:D YEY! Here's the next chapter guys. :) Might not write for a few days cause it's my birthday soon and It'll be a little hectic. :L But I promise you guys I'll get the next one up for you as soon as possible.
We rode in silence through the lands in the shire until we heard the little voice cryingout behind us.
"Wait! Wait! Wait for me!" he shouted and the whole company of dwarves stopped to turn and watch the small hobbit run, contract and hands flailing behind him, down the path. I saw some of the company smile and grin to other members of the group as they'd just won their bet in saying that the hobbit would come along.
"I signed it!" Bilbo shouted as he reached Balin in the line and handed the parchment to said dwarf, who pulled out some kind of magnifying glass and checked the signature of Mr Bilbo Baggins, before smiling and rolling up the contract.
"Everything seems to be in order, welcome Mr Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." I looked at the hobbit who looked back at me, and smiled, grateful for him coming along, then I turned to the dwarven king who didn't seem to be as happy as some of the rest of us as he simply turned his pony.
"Get him a pony." he said dryly.
"Oh no that won't be necessary. I've done my fair share of walking, even got as far as Frogmorten once..." The small man was interrupted as Fili rode his pony up to the side of the hobbit, grabbing hold of his jacket, and pulled him up onto the dwarf's pony behind him. I held back the laughter that threatened to bubble up as I saw the hobbit's face. Fili looked back at myself, Kili and Peeta and smiled cunningly. He was planning something. I just knew it.
We rode until sunset, when we rode up by a run-down farm.
"We camp here for the night. Fili, Kili, watch the ponies. Oin, Gloin, get a fire going." Thorin declared, swinging down off his pony and walking to the ruins, presumably scanning for any clear area to sleep for the night. I saw Gandalf follow the dwarf and heard their argument as I sat, quietly, just breathing in the cold air of the fast approaching darkness of night.
It was only a matter of minutes before Gandalf stormed through the camp, muttering about the 'stubbornness of dwarves', Thorin coming out of the ruined hut to watch the wizard go, seemingly uncaring that he'd gone. "Come on Bombur, we're hungry." he said before taking 2 steps forward and sitting down on one of the suspiciously well placed logs around the fire that Bofur was currently trying to light.
Bofur and Bombur set to making some food for all of us as Peeta made his way over to me and sat down beside me.
"Will you tell me what your episode was about last night? You worried Fili and Kili, they had to carry you back in." I said, placing my hand on his knee. I felt him tense and I pulled my hand away but before I could recognise it, he grabbed my hand and held it in both of his.
"I saw you singing the hanging tree song to Gale. I know it's one of the things the capitol put in my mind but I can't control it and I thought you were singing it about me. I thought you wanted to hang me Katniss." I looked up at him and saw the pain in his features. It hurt him to think of things like that. I put my other hand over one of Peeta's and didn't push the subject and we left the conversation there and simply sat in each other's company.
It wasn't long before the scent of cooked stew wafted over to us and we stood, really to get some food, and made our way over to Bombur who was stood over the pot, looking as though he was hungry enough to eat it all. His brother, came over and nudged him out of the way so he didn't and he pulled a bowl from a pile that was tied up on the side of Bombur's pack, that lay just next to the fire, far enough away that the pack didn't burn but so that the bowls were warmed slightly from the heat. He poured some stew into two and motioned for me to go to him. He pushed out the bowls to me.
"Take these to the lads will you, lass?" he asked, albeit fairly rudely, but the brothers did need to eat. I took the bowls and walked to where Fili and Kili were meant to be watching the ponies. I found them stood a few feet away from the ponies, looking straight ahead as though they'd just seen a ghost.
"Guys?" no response. I walked around to stand in front of them and held the bowls out to them. They both took the bowls silently, not moving their gaze from what they were looking at. "OK, what is it?" I asked, dropping my hands and resting them both on my hips.
"We have a small problem." Fili began.
"We had 17 ponies." I nodded and raised my eyebrows expectantly, not liking where this was going.
"Now we have 15." My eyes widened at that and I looked directly at Kili, who had been the one to say it. A grin appeared on my face after that.
"Thorin is going to be mad with you two." I said and watched as they both immediately whipped their heads to look directly at me, distraught with the idea of their uncle finding out they lost two ponies.
"Look! there's a light!" Fili quietly whispered and he turned and put his bowl of food on a log behind them, as did Kili and they both set off past me, causing me to turn my whole body to try and stop them but I was stopped from shouting after them as the ground shook a little and a huge figure stomped through the woods carrying two pony shaped animals.
"Trolls." One of the brothers said as they carried on running, hiding behind each tree, after the huge creature that had taken their transport.
Well there we go. Hope you liked this installment. Next up - Trolls! :)
A.x