Don't own the Hobbit. Okay, we're finally in Laketown! It'll be just a bit before Dragon shows up, though. Probably either next chapter or the one after. Thank you for all your reviews! I hope all of you enjoy! Oh, I hope Luin doesn't gross anybody out. I tried to make it as painless as possible...anyway, I tried my first attempt at a line break. It had been pointed out to me by Nimrodel that my perspective shifts are sometimes a little distracting. So let me know what you think! Also, I know this chapter is a bit of filler, but hopefully it's interesting filler. Gotta get set up for the dragon after all.

As Legolas caught up to her, he sent her an angry scowl. He knew she noticed, but she simply looked away, not even bothering to acknowledge him at all. His scowl deepened as he forced his way into the lead. Or it should have been the lead, but she instantly turned and started up a different street.

This happened twice more before he'd had it. As he once again forced himself into the lead, he turned and yelled at the annoying child.

"What is your problem, you insufferable little orqu hin?! Just stay behind me so I can protect you!"

She whirled on him from where she'd started to turn away once again.

"I am no orc, Legolas Thrandulion! And I would never follow a spineless coward like you! Now get out of my way! I have far better people than you to find! If my friend dies because of your pride, I'll kill you myself!"

As his temper flared, he swiftly reached over his shoulder for an arrow and let it fly past her ear. As she stared at him in shocked fury, she was diverted by the sound of something hitting the planks behind her. As they heard a scream in the not-so-far distance, she turned her head slightly to see the body of an orc.

It didn't make her feel any better. With an infuriated yet dismissive sniff, she darted off towards the disturbance. She wasn't going to give the princeling points for anything. Especially as the orc had had its back to her. As she dashed up a set of stairs, she was dimly aware that the prince had darted up to the roof.

A flash of red hair distracted her. At least Tauriel was all right. She allowed herself to fall forward, rolling swiftly under Tauriels blades and using her momentum to spring up and forward into a strike against an orc. As she defended herself against another orc's blade, the prince came through one of the holes the orcs had made in the ceiling.

She lunged forward, killing her opponent, and found herself reluctantly impressed by his obvious skill. Yanking her blade back, she performed a quick scan of the room.

There were two human girls behind a table with Oin, a human boy near Fili who seemed to be defending him as best he could with few weapons, and Kili was...lying on a table with an orc about to kill him. As he howled in pain as it grabbed his leg, she darted towards him, only to be delayed by yet another orc.

She managed to kill it with frantic haste, just in time to see one of Tauriel's knives bury itself in the attacking orcs throat. She fought her way over to him anyway. How one dwarf could get into so much trouble...she stood in front of him, engaging any orc that seemed a little too interested in killing him.

She scowled a short while later as he stood up behind her. She wasn't pleased that he was making himself worse, but knew him well enough to save her scolding for later. She did huff a little after he helped Tauriel kill an orc and fell to the floor howling in pain, but simply moved to stand over his body.

The action seemed to be slowing, however. At a shout from outside, the few remaining orcs inside tried to flee. The sounds on the roof indicated there were others that were also leaving. Tauriel killed the last of those inside, and the boy stared at her in amazement.

"You killed them all..."

Luin ignored him and threw herself down next to Oin and Kili. As the prince swept back into the room, his eyes lingered on them for just a moment. Then he turned his attention to Tauriel, barely slowing down as he headed for what was left of the door.

He obviously intended to follow the orcs. She'd known he hadn't cared one jot about the dwarves! She glared at him heatedly as he spoke.

"There are others. Tauriel, come."

Luin was a little gratified as Tauriel looked at him rather disbelievingly, then looked at her. He barely spared her a glance.

"She has her dwarves. The others of this town do not. Tauriel, come!"

She supposed she was supposed to be mollified that he was thinking of the innocent townsfolk. In fact, she felt a little guilty that she herself hadn't. Still, let him go. Tauriel could even go.

