The reactions I keep getting to this story are great! I love it :)

Sorry I always upload a chapter late at night :P (Well, it's late where I live, at least...) I'm normally pretty busy during the day and can only find time late in the evening to update.

Enjoy! :)

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"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked Thorin once everyone had been seated. Aira, Fili and Kili had gone to the back of the room as they were the last to be seated and Aira sat in between the brothers.

Thorin was now eating some stew that Bilbo had somehow managed to save from the pillaging of his pantry. After taking a sip of it, he replied with a simple grin, "Aye, envoys from all seven kingdoms."

"And what do the Dwarves from the Iron Hills say?" Dwalin then asked. "Is Dain with us?"

Thorin's face then turned grim as his eyes dropped down to the table. "They will not come," he said. "They say this quest is ours and ours alone."

"You're going on a quest?" asked Bilbo, who was standing behind Gandalf and Thorin.

Gandalf then requested a little more light from the Hobbit and then proceeded to pull out a piece of parchment. "Far to the East," he began, "over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands lies a single solitary peak." He laid the parchment down to reveal a map.

"The Lonely Mountain," Bilbo pointed out as he held a candle out over it.

"Aye, Oin has read the portents and the portents say it is time," said Gloin, motioning to his brother sitting across the table with his head.

Oin, while holding his ear trumpet to his deaf right ear, said, "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold. When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."

Aira's eyes caught Bilbo whipping around in the hallway at the mention of the word "beast". "What beast?" he asked nervously.

"Well, that would be a reference to Smaug, the Terrible; chiefest and greatest calamity of our age," answered Bofur. "Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat-hooks, extremely fond of precious metals—"

"Yes, I know what a dragon is," Bilbo quickly said, stopping Bofur from continuing.

Ori then jumped from his seat, a determined look on his face. "I'm not afraid, I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie!" he exclaimed. He was then silenced and pulled back down into his chair by his older brother.

Aira couldn't help but giggle at the young Dwarf who was trying to act tough. She leaned across the table, gave him a pat on the hand, smiled at him and whispered, "I admire your courage, Ori."

He gave her a very boyish grin back.

"The task would be difficult enough even with an army behind us. But we number just fourteen," said Balin, who was starting to sound rather doubtful. "And we're not fourteen of the best…nor brightest." The rest of the Dwarves started to grumble at this.

Aira didn't like Balin's tone of voice, which was really quite odd for the usually optimistic old Dwarf. "Well, I don't know about that, Balin," she said as all eyes turned on her. "Who said you have to be the best or the brightest in order to do what you feel is necessary or right? I mean, that's why we're all here! All of us want to achieve the same goal; to do what we feel is right: to take back the Lonely Mountain. So what if we don't have an army from the Iron Hills with us? We don't need them!"

Her voice grew louder, stronger and bolder with every sentence. She was determined to keep the Dwarves' spirits up about the quest. It seemed like it was working as she noticed everyone staring at her with impressed looks.

"Between the lot of us," she continued, "we have a vast variety of knowledge in different things and we each have different skill sets that could be of use. We are the brave ones here…because we are willing to risk our lives, go against all odds and brave the impossible! That is what makes us the best!"

Aira felt Kili wrap an arm around her shoulders and squeeze her gently, pleased with her steadfast and audacious words.

Fili then pounded a fist on the table, his own determination now building after being moved by all that Aira had just said. He added loudly, "We may be few in number, but we're fighters. All of us! To the last Dwarf!"

It was clear that Aira's words had had quite the effect on both the brothers because Kili immediately added, "And do you forget? We have a wizard in our company! Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time."

The wizard began to protest against Kili's assumption, but was cut off by Dori, who asked, "Well, how many then?" When Gandalf hadn't heard his question the first time, the Dwarf re-phrased it. "How many dragons have you killed?" Now everyone's eyes fell on the grey wizard, waiting for an answer. When he gave none and started coughing up smoke from his pipe, Dori grew impatient. "Go on, give us a number!" He, along with a majority of the Dwarves, stood up from their chairs and starting shouting and arguing loudly.

Fili turned his head, leaned forward to look around Aira at Kili and gave him a reprimanding look. "Look at what you've done, brother," he said.

