I'm going to miss the Shire, but it's better to travel rather than stay in one place for too long, am I right? I want to go to New Zealand someday so badly. I've been to some parts of Europe, even Africa and China, but not New Zealand. *Sigh*

There's more intimidating dwarves in this chapter, a nervous OC, and a conflicted Bilbo Baggins, so reserved that he's afraid to let out his adventurous self. Poor Bilbo, but don't worry. He wants it; he just doesn't know it yet;)

Chapter 8

Maia and Kyle had go on either side of the unconscious Mister Baggins, Maia taking his arms and Kyle his legs, before lifting the hobbit off the ground, Gandalf directing them to place him in the sitting room. Little Lori followed them, looking pale but curious, having never seen a person faint before.

While the meeting had concluded, matters settled (though mixtures of skepticism and concern between the dwarves were exchanged), a decision that had yet to come from their "burglar." Maia had quickly reheated the tea in the kitchen while Kyle, Lori, and Gandalf laid Bilbo in his armchair, attempting to wake him up.

"Chamomile is a good recipe for aches, cramps, and indigestion," said Oin as she waited, "but should our burglar have a concussion, considering how hard he hit the floor-"

"Thanks, but I don't think it's too serious," said Maia, facing Oin. Since she already knew this elderly dwarf, who turned out to be an apothecary (the company's healer), was hard of hearing, she had to remember to look at him and speak loudly. "He'll probably just need some tea for a headache."

"Break?" Oin said loudly, frowning with his raised ear trumpet. "No doubt he'll need one. He's quite a query, little fellow! What's so funny?" Maia was trying not to laugh, but failing with pressed lips. Bofur grabbed the ear trumpet and shouted in it, "Not 'break!' Headache! I swear you need to get that trumpet fixed!"

"No need to shout," grumbled Oin, as Bofur chewed on his pipe, "and I told you already, my trumpet works just fine!"

Besides Maia, there were seven dwarves hanging around in the kitchen, four sitting at the table and three leaning against the counter, the air clouded with the smoke from their pipes. The smoke had this spicy, woodsy scent that deferred from the normal tobacco she was used to. Not that she smoked. Texas was a state full of smokers and tobacco chewers, but they were usually the sickening pollution of cigarettes.

Her mom had smoked in her youth, but she had quit almost instantly after her older brother (Maia's uncle) had died of cancer when Maia was five and Kyle a few months old. Laura had been afraid that his endless supply of smoking had been part of the cause. Her dad, Arthur, had smoked, but had only limited to once a month for the family's sake (at least, it looked that way). Her grandparents still smoked, making the same excuse that old age was killing them anyway, so it didn't make sense to give up one of their pleasures. Even a few of Maia's friends smoked, at high school, ranches, Indian reservations, or on the tailgates of their trucks near the usual gas station between Houston and home.

Maia, however, didn't budge. She didn't mind the smell of smoke in the air sometimes, since it mostly couldn't be avoided, but like her mom she had been spooked by the side-effects it caused, especially concerning dear Uncle Kyle Hayes, whom was even more a cowboy than his little sister, Laura. While Maia chose to live a life without smoking, she was determined to pass on the warnings to her little brother and sister, Kyle and Lori.

"That wizard cannot be serious," grumbled Dwalin, who was leaning against the wall. "Choosing a halfling, of all things!" Bifur grunted and gestured in agreement from the table.

"Master Baggins hasn't even given an answer yet," Fili reminded him, who was sitting in one of the wooden chairs with his own pipe, next to his brother. "You think he will refuse?"

"It's very likely! Did you see his face?" Bofur snorted, mustache twitching. "I knew he would pass out! Just had to see it for myself!"

"Oh, yeah, thanks a lot for that, by the way!" retorted Maia, crossing her arms. "I mean, seriously! He could've had a concussion because of your teasing!"

"Oh, but I wasn't entirely teasing, lass! I was just purely being honest and reasonable." He leaned back and blew a smoke ring, smiling at Maia's widened eyes through the floating circle. "The fainting part was all the hobbit's doing, mind you!"

"Are you really coming with us to the Mountain?" Kili asked Maia. Unlike the older dwarves, he sounded excited and curious. "Are you really from another world?"

"Yup," she nodded, just when the kettle started to whistle and she carefully lifted it from the hook of the lit fireplace, mindful of the heat as she moved to pour the tea. Bilbo had shown her how to do this many times, until it felt natural. It was definitely more fun than just heating a kettle over a stove.

"Ridiculous!" growled Dwalin, and she could feel him glaring at her. "It's unheard of and outrageous! Thorin was right."

"Aye," Gloin agreed, who was sitting next to Oin, "I second that."

