Hi, everyone! Summer's on the house:) So, I got back from a short Colorado trip, being a little too busy to be focusing on this. WiFy was hard to come by, anyway. I was really looking forward to this chapter, so I hope y'all enjoy it!

Plus, did a major update on "Light in the Shadows" if you're interested:)

Chapter 19

"I was gonna name that bunny Thumper," whined Lori, watching the rabbits longingly as Radagast hopped on the sled. Everyone was hastily trying to gather their things, but leaving their weapons out and ready. For all they knew, another warg or an orc could be scouting them by the minute. They were still recovering from Lori and Fili's near attack if not for Thorin.

"Hey, wait...uh, Radagast?" called Kyle, running to the brown wizard before he would take off. "I have to know...who did you think I was?"

"We don't have time for this!" cried Dori in the background. "They're coming!"

"Oh," Radagast blinked at Kyle and then flicked his staff dismissively. "Never mind that, child. Got the times mixed up! You just look like a young child of a Ranger I knew, say...nearly two hundred years ago. My, my, has it really been that long?" Radagast murmured to himself, wondrously. Living in the wilderness alone can have one lose track of time, after all. "He was younger than you, though. And he had a different nose."

Kyle impulsively wrinkled his nose. "What was his name?" he asked.

"Kyle! Come on, we have to go!" demanded Maia, who had hurried with Lori to gather their bags. Why was Kyle so interested in this mysterious somebody, especially one who was probably history now? It seemed so unimportant in a situation like this.

The wargs howled in the distance, drawing everyone's attention. The orc pack was drawing nearer.

"His name...his name..." mumbled Radagast, frowning in concentration. "I...what was..."

"We have to move!" snapped Thorin sharply, watching the exchange with his sword still drawn. "Gandalf!"

"Radagast..." said Gandalf in warning, also getting impatient.

"Aravir!" said Radagast suddenly, eyes lighting up with memory. "His name was Aravir, son of Ragnor. Met the lad only once when on business with his father in Eriador...a couple years before he passed," he added sadly.

"So, it was two hundred years ago?" said Kyle, still not knowing why this was important to him, but he never like being left in the dark about everything. Something in his gut told him that he had to know.

"Aye," Radagast nodded, "definitely two centuries."

The wargs howled again, sending chills up everyone's spine.

"Alright, that's all well and interesting to know, but we need to get out of here," said Bilbo frantically. "Right now." For once, all the dwarves agreed with their burglar-hobbit.

As Radagast prepared to set off, Gandalf nodded in farewell. "Good luck, my friend. Run like the wind, and be assured that I will pass on the warning to the other members."

"What warning?" piped Lori.

Radagast tipped his hat in farewell and with a yank of the reins, he took off with a blast, pulled by apparently strong-muscled rabbits. When the brown wizard vanished in the green forest, Gandalf turned and waved his staff to the Company. "Follow me! Creep quietly and for the love of your Maker, do not draw attention!" he whispered sternly, knowing by experience of the dwarves' noisy tromping.

"What warning?" repeated Lori, but her question was forgotten when everyone started trailing after the wizard in the opposite direction, quickly but as quietly as they could.

Bilbo and the Dainsons stayed within the crowd of dwarves, their weapons and bags in their hands. Listening for the howls of the giant wolves, their hearts pounding faster as though sensing their presence charging right at them by the second, they kept their sharp darting for another warg to pop out from the rocks and trees, while hoping that Radagast and his rabbits were as fast as he claimed them to be.

"Where are they?" growled Fimbul, his beady eyes scanning the vast green outskirts of Trollshaw Forest. The half-goblin sat on top of his warg, leading the pack of orcs and wargs that have kept their distance from the Company of Thorin Oakenshield until the order had been given out, delivered by the falcon with the mark.

While the pack charged around the trees, the scent of clean flesh mixed with Man and Dwarf, catching the noses of hungry wargs, the silver winged bird flew high in slow, graceful circles. It soared over the eastern section of the woods. Fimbul licked his fangs while his warg sniffed the air and then let out a howl. The other wargs howled with the leader. The scent was refreshing, matching that of juicy prey, coming from the area where the falcon flew from.

Fimbul grinned. He loathed that falcon. Nothing more than a petty messenger, a hollow-boned spy for its master, and then the master of its master, but it did have a good lead in tracking. Not entirely worthless.

The order was given.

They will attack.

They will feast.

With the wargs gathering in their clutter, ridden by their orc masters, their howls joined in a hungry chorus as they sprinted toward the edge of the forest, catching the scent. Ready for Dwarf...

Something burst out of the trees with a loud yell. To the orcs' shock, it was the brown wizard riding on a sleigh pulled by a herd of rabbits. Rabbits, whose scent instantly caught the attention of the wargs in this new chase, and the wizard's eccentric laughter, who fueled the anger of the orcs.

