine that is how most big brothers or sisters feel, that they must constantly protect their younger siblings. However, as you grow older, I imagine you start to face a bit of a dilemma; finding a way to say you will always be there to protect them while not being over protective and saying you don't think they can take care of themselves. You know, we had a pair of brothers born once to one of the Brandybuck lines, they were twins and the eldest believed that since he was born a whole half hour before his brother, he was the protector, and let me tell you the younger resented it every minute."

"What happened?"

"Well, one day, the younger twin got fed up with the whole thing and ran off; many of us were terribly worried as there were some rather unsociable animals that could easily hurt such a young one. Well, his brother was one of the many looking for him, and instead found an extremely large, extremely bad-tempered porcupine. Well, he was very worried because this porcupine had been reported as having a reputation of chase someone practically to death, and cause severe injury bordering on death; a little Hobbitling with the land shift of a hedgehog, sneak shift of a field mouse and had yet to be able to actually fly beyond simple branching had absolutely no chance of surviving such an encounter. My gardener, Hamfast, and I arrived in time to see the younger brother, whose land shift we found out that day was a badger, scare off the porcupine, showing his brother and the rest of the Shire that just because he was younger, did no way imply he was weaker." Fili listened and he had to admit, Bilbo's story did prove a valid point.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad our burglar is an owl; a bird any smaller and my brother would have been a pancake. I also happen to think least weasels are cute and I hope you will show us your shift sooner, rather than later when we are in trouble again." Fili said with a grin.

"Bilbo! Gandalf wants ya!" Bofur shouted to the two, who quickly came over to where he was, though Bilbo was unable to get any closer to the Troll hoard, as his nose with his sense of smell simply could not stand it.

"Bilbo, this one is about your size." Bofur and Fili could both see Bilbo tense at the sight of the Elven sword, not that they blamed him; they wouldn't want an Elvish weapon either.

"Gandalf, I already have a sword, and I believe whole heartedly in the abilities and capabilities of my claymore."

"Yes, but this sword is of Elvish make, and will glow blue when Orcs and Goblins are around, as opposed."

"Gandalf, even if my senses did not warn me when there were Orcs or Goblins around, and they do, if I wanted something that could physically tell me, I would simply acquire a piece or Elvish metal to wear as a medallion." Bofur and Fili, though in agreement over not wanting an Elvish weapon, could not understand exactly why Bilbo was thinking up such strange reasons as not to take it.

"Bilbo, despite what you may think of yourself, there is no reason why you cannot take this blade!" Gandalf said and the others could see he was becoming annoyed.

"Gandalf, it is not right for something dark to wield an Elf blade! You give me that sword and it will not be long before it becomes covered in blood!"

"Bilbo, despite what the Hobbits of the Shire may have conditioned you to believe about yourself, I for one believe that you know when to take a life and when to spare it!"

"Oh yeah? Why don't you ask those three Trolls back there? Oh wait, they're dead!"

"You had no choice!"

"I should have found another way instead of killing them! I could have just knocked them out!"

"Bilbo, you and I both know you made the plan so that it would kill the Trolls to protect the Dwarves from danger! I don't know why you refuse to admit that that was the reason why you did what you did the way you did, but all you did was protect your companions, and therefore deserve this weapon."

"If I take the sword, will it end this conversation?" Gandalf gave Bilbo the sword, only for Bilbo's head to suddenly snap up.

"Someone's coming!"

"Arm yourselves!" As Gandalf said this, Bilbo tied the little sword around his belt, drew his claymore as well as his targe and arming the covered arm with his obsidian dagger, and came running up between Fili and Oin. They were all rather shocked when Radagast came running out instead of an Orc pack.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!"

"Radagast, calm down and tell us what's wrong!" Bilbo shouted as he lowered his weapons, only to regret announcing his own presence as Radagast, surprised at seeing his former student, replied

"Black claw?! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, and please don't refer to me as Black claw here."

