A/N: I realize that I've moved things a little too quickly, but please forgive me; I'm just trying not to drag this story out. As a small apology though, you're going to get a bit of a clue to Bilbo's land shift and you are going to find out his flying shift! Kind of; it's sort of complicated.

Chapter 3

Bilbo was quite irritated when he found out that while he completed his knitting in peace, Gandalf had given a not so abridged version of his past.

"I don't see how it was any of your business to tell them my past, Gandalf!" Bilbo shouted at Gandalf while the others settled in for sleep; Bilbo had offered to take the first watch since he wasn't tired and he was very steamed at Gandalf.

"Bilbo, I thought it would make things easier for you if you and Thorin had some common ground to stand on."

"What common ground? Yes, we both lost family and even friends to Orcs, but he didn't let an evil darkness invade his heart and mind!" Bilbo whispered viciously.

"How can you be so certain he didn't?" Gandalf asked.

"Gandalf, you weren't there when Radagast was training me; while he helped me control my magic, he helped me discover some new things about the monsters now residing in my soul. Apparently, they can sense other dark forces around me; those that have darkness in their hearts, minds, and souls like I do. Thorin doesn't have that, he is stronger than I could ever hope to be, and all you did by telling them what happened, is tell them how weak I truly am; how could such a strong race ever accept a weakling like me?" Bilbo asked and Gandalf wished he could make Bilbo understand that Bilbo had the strength and courage of any of the Dwarves in the company. However, he knew that there was nothing he could say that would change the Hobbits mind, so he left the matter to get some sleep. Bilbo stayed on high alert all through his shift, desperately wishing he could shift as his senses were ten times greater than as they were now, but he dared not; with Gandalf's words, he knew that the Dwarves already doubted his strength and he could not afford to show them how right they were. When Nori relieved him, he tried to get some sleep and rest; however, there was no chance of rest that night for Bilbo.

Dream Sequence

Bilbo was happily chasing squirrels and chipmunks in his land shift of a simple house cat; he didn't get much chance in the Shire, what with the way the parents all acted around him, but that was their problem. The other children all loved playing with him in this shift; it was fun to play 'Monster Attack' and pretend Bilbo was a lion or something, and Belladonna thought the whole thing a good exercise in caution; after all, there were Big Folk out there that would just love to pick on those smaller than them, so they had to know how to defend themselves. Besides, his mother, and even his father (once he got over the shock) thought he had a simply gorgeous coat; it was orange on top, with a white underbelly, white under his chin and over one eye, with little white splotches on his paws and one on the tip of his tail. His mother and father had both told him to have fun until they were ready with his picnic; it was his special day after all and though he wanted to spend it with them, he should be allowed to indulge in his instincts once and awhile. That was when Bilbo sensed the Orcs coming for them.

End Dream Sequence

"No!" Bilbo harshly whispered as he jerked awake from his nightmarish memory. He quietly got up, taking his bow, his spear, and tying his shield onto his back, deciding that if he couldn't get any sleep, he might as well practice his skills. However, he did not realize that he had woken up just as Bofur was about to take over for Nori, nor that Bifur had heard Bilbo whimpering from his dreams and had woken up in aneffort to help him.

"Where does he think he's going?" Bofur asked Nori, who shrugged, equally worried about Bilbo; he had always been a firm believer that thieves and burglars needed to stick together. Bifur came over as well and asked where their burglar was going.

"Bilbo suffers from horrible nightmares, both of his parents' death, and what happened afterwards; I'm afraid my mentioning it to all of you gave cause for the nightmares to come again. I mentioned it in the hopes Bilbo and Thorin would find common ground in the knowledge they both hate Orcs, as well as Elves and Men. Instead, Bilbo believes you will all find him weak because he 'allowed' evil and darkness into his heart, mind, and soul." Gandalf explained as he popped out of nowhere (annoying how wizards can do that).

"Why would we think that?" Nori asked, not understanding where the little fellow got such an idea.

