Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit! I don't lay claim to any Hobbit things.

A/N: I'm the worst, it's been forever, I CAN BE TERRIBLY SLOW AT WRITING. *bobs a few apologetic curtseys*

Chapter 6

Days passed, and Kili and Fili grew stronger, their wounds healing with the speed that dwarves were renowned for. Mim truly hadn't been teasing when she said they were a hardy folk. Every time Camy changed one of their bandages, she was amazed at how quickly they were recovering from what had seemed like the brink of death.

Although they were of royal blood and whatnot, they didn't laze about the cottage or expect to be waited on hand and foot. They pitched in with the chores without being asked, and eventually, when they were well enough, they asked if they could help get food. Armed with slings and stones, they brought down a few birds one day, and the next day saw the two of them at the stream, makeshift spears in hand.

Camy sat amidst a patch of wildflowers at the edge of the stream. Humming to herself, she worked on mending Fili's shirt, which he had managed to rip the day before. It was cloudy overhead, but stripes of sunlight were breaking through to dance across the water and over the three of them.

Not far from her, Fili was standing ankle deep in the cool water, spear ready to strike, his face determined and patient. Kili, on the other hand, kept jabbing at anything that moved, though luckily his jabs just sent the fish down the stream toward Fili.

Smirking, the older of the brothers plucked another fish from the water with his spear and tossed it onto the bank. "That makes five, Kili."

"You wait," Kili said, frowning, eyes on the water, "I'll catch just one fish that'll be bigger than all of yours combined."

Camy passed her needle through Fili's shirt to tie off the thread. "There aren't any that are bigger than that. We have small fish here, seeing how the stream is a little one."

Fili laughed. "Good luck on besting me, brother."

"If Mim would let us hunt in the forest, I'd shoot us a deer and then you wouldn't be smiling," Kili grumbled.

"Fortunate for me, then, that we're not supposed to leave the valley yet."

"Very."

Camy grinned to herself, enjoying the banter. Before the two of them had come along, she had been alone most of the time with only Bert and some other forest creatures for friends. Mim was a solitary kind of person, and she liked to spend a lot of time with her herbs and tinctures. She knew that Mim loved her and cared about her, but sometimes she just wanted to sit among company and have a good long talk. For the first time, she was able to do just that, and she couldn't have guessed how much she enjoyed it.

It was going to be quite difficult to say goodbye to them when they left.

Lunging forward, Kili tried to stab another fish, but it simply darted away. A moment later, Fili struck and pulled the same fish out of the water.

"You're cheating!"

"How so?" Fili asked, laughing, "Don't be a sore loser, brother."

With a war cry, Kili splashed down the stream and launched himself at Fili, sending both of them into the water. Camy squealed as she was caught by a splash, her skirt getting partially drenched. She started giggling though as the two of them rolled around in the stream trying to dunk each other.

"You're scaring the fish!" declared Fili as he attempted to toss Kili into the water.

"Me? Your face scares them!" Kili twisted around and leapt at Fili, causing him to fall back into the water.

"You're both going to catch a cold," Camy called, but they weren't paying any heed to possible sickness. No, they were much too busy trying to playfully drown each other.

Camy laughed as she got up from beside the stream and made her way back to the cottage to get towels. Mim was standing on the porch when she arrived, a distant, sad look on her face. Gently, Camy placed a hand on her arm. "Mim? What's wrong?"

The human woman looked down at her and shook her head. "Your dwarves seem well."

"I think they're probably about ready to leave on their quest," Camy said with a sigh. She probably needed to start preparing travel packs for them so they could leave fully supplied. "Maybe they'll stay a day or two more."

"You've enjoyed their company," Mim said.

"Yes," Camy said with a bright smile. "They're very funny and friendly."

Mim put a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. "I'm sorry you haven't had many friends. Life is so isolated here…I should have taken you to the village."

"We can go in the spring," Camy said, excited at the prospect. There were a lot of humans in the closest village as well as a few dwarves, and she thought it would be nice to make some new acquaintances there. She doubted that she would be as satisfied with her woodland friends now, though she still loved them very much. It was simply nice to have someone who could actually talk back in the common tongue and make jokes and laugh.

"Maybe so."

"I've got to get towels, they'll be drenched," Camy said. She reached up and patted Mim's arm again before darting inside. She hoped that Mim would think positively about letting her visit the village. She would love to help her as an apprentice in more hands-on settings, where she could get real experience working with people. Maybe she would even meet other hobbits. She had no idea what that would be like, for she had never even seen another hobbit, but she imagined they would be pleasant people, like Mim always said.

Camy darted back outside with towels in hand to find the dwarves flopped on the bank of the stream, both soaking wet and arguing about who had won their little water war. She laughed and dropped the towels over their faces before sitting down in a clover patch behind them.

Fili sat up first, chuckling and rubbing his golden hair with the towel. "Thank you, Camy."

"So who do you think won?" Kili decided, tossing his own towel over his shoulders, "You decide."

"I'd be a terrible judge," Camy said, shaking her head, "I don't know the first thing about skirmishes like that."

"You can say I won then, since I'm your favorite," Kili teased. He wrung out his blue shirt, grinning at her as she smiled.

"I don't have a favorite, but you do seem a tad more wet than Fili. If we're being honest."

"That's right," Fili said, lifting his chin regally, "I won, she's just too nice to say so and destroy all your hopes, little brother."

"It's because my hair's longer," Kili said, rolling his eyes. He reached over and nudged Camy. "I'll teach you to wrestle, Camy, then you can join in."

A burst of laughter escaped her and she covered her mouth. "Oh, no, no…"

"I'm sure you'd be right fierce," Kili said.

"A tiny lioness on the battlefield indeed," Fili joined in, making her blush. She hid her face behind her curls and shook her head.

"And someday pigs will fly and gold will rain from the sky," Camy said.

"That'd be the day," Kili said, "Though I think I'd just prefer the gold. No flying pigs." He smirked wickedly. "That could get messy."

"Kili…"