Okay, so I don't know how good this is in the scheme of thing, but I hope you like it. Enjoy. (sorry if it is a bit short)

Chapter 16: Tainted

"You know that we cannot tarry here any longer if we are to reach Erebor before Durin's Day."

Thorin ignored the wise and almost condescending voice beside him, or tried to anyway for he could not deny the truth that rang in his advisor's words.

"And we also have the orcs to worry about in any case, for I would hedge a large bet that we have not seen the last of them or their kind," Balin continued, "Surely Fili and Kili are at least healed enough to begin moving forward at a slow pace?" He paused for a moment, considering his next words before reopening his mouth. "Of course there is another alternative, and that is that both your nephews no longer take part in this journey and return to the Blue Mountains to their mother and your sister."

Thorin's body stiffened at his friend's words, his mind rebelling against the thought of his kinsmen, his heirs not being able to continue on with the journey. They were one of the many reasons he was undertaking it. He wanted to leave them a legacy that was so much more than just a displaced people and the story of a great city taken from the dwarves of Erebor. He wanted to leave them Erebor itself, free from the dragon Smaug and all evils who sought it and its gold. And he wanted them to be there when he liberated it from the dragon's grasp.

"The path over the Misty Mountains is a dangerous one," he said calmly, masking his inner anger at the white bearded dwarf's suggestion, "And it would be even more treacherous if we were to bring my nephews along and then have to watch out for them as well as ourselves. No, we must wait for a small while longer if we do not want to risk another incident, most likely one that we cannot alter."

"But we cannot wait forever. You are only delaying the inevitable," Balin stated before moving off to leave his king alone with his thoughts.

Thorin knew what the old dwarf was doing; forcing him to make the choice whether or not he allowed Fili and Kili to continue on this quest. The dark haired dwarf knew that Balin at least was wary about the pair continuing, but Thorin had always envisioned both his nephews being by his side as he walked once again through the great doors of Erebor. But Balin was right about one things; he was delaying the inevitable, forcing the company to wait a few more days so that his nephews could recover. It was more so that he could decide whether or not the journey was worth the risk of losing them, if he had not lost them already.

Kili was stiff when he woke, his cheek red from pressing so hard into his brother's leg. Fili was snoring softly in his ear, one of his hands wrapped carefully around the brunette's shoulders, effectively trapping Kili where he was unless the youth wanted to risk waking his brother. Sighing to himself, Kili allowed his head to flop back down onto Fili, knowing that the blonde probably needed the sleep, also knowing that it would be a miracle if the older dwarf could get some relatively peaceful rest, for though his brother did not fully show the signs to the outside world, it was clear that Fili was too haunted by things best left forgotten.

"You want some help shifting your brother?" a friendly asked above him. Kili shook his head.

"I would rather not wake him until he is ready to be woken," he answered softly, affection for his brother clearly evident in his voice as he stroked the blonde's hand with gentle fingers.

"Very well then," Bilbo said, deciding to sit close to the pair so that Kili did not have to shift his head much in order to look at the hobbit.

The company burglar smiled down on the dwarf warmly and somewhat apologetic, fingering the hem of his jacket even as the archer eyed the being of warily.

"You do not have to worry," Bilbo said, catching this look, "For I will not talk about… Well I will not talk in any case, unless you want me too."

Kili watched as the hobbit pulled out a small needle and a string of thread, beginning to mend a small tear in the hem of his waistcoat. The small being's actions bore a gentle rhythm to them, lulling the young dwarf into a secure state, combining with the bulky warmth of his brother to almost draw him back into sleep. Almost.

"How did you find us?" the young prince asked. Bilbo glanced up from his menial task and his brow creased slightly as he thought back to the time where they had been tracking the two brothers and the company of orcs who had captured them.

"Well," he began, hands stilling in their movements, "After we realised that it had been orcs who had taken the two of you, we had a hard time trying to find a decent trail to follow to your whereabouts. A lot of the others were losing their patience trying to find a sign that was able to be followed, your uncle included, but luckily for us Nori had keen enough eyes to spy a piece of your clothing hooked on a tree branch still wet from the rain that had been the cause of the loss of tracks to follow. It took Nori ages to find the next clue leading us to you both, but once that obstacle was over, it did not take us long to see the things that our expert tracker was seeing as well. With the rest of us looking out for any signs as well, we were able to follow your tracks relatively well, though one of you must have been bleeding," Bilbo said with a small frown, "For there was a small amount of blood spotting the trail here and there…" Bilbo trailed off to cast Kili a look of expectancy, as if the brunette would fill in a few blanks.

"We were knocked out for most of the time they were traveling to the cave you found us in," the youth said smoothly in the same soft voice he had used before, though a slight tightness was evident in his tone. He remembered well enough that the few places there had been blood splatter had been the few places where either one or both brothers had regained consciousness enough to try and fight against the orcs. Those few times had then resulted in the giving of one or two minor wounds to subdue the struggling dwarves, at one point delivering a blow hard enough to cause blood to spurt from Fili's nose for a good while before it stopped, the scarlet fluid dripping down the back of the orc who had been carrying him, not that the orc seemed to care.

Kili tried to calm his breathing, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth as the hobbit in front of him rambled on. Fili, still wrapped deep in his slumber, seemed to realise the turmoil his brother was trying to fight back his hand already around his brother squeezing the brunette's arm ever so slightly, but firmly enough to give the final push Kili needed to force all those memories back down.

A small bird flew into the mouth of the cave, stirring up a commotion as it fluttered around, chirping with much confusion as it alighted on one surface only to shoot straight back up into the air in order to avoid a flying boot or ladle. How Fili managed to sleep through the commotion was astounding in itself, but Kili, who was wide awake, followed the path of the boot with his eyes, turning his head every so often to keep up with the erratic flight pattern of the small and elegant creature.

The bird was quite beautiful, sleek in shape and feathers the appealing black and white colour of a regular starling. The innocent animal, so full of life as it flittered from one corner of the temporary dwelling of the company to another. Its song was beautiful, easily the most beautiful thing that Kili had heard in weeks. He smiled as it continued on through the air.

"Somebody shut that damn thing up," growled Dwalin, turning over and plugging his ears with his fingers. Gloin grunted in annoyance and threw the object nearest to him at the living missile still unable to find its way out of the cave entrance. The small body fell to the cave floor with a dull thud. Kili closed his eyes as the last echo of the bird's song faded.

Why was it that everything good always had to be destroyed? That nothing could just be left to be what it was without any interference from anything else?

Kili opened his eyes to the silence of the cave as they realised how accurate the hit had been. Bilbo caught the brunette staring at the small body in between the two of them. He offered the archer a sad look as he gathered up the limp figure in the jacket he had shed and then carried it outside into the light of the early morning, leaving Kili staring blankly at the place the corpse had been only moments before.

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