Kili gritted his teeth. They were only ten minutes into this ride and he was already wanting to explode. He nudged his pony a bit more, speeding up to trail just behind Gandalf.

Fili grinned as Legolas moved up beside him. The Greenleaf heir shot his friend a curious look, easily controlling the large pony he was currently riding. The Ereborean prince shrugged. "Been talking to Hollywood." He said blandly.

Sensing something beneath his friend's calm words, Legolas lifted a single eyebrow in question.

"In Khuzdul." Fili's lips turned into a cool smirk. He then shrugged negligently. "If he's not from Erebor, and can't understand our language, why is his hands turning white on the reins of his mount?"

"Calling him nasty things?" Guessed the young blond practitioner.

"Oh, all the worst things possible." Fili acknowledged with a tilt of his own golden-haired head.

Legolas looked ahead at the stiffness of Hollywood's spine and the tension he was fairly radiating. He smiled benignly. "Possible he doesn't understand you, and is just pissed off about having to wear our clothes." A slight pause. "Which they stole."

The two blond teens turned and glanced at each other. "Naw." They said at the same time.

Legolas quickly slipped in one more word. "Jinx."

Fili blinked, looking irritated. He knew the game, of course, having left behind private tutors to continue schooling for his sixth-form. Although he was also legally apprenticed to his Uncle Thorin as well, that was for heritage and family line stuff. It had been a bit of a shock to go from being a single student to a more structured class-room, and finding out he didn't know all the little tricks and games that most teens did. Jinx wasn't one of them though, as it was a favorite of Bofur's. Now he had to wait until someone said his name, or face a penalty for speaking out of turn. He started to frown.

"Hey Fili, Legolas, we left honey just sitting in our trunks. They may be covered in ants and other bugs by the time we get back." Beorn called out from behind them.

Fili grinned and whistled. The tallest teen had said his name. "Looks like I don't have to pay the penalty."

Legolas scowled and turned in his saddle easily, staring behind them. "Beorn!"

"What?" The tall youth asked innocently.

Ori heard the laughter behind him and looking back saw that the mirth was coming primarily from Fili Durinson. His eyes caught those of Kili, who was looking anything but joyful.

Ori slowed his mount so that Kili could move up beside him, the trail being rather wide. "Problems?" He said, his words only slightly over a whisper.

Kili shook his head and shrugged, shooting an ill glance back behind them at the laughing blond. "Alright. Who is he?"

The braided youth's eyes widened. Until now, Kili had been adamantly opposed to trying to figure out how Fili fit into the family tree.

Ori looked back again, finding a rather nice gap between the front and rear group. He looked back at his life-long friend. "He knows Nori."

"And Dori said that Nori worked directly with Thorin, my uncle." Kili shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, more from inner turmoil than anything else. "Which means, the name isn't just a coincidence."

"Fili." Ori sighed. "Probably a distant cousin. I hear that Thorin has a lot of people of Erebor descent working with him and around him. I mean, he is the rightful king."

Kili frowned, nodding. "I asked Uncle Frerin once why he stayed in America rather than joining his brother."

Ori nodded. "He told you that he could do more good petitioning Congress and the Senate from where he was." He paused, seeing the closed off look in his friend's eyes. "That's what you told me he said."

Kili bit his lip and shrugged. "That IS what he said. But …it's the HOW he said it. Like something was sour and bitter. I just got the impression that they didn't get along. And then Frerin got one of his migraines."

"Oh." Ori sighed in sympathy. Frerin was a successful movie producer, and highly popular wherever he went. But he'd been injured in battle before Kili had ever been born. It had left him with a permanent limp, which sometimes required a cane. There were also the recurring headaches. "He seems to be having less of those."

"Unless under a lot of stress." Kili said with an anxious air. "Which is why I don't bring up Thorin much."

Ori fell silent a moment, then shook his head. "Take away the blond hair and blue eyes, he does look an awful lot like you." He said hesitantly.

Kili immediately drew up in affront. "Take that back!"

Hunching his shoulders a bit, Ori refused to back down. "It only makes sense if you two are cousins."