"I don't believe that," Fili said, lowering his pipe and frowning at all of them.

"About what?" Maia faced them all, holding the steaming teacup as the tension grew again. She grew really annoyed at the dwarves for jumping to conclusions so quickly (except for Fili, anyway) and having them speak about it over her head. "Look, I still don't care what y'all think, or what your leader thinks, but we're not crazy and we're not changing our minds, if that's what you're trying to do!"

Fili stood up, facing Maia sincerely. "I agree that Thorin's words were uncalled for, but that does not mean that we all think ill of you and your kin's sanity."

"If you were all crazy, wouldn't your brother and sister have different stories to tell?" Kili agreed. "And how much do you know about of the Lonely Mountain?"

"Next to nothing," replied Maia easily.

"There you go, then," Kili nodded. "You're neither insane, nor plotting some conspiracy. Even if you were, we'd still catch you," he added in a warning tone.

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," commented Maia, smiling now. "Gotcha!"

Kili raised an eyebrow. "I never thought of that before, but I like the phrase."

"Did you make that up yourself?" asked Fili, studying her.

"Nope, it's a very old saying, back where I come from," Maia shrugged, "and it usually works."

"Your sanity's the least of our worries, lass," Gloin said.

"Really? Oh, okay. Then what's the problem?"

"For starters, you're a woman!" Gloin pointed out. Infuriated, Maia opened her mouth to complain, but the red-bearded dwarf continued harshly, "You're too young, you're weaponless, and you're clearly too bloody inexperienced by all accounts! Have you ever wielded a weapon, lass?"

Maia thought back on when she stabbed the ghoul in the eye with one of her pens in the farmhouse, right before waking up in the Shire. The feeling in her hand still haunted her. Still... "No."

"Have you ever hunted before?"

"No." Her dad hunted. Both in New Zealand and Texas. He had promised to teach Kyle with their family hunting rifle when her brother turned thirteen (Kyle always had good aim), but it became pointless when the man suddenly left them before that happened. "But I think Kyle nicked a bird with his BB gun once or twice," she tried, wincing at how little that helped.

"What's a BB gun?" Kili asked, clearly interested, but was cut off by Dwalin's more demanding tone, "Have you ever skinned an animal before cooking it?" Fili shot a disbelieving look at the big dwarf.

"I…." Maia's mouth was dry. Skin an animal? Oh, Lord!

"Hey, Mai, Bilbo's awake! You bringing that tea or what?" Kyle called from the sitting room, standing next to the armchair while Lori knelt on the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Maia said loudly, making it clear that the conversation was over and circled around the table. "Excuse me," she said to them but, before she could stop herself, snuck a glance at Fili. He looked slightly mortified from before, but he managed a sheepish smile in her direction that made her heart flutter.

You're doing it again, Maia girl! Stop it! Her face heated up, from both the awkward conversation with the dwarves and-well, the other thing-she reached the armchair and handed it carefully over to a now awakened Bilbo, whose face was twitching and eyes blinking. "You alright?" she asked, bending over at his level. "You kind of gave us a scare there."

"I'm...I'm alright, fine," Bilbo said, still blinking before sipping his tea. "Thank you."

"I never saw a person faint before," Lori said breathlessly, laying her arms across one of the chair's arms with her bear in Bilbo's lap. "Does your head hurt?" Gandalf chuckled from the side, smoking his pipe.

"Not that much," Bilbo said, patting her head.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Kyle said, holding two fingers in the hobbit's face.

Bilbo flinched and pushed Kyle's hand away in annoyance. "Two! Honestly, I'm fine! I'm alright!" he assured them all. "Just-Just let me sit quietly for a moment." He sipped his tea when Gandalf stepped from the corner.

"You have been sitting quietly for far too long!" the wizard snapped. Bilbo and the Dainsons were taken aback by his strict tone. "Tell me. When did doilies and your mother's dishes become so important to you? I remember a young hobbit who was always off in search of elves in the woods."

"Really?" Lori squeaked, looking at Bilbo in surprise.

"Really?" Kyle stated with piqued interest, looking at the hobbit at though trying to find any sign of what Gandalf indicated. Bilbo shifted uncomfortably, staring at the steam in his tea.

Gandalf nodded, walking around the room as he continued through past memories, "He'd stay out late. Come home after dark, trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire."

"You do like adventures!" Lori exclaimed happily, but Bilbo shook his head, pressing his mouth in a thin line. "Would the three of you mind giving us a moment alone?" he said stiffly, staring ahead, seeing nothing.

