Here we go again, my dear readers! I am really happy that you guys like the story so far and I really really appreciate your opinions and reviews! And of course, I hope that you will like the following chapters as well :D

And to give an answer to IceheartsChill: Eehehe, she's not exactly a shapeshifter but... well, we'll find out soon enough :D

She slowly walked through the bushes, away from the camp and the brown-haired dwarf. She couldn't help but smile to herself. That had been an awkward but nice encounter. Something that was entirely new to her. It was highly unusual for a dwarf or anyone to treat her like he had and she was grateful for his help. She took a quick look at her bandaged left paw. Without the dwarf's help, it would probably have gotten infected in a few days and she couldn't have hoped to get that bloody arrow piece out on her own. It really was an advantage to have hands and thumbs, she guessed. Well, she could have tried to get it out with her teeth but that would have hurt much more and it would have been a nasty task.

She was already quite distant from the camp but she could still see the fire as a very small orange point in the dark behind her when she looked back.

Suddenly, there was a loud snap and she turned her head in the direction of the trees in front of her. They were surrounded by darkness and she had to concentrate hard to see through the thick blackness before her. A fact that was confusing just as much as it was scary. Normally, she was able to see almost perfectly in the night with her wolf eyes but the darkness that spread before her was somehow different. It was like a wall of pure blackness swallowing every light even if it was just a dim grey shimmer. And it strangely seemed to be extending.

She stood frozen into place for a second, watching the scene. The darkness was coming towards her, she was sure of it. A terrible coldness crawled up her spine and she began to tremble and snarled out of instinct. Then, there was another snap coming directly from inside the black wall of… what was it? It seemed like shadow, she thought, but a shadow of what exactly? And then she heard it. It was a sound that almost made her blood freeze. Hoarse whispering. She couldn't make out what the voices – or was it just one? – were saying but she was damned sure she didn't want to find out.

So she turned around.

And she ran.

Her paw hurt like hell but she didn't care. She just had to get away from this darkness as fast as possible. And as she ran through the woods, charging through bushes, she felt the cold slowly leaving her body, a sign that she was gaining more distance, she thought.

When she finally slowed down after running what felt like hours, not feeling chased anymore, she saw the familiar campfire before her, shining through the leaves. Whether it was accidentally or just out of instinct, she had run back to the camp where the brunette dwarf had been, she realized.

Cautiously, she stepped through the bushes and caught sight of a grey-haired dwarf, leaning against the boulder the brunette one had sat on an hour or so before. He was fast asleep.

Silently, she sneaked past him and stepped around the sleeping dwarves, sniffing on a blanket or a dwarf himself here and there until she saw the brown-haired one lying a few feet away next to a blond one.

For a moment, she hesitated but then the ugly feeling of fear crept back up in her stomach and she walked up to his sleeping form. He was lying on his side, one arm tucked under his head as some sort of pillow.

He looked peaceful, she thought.

It might be strange but she felt safer here in the midst of a bunch of sleeping dwarves than out alone in the forest where this… thing… had been. This feeling was concentrating mainly on the brunette before her, though. It might have been because he had cared so much about her before but she trusted that the darkness – whatever it had been - couldn't reach her here.

So she lay down close in front of him and rested her head on her paws next to his torso.

She let her eyes wander over the edge of the camp one last time and looked shortly at the ponies tied up a few metres away. Some of them had nickered slightly when they caught sight of her but they seemed calm now.

Well, she thought, they had no need to get troubled over her presence. She would be gone in the morning before anyone would know she had been there at all.

Kili woke up from his sleep when he heard hushed murmuring around him. Then, suddenly, he was nudged quite harshly on his shoulder and he opened his eyes and turned his head to look straight into his brother's eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked sleepily. Fili gave him an alarmed look and signed him to be quiet. Kili frowned at his brother, then the blonde pointed to something next to him. Questioningly, he turned his head in the direction and blinked in surprise.