"Because, that is how the other Hobbits view him; I will not reveal his shifts that is not my place. I can't even tell you what his shifts were before the darkness took him, but all you need to know is that, before the alteration, Bilbo's shifts gave the other Hobbits a sense of unease, but they believed that with his father's guidance, he could become a 'respectable Hobbit worthy of Bagend'. What nobody cared to realize, apart from Bungo himself, was that Bilbo got more from his mother than just her forest green eyes, and her smile; he got her spirit, which I believe to be the reason why his shifts were so different from the norm of both families. But when he came back to the Shire after the transformation from what he was, to what he is, they screamed and called him a monster, a creature unfit to be around 'gentle' folk. Only a few wanted him around, and when I say a few, I mean only about a scant dozen. Others, those who had laughed with him as he chased them in jest, who had once called him friend, now called him monster and abomination." Gandalf saw rage and indignation on the three Dwarfs' faces, and Gandalf felt new life come into the hope he had Bilbo would find friends here.

"Master Bofur, if you would do an old man a favor, I will return one; Bilbo can get rather caught up when he practices, if you would go to where he went off, make sure he doesn't get hurt, and I will take your shift?" Gandalf asked and Bofur absently nodded as he followed Bilbo. What surprised Gandalf however was how Nori and Bifur followed as well. Gandalf had felt that if there had been anyone who would understand Bilbo, it would have been Bofur; nobody much cared for hyenas, especially when they 'laughed'. However, Nori was often told off by Dori, saying such things as Ori did not deserve to have a 'worthless thief' around him as a brother. Why Bifur was going was anyone's guess; not even Gandalf knew too much about him. When the three Dwarfs' found Bilbo, they found him shooting arrows at trees and walking at the same time, sometimes running and shooting as well.

"Practicing hitting a moving target? Ah!" Bofur asked before he ducked as an arrow suddenly came careening towards them on a ricochet.

"Master Bofur, if you value your head, don't ever do that again; wait until I'm reloading to announce, otherwise I will assume you're an enemy and attack."

"Sorry Master Hobbit, we were just wondering why you were up?" Nori asked as Bifur retrieved the arrow for the Hobbit.

"Bad dream couldn't fall back asleep, thought I'd try and practice." Bilbo said with short, clipped answers.

"Well, wouldn't it be better if you practiced with someone?" Bofur asked as he pulled out his mattock, Bifur his boar spear, and Nori his mace.

"Shouldn't the three of you be sleeping instead of making sure I don't accidently hurt myself?" Bilbo asked as he put down his bow and quiver, and picked up his targe and spear.

"Master Baggins, we three firmly believe you could hold your own in a fight; we just want to help you be prepared for less conventional weapons." Bofur explained and the other two nodded.

"Such as which?" Bilbo asked.

"Well, take for example my mattock; I doubt many Hobbits would have ever seen one, let alone used it."

"It's true; I've never known a Hobbit who ever saw a mattock in his life, and neither have I, but I wasn't trained by other Hobbits, they're gentle folk remember?"

"Who were you trained by then?" Nori asked as the other two got ready.

"Elves; after they saved what were left of my mind and soul, they thought it best if I could fight, and so taught me." The other three were shocked at this news; Bifur started saying rather unsavory things about the whole situation. At least, that's what Bilbo assumed, going by his facial expressions and the tone of his voice.

"Lad, don't take this the wrong way, but we three have really got our work cut out for us; tall leaf shaggers teaching a little Hobbit how to fight!" Bofur exclaimed.

"I'll have you know I was able to hold my own and even beat some of those leaf shaggers, two of them Lord Elrond's own sons!" Bilbo almost shouted, and Nori figured he should do damage control quickly.

"He didn't mean to insult you, Master Baggins, we are simply outraged that a member of our company received such inadequate training."

"Well, truth be told, some of my teachers would often remark that it was like teaching a child how to fight; I soon taught them that this 'child' had some strength to back up his anger. It would often make me angry how they would compare me and my attacks to those of a honeybee defending its hive; I could get one good hit, then I die. I did not like that and I was determined to show them I was no honey collecting bee." Bilbo said as he took a defensive stance. The Dwarves could well understand Bilbo's frustration; many thought that just because they were small, they were helpless.

