Woo, two chapters uploaded in one day! It's so nice actually having a story completed before posting it. I don't have to rush on chapters, I can make sure they are good, and I can post any time I choose. You all know the drill, I own nothing recognizable to Tolkien's works. Elva, Isil, and Aerin are my only creations.

Chapter 2: What Dawn Reveals

With that Elva turned back and returned to the edge of the forest where she could be close enough to know if the Dwarves went anywhere, but far enough that they wouldn't find her. She watched as they scurried around to prepare camp. The two youngest Dwarves took the ponies away into the woods on the opposite side of the run down farm to tether them and watch them. Two others began gathering firewood to start a fire. And the largest Dwarf took out supplies to make supper for the night. Elva absently thought about how she only knew the name of Thorin and Bilbo. With a flick of her tail she stood up and trotted away to explore what was around. The Dwarves couldn't get into too much trouble if she left for only an hour or two. She silently padded away from the camp to search the surrounding area. Elva started down a well worn animal trail. Her nose twitched as she constantly scented the air. There was something amiss where Thorin had decided to make camp. A smell was in the air that Elva could not place, but caused her unrest. Suddenly she froze. Her nose twitched wildly as the scent became recognizable. It was the scent of Trolls. Elva immediately turned back and bolted in the direction Gandalf had gone, praying the Wizard was not too far away. She cursed herself for not recognizing the scent earlier. After an hour of sprinting, Elva's heart felt as though it was about to pound right out of her chest, her sides heaved as her lungs struggled to pull in enough oxygen, and her adrenaline was wearing thin. Finally she found Gandalf. He was on his way back to the camp.

"Elva?" The Wizard questioned in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Thorin has made camp by a Troll horde." She panted as her legs trembled with exhaustion.

"Lead on." Gandalf ordered.

Elva nodded and rushed back the way she had come, all the way back to the camp. It took a little longer to return for Elva was finding her energy quickly draining. When they arrived back at the camp, it was deserted. Embers glowed dim in the fire, and all of their things were still strewn about the camp. No, not all of their things, Elva noted. Their weapons were all missing. Probably with their owners. And their owners were most likely wherever the Trolls were. Elva lifted her muzzle and scented the air. She made a forty-five degree turn and galloped in the direction she could smell the others. Gandalf and Elva rushed to the little valley the Troll had made a cooking fire in. Several of the Dwarves, and Bilbo, were tied up in sacks, while the others were tied to a spit over the fire. She noted absently that the one with the funny hat was one of them. The sun had barely begun to peak over the horizon and the Trolls knew they had to hurry up. They still had time; however, for a large rock would bar the sun for a little while longer. Elva glanced back to Gandalf but found the Wizard missing.

"Where did that blasted Wizard go now?" She snarled.

"Wait!"

Elva glanced down the ravine at the Hobbit who had just cried out. She swiveled her ears towards him in surprise, wondering what was going through his little head.

"You're making a terrible mistake!" Bilbo told the Trolls.

"You can't reason with them!" Cried a Dwarf tied to the spit. "They're halfwits!"

"Halfwits?" Asked the one with the floppy hat, although he wasn't wearing his hat at that time. "What does that make us?"

Elva snorted silently. It certainly did nothing to help boost her idea of their intelligence.

"I meant with the, uh, the... the seasoning." Bilbo continued as he hopped over.

"What about the seasoning?" Growled one of the Trolls.

"Well, have you smelled them?" Bilbo whispered. "You'll need something a lot stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."

The Dwarves, of course, were quite offended by his statement. Elva flicked her ears at the Hobbit. She was impressed with him for being quick enough to stall for time. But of course, the Dwarves didn't see it that way. They shouted at the Hobbit, incensed by his words. How could he turn on them like he was? Even more outraged did they become when his idea to make them taste better was to skin them first. The Trolls paid no attention to them, and of course no attention to the position of the sun. If Bilbo could keep his charade up long enough, perhaps they could get out of it all alive. For if the sun rose above the rock soon enough the Trolls would return to stone. There was a little time left, but Elva didn't know if it would come soon enough. She returned her attentions to Bilbo, wondering what he could come up with in his little mind. A particularly... special Troll picked up the largest of the Dwarves and dangled him over his mouth, about to eat him raw.