A big black wolf was lying beside him, sleeping peacefully. Kili looked back up at his brother who had one hand on the hilt of his sword and seemed unsure of what to do. Behind him stood Dori, Dwalin and Bofur, the latter of which watching the scene curiously. As Kili looked around the camp, he found that the rest of the company was also up and watching from a distance. He met the gaze of his uncle who was frowning at the scene. They were all alert to the dangerous animal being so close to Kili but they probably thought they could have hurt him in the process of killing it, since the wolf's body was merely a few centimetres away from Kili's.

When he met Thorin's gaze, his uncle signed him to slowly move away from the animal but Kili shook his head quickly. Thorin sent him an irritated look.

Kili sighed silently, turned around and touched the wolf's shoulder, stroking it gently, ignoring the alarmed looks of the company.

"What are you doing?!" Fili whispered and looked at his brother as if he had lost his mind.

The wolf opened its eyes immediately when it felt Kili's touch and looked at him, seemingly surprised. He gave the animal a pointed look.

"I thought we had parted ways last night" he mumbled, ignoring the weird looks his companions gave him. The animal looked around, probably considering how to make its escape but it was a bit too late for that now. It would have been nearly impossible to get through all of the dwarves without risking to get hurt.

So it lowered its head a little and looked at him in a best puppy-eyed manner. He sighed again and slowly reached out to stroke its head, the black fur feeling silky and fluffy under his fingertips. The wolf let him pet it and Kili couldn't help but feel a bit honoured by that. It was a sign that the animal didn't feel threatened by him and maybe even trusted him. He wondered what could have brought it back, though. Had it still been hungry and hoped to snatch another snack? Or had it wanted to be near a warming fire at night? Had it been frightened of something? He thought about that for a second and sat up, the wolf raised its head again and shifted a bit closer to him.

"What is going on here, Kili?" The voice of his uncle came from beside him, firm and disapproving. He looked up at Thorin and shrugged slightly, looking for the right thing to say. The dwarf-king's gaze fell upon the bandage around the animal's foot then and he raised an eyebrow at his nephew.

"Well, I… he was hurt and I took care of his injury when he came into the camp during my watch. He didn't attack me or even as much as snarl, so… A piece of an arrowhead was stuck in his paw, so I took it out…" Kili stuttered, still stroking the wolf's head tenderly. The animal just lay there, listening to the dwarves attentively.

Thorin gave his nephew a disapproving glare that was at the same time slightly incredulous. "You tended to the injury of a wild wolf?" he asked. "And then decided to keep him as a pet?"

Kili hurried to explain himself. "No, no! Of course not, uncle, he left camp when my watch was over and I'm sure he wasn't anywhere near when I went to sleep… I … He must have come back."

Thorin's gaze now wandered to Dori who was scratching his head sheepishly. "Did you see anything?" Thorin asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Well, I might have missed a few things near the end of my shift" the grey-haired dwarf admitted guiltily and Thorin gave him a stern glare. Dori lowered his gaze to the ground. "I'm very sorry."

"Something must have scared him" Kili continued to break the tension that was building up and the wolf raised its head a bit and huffed lightly, almost to confirm Kili's statement.

"What is this commotion all about if I may be so blunt to ask?" came a voice from behind them just as Thorin was about to say something and they all turned to look at Gandalf who was just entering the camp. Mahal knew where that wizard had ventured off to during the last hours, Thorin thought. The dwarfs parted a bit so that the wizard could see and step through the crowd.

Kili felt the wolf stir a bit when it caught sight of Gandalf but it relaxed just a moment later as the wizard crouched down in front of them, holding on to his staff. The animal and the wizard examined each other for a moment until a little smile appeared on Gandalf's face.

"My, my," he muttered. "What a sight to behold."

Kili looked at him confused. "What do you mean?" he asked the old man and looked at the wolf himself. Gandalf didn't seem to listen to him; he just kept looking at the animal, which now sat up. Kili stopped stroking its head and retired his hand. What in Durin's name was going on here?