Hope you like the new story! It's really not that much of a change, but in the long run it is!

I originally had no idea where I was going with this, but now I have a plan!Yaay!:D

So here's the new chapter 3!

Chapter 3

The sun finally began to set on the first night of the journey and Thorin called Fili and Kili to scout ahead and find a place to camp for the night. Gandalf had rode off earlier, saying he had something to do nearby. This had left Nakita feeling quite alone and she hated it. She rode at the back of the group, no one wanting to talk to her after her actions.

Fili and Kili had whispered to themselves the entire ride after the events, occasionally casting glances her way. It made her feel alone and alienated. Bilbo, once in a while, tried to talk to her, but she only replied with small grunts that sounded sad or curt even, so even he stopped trying eventually.

"Thorin!" Kili's voice called from farther ahead, making Nakita jump at the sudden voice against the quiet. The group followed the voice until they entered a clearing beside a cliff.

"Everyone unpack only what's necessary." Thorin told everyone and Nakita slid off of her horse. The ground was cold, making her give a small grunt of pain when she landed. Bilbo jumped over to her.

"Are you alright?" He fretted and the gesture made her smile.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just jumped off of Ernil wrong." She replied, shoving his worry off and pulling out a package from her saddle bag. She hitched it onto her belt as she went to Ernil's head and began untangling his mane. "Oh, aren't you just a pretty boy." She cooed and he let out a content snort as an answer.

She was just getting done with the last tangles in his tail when someone let out a cough behind her. She turned to see a guilty looking Fili and Kili. She nodded to them to acknowledge their presence and turned to continue with Ernil's tail. She heard the intake of air, but neither of them spoke. They just watched her for a while, until she was the one to speak.

"Whatever it is you want, spit it out... before you choke on it." She muttered the last part mostly to herself.

"We just wanted to say..." Fili's voice started.

"We wanted to apologize for earlier." Kili finished and they sat still for a while.

"Well, say it then." Nakita snorted. She wasn't angry anymore over it. The dwarf brother's were naturally curious people and it was no surprise that something like that had happened. In fact, she had anticipated it.

"You seem to be taking it... well?" Fili mumbled, slightly afraid that she was furious.

"I'm not angry with you two." She started, finishing the horse's tail and putting the brush back into the bag. "But you really should respect people's privacy, especially if... nevermind." She stopped herself, but Kili sensed that she was hiding something before she could cover it up. "I accept your apology. Now run along." She ordered, as if she were the mother to the two, Fili sat for a second in thought, but Kili pulled him away before he could object about their age differences.

They walked back towards the group, but they stayed a decent distance away from everyone.

"Did you notice it?" Kili asked in a hushed voice, making sure no one could hear them.

"Notice what?" Fili sat down on the ground and leaned back on his hands.

"She's hiding something..." He looked over to where Nakita was sitting between Ori and Bilbo, they could hear her laughter from where they sat.

"Yes, I noticed, but what could it be? I mean, do you really think she has something to hide?"

"Well, obviously!" Kili flung his arms up, frustrated that he was kept from knowing something.

"Maybe she's really just a witch and is here to murder you in your sleep for digging into her business or maybe she'll put a spell on you to make you fall in love!" Fili joked, nudging his brother.

"Please, what dwarf would go for a beardless dwarf maiden? It's so... unnatural! I've caught myself staring at her once in a while..." Kili mumbled and his head sunk down between his shoulders a little.

"And what's so wrong about being unnatural, Mr. Scruffy Beard!" Fili chided, grabbing at his brother's small facial hair. "No wonder you didn't get any woman back home. You're too much of an arse!"

Kili tackled his brother and the two rolled around in a flurry of half-hearted punches and false name calling. It attracted the attention of all of the dwarves, but most just ignored the common commotion. Nakita's mouth twitched in an attempt not to smile at such behavior, but it was quite a nice sight. The brother's were laughing as they fought each other and in the back of her mind Nakita wished she had a bond like that.

