As I said, it leaves off right where the last chapter ends. :)

I'm posting this chapter so soon because I want to send out some information on Arina. I've kind of made up my own shifter by combining several together! She has the ability to heal very quickly, much more quickly than any other. Her power depends on how fast she heals, and focuses mostly on larger wounds if she were to ever get one, like she said. But it is very possible that she could die. She's stronger than the average person or dwarf, elf, etc.

Review, review...oh...review? :D

Chapter 3

Turning from them, I walked off without giving them a response. I had spent more time with the dragon than I had with these people over the year, except for the dwarves. But I it had been a long time since I had seen them. I sighed slightly, and kept walking from them and down the stairs to the gardens that were below. Going straight to the large fountain that was there, I sat down near it and tried to think. I tried figuring out if I could do anything, and I decided to wait and see if I got anything.

Lifting my head at the sound of footsteps, I watched Thorin walk down the steps to come join me. He had a cold expression on his face, which I assumed was normal for him now. He had changed since the last time I had seen him. Though he hadn't fought in any battles since Moria, one couldn't have guessed that.

"I'm sorry I never reached out to let you know I was alive," I said quietly. "You had been my friend for a long time. I should have owed you that much after what you did for me, and after all that had happened. Especially on how...I left."

"You did what you had to do to survive," he replied his voice rumbling. "I shouldn't be angry. At least you are alive."

I nodded slightly and then looked at the water for a moment. "So what started this quest back to The Lonely Mountain? Why now? You always said your duty was to your people."

"What's written is starting to come to pass," Thorin said lowly. "It's all falling into place. We are ready to take back Erebor. I want to go home. I need to do this..."

I nodded and sighed quietly. "I wish I had known that. I would have been with you sooner."

"Don't be," Thorin sighed crossing his arms as he looked at his feet.

Reaching out, I grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly. "If you need my help, I will be there. I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you, Arina," he smiled slightly but the warmth didn't reach his eyes.

I smiled back at him. "What happened that has made you into such a hardened being, Thorin?" I asked softly. "There was a time when even in hardship you smiled."

"Years of failure and death have finally caught up with me," he replied quietly squeezing my hand tightly back. "I owe it to them, and to my father to come back to Erebor. We will succeed in this, Arina. Just you watch."

He stopped shortly then, and I knew he was thinking of something else. I found it suddenly extremely hard to be sitting here next to him after what had gone down so many years ago. It had me looking at my feet then.

"Then I fear for your enemies," I replied and let go of his hand.

Thorin looked up at the sky for a moment before getting to his feet, and I watched as he left when Gandalf called for him to go do something. His departure was so sudden; I was left sitting there in surprise. Sighing, I looked back at the water and decided to stay where I was. I had told the dragon that I wasn't sure when I'd be back so at least I wasn't in a hurry. Glancing up at the night sky, I sighed and went to the room that Lindir came out to take me to once he caught my attention.

When I woke up the next morning, I got ready for the day, and sighed as I brushed my long hair out and left it down this time. Leaving my room, I listened to the loud noise of a dwarvish breakfast and chuckled softly to myself. They sure knew how to cause a scene no matter where they went. I found something to eat while also avoiding them and spent a few hours looking around the place before going to find Lord Elrond. I found him walking with Lindir and before I got to them, they both stopped in their tracks and I tilted my head at the look on their faces. Turning my head, I followed their gaze and put a hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. All the dwarves except for Thorin had occupied the large fountain nearby as a pool for their amusement.

"At least they are having fun," I mused catching their attention.

"Ah, Arina," Elrond smiled, glad for the distraction. "How are you feeling this morning? I hope you slept well."

"I did, thank you," I nodded my head. "I've come to tell you that I will stay here for a while at your request. I'm assuming there is a reason."

"There is," he nodded his head back.

"There always is," I chuckled softly.

He smiled at me, and then I slowly tilted my head in the direction of the bathing dwarves.

"Want me to get them out of there?" I asked.

