Bilbo ran as if his very life depended on it. Which, in all rights, it did.
Mirkwood was not the nicest of locations the small company of thirteen dwarves and one hobbit had to march through. The trees were begining to molt and rot, the animals that still lived were silent as death, and those that were not could sometimes be spotted littering the forest floor. No flowers could be seem to bloom, and the fruits that could be found were sour or infested. No, Mirkwood was most certainly not the nicest of places to go.
However, one thing the company had certainly not expected, let alone warned about, were the spiders. Oh, certainly, Radagast had mentioned something to Gandalf in passing, but none of the dwarves took any head. Spiders, after all, were not so big a threat to dwarvin warriors.
Alas, spiders that were near twice the size of dwarves, let alone a hobbit, were certainly not what they had been imagining. Not in the least.
When the spiders had descended upon the company, Bilbo had been just lucky enough to get away from their pincers, slashing at spindly legs with his sword and using his slighter stature to it's fullest benefit. Bo, the hobbit's sweet little pet lindwyrm, kept herself wrapped tightly around her master's neck, under his shirt collar, during the battle, only poking her tiny head out the scorch any hairy spider feet that Bilbo didn't immediately notice.
Once out of immediate danger, Bilbo hid, ducking below tangled tree roots and wilting bushes, watching in horror as his friends, almost family, were struck down and caught up in webs by the monstrously large arachnids. He barely contained the sound of distress he wanted to make as he watched the dwarf sized bundles being dragged away.
"Stay quiet, Bo," Bilbo murmured to his dragon, patting her head as he crept out from his hiding place and using his natural talent of sneaking near unnoticeably to the best of his ability to follow the spiders.
The beasts finally stopped after a trek, each spider depositing the dwarves in it's own spot, whether it was half way up a tree, or nestled at the base of a bush. Bilbo chewed absently on the inside of his cheek while he waited for them to finish storing the dwarves for later, watching the hairy monsters finally leave.
Once he figured the coast was more or less clear, he rushed out from his hiding place, using his blade to cut the fallen dwarves free of their sticky prisons. He sighed happily when the first cacoon he opened revealed the dwarf King who, despite looking shaken and pale, was awake and oh so very alive. Bilbo barely managed to contain the urge to hug Thorin, settling for a watery smile.
"Hurry," he hissed at Thorin, while the other pulled weakly at the webbing still sticking to him so he could fully stand, "we need to free the others before the spiders return."
The two set to work, freeing the rest of the company, who were all alive, thankfully, though in different states of wakefulness.
"Thank goodness," Bilbo murmured as he finished cutting Bofur free, smiling at his groggy, confused friend, completely unaware of the dark shadow slowly creeping up to loom over him.
"Bilbo!" Thorin shouted, as the hobbit looked up in mild horror at the lone spider who had returned, it's pincers drawn wide, viscous liquid dripping from it's jaws. The hobbit could barely move, let alone cry out as the spider went to make a move, only to have a burst of flame engulf it's furry maw.
Bo screeched from her spot on Bilbo's shoulder, flapping her wings and taking off from her masters shoulders, zipping through the air like a shot. She spit almost liquidy looking fire balls at the spider, the beasts legs catching flame easily, causing it to rear back and let out a horrible clicking noise as it tried to scramble away from the fire spewing dragon hatchling.
"Bo," the hobbit gasped, just managing to come to his senses and scramble up as Thorin shot forward and with a mighty blow from Orcrist, killed the blazing spider.
"We need to get out of here," Thorin said quickly, knowing that the distressed noises the spider had made while it was burning alive would only draw the rest of the colony to them. He sheathed his sword and began to usher the still slightly wobbling dwarves away from their temporary prison, casting glances around to make sure no more arachnids showed up before they could make their escape.
Meanwhile, Bilbo reached out and caught the tiny, angered lindwyrm in his hands, pulling her to his chest and patting her head to calm her down as she continued to puff out smoke, and tiny bits of wispy flames. "Hush now, hush," he cooed, cuddling her to his chest as he made to move with Thorin, out of the small clearing, "I'm alright, little one. You see? Not a scratch."
The tiny dragon calmed after a few minutes of reassurances, moving to curl around Bilbo's shoulders once more, nuzzling her head just behind his ear. The hobbit chuckled, shaking his head a little, completely oblivious to the contemplative look Thorin was giving the hatching.
If, from then on, the small dragon was found to be munching on extra scraps of meat, or seemed a little more affectionate towards Thorin than she ever had before, no one, especially not Bilbo, said a word.