CHAPTER 7

I decided to update this tale. I reread it and cringed at the errors. Sheesh, for those that are still curious, thanks for sticking with me. I am not stopping Fili disowned either. (Honestly, what the hell was I thinking when I named it that or did that summary? I'm as scattered as Ade I think.) I would like to finish this story. I will tell it in a shorter version. I simply did not want Ade and Tomtom to have an unfinished tale. I love them. Plus its fun playing with a Kili who is less burdened. But still I have Fili and Bilbo alone together. I sense a pattern. The brothers won't be parted for much longer. Not that there won't be angst. Or bad guys. Or more made up Tolkien lore.

"You tell him," grumbled Dori. Most of the company sat in the kitchen of the house the humans had lent them.

Nori shook his head vehemently, "No. I like my head right where it is."

Gloin offered, "Bofur, you do it. You have a way with words."

Bofur lowered his pipe. "I thank ye for yer kindness, but I think it might be best if Dwalin here tells him."

Dwalin put down his bowl of oatmeal. He grumbled at the assembled crowd. He growled at all of them. Dwalin stood up and began to make for the room where Thorin slept. Then he stopped. He went back to the table and grabbed his war hammer.

"A wise precaution." Bofur commented.

Dwalin rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Thorin was dressing in the new clothes the humans had provided. He heard the heavy bang on the door.

"Thorin," Dwalin's voice came through the heavy door.

Thorin took a moment for himself. He had tossed and turned all night. Worry over Fili, grief about Kili. "Dwalin."

Said dwarf walked into the room. The two had known each other for so many decades, they needed few words between them at times. In this they could by like Fili and Kili.

Dwalin looked as he had slept as well as Thorin, which was not much.

"What is it?" Thorin braced himself for more bad news.

"The hobbit's gone."

"What?"

"Bilbo. He went with Fili."

Thorin was silent for a moment. He shared a long suffering look with Dwalin. For a few long seconds Dwalin waited.

Thorin turned to look outside the window. He leaned against a nearby cabinet.

Then Thorin let loose a growl that started low and ended up shaking the windows in its frustration.

Bofur looked up at the bedroom above the kitchen. "It's a fair bet that our esteemed leader now knows the hobbit is no longer in our company."

Dori nodded, Nori left the room and Ori buried himself in his knitting. Gloin continued to eat. Bifur finished his meal blissfully unaware of the chaos around him.

"Durin's beard! What was that fool thinking?" Thorin shouted.

Dwalin crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Fili or Bilbo?"

"Bilbo. Fili. BOTH!" Thorin spat out.

Dwalin resorted to reason. "Thorin, ye have to be glad that Fili ain't alone out there."

"Yes, but I thought he would pick someone else to help him. Someone really useful, not Bilbo."

"Uggh. We are not going there again."

Thorin shook his head. His comment was said in anger. Of course he thought the exact opposite. Thorin gave Dwalin a hurt look. "No. I won't pretend again. Still, I would have the hobbit here with us. He has a calming effect on everyone. Bilbo could have been useful here."

"Yea, ye wanted him to negotiate." Dwalin replied sarcastically. "Next time tell Fili who to take with 'em."

Thorin rolled his head at Dwalin. "I wanted to give the lad space. What do you mean next time? Do you believe Kili still alive?" Thorin did not try to hide the depth of his own desire at the statement.

Dwalin sighed. "Yea."

Thorin's blue eyes sought his."How? Logically, there is no way he survived."

"But it's Kili."

"Yea. It's Kili." The boy had been in and out of so many scrapes that his exploits were near legendary. Always the tale ended with a spectacular save of his hide. Usually Fili was involved since they were hardly separated. Still Kili had a talent to find trouble where there was none even without his elder brother's assistance.

"Then why are we here? Should we not join Fili and Bilbo? No one wants to give up on the lad. We still have a couple of weeks til Durin's Day."

"We need the humans' help."

"Bah. We got this far on our own. We can make it the rest of the way without their aid. Without the damn wizard too!" Dwalin stopped leaning against the wall. His disgust at Gandalf stranding the dwarrows still rubbed the warrior the wrong way.

Thorin nodded. Dwalin had expressed this particular frustration more than once. He shared it. Yet, he had ordered to do the same. Abandon family for the quest. Thorin felt shame course through his body. 'What good was Erebor if he didn't have his boys to share it with?' He might as well turn around and go back to Ered Luin.

Dwalin waited expectantly. He loved Thorin. Really he did. But honestly, he could be so damn thick.

Thorin looked out the window and rubbed his beard. "I have to speak with some of the human leaders this morning. We'll head out this afternoon. Get the others prepared to travel."

Dwalin smiled. "Aye. We'll be ready."

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Fili was awakened several hours later when a very sleepy hobbit had fallen on him in his sleep. Fili smiled at his friend. He could sense the dawn would soon be breaking. Surprisingly, he had slept. It was a dreamless sleep and for that Fili thanked Mahal.

Fili let his friend sleep for a while past dawn. A feeling stirred in gut. They were searching in the wrong place. Kili wasn't around the river. It had sucked him down. He knew that rivers disappeared and would travel many miles in underground caverns before resurfacing. They had to walk further back from the river. In the time Bilbo slept, Fili climbed the tall pine nearby and just stared at the landscape. He let it sink into his heart. Calm his mind, let the earth speak to him.