Lord Elrond glanced back to the dwarves who were hollering with laughter and I saw Fili and Kili slide down the falls again and roar out in joy. A smile played on Lord Elrond's lips and he sighed and shook his head.

"No, let them be," he mused.

I chuckled again and then gave him a bow and walked off to go see other parts of the city. It had been a while since I had been here, I mine as well take the time to see my favorite parts of it. The many streams and the elegant stone work were part of my favorite. Walking around the corner of a hall, I ran right into a hard chest when I wasn't looking.

"Thorin, I'm sorry," I apologized hastily as I backed up. "Wasn't watching where I was going."

"At least that hasn't changed," Thorin commented and I lifted my gaze to him.

"Ha ha," I mocked slowly. "I'm surprised you aren't bathing with your company."

"I did that in private and away from their...obnoxious selves," he sighed putting his hands behind his back. "Walk with me."

Hesitating, I followed him as he walked forward. "So, did you get whatever it was that you needed read?"

"I did," he nodded. "We will be leaving soon once the time is right."

"Ah," I nodded.

"And you?" he mused glancing down at me.

I lowered my gaze away from him when he met my eyes. "I am asked to stay here for a while," I shrugged. "Something Lord Elrond needs from me."

"Since when did you ever do favors for anyone?" Thorin asked darkly.

"I remembered doing quite a few for you," I arched my brow at him.

A small smirk played at his lips when I shot back and he dipped his head at that. "That's true," he rumbled.

I snorted a little at that and lowered my head quietly. "So how...how have you been?" I asked quietly as we stopped at the end of a balcony.

"It's been many years," Thorin sighed gripping the marble railing. "The Blue Mountains were firmly settled the year you disappeared. We didn't fight another war...but the battle in Moria had taken all we had left."

"At least you made a good home for yourself there," I said quietly.

"We did," Thorin agreed quietly, his words short. "But it wasn't wholly complete."

Not raising my eyes to him, I felt him close himself off from me. I couldn't hide the sadness that crossed my face. What else was I expecting? I had been gone a long time, and had left in a manner that had not been the best. I stood up fully then, surprising him. He didn't move, but I saw the flash of surprise in his eyes when I turned to face him.

"I hope you finish this," I said softly. "I hope you take back that mountain and return home. Where you belong."

Resisting the strong urge to reach out to hug him, or even lay a hand on his arm, I turned and walked away from the dwarf. Walking down the steps, and moving through the halls, I sighed as I stopped short as someone cut me off again. Fili crossed his arms and stared at me for a moment, so I arched my brow.

"Don't do that," I frowned. "That startled me."

"Sorry," he smiled and offered his arm. "Come on. Come join us, we are making dinner."

"I..." I went to object, but his face had me taking his arm and letting him lead me to the others.

Balin looked up and smiled at me when he saw Fili leading me in. I returned the gesture and glanced to see that the sun was beginning to set already. Had I seriously wasted a whole day walking around here and doing nothing? Blinking a little, I sat next to Fili when he joined his brother. They were making dinner for themselves instead of letting the elves cook for them.

"Tired of green food?" I mused and Dwalin grunted loudly.

"Aye," Bofur said with a smile as he looked at me. "Poor buggers have no idea what fun is to, I swear."

"I noticed," I laughed. "I think you almost gave poor Lindir a stroke when he saw you bathing in their fountain."

The whole group started laughing as Bifur threw a few pieces of wood on the small fire they had made. I watched them cook fish and sausage along with a few other things they had in their packs. I sighed and leaned back against the wall behind me and stretched my feet out.

"Can you go with us?" Kili suddenly asked as he took his pipe from his mouth.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"You heard me," Kili smiled. I gave him a gentle look.

"Not sure that I can," I answered. "I have things to do here for now."

I immediately regretted the answer because his face fell, and so did Fili's. I adored the two boys, and it was odd to think that now they were not boys anymore. They were adults now, and it made me press my lips into a hard line. Beside Thorin, I had been extremely close to the boys. Every time I had visited the Blue Mountains after they had settled, the brothers had always managed to sneak away and spend the whole day with me. Their mother had not minded at all, and I was happy to take them. The last time I saw them was when Fili had been 52 and Kili 47. By that time, though, they were hardly children. We still had managed to get ourselves into such trouble that even Thorin hadn't known how to handle it. I smiled at the memory, and sighed softly.