Because of that filthy wizard, they may have lost the scent of the Dwarf Company, losing their prey.

He should suffer. They will have his hide and mount his head on Fimbul's pike.

So they charged after him.

"Come and get me! Hahaha..." shouted Radagast, charging away over the Weatherhills on his sleigh, the Rhosgobel rabbits' feet pounding the ground with full-fledged intensity.

"Kill him!" roared Fimbul in Black Speech, as they charged after him.

Radagast just kept laughing crazily, the speed of his ride causing them to bounce over a hill as the orc pack started hightailing his rear.

Lori was absolutely sure she had a nightmare about this before.

Running for her life, not quite knowing what from or where (she suspected it was a werewolf), though the dream had been darker, along with an abandoned farmhouse and a full moon...she thought such a nightmare could get any scarier. She was wrong. This was really happening with real wolves and real monsters called orcs. What did an orc look like? Did she want to know?

She was tiring really fast as her little legs tried to keep up with the rest sneaking through the trees. One hand was gripped in Maia's larger one as she was pulled forward, while her other gripped the arm of her teddy bear. Her new knife was safely tucked away in her little backpack. Though it was a gift from Kyle, Maia made it clear before that she was too little to use it unless for emergencies, whatever that meant. This felt like an emergency, but her hands were full and there was no time to stop for even a break. She can run long distances in games like tag, but she wished she was as fast as Maia and Kyle.

When they burst out of the opening, Gandalf was in the lead as they reached a huge groups of boulders that implanted before the gold and green view of the Weatherhills. The dwarves huddled together, trying to catch their breath with their loads and heavy weapons. Maia had both her knives bunched in one hand, while Kyle gripped his plain sword with two hands, his backpack and newly stringed bow strapped over his shoulders. Their eyes were wide with anxiety as they looked around them. Bilbo looked like he was going to have panic attack, while the dwarves all looked like they did when facing the trolls: a little scared, but more battle-driven.

While catching her breath, Lori wished she was as brave as they were. And Radagast. She hoped he was okay. She still wanted to ask about his home and about keeping the hare she named Thumper.

The sound of more wargs howling sent more chills up Lori's spine, making everyone freeze. Then they heard the crazed shouting and lughter of Radagast. Lori's heart lifted. "It's him!" she exclaimed, before Maia shushed her. He was still okay...and he sounded like he was having fun! She wondered if she would have fun riding that sleigh of rabbits, too?

After counting all seventeen companions, Gandalf shared a glance with Thorin, before winding around the boulder to check what was going on. The wizard watched as Radagast sped easily away on his sleigh of rabbits, the wargs containing back-ridden orcs still trampling away from them. He waited until they were a far enough distance away, disappearing slightly behind a grassy slope.

"Come on!" said Gandalf in a quiet tone. As the wizard went forward first, the Company eagerly followed in twos and threes, staying together, lugging everything they carried at top speed. Maia pulled Lori while Kyle ran beside them, along with Dori, Ori, and Fili while followed by Thorin and Dwalin.

As the dwarves ran down a steep slope behind a group of giant, sharp rocks, another warg howled as high pitched as a siren. Lori's heart pounded rapidly as she her legs and chest burned from running extra fast for the sake of her taller companions, sweat already sticking to her dress. Though her cowboy boots were already broken in from always running and playing, just like Maia's from over the years, it would have been a whole lot better if she had her tennis shoes. Even then, it still wouldn't have made a difference. She was too scared about getting eaten by wolves to think about it further.

Before long, Lori was slowing down, finding it hard to catch her breath. Maia also slowed, now yanking on the little girl's hand. "C'mon, Lori! We can't stop now!" she said urgently.

"I...I can't run...anymore..." panted Lori, her lungs so dry they stung. She wanted to cry. She was so terrified of what they were running from, but she was so tired. She stopped completely.

"M, L, come on!" shouted Kyle, pausing just a little ahead of them impatiently. Lori just shook her head, tears appearing in her eyes as she bent over and wheezed. She felt dizzy. She didn't want to look at the dwarves. Everyone was mad at her now...

"Keep running, lasses!" Balin called ahead of them, followed by Bofur's shout, "Come on!"

"Lori, we have to! They're coming!" begged Maia, pulling the little girl forcibly until they were running again, practically flying after the dwarves. She couldn't carry her, not while running! She felt terrible for Lori, but they didn't have a choice.

Lori sobbed between her breaths, practically stumbling as her big sister pulled her. She was going to die because she was so slow and tired! The wolves trampled from over the hills. What she wouldn't give to be a Rhosgobel bunny right now! What did a Rhosgobel mean?

