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 fog was just beginning to thin as Kili led the young woman upstream, Cirashala stumbling behind the young dwarf without complaint.

The young dwarf's eyes kept scanning the stream, trying to find a place to cross that would not create wet footprints on the other side. He knew that, should Azog and his orc pack not find any sign of them downstream, they would come back to the last place they knew them to be at- their campsite- and search further. He did not want to leave them an easy trail to follow.

His broken ribs ached terribly, mostly from twisting inside the tiny cavern where they had hidden, but also after the bad fright that Azog gave him. He tried desperately to hide it from the shivering young woman behind him, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the bones would have to be set before they either broke further, or healed improperly.

If only we were with the company, the young prince thought to himself. Oin could set and wrap them easily, we wouldn't be lost and without supplies, and I wouldn't have broken Cirashala's hand.

The young prince's shoulders seemed to grow heavier as he began to realize that their safety and continued survival was his responsibility now. He had always known that Thorin would be king once Erebor was reclaimed, and that Fili would follow when their uncle finally fell in glorious battle at a ripe old age against a worthy adversary. Thorin would be buried with honor befitting a legendary king and warrior, and Fili would become a wise and greater king than even Thorin until he died side by side with his brother, also in battle at old age.

Thorin had trained Fili as his heir, and Kili as well, but to a lesser extent. As a result, the younger had been given less responsibility and more freedom as his elder brother. He never thought that it would fall to him to lead others, unless it be as a general over their armies, or head of his brother's bodyguard. The frightened young prince had no idea how in all of Middle-earth the two of them were going to find the company.

Or even if the two of them would survive long enough to do so.

XXX

The young dwarf finally spotted a few rocks in the stream that would provide a decent and dry crossing, and stopped, turning to look at the young woman behind him.

Kili sighed again as his gaze fell on her injured hand, the guilt hitting him harder now that he could see it in daylight. There was a clear imprint of a dwarf hand surrounding her tiny hand, which was quickly turning purplish-black. Cirashala looked up and saw him looking at her hand, regret in his features, and sighed.

"It's all right," she said quietly. "It was an accident, and there's nothing you can do about it now." Kili looked back up at her, shaking his head.

"I can splint it," he replied, before glancing at the stream. "But we need to get away from here as soon as possible first. If Azog doesn't find any sign of us downstream soon, he will come back, and I don't want to be here when he does." The young woman nodded in agreement, and Kili gestured toward the rocks in the water.

"If we cross here, we won't leave him any footprints to follow," he replied. He nimbly stepped on the first stone, then the second, before looking back. Cirashala followed the young dwarf, who held his hand out, ready to grab her if she slipped.

"Easy," he said quietly, noticing how her balance was slightly off due to having to cradle her hand. She quickly righted it though, and the young dwarf turned and continued on, until he stepped off on the other side.

The young woman deftly crossed the stream, hopping from rock to rock. Kili did see that she took a second or two to steady herself between each one. Her pained expression as she stepped on the other side did not go unnoticed by the young dwarf.

"Are you all right?" he asked as she took a few slow breaths. She nodded.

"It pulled slightly on my back, but I will be fine," she replied, though her face was slightly pale. Kili's eyes searched her face for a minute, not sure whether to believe her.

"Are you sure?" he asked, brow furrowing in concern, and she nodded.

"It hurts," she admitted, "but I don't want to see wargs again either." The young dwarf sighed, before looking east, figuring it to be the most likely direction the company would have taken.

"Come on."

XXX

The pair walked for about two hours, stumbling on occasion as their wounds throbbed painfully.

The fog finally lifted, bringing the sun out, and Cirashala glanced upward, thankful for the warmth it brought. She was still shivering from the cold, wet clothes, but they slowly began to dry. She didn't notice Kili crouch down suddenly in front of her until she ran into him, almost toppling over the young dwarf.

He reached up with his right arm and quickly pulled her down beside him, placing a finger on his lips. She followed his gaze to notice a young stag in the clearing ahead of them, grazing contentedly. Cirashala's stomach growled, pinching painfully and reminding her of their hunger.

The stag didn't seem to notice them, despite them being only about twenty feet away. Kili silently removed his knife from its sheath, hoping that his aim, while not as good as his brother's, would be enough to take the beast down. He could hear the young woman's stomach growling slightly in hunger, and his own matched it.