"Well, let's see if you're a bee or a wasp." Bofur said before the three Dwarves attacked. Bilbo's targe was a good match against Nori's mace and Bifur's spear, but Bofur's mattock was proving to be difficult as it could potentially go around his shield, but Bilbo still managed to hold his own against them. However, as Nori brought down his mace onto Bilbo's shield, thus distracting him, Bofur used his mattock to hook onto the shield and tear it off. Now, Bilbo was truly stuck in melee weaponry; on the other hand, Bilbo could not recall ever having this much fun fighting with his Elven teachers. As Bilbo withdrew his katar, he knew he had to come up with a plan to beat them; he managed one in less than thirty seconds, now to see if it would hold water. As Bofur brought down his mattock, Bilbo jumped into the air, only for Bifur to thrust his spear at Bilbo in midair; good thing Bilbo was expecting this. Bilbo used his own two pronged spear to hook onto Bifur's, and with a great heave, was able to pull Bifur's spear away from him, and kick Bifur square in the face; Bifur was almost certain he had a broken nose, as well as a possible concussion. With the momentum of the pull, Bilbo flew clear over Bofur's head, causing Bofur to swing around and try to hit Bilbo with his mattock; again, Bilbo was prepared. Using his now open katar, Bilbo hooked Bofur's mattock, thus stopping his attack. Bilbo then turned his spear around, slammed the blunt end into Bofur's stomach, then pushed the spear up so Bofur's head slammed into the handle and, while Bofur was disoriented, he brought the spear low, behind Bofur's knees, and pulled, making Bofur the one who was flying, though he landed nowhere near as gracefully as Bilbo did.

"Be careful Nori; this is no bee or wasp, tis' a bloody hornet!" Bofur said as he tried to stop the world from spinning.

"Good tactics Master Hornet, but they won't work on me; my weapon is too smooth for your katar, and too thick to be hooked by your spear." Nori said, though he was watching Bilbo's every move; Bilbo had taken out two Dwarves in less than five minutes, with Bifur's nose gushing blood, and Bofur obviously trying very hard not to throw up.

"You're right Nori; they won't work on you, and your mace could easily crush my skull or pierce my chest, so I'll have to use different tactics." Bilbo said before he dropped both spear and katar, and then did a cartwheel towards Nori, grabbing a fistful of dirt along the way. As he landed in front of Nori, he threw the dirt in his face, causing some blindness. As Nori tried to get the sand and gravel out of his eyes, Bilbo brought both hands up, slamming them over Nori's ears, further unbalancing him greatly. From there, Bilbo landed two body shots, as well as shot to the face, as well as a kick to the side of his knee, forcing him to kneel at the pain of it, and followed up with a heel kick to Nori's diaphragm, slamming him into the tree behind him. As Nori tried to get his bearings, Bilbo did three back-flips before he reached his bow and quiver. Bilbo fired three arrows, none penetrating Nori's flesh, instead pinning him to the tree behind him; one in his shoulder near his neck, one in his pant leg on the inner thigh, and the third near his waist.

"Forget hornet Bofur; he's a ruddy scorpion! Any one of these arrows could have killed me, and I couldn't even see him!" Nori said as he tried to pull the arrows out with the arm that wasn't pinned.

"No good Master Nori; those arrows are barbed so they stay within flesh, as well as having a neat feature that allows them to drill into surfaces; I'll have to unwind you and then rip, but I'll fix it for you when we stop again tonight. In the meantime, be thankful I didn't aim for your crotch." Bilbo said with a smirk as he walked over and started digging his arrows out.

"Be thankful also, that this wee scorpion is on our side, and not our enemy. By Mahal lad, if I'd have known ya could fight like that, I would have been more courteous to ya when I arrived!" A new voice said in awe as Dwalin came into view to see two downed Dwarves, one pinned, and a Hobbit standing there smirking.

"So, does that mean you're only courteous to other warriors that could possibly kill you, and not to simple gentle folk that haven't done anything to you?" Bilbo asked as he took his arrows out of the tree and Nori's clothes.

"Easy lad; I just meant if I had known you could potentially put me on my ass, I would never have pushed you around the way I did." Nori could see that that really did nothing for Bilbo's temperament, so he decided to change the line of questioning.

"So, to what do we owe your presence Dwalin?"

"It's about a half hour before my shift, and I asked the wizard where the four of ya had gone. We'll be on the move in about two or three hours, I suggest the four of ya try and get some more sleep so you're not falling asleep on your ponies." Dwalin advised and the three Dwarves and one Hobbit were all shocked that their fight had lasted almost two hours, and Bilbo had actually enjoyed himself.

