Last time:

"She left because she still feels that she is unwanted here. And we did try to stop her. She still insisted on leaving," Kili said rather quietly. Thorin nodded grimly and barked out orders for everyone to pack, they were leaving.

….

A couple days later, Thorin and his Company are once again being pursued by the Orc pack led by Azog. Thorin mentally cursed but then thought about Nariel. She had left them just two days prior as well. What if she had run into this Orc Pack on her way home? Was she still okay? Was she even alive? Shaking his head, Thorin pushes thoughts of their former companion and told Bilbo to go spy on the Pack. With just a slight nod, Bilbo starts forward, making his way over trees and rocks until he can hear the Pack.

Bilbo peeks over some rocks on a high ledge and watches Azog and his Warg Scouts running along a ridgeline not that far away. Not finding anything, they continue on their way. Suddenly, Bilbo hears a snarl from the side, and ducks behind the rocks. He peeks out again and sees a large bear watching Azog from another pile of rocks, snarling softly. Bilbo quietly sneaks away back to the Company.

When Bilbo comes back, the dwarves are visibly relieved. Although you could still tell that almost all of them held hints of sadness in their eyes. None of them could get over the fact that a member of their Company had left them.

"How close is the pack?" Dwalin asked the hobbit. Bilbo shook his head slightly and looked back the way he'd come.

"Too close, Dwalin. Too close. They're not more than a couple leagues away. But that's not the worst…" Bilbo spoke before he was cut off by the warrior dwarf.

"Have the Wargs picked up our scent?" Dwalin inquired. Bilbo looked up at the dwarf, a little frustrated that he wasn't listening to him. When Dwalin repeated his question, Bilbo shook his head.

"Not yet but they will soon," Bilbo said then paused before adding," We have another problem." This statement immediately made Gandalf's eyes widen along with, though they would deny it later, a few of the dwarves' eyes as well.

"They saw you! Didn't they?! They saw you!" Gandalf exclaimed, his hands gripping his staff for support. Again, Bilbo shakes his head.

"No, that's not it," Bilbo replied, still frustrated with the fact that they wouldn't let him finish telling them what he was trying to say. At Bilbo's statement, Gandalf turns to the dwarves smiling.

"What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse. Quick as one too. Excellent burglar material," Gandalf said while looking down at his hobbit friend. Bilbo keeps shaking his head frustrated that no one was listening to him. Meanwhile the dwarves are laughing in appreciation.

"Will you…...Will you just…..Will you just listen?! I am trying to tell you that there is something else other than the Orc Pack out there!" Bilbo finally manages to get out without being interrupted. The dwarves all stop laughing and their expressions change to ones of worry.

"What form did it take?" Gandalf asked their hobbit. The Hobbit looked at him confused.

"I….what?" Bilbo inquired as he hadn't expected a question like that.

"What form did it take? Was it like a bear?" Gandalf questioned. Bilbo looks over Gandalf with a curious expression before nodding.

"Yes but much, much bigger than a normal bear. How did you know?" Bilbo asked the wizard. He wasn't the only one now looking at the Grey Wizard with curious and confused expressions.

"You knew about this beast?" Bofur turned to the wizard of their company. He then shook his own head before continuing on," I say we double back."

"And be run down by a pack of Orcs? I think not," Thorin responded, his eyes dark with the thoughts of their new predicament.

"There is a house not far from here where we may take refuge," Gandalf spoke up after he'd fallen silent for a minute. The dwarves all turn their eyes towards the wizard with a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

"Whose house? Are they friend or foe?" Thorin queried. Gandalf shakes his head and shrugs. The dwarves faces fall as they become dismayed.

"Neither. He will either help us, or he will kill us," Gandalf answered. Thorin nodded grimly.

"What choice do we have?" Thorin questions just as a loud roar splits the night. No one had to voice the question they were all thinking, they all knew it was the bear. Thorin locked eyes with Gandalf and guessed the wizard's response before he even spoke it.

"None."

I realize that this was a short chapter and I apologize. I couldn't think of what else to write and I didn't know where to cut it off at. *shrugs* Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please drop off a review telling me your thoughts on the story.