"We'll see," I said gently. "How's that sound?"

"Wonderful," Fili smiled next to me and then handed me a plate of food.

"Oh...no you don't have to," I laughed and then grunted when he shoved it in my face. "All right fine."

"Bombur."

Lifting my head, I watched Bofur throw his brother a sausage and the other dwarf quickly caught it. The table he was sitting on creaked under his weight and suddenly broke, throwing the whole lot into wild laughter. I couldn't help but join in with them as Bombur tried to sit up and ended up getting help from Nori and Ori.

"So have you had any fun adventures?" Fili asked. I looked at him and Kili as their faces grew expectant and I laughed again.

"Sort of," I sighed. "Not really."

"Then tell us something else," Kili laughed. "I always enjoyed hearing about when Uncle Thorin was younger."

Humming slightly, I glanced up to see Thorin himself walking through to check on the company. His eyes lingered on where I sat and for a moment his expression softened before he was gone.

"Did he ever tell you about the time that we got stuck in a mine in the Blue Mountains?" I asked. "It was when you two had fallen sick."

"No!" Kili grinned.

"It was my fault really...I collapsed the cave wall," I sighed. "We were stuck in there for hours before we managed to get out. He was so angry I was sure he wasn't going to stop seeing red."

They both grinned at me and Fili crossed his arms from where he sat. "Unlce rarely ever had fun," he said slowly. "After you left."

"Yes, I know," I sighed and glanced at him. "You've surely changed since I last saw you. Kili not so much. He's grown taller still."

They both laughed, Kili moving to lay on his side as we talked. Fili glanced over the company and then picked at his food.

"Uncle has been training me as his heir," he sighed. "I've gone through lots of schooling through him."

"That doesn't surprise me," I nodded and flicked Kili in the face when he went to take something off my plate. "I remember he was schooling you for a long time."

"We do miss you," Kili said suddenly. "We all really thought you had died when you didn't come back when you said you would..."

"You always came back," Fili agreed. "You never stayed away for more than five after we had known you. We kept the gifts you gave us..."

"I'm sorry," I said to them. "It got...complicated. It wasn't safe for me to be out in the open anymore, I had to go into hiding."

I felt my heart skip in my chest as he pulled out the dagger I had given him so long ago. It was still in perfect condition, and well cared for.

"We could have protected you," Kili protested with a flat snort. "I got better at the bow."

Reaching over, I messed up his hair. "Not from what I had to hide from," I said sadly.

I stayed with them through the night, and fell asleep after we ran out of stories to tell. In some cases, Kili was still such a child at heart. He was more carefree than the others, and always found something to laugh about. He fell asleep with a pillow against my hip while Fili had taken up a sleeping position that would put him in the perfect place to defend me if he had to. I smiled at that knowing I needed no protection, and leaned back against the wall and got comfortable.

The sound of footsteps had my eyes opening again, and I watched Thorin move quietly through the sleeping dwarves. He looked at me and the young dwarves at my side who were sleeping deeply. His expression eased, and so he walked over and very quietly laid a blanket over me. My own expression softened slightly when he reached out to touch Kili on the head, and he looked at me.

"They missed you," he murmured.

"I know," I whispered sadly. "I've missed them."

I watched him look over his nephews with a look that was reserved for those he deeply loved. I remember seeing it so many years ago, so I was glad to see that hadn't changed for him. He loved his family very dearly.

"Thorin..." I started quietly, and suddenly couldn't find my voice.

Thorin reached out quietly to touch my cheek, and when I looked at him the expression he had on my face almost broke me. He had been so guarded since he had seen me, and finally I saw the relief, joy, and even anger that he was looking at me again. Sucking in a quiet breath, I saw it all quickly fade before he was on his feet again, and walking off, not giving me a second look.