"What did I do?" Kili asked defensively.

"You brought up the dragons," Aira said in response, emphasizing that it pretty much was his fault for what lead to the other Dwarves' bickering.

Kili opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by a fierce yell from Thorin, who had pushed himself up from his chair, silencing everyone. The arguing was pointless and he was going to put an end to it.

"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too?" he asked. "Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon, Smaug, has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look East to the mountain assessing, wondering, weighing the risk…perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected." The natural tone of leadership rose in his voice as he asked the final question, "Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours…or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?!"

The Dwarves all cheered in accordance with their King, raising their fists in the air.

"Du bekâr!" Thorin shouted as the final rally cry, which was Khuzdul for "To arms!"

But then Balin cut into their cheering. "You forget the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain."

"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true," Gandalf said to him and then, with a flourish of his hand, produced a large, elaborately fashioned key from his pocket.

Thorin, now sitting in his chair again, looked with wide eyes at the key. "How came you by this?"

Gandalf answered, "It was given to me by your father; by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now." He handed the key to the Dwarf who gratefully accepted it and put it in his own pocket.

"If there is a key, there must be a door," Fili stated.

Gandalf pointed down at the map. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls."

Kili's face lit up. "There's another way in," he said gladly.

"Brilliant deductions, boys…!" Aira muttered sarcastically under her breath.

"Well, if we can find it, but Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gandalf pointed out. He began gesturing back to the map with his hand. "The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it," he admitted, "but there are others in Middle-Earth who can." His eyes lifted from the parchment to Thorin's. "The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage. But if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done."

Aira straightened up in her seat, now feeling rather confident. "Sounds like my kind of task," she thought to herself.

"That's why we need a burglar!" Ori said as if he was now catching on.

"A good one, too," said Bilbo, having not spoken for a little while now. "An expert, I would imagine."

"And are you?" Gloin questioned him.

Bilbo turned and looked around to see who Gloin was talking to, but then realized the question was directed at him. "Am I what?"

"He said he's an expert!" Oin cried out cheerfully, even though he clearly couldn't hear well through his ear trumpet.

"No, no, no, I'm not a burglar!" Bilbo protested immediately. "I've never stolen a thing in my life."

While that conversation went on, Aira leaned close to Kili and asked quietly, "What are your thoughts about Bilbo? Do you think he'd be a good burglar?"

Kili replied, "I like Bilbo, I think he's a very pleasant fellow. Will he make a good burglar? It's hard to say. But I think there's more to him than we think."

Aira turned to Fili, who had been listening to them. "What do you think, Fili?"

"Well, we're not as judgmental as Uncle Thorin, who I can tell doesn't think much of him. I think Bilbo just may surprise us."

The air soon filled with loud noise again. The three of them found the other Dwarves were heatedly debating about Bilbo.

Just then, a cloud of darkness overcame the room as Gandalf stood up and angrily stated in a firm voice, "Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is."

Aira was been quite taken aback by Gandalf's use of magic that was generated from his frustration. She didn't realize that she was leaning into Kili's shoulder like she was hinting for protection. His arm had come up around her shoulders and he kindly nudged her as the darkness faded away. Once she realized her proximity to Kili, however unintentional it was, and his encouraging gesture, Aira gave him a grateful glance.

Gandalf had composed himself and was continuing with his talk to the Dwarves about Bilbo. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet and can pass unseen by most, if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of Dwarf, the scent of a Hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage." He lowered himself back down to their level. "You asked me to find the fifteenth member of this company and I have chosen Mr. Baggins," he boldly said to Thorin, making known to him that we would not be dissuaded in his decision. "There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest and he has a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself."

Thorin looked back at Gandalf. "Technically, I asked you to find a fourteenth member. I was unaware that you would be adding another last-minute addition," he said, casting a glance over at Aira.

For a second, she thought he wasn't happy about her being there, but, to her relief, she saw him giving her an appreciative look that said the exact opposite.

The King remained silent for a short moment before saying at last to the wizard, "Very well, we'll do it your way." He looked to Balin. "Give him the contract," he told him.

Aira found that a little strange. "Contract? Do I have to sign that, too?" she asked her two friends.

They both shook their heads. "No, you won't have to. Thorin knows you well enough," said Kili.