Ori, prodded her and asked her to continue whatever she was saying before they Company was interrupted. She swallowed the chunk of apple she had been chewing on and continued. He hastily wrote down what he was being told, most likely a story. Bilbo would ask a question once in a while, receiving an answer, then would sit back with satisfaction.

The brothers, finally, finished their scuffle and sat back where they were originally. Giggles escaped every once in a while from their lips before they went back to their seriousness.

"What could it be?" Kili laid back in wonder.

"You seem to be developing an obsession with this, Kili..." Fili nudged his brother, only half joking. "She was right, we should respect her privacy."

"Since when have you ever respected privacy?" Kili shot back. "All those times when we were little and I tried being alone, you were the one who never let me have that!"

"That's you and you don't count, plus you're a lad. She's a maiden and maidens get privacy."

Kili looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow, "...Way to be sexist. Either way, she's as much of a 'lad' as I am, just with... with... different... parts?" Fili snorted in laughter at his brother's reasoning.

"Whatever you say..." Was his only mumble reply. Kili was about to say something when Bombur's voice bellowed out that the stew was done and before long bowls were being passed out. The brothers walked over to be close to the fire to eat.

Everyone except Nakita went up to get some of the food. She instead just sat back and watched them indulge themselves. It smelled good, but she didn't want to become a burden on a quest she wasn't even supposed to be on. She had begun to space out when footsteps made her look up.

"Here, Nakita." Bofur smiled, holding out a bowl for their female companion.

"Huh? Oh, no, I couldn't." She mumbled sheepishly, her head sinking in between her shoulders.

"Oh, just take it. You're part of the Company anyways." Nori called out with a laugh and she reluctantly took the bowl, gingerly using her spoon while she ate. Bilbo sat next to her and the two shared a conversation of how they felt a bit guilty, but Bilbo wasn't nearly as guilty as Nakita was, for he was still slightly angry that the dwarves had eaten his pantry dry. This made Nakita let out a small laugh and it made the hobbit smile.

"So, Nakita," Oin spoke up, his hearing trumpet sticking out of his hear. "I heard you were a storyteller before all this, or was it a Bard?"

"It was both, actually." Nakita answered his confusion after swallow the remainders of her meal.

"Really?" Fili piped up. He had enjoyed singing around in bars back in Ered Luin when he and Kili had the time and whenever the two were drinking, they were dancing and singing like nothing else mattered.

"Uh huh." She nodded to him. "I was also a fortune teller, but that was for only a short while." She explained then when she saw multiple dwarves and Bilbo look up at her expectantly she hastily added, "I'm not very good! I hardly know anything about much!" She would feel uncomfortable learning the fates of the Company.

Gandalf, who had been hunched over in the corner, let out a small smile, before speaking up. "I recall you were also a magician... for a short time." Nakita flinched at his words, but before she could say anything, Fili and Kili were sitting in front of her like little pups, begging for a treat.

"Show us a trick!" They said in unison and Nakita leaned back slightly from them, looking around for help. She found that everyone was looking at her expectantly, even Thorin had turned to look in curiosity.

"I really shouldn't, I mean.. I was only a magician for a short while and I'd rather not want to disappoint." She tried throwing out excuses, but the brother's shot her down every try. She looked very uncomfortable and glared at the wizard who brought it up.

"I hate you..." She muttered to Gandalf before looking at the Company to explain. "I took up the occupation as a magician not because I knew any tricks." She looked down to see Fili sink down a bit, but Kili continued to listen with full interest. "I did it because of my..." She coughed, sending another sharp glare at a smirking wizard.

"They were going to find out eventually." He commented.

"Yes, but did it have to be the very first night of our quest?" She grumbled.

"What is it that you're hiding?" Thorin's voice butted in and all at once, the joy from this situation dissolved in the air. Nakita cleared her throat nervously.

"I have the... the ability to control..." She looked up into his eyes daringly, "I have the ability to control fire."

Everyone's eyes widened all together as they took in her words. It took a great amount of time before Bilbo was the first to speak.

"So, that's why Gandalf told you not to burn down my home..." He mumbled in understanding. Once he finished his sentence, everyone flung questions at her in a frenzy.