"Alright, come along gentlemen, I have some remedies in my bag that will help your nose Bifur, your head Bofur, and hopefully my nightmares." Bilbo said as he and Nori helped Bofur stand.

"If you had something to help with nightmares all along, why didn't you use it?"

"Because, if I were to take it right after a nightmare, then the last thought before I go to sleep is still the nightmare, which means I could have a repeat of the nightmare when I wake up again. My remedy only keeps nightmares away when I have no nightmares on my mind before I go to sleep. And right now? I'm feeling pretty damn good." Bifur gently shoved Bilbo as they went to Bilbo's second pack, and Bilbo pulled out a light green ointment and three formulas, two a light blue and one a dark purple.

"Alright, now Bifur, this has to go all over your nose, including a bit under your nose; what it's going to do is mend anything I may have fractured, as well as keeping your nasal passages clear so the bleeding will stop and you can breathe through your nose, as well as helping with any headache problems you may be experiencing." Before Bilbo could continue, Bifur said something that Bofur translated as

"He said you didn't just fracture, you broke."

"To break, I would have had to use my heel to hit the side of your nose. Anyhow, Bofur, Nori, drinking this will stop the world from spinning and help you sleep, just don't drink them too quickly or you'll have an upset stomach to replace your upset heads." Bilbo said and they all thanked him as they took their potions and Bifur started spreading the ointment (that didn't smell nearly as bad as some of Oin's) over his nose. As Bilbo downed his own formula, he hoped he wouldn't dream again tonight.

The Next Day

Bilbo still woke up early, but he felt quite rested, and he also felt like hunting. With a nod and a quick explanation to Dwalin, Bilbo went off hunting for game. As he went deeper into the forest, he cast a little spell that would keep the Dwarves off his tail in case they decided to hunt as well. After he cast the spell, he allowed his shift free reign; felt his body shifting, getting longer, with impressive claws replacing his ordinary nails, fierce jaws and razor sharp teeth replacing his normal ones, and a long tail for balancing. He was an apex predator almost everywhere he went; the animals in this forest had no chance against him. With his keen senses, he soon came across a herd of deer, and his senses told him which were too young, which were middle aged, and which ones were the elders; he found two of the healthiest older ones, got up into a tree, crossed the branches to his prey, and then jumped down… they never even heard him coming. He said a small prayer of thanks to the two animals before he took his claymore and the edges of his katar, making it look like he had hunted the animals like someone would have normally (well, as close as he could manage; some of the teeth marks were a little hard to hide). Having completed this task, he dragged them back to camp, moving as quickly as he could as he did not want to have to defend his kill against another hungry animal; he had shed enough blood already. As he came within earshot of the camp, he heard Kili ask

"Bifur, why has your nose turned green?" Bilbo heard Bifur explain before he heard some laughter and some who made shocked noises.

"While you're all busy being surprised that I could do something like that could somebody HELP ME WITH THESE DAMNED HEAVY CARCASES?! I may be stronger than most of my race, but I am not a behemoth!" Bilbo was then relieved of his burden by Dori, Dwalin, Bombur and Gloin.

"Ah, Bilbo, I see you had a most productive hunt indeed! You truly are quite skilled with your chakram and sword, have any trouble?" Gandalf asked as Bombur set about making a stew from one of the two carcases and Bilbo took some water and removed the cast over Bifur's nose, and Bifur was surprised to realize that there was absolutely no pain whatsoever. The others, particularly Thorin and Dwalin, were all still rather stunned that their little burglar had brought down two full sized deer on his own.

"Only from my own foolishness; I should have just used my bow to bring them down, but I wanted to make sure I was still good with a chakram so I used them instead. I'm really going to need to practice more; it took all three before I could bring even one down." Bilbo replied as he put his weapons away, hoping nobody noticed that his chakram were still under his bedroll, instead of on his person.

"Ah well, you'll get plenty of chances on this journey to regain your skill with it, I'm sure." Gandalf said before they were each given their share of the stew.

"Thank you again brothers for your sacrifice this day." Bilbo whispered, hoping no one heard him, but of course, someone did.