Gandalf didn't give them a chance. "What have you to hide from, Mr. Bilbo Baggins?" the wizard accused softly. "Do you deny that that I speak the truth, that you have changed much since I had seen you last? Tell me, what happened to the young hobbit, the son of a dear old friend of mine, who would have leapt at the first opportunity of an adventure?"

"What happened?" Bilbo's head snapped to face Gandalf, his face tight with frustration. "He grew up," he answered harshly, voice cracking a little. "That's what. His mother and father had passed away, and he has inherited the full estate of Bag End, carrying on the family business with respect and courtesy. Adventures are no longer anything but a bother and a game to that hobbit's life."

Lori's face fell. Kyle shifted uncomfortably. Maia felt the tension in the air as their cue to leave. "Yeah, okay, we'll just go," she echoed, gathering Lori and Kyle before gesturing them quickly out of the room, leaving Bilbo and the wizard alone.

Gandalf was staring down at the hobbit, disappointed. "And yet," he said finally, "all that you keep in this room-your books, your maps, your drawings, and your pictures-speaks of long-buried desires that long to see the many colors and tidings of the world. But my dear fellow...the world is not in your books and maps," he said, his face softening now and eyes glittering with the light of wisdom. He nodded toward the window near the desk. "It's out there."

Bilbo stared the window, the glass seeming to glow from the blue beauty of the night. The glass that often brought the golden sunlight or the blue moonlight in the sitting room, revealing the view from his garden, all the way past Hobbiton, far over The Water, to the rolling green hills of the Shire and beyond. A world beyond the horizon, past the eye range of Bag End, unknown and unexplored. The idea was beautiful.

Then catching Gandalf's glittering eye, Bilbo shuddered and very quickly diminished his Tookish desire, returning to reality. "I can't just go wandering off into the blue!" he protested loudly and sternly. He put his finger down."I am a Baggins of Bag End."

"You are also a Took."

Bilbo sighed and let his head fall back, hopelessly. Yes, it was true. He was a Took. Both a blessing and a curse. People never let him forget it; yet, it was something else that was a part of his dear mother.

Gandalf stood next to the portrait of a muscular, beastly featured hobbit. "Did you know that your great-great-great-great uncle Bullroarer Took was so large that he could ride a real horse?"

Here we go. Bilbo nodded faintly. "Yes..."

"Yes, well, he could!" Gandalf insisted, in a no-nonsense voice. "In the Battle of the Green Fields, he charged the Goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard, it knocked the Goblin King Golfimbul's head clean off, that it sailed a hundred yards through the air, and went down a rabbit hole." Bilbo looked up at this, frowning at the last part. "And thus, the battle was won...and the game of golf invented at the same time," Gandalf added lightly.

Maia, Kyle, and Lori would certainly laugh at that, Bilbo thought, as Gandalf sat himself in the other armchair. He smirked a little at the image of the story and shook his head. "I do believe you made that up," he concluded.

"Well, all good stories deserve embellishment." Gandalf looked Bilbo directly in the eye, the gray glowing from the warmth hearth. "You'll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back."

Bilbo smiled again to himself, but it was sad. He thought of the red book his grandfather gave him. The one with his initials. The one with its pages still blank. But the thought leaving the Shire terrified him more than anything, as much as partly thrilled him. "Can you promise that I will come back?" he asked.

Gandalf hesitated. "No," he whispered finally, truthfully, "and if you do, you will not be the same."

Bilbo nodded. "That's what I thought," he said, before standing up, arms stiff at his sides. "I'm sorry, Gandalf, I can't sign this. You've got the wrong hobbit." At the mention of the dragon, Bilbo had been shaken to the core; at the description of the dragon's fiery breath, Bilbo had fainted. The very idea that Gandalf even believed that Bilbo was the right one for the task was absurd and incomprehensible. The dwarves made that quite clear.

Bilbo paused before leaving. "You will take the Dainsons, will you?" he asked quietly.

Gandalf sighed tiredly and nodded. "Yes, yes, they will come. I'll keep two eyes on them if I have to."

"Lori can be a rambunctious little thing," Bilbo continued, "Kyle's stubborn and can get you on edge at times, but he can wild too. Maia is...well, she'll look after them, but she's still a girl. There's only so much she can handle. It would be better if someone looked after her, as well."

Gandalf smiled at Bilbo, sadly. "They will be disappointed that you are not coming, dear Bilbo," he said after a moment.

Bilbo stared a fireplace for a moment. He swallowed. "Yes," he said finally, "they will be. But like I said, you've got the wrong hobbit."

"'Have you ever skinned an animal before you cooked it?'" repeated Fili, glaring at Dwalin and Gloin when Maia left the kitchen. "Durin's beard! Are you all trying to scare her?"

