I can't believe all the great feedback I've been getting these past few days, it's incredible! You all are absolutely wonderful :)

A big thank you once again to mrsmiawallace88 and MusicalDreamerx as well as tessastarchild, luna and ZabuzasGirl for your reviews! They mean a lot to me!

I feel just a tad bit iffy about this chapter...I think it could be a little better, but who knows? It could very well be good enough the way it is. I'll let you guys decide! ;) Enjoy!

(mrsmiawallace88: There is a small portion of this chapter that's dedicated to you, deary :) I'm sure you'll figure it out once you read it! ^^)

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As the Oakenshield company continued onward, Airaním couldn't help but giggle at Bilbo riding next her, looking very uncomfortable on the pony he had been practically forced on by Fili and Kili. She could tell he'd never ridden one before, being a Hobbit and all. The small horse threw its head back and neighed, making Bilbo flinch and Aira started chuckling again. Finally she said to him, "She likes you, Bilbo."

Bilbo looked at her, confused. "How do you know?" he asked.

"I just do," was her answer. "Trust me, there's nothing to be afraid of. She's just a harmless pony, you'll get used to her. Ponies can tell if their rider is afraid or nervous in any way and I believe that's why she just tossed her head at you. She's telling you she likes you and there's no need to be nervous. Go ahead and pet her, let her know you're not afraid. It's all right."

Timidly, Bilbo reached out and stroked the pony's mane. His face softened as he continued this action. "What's her name?" he asked Aira.

She looked down at the pony and replied, "Myrtle, I believe is her name."

A little grin appeared on the Hobbit's face as he finished running his hands through Myrtle's hair. "You know what? I believe I'm getting used to her already." Bilbo gave Aira a glad and happy glance. "Thank you, Miss Aira."

"You're welcome. And please call me 'Aira'. None of that 'Miss' talk," she said with a wink. "There's no need for formalities."

"Well, you can't blame the good fellow for being a gentleman in the presence of a lovely lady," said a voice. Both Aira and Bilbo's heads turned to see Gandalf coming up in between them on his horse. Then they looked at each other and Bilbo's face reddened slightly, a sign that what the wizard had said wasn't entirely false.

Aira inched her pony over to give Gandalf room to ride beside them, smiling at him for his nice comment. "Gandalf, you flatter me," she said. "And you make the dear Master Hobbit here blush." Looking at Bilbo reminded her of the bet she made with Nori. She noticed he was riding not too far ahead of her and called out, "All right, Nori, pay up!" She could hear the Dwarf mutter something to himself before tossing a small pouch over his shoulder. Aira caught it with ease and chuckled to herself, satisfied at being right and winning a bet. Within seconds, the rest of the Dwarves who had lost the bet were tossing pouches of coins to the other Dwarves who had won.

"What's that about?" asked Bilbo.

"Oh, we took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up," Aira answered, tossing her coin bag up and down in her hand.

"Most of them bet that you wouldn't," Gandalf told him.

Bilbo gave him a curious look. "And what did you think?"

Gandalf sighed loudly and then caught a coin pouch without even looking. He fumbled with the bag and then replied as he put it into his satchel, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."

Just then, Bilbo gave a small sneeze. Thinking an explanation was needed for it, he simply said, "Oh, its horse hair…having a reaction." He put his hands in his pockets and started looking about back and forth between them. "Wait, wait, stop!" he cried out. "Stop! We have to turn around."

The company stopped and eyed the Hobbit with irritated stares. What was going on with him now?

"What on earth is the matter?" asked Gandalf.

"I forgot my handkerchief," Bilbo replied quickly.

Aira rolled her eyes and groaned. He couldn't be serious….

"Here," called Bofur who ripped a piece of his shirt off, "use this." He tossed the fabric back to Bilbo who caught it and looked at it with disgust.

"Once again, there's Bofur trying to help Bilbo in all the wrong ways…," Aira thought as she shook her head at what just happened. She heard Thorin call out for everyone to move on and the company began to move forward again. Aira moved Vega off to the side and stayed in place while the others moved on. She decided that now she wanted to ride by Fili and Kili, who were in the very back of the line.

