I do not own any of the characters or the Hobbit (just the AU storyline and my OC) those are the work of the esteemed and brilliant John Ronald Reull Tolkien, and without his genius, this and many other fan fics would not be in existence.

Please review! I love getting them-they keep me encouraged! J

The morning dawned cold and cloudy. Balin was on watch last, and as usual Thorin was the first to wake. The dwarf king stumbled out of his bed, stretching, before going off to take care of his morning business.

He returned to the fire as the morning sun was just beginning to peak over the eastern horizon. Balin nodded at him as he approached the fire, where the older dwarf was beginning to boil some water for breakfast. The older dwarf gestured toward the three young ones sharing the blankets, smiling fondly.

Fili had turned over so he was lying flat on his back and facing Cirashala's direction, wild blonde hair half on his face as his arm was slung above her head, hand resting on his brother's head. Kili had turned on his side toward Cirashala, having scooted unconsciously right up against her in the night and slung his arm protectively about her shoulders, hand fisted into the side of Fili's tunic on the other side of her. His face was nuzzled in her hair, and he looked much like he did when he and Fili slept next to each other every night, the lack of a thick beard causing the young dwarf's face to get cold in the frigid air.

Cirashala had taken her side braids out the night before right after she laid down, keeping in the two that held her long bangs, because she knew that her head and neck would appreciate the added warmth. The two thin braids framed the side of her face, one slightly over it, ending about halfway down her hair. The light auburn curls bunched a bit around her head, which was facing toward Fili as she had nuzzled her nose into it, likely also for warmth. She had also ended up scooting down just a little, so her head was slightly lower than Fili's, and she was curled up right next to the elder dwarf's side with her hands curled up within the blanket next to her face. The lines of worry and concern had dissipated from her face, and for the first time since they had found her, she looked calm and at peace.

They were all completely out, and the scene looked so peaceful it was hard to believe that they were on a dangerous quest at all. The three looked so young and unsullied by the pressures of the world, and Thorin felt his throat tighten a slight bit and tears prick at the corners of his eyes. With exception to hair color (and Dis having the childhood wisps of a beard along her jaw line that all dwarves possessed regardless of gender) the scene reminded him of his time as a child back in Erebor with his younger brother and sister.

Thorin awoke with a loud groan to the sound of thunder booming and the flashes of light emanating through his thick curtains.

Another thunderstorm, he thought. That means company….

No sooner had that thought crossed his mind that the door to his bedchamber flew open, and his two younger siblings fairly flew onto his bed. He instinctively covered certain body parts, knowing that in their fear (and from many prior experiences) Frerin and Dis would not pay attention to where their sharp little limbs landed, and he would be left groaning and curled in on himself if he didn't protect those particular "valuables". He thanked Durin and Mahal both that he had been awake BEFORE they came rushing in.

Dis crawled into his bed as Thorin scooted closer to the wall on the other side, and Frerin climbed in after her. Thorin had learned a long time ago that he would be luckier and spare himself certain agony if he just simply got out of the way. And Dis preferred curling up between her two big brothers than having one side "unprotected".

She cuddled into Thorin's chest, wrapping an arm around his middle.

"Thowin, I's scawed," she cried, burying her head in the crook of his arm. He looked over his head at his younger brother.

"Are you scared too, brave Frerin?" he asked mockingly, knowing his younger brother despised appearing to be afraid of "baby" things.

"No!" he spat, a bit too quickly. "I just came in here because she was," he gestured toward Dis, "and she didn't want to run down the hall herself." Dis stuck her tongue at him, glaring with every bit of the Durin temper. His explanation was immediately voided, however, as another loud crash echoed through the chamber, and he yelped and dove under the covers, huddling closer to Dis (and by extension, Thorin).

The oldest of the three siblings rolled his eyes, sighing. He reached over Dis's head and laid his hand on Frerin's, and could feel his younger brother trembling. Frerin wrapped his arm around his little sister in an attempt to be brave, at least for her, and reached across her to fist his hand in Thorin's tunic.

Thrain found them the next morning, and just shook his head as he watched the mess of tangled limbs wake up grumpily and left as soon as the squeals and shouts started, because at some point in the night, all three of his children's braids and clasps had become hopelessly tangled with each other, and that morning it took their mother a full hour just to get the three annoyed and bored siblings separated from each other lest they be forced to walk like conjoined triplets all day.

That morning had been the day that the dragon came, and their mother had been killed before she could flee the mountain. That night, and many nights thereafter, the three siblings had fallen asleep in each other's arms, fearing that if they did not, they would never see each other again. Though, they were smart enough to remove all their braids and clasps first. And if Thorin occasionally got hit in the groin, well, he let it go (after a few minutes of groaning and cursing inwardly though).

"They seem like children again, don't they?" Balin said softly. Thorin nodded.

"They are children," he whispered, and Balin shook his head.