"It was necessary, laddie," said Dwalin, leaning back against the wall, undeterred. "This quest will be dangerous, and that girl has signed on for something that she's too blinded by naivety to see. If she is smart, that lass and her kin should reconsider and pull out while they have the chance."

"Oh, really?" Kili said sarcastically, standing up to side with Fili. "You're not even going to give them a chance?"

"A chance?" scoffed Gloin. "They've got no chance on their own! Didn't you hear? They've currently isolated themselves from the company, while they've got nothing to offer in the wilds! No weapons, no hunting skills, no fighting skills, nothing! My sixty-two year-old young lad Gimli could do much better, but even he is far too young to come along!"

"I was almost left behind, as well!" said Kili, bitterly. "Thorin had claimed me too young by the time the journey was arranged, and yet here I am. I am here because of Fili." He put a hand on his older brother's shoulder. "Because of all of you. If it weren't for the support from my friends...from my brother...I would still be back in the Blue Mountains. I wouldn't have been given the chance to prove myself. To help reclaim the Mountain."

It was true. Kili technically had a few more years before coming of age, and while his little brother was a terrific hunter and one the best skilled archers Fili and everyone else had ever seen in Dwarf society (especially when archery was not a proper custom to their culture), he would always be seen as a child to Thorin. To Dis, their mother.

And to me, Fili thought, aware of the two inches his little brother had on him now, though it didn't add much to Kili's much slimmer frame. Always.

"You are here because you know how to take care of yourself," retorted Dwalin. "I trained the two of you myself for decades. Thorin raised you to be who you are. Strong and proud sons of Durin, who know how to hunt, fight, and track like knowing how to eat, sleep, and breathe. You were prepared. Those children...they won't last three days on their own."

In the hallway, outside of the kitchen, Maia was pushing Kyle and Lori gently out of the sitting room. Their expressions looked disturbed. From the sitting room, Bilbo and Gandalf were still exchanging an argument, but Fili wasn't listening. He watched as Maia turned slightly, biting her lip, looking worried as she glanced toward the sitting room. Her golden-brown hair shined from the lit candles of the house, the thin sun streaks glittering making the waves of her long tresses more lush, framing her smooth, beardless facade that seemed to glow. She had high cheekbones, a narrow chin, smooth eyebrows, a soft-portioned nose, full pink lips that easily smiled as well as they pursed, and glittering gray-blue eyes that flashed like a sword, yet were as gentle as a pale blue sky. Her human body was slim and fragile-looking but with fine curves that displayed graceful elegance, even in her PINK gray yoga pants and hooded jacket.

She looked...beautiful. For one of the race of Men.

Fili found himself blushing fiercely when he looked at her legs, which were skinny but athletic. He may not have seen many women back in Ered Luin besides his mother (there being very few dwarrow dams nowadays), but he knew for certain that whenever he did, they always wore skirts and dresses. Not that he minded Maia the way she was now...even though she wasn't a dwarf, being taller, thinner, and lacking a beard, it was hard not to look at her.

Bofur sighed and Fili quickly looked away, hoping nobody noticed, but the toymaker was merely dumping the ashes of his pipe. "Well, I reckon that's settled."

"Eh?" Oin said, and Fili asked, "You think they should be left behind, too?"

"That'd be preferable," Bofur admitted, "but what I really meant is that the decent thing to do is not leave them alone. If they're traveling with us, shouldn't it be up to us to make sure they see it through?"

You always had a soft side for younglings, Bifur signed in Iglishmek toward his cousin.

"So do you!" Bofur shot back, but smiled while tapping the axe in the head with his pipe, causing Bifur to bat his hand away with a growl. "Why do you think we make toys for a living? And as for your words with Miss Maia," he added meaningfully to Dwalin and Gloin, "you're never going to win a dam with that roguish demeanor of yours."

"Who said I wanted one?" Dwalin said, blowing out smoke. "The only ladies I'll ever get and ever want are the ones on my back." He thumbed one of the axes still crossed there, and the dwarves laughed. He never goes anywhere without them.

Gloin only waved his hand dismissively. "That ship's sailed for me a long time ago. I can now talk to any lass as roughly as I please."

I wouldn't say the same about Thorin, Bifur signed. Every king ought to have a queen.

"That's Thorin's choice," Dwalin reminded him. "Besides, he's already got heirs in line. There's no rush. For Fili, that's a different story."

Oh, Aule, here we go. Fili shrugged, looking innocent while smoking his pipe. "I don't know what you mean."

"You can deny it all you want, lad, but it won't change the future."