"Distant." The brunet bit out the word angrily. "Very distant."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Gandalf stood at the edge of the creek bank, sighing gently. "I think we need to cross one at a time, for safety."

Fili eyed the small foot bridge and realized that it probably wouldn't hold more than one at a time. He wondered if the headmaster had miscalculated, or had forgotten about the small bridge. He glanced at the gray maned male. Sometimes he seemed so sweet and almost absent-minded, then he could turn sharper than a tack. Which was the real Gandalf he wondered.

The group passed the small bridge without mishap, though slowly. But now the path was no longer as wide. Forcing them to travel in a single file. Conversations fell away out of necessity as each individual was left with only the company of their own meandering thoughts.

At the head of the group was Gandalf, his thoughts not showing on his face. He stared straight ahead with a small half-smile while wishing he could light his pipe. If anything else needed the attentions of his mind, they stayed pleasantly in the background and didn't bother him at the moment.

Behind him rode Faramir, whose mind was occupied with melancholy. The summer was half-way over. And while he'd not covered himself in glory like Boromir had always done, taking home multiple winning trophies, he wasn't doing so badly. He even had some awards coming his way. But …there weren't as many as his brother's had been, nor as high. Would their father still be pleased? Would he get the enthusiastic welcome that Boromir had always received?

Beorn had somehow taken over the third position in the group after leaving the bridge behind. He was looking around, trying to locate the owl who'd come out to accompany them with its screech. He was also musing on the limited freedom he'd been granted for this summer. Mr. Azog wasn't someone given over to kind gestures. The tall youth knew that he'd been sent to private schools all year, and camps all summer for years, in order to keep him from being underfoot. For a guardian, the man didn't like his charge much. Beorn shifted in his saddle, his bruises long since healed. Still, it would be nice to finally turn eighteen and be rid of the man. Only two more weeks!

Ori fidgeted in his seat, not as comfortable on a horse or pony as Kili was. He didn't travel to Montana as much as his friend. His mind should have been occupied with trying to parse out just who Fili was and how he might be related to them all. But …his thoughts kept shorting out and returning to Nori Rison. Someone he really, really wanted to learn more about. But he didn't want to hurt Dori's feelings, which would normally keep him from acting. But Fili claimed to know Nori! Yet, how to approach the blond and ask without revealing who he was, or who Kili was. And why was it so important to avoid any English accented persons from Erebor? He'd never questioned the rules before …but now?

Kili mulled over the awful taunts that the blond poser had been throwing at him earlier. In Khuzdul. Dang it. Fili knew. He had to know. Why else use their heritage's ancient and highly private language? Fili had to know that Kili was of Erebor, not Gondor as they'd let everyone believe. He should have walked into the headmaster's office and demanded to call home. He should have contacted Frerin at once. He should have written at the very least. Why hadn't he? Sure, camp was far more fun than he'd thought. And although Fili was a first-rate chump and a jerk, he didn't seem like the type to kidnap someone to England and never let them go. Uncle Frerin had been so SURE though, so demanding in setting up the rules. No. Kili would just have to stay as far from the blond as possible, even if that meant not retaliating on pranks anymore. Nope. He was done.

Legolas daydreamed about a picnic lunch with Sigrid. Or Flora, the brunette who sometimes helped their florist with arrangements. Either one. And there was also the pretty girl who'd winked at him when his father hadn't been looking, over at Haversham's tea. None of whom his father would approve of. Which only made them prettier in his eyes.

Fili was in the middle of deciding he'd wasted enough time on pranks. Thorin and Dwalin would be disappointed in him. Half-way through camp and he'd not found out the information he wanted. Who were Skeet and Hollywood and why didn't they want him to know? He'd been caught up in camp fun, and the thrill of a summer out from underneath the family thumb. Legolas and Beorn were a great surprise, and he was really happy he'd made friends with them. Though his uncle and cousin might disapprove. Greenleaf? Thranduil's son? Yeah, they'd definitely disapprove. And Fili found he didn't care, it wouldn't change his mind about ….

Everyone snapped to attention at the sound of something roaring and clanging overhead, passing with a thrum of power. The sound started low and rose higher and higher until it ended in a whine and started all over again.