"No, they are adults. Young adults, but adults nevertheless," Balin replied. "And they are learning to make their own decisions now." He looked at Thorin.

"I do not know who she is or where she came from, but she is not like the humans we have encountered before," he said. "If I didn't know any better, I would think she is a dwarf, if it not were for her willingness to aid others regardless of their race." He looked at Thorin pointedly.

"Not many can teach me a lesson I don't already know," he said, "She may appear weak, but she is far stronger than you realize. She judges based upon the heart, not the appearance, and sees the true worth of someone unsullied by the sins of their race. It is a lesson you ought to learn as well, my friend."

Thorin looked into the fire, clenching his jaw.

"Are you saying that I should just accept her inclusion into this company, even if she is a woman and a human?" he asked after a moment, and Balin sighed.

"That is up to you. But I do think you should consider it," He said cautiously with the skill of someone long accustomed to advising rulers. "Sometimes the lessons learned best are the ones we take from our young ones." He gestured toward Fili and Kili, still asleep. "You say they are young and naïve, but sometimes that naivety can show us friends where they are normally unlooked for."

The older dwarf rose, and woke Bombur so he could start breakfast, leaving the king to ponder on what he had said.

XXX

Bombur made biscuits, bacon and eggs for breakfast, being willing to delve into their precious egg and flour supply for the sake of a warm meal. The dwarves could use it after the chilling night, since it seemed Fili, Kili, and Cirashala had been the only ones who had not only shared body heat, but blankets as well.

The rest of the group had wrapped themselves in their own blankets, though they did lie next to each other. While helpful, it didn't seem to be as effective, judging by the fact that several of the dwarves had chattering teeth as they growled at Balin for rousing them from their slumber. The three slept on, and were the only ones that weren't shivering in the early morning mist.

Dwalin had nearly shortened his brother further with his axe, but fortunately Balin knew him well enough that he simply jumped over it before stepping out of reach. Dwalin muttered some very creative curses in Khuzdul (and graced his brother with a less than flattering gesture) that would have gotten his ears boxed by a dwarrowdam should any have been near.

Balin just chuckled and shook his head, used to his brother's lack of tact in the mornings. Dwalin had never really been one to wake amiably, especially after a late night at a tavern. On those particular mornings, Balin simply would throw something at him from the doorway to his room, and take off running to avoid receiving in kind.

Dwalin got up, still grumbling, and went to take care of his business along with several others. On his way back into camp, he caught sight of the three comfortable (and still very much asleep) young ones. He smirked, before crouching down to pick up a bundle of snow and pack it into a fairly boulder sized snowball.

He crept upon them slowly. Several of the dwarves snickered as he raised it up. Thorin watched from his vantage point, rolling his eyes, but making no move to stop the cranky dwarf. A happy Dwalin was far better company, and frankly, it was their fault they were the last to wake. Not only that, but Dwalin had been the target for some of the boy's pranks between Hobbiton and the Trollshaws, and the two really had it coming.

Dwalin dumped the large snowball right down on top of the three with a smirk, causing them to startle awake.

"Wha…" Cirashala said, blinking her bleary eyes open.

"Mnh…" Kili mumbled, tightening his hold on Cirashala and shaking his head before nuzzling further into her hair.

"What the—Dwalin!" Fili roared, the only one not so far gone with sleep that he didn't wake immediately.

The rest of the group started howling, and Dwalin bent over and slapped his knees, guffawing madly.

Fili spit a patch of snow out of his mouth, sputtering and blinking the snow out of his eyes. Being slightly out of the blanket he had caught the worst of it. Cirashala had been huddled nearly entirely under the blanket with it bunched up just over her ear, and was so foggy with sleep she had squirmed but simply shook it off her head.

She yawned as Fili sat up to continue brushing off the snow, grabbing the blankets back toward her and snuggling back down into the warmth. She was still far more than half asleep, and her wild curls were very tangled.

"Too early," she mumbled, groaning a bit. She turned over sleepily and shuffled closer to Kili, curling up against his warm chest and falling back asleep almost instantly.

XXX

Kili felt Fili shuffling in his sleep, and tightened his hold on his brother, brows furrowing. He felt something cold on his head, but brushed it off. He was dreaming about their time as children in the Blue Mountains after the fresh snowfall. They would often play in it until they trudged unwittingly back up to their home soaking wet and exhausted. After a warm bath and meal, their mother would tuck the two shivering lads into their beds, and they would nap huddled together, Fili with his arm around Kili as Kili held onto his chest, snuggling his face into his brother's hair and lying his head on his shoulder.

He felt his brother turn over, and tightened his hold. He could feel Fili's head nestle up against his chest and vaguely heard him say, "Too early" with a very feminine voice.

Feminine?

Kili's eyelids fluttered open, and could feel someone shivering against him. He saw his brother standing up and brushing snow off of him while glaring at Dwalin.

Wait-standing up?

