Warm. Full. Tired. The wolf looked around the dark forest, snarling softly in distaste. Human was quiet. Tired. But content. No hunt tonight. Pack sleeping, left small-young-Ori and Bilba as night-guards of pack. Watch, but do not see. Seek prey? No. Protect pack. Mark territory. Warn off predators of forest. My pack. Protected. Mine. None shall harm.

Footsteps, heavy, careful. Dwarf. Pack. The wolf stumbled in surprise. Alpha's Second. First Beta. Second-dominant in pack. Why Second away from pack, awake? The wolf crept closer, watching the beta carefully. Bending over, looking at ground. Seeking… what? What did Alpha's Second seek? Beta growls, quietly. Human-speak. Says wolf's mind-pack-mate's name. Seeks wolf? Should move. Go to him. Submit. He is Alpha's Second. Second highest in pack. NO!

"Asta? Come now, lass. This forest isn't safe to be wandering. Didn't you hear Thorin this morning? Did you not give him your word you would not do this again? Come back to the camp, lass. You could be hurt, out here alone. Please, Asta, I'm just tryin' ta help you."

Beta summons. Why disobey? Will anger pack, anger alpha. Do not want to disobey. Foolish human! Second wants wolf there. Why not go there?

"Mister Dwalin? Whatever are you doing out here at this time of night?"

Small-soft-packmate-Bilba. The wolf's tail started wagging. Bilba. First pack-mate.

"Miss Baggins, you shouldn't be out here alone either!"

"Either? What on earth do you mean?"

The dwarf growled again. "It would seem our human didn't quite comprehend Thorin's command this morning, after she ran off last night. For now she has done it again. She could be in danger, but apparently she doesn't much care! How are we to keep her safe if she continues to wander? She is part of the Company, and I would see her safe, but this is getting ridiculous."

The hobbit paused for a moment, thinking. Then, she glanced at Dwalin with a considering look. "Master Dwarf, do you know of the ways of human women?" Suddenly, the large, powerful dwarf warrior looked very, very uncomfortable. "Well, that is… um…" Bilba just crossed her arms, suddenly merciless. "As an adult human female, Asta has certain… things, that she must take care of monthly. Would you fault her for wanting a bit of privacy when dealing with something so personal? Why do you think she was so reluctant to speak of it when questioned?"

At this point, Dwalin was flushing a bright red, and barely managed to mutter, "Of course. I apologize. I will discreetly explain to Thorin that all of our concern was misplaced. If you would though, please, ask her to stay as close as possible to camp, just in case." With that, the warrior turned and nearly ran back to the camp, muttering the explanation as quietly as possible to the equally as embarrassed king, and that seemed to be the end of it.


Bilba watched him hurry back, amused, and grateful that the more specific details of what she had alluded to were usually fairly obscure to even human males, let alone those of other species. No sooner was Dwalin out of sight, however, than did the hobbit feel a warm breath on the back of her neck, and sensed a very large creature just behind her. She only just managed not to scream, and turned around very, very slowly to see what it was, only to sag in relief at the sight of the giant black wolf.

"Don't do that!" she remonstrated, lightly swatting the wolf on the nose as she tried to return her racing heartbeat back to a more steady rhythm. Entirely uncaring of the swat, the wolf just darted forward even more, licking a stripe up the hobbit's face, and then promptly spinning around once and laying down on her feet. "Asta!" She was ignored.

Once the hobbit managed to remove the enormous werewolf from her feet, she sighed in fond exasperation, and then turned to head back to camp. She had only gotten about halfway, however, when she was stopped short at the sight of Fíli and Kíli in the path ahead, the brothers clearly having also snuck away from camp, though whether they were attempting to follow Asta, Dwalin, or herself was anyone's guess. "Does no one sleep this night?" the hobbit demanded, about at the end of her rope, and she would have gone on to further extol upon the many virtues of a good night's sleep, and how if they wanted to stay up, then they might as well sit on watch so she could sleep, but she was interrupted by the elder prince's eyes widening, as he cried, "Bilba, behind you!"

Kíli reached instinctively for his bow, only to realize he had left it back at camp, and he wondered briefly, watching the huge black wolf in no little fear, if he would ever hear the end of it from Thorin, if they survived. Fíli, meanwhile, had drawn his swords, and was already running towards the hobbit, praying to Mahal he would be able to reach her before the wolf did.

It would seem he needn't have worried, however, as the monstrous creature coiled and then leapt clean over the hobbit, landing on the ground a mere yard from him. He instantly darted in, striking at the wolf with the speed of a viper, but the wolf was a blur, impossibly moving even faster. Before the prince knew what had happened, his swords had been knocked from his hands, landing on the ground several feet away, and he was pinned on his back by a massive, furry black paw on his chest. The wolf-creature loomed above him, it's muzzle, filled with razor-sharp, gleaming white teeth, mere inches from his face. Fíli prepared himself to meet Mahal as he stared at his death before his eyes.