I know, I know. He's heard from Balin, he's heard it from Dis, and he's heard from Thorin, ever since he truly understood the responsibilities that were placed on him as the firstborn heir of their lost kingdom. When they reclaimed it...if they reclaimed it...one of Fili's main duties as a Crowned Prince was to marry. For political reasons or personal, it didn't matter; the line had to continue. It was second thing that Fili dreaded the most, while the first was managing the burdens of the crown. Even Kili may eventually be given that duty, when it came to it.

"When did we start talking about finding dams, anyway?" teased Kili, even though he was just as secretly as uneasy as his brother. "All this coming from children and toy making, and we haven't even started the quest yet! Right, Fee?"

"Couldn't have said it better, Kee," he nodded, and then sat back down, making it the end of that conversation. Fili always hoped that he would be able to find his One by the time it happened. Like his mother did toward his father. Once a dwarf found their One, there would be no other in the world that the dwarf would give their heart to, wholly, completely, and irrevocably. At least, that was how he heard it described. It was also described by some that there was a part of that dwarf that would know the first time they lay eyes on their One that they would know, but they never give the details of how.

When he looked up again, Ori was talking to Lori, Kyle, and Maia when a downhearted Bilbo suddenly walked in the hallway. Maia. Every time he looked at her, every time he heard her voice, his heart beat faster. He could still feel her much smaller hand in his, soft and delicate. He felt hot and cold, his mouth dry, and his own breathing caught by intrigue. But no! It wasn't possible! Dwarves were not even to associate too much with others that differ from their own race, their own culture being very secretive and preserved. It couldn't be...was it?

Fili let smoke escape when he sighed. Bofur was right, though. Part of the company or not, Maia Dainson and her younger siblings cannot be ignored. If no one else agreed-least of all, Thorin-Fili would make sure they were looked after.

Ori was very nice. She thought he was the sweetest of the dwarves, as he came up to them and started complimenting them on the fact that he had never written about humans from another world before. And best of all, and she had pointed this out earlier at dinner when he introduced himself, their named rhymed. At least Ori was intrigued by this idea, while his much older brothers either scoffed and rolled his eyes or shook his head in disbelief. Bombur just kept eating, but he too was watching with curiosity.

After Lori had become upset with Bilbo's outburst, during which her big sister had pushed her and Kyle out into the hallway to give the hobbit and wizard some privacy, neither of them saying a word (except when Kyle muttered, "Well, that sucked!"), they had spotted three groups of dwarves watching them from three directions. Lori could already name them all, proud of her own skill with remembering names since practicing at preschool: Fili, Kili, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Oin, and Gloin were gathered in the kitchen, smoking pipes; Dori, Nori, Ori, and Bombur (who was still eating the leftovers from Bilbo's pantry) were sitting together in the dining room, where the meeting had recently taken place, chatting quietly together; and at a far corner in the shadows, near the front door of Bag End, she could see the silhouettes of Balin and Thorin Oakenshield, the elder seated on a bench while the tall, dark-haired dwarf stood, leaning against one of the roots of the hole as they talked.

Lori did not know why she was afraid of Thorin Oakenshield, but she definitely knew that she was curious about him. Maybe it was his dark mood, his steely blue eyes, or the cold tone in his voice when he spoke toward her and her siblings that made her shrink away, afraid that he might hurt them for merely breathing in his presence. Maybe it was because he was unpredictable and intimidating, like Dwalin, that he was stranger that offered no sign of warmth or friendliness and was one of the those adults that hated children like her for just being little. For all these reason that made her fear this particular dwarf, even in the hallway distance, his stature was more relaxed when talking to Balin. It was not much, but it was enough for little Lori to wonder if there really was a soft side to the leader. That he really was a good person, but just forgot how to be one.

What if he's like Daddy? she had thought with sudden realization. Then, missing her father for the hundredth time since his departure, she thought, I wonder if Daddy can beat up Thorin if he were here. She didn't know; Arthur Dainson had always been a dark, silent, and intimidating figure to most people (much like Thorin, only much taller), but to her, he was her parent. Her loving father, who lifted her on his shoulders, helped her ride a pony, told her stories, sang to her, and held her in his strong, comforting arms when she cried (or even when she was happy, and he merely held her for his own liking). She had never seen him fight….or she didn't think so (she couldn't remember). He never really scared her like Thorin did, but maybe it was because she didn't know Thorin. That had to be it.

It was then Ori had come to them and started asking about adding parts of their background in his journal, which turned out to have amazing drawings of different parts of nature, villages, and other dwarves from the Blue Mountains. They were a different technique from Bilbo's, but Maia's artistic eye complimented them.