Gandalf urged his horse faster and the others hesitated, but followed gamely until they came to a natural opening in the woods. They circled around in a group.

Legolas' blue eyes were bright with excitement. "Those are ward soundings!"

Gandalf nodded grimly. "Protection wards." He explained for those who weren't practitioners, which was indeed everyone else. "Someone or something is trying to breach the protections of the camp."

Everyone stilled, although their horses were still restless and moving around though their riders kept them under basically good control.

Gandalf dismounted.

Fili frowned, they were still at least another ten minutes from Mr. Baggin's home. On horseback, longer on foot. "Sir?"

"I have to connect with the wards." Gandalf said and handed his reins to a nervous looking Legolas, who'd dismounted as well. "I'll be back. Stay here."

The boys all looked uncertain. Then startled as the warding alarms suddenly fell silent. Kili swallowed nervously, he wasn't sure which was worse. The unsettling sound or the absence of them.

Gandalf smiled. "It's probably storm damage, that's all." He said to reassure them. "Legolas? Do you know how to read ward power levels?" Receiving a hesitant nod, the headmaster gestured for the blond to follow him. "Beorn and Faramir? Start a small fire for us. I don't know how long this will take. I have supplies in my packs, so we can eat a small something if we need. O …Skeet? I do believe that you are a fair hand with a simple stew from what the counselors tell me. Would you be so kind?"

Skeet nodded nervously, all the while looking around at the shadowed woods about them.

"What about me?" Kili asked, not wanting to say 'us', not when it lumped he and Fili together.

Gandalf smiled gently at the two anxious faces. "Watch the ponies if you please."

"But …" Fili protested indignantly. Suddenly the warding alarms went off again, making their mounts nervous and flighty, tugging on their reins.

"Just watch the ponies please, thank you lads."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

The warding alarms began again, the four time in about an hour. Kili didn't even jump this time. He scowled and threw a rock at a random tree branch. He hit it of course.

"Stop that."

Kili didn't even question the impulse to disobey anything that Fili said. He simply stretched out his arm for another rock, and threw it at the same branch. It struck again. He could almost hear the other boy grinding his teeth together.

"I said to stop that."

Kili reached out, but the blond's own hand clamped down hard on his arm to stop him physically. His palm closed over the rock as he growled and jerked back.

Fili was giving him a hard stare. "We don't know what's out there."

"The headmaster said it was probably weather damage." Kili bared his teeth in warning.

The blond teen bared his own teeth right back at him. "Probably. Not for sure. And they've been gone too long."

"How long is too long? Are you a practitioner?" Sniped the brunet.

"Hollywood." Fili's voice made a mockery of the nickname. "You of all people know there are no real practitioners from Erebor. We have our own mystical ways, but they lie in other directions."

"Me. Of all people?" Kili jumped to his feet, Fili following suit.

"Being of Erebor." The blond sneered, then called him a baby with the mental capacity of a slug. In Khuzdul.

Kili swung wildly, connecting far more solidly than he'd intended. He watched Fili stumble back and then touch his nose, pulling back a hand with some blood on it. The brunet felt sick to his stomach as he guiltily dropped the rock that he'd forgotten he'd been holding. "I'm sorry …"

The apology died right there as Fili tackled him, right into a tree. Kili barked his head painfully against the trunk and wincing as all air whooshed out of his lungs. All thoughts of apologizing flew out into the wind.

Fili was seeing red, fed up and frustrated beyond measure. The other boy's fist slipped under his defense and scored along the ribs. The blond prince would have been embarrassed to let up, nor would Dwalin have allowed it.

Kili's head swam as several blows threatened to knock him silly, but his training was ingrained. Bifur would have been proud as he waited for Fili to commit to the next strike and then pulled down, letting the blond ram his fist straight into the tree trunk behind him.

Fili howled with pain and surprise as Kili swept the older teen's legs in an attempt to knock him flat. It only partially worked, throwing the boy's balance off and giving the brunet more space. Kili took advantage and settled into a fighting stance, arms raised and ignoring his swelling left eye.