"Are you joking?"

"How is that possible?"

"Why can you?"

"Have you ever hurt anyone?"

"Is it a weapon?"

"How do you do it?"

"Does it hurt?"

"How long have you been able to?"

"Is that why you're hiding something in your bag?" Kili and Fili's voices echoed out together and somehow silenced everyone. Ori had been writing in his journal looked up at her. Thorin, who had been staring at her in thought, broke his gaze and went to Gandalf to have a... discussion.

Nakita had curled up in a tiny ball and had her back against the earthen wall they had set up camp around. She had her hands over her face and when everyone quieted, she peeked out from between her fingers. She removed her hands from her face and set them in her lap, her legs falling to the sides so she sat criss-cross. She inhaled a deep breath before she began speaking quickly. "No, I'm not. No idea. I have absolutely no clue. Yes, I have. It can be used as one. I have no idea, I just do. No, it doesn't hurt me, but it can hurt anything else, just like regular fire. I could do it ever since I can remember. Partially yes, but there are other reasons as to why I have something personal in my bag." Once she was finished she inhaled again and sighed.

Everyone was still again and it was quiet, except for the scribbling of Ori in his journal. Fili and Kili exchanged a look and Kili opened his mouth to speak.

"...Can you still show us a trick?" He asked in an innocent voice. Everyone nodded and agreed, making Nakita sink down sheepishly again.

"Um... I suppose..." She breathed evenly before lifting her hands up.

Her fingers twirled and wrists bent in wave like ways. At first no one saw anything, but Dwalin gasped and everyone went to look at him, but their attention was caught onto the fire that had cooked their meal. Strings of flames were rising above the regular flames and swirling together. They began to make shapes and figures.

"It's a pony!" Bofur called out as the flames made the familiar figure of a galloping pony. Laughs of amazement went through the crowd, until the figure began to morph into something else.

"Butterflies!" Kili shouted and three butterflies made of flame began fluttering around the dwarves. Dwalin went to touch one and his brother, Balin, swatted his hand away.

"You'll burn yourself, fool!" This made Nakita laugh and she changed the form yet again. This time a bird went flying through the dwarves. Thorin and Gandalf were watching now, after they had cried out the names of animals. Thorin seemed to be highly intrigued, while Gandalf was smiling softly at the show.

The bird multiplied and after the birds had flown around for a bit, their forms began to slowly seep back into a large ball above the fire. Everyone began calling out species of anything they could think of, trying to name the form. Finally, the thing was complete and the shape of an oliphant was recognized.

"Can you do anything else?" Fili asked, excitedly.

"Yes." Nakita nodded, letting the oliphant dissolve away into smoke. "Um..." She paused trying to think and once she finally thought of something, she raised her hands again. Everyone turned to the fire, waiting excitedly, but Nakita let out an 'ahem', drawing their attention to her.

She snapped her fingers and a small candle-like flame popped up from her fingers. She put the tips of her fingers together and when she pulled them away, each one of them had their own flame. The flame began flickering and shaping into weird forms. Nakita closed her eyes, trying to concentrate.

"Ori, look! It's you!" Gloin shouted, nudging him. On her right hand's thumb, a flame figure of Ori stood there with Nori and Dori, flickering. One by one the dwarves were sticking from her fingertips. Fili and Kili were next, then Bofur and Bifur, then Balin and Dwalin together, next was Bombur by himself, then Gloin, then Oin, and then Gandalf with his staff and hat, then Bilbo, and lastly, Thorin sat on her left pinkie.

Nakita opened her eyes and looked down at her creations. The dwarves were complimenting her generously and Bilbo was staring at himself in fascination.

"Thank you." Nakita said to each compliment she received. Thorin walked back to the camp and spoke with a slight annoyed tone.

"That's enough excitement for today. Get some sleep, we have a long ways to go." He said and then walked off to go lie down. Nakita, obediently, made the flames on her fingertips die out.

"That really was amazing." Bilbo smiled at her as he went to sit where he would sleep.