"I was looking for Gandalf here, but now that I know you're here, I think you better hear this as well. I found something that, if it's what I think it is, it is a precursor to something absolutely horrible!" Bilbo left the Dwarves in shock as he and Gandalf went to listen to what Radagast had to say. Bilbo became very worried as he found out that the Greenwood was sick, and his nerves were alight with fire as he withdrew the Morgul blade; these were indeed bad omens. That was when they heard the howling. Bilbo quickly summoned his bow and quiver as he heard Ori plead

"Please tell me that that was a wolf!" And Bofur replied

"Sorry Ori, but that was no wolf." Bilbo arrived in time to see the Warg appear and take a flying leap at the two Dwarves below. Bilbo couldn't even draw breath to warn them as he let an arrow fly straight into the side of the beast's skull, and saw it drill into its skull. He then saw another coming at Dwalin from behind.

"Kili, shoot!" Kili let loose an arrow of his own that hit the beast in the shoulder, and Dwalin and Thorin finished it off.

"Warg scouts, which means an Orc pack is not far behind!"

"When we get a moment, remind me to show you how to make a kill shot without truly aiming; trust your instincts. In the meantime, we are being hunted by creatures even I couldn't outrun." Bilbo said as he came next to Kili, who simply nodded.

"I'll draw them off; give you all a chance to make a break for it!" Radagast said and Bilbo wasn't thrilled over the idea of his friend and mentor being bait.

"These are Gundabad Wargs! They will out run you!"

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits! I'd like to see them try. Black claw I found this in my forest, see how it works for you and take care of yourself as well as your companions!" Radagast said as tossed a war hammer to Bilbo and took off on his sled. Bilbo threw his targe on his back and gathered his weapons, along with the new hammer, as they took off, on foot since the ponies had all bolted. However, Bilbo quickly realized there was a problem with their plan; they had forgotten to tell Radagast their route, and so they kept being cut off. Another problem was that Bilbo was fighting the urge to fire an arrow and give away their position, but it didn't sit well with his gut that Radagast was acting as a decoy. As they got pinned to a rock however, Bilbo had a feeling he was going to get his chance after all, though Bilbo wished Thorin had chosen him to be the archer; again, Kili hit the shoulder and the beast as well as its rider fell, practically on them. Bilbo ducked under Dwalin's arm and slammed the sharp point of the hammer into the Orc's head, following up with his katar, firmly gutting the Orc as Bifur and Dwalin killed the Warg.

"Not bad Hobbit." Dwalin said and Bilbo could only nod; now they had the rest of the pack to contend with.

"Run!" Bilbo was grabbed around the collar by Nori, as if he was making sure Bilbo came with them instead of staying to fight. Soon however, they had nowhere left to run.

"There's more coming!" Kili shouted.

"We're surrounded!" Fili followed and Thorin shouted as he drew his new sword

"Hold your ground!" They were all a little shocked though as something went whizzing past Thorin's head, only to take the head off of the Orc that had been coming towards him, followed by an arrow that was sent spiraling into the head of the Warg he had been riding. Thorin, Bofur, and a couple others turned to see Bilbo with his bow in one hand, and another hand reaching for another chakram. They all felt their blood go cold however as they saw an Orc sneak up behind their little warrior burglar.

"Bilbo, behind you!" Bofur screamed as the creature grabbed Bilbo and was obviously going to slit his neck when Bilbo said

"Big mistake, ugly!" Bilbo then slammed his elbow into his shield, releasing the hidden spike right into the Orc's stomach, causing him to drop Bilbo and fall to his knees in pain and shock. Bilbo, never one to miss an opportunity, slammed the targe again into the Orc's shoulder, and used his obsidian dagger to stab him three times in the face. As he turned around, he seemed to let out a snarling roar akin to a leopards or lions. He then aimed his spear at a Warg Ori had aimed at, but his sling shot had been nothing to the beast.

"We better think of something; we can't keep this up." Dwalin said and Thorin had to agree; the numbers of the monsters still greatly outnumbered them, even though he had to admit he had not given Bilbo the respect he deserved. He then noticed the sky darken, and the clouds gather around them.

"What the-?"