Kili's eyes widened and he glanced down to see Cirashala curled up into him, hand fisting into his tunic. She mumbled something inaudible, before muttering, "Sweetheart…"

Wha-WHAT?!

The poor dwarf's face turned crimson as Fili looked up, gaping.

"W-what did she say?" he asked in a shaky voice as Cirashala's eyes fluttered open. She glanced upward, and her eyes bulged nearly out of her skull as she gasped in shock. She pushed the furiously blushing and speechless dwarf away as hard as she could with both her hands and her feet, before standing up quickly.

"I-I am s-so s-s-sorry!" she cried, turning to run with such forcefulness in her mortification that she knocked both herself and Fili down, tripping over Bilbo. The two landed in a heap on the snow as the hobbit shrieked and threw his arms over his face.

She scrambled up off of Fili, her face burning. The entire camp was completely frozen in shock, no one speaking for a good few seconds, when Fili snorted behind her. Fourteen pairs of astonished eyes flew to the young heir. He threw his hand over his mouth to try and stop, but the muffled chortles still came out, his eyes tearing up and his shoulders shaking.

"Y-you," he gasped out, "Your faces…." He lost it then, doubling over in hysterical laughter. It took only a few seconds of watching him before the entire company erupted in loud laughter. Even Thorin was having a slightly difficult time holding it in.

Cirashala about died with embarrassment, and eyed the snow. Without bothering to care what Thorin did, she reached down and grabbed a handful of snow, packing it into a quick ball before launching it at an unsuspecting Fili.

He took it right in the face, and the laughter stopped as the attention now went toward the furious young woman glaring daggers at Fili. The young heir stared at her in shock for a moment, before smirking as he subtly reached down for a handful of snow.

"So that's how it is," he said mischievously, before launching the snowball at her. She ducked quickly, causing the snowball to hit Dwalin behind her. The burly dwarf cursed and grabbed a handful of snow as well.

"Ye stinkin' little git!" he cried, returning the favor. Fili laughed and ducked as the warrior's snowball hit Ori behind him, and before Thorin could stop them a full fledged snowball war erupted.

Seemingly forgetting about breakfast, everyone grabbed fistfuls of snow and threw them at whoever they fancied. The groups of brothers tended to ban together, and pretty soon it was Dori, Nori, and Ori against Dwalin and Oin and Gloin. The two young heirs were pitted against Bofur and Bifur, Bombur being the only one who hadn't forgotten about the meal and was sitting off to the side eating as he watched the war.

Balin and Thorin watched from the sidelines, shaking their heads at the antics, until Thorin received a snowball to the ear. He whipped his head around to see the older dwarf smirking.

"Oh, really?" the dwarf king raised his eyebrow, before reaching down and grabbing a handful of snow and launching it at his advisor.

Balin ducked laughing, and Kili caught sight of their battle.

"Thorin's in!" he cried, and suddenly he and Fili began to launch the frozen missiles at their uncle. The teams shifted, with Balin, Thorin, Dwalin, Oin and Gloin against Nori, Bofur, Fili, Kili and Cirashala.

Dori had gotten Ori to step aside, fearing that his brother was getting too wet amidst the younger's protests. Bifur had joined Bombur at breakfast as well.

Kili hit Thorin smack in the face, and was promptly rewarded with a well aimed snowball to the chest. Dwalin roared as Fili charged him, hitting the old warrior's bald spot with a glancing blow as a snowball careened into the side of the blonde's face. He looked to the side to see Balin smirking.

"You think you're the only person who doesn't look out for their little brother?" he asked, chuckling as he threw another one, this time at Oin.

The battle went on for a few minutes, Cirashala scooping up snow and hurling it toward Balin. She proved to have pretty good aim. However, she wasn't paying quite as close attention behind her, and suddenly someone grabbed her from behind.

"This is for your little comment earlier," Kili whispered in her ear as he neatly dumped a patch of snow down her back. He let go of her immediately, and several of the dwarves laughed uproariously as she shrieked and jumped around, trying to get the offending piece of wet snow out of her tunic without undressing.

Kili laughed loudly as he clutched his brother, and Thorin shook his head, chuckling. The battle ended then, and several panting but joyful dwarves returned to the warm fire, glad to see that Bombur had been entertained enough watching the dwarves battle each other in the snow like dwarflings to not eat their shares of food.

Cirashala finally managed to get the patch of snow out, having turned her back to the group to quickly undo her belt so as to allow the offending piece of now ice to fall out before refastening it.

She returned to the fire shivering, and reached for her plate. She jumped a bit as she felt a blanket draped over her shoulders, and looked up into the smiling face of Kili. He sat down next to her as Fili sat on the other side, and the two dug into their food with gusto.

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A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan- sounds like the weather has been crazy for you lately. I am glad you are enjoying the story and you are welcome for managing two chapters yesterday! J

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- you guys are the best! :D