Dori, who was close by, had paused to watch the scene with pity, Maia struggling to pull an exhausted little Lori. Then, groaning loudly, "Durin, save me!", he pushed Ori ahead with Nori before turning back to the slowing girls. Maia looked up in surprise at the silver haired dwarf, who didn't pause when coming back with his load of supplies.

"Give her here!"

Lori squeaked when a large, strong arm scooped up her little body and practically swung her entirely over a dwarf's shoulder, wrapping her little arms around Dori's neck when the older dwarf immediately charged back with the others, followed by Maia, who was a gaping at the two with awe. She heard Dori was considered the strongest member of the Company, possibly even more than Dwalin, but she thought it had been gossip. Dori didn't even seem like the warrior type, being all proper, poised, and protective with three P's in a row, if not a little snobbish and reserved. Now, she was starting to believe it, considering how easily the eldest Ri brother was carrying her little sister like a primate with its offspring, along with heavy loads. Sprinting alongside him, Maia had to remind herself to thank him later.

As the Company kept running, passing by more rocks and struggling over more gassy hills, Thorin was now ahead of the group as Trollshaw Forest shrank from their view, the hills and rocks becoming the only hiding places.

Suddenly, Thorin halted to a stop, the dwarves and Dainsons stopping behind him. They watched in horror as Radagast appeared, speeding away on his ride like a strange-looking Santa Claus with his sleigh of rabbits. Followed a least ten feet behind was the pack of wargs, ridden by black figures that were a little too far in their determined sprint to truly make out.

"And they're back!" exclaimed Kyle in frustration and panic. That wizard was supposed to lead the animals away, not right back toward them! He tried to get a good look at the riders of the wargs...

"Stay together!" ordered Gandalf, turning around before Thorin yelled, "Move!"

The Company twisted in the opposite direction and kept running. Everyone clearly looked winded. Cross country was nothing new for both Maia and Kyle, a morning jogger and a baseball player, but the adrenaline of being chased by massive, hungry beasts spiked their urge to keep moving at double speed. If they could, they would run ahead of the Company, but one) Lori was being carried by one of the dwarves, and two) they preferred to stay within the group where it was more shielded than out.

Sadly, these dwarves were not built for sprinting long distances. Maia found it ironic that Thorin thought they were the ones who would slow them down.

They were just passing by a boulder, Kili and Ori running ahead...when Radagast appeared with the pack again.

"ORI, NO!" Thorin grabbed Ori by the collar and pulled him back beside Kili. "Get back!"

That guy gonna lead them away or what? thought Maia irritably, finding herself stopping near Fili, followed by Kyle, who was muttering, "It's like the freaking Hounds of Baskerville." It seemed the longer they were running, the closer those monsters were coming rather than farther away.

Radagast was swerving right and left, glancing over his shoulder each time to make sure the orc pack was still following, not having the slightest idea the dwarf company was trapped in the circle.

"Hurry! Come on! Quick!" urged Gandalf, once they were turned away.

When everyone started running ahead, Thorin waited until they all passed by. "Where are you leading us?" He looked up at Gandalf.

When Gandalf didn't answer and ran ahead, Thorin huffed and followed.

From over the Weatherhills, Radagast continued speeding away, not looking behind him as he let the Rhosgobel rabbits take control. The wind blew past his beard and cloaks, deafening the sound of the wargs and orc at his rear. They had escaped far worse things, one of them very recently. Things like a group of hideous bats and the leaking black magic from the dark ruins of Dol Guldor. He would never forget the faceless shadow that Radagast recognized with his own eyes, as well as his ears from the whispering rumors of bird and beast. The faceless shadow known as the Necromancer.

How did he know? He had nearly been gutted by a bloody wraith in that wretched place, that was how! A wraith who resembled the face of a king, its crown encircling its pale, decaying face, the entire body transparent with hollow eyes and ragged garments.

It was an evil that already polluted the Greenwood with its mere presence, transforming the emerald green leaves and fresh bark into rot and decay with a sickly touch of fungi, killing off many of his animal friends one by one in his area while his organic home in Rhosgobel surrounded by spiders. Giant, hideous, mean-eating spiders of Ungoliant, scared off when Radagast performed an energy draining spell to bring back the life of a fellow hedgehog, Sebastian, who on the verge of recovery back at his house.

Back in the area of Rhosgobel, just the edge of the might forest now renamed Mirkwood, he had also seen the falcon. The same falcon that had been spying on the Dwarf Company not an hour ago. A servant of the orcs, no doubt.

Of him. Radagast grimly recalled the true owner of that Manwe falcon. Never went to attack him or his animals, at least, but he had heard many stories of this would-be servant of the orcs. First he had been a bane of orcs, then a wandering mercenary in the shadows of many doomed victims. After all these years, his name and whereabouts as discreet as though this hunter ceased from existence, he has reappeared and apparently has rejoined his former clan in the hunt for Thorin Oakenshield.