"Khagam menu penu shiumund." Kili muttered, spitting on the ground before the blond.

Fili growled, then stared, then started laughing uproariously.

Kili glared at the older teen, rage simmering within the dark depths of his eyes. "Come at me!" He howled.

Fili shook his head, grinning. He pointed at Kili's feet. "Hollywood? That stance is pure Erebor. As was your insult. Care to tell me again how you are from Gondor stock? It's a bit."

"It is NOT an act!" Kili protested, feeling his stomach drop. How had he screwed up so badly?

"What a big tickle." Fili sighed, rubbing his ribs. "And you can leave off the sham now. Look. I'm Thorin's …." He'd been about to explain that he was the heir to the king when he heard a crunching, rustling sound coming toward them. He signed in Iglishmek to be wary.

The brunet made a face, torn about how to react. Taking the warning seriously was in order, but if he did was it admitting his ancestry? And what had Fili been about to say about Thorin? Probably that he was a cousin to the king, which Kili already suspected anyway. Unsure, he looked over at where they'd tied up the ponies.

Only ….

Kili's eyes went wide with distress. Fili saw the boy's reaction and spun, ready to face whatever was wrong. He saw the ponies, grazing. He shrugged, then stopped. "One, two, three, four …." His voice trailed off as he realized the obvious.

"Two are missing." Hollywood's voice sounded strained.

"Hello lads! There you are!" The hearty voice of Mr. Baggins had both boys hunching their shoulders protectively. The short, strange man came through the underbrush carrying two bowls of something steaming. "Was asked to bring these out to you two." He stopped, seeing that he did not have the attention of either youth.

Fili felt Mr. Baggins move up between he and Hollywood. He sighed.

The younger brunet sighed at almost the same time. "There seems to be a problem."

Bilbo looked back and forth between the two brothers who didn't know they were brothers and wondered at what could be wrong. He frowned. "You two look a bit worse for wear."

Fili finally turned and looked at the gentleman who was wearing a natty outfit even out here in the dark woods. He frowned. "We were coming to check on your well-being." He sounded faintly accusatory, as if it were Bilbo's fault somehow.

"Oh?" Mr. Baggins sniffed and turned to Kili. "I say. You should have someone see about that eye." He glanced back at the older teen boy. "How's your eye?"

"Fine." Sniped Fili.

"Got his ribs." Kili said absently. "That's not the problem. We seem to be missing two of our ponies."

Bilbo's eyebrows shot up and he handed the bowls of stew to the two lads and then looked around the area. "Well, it's hardly a mystery. With the warning alarms going off every few minutes, the ponies are spooked. Two have pulled their lines loose and have decided on a little stroll."

Fili nearly choked on the thought of ponies on a 'stroll'. "Which way?" Was all he managed to ask, though.

Bilbo tutted his tongue at them and then pointed in an Easterly direction. Then he frowned. "Oh dear." He said rather weakly.

The youngster known as Hollywood stirred uneasily. "Oh dear?" He repeated as if asking a question.

"That path leads to the cliff side." The little man commented sadly. "Not a safe way to go when it's been damped by the deluge earlier."

"Dampened." Kili repeated the word absently, amazed by the understatement considering how thick the mud looked going that way. "We have to get the ponies back."

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

"How did you manage to lose the ponies?" Legolas asked as the group followed the muddy trail leading toward the cliffs, and the ocean below.

"Didn't lose them." Kili grumbled. "They got spooked."

"By the wards going off every few minutes." Fili supplied, deliberately not looking at the brunet youth beside him. Neither mentioned it might have been their fighting that caused the ponies to bolt away. Or that neither had noticed right away.

Legolas looked at Hollywood's swelling eye, then glanced down at Fili's bloodied and raw hand where he'd barked it on the tree trunk. "Of course." He shot a look over at Beorn, who merely shrugged without comment.

"That way." Faramir said, pointing.

"Good eyes, lad." Approved Gandalf, leading the way with an assurance that the boys all found comforting.

Legolas studied Fili's face for another minute or two of silence, then obviously wanted to ask his question again. Forestalling the boy, Fili interrupted first. "Hollywood is from Erebor."

