Alrighty, thank you to my reviewers, to everyone who added this to their alerts and favorites, and thank you to my beta Nathalia! I love you all!

Chapter 3

Kíli was roused in the middle of the night by Fíli who placed a finger over his mouth to tell Kíli to keep quiet. Before Kíli could use Iglishmêk to ask what it was, he heard movement nearby.

Instinctively he reached for his bow and quiver before standing up to follow his brother. He could see Fíli had his scabbard on with one sword already drawn.

They crept towards the sounds, being as silent as they could. As they got closer they could make out voices speaking in a foreign tongue. Unfortunately they recognized it - the dark speech. When they peered through the brush, their fears were confirmed.

The pack of Orcs huddled around the fire, arguing in their language. Whatever it was it probably had something to do with the food roasting on a spit. The brothers gave each other a glance.

"Get back to camp, wake Bilbo. We're leaving now," Fíli whispered to Kíi.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make sure they don't spot us. Now go."

Kíli put a hand on his brother's shoulder before disappearing. As soon as he was gone, Fíli turned his eyes back to the Orcs. As long as the filth stayed in their camp they would be able to get away without being noticed.

Quite frankly, Fíli was very ready to avoid a conflict for once.

A few moments went by and it seemed they could get away clean. That was, of course, until the squabble turned into an all-out fight. The Orcs were beating each other, pulling out their weapons and thinning themselves out as the fight continued.

Fíli was about to run back to Kíli and Bilbo so they could head out when an Orc fell in front of his hiding space before being stabbed by another. The Orc who had done the stabbing saw the dwarf in the bushes and snarled. Fíli adjusted the grip on his sword and swung, slicing the Orc's thigh.

The bellow of the wounded Orc caught the attention of the others and before Fíli could make a run, the Orcs were upon him. Fíli withdrew his second sword and readied himself for the battle.

One by one Orcs fell to his blades. He probably should have paid better attention to how many Orcs were in the camp. Four or five he could handle, but there seemed to be a dozen or so around him. After cutting down another, an Orc caught him from behind, pulling on his golden mane to expose his neck where it promptly placed his blade.

"Look what we got here, boys!" it growled.

Fíli struggled but the hold on him was too strong. He could feel the blade pressing harder to his throat. That was until the Orc holding him howled, releasing him rather quickly. When Fíli spun he saw the Orc was now missing his legs from the calf down with no visible cause as to why. But Fíli knew. Bilbo.

When Fíli went back to the fray, he watched as Kíli emerged, bow drawn and arrows flying. Together the brothers cut down the Orcs with the help of the invisible Hobbit. The brothers fought back to back, complimenting each other seamlessly. No Orc stood a chance against them.

Soon the battle was won. With the Orcs slain, Bilbo removed the ring as Kíli gathered his arrows from the dead Orcs.

"You handle yourself well in battle now, Bilbo," Fíli said as he approached the Hobbit.

"You remember when he first took on Azog on that cliff? Swinging that letter opener around like a club," Kíli added with a laugh as he wiped the blood from the arrowheads off onto his tunic.

"Yes, well, you dwarves have been a bad influence on me."

"Did you hear that, Fíli? Apparently we've been a bad influence."

"Yes I did, however, I'm glad for it. Thank you, Bilbo. You've saved my life...again."

"You are quite welcome. Let's just not make a habit out of it."

"I shall try not to."

"What do you think they were doing out here?" Kíli asked.

"I don't know but I don't want to stick around to find out. Where there's one pack there's bound to be another. We should leave now before more come," Fíli said.

The other two agreed before the trio ran off, oblivious to one of Fíli's hair beads left in the grasp of a dead Orc.

Since the run in with the Orcs, they moved extra quickly and by the end of the week, they were nearing the edge of Mirkwood.

"Perhaps Beorn will give us shelter for the night," Bilbo said hopefully.

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Fíli replied.

"Why?" asked Kíli.

"We didn't quite follow the same path we took before. For all we know we're too far North or South of his home."

Bilbo and Kíli looked very dejected by the news and although he didn't show it, so did Fíli. He was very much looking forward to staying for a night or two in the house of Beorn. Sure, their first impression wasn't all that welcoming. The memory of the company trying to close the door on the charging bear still played vividly in his mind's eye. However Gandalf had won him over and the stay turned out to be pleasant enough. Beorn had even offered his home should they come by again. It had been part of Fíli's plan but thanks to the darkening Mirkwood, it had thrown off those plans indeed.

A sudden crunch caught all of their attentions. Kíli withdrew his bow and notched an arrow, aiming in the general area the sound came from.

"What was that?" squeaked Bilbo.

Deep down Fíli hoped it was an Orc. He had no intentions of having a run in with the Elves or Spiders, not when they were so close to leaving Mirkwood.

The sound of a twig snapping caused Kíli to add more tension on his bow. His arms and aim remained steady and focus. Fíli's right hand reached for his sword. Even little Bilbo gripped Sting's hilt.

"Put those weapons away, lads. You won't be needing them here."

Kíli relaxed as they all breathed a sigh of relief. They knew that voice.

Beorn emerged, looking tall and wild as ever. "I was wondering where you three had gone. I've been waiting on the border of the forest for a few days waiting on you."

"You... knew we were coming?" Bilbo asked.

"Yes and now that I've found you, we need to go to my house and quickly."

"How did you know?" asked Kíli.

"I'll explain, but not here. Not now. We know not who may be watching. Come, quickly now!"

The three adventurers looked to one another, exchanging confused glances before following the skin changer.

TBC...

YAY BEORN! Please read and review. I could sure use the encouragement. This story is turning out to be a lot harder to write than its predecessor.