He was probably the culprit behind the hunt, for his notorious reputation was well-known for the deeds he carries out. Like the Istari, he had other names, but in the common tongue he was called the Hunter. A dark Ranger in a skull mask. Nobody saw his true face behind that mask...but if they did, they never lived to tell the tale. He was the stroke of Death.

Gandalf will get away, he thought through the charging winds. And when he does, he will warn them. Yes, oh yes, he will. He has to! But right now, I have simpler, if not more aggressive, problems to deal with. A chase of rabbits, orcs, and wargs. Oh my! I hadn't had this much fun in years!

Never once did the brown wizard realize that while chased by the whole pack, ducking under sweeping swords and throwing a reckless beast off course, one warg paused suddenly, catching the scent in the air that did not belong to the rabbits or the wizard. Their blood was equally as charged with adrenaline...but fresher, sweeter meats. Dwarf flesh, growled the warg.

Baring its rotten teeth, the orc rider readied its jagged sword and let the warg lead the way as they separated from the pack toward the opposite direction.

"Freaking perfect day...being chased by a bunch giant wolves and orcs...whatever the hell they are! What next...lion, tigers, and bears? My life's just damn perfect!" gritted Kyle quietly between his breaths as they ran.

Though he was very well aware that he was faster than everyone, even Maia, especially in her boots...he was finding even harder to not attempt running ahead of them. For the third time, he heard Gandalf warning Kyle to stay within eyesight, but when driven by the fear of getting caught by a giant, demon-looking bloodhound, it was little difficult to slow down for everyone else.

They started running down a hill when Radagast and the pack appeared to cross them again.

"What the hell?!" swore Kyle, skidding to turn sideways, looked over his shoulder-only to realize the whole Company had fallen back before he did and were darting over to another large boulder. Thorin saw him first and practically shouted, "Dainson!" while Maia looked up in wide eyes next to between Fili and Kili, mouth-shouting his name in panic and waving her hand over. Cursing, the boy was about to run back to them when a warg ridden by a black demented creature appeared on the rock and Kyle just about jumped backwards and scooted hastily behind the next nearby boulder before the creature would see him.

"Oh, shit! Oh, shit!" he kept gasping in his silent anxiety. Heart pounding, Kyle pressed his back against the rock and bunched his legs up out of sight, trying to catch his breath. Placing a hand over his breathing mouth and nose, Kyle rolled his head over to get a peek around the rock at the scene.

The first thing he looked at was the warg and its rider...but when he got a good, closeup look at the orc, Kyle froze in shock.

It was the ghoul. A different ghoul, but the same type of monster that attacked him and his sisters in their farmhouse on that fatal night. It meant that he and his sisters had seen an orc-two orcs-and had not know it.

WHAT THE EFFING HELL! his thoughts screamed, his gray eyes wide as he studied the disfigured being on the giant, ginger-furred wolf.

The dwarves, his sisters, Gandalf, and Bilbo were in a tight fit against the rock, trying to remain still. Lori was still huddled on Dori's back, her brown eyes wide with silent terror with her teddy bear gripped limply in one hand over his shoulder. She looked like she wanted to scream, but Ori next to them rubbed her back, though trying to hide his own fear. Maia had the same anxious expression, but seemed to find within her to try staying calm while leaning slightly against Fili on her left. Her eyes widened when they found Kyle, but he could only blink back at her, trying hard not to shake. Bilbo was trapped under the arms of both Bofur and Dwalin, while Thorin slowly turned to Kili, sharing a look with him, before nodding his head toward his bow.

Silently, as Kili pulled out an arrow, Lori had turned to look up…..then gasped with a frightened squeak, "Maia, look!"

Maia took advantage of the silence to slowly tilted her head backwards and get a slight peek at their chaser from the corner of her eye. A slight peak was all she needed, because when she saw the orc's face, she gasped and snapped her gaze back. An instant flashback of that night...the ghoul's grimy, clawed hand yanking at her hair hard as she struggled to keep the door closed...her hand closing around her ball-point pen and stabbed it in its eye...

"Oh, my God!" she breathed shakily.

In that moment, in less than two seconds, a determined Kili leapt out and whipped around, shooting his arrow into the warg's shoulder. While the giant canine wobbled, Kili shot another arrow, but this time in one of its front legs. As the warg came tumbling down, the hideous orc instantly rolled off and lunged at them with a psychotic snarl. Maia shut her eyes and Lori would have screamed if not for Ori's hand clapping over her mouth, while Dwalin swung his axe, the blade sinking into the orc's shoulder. The warg roared while getting up, but Bifur then jumped with his axe, then Thorin with his sword...in the struggle of trying to chop down the orc and the wounded warg, both monsters kept howling and shrieking, the orc's screechy voice loud enough to be heard from miles around.