They hadn't realized Bilbo had walked out of the room, until Ori looked up and stopped talking. Bilbo shuffled nervously and cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at them.

Ori took it as his cue to leave. "You'll think about it, won't you?" he asked Maia, Kyle, and Lori, holding up his closed journal in reference.

"Sure, Ori, it sounds cool," Maia said, smiling. Ori smiled back and nodded before rejoining his brothers in the dining room.

Bilbo opened his mouth, then closed it. He repeated the process, seeming to find the words, then losing them. "I, um..." he managed, but then rocked on his feet. "Look, I...the thing is..."

They already knew what he was trying to say. "You're not coming, are you?" Maia said, gently. Lori's heart sunk. Oh, Bilbo...

Bilbo let out a heavy sigh and nodded, before finally facing them. "I just don't think I have it in me," he said sadly. "Besides, it's...it's not about me, it's about getting you three home and...and I really do think Gandalf is your best hope of getting there. But Maia...are you sure that the Lonely Mountain is where-where maybe a portal may be?"

"I'm not," Maia admitted, "but I'm definitely sure that it's the place we have to go to. I have no idea how or why, but if we kept dreaming about it..."

"It only makes sense that some part of the universe is trying to tell us something," said Kyle. "If some kind of supernatural force sent us, then maybe it's making sure that we know how to get back. I don't know. But it's our best shot."

"Why don't you come with us?" Lori begged Bilbo. She went over and hugged him. "It might be fun. Adventures are fun. Gandalf said you liked them before. Grown ups like adventures, too!" She hadn't missed the part when the hobbit told the wizard in defense, "What happened? He grew up...Adventures are no longer anything but a bother and a game to that hobbit!"

Bilbo wrapped his arms around the little girl. "I know," he said quietly, "I know, Lori, I'm sorry that I even said that, I don't know why I did, but...you have to understand. I'm a hobbit. I have a home to run. I can't just leave. I'm not that type of person. Haven't been for a long time. But I really am going to miss you. All of you, and I wish you all the luck and safety in the world." He tightened his arms around her for a minute longer and then slowly released her, patting her shoulder as she embraced her teddy bear and swiped an arm over her nose, sniffling, but she didn't cry. Not yet, anyway.

"That's a good girl," Bilbo praised, smiling momentarily, though faded. Then he turned to Kyle, and the two shook hands. The boy had his lips pressed together and his eyes down, but they sparkled, showing a shine of unshed tears. Bilbo nodded and patted the lad's arm fondly. "Alright," he managed, and then turned to Maia. The young woman had leaned down and wrapped her arms around Bilbo's neck.

"Just in case," she whispered in the hobbit's ear.

Just in case this is good-bye. All choked up, Bilbo nodded and hugged her back tightly.

Thorin had been discussing the prior events of the meeting in Ered Luin with Balin when he noticed down the hallway the hobbit and the three Dainson siblings embracing each other. They all looked tearful and upset. They must be saying good-bye.

It was still preposterous, bringing the human children on this quest. If they had been dwarves, Thorin would have forced them to stay behind without question. Maybe he still could, but like Maia had said, they were traveling with Gandalf, not the company. One look at Maia, and he knew her to be shy and awkward, but even he had to admit it had been brave of her to speak for them all at the meeting, claiming their participation with such insistence that it was almost amusing to watch. Almost. The lad, Kyle, had a stout heart, no doubt, and a sharp tongue, but it would not do him well in a battle, especially when he was small and skinny for his age most likely. He reminded Thorin very much of his own little brother, who had been killed many years ago, even looked a little like him with his black hair and pale blue eyes. The little girl, Lori, was practically a babe. It had not escaped his notice that she was afraid of him. He had pretended not to care, shown them he would not be swayed…..but the little girl looked so much like Dis, like Kili, when they were small children themselves that even Thorin had to admit his heart shook a little whenever he looked at her. It was because of Lori, most of all, that Thorin wished the young Dainsons would just stay put in this hobbit hole.

When the supposed burglar, Baggins, finished embracing Maia Dainson, the hobbit patted her arm affectionately and then immediately brushed past them, strolling down the hallway with a down expression, not looking back. He left the young humans standing there. It was then the little one, Lori, burst into tears.

"It appears we have lost our burglar," Balin sighed, appearing to have noticed as well. "Probably for the best. The odds were always against us. After all, what are we?" He glanced across the hallway where the Ri brothers and Bombur sat, but were soon joined by Bifur and Bofur. "Merchants, miners, tinkers, and toymakers." He scoffed. "Hardly the stuff of legend."

Thorin agreed, but he gave his old friend a half-smile. "There are a few warriors amongst us," he reminded the advisor, meaningfully.