As she waited, she could hear Gandalf say to Bilbo, "You will have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire. Home is now behind you. The world is ahead."

Aira exhaled sharply. "Right you are, Gandalf," she said quietly to herself.

"Has your pony suddenly lost the ability to move?" she could hear Kili ask her as he and Fili came up behind her on their ponies.

"No!" she exclaimed in a teasing, defensive tone. "I was just waiting for you two to come by so I could ride with you."

Kili's expression grew merrier as he said good-humoredly, "Did you hear that, brother? She was waiting for us! How sweet is that?"

"Very sweet, indeed!" Fili responded in the same manner.

Aira rolled her eyes at them. "Did you both get your winnings for the wager?" she asked.

They both nodded.

"We showed Nori!" Aira boasted.

"We showed everyone in believing Bilbo would come," said Fili.

Aira's eyes lifted to look to the front of the line. "Thorin especially looked surprised to see him," she said. When they had heard Bilbo shouting and stopped to wait for him, she had noticed Thorin's reaction when they stopped. He had turned around, looking over his broad, fur-covered shoulder with watchful eyes, and stared at the approaching Hobbit. Aira even swore she saw the corners of his lips twitch slightly upward, as if he was almost glad to see Bilbo had made it after all. Either that or he couldn't believe that he had been proven wrong by a wizard and three younger Dwarves plus Bofur and just couldn't help but smirk at the thought, which, to Aira, seemed more likely.

Her thoughts began to wander as she thought about Thorin back in that moment. Where they had stopped, the morning sun peeked in through the trees perfectly behind him, adding more radiance to his already regal image. The way that he glanced over his shoulder, letting his sight roam over his companions behind him before reaching the Halfling, could make any creature stop in its tracks. Before she had looked back to Fili and Kili, Thorin's gaze had met hers and Aira felt her muscles freeze for a small moment in awe of him. It amazed her just how kingly he truly appeared and he clearly had grown more majestic with the passing years. She knew this in her mind already about the Dwarven leader that she admired, but it all had really dawned on her again in that brief moment.

When their eyes met, she had smirked and raised her eyebrows to him jokingly, as if to say, "I told you so," in regards to Bilbo. In response, Thorin simply gave a shake at his head at her teasing. "Oh, how I've missed that noble, stubborn Dwarf!" she had thought then.

The sound of Kili's loud voice in Aira's ear pulled her out of reminiscing as she jumped. Both he and Fili were eyeing her peculiarly. "What?" she asked.

"We said something to you, but your head was way up in the clouds," said Fili.

"Oh, sorry!" Aira apologized.

"It's nice to see that your endlessly wandering mind hasn't changed," said Kili with a grin.

"You have no idea…," Aira said back, close to a mumble. Before either of them could ask what she meant, she asked, "What was it you said to me? I'm sorry."

Fili merely smirked and answered back, "Honestly, we didn't say anything until we noticed the very distant look in your face. Then we said we'd sneak your winnings from Nori out of your bag while you were lost in thought!"

While the brother's started snickering at her, Aira started ruffling through her bag latched onto Vega's saddle, making sure the coin purse was still there. Sure enough, her hand found it within seconds. She looked up, staring at the two Dwarves carefully, and they started chuckling louder at her expense.

"Very funny, you two!" she jeered at them.


The day passed quickly for the company as they continued on over the vast ranges and rivers beyond the Shire. The beauteous lands they traveled through were truly a sight to behold, but the Dwarves began to feel more comfortable once they reached the rocky foothills. It made them feel more at home being up in the mountain-like rises above the wide valleys below. Time had gone by rather fast, it seemed. It helped that they all passed the time easily with continuous conversations and the playing of music every once in a while, provided mostly by Bofur on his flute and Dwalin with his violin. Aira was still stunned at how such a brawny Dwarf could handle such a delicate instrument without difficulty.

Soon, day turned into night and the setting sun disappeared behind the horizon of the lowlands. As darkness came, Thorin informed the company that they would make camp for the night and rest in a clearing on a large cliff. Tired, everyone laid out their bedrolls on the ground and began to relax while Bombur and Airaním, who graciously offered to help, prepared their supper, which was some rabbit and pheasant that had been caught by Gloin, Dori, Fili and Kili. The meats tasted like delicacies to the Dwarves. Even Bilbo found it quite satisfactory. It was mostly thanks to Bombur, who had a knack for making a mean meal. All he had Aira do was mind the spit while he worked his cooking magic. She didn't mind that, at all. At least she was doing something to help.