If Maia wasn't so freaked out at the creatures and their violent deaths, she would have thunked her head against the rock in exasperation. Her hands gripped her knives even tighter, unable to move. Then she felt a warm arm press over her.

"Maia, it's alright," Fili whispered in her ear. "It's alright. Just stay close." She nodded automatically, but said nothing. She felt safer with him nearby, but it didn't assure her from what was going to happen next.

When the orc was finally dead, Gandalf stepped forward to lookout (he too looked worried about the commotion they made) and Kyle came out from around the boulder across from them, looking pale with fright and mildly irritated. "Is there seriously nothing about you guys that's quiet?" he hissed, though his voice trembled slightly. "Everyone from miles away can hear that racket!"

"Quiet!" Thorin snapped at the boy, while Dwalin growled, "If you think-" He was cut off by another chorus of howling. Everyone listened with paused breath. Maia felt the hair on her arms slowly rise as the seconds passed, feeling them coming. She heard Lori's breathing quickening. They were coming right at them!

"Move!" shouted Gandalf. "RUN!"

As everyone charged, Maia went to grab Kyle's arm, but her brother dodged her and ran ahead. Huffing in frustration, Maia instead ran beside Bilbo, Fili, and Dori, who still carried Lori.

There was no use in hiding, now that the orc pack had their scent. They didn't see the wargs yet, but felt them coming from over the hills and beyond the golden grasslands spotted with pine trees. The area was massive, wide-spread, and still. The forests and snowy mountains now seemed liked faded shadows along the blue horizon, covered in a mass of white, fluffy clouds. How perfect a late morning it would have been in this beautiful and mysterious valley if not chased by a pack of hungry orcs and wargs, who seemed to be easily overpowered by the mighty rabbits!

Rabbits, orcs, and wargs! thought Maia as she ran with the dwarves up and over hills, her hair sweeping over her face. Try orcs, wargs, and dwarves! That'd be funny poem to jot down...if we get out of here ALIVE! It was strange to be thinking thoughts like this in the middle of a death chase. She wondered to her shock if she was thinking like Kyle, who had a joke for almost every bad situation. She felt like a rabbit, based on the fear that drove her like having teeth snapping at her heels. She remembered when the worse things she had to run from happened daily when she was a kid: capture the flag, bullies, and tardiness.

Getting chased by wolves might have once been an expression to laugh at, but now it was real. It was really happening! And it was scary as hell!

"There they are!" cried Gloin, pointing ahead, causing everyone to halt. Bilbo gasped with wide eyes as he spotted more appear over the hills to the side, behind a few trees, charging toward them.

"This way!" shouted Gandalf, turning around. "Quickly!"

The more they sprinted across the landscape, their energy burning with the fear of getting caught, the Dainsons, dwarves, hobbit, and wizard pushed forward. They struggled over more winding hills, their heads going dizzy from the rapids turns they made from these bumpy obstacles that threatened to slow their pace. Kyle was glad he was wearing his running shoes, but didn't help when the weight of his rusty sword was taking more affect now. It made him wonder how the dwarves handled their own heavier weapons as easily as breathing.

Just when they thought they were going to get away, another orc riding warg appeared over the hill, and Thorin halted with a gasp. The Company unconsciously began to split apart in wide ranges. Halting next to Ori and Nori, Dori placed Lori down while Maia stayed next to Fili, the two wielding their twin blades warily. Kyle was five feet away from Kili at a farther distance.

"There's more coming!" shouted Kili.

Thorin whipped around, gritting his teeth. Looking around, he was consciously aware that there were orcs and wargs coming in all directions, blocking any hope of escape. Some coming in more rapidly than others, ready to pounce. "Kili, shoot them!" he roared.

As the wargs started closing in, Fili pulled Maia back with him as he shouted, "We're surrounded!"

Kili drew another arrow and fired. The arrow took out the orc riding the beast, but the warg ignored the arrow and came lunged toward Kili.

"KILI!" screamed Kyle, instantly lunging forward and swinging his sword. He heard Kili cry out when the warg was soon in front of him and had chomped its jaws over the side of his blade. Kyle cried out as he tried and failed to pull the sword back, but the weapon was forcibly yanked out of his hands, snapping it in half before flinging the pieces far out of sight, and the warg's giant head hit him in the chest, causing him to fall on his back.

"KYLE!" Lori and Maia screamed.

On the ground, Kyle gasped and held up his arms when the warg turned to take a bite out of him, but was shot in the eye by an arrow, causing it to yelp piteously and stumble backward.

Staring ahead with wide eyes, a gloved hand appeared in his vision. Heart pounding in shock, Kyle took it and was pulled to his feet. Kili patted him on the back. "Thanks, mate, but leave the fighting to me!" he told the boy.