"Old warriors," Balin said, but nodded tiredly. There were just Thorin, Balin, Dwalin and Gloin; Fili and Kili were great fighters, but they lacked the lifelong experiences of their uncle and older cousins. The rest of company were random citizens of Ered Luin-as well as lifelong friends-who had the courage, and were perhaps mad enough, to become part of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield.

When Thorin remembered his meeting at the council of dwarves, he remembered his cousin, Dain Ironfoot, attending. He remembered how the fierce warrior and lord of the Iron Hills had refused to support Thorin on his quest, claiming it to be a folly and a hopeless errand, but had wished his luck to the exiled King all the same.

When leaving the meeting and setting off to catch up with the company, with his young nephews, in the Shire, Thorin felt angry and slightly betrayed. A couple days later of traveling, his anger had tired and was now just thankful for the dwarves who had volunteered.

It warmed his iron heart as he recalled them all stepping forward in the Great Hall months ago, one by one, followed by their siblings and close cousins. Dwalin had already been meaning to come, of course, and Balin, even though it was no secret that he showed some doubts for this quest but would follow Thorin anywhere out of faith and loyalty. Fili was to come because he was Thorin's heir and was already of age, however much Thorin hated this outcome, but Kili...Kili was still a boy, but he had been the first to volunteer, despite the furious glare Thorin gave him and the protesting from Dis, his little sister.

Before Thorin would deny his youngest nephew the right (as he would keep doing so later on for quite a while afterward), young Ori had then stepped from out the crowd. Being only a couple years older than Kili, though obviously smaller and less built, he had probably thought that if Kili was allowed to go, then it wouldn't have hurt for him to volunteer and to take this opportunity in recording the quest, the story of a lifetime. Nori had stepped forward next, standing next to Ori, and then followed by a reluctant Dori, who had only been following to stop Ori but since it was too late, he joined his younger brothers.

Then stepped for Oin and Gloin together, claiming they needed a healer and a master of coin. And finally, Bofur jumped out, practically dragging his younger but larger brother, Bombur, and his injured cousin, Bifur, into the center with the rest to claim acceptance. Bofur spoke for Bombur, saying they needed a cook, and Bifur had been needing to do something crazy ever since an orc put an axe in his head. They were the only three who were not related to the line of Durin in any way, being merely commoners of the dwarves, but were undoubtedly close friends to Thorin's family, having made Fili and Kili's toys when they were dwarflings.

Thus, the Company of Thorin Oakenshield was formed.

"I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills," Thorin told Balin truthfully, without hesitation. "For when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty, honor, and a willing heart. I can ask no more than that," he whispered, blue eyes sparkling in the house light.

Balin stand up, looking distressed now. "You don't have to do this," he protested. Here it was, all the words that the advisor kept to himself, until now before it was too late. Thorin kept silent when he continued, "You have a choice. You have done honorably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."

Balin was not wrong, but he was not right either. Ered Luin was as peaceful and prosperous a place as any dwarf exiled from Erebor can hope for. They had built their village close to a population full of Men, worked as miners, toymakers, and blacksmiths, but there had been times when their home had been attacked by goblins, slave traders, and other foul things. Many would forget that the Blue Mountains were not as safe as they seemed. But Thorin knew what Balin really meant, or rather whom, and they were coming along with him on this dangerous quest.

Dis and his sister-sons were all he truly had left in the world. His young nephews were like his sons. They were his world, his heart and soul, worth more than all the gold in Erebor, as Balin had said. His sister could not have done better with her late husband. Thorin could not remember, nor imagine a life, in a world where his precious, cheerful, and playful sister-sons did not exist. They were his reasons for living on, after most of his family had gone.

But there had always been a part of Thorin that had been missing. That part was his home: Erebor. Ered Luin may be a home to Dis and her family, but never to Thorin. He would see his kin back in the place where they belonged, be seen as the young princes they truly were, have them look upon the halls of their fathers for the very first time...he would complete the goal that his father and grandfather had sought.

"From my grandfather to my father," he said finally, before holding up the key, "this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin." He lowered the key and looked Balin in the eye, his gaze pleading. "Not for me," he whispered.

Balin sighed. He was one of the few dwarves who see right through Thorin Oakenshield's hardened appearance, having known him since the young son of Durin was a small dwarfling, and he could see that his king was not going to change his mind. They had planned for many years. And now it was finally happening...it was inevitable. "Then we are with you, laddie."

Thorin's gaze softened and he nodded gratefully. Balin patted Thorin's arm in comfort. "We will see it done," he vowed.