"What's that you're saying Master Hobbit?" Dori asked as he started eating his own breakfast.

"Oh, it's nothing really; just part of a small prayer I say whenever I kill an animal for food."

"Why?" Ori asked.

"Well, it is giving its life for me, so I just think I should acknowledge its sacrifice."

"What is the prayer in its entirety?" Fili asked and Bilbo was just wishing he could go one time without saying his prayer.

"Thank you, brother or sister as the case may be, for your sacrifice this day, while your body remains here, may your spirit be with your ancestors and your creator." Bilbo mumbled, waiting for them to laugh; some of the Elves had laughed when he first said this prayer with them nearby, though Legolas and Arwen quickly silenced them.

"That's a nice little prayer." Was all Ori said before going back to breakfast. Bilbo was stunned that no one had so much as giggled at him and his prayer. All throughout that day, as they moved on, the other Dwarves all asking him various questions about the Shire and everything else, including trying to get more clues about his shifts but Bilbo was not budging, not even when Ori shifted into a pika and sat on his shoulder. The only two not talking to Bilbo were Thorin and Dwalin, and that is because they felt Bilbo had left a major clue on one of the carcases as to what his land shift was; a single bite mark on the neck that had been overlooked and not altered.

"Were you able to see just how large it was?" Thorin asked Dwalin, who shook his head.

"No, that was the first one Bombur started cutting. But Thorin, no matter how big it may or may not be, the fact is the throat was completely crushed; there aren't many animals that could do that and come out of it without a single scratch or bruise."

"I know, and the teeth reminded me of Fili's first kill, could the Hobbit be a lion?"

"I doubt it Thorin; if he was a lion, he would have mentioned something when Kili told him ours. He also would not be ashamed of it, not with the presence of another lion in the company." When they finally stopped, Thorin and Dwalin were certain Bilbo's land shift was either a canine, a feline, or, like his uncle; a wolverine. Meanwhile, both Bilbo and Gandalf wanted to move on a bit further, but on slightly different sources; Gandalf from what he could see, and Bilbo from what his instincts were screaming at him. Bilbo heard Gandalf and Thorin shout at each other, and then saw Gandalf storm away towards him.

"Bilbo, I am going to cool off before I end up killing that idiotic, prideful fool; I need you to keep an eye on things here and make sure none of them get hurt."

"But Gandalf, my instincts are screaming at me that there is something horribly wrong here!"

"I know Bilbo, but Thorin will simply not listen, and there is nothing you or I can do to convince him otherwise, so stay here and try to keep them safe. Oh, but before I forget, your mother wanted you to have this; she had had it made a week after you were born for your coming of age, but simply couldn't trust herself not to give it to you too early, so she asked me to hold on to it. It's an obsidian dagger, and please be careful when you are handling it; it's even sharper than your claymore." Gandalf explained before he left as he gave Bilbo a dagger with a deer bone handle and an obsidian blade. Later that night, as Gloin cleaned his axe, Bilbo tried to discretely copy the technique with both the dagger and his father's pocket knife.

"That's not quite how you do it lad." Gloin said suddenly, causing Bilbo to fumble with the dagger, and catching it on his hand, making it start to bleed. Oin moved quickly and bound it with no problems before sitting next to his brother.

"Easy lad, I'm not going to bite your head off just because you're trying to learn how to clean your weapons, something I'm certain those tree huggers never taught you. Now, you watch me closely this time, instead of out of the corner of your eye, and if you have a question, ask."

"Thank you, Master Gloin; to the Elves, my swords are daggers so they never taught me how to use or take care of a dagger befitting my size."

"I'm not surprised; those tree idiots wouldn't know how to properly train someone if they tried. Anyhow, this is good practice for when I teach my son how to clean his weapons." The others groaned as Gloin, once again, mentioned his son.

"Oh, are you married then, Master Gloin?"

"Please, Master Baggins, don't get him started!" Balin begged but Gloin was all too happy to tell a new person about his wife and child.

"Aye lad, and I happen to be married to the most beautiful Dwarf maiden of them; her name is Niri, and we have the most perfect son; Gimli. This is them." Gloin explained as he pulled out his locket and showed their pictures to Bilbo.