"Not that one!" Bilbo cried out in desperation, his plan was beginning to fail. "He's infected!"

"You what?" Asked the Troll by the fire.

"He's got worms!" Bilbo nodded. "In his... tubes."

Elva closed her eyes at his pathetic attempt. But at least it was something. She looked around for Gandalf again, but still could see no sign of the Wizard. She pulled her lips back in a silent growl. If he had deserted them when they needed him the most, she would hunt him down and rip out his throat. It was not her job to keep their idiocy in check. The Dwarves began to cry out that they did not have any parasites and were all quite healthy. Finally, Thorin began to realize what Bilbo was doing. He glanced at the others and kicked the one with only stubble for a beard. All of the stopped and glanced up at Thorin for a moment and then back at Bilbo and the Trolls. Suddenly they all began to agree that they were riddled with parasites of massive proportions.

"What would you have us do, then?" The head Troll asked.. "Let them all go?"

"Well..." Bilbo considered.

"You think I don't know what you're up to?" The Troll jabbed him in the chest angrily. "This little ferret is taking us for fools."

"Ferret?" Bilbo cried in outrage.

Elva snorted in mocking amusement.

"The dawn will take you all!" Cried the loud voice of Gandalf.

He brought his staff down on a rock, causing it to crack open and send sunlight streaming into the little valley the Trolls were in. Elva watched in fascination as they returned to stone. She wondered momentarily if it was painful being turned into stone. It probably was and she shuddered at the thought. Elva turned and trotted deeper into the forest. The Dwarves were no longer in danger and Gandalf was back. That meant she did not have to play babysitter anymore, and could return to her secretive trailing of the group.

"Took you long enough." She shot at Gandalf.

"Master Baggins' tricks were quite useful." The Wizard replied. "I wanted to see what he could come up with. It was all under control."

"I believe you were simply scared of the Trolls." Elva quipped back.

"I could not release the dawn until it was high enough behind the rock." Gandalf told her.

"If that makes you feel better." She mocked. "Now if you will excuse me, I must return to the shadows."

"Not this time." Gandalf stated. "Be ready to come when I call."

"What if I do not wish to be a good dog?" She sneered. "You ought to have a reward for me and don't forget to pat me on the head."

"Just do as I say!" The Wizard snapped.

"Of course, oh mighty sorcerer." Elva growled.

She removed her thoughts from Gandalf's mind and padded back to the edge of the clearing. Elva still kept a bit of distance. There was no need to frighten the Dwarves with her untimely presence. Of course, that could have been rather amusing to see. She overheard Thorin walk up to Gandalf.

"Where did you go, if I may ask?" The dwarf prince questioned.

"To look ahead." Gandalf replied.

"What brought you back?" Thorin asked.

"Looking behind." The Wizard answered smugly. "Nasty business. But all in one piece."
"No thanks to your burglar." Thorin griped.

"He had the nerves to play for time." Gandalf replied. "None of the rest of you thought of that."

Thorin looked down in consent and had the grace to look ashamed.

"However," Gandalf continued carefully. "Until I heard word that there were Trolls in the area and you all were in danger, I was in no hurry in my return."

"Heard word from whom?" Thorin demanded.

"A very old friend who knows of your travels and has been following us for some time now." Gandalf told him calmly. "In fact, I invited her to come on this journey."

"There is no room for another member, Gandalf." Thorin growled.

"This was not up to you or I to decide." Replied the Wizard. "Aulë, though you know him better as Mahal, commanded me to bring her. Her part in the journey, though it shall be beneficial to you, is for her. Would you refuse the orders of your creator?"

Thorin glared at Gandalf but gave a resigned sigh.

