Billana wakes to the feeling of warm hands and the soft brush of lips against her ear. It is a delightful sensation that she has become familiar with during their imprisonment by the elves and she lets out a happy sigh.

"Happy birthday, Kundith," Kili breathes from behind her.

She opens her eyes lazily, noticing the early morning sunlight filtering through the thin curtains. Fili's fingers skim softly over the skin of her stomach where her shirt has bunched up in the night. Before Mirkwood she might have felt self conscious about even that, and seeing just how different she is from a dwarf female the night before has brought up a few fears that she had hardly considered before. Now, however, she relishes the touch and the sleepy way that he smiles at her before leaning in and stealing a kiss as Kili's attentions move to her shoulder. She could stay here forever, she thinks, in this warm bed that is far more comfortable than a pile of coats on the floor of a cell. Just her, Fili and Kili, forget about Erebor and kings and dragons and stones. She could stay in this simple place with a simple life and she wouldn't think twice, at least for a short time, kissing and touching in a way that is becoming increasingly familiar and begins to feel more and more like it isn't quite enough, that she wants something more from them and that perhaps she needs to simply say it rather than hope that they will take the hint that she's ready for that next step.

"You're of age today, Kitten," Fili whispers just before a knock at the door startles them all apart. Thorin shouts through the door that he expects them in the dining room for breakfast and Fili's head drops. "A moment, Uncle," he calls back and sighs when they hear Thorin's boots stomping away. "That means Balin will be looking for you soon," he tells her and she huffs, all too soon reality is intruding upon them once more.

"I suppose he will be," she grumbles and immediately feels guilty. Balin has been very good to her, and she is immensely grateful to him and has come to love him dearly in much the same way as she loved her mother. She simply hadn't realised just how much she had become accustomed to be able to come and go as she pleases until she had had begun to court Fili and Kili. Then she registers what they had both said to her. "I wish I'd had time to get all of you presents," she adds as she climbs out of bed, only to turn and be met with confused faces.

"Why would you buy us anything?" Fili asks. "It's your birthday."

"Don't you give gifts on birthdays?" She replies with a tilt of her head.

"We do," Kili is the first to slip his feet into his boots, "but we receive them on our birthday, we don't give them."

"How strange," Billana mutters. "My people have always given gifts to others on our birthday."

Truthfully she has never really had much cause to do either. As a child she had given gifts to the few children permitted to associate with her and to family members, but as she had grown older the number of people willing to come to her parties had reduced to none in the year before her mother's death. Only her mother, grandfather, aunts and uncles had still received anything and after her mother's death Billana had failed to see the point in keeping up the practice. She had never received gifts even on family birthdays and so it had seemed a frivolous waste. This year, however, is different and now that she has people around her that she loves and cares about she had entertained the hope that, eventually, she would be able to resume the practice of gift giving. Even though her circumstances can hardly be helped she's still disappointed that it will have to wait another year, and even more so to learn that dwarves do not keep to the same practices as hobbits.

"The Men do it the same as we do," Fili assures her, "and Mahal only knows what the elves do." She should know, Billana thinks, but the twins have never mentioned it and it never occurred to her to ask. "That shouldn't stop you from doing it the hobbit way if you want to," he tells her.

"No," she shakes her head. "I'm going to be living in a dwarf mountain, I should celebrate how you do." Besides, doing things the hobbit way has never worked all that well for her anyway.

"Billana," Kili grabs her hand, "we aren't going to ask you to stop being a hobbit just because you're going to live in Erebor with us." She stares stubbornly at his chest, her jaw set, and he touches her cheek to encourage her to look at him. "You're our hobbit, Kundith, if you want to keep your own traditions no one is going to stop you."

"Thank you," she whispers, genuinely touched at the thought that they don't expect her to conform to their traditions as the hobbits of the Shire would have. "But maybe I should try the dwarf way. Anyway, I doubt anyone else has had a chance to prepare anything and we need all of our funds for supplies."

They both grin at her and she decides that it might be better to end the conversation there rather than give them a chance to try and persuade her otherwise. She steps back and goes to the door, glancing over her shoulder at the pair of them when neither follows and seeing Kili's fingers flicker in the sign language that the dwarves all use with great proficiency. Another thing for her to convince them to teach her some time soon, especially as Ori seems to be caught with Thorin in the negotiations with the Master of Laketown.

Thorin is waiting for them when Billana arrives, Fili and Kili not far behind. The three of them are not the last to arrive, however, and Dwalin and Nori do no appear until breakfast is almost over. Nori's hair is once more in its customary peaks that make her seem taller and broader than she really is and she's wearing a satisfied smirk as she sits with a sigh. Bofur shoots her a baleful look, his expression tired.

"Could you two have made much more noise last night?" He grouses, though the twinkle in his eyes shows that he is jesting, and Billana flushes while Nori smirks at him.

"Yes," she rolls her shoulders. "But we decided to have some consideration for the rest of you." Bofur makes a rude gesture in her direction. "There's no call for that," she laughs. "You'll get yours eventually, I'm sure there's some nice accommodating Woman in this cesspit who'll be happy to help you take the edge off."