Once supper was finished, everyone knew it was time to retire for the night and regain their strength for the next leg of their journey. It didn't take long for a majority of the company to fall fast asleep. Fili and Kili were assigned first watch.

Aira, however, could not bring herself to sleep easily. She had been finding it hard to sleep lately, her mind being overwhelmed with unpleasant dreams of her past again. They were different now than they had been when she was a young child, but these were ones she didn't ever wish to talk about. Somehow, she had been able to sleep just fine the previous night, which she figured was because of her reunion with her friends and the heirs of Durin; her family, and the joy she had felt from it, but now she was afraid that her frightening dreams would return. So she simply laid on her back and stared up at the stars for hours, it felt like.

Finally, when she figured she would not get to sleep anytime soon, Aira stood up. She pulled her coat out of her pack and pulled it on to keep warm. It was another item that Thorin Oakenshield had given to her years ago and it was similar to his own in appearance. Hers was made of maroon fabric with cream-colored fur that cascaded down the shoulders and lined the edges. It definitely made her feel like royalty every time she donned it; it was yet another bit of home that she held onto while she had been away.

Quietly, so as to not wake any of the others, Aira walked over to Fili and Kili who were sitting up against a large rock wall near a fire. Fili was smoking his pipe and Kili was playing with a tuft of grass in front of him.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Not at all!" Kili answered, gesturing to the ground next to him where Aira then sat herself.

Fili pulled his pipe away from his mouth and asked, "Can't sleep?"

Aira shook her head. "No, my back is a little sore from having to work that spit at supper for quite a while and it's been bothering me, is all," she said, knowing that was only half-true. Yes, her back was sore a bit, but that wasn't the real reason she couldn't sleep. She didn't want to tell the brothers the real reason. Not yet, anyway. She knew she couldn't keep anything from them for long, but for right now, she would try her best for her sake and for theirs.

"Here, come closer," said Kili, patting the ground right next to his leg. "I'll give your back a rubdown to help ease the pain." Kili really was trying to do something polite for Aira, but, in all honesty, he had hastily made that suggestion due to his new feelings for her than just out of friendly kindness.

Aira was a little surprised at his quick offer, but gave him a grateful smile nonetheless. She figured it couldn't hurt to let him do so. "That would be lovely, Kili, thank you," she said to him, moving right by him, removing her coat and turning so her back was facing him.

"Smooth, brother!" Fili, who was grinning from ear to ear behind them, thought to himself.

Kili repositioned himself on his knees, laid his hands on Aira's shoulders and started massaging them gently, his thumbs kneading deep into them. Aira closed her eyes, feeling a tender pain rise in her neck and shoulders shortly before it subsided with Kili's continuous circular motions. Soon, his hands wandered their way down her back to her shoulder blades and began working at the knots they could feel in her back. Aira gasped sharply as he found a really tight one just under her right shoulder blade that sent a sting through her backside.

He jerked his hands back, afraid he'd been too hard on her. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No, it's all right," Aira reassured him. "You found a tense spot just then, that's all. Please, don't stop." She had no idea why she added that last plea. It came out before she even realized what she was saying. When the Dwarf woman thought about it, she found Kili's massages very relaxing and felt every bit of soreness leave her body with each rounded movement of his firm yet still gentle hands.

"Am I enjoying this a bit more than I should?" she wondered.

Her eyes closed again as his hands resumed their ministrations, this time on the small of her back and working their way around to her waist. She stiffened at first to his sudden touch so low on her body, but then gave in to it with ease. His smooth movements made her skin tingle underneath the fabric of her shirt. How was Kili so good at this? Just then, Aira could sense his face close behind her as he leaned his head down, concentrating on kneading her lower back. She felt the warm sensation of his breath on her neck that sent shivers down her spine. They felt strangely good to her and that caused a smile of satisfaction to move on her lips.

The answer to the question in her head came immediately: "Yes, I believe I am."

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