Blinking, Legolas turned to look at Kili, who was glowering and staring down at the muddy path before them all. The younger teen refused to look up and meet his gaze.

"Tomorrow you can wear your braids." Fili told him arrogantly, the words echoing the tone of his Uncle Thorin all unknowingly.

Kili clenched his jaw tight and fought not to ball his hands into fists. Again. "No." He couldn't. He was the nephew of Frerin and Thorin, the erstwhile king. And apparently in danger from being taken away from his home and never returning if he allowed anyone of Ereborean descent with a British accent to know who he was. Kili had never before questioned Frerin's directives, but now he wished he had more information. Such as … why? Still, he couldn't just disregard all the warnings. They'd come not only from his blood uncle, but his honorary ones too. Especially Balin, Bombur, Dori, Gloin and Bifur. He straightened his shoulders and turned to look defiantly at the blond walking next to him. "No." He repeated with finality.

Blue eyes blinked uncertainly at him. Fili couldn't help his confusion. "You're ashamed of being from Erebor?" He asked hesitantly, never having dealt with anyone NOT wanting to display their heritage proudly before.

"No! Never!" Kili asserted, then grimaced and ran a hand over his rather smudged face, leaving tracks of mud along one cheek. "Look, it's hard to explain and it's not my story to tell." It was Frerin's, and the brunet couldn't tell it if he wanted to, since he didn't know really. All he had were bits and pieces.

Fili heard the ring of truth in the other boy's denial, but he couldn't imagine any situation where it would be necessary ….wait. He was the crown prince of Erebor. Durinson. Sister-son and heir to the king in exile. It wasn't shame of heritage …it was political! Of course, that was it. He shut his eyes in frustration. "Your family doesn't want the attention of the main line of the Longbeards?" He sighed. "Look, I don't know what clan you come from, but I promise I won't talk politics or try and pressure you. Hands off."

Kili eyed the blond holding up both of his palms face out, showing he was unarmed in a symbolic gesture. The words rolled around in his head and he realized what Fili meant. The blond now thought he was from one of the other dwarrow clans that had broken off from Erebor centuries before, ones living away from the homeland and who were closer to being foreigners themselves. It took all he had to nod silently, having to bite his tongue from a sharp denial. He wasn't a Broadbeam or an Ironfist, clans that had become so intermarried with Europe that they were almost negligible as clans.

Dwarrow. The Khuzdul word for those peoples of Erebor. Frerin wouldn't use that term when describing the Stiffbeards anymore, curling his lips in derision as that clan had basically scattered and disappeared. The Longbeards, the Blacklocks, and even those of Dain's kingdom in the Iron Hills. THOSE were deserving of the word dwarrow. And he was one of them. A prince of them. His mother was the sister of the king. And …. He couldn't say a word about it.

"Thank you." Kili managed to get the horrible words out from his dry throat, though he wasn't sure how. He wasn't sure what was worse, Fili trying to figure out his bloodlines, or Fili thinking he was a member of a lesser, honor-less clan.

"Oh dear."

The boys all drew to a stop behind Gandalf, seeing little even with the fullness of the moon above them. The headmaster was standing in the middle of the narrow path, with heavy brush and trees on either side.

Unable to see beyond their camp's headmaster, the boys edged up slowly behind him. Peering out into the darkness, Fili felt at a loss. Yes, it was dark but there was a decent moon, so why ….

"Fog." Legolas murmured unhappily.

Beorn and Fili both grunted as they nodded. This was an island, and they were near the shore. The recent storm and temperature change had caused a fog to roll in, or maybe it was normal for the island. Beorn cleared his throat. "Is the fog natural?"

"No." Gandalf replied simply. "It's automatic once the alarms on the island's protective wards were triggered."

Ori and Faramir both startled visibly. Obviously they'd not considered that perhaps the fog was created rather than a work of nature. Fili turned and saw Hollywood's awed expression as he stared down at the ground in front of Gandalf. His eyes were wide. Following the other boy's gaze the blond prince found himself startled. There was no ground.