"I agree, she is very beautiful and you have produced a very handsome son." Before Gloin could continue however, Bofur came over and asked Bilbo to take Fili and Kili their food. Bilbo had actually wanted to hear about Niri and Gimli, but his instincts suddenly told him something was horribly wrong. He nodded before grabbing the food to take to the boys. When he saw them looking very worried, he came running over.

"What's happened?"

"Well, we seem to have encountered a slight problem." Fili responded.

"We're supposed to be watching the ponies; we had sixteen." Kili continued.

"Now there's only fourteen." Fili concluded.

"Daisy and Bungo are missing." Kili informed him.

"Alright, we need to tell Thorin." Bilbo said but then he noticed the worried looks on the two boys' faces.

"Actually, we were thinking that possibly, to prove to Thorin that you're not useless, you would like to investigate." Fili suggested and Bilbo sighed as he put their bowls down.

"Boys, if I find out this is a ploy so this whole fiasco can be blamed on me, I assure you I will use my katar to make your insides your outsides." Bilbo said before he went to inspect the scene. He quickly saw that one tree had been completely uprooted and his bad feeling just got worse.

"Boys, I may have an idea as to what caused this, but I pray that I'm wrong, as it would spell very big trouble for us, but I don't think I am; not with the farmer who lived in that cottage that Gandalf knew who suddenly disappeared with his family. And, if that does indeed prove to be the case, I have only one question; WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU TWO IDIOTS DOING THAT YOU DIDN'T HEAR A MOUNTAIN TROLL STEALING TWO OF OUR PONIES?!" Bilbo shouted and the boys tried to come up with a good excuse when they saw a Troll carrying Myrtle and Minty.

"Whatever, come with me, we'll see if we can free the other two if they're still alive." Bilbo said and the two followed him to where the Troll met up with two other Trolls. They could distantly hear the three talking, but Bilbo knew they meant to eat the ponies, and they needed a plan, fast.

"Alright, we need to do something, and we need to do it fast."

"We?" Fili and Kili asked and Bilbo barely refrained from slamming their heads against the trees.

"Yes, 'we', you idiots; I may be a fighter, but I alone can't take down three fully grown Mountain Trolls and live to tell about it! Now, I may have something of a plan, but I need to know you two will do exactly as I tell you, because if just one step goes wrong, one or all three of us could be killed! Now, Kili, I'm going to give you some herbs and such; you are to sneak around behind them, and when their attention is focused on me, you drop the herbs into their stew pot. Once that is done, you get the hell out of there and Fili, you go for your uncle and the others. Meanwhile, I will lead them on a merry chase indeed." Bilbo said as he handed the herbs, belladonna, some castor beans, some hemlock, monkshood, angel trumpet and a fair bit of oleander, to Kili and the other two were shocked when Bilbo said he would be out-and-out grabbing the Trolls' attention.

"But-"

"Don't argue with me, just do as I say, now go!" Bilbo said before running off into another part of the forest. He hoped the boys would listen to him about waiting for him to appear, as he needed to do something before getting the Trolls attention, in case plan A didn't fully work out, though he hoped it would work at least two-thirds, or they would be in serious trouble. He normally would have set the trap by hand, but he had no time, so he used his magic to make a gravesite fit for a Troll, while also summoning the sharp bones from the deer he killed earlier, and enlarging them as well as making them stronger, turning it into a stake pit, he then covered it with an illusion, and went to play his part. His shift gave him strong night vision, so he could tell that Fili was where he had left him, and Kili was in the perfect position for their plan; that being said, it was time to see if he could instigate a rescue plan as well as a fight plan.

"Evening gents!" All three Trolls turned to look at the strange little creature that had suddenly wandered into their clearing.

"What's that, Bert?"

"I never seen anything like it, William!"

"Here, what are you?" One asked Bilbo directly, and he could see Kili getting ready for his do-or-die move.

"I am a creature that has no true race, as I am despised by the one I was born into, and I despise all but one of the other races that are not mine." Bilbo said, making sure that they kept full attention on him.

"What does that mean? Can I eat him?" One, Bilbo thought his name was Tom, asked as he reached for him, but Bilbo easily sidestepped him and said

"If you do that, you'll simply spoil your appetite for the stew your friend has prepared for you and that would not be polite at all." Bilbo said and the one who had been stirring, Bert, suddenly looked angrily at Tom and smacked his head with the ladle.

