AN: I do not own any of the characters or places in The Hobbit, they belong to Professor Tolkien and he would kill me for how I have corrupted them.

So I got my boots on.

Dori kicked his feet into the sandy soil under the swing he and his friends had made from a couple of pieces of rope and an old branch. His friends had gotten bored of sitting and swaying backwards and forwards, suspended from the branch of the ancient Walnut tree on the gentle slopes leading up to the sides of Erebor. He hadn't. He enjoyed the solitude and the peace, oh so different to the perpetual clammer and chatter of the mountain halls. He loved to kick off his boots and dig his toes into the soil warmed by the sun as playful breezes pulled at his new braids. When he was feeling particularly adventurous he would even climb the old Walnut tree, boots abandoned by the trunk.

Then the dragon came and he discovered the outside world gave little time to wander barefooted and so he became ever so proper. His brothers never showed the same urge to wander bare footed and he never confided in anyone his desire to feel sun warmed soil under his feet or the rough bark of a tree branch scraping at the tender skin.

He eyed the hobbit's feet with disbelief when the small male joined their mad quest. He had walked on ground less forgiving than the current terrain that had hurt his bare feet. Soon though he was drawn to the friendly nature of the other and found himself revealing how he had spent many an afternoon when they could still call Erebor home.

He had though the lad had forgotten his words until he wandered from the doors of Erebor nearly a year after their hobbit had left them to mourn their king and princes. There, in nearly the exact same spot as his Walnut tree was a tiny sapling. Throwing propriety to the wind Dori raced down the gentle hill to fall on his knees beside the shoot. His eyes filled with tears as he read the inscription on the metal plaque the hobbit had managed to carve. Simple and to the point like their burglar, it read:

"May this Oak grow tall and mighty to bring joy to those who will play in its shelter."

AN: Leave me a review and let me know what you think please.