Disclaimer: I do not own Middle Earth or the characters. They belong to J.R.R. Tolkien (and sometimes Peter Jackson). I receive no profit (except my own amusement).

Chapter 2: To Market

I walk with Mum to the market and leave her chatting with some dwarrowdams at a vegetable cart. Why do we even need vegetables? We aren't elves.

Of course, Mum doesn't expect me to stay with her. She just tells me to be home by supper and to not get into trouble. We both know that's a useless warning, but I guess it makes her feel better knowing she tried, especially since Fili isn't here to temper my schemes. Then again I'm not really in the moods for pranks today.

So I wander the stalls looking for something new or different. I can't find anything that interests me. Market day is usually such fun, but it's just not the same without Fili. Finally I turn my steps towards one of my favorite places, Bifur and Bofur's toy shop.

All my life the toy shop has been a magical place. As a dwarfling I spent many hours playing here. Our small toy chest had been filled with their creations. Fili and I had spent hours playing with our little carved dwarrow warriors. And I particularly liked my dragon with wheels that rolled across the floor. Uncle Thorin didn't like it though, so I could only play with it when he was away which had been a lot of the time when I was younger. Bofur had even carved special presents for our naming days one year. Fili got a lion and mine was a raven, because that's what Mum called us sometimes: her Lion Prince and her Raven Prince.

I enter the shop still reflecting on the craftsmanship of the two toy makers. Their designs are intricate and unique. Then again they are special themselves. Bifur has an axe head embedded in his skull and speaks only Khuzdul, and I'm not sure he even understands that all the time. Bofur, his brother, always wears this ridiculous hat and a broad smile. He has a quick wit and is just as likely to break into song as he is to talk to you. If Bofur can't cheer me up, then I guess no one can.

"Ah, Kili, my lad," Bofur hails, coming from the back of the shop, wiping small wood peelings from his hands. "Where's Fili?"

Not what I want to hear, but then it could be expected. We go everywhere together. We are more like Fili-Kili then Fili and Kili. I do my best to mask my disappointment by staring at the floor.

"Out," I mumble, "with Thorin."

"So that's the way o' it." The toy maker's head bobs up and down in perceptive acknowledgement as if he had overheard our conversation this morning. "Well, dinna ya worry, Kili. I've got just the thing". His face breaks into that trademark smile.

Putting his arm around my shoulders, he draws me towards the back room. "I've got a proposition for ya."

Behind a curtain Bifur sits hunched over the work bench painstakingly whittling a small part. So engrossed in his work, the older dwarf doesn't even acknowledge our presence.

The moment I see their project my mouth drops open in wonder. Before me on the workbench stands a snow-covered mountain. Dwarf warriors encircle the base and ravens seem to fly around the peak attached by slender wires. Guarding the doorway are two tall statues. Although I have never seen it, I know that this is Erebor...the stuff of legends. I can recite Thorin's (and Mum's and Balin's) stories about his former home. Then Bofur releases a latch and the mountain swings open to reveal mine works complete with little miners and mine cars that actually move.

All I can do is gawk at the intricate workmanship...and envy the dwarfling who'll get to play with it. I'm almost sorry that I'm past the age for such toys. Fili and I would have had so much fun with this when we were younger.

"I kin see that ya like it," Bofur grins while his brother mumbles something unintelligible.

"I do!" Reaching out I pick up a miner to examine. My own goofy grin, as Fili calls it, is back on my face for real.

"Ah, but you see," my friend continues. "It's not done yet. What we're doing now requires the both o' us together." Bofur pauses briefly to make sure I'm following through to his conclusion. "But if we work together, we've no one to be mindin' the store," he beams rocking back and forth.

"You mean you want me to work in the front?" I ask incredulous. I have helped out before. They've let me unload toys and stock shelves. I had always liked doing that; what dwarfling wouldn't want to work in a toy store? Eventually I had realized that this was just a way to keep me busy so Mum and Uncle Thorin could go about their business without worrying how I was getting into trouble. I suppose Bifur and Bofur don't mind babysitting.

Bofur laughs again, his mouth turning up into his trademark grin.

" Really, ya just have to stay out front for a little while. 'N' if a customer comes in the prices are marked. Mind you, if they want to haggle, come get me, I'd best be takin' care of that, laddie" He may trust me to keep an eye on things, but Bofur's a true merchant when it comes to coin."

Since I don't have anything else to do until Fili returns, and Mum's busy shopping, why not? At least Bofur has some faith in me. What could possibly go wrong?

A/N- Thanks to all who have reviewed, followed, favorited, and simply read. This chapter may not be very exciting, but it is part of the set up. Please R&R.