"That's right! You'll not be having no snacks before you eat what I made for you!" Bilbo saw Kili drop the herbs and run; good, phase one was complete.

"It's just the same with the children of my birth race; you work all day to make them something, only to find out they already ate while they were out playing. It does look good though, mind if I try it? I'm a horrible cook and am always on the lookout for tips." Bilbo said and Bert looked pleased at the idea that someone wanted tips from him on how to cook; he dipped his ladle in and offered it to Bilbo.

"Mmh, not bad, but I think there's something missing, don't you?" Bilbo asked and was pleased when he tried the stew, only to make a face at it.

"You're right, No Race; something is missing, what do you think William?" William then tried the stew, and Bilbo tried to keep his relief off of his face.

"Yeah something, - oh my stomach!" William screeched as suddenly he and Bert doubled over in intense pain.

"What did you do, No Race?!" Tom roared and Bilbo simply said

"Don't blame me over the fact your friends can't taste poisonous and toxic plants pea brain!" Bilbo then ran to his trap as fast as he could as Tom chased him to the dying cries of his comrades. As Bilbo neared the trap, he once again allowed his shift to take over, though this one was for flight. He felt his body shrinking, growing feathers, exchanging his feet and toes for talons with sharp claws, his mouth for a small, pale pink beak, and as they reached the edge of the trap, Bilbo allowed his impressive forty-five inch wingspan to fly him out of the way of the falling Troll, as he landed in the trap and on the spikes that went through his chest, his femoral arteries, his neck and his eyes, straight to his brain.

"BILBO!" Bilbo groaned as he heard Kili scream his name. That idiot! I told him to beat it after he dropped the herbs in the pot, what is he still doing here?! I hope the other two Trolls are dead already; a wounded and dying animal is a lot more dangerous than a healthy live one. Bilbo thought as he flew back to the Trolls camp, and Bilbo became very worried indeed as he saw the third Troll, William, was still alive and trying to grab Kili. Out of the corner of his eye, Bilbo saw Thorin and the others racing towards them, about to enter the clearing, but, as he saw Kili stumble and fall, Bilbo feared they would arrive too late to completely save the Dwarf princeling, and so, in a completely idiotic move, Bilbo flew at full speed to William and proceeded to peck his eyes out.

"AHH! Get away you stupid bird; I never did nothing to you!" As Bilbo finished, he flew over, grabbed Kili's bow and flung it, along with a single arrow, towards the young Dwarf, who caught them, and fired just as William turned back around at Bilbo's screech and, in a shot worthy of the best Elf archer, shot his arrow straight into the Troll's mouth. That, along with the poison already in his stomach and bloodstream, finally brought the Troll down. However, as the Troll fell, Bilbo realized the Troll would land right on Kili, crushing him! Flying as fast as he could, Bilbo rammed Kili hard enough that he started rolling, and was surprised as Kili held him to his chest as they rolled. When Kili landed on his back, Bilbo flew out of his arms onto a tree branch so he could catch his breath, and heard Thorin shout

"What in Durin's name is going on here?!"

"We lost some of the ponies, and Bilbo was helping us get them back, we made two of the Trolls sick and the third one chased Bilbo, and then he fell on him and -"

"I assure you Master Kili, Bilbo is quite safe, aren't you Bilbo?" Gandalf asked as he suddenly appeared and the others were amazed as a bird flew down from the trees to take Gandalf's staff as a perch. He was maybe twenty-two inches in length, had beautiful golden brown feathers, his heart shaped face and deep black eyes gave a starling appearance, almost like that of a mask, but they could tell, it was Bilbo and he was a fairly large owl.

"His flight shift is an owl? Why should he be ashamed of that?" Dori asked as Ori reached up and stroked a few feathers, trying to get the dirt out and smooth the ones that had gone out of place.