"What, so you can be dog food?" joked Kyle, breathlessly. He looked around for his sword and spotted silver in the grass. He went to pick it up...but found only the hilt, no blade. His stomach dropped. "Great," muttered Kyle darkly, arm falling uselessly. "It's a dud. I'm sunk."

Further within the group, Bilbo and Bofur joined between Thorin and Bombur with readied weapons. Bifur was perched on a nearby rock, while Oin, Gloin, and Balin were on the far right field.

"Where's Gandalf?!" Nori cried next to Dori, who took Lori's hand.

Turning around, there was no sign of the wizard. Maia's heart went in her throat. Somehow, the wizard's disappearance made her feel more panicky, like a child losing sight of its parent or teacher.

"He's abandoned us!" shouted Dwalin in outrage, while siding between Thorin and Bofur.

Ori drew his slingshot and fired a stone. The stone merely bounced off the head of a warg, ridden by the half-goblin Fimbul, who laughed at Ori's attempt. This orc seemed to stand out the most, most likely the leader. Its ears being the largest, though one was half and shoulders covered in shrubs of black spikes. Lori shrunk back in fright next to Dori when she heard words in between the growls, Feast! Dwarf feast! The little girl trembled so much that she almost dropped her teddy bear.

"Hold your ground!" commanded Thorin, readying his elvish sword, which gleamed more brightly with its blue silver, more valiantly than all the weapons sheathed in the field. Truly, the blade was as majestic as its new wielder. For a moment, Lori's breath was stolen away from the sight, while the Ri brothers gathered protectively around her.

Checking to see her siblings with at least one dwarf, Maia tried taking deep breaths as she watched the wargs slowly creep, feeling all their eyes in their direction. Her golden-hilted daggers shined like fire. Fili scooted in front of her, his twin swords gleaming in the sunlight as he narrowed his gaze toward each oncoming warg, ready to fight. "You better stay back," he told her grimly, while keeping his eyes ahead. "Get to safety."

"Too late for that," she said, eyes never leaving the wargs like him. Hardening her resolve, she raised her twin daggers dangerously. "Better stick to this. I got your back."

Fili stiffened, but he nodded reluctantly. "Fine, but stay close to me."

"No problem."

"If one charges, do not hesitate to kill it," he said. "Go in between the eyes, or the neck. Wherever it's soft, but please try to keep your blades this time. You with me?"

"Roger that." Maia briefly glanced at him and smirked a little at his confused expression despite the fear in her chest. "Like my grandpa always said: it's just a damn dog."

Fili chuckled dryly. "Does giant, hairy, man-eating wargs apply to the list?"

"Let's make sure it does." Maia was scared to death of these beasts, but she was a Texan woman! She was not going down without a fight. The memory of that warg charging at her baby sister fueled a protective fire in her that burned through her veins and rushed through the pores of her face like a furnace. I'll show these mongrels what a real bitch I can be! she thought, now wanting to feel what its like to plunge her new blades into those monsters. And with Fili right next to her. They were so close now that she could feel his warmth radiating from his body.

Behind them, Gandalf suddenly appeared from behind behind a smaller rock sided with a larger boulder. "This way, you fools!" he yelled.

This was the second time today that Maia was relieved to have Gandalf. He found an escape! Thank God!

Thorin turned around, looking slightly relieved, and shouted, "Come on, move!"

"You heard him! Go!" Fili pushed Maia away, as the dwarves started regathering. "I will follow!"

Maia was shocked and angered. "Fili, I'm not-"

"GO!" snapped Fili.

Annoyed at his change of tone, Maia growled and reluctantly obeyed.

Thorin leapt on the high rock, peeking over to see the tunnel the wizard climbed down, and turned to the company. "Quickly! All of you! Let's go! Go, go, go!"

Bofur was the first to leap and roll down, followed by Bilbo. Then Balin. Then Gloin. They just kept going while Thorin stood guard over the entrance, the wargs now closing in.

"KYLE, COME ON!" shouted Maia toward her brother across the field as she ran to join the dwarves toward the tunnel. Kyle turned at Maia's calls.

"Maia!" Thorin yelled.

She looked up….and screamed when see an open maw come down, but ducked her head when the charging warg was swiftly cut down by Thorin's elvish blade. "Get moving, girl!" he roared, causing Maia to flinch and swing herself down the hole without hesitation, sliding down hard stone for about twelve feet under and into the welcome arms of the dwarves waiting below.

While Nori and Ori ran ahead, Dori had snatched up Lori and instantly started running...but her teddy bear had slipped out of her shaking hands, flinging to the air at the feet of Fimbul's warg.