They did not see Bilbo again for the rest of the evening. Later in the night, after Maia and Kyle went to quickly pack their backpacks, they came back and found the house was dark, all the candles blown out and the only sound they heard vibrated into a deep-throated chorus of voices. The sound of dwarves humming, their baritone tones making their bones hearts shiver and their bones tremble. The only light they could find came from the warmth fire in Bilbo's hearth.

"What do you think they're humming?" Kyle whispered.

"I don't know," Maia whispered back. Whatever it was, it was very different from the song they sang when tossing the dishes around. It was very moving, deep. It was beautiful.

"Come in the room and listen," a soft male voice said behind her, making both her and Kyle jump, startled when seeing Fili and Kili behind them, Fili holding a pipe while Kili held a filled mug of ale.

"Jeez, a little warning next time!" Kyle hissed.

"Sorry," Fili whispered, before glancing at Maia and smiled. He held out his hand, his golden hair and blue eyes shining in the dark. "Come. Join us."

Breathless from both looking at him and the humming of the voices that dwelled into her soul, Maia took his hand, his fingers hot against her skin, and he led her into the warm room, followed by Kyle and Kili, the younger siblings.

Lori was curled up on one of the armchairs, her head laying against the armchair and, as usual, had her bear tucked under her arm and her thumb tucked in her mouth. She was already asleep, looking sweet and peaceful. The humming must have lulled her to sleep.

Thorin was there, leaning against the fireplace with a smoking pipe in his hand. The fire's light reflected from his face, his deep blue eyes mirroring the faint light of the fire, deeply lost within his own memories and hauntings of the past. The dwarves all surrounded him, seated in all places, Balin and Bofur nearest to Thorin and Lori. Kili sat on the desk near Dwalin, Ori, and Gloin, while Fili leaned on the wall near Thorin.

Maia and Kyle silently crossed the room and sat on the base of the armchair, resting their heads near the sleeping Lori, feeling the warmth of the fire's kindling, listening to the dwarves hum in a way moved the gravity of their hearts and minds.

It was then Thorin began to sing in a deep, lulling voice:

Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away ere break of day

To seek the pale enchanted gold

Then Balin joined with Thorin, their voices blending beautifully with truth and memory:

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells

While hammers fell like ringing bells

In places deep, where dark things sleep

In hollow halls beneath the fells

For ancient king and elvish lord

There many a gleaming golden hoard

They shaped and wrought, and light they caught

To hide in gems on hilt of sword

On silver necklaces they strung

The flowering stars, on crowns they hung

The dragon-fire, in twisted wire

They meshed the light of moon and sun

Maia listened silently. She felt Kyle's head lean on her shoulder, his breathing even and slow. As they sang, her drooping eyes drifted toward the light of the fire, watching the flames leap and breath the embers that floated all the way up the chimney and into the starry sky. She could feel someone's eyes on her; she didn't have to look to know, and it gave her a sense of peace, comfort, and wonder. As they sang, she felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning. She felt a fierce and jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves.* She was pulled in deeply...by the magic that stirred within her like essence of matter, sending her further into deep thought as they hearth started to blur into merely a glowing, golden light in the darkness. All she heard was Thorin's stirring voice continue to sway her soul:

Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away, ere break of day

To find our long-forgotten gold

Goblets they carved there for themselves

And harps of gold; where no man delves

They lay they long, and many a song

Was sung unheard by men or elves

Then Bofur, and all the other dwarves joined in, their eyes haunted with dark memory and voices moving through the air like magic:

The pines were roaring on the height

The winds were moaning in the night

The fire was red, it flaming spread

The trees like torches blazed with light

The bells were ringing in the dale

And men looked up with faces pale

Then dragon's ire more fierce than fire

Laid low their towers and houses frail

The mountain smoked beneath the moon

The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom

They fled their hall of dying fall

Beneath his feet, beneath the moon

She closed her eyes, a tear escaping the corner. Whether from sleep or sadness, she began to nod off, feeling her brother's hair on her cheek. She missed her home. She missed her family. And, most of all, she missed her mom. They were going home...Home...

Far over the misty mountains grim

To dungeons deep and caverns dim

We must away, ere break of day

To win our harps and gold from him...

*J.R.R. Tolkien quote

This song has always enchanted me to no end. Richard Armitage's voice is no doubt epic. I just wished they sang the entire song in the movie, so I decided to add the version from the book, since it's pretty much the same. It also gives the story of the dwarves' background, before and during the time their kingdom was attacked by Smaug, since I didn't write the prologue scene. There might be flashbacks later on, though. How did you like Fili and Thorin's POVs?

I like writing these chapters during class time. Multi-tasking, right?:) Until the next chapter!