"I think I should explain that in the Shire, most flying shifts are canaries, finches, sparrows, and others that are bit smaller than Bilbo here. Secondly, Bilbo here is a Barn Owl, also known as a Tyto, and these owls will eat almost anything, from a small insect like a moth, to anything that is as large as him, such as a Spotted Nothura. Thirdly, Hobbit sneaking shifts are usually small burrowing animals and rodents; again, an ideal diet for a Barn Owl, as well as his sneaking shift; a Least Weasel, an animal that could even take down prey bigger than itself, such as a rabbit, another fairly common shift in the Shire." Bilbo let out a screech as Gandalf revealed his sneaking shift.

"I'm sorry, dear boy, but they needed to know! All of your shifts are excellent for sneaking around, and I will not allow you to be called useless!" Gandalf said with a slight glare to Thorin, who didn't notice it as he stared at the medium sized bird who had saved his nephew, one of two beings left of his sister, ever since she died three months ago.

"I don't understand though, how did you kill the Trolls?" Balin asked and Bilbo jumped off the staff and shifted as he touched the ground.

"I gave Kili a number of toxic plants, belladonna, monkshood, oleander and such, to put into their stew pot to poison them; I've been collecting them from the side of the roads as we've been travelling for an instance such as this. However, I knew the chances of all three eating the stew before effects took place were slim, so, I laid a trap."

"And a very good one to, my boy! You may be a bit rusty when it comes to your chakram, but you have not lost your talent for traps!" Gandalf said as Bilbo showed them the trap, though he made the bones look like sharp wooden stakes.

"How did you manage this?!" Bombur asked in amazement as they looked at the Troll corpse.

"Well… uh, you see, the thing is… ugh, I'm the one that Radagast trained; I'm a nature wizard, I discovered it when the Orcs attacked my mother, all of a sudden a thunderstorm appeared as she died. I didn't want anybody to know because apart from doing little things like this, and sometimes messing with the weather, I'm a pretty useless wizard. But making a pit and then filling it with these spikes is a rather simple trick. Which reminds me, once my arms is better and my head stops throbbing, I'm going to kill you Kili! I told you to leave once you dropped the herbs in the pot!" Bilbo shouted at Kili, who flinched but said

"I couldn't just leave you to face three Trolls by yourself!"

"And what in blue blazes were you going to do?! A cheetah's teeth and claws would barely scratch their skin!"

"Bilbo, you told me the night you met me that you thought I was a good man in a storm, that that was what your instincts were telling you; a good man doesn't leave another to possibly die while fixing his mistakes!" All were surprised as Kili said this; apparently Bilbo's faith in the young aristocrat sparked an amazing desire to live up to it and surpass it.

"That may be, but it wasn't part of the plan!"

"I thought you had been crushed! As far as I was aware, that wasn't part of the plan either!" Kili shouted back.

"Now, now boys, I think it's safe to say that you were both highly worried for each other, with Kili revealing himself and Bilbo willing to be crushed to save Kili from the same fate. Now, Thorin and I are going to see if the trolls had a cave nearby; they could not have moved in daylight or they would have turned to stone. While we look for it, we want all of you to be on your guard; Mountain Trolls have not ventured this far south since a darker power ruled these lands, and they may only be the first stones of a far darker avalanche." Gandalf said as he Thorin, Dwalin, Bofur, Gloin and Nori went to find the Troll horde. Now that three of his secrets were out in the open, Bilbo wondered what the repercussions would be in the long run.

A/N: Whew! That went on longer than I expected! And, it turns out you found out two of Bilbo's shifts, but don't forget, I said that his flight shift was touched, not completely altered. Now, what could I mean by that :)? And, I realized I may have implicated Dis was alive in the last chapter, that was a mistake; Dis died three months before the journey started from an illness. Now, with Kili seeing Fili as being Thorin's heir and possible favourite, he is looking for someone he can impress with his skills, which isn't all that easy as everyone just sees him as a mischief maker. And whola, here is Bilbo whose instincts say Kili is the one to trust; he never said anything about trusting Fili and for Kili, that is the boost and praise he's been looking for. Also, just for clarification, Gandalf said Bilbo's chakram and claymore because of the slash marks from the claws; they would more closely resemble chakram slices than anything else. Next chapter, Radagast, Rivendell, reveal of the land shift, and Kili really displaying drop dead loyalty to Bilbo. Could that loyalty be stronger than his loyalty to Thorin? Review and tell me what you think so far.