"Is that an offer, lass?" Bofur winks at her, and Nori snorts as Dwalin makes a noise that rather resembles a growl. Then she says something in Khuzdul that makes Bofur shrug and Dori scold his sister. "Can't blame me for trying," the hatted dwarf says, and turns back to the thin porridge which makes up their breakfast.

"If I could have your attention for a moment," Thorin cuts in through the resulting mix of laughter and raised voices. "There are some rules you will need to abide by while we are here."

"We're not dwarflings," Gloin objects.

"No," Thorin agrees, "but I do not trust the Master of this place and nor do I trust his people. None of you are to be alone unless in your rooms with the door locked. You certainly aren't to leave this boarding house in anything other than pairs. Ideally I would prefer if you were to move around in groups of three or four and only leave if you really need to, but I am aware of how impractical that is. The rule applies to all of you," he looks sternly at Nori as he says it and she raises a braided brow mockingly. Billana suspects that the thief has no intentions at all of obeying that particular rule. "You, Billana, especially, should be careful."

"Me?" She squeaks.

"Aye, nathith," Balin sighs, "the Master took a great interest in you once you had departed with the others yesterday. You're the only member of the Company that he knows for certain is related to another, and he knows that Thorin listens to me. We're worried he might try and have you taken so that he can force us to agree to certain concessions that we would never otherwise consider."

"We know that they would not be able to hold you," Thorin adds before she cans say anything, though guilt fills her at the thought that the restrictions that the Company are suddenly under are due to her. "All the same, we would rather not risk you being hurt should an attempt be made. Nor are we in a position to give the proper response to such a thing."

"I understand," she whispers.

"We'll look after her, Uncle," Kili promises, and Thorin hums dubiously.

"I expect you all to conduct yourselves with honour while we're here," he continues. "Try not to pick too many pockets," he directs at Nori.

"No promises," she mutters, "there are a few too many here who deserve to be liberated of some funds."

"Give it to Gloin, then," Thorin sighs. "We could use the extra coin to pay for what we need and they will not think too kindly on us if we bargain too hard."

"You would have me pay inflated prices for inferior goods?" Gloin demands.

"Of course not," Thorin shakes his head. "But our position is not as strong as we would like it and the Lake Men are aware of that. Finally, if you must-" he glances at Billana and then glares at Nori and Dwalin. "If you must indulge, try and be discrete about it."

"I think all of Laketown must know what's going on between those two after last night," Bofur winks, his good humour seemingly restored for the moment. "Well, if no one has any need of me, I think I'll go back to bed."

That sounds like an incredibly good idea to Billana and she gets to her feet with the intention of doing the same, as do several of the others.

"Whatever you're planning on doing," Nori says from her seat, "forget it. Balin gave me the funds we need to get you some boots and clothes that fit properly."

"Gave it, or you lifted it?" Dwalin asks with a yawn.

"Which do you think?" She asks him.

"I'd rather not know," he answers. "At least then when he asks I can give my reply honestly."

"We could have a lot more fun if you were a little less honest," Nori points out and Dwalin shrugs. "Come on, Billana," Nori gets up and wraps an arm around her shoulders, "the quicker we get this done, the sooner we get to see what your pretty princes have planned for your birthday."

With that Billana is almost dragged from the boarding house and out into the freezing streets of Laketown. The wood beneath her feet is cold and damp, a wetness that seems to seep through her skin and into her bones. As much as she dislikes the thought of wearing boots or shoes, she is beginning to see Nori's point on the matter as they traverse the bustling figures of big folk who have never had cause to learn to look down and at where they are putting their feet. More than once Billana narrowly misses having her feet stepped on, or gets bumped into so that she stumbles terrifyingly close to the edge of the walkways.

Nori drags both of them to various shops and stalls, ordering quantities of fabric that seem large to Billana, who is accustomed to making her own clothes, and examining what she does purchase carefully. She haggles the price, Billana suspects that dwarves are incapable of doing otherwise, but she doesn't do so as harshly as the one time Billana had seen Gloin in a town on the other side of the Misty Mountains. Some of the coins that Nori passes over are obviously that which has come with them from the Blue Mountains and the troll hoard. The rest look different and the only time Nori is questioned over them she replies that they have been shopping all morning and naturally they have been given change in Laketown coins. The suspicious stall owner subsides, but as they walk away Nori hands Billana four rather lovely silver buttons.

"Happy birthday," she says, and Billana knows that these were not among the purchases that are to be delivered to the boarding house.

"Did you-?" She trails off and Nori grins.

"You've a good eye," she smirks. "He over charged us, that leather certainly isn't the best I've ever encountered, but it will do for a pair of soft boots to keep your toes warm. I took those to make up the difference."

"Won't he notice?"

"Later, maybe, and doubtless he'll blame us," Nori shrugs, "but by the time he does miss them it'll be far too late to prove we had anything to do with it." She changes direction. "Last one and we'll head back," she says, "I could do with a hot bath."


A.N: This one was getting out of hand so I cut it back. Hopefully, I'll have the rest of her birthday up in a couple of days.