"TEDDY!" screamed Lori, watching in absolute horror as the warg pounced forward and stepped over the toy lying the grass. The little girl struggled in the dwarf's arms, but Dori only tightened his hold around her and ran as fast as he could.

The youngest Dainson sibling wailed loudly over her lost stuffed companion, "Teddy! Teddy!" She cried even harder when watching the warg pick up her beloved bear in its giant fangs before she and Dori slid down the hole with the others.

When Dori rolled down with a still wailing Lori, Gandalf counted, "...eleven, twelve..."

From the surface, Kili shot another arrow into the head of another orc before drawing another. "That's how it's done!" he told Kyle with a smirk, still looking towards the incoming wargs.

"KILI! KYLE! RUN!" yelled Thorin behind them. Fili was already running back, after having taken down a warg and orc with his twin swords.

"Time to go, man!" said Kyle, starting to back away.

Kili glanced back briefly, before telling Kyle, "Go on! I'll follow!"

Kyle nodded and turned around to start sprinting back. Behind him, Kili started to follow, before whipping around to fire another arrow at another incoming warg. Kyle glanced briefly behind him to watch, before he heard Fili scream, "Kyle, look out!"

"Huh? Oh!" Kyle looked ahead and cursed when seeing a warg charging from his back left, ridden by a vicious-looking orc. Having only the empty sword hilt in his hand, Kyle took aim like he would pitching a ball and threw the object forward. The iron hilt smacked right into the ugly nose of the orc, the impact causing the ghoulish being to flip over backwards off its beast. The warg paused momentarily in surprise, before it bared its teeth and kept coming while Kyle now stood empty-handed.

Kili shouted Kyle's name when an arrow was fired into the warg's shoulder, but the beast kept coming.

"Kyle!" Thorin bellowed, tossing something. When Kyle's head whipped in his direction, he nearly stumbled back in surprise when catching the large hilt of the flying black sword that instantly tested his muscles by its heavy weight.

Without having much time to think, Kyle let out a loud, angry cry when he swung this new heavy sword in front of him, shut his eyes...and felt the massive, furry body sink right through his blade when crashing into him like being run over by a charging bull. Kyle let out a choked grunt when he landed backward on the ground, trapped under the body of the warg that seemed like the weight of a horse. Sticky liquid spilled over his face and a strong, coppery smell filled his nose. His eyes still shut tight, he knew instantly that would blood, spilling from the new wound his sword caused.

Somebody moved the body off of him with double effort and yanked him to his feet by the arms. Kyle still gripped the sword hilt, the blade instantly yanking out with a sickening squelch as he was hastily escorted away blindly by two pairs of hands, who belonged to none other than the brothers, Fili and Kili.

"We got you, Kyle!" panted Fili, as Kyle ran in between them, his eyes still shut from the blood.

"Brace yourself!" said Kili. "We're going to jump!"

"What?" Kyle said, opening his eyes in a nick of time when they stepped over the rock Thorin stood on. The boy yelped when the brothers tossed him in. He tumbled and rolled down, followed by the sliding motions of Fili and Kili.

Finally, when everyone was down, Thorin jumped in, slid down the slope, until crouching near Fili, Kili, and Kyle. He touched Kili's shoulder while looking first at Fili.

"You alright?" he asked his nephews, who nodded breathlessly. Thorin then placed a hand on Kyle's back, who was hunched over from landing on his chest. "Are you injured, lad?"

Speechless, Kyle shook his head. He still gripped the bloodstained Deathless in a death grip. He could still feel the blade sinking through a thick mound of flesh and bone.

"Kyle!" Maia pushed by the other dwarves with a teary-face Lori in tow and knelt beside her brother. When he looked up, his face covered in blood, Lori let out another wail at the sight and Maia cried out in terror, "Jesus Christ, Kyle!" She examined his face delicately, brushing his bangs back nervously.

"Don't worry, it's not his blood!" said Fili quickly, reassuring her.

"A warg charged him and he stabbed it," said Kili, looking a little shaken himself, "with Thorin's sword! It was really close!"

"Yeah, yeah...Thorin?" gasped Kyle finally, still trying to catch his breath. "I owe you one! Thanks, man!"

Before Thorin could reply, a horn sounded from above. Hollow and rich like a song. Everyone turned upward in surprise. They was the whooshing sounds of arrows and the choking yelps of orcs. One by one, followed by the galloping hooves of horses from above. There was a screech of an orc yelling in anger.

Everyone was silent as they waited with bated breath.

Suddenly, the body of an orc came tumbling down and everyone jumped, Maia pulling Lori and Kyle out of the way. Gandalf pointed his sword at the body and nudged it, making sure it was dead.

The galloping from above faded away. There were no more howls or growls.