When Bilbo stirred, Fili knew exactly where to start the search once more.

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Ade, Kili and Tomtom stayed in the library late until the afternoon. They were all in high spirits. It was impossible to be in a lesser mood in such a grand place.

They talked about so many things. They switched from topic to topic on a whim. A hundred books were fetched by Tomtom. They wrote and added notes to some. Hours passed with their jokes and questions. Kili found himself starting to understand the two. He really liked them. When both his and Tomtom's stomach growled in unison, Ade jumped to her feet.

"Come on. Time for lunch I think! Maybe a picnic! Then we can come back here for more research!" Her joy was infectious. The hours spent with Kili had been so enjoyable. Once the warrior had relaxed, Kili fit in with the two of them easily.

His wonder at all the books and lore they knew had swept away all his earlier reservations. Kili could not help himself. For once he didn't feel stupid like he did with anybody else but Fili or Ori. There were no pressures of the quest. To be grown up beyond his young years. If only Fili was here with him, it would be perfect.

Kili stopped himself at the thought. They were sharing a meal like they had been friends for ages. He was still wearing his huge nightshirt and his sheet kilt. Kili knew he looked ridiculous, but he didn't feel like it for the first time in ages. Maybe it was because of those elves and their insults. Maybe it was the long days of near hopeless wandering in that damn forest, the spiders, the orcs, the trolls. Everything. Because for the first time since leaving Bilbo's home in the Shire, Kili felt like himself. That scared him. He was trying so damn hard to be grownup. It wasn't who we was. Not yet. He couldn't be the somber, serious dwarf that he felt Thorin needed.

Here he was more comfortable with two strangers than his uncle and the company. That scared him.

The three had left their talks of dwarrow genealogy and politics to a quickly put together picnic. They had ate underneath the shade of the magical seasonal tree. To Kili's dismay, Ade still did not remove her ridiculous hat. Instead she just loosened the tie and her food disappeared behind the hazy veil. Then Tomtom had begged Kili for a joke. Actually he just smiled and grunted, "Tomtom tom." It was Ade who of course explained to a confused dwarf what he wanted.

Which led to stupid one about a bee chasing a frog who chased a goose instead of the normal way of goose, frog, bee.

Ade laughed. She hugged Tomtom as he danced about in his interpretation of silly goose running from a very angry frog.

"I never thought of gander in that story in that particular way." Kili commented.

Ade leaned over, "Well, its' fun to act out stories sometimes. See them in a different way ya do." She pulled Kili off his seated position. "Join us. I'll be the frog. You be the bee."

Kili shook his head no. Tomtom came over and gave him a friendly shove. He flapped his arms and squawked.

Kili snickered, "Ok. Fine." He placed his hands side by side and made flapping motions. "Bzzz. Bzzz." He began to awkwardly chase Ade who was on her haunches leaping about.

Tomtom grinned and started to weave in and out of the two. They all got closer and closer with their silly noises and motions. Finally, Tomtom bumped into Ade who stumbled onto Kili's trailing sheet. They all fell together in a huge tumble.

Kili laughed so hard his eyes had tears. Tomtom was grinning like mad. Ade's laughter was like tiny bells.

"Oi, off me skirt!" Kili shouted as he roughly jerked the fabric from underneath Ade. She was in the process of standing up. When the sheet moved she lost her balance and landed in a heap in Kili's lap.

Instinctively, Kili caught her. Just then her silly hat fell back. Ade shouted in alarm as her arms wrapped around the dwarf for support.

For the first time since his arrival, Kili was able to actually see Ade's face. Untamed golden curls swirled out of their containment. They flowed like a stream down to her waist. Crystal blue eyes shown in alarm. Her lips were full and pink. Ade's face was sweet and perfect except for two things. Two long scars from the corner of her eyes to the point of her chin, white skin pale against the rest of her freckled cheeks.

Kili gasped in spite of himself. He was no stranger to knife marks. Those scars had been placed their deliberately.

He found himself staring.

Ade scrambled away from Kili as if he was on fire. She grabbed her hat and roughly shoved it back on.

Kili started to stand, a thousand questions on his lips.

Ade let loose a cry like a wounded animal. She ran. Tomtom frowned. He turned to Kili and shoved the dwarf roughly back down to his ass. Then he took off same path as his best friend.

Kili watched them leave in shock. What the hell had happened?

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"I'm tellin' ye, that short hairy dwarf prince is out in the wild. By his lonesome." The scraggly male told his mates. They all looked worse for wear and smelt even more terrible. The stood by the docks of the lake. The information he gotten from his harassing the kitchen maid proving useful. 'She had liked him, stupid cow didn't know it yet.'

Rickyn nodded, "Terrible shame if he were to fall to orcs or worse, cut throats."

"Aye it would. I purpose we go help the lad out. Rescue him from all those dangers."

"For a nice fat ransom. No way them stone thumpin' dwarves don't have gold on em."

Grendle nodded as his two companions, "Things are lookin' up lads. Let's go find us some dwarf!"