"Thorin, look at Bilbo!" Dori shouted and Thorin turned in time to see Bilbo raise his hands to the sky as a powerful bolt of lightning hit the Hobbit.

"Bilbo!" Thorin could hear Kili shout but he kept his eyes on the Hobbit as he convulsed, and then brought his hands down, aiming at one of the advancing Orcs. They were all stunned as they watched the Orc and Warg convulse before the electricity broke off through him and hit the two Wargs behind him and so on, until seven Wargs and three Orcs were enveloped in the lightning, before they seemed to disintegrate, and the lightning gave out, and Bilbo almost fainted, had it not been for Balin and Bombur.

"That little wizard is half crazy, is he alright?" Dwalin said to Thorin then asked his brother.

"He's breathing very erratically; we need to end this fight quickly before he gets it in his fool head to try that again!" Balin relied, but all thoughts left them as the heard Gloin yell

"Ori, look out!" One Orc with a whip had grabbed Ori and was about to bring his mace down when Bilbo jumped up away from Bombur and Balin, and ran faster than most could see, jumped again as he reached Ori and the Orc, and brought his claymore down on the arm that had been holding the whip and subsequently Ori, completely severing it. The Orc, however, swung his mace and hit Bilbo full in the chest, sending him crashing into a rock.

"Bilbo!" As the Orc got ready to finish Bilbo, Ori picked up Bilbo's fallen claymore and swung it with all his might, managing to actually behead the Orc (a/n: if anyone doubts this capable, watch the Deadliest Warrior episode William Wallace vs. Shaka Zulu).

"Now, he really needs medical attention!" Dwalin said and Thorin had to agree; an attack like that could seriously injure a person that was wearing armor, let alone what it could do to someone who was wearing none. Still though, the idiot was trying to get back up and rejoin the fight, when suddenly they heard

"This way you fools! Bilbo can't take anymore!" They saw Gandalf standing amongst some rocks, and for once, Thorin did not argue; Bilbo needed attention immediately if he was going to make it. They all ran to where Gandalf was, with Bilbo held tightly between Ori and Fili as they slid down, trying to minimize any further injury to their little warrior and Ori's saviour. Thorin leapt down last, just as they heard a horn sound.

"I may possibly be suffering from a concussion and several broken ribs, but I'm pretty sure that that is an Elf horn sounding, not an Orc horn." Bilbo replied from where he was leaning on Nori and Thorin winced as he got a good look at the Hobbit; he did not look good at all, his head leaking blood, and Thorin could see his hands severely blistered and burned.

"I cannot see where the passage leads; do we follow it or no?" Dwalin called and Bofur angrily replied

"Follow it of course; we need to get Bilbo someplace safe to look after his wounds!" Nori was about to lift and carry Bilbo when Bilbo said

"No offence, but nobody carries me." Thorin was about to argue with the idiot when Nori said,

"Then how about you just lean on me? You know, everybody leans on somebody else once in a while." Bilbo looked like he wanted to decline, but the combined looks of Ori, Fili and Kili about to cry promptly shut Bilbo the Warrior up. As they trudged along, they made sure to keep an even pace; with Nori making sure Bilbo didn't hit anything. When they finally made it outside, Bilbo wished he had passed out

"You brought us to Rivendell! Gandalf you barmy old wizard, are you crazy!? When Lord Elrond sees me, we are both promptly going to wish that I had been killed back there!" The others were all surprised when they heard this but had to agree with Gandalf (no matter how reluctantly) when he said

"Bilbo, you are grievously injured, Lord Elrond will be able to heal you much better than Oin, yourself or myself could possibly. However, I will attempt to make sure he directs most of his anger towards me and not you. Come along, and Thorin, if you are unable to keep a civil tongue in your mouth, then I suggest you keep it shut." Normally, Fili, Kili and a couple others would have chuckled at such a comment, but these were not normal circumstances. As they entered the greeting court, they were met by a young dark haired Elf.

"Lindir, I must speak with Lord Elrond at once, one of my friends is badly injured, and in need of aid." Gandalf spoke quickly and to the point.