Cirashala glanced again at the stag, noting that it was fairly large and likely very heavy as well, and realized that neither of them could hope to carry that much meat in their condition. Even if Kili wasn't in as bad shape as she was, there would be little hope of the meat not spoiling before they could eat it, and she was familiar enough with food safety to know the unpleasant consequences of such illness.

Just as Kili pulled back his arm to throw, she grabbed it, halting his movements.

"Kili, no!" The stag immediately raised his head, ears alert, before racing off into the scrub.

XXX

Cirashala jumped back slightly as Kili turned toward her, eyes dark.

"What in Durin's name did you do that for?" he cried, clearly angry. "We just lost an easy kill!"

"It was too much meat," she replied. "Neither of us can carry that much!" The young dwarf's eyes narrowed.

"We don't have ANY meat," he snapped back. "Do you want us to starve?!" Cirashala took a deep breath.

"It would have spoiled," she protested. "Now that the fog is gone, it's getting too warm for meat to be out all day! And we don't have time to smoke it." Kili's gaze darkened.

"It would not have spoiled, not in one day," he replied, the young dwarf struggling to hold back his temper as his stomach pinched painfully.

"But—" Cirashala began, but the young dwarf cut her off.

"In case you haven't noticed, we have no supplies," Kili growled. "No food, no waterskins, no medicine, and only this knife as a weapon. And we have no guarantee of finding anymore meat within range."

"But what about a rabbit or something? Aren't they in abundance in the wild?" she asked, and Kili's eyes narrowed even further, his cheeks reddening slightly from embarrassment as he averted his eyes.

"I am not as good as my brother at throwing knives," he replied, the young dwarf feeling angry at himself for not being as highly skilled as his brother with their only weapon, and wishing desperately he still had his bow. His gaze returned to the young woman. "I cannot get small game like rabbits as easily- they are too fast!"

Cirashala paled as Kili's glare intensified, before the young dwarf looked back at the clearing where the stag had been, jaw set in anger as he sighed in frustration.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, inching backward as best she could on one hand, and avoiding his eyes, slightly intimidated by his anger. She had never liked confrontation, especially with those she called friend.

"Sorry won't bring the stag b—" Kili began, before Cirashala's hand suddenly bumped against something on the ground.

Sunlight flashed on metal, causing both of them to turn their heads. The blood drained from the young dwarf's face, the lad instantly recognizing what it was. Cirashala slowly picked up the object, her eyes widening in astonishment as she silently passed it to the young prince. Kili's hands were visibly shaking as he held the infamous piece of armor, one he had seen adorning his mother's mantle for as long as he could remember.

"T-this is Thorin's oakenshield," the young dwarf whispered, voice trembling as his hands slowly traced the numerous dark stains on it, their argument all but forgotten. "And it's –it's covered in blood."

XXX

Cirashala stared at the ashen dwarf, trying to find words to reassure the shaking young prince. She knew full well what it had been as soon as she had picked it up- and knew exactly who it belonged to.

"O-of course it's covered in blood," she replied, voice wavering even as she tried to pass it off as nothing. "Thorin must have killed hundreds of goblins trying to reach us. It's no wonder it's covered in their blood." Kili looked up at her, wide brown eyes dangerously close to tears, though he blinked them back quickly.

"Goblin blood is black," he whispered, swallowing hard. "This-this blood is red." Kili was so pale that even his lips had lost some color, and the young woman feared he would pass out.

"Kee," she said softly as she reached her unbroken hand out to cover his trembling ones, hoping against hope that she was right, and the shield had fallen as the eagles flew the company away. "He isn't here, and there is no blood on the ground."

The young dwarf looked up at her, trying to maintain his composure as fighting the tears became even harder.

Leaders don't cry, he thought to himself. I-I have to be strong, even if….

He couldn't finish the thought. His eyes seemed to convey his anguish, and Cirashala reached up and placed her hand on his shoulder as his gaze returned to the oakenshield.

"Kee, I am sure that they are all right," she said softly. "They might be hurt a bit, but I don't think they're gone. Your uncle is way too stubborn for that." Kili smiled slightly at that, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"But where are they?" he asked, looking back up at her like a lost child. "They could be anywhere."

Cirashala took a deep breath, hoping that the eagles carried them to Beorn's like they were supposed to, and trying to figure out how to tell the young prince that without giving her secret away. She hated the idea of lying to him, but she couldn't tell him that she knew of the quest or what was supposed to happen, because at this point she honestly had no idea. Things had changed too much.

"Gandalf meant to ask for aid from a friend of his," she said slowly and carefully, fighting to maintain eye contact even though instinctively she