"Well, where is this friend of yours?" He asked grudgingly. "It would be best to have her introduced to the rest of the company."

"Indeed." Gandalf agreed. "You gather them, and I shall retrieve her."

Elva flicked her ears and the tip of her tail twitched. She wanted very much to suddenly burst from the trees and frighten the Dwarves. But that would end badly and Gandalf would be more than likely to get very angry with her. And an angry Wizard was really not something she wanted to deal with at that time. He glanced to where she was hiding, his innate sense of where she was not giving her much pause once again, and motioned for her to wait until he called her. She rolled her eyes but nodded nonetheless. Gandalf walked over to the rest of the group and addressed them.

"I can only assume you are curious as to why I wish to speak with you all." He began. "And I am going to tell you. There is a new member who shall be joining the company."

He turned to the woods behind him.

"Now you may come out of the shadows." The Wizard called to her.

Elva twitched the tip of her tail and stalked forward. She decided to have a little bit of fun with the Dwarves. Her head was lowered threateningly, ears flattened against her skull, and lips pulled back to show her needle sharp teeth. She stepped into the light of the clearing the company stood in. They rustled back, several gripping their weapons to prepare for an attack. Elva eyed them with contempt. She relaxed, sat down, and scratched the underside of her jaw lazily. This unsettled the dwarves and they glanced between Gandalf and the wolf. Thorin stared at Gandalf in distrust. This was certainly not what he had been expecting when the Wizard said a friend was coming.

"Elva, must you do that?" Gandalf asked her in exasperation.

"I wanted to have a little fun." She replied glancing up at him.

"Behave yourself." The Wizard ordered. "And would you return to your normal form?"

"This is my normal form now." Elva growled.

"You know what I meant." Gandalf sighed.

"Fine, fine." She grumbled.

The air began to gust around them, the trees swaying and leaves rustling wildly. A bright light emanated from and surrounded Elva. The Dwarves looked away from the intensity of light until it disappeared. In place of the wolf was a girl with honey coloured hair and stormy grey eyes. She eyed the Dwarves with apathy, crossing her arms over her chest. The one with the strange hat caught her eye and she quirked an eyebrow at him. He rested a large mattock on his shoulder and watched her carefully. He was the only Dwarf who didn't look at her as though he were about to attack her or as though she were about to attack them. The Dwarf looked at her with what appeared to be interest. Elva narrowed her eyes and looked away quickly. She despised being looked upon as though she were being studied. Thorin looked the small woman over in an appraising manner. Elva despised that even more, as though was deciding if she were good enough to join. She glared at him and curled her lip slightly. Thorin returned her glare and stood stoutly in a kingly manner.

"Thorin and company would like to extend our sincerest welcome to you." Said the Dwarf with the strange hat as he gave a sweeping bow.

Elva stared at the Dwarf curiously. She tried to understand if he was mocking her or if this was simply his way of giving greetings. But she gave a curt nod in his direction anyway. Gandalf told her to make nice with the Dwarves, so might as well start somewhere. The Wizard clapped his hands together with finality.

"Now that all of this is out of the way," He said glancing at the Trolls. "These Trolls must have come down from the Ettenmoors."

"Since when to Mountain Trolls venture this far south?" Thorin asked.

"Not in an age." Gandalf replied. "Not since darker powers ruled these lands."

Elva shot a harsh look towards Gandalf, but not at him. He glanced at her and knew she understood who he was speaking of. She hissed through her teeth at the memories that were brought back to her. Gandalf was speaking of Mairon, when he was at the height of his power. It was his fault that her sister died. Thorin watched Gandalf carefully. He knew what Sauron had done in his time as well. Gandalf looked up at the sky in thought.

"They could not have moved in daylight." He mumbled.

"There must be a cave nearby." Thorin concluded.

"He's a genius, this one." Elva sneered at Thorin mockingly, letting only Gandalf hear her thoughts. It earned her a withering glare from the Wizard.