"My Lord Elrond is not here." Lindir said as he looked for the injured one, though Bilbo was doing his best to hide, doubly so when they heard the horn from before sound again.

"Close ranks!" Thorin shouted as the Elves on their horses came back and surrounded them. Nori gently pushed Bilbo behind them and tried to keep their injured comrade safe.

"Gandalf!" Elrond called from his great black stallion and Bilbo whimpered as he tried to duck down lower but felt pressure build on his ribs.

"Lord Elrond." The two embraced and then, horror of horrors, Elrond held up Bilbo's spear and chakram.

"I don't suppose there's a good reason why I found these on the Great East Road, is there?" Just as Gandalf was about to answer, a new voice entered the courtyard.

"Father, has Bilbo arrived yet?" A tall beautiful female Elf appeared looking around, and many became confused at her question.

"Arwen? What do you mean?"

"Well, I found a new weapon that I thought Bilbo might like and so I wrote him to visit me here. I didn't tell you because I thought that you would forbid him from coming." The new Elf, Arwen, replied and Bilbo thanked Yavanna for her quick thinking.

"Arwen, you know that it's safer for him in the Shire."

"But father, he gets so bored there and he is so despised, at least here he has Estel and me to talk to."

"Bilbo, my daughter spins a good story, no doubt with minor seeds of truth thrown in, but I can always tell when she is lying, especially when I find it too large a coincidence that she should send for you the same time Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, including Thorin, son of Thrain, appear in my courtyard." Bilbo figured the jig was up and so came out. Figuring that Elrond would probably forbid him from continuing with the quest anyhow, he further figured there was no harm in the Dwarves knowing why he could no longer follow them. He allowed the more dangerous shift to come first, hoping it would soften the blow a bit.

"Kili, you wanted to know what I was that I could bring down an Oliphant with no trouble. Here, is your answer." Bilbo then felt his jaw and nose lengthen, felt a long bushy tail spring from his tailbone, and felt his fingers and toes merge into paws; where once stood Bilbo Baggins, the most hated Hobbit in the Shire, now stood a giant silvery wolf/Warg hybrid.

"He's a Warg?!" Thorin shouted and Bilbo couldn't help but whimper at how angry he sounded.

"To be fair, Master Oakenshield, he is a mix between a Warg and a wolf; this is one way the darkness changed his land shift. Bilbo, would you care to show the other way?" Elrond asked and Bilbo sadly nodded his head as he let his new 'natural' shift take over. The tail became longer and sleeker, his body more muscular, his legs shorter, his muzzle shrank, and his fur changed from silver to gold; he was now in the body of a golden tiger.

"Take him to the healing rooms at once, I will explain here then join him. Arwen, go with him." Arwen nodded as another Elf came and picked Bilbo up, though he tried to squirm; he may have just lost the closest things to friends he had had in a long time, but he still had his dignity.

"What you just saw was the body of a Golden Tiger, though he is that only superficially; he is actually a combination of the strongest features of the strongest big cats combined. He has the jaw crushing capabilities of a jaguar, the strong climbing limbs of a leopard mixed with the jumping capabilities of the tiger, the night vision of an ocelot and the claws as well as agility of a cougar. Meanwhile, a further mutation is that, in the summer, he is a golden tiger, when autumn arrives, he will be an orange tiger, and when winter comes he will be a white tiger." Elrond explained and the others were all shocked, and then Bofur said

"A tiger for all seasons." Lord Elrond then offered them dinner before heading off to assess the damage done to Bilbo, and Thorin made a gesture that meant they would all be talking later.

Later that night

"He took a look at the map, and said that the moon runes would be visible in about a week, if we're lucky. In the meantime, I thought we should discuss the issue concerning the Hobbit." Thorin filled them all in as they held their meeting on a moonlit balcony, but Kili had a bad feeling as to what his uncle was talking about.

"What 'issue'?" Kili was summarily ignored as Thorin went on to say

"I think he should be left here; we have no way of guaranteeing he won't attack one of us."

"NO!" Kili shouted and this time no one could ignore him as he stood in front of his uncle.