She needed to heal Kili immediately, and her methods might be a little hard to explain...As soon as Tauriel was out the door (moving a little reluctantly) Luin changed a finger into a talon and sliced her palm. The children gasped in horror, whether at the blood shed or the inhuman finger, and withdrew behind Fili.

She ignored them, instead ripping Kili's pants and pulling off the bandages. Ignoring the disgusting color and smell, she allowed a little of her blood to run onto his wound. Then she took a deep breath and cupped her palm, allowing her blood to pool for a moment.

She put her other hand under her friends head, and closed her eyes. This was the tricky part. She focused her entire being on how much she cared for him and on an image of him whole and healthy, smiling and laughing, with the dark poison gone from his body.

As the others gasped, she did her best to keep her concentration as she opened her eyes, draconic in her elven face. They gleamed with an inner fire as her blood lit up with glowing light, shining orange and red and gold. A spot of the same color danced on his leg as she tipped her hand carefully. He stared at her wide eyed as he allowed it to fill his mouth, and swallowed.

He'd never felt anything like it. It felt like warm fire, surrounding his very being. There wasn't so much a taste, as an all encompassing feeling of caring and heat. He thought once that he should be burned, as it grew ever hotter, but he never was.

As it receded, he slowly became aware of the outside world once again. He raised his eyes to his friend, to share his wordless and awed gratitude, but was stopped by the sight that met him.

Luin was sitting very still as the glow in her eyes slowly receded, leaving her eyes draconic. There was a sharp and gleaming elven blade pressed to her throat. He sent a betrayed look to the owner of the blade. Tauriel met his eyes, looking very serious.

He sent his eyes to Oin and his brother, finding them frozen in place as well, though their eyes were very watchful. Tauriel broke the tableau.

"So you can hear me now? What are you?! That was no elvish healing!"

Her eyes swept over the obvious signs that the girl she'd passed off as a normal elleth was clearly anything but normal. She had never seen eyes like that, nor anything quite like the talon still gracing the spot of the girl's first finger. As she waited for an explanation, she heard a sigh.

/

As Luin sighed, she reached up with her uninjured hand and grabbed the blade at her throat. As the children made noises of disbelief, she pushed the knife forward as if it was a blunt stick instead of razor sharp steel. She then stood, reaching her injured hand to Kili to help him up. Bofur moved from the doorway he'd apparently been left in, as the other dwarves moved to help, also.

Tauriel fell back to the children as the dwarves moved forward to help with the youngest dwarf. She was stunned, and confused. That shouldn't have been possible! Her knife should have slipped right through her hand, being treated like that. At least have cut the skin! Something!

But while the girl was wrapping her original injured hand in a strip of cloth, the other was obviously completely uninjured. Finally, after finishing her wrapping and casting a quick glance to where the older dwarf was using a wet rag on Kili's undamaged?! leg, the girl turned back to her and spoke.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I had thought you had left to follow your prince. What you saw...it was a gift given to my mother's people by Eru Iluvetar. To be able to heal others of almost anything, as long as you truly care for them in some way. Even just the sympathy of a stranger, though that isn't as strong. It does take a lot out of me, especially mortal wounds. I can't do too much healing for a bit, or I'll be useless for anything else. It's only for others, though. I can't heal myself at all."

Luin realized that her audience was staring at her with varying degrees of disbelief. Tauriel cleared her throat a bit. Then she asked the most pressing questions on her mind. Those eyes were still so...strange.

"If Eru gifted this to your mother's people...what are your mother's people? Why haven't I ever heard of this before?"

Luin looked away briefly, sharing a look with the dwarves. Finally, she turned back.

"My father is the elf Lord Glorfindel, once of Gondolin and now of Rivendell. My mother's name was Alassiel, daughter of Ashreth...and Ancalagon."

As Tauriel sucked in her breath, the human children looked at her questioningly. They found her shaking slightly, eyes wide as she stared at the girl in front of them and her face extremely pale. This reaction from the strong warrior they had just seen take on numerous orcs fearlessly had them huddling together for reassurance. Luin just sighed. This would take a lot of explaining...