"Yeah, it was! Did you really just do all of it?" Kili asked, Fili looked towards his brother and noticed how intensely he was looking at Nakita. He sighed, deciding his brother definitely had an obsession.

"I taught myself and it took me a long time, but it's fun." She smiled thoughtfully, looking down at her hands. When she looked up to see Kili staring at her with such fierceness, she jumped. "Well... goodnight then." She dismissed herself in an awkward tone and got up, walking over to Ernil to give him something from the bag she had put onto her belt. Stroking his head once more before walking back near the fire, she fell to the ground with a sigh and closed her eyes. Fili prodded her side with a stick that he picked up from the ground beside him.

"Aren't you going to be cold?" He asked, referring to the notion that she didn't have her cloak covering her in substitute for a blanket.

"I'll be fine, thanks for your concern." She pushed the stick away from her and closed her eyes again. She let out an long exhale, but was prodded yet again. "What?" She opened her eyes irritably.

Fili looked around a bit, making sure no one could hear him. "I want to let you know that..." He sighed. "My brother can get obsessed with something easily when he wants to know it's secrets..." He explained.

"You're referring to my eye and fire, aren't you?" She propped herself up with an elbow and turned her body to face him. He nodded, looking over to Kili who was against the earthen wall, the two brothers would be taking the first watch.

"Just... watch out for anything weird he does." She snorted at him.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm obviously not familiar with weird things." She turned, pulling her cloak off and laying it over herself.

"Oh, just watch yourself." He muttered and then got up and joined his brother.

Not long after everyone was asleep, supposedly, Bilbo got up, trying to be casual. He strode over to the ponies and pulled out an apple, telling his pony to be quiet as she ate it. He smiled gently, but it fell quickly when a threatening cry howled through the night air. Thorin's eyes snapped open, but he made no movement.

"What was that?" Bilbo turned back to Fili and Kili who were watching the fire.

"Orcs..." Kili muttered gravely. Nakita was awake now, but she froze on the spot. Her body was facing the fire and she could see the two brothers. Her stomach flipped in fear as thoughts and images of how people had described them to her.

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked, fearfully. He bounded back near the fire.

Fili and Kili kept going on about how they attacked at night, but no screaming or anything.

"Just lots of blood..." Kili finished and it sent a shiver down Nakita's spine. Bilbo turned to look back in the general direction the howl had come from and almost immediately, the two started snickering to themselves. Enraged, Nakita thrust herself upwards, which caused the two to jump slightly, but before she could scold them, Thorin, who had gotten up, growled at them.

"You think that's funny?" He asked, making Bilbo turn around to see they were teasing him.

"We meant nothing by it..." Kili muttered, but Thorin turned his back on the two.

"You know nothing of the world..." Nakita heard him growl. She sat up and scooted to rest her back on a rock.

Gandalf sat against a boulder, far away from the group, smoking away with his pipe. He watched as Thorin walked over near the ponies and stared over the terrain.

Balin stood up and addressed Bilbo, turning whatever heads were awake. "Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria...but our enemy had got there first." He began to explain the battle for Moria and how the king fell to Azog the Defiler, the Pale Orc. Nakita sat still at the terrifying sounding orc. Once Balin's story was finished, Bilbo spoke up.

"What happened to the pale orc?" He asked, curiously.

"Azog the Defiler died long ago from his wounds." Thorin stated simply as he walked back to his sleeping spot. He sat down as the dwarves, who had all woken up and heard Balin's tale, all followed his lead.

Kili and Fili exchanged glances and Nakita began to absently braid her hair. She didn't think she would be able to sleep anymore. She looked up at the moon that shown above them. It was almost full and since it was summer, the summer solstice would be soon. She frowned at the thought of that day coming. Gandalf had said it was her birthday and it was the date that she used, but she wouldn't be celebrating a birthday this year, nor probably any birthdays after this dreadful journey. She pulled her cloak up around her shoulders and stared at the fire.

The rest of the night was long and sullenly quiet, except for the occasional sighs that escaped from her mouth.