"Kili, I know you are fond of him but he is a Warg and-"

"He's a wolf/Warg hybrid, why should he be condemned for that?! You're a wolf for Mahal's sake!"

"Yes, but I can control my wolf, he obviously cannot control his animal side; one would think he wasn't even trying!"

"So?! We condemn someone just because their ways are different than ours?!"

"Kili, calm down." Fili tried to beg his little brother as he could tell Thorin was quickly becoming annoyed.

"No I won't calm down! You're all getting ready to explain to Bilbo that he can't come with us just because he kept secrets from us? Because he has a shift you don't like? Well, I'm an otter and a cheetah, should I stay behind with Bilbo?"

"Of course not, you're shifts are useful and-" again, Kili cut Thorin off with

"And I suppose a larger than average wolf isn't useful, and neither is a tiger? Thorin, you are letting your hatred for Orcs cloud your judgement here; Bilbo isn't a threat to anyone but the enemy, our enemy! Or have you all forgotten how he almost singlehandedly saved the ponies from three Trolls, saved me from being crushed by a Troll, saved you Thorin, saved Ori, saved all of us from the Orc pack?!"

"Kili in battle he acts more animal than man-"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW WITHOUT THE EXCUSE OF BATTLE?!" Kili shouted and Thorin went to backhand his nephew when all of a sudden a blur appeared in front of him and took the slap, making him fall to the ground. They all watched in shocked horror as Bilbo fell heavily on his arm and bandaged ribs, and then spat out a mouthful of blood as he tried to raise himself.

"I guess I should have looked for the clause where you're allowed to hit someone when they disagree with your informed opinion on something."

"Bilbo, what are you doing up? You should be resting in bed." Bofur asked as he and Bifur gently helped Bilbo stand.

"Lady Arwen told me she saw you all look like you were heading for a meeting, and I could only guess at what you were talking about. I just wanted to know if you were going to come up with an excuse such as 'I would heal much better in the safe shores of Rivendell' or a simple 'We don't like Wargs, get lost' or maybe you weren't going to tell me at all, just slip away when you found out the secrets of your map and then you wouldn't have to face me! But let me tell you something, King Under the Mountain; you have a problem with my shift, you take it up with me, you don't take it out on someone stupid enough to defend me!" Bilbo proclaimed and they knew he meant it. Many were actually shocked that Thorin would have actually gone through with it and strike his own nephew.

"Stay out of this hal-"

"Say 'Halfling' and I'll let you have it on principle!" Bilbo growled and then quickly shifted into a tiger as Thorin attacked him in his wolf shift.

"Bilbo, Thorin, stop this at once!" Gandalf shouted but neither seemed to hear him. Finally, Kili shifted into his cheetah shift and tried to get between the two juggernauts.

"Kili, get out of there, it's not safe!" Balin shouted but Kili responded

"Neither is it safe for Bilbo; he's got broken ribs on top of a concussion, he shouldn't be fight- ah!" Kili suddenly screamed as his paw was bitten. The thing was, it was his right paw that was bitten; Bilbo was on his left. Bilbo then went over and started licking his wound; tiger's saliva was an antiseptic, so he was actually disinfecting the wound. Fili then bound it for him.

"Do you know why I embrace my animal shifts, even though I hate them, Thorin Oakenshield? So that what you just did never ever happens to me; by embracing the shifts, you can control your instincts, by fighting them, all you are doing is making them stronger until you are no longer someone who can shift into an animal, you are an animal that can shift into a human." Bilbo said before he left, with Kili trailing behind him. Bofur looked at his brother and cousin then went to follow.

"Where are you three going?" Thorin asked and Bofur honestly replied

"He's a larger than average wolf, who's to say you won't do the same to a hyena? I lied Thorin; the hyena is my dominant, not the fox."

"Yes but you keep the animal in check."

"So do you, but which one was the one who bit Kili? That wasn't a tiger bite, it was a wolf bite." Bofur and his family then left to follow Bilbo. Nori and Ori looked at each other and went to follow.

"Don't tell me you two agree with them?" Dori asked and Nori replied

"What can I say? I know what it's like to not be wanted by some of your own race just because of whom and what you are." Ori followed with

"He saved my life Dori; he was exhausted beyond belief and dealing with burned hands, but he picked up his claymore and came running to my rescue. Don't ask me to hate someone I know to be good, even if he is kinda grouchy Dori; it would be like someone telling me that hating you was the appropriate reaction." The younger Ri brothers then left to follow the Ur family. Dwalin could not believe how badly the company was divided.

"In the morning, we'll try and talk to them but Thorin, I want you to look me straight in the eyes and tell straight out that the reason you want Mr. Baggins gone is because you are worried he'll attack someone, not because he simply bears a resemblance to the creature your enemy rides." Thorin found himself unable to fully look his trusted advisor in the face, how could he when he had been the one who bit Kili?

"I thought I taught you better than that." Was all Balin said as he and Dwalin left, with Dori, Oin, and Gloin following until it was only Fili and Thorin.

"Do you agree with your brother or me?"

"Thorin, you are my uncle, and when dad died you helped mom raise me and Kili while also setting things up in the Blue Mountains. I will always love and respect you, but with all due respect, you don't know Bilbo; he may always be grouchy, but I just think it's because he doesn't want to let people get close to him because he's afraid that when they discover his shifts, they'll hate him for something he can't control. I'm sorry, but all you did tonight was prove him right; Bilbo has been very helpful on the quest so far, but you are willing to overlook all his good because he carries the shape of an enemy." Fili then left, going in the direction of his little brother. Thorin sighed heavily as he tried to think on what to do, and he was so caught up, he didn't hear the Black Panther until she was right in front of him.

"Bilbo was right; you don't allow any of your animal senses to bleed through, otherwise you would have sensed me coming long before now." Arwen said and Thorin growled though it was not the growl of a wolf.

"What do you want?" Thorin growled, unwilling to deal with an Elf right now, even if said Elf was the daughter of his host.

"Only to show you something, in an effort to understand just what Bilbo really is. Please, follow me." Thorin sighed but got up to follow anyways. She led him down a corridor that seemed abandoned, and as they neared two doors, he noticed claw marks of both felines and canines on the walls.

"This is the first thing I want to show you." Arwen said as she nudged the door open before Thorin pushed it the rest of the way. Inside, was a demolished room, with claw marks all over the wall, and the furniture badly destroyed with both teeth and claw marks all over it.

"After my father saved Bilbo's heart and body, his mind was still in turmoil, and he refused to come out of his newly christened tiger shift, so he was locked up in here. Some were terrified to even pass this hallway, let alone walk down it to feed him, and every day he seemed to get worse; more vicious, more willing to attack anyone who came through that door. Soon, some were saying that his mind was too badly damaged, and he should be put down, for it was not truly killing another person, just an animal. Maybe it's because my mother was a simple, but beautiful tawny owl, or maybe it was because my father is a tiger, but I was unwilling to give up so easily when nothing had truly been done for his mind. So, one day, before Bilbo was fed, a friend and I walked down this corridor, and we shifted into the Black Panther you see before you, and a magnificent white tiger, and we opened the door. Bilbo sat there for a few minutes as I approached, my friend ready to attack and interfere if he tried anything. As I rubbed my muzzle against his, he returned the caress, as he did when my friend nuzzled him as well. He then followed us outside and we hunted and played for a long time, until we were set upon by Wargs and their riders; like a switch had been thrown, Bilbo turned back into a snarling beast. The three of us stood our ground, until our friend was pinned by a large Warg, and my paw was broken. An Orc was about to take my head clean off with a large battle axe, when he was jumped and crushed by an enormous silver wolf, bigger than a normal wolf, and yet not as large as a Warg. The wolf was able to help us, and as he cleaned my paw, I realized the wolf was Bilbo; his shift had changed to save us. Unfortunately, our kin could not see this, and one archer shot him with two arrows; he still has the scars. After this new transformation, he was locked in here." Arwen then showed Thorin the room next door, and as bad as the tiger room was, the wolf/Warg room was at least twice as worst; everything was broken beyond repair, the few sticks that could be identified as furniture not good for anything but kindling now.

"I was finally able to convince them that Bilbo needed to be allowed to run free or he would never gain control; like a child that has too much energy, they must be allowed to wear it off or it will become destructive energy. My friend and I were put in charge of his training and, one day when we went to wake him for the day's training, we found him in the form of a Hobbit, but we were shocked to find out he had changed back during the night, and was scared half out of his mind because all he saw was destruction by his own hand."

"He was stuck looking at all this all night?"

"Yes, he had been locked in to ensure everyone's safety and no one ever comes down this way unless you were his feeder, my friend, or myself. He was locked in with his own viciousness all night; it's why he is so willing to believe what the other Hobbits say about him being a monster, he really believes it because he's seen what he can do. When he came back from training with Radagast, he was more confident and strong, but there was always a fear that the animal would take over and he would need to be put down. After that, we taught him how to spar, and he found a safe way to vent his energy, though, with no one really to talk to about how he felt in the Shire, the two personalities somewhat merged. You could not have asked for a more loyal person to join you for your quest, yes I know about it, no I will not tell my father, but you also could not have asked for a more suicidal person to join it. He will not go back to the Shire if you tell him he is no longer welcome on your quest, nor will he stay here, where there are still those who believe him more beast than man; he will probably walk straight into an Orc's den, kill as many as he can, just so he can die with some semblance of honor, as his code will not allow him to take his own life. And what is probably the saddest thing of all, it that the only ones who will mourn his passing are myself, the one that Bilbo saved that day, Radagast, my father, Mithrandir, maybe a grand total of five Hobbits, and your nephew, Kili, who wants to impress you, but all you see is your mountain and your heir." Arwen then left before Thorin could say anything. He left the room, and wandered for a bit, until he came across a balcony, that had a sleeping hyena, a grey fox, an elk, a moose, with a pika on its head nestled between his great antlers, a cheetah all curled around a tiger, who was conversing with a lion.

"I want you to know Fili; it was never my intention for this to happen, I had intended only to come along on this journey to do what I signed up to do; and that is be a burglar. I don't know where this loyalty of your brother's is coming from, but when the dawn breaks, I'm going to tell him to stay with you and your uncle." Bilbo said, and Thorin could tell he was speaking truthfully.

"That may be a contradiction in terms, one that I myself may face if Kili decides to stay with you."

"What do you mean?"

"I promised my mother on her deathbed that I would always be there for Kili, and anyhow, I don't think I could stand to be apart from him. But once he has made up his mind on something, he sticks to it; if he wants to stay with you, he'll stay. But for me, I also gave my word that I would help Thorin reclaim Erebor; I fear that to honor one promise is to break another!"

"Fili, I will do my best to convince Kili that his place is with you and the company, but you must always remember that you cannot live your life to please others. If you spend your whole life pleasing others, you'll find that your life has never been your own. When I returned to the Shire, many were scared witless of me, so I tried to put them at ease by acting like them. It didn't work, they still called me a monster and an abomination that should have been forced out of the Shire, only the Thain's love of my mother stopped them. Well, it took me all of six months to realize that no matter what I did, they would always hate me so; I stopped trying to please them, and used my curse to protect the Shire. That still didn't endear me to them, but I found the Hobbitlings found my shifts fascinating, and so, when their parents weren't watching, they would ask me to shift so they could see them." Fili still looked unsure so Bilbo finished with

"The only thing I have left to tell you is that, to be even remotely content, you must listen to your heart; it always seems to know just where you're supposed to be and when. If you want, you can sleep next to your brother in this; the weirdest cuddle puddle of a pack there ever was." Fili let out a chuckle at that and nuzzled into Kili, and nuzzled Bilbo once before going to sleep. Bilbo looked around the 'cuddle puddle' with sad eyes, knowing that there was going to be repercussions when they all woke up, but settled in for sleep nonetheless.

A/N: Well, I think that's enough for one chapter, review and tell me what you think about the chapter and the story in general. Also, Arwen does have a weapon to show Bilbo, you'll find out what it is next chapter.