Thorin knelt down and yanked the arrow. After observing the brand of its tip, he spat, "Elves!" and tossed it aside with a clunk, glaring at Gandalf suspiciously.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads." Everyone turned to see Dwalin looking down the end of a winding path creasing through the cave. "Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it, of course!" said Bofur, making the decision for everyone as he went, followed by the others.

"I think that would be wise," said Gandalf. Bilbo glanced up at the wizard thoughtfully.

Thorin was about to go when Kyle stopped him by the arm. "Hey, Thorin….."

When he glanced back with a frown, Kyle dropped his hand and held up Deathless by the hilt first. The dwarf lord noticed the boy's hands were shaking slightly, the knuckles covered in blood, but he had a firm grip of iron hilt of the Dwarfish weapon. After this momentary observation, he took back the blade before sheathing it, nodding to Kyle Dainson, and walked away without a word.

Bilbo watched the exchange between Thorin Oakenshield and Kyle Dainson, who seemed to exhale when relieved of the heavy sword. Then the hobbit turned to see Maia kneeling down to a crying Lori, who was rubbing her eyes with her little fists.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," said Maia gently. She brushed away her curls and wiped her tears. "It's okay, L. It's over now. They're gone. Hey, where's Teddy?"

"I lost him," sobbed Lori softly. "I dropped Teddy...and that scary wolf got him, Maia!"

Maia's heart broke. "Oh, no, Lori!" she whispered, hugging the little girl to her chest.

"What happened?" asked Kyle, kneeling next to his sisters. Fili and Kili hovered behind him, looking concerned.

Maia looked up sadly. "Lori lost Teddy," she explained. "A warg got him."

Kyle's face fell. "Oh."

Maia nodded and kissed the top of Lori's head. Kyle reached over and rubbed the little girl's back soothingly. "I'm sorry, L," he said softly. "Sorry about Teddy. He was a great pal."

"Maybe..." Bilbo hesitated in the background. "Maybe when this is all over...you can get another one."

Lori just cried harder. "I don't want another one," she wailed, burying her face in Maia's hair. "He was my friend!"

This time, Kyle didn't say a word about it. After all, as much as he constantly complained about that teddy bear, the toy had survived throughout all the siblings' childhood. Almost like a family treasure. Maia had him when she was little, then Kyle….and then Lori, after the bear was renewed from old age.

Behind Bilbo and Gandalf, Thorin paused near the entrance of the pathway to listen. Nobody noticed him there.

Fili crouched next to them, meeting Maia's eyes, which were also wet. Then he reached over to stroke Lori's dark hair. "Was the bear really that important to you, Lori?" he asked the little girl softly. "Why?"

It seemed like there was going to be no answer, until Lori sniffed and peered her brown eyes up at Fili, wiping her little red nose. "'Cause Daddy gave him to me," she whimpered, "to watch over me...and now he's gone. He's gone."

While the two remaining wargs ran away from the elves, Fimbul snarled loudly as he and another orc retreated. The teddy bear lay dropped and abandoned, carried fifty feet from the scene. For a long time, until the Weatherhills were silent as the breeze in the valley, the only sound the echoed was the song of a falcon.

The silver-winged bird soared over the skies wide arcs, its sharp vision flicking and observing the golden land below. The mark gleamed like a black omen in the shine of daylight. Then it spotted the bear, lying small, still, and alone.

Lori, a whispery voice called out, clear to the hearing of the Manwe falcon. Lori...

Lori. The falcon then swooped down, gliding down until its feathers brushed the grass. It snatched up the soft plush of the bear and brought it into the blue wonders of the sky.

They flew away. Then there was silence.

Rabbits, orcs, and wargs. Oh my!

I was literally out of breath writing this, trying to catch up. It's always heartbreaking when a child loses her favorite toy. I know I would cry if I did when I was her age, especially if it was given to me by someone important. Why would the falcon take a child's toy, I wonder? There is some connections built here. Some significances made. What do you think they are?

Since quite a few of you suggested that Lori be carried, there was no better dwarf perfect for the job than our fellow Dori. In the book, being the strongest dwarf in the Company, I think he was the one carrying Bilbo Baggins most of the time when needed, so I'm going to just replace Bilbo with Lori, who's smaller and lighter anyway.

How did you like Kyle's whiplashing moments? He is truly a magnet for trouble and I have so much fun with it, especially with his luck in getting a good weapon. Nobody ever knows what happened to Deathless after Thorin obtained Orcrist, so there's a possibility that Deathless may get a new owner;), but that might take a while since dwarves are possessive of and very traditional with their weapons.

What about the Dainsons' reactions when they recognized the orcs for the first time? It seems that they're going to come clean about a few things to the Company...in Rivendell:) I wish Rivendell existed so that I can stop there for summer vacation! It's beautiful!

See you there soon! I love all your reviews! Please continue:)