"How did the ponies get down there?" Faramir asked, having already realized they were standing on a rock face, a cliff. Unafraid of heights, the youngest camper had moved right up beside Gandalf and was staring down at the beach below.

Bilbo sighed heavily, pointing. "They took a path, but you can see it's very narrow and quite dangerous. I wonder what made them go that way?"

Gandalf sighed. "For the same reason we're going to take that same path."

Hollywood's eyes widened comically, but Fili didn't feel like laughing as he was sure his own expression was no better. "Why?" He asked gruffly.

Gandalf turned and looked at each of the campers in turn, then over at his friend Bilbo. "I'm so sorry. But the wards have not malfunctioned nor have they been affected by the weather."

Legolas looked stunned and put his hand out to steady himself on Beorn's shoulder. The tall youth stood resolute, but he was shaking his head in denial. "Headmaster?"

"There has been an incursion upon our haven here. The island is not currently secure." Gandalf tried for gentle tones, but there was an urgency in his gaze. "I had hoped to gather our missing ponies and return to the main camp. But we can't take the mounts we still have down there, as the path is now too slick."

"And we can't bring them back up here." Ori chirped in with a rather high voice full of nerves, though he looked ready to take on any comers. Fili nodded to himself, approving the young Ereborean's attitude. As Dwalin and Thorin had always taught him, you couldn't be brave if you had no fear. Only foolish. Fear was healthy, but you could never give in to it.

"We'll have to walk back to camp. And the path is …" Faramir pointed behind them uncertainly.

"That is also where the warning wards indicate our uninvited guests are currently. And they are heading in our direction." Gandalf made a wide gesture toward the cliff-side pathway. "We have little choice but to press on to camp in a more circuitous manner."

The boys all leaned forward, peering over the cliff to the beach below. Far below.

"No problem." Kili avowed.

Hearing Hollywood, Fili could do no less and nodded in agreement. Down the cliffs they'd go. Because … well, he swallowed hard. He'd failed. "It's my fault." He muttered miserably. "I didn't watch the ponies as I ought."

Hollywood's face turned dark as he glowered at the regal blond prince. "It was my fault."

"So. Now you two even fight to take blame? Shut it." Beorn pushed through the duo who were glaring hard at each other. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Gandalf tried to intercede, but Beorn walked straight ahead and then down the path. Fili cast a glance at Legolas and received a shrug in response. Then both boys followed their friend, being sure to stay as close to the cliff wall as possible.

Bilbo sighed. "Teenagers."

Kili, Ori and Faramir looked up at Gandalf, clearly worried. They gray-haired male smiled gamely at them, but his cheer didn't quite reach his eyes. "Come." The headmaster stepped out onto the cliff path, followed by his friend and then his three younger campers.

They all travelled in silence, tense. Some rocks slid down the side of the cliff toward the beach too far below them, but nothing too bad. Still, it was unnerving to Kili to step and feel the ground shift beneath his foot. He grimaced. Mud. His boot found purchase on the rock below the mud, but he did worry about slipping. One bad slip, and it would be a REALLY bad fall.

There really wasn't a warning. Rain just started up again. Hammering them as they trekked down the cliff. They'd travelled too far down to turn back. The boys shivered in their clothing. Kili found himself wishing for his own sweatshirt rather than the green shirt he'd 'borrowed' from the Greenleaf heir's trunk. "I'm cold."

"Don't be a baby." Snapped Fili ahead of him.

Kili's jaw tightened and he growled low in his throat. "I'm not ..." His words ended in a shout of fear and shock as suddenly, Fili disappeared. Sliding down the cliff as the ground beneath him simply crumbled. "FILI!"

o.o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o.o

Okay. Yes. An actual cliff-hanger. Couldn't help myself. So I didn't try. :P

Sorry for the delay in updating. Busy, busy, and you can guess the next word. Busy. For those hoping for an update on 'Stolen Heir', I'm sorry for the wait. For those waiting for an update on 'The Line of Durin', be happy. The plot bunnies are coming out of hibernation. Hopefully I'll have something up by Sunday night, but I can't promise.