"He only had Balin come up with one for Mister Baggins as a safety precaution. He doesn't know him and is unsure of whether or not to trust him," Fili added.

"Despite the good word Gandalf's put in for him."

"Because you know how stubborn our uncle can be."

The Dwarf woman scoffed lightly. "Do I, ever," she said. "I can't say I blame him, though. You can't be too trusting of others all of the time. But it is Thorin, so I'm not surprised either."

She turned her attention to Bilbo who made his way into the hallway and was reading the contract out loud to himself. She couldn't make out what he was saying until she heard the words, "…limited to…laceration…evisceration? Incineration?"

"What are they trying to do, scare the poor Hobbit?" Aira asked in her mind.

Bofur then responded, "Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye."

"I spoke too soon."

Bilbo's breathing started to slow down and grow shorter as he bent over.

"You all right, laddie?" Balin asked him.

Bilbo nodded and inhaled deeply. "Yeah…feel a bit faint."

Bofur stood up. "Think furnace with wings!" he said, attempting a pleasant tone of voice.

"Oh, gods, that isn't helping!" "Durin, stop him…!" Aira mumbled quietly as she pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head at Bofur's "efforts" at trying to calm Master Baggins.

Unfortunately, when Bilbo said he needed air, Bofur continued to talk. "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

"Bofur, shut up!" Aira grumbled through gritted teeth, the volume in her voice a little louder than her last muttered statement. Normally, she adored Bofur's sweet, happy-go-lucky attitude, but the way he was handling the current situation with it was not really helping.

Bilbo started to straighten up, making Aira and the Dwarves think he was all right. Then he plainly uttered, "Nope," and collapsed to the floor.

Aira rolled her eyes as she got up from the table, made her way past Gandalf and over to the passed-out Hobbit. "Bofur, what in your right mind made you think all that would possibly make him feel better?" she demanded, irritated.

Bofur just shrugged. "Can't blame me for trying."

"Well, maybe you should've tried just a little less," said Aira. As Bilbo started to come to, she slipped her hands underneath his arms and helped lift him to his feet. "Up you get, Master Hobbit." She guided him over to his favorite armchair and then, after he offered his thanks, left him alone to speak with Gandalf. Their conversation didn't last long, however, because after only a few minutes did Aira see Bilbo leave the room.

The young woman moved into the front room and decided to sit in front of the fireplace, where a large fire was busy burning away, to warm herself up. She knew not how much time had passed when she began to hear low sounds coming behind her. As the sounds got louder, she realized the Dwarves were humming and she recognized the tune. Just as she noticed this, Aira felt something move up close to her back. She looked up and realized that Thorin was now standing above her and staring deeply into the flames. Knowing who it was now, she leaned back and rested her head comfortably against his left knee. He began to sing in a deep, gravelly yet soothing voice that sent a rumble through his whole body that Aira could feel against her back in his legs,

Far over the Misty Mountains cold,

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away ere break of day

To find our long forgotten gold.

This song was one Aira had heard Thorin sing a few times before. No matter how many times she heard it, the deep meaning behind the song never ceased to send chills down her spine. To most of them, it was a song of home. Even though Aira never knew Erebor like Thorin or any of the others did, to her, it felt like a song of home, too. She closed her eyes and started to sing with him along with the rest of the Dwarves.

The pines were roaring on the height,

The winds were moaning in the night,

The fire was red, it flaming spread,

The trees like torches blazed with light.

There was long moment of silence as the almost-spiritual song came to a close. Soon the silence was broken by Thorin who told the company that they should retire for the evening and that they would be leaving at first light.

He then walked away, making Aira almost fall on her back, having lost her headrest. She moved to get up but then saw Bofur approach and offer a hand to help her. Graciously, she grasped his hand firmly and he quickly lifted her up. He and the other Dwarves said goodnight to her, some of them patting her on the back as they passed her, and left the room, all tired and ready for bed.

Aira, on the other hand, was not tired just yet. Once she found herself alone in the front room, she walked to the front door, opened it and stepped out into the night.

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Any thoughts? So far, I think this is moving along pretty well, but I want to know what you all think! :)

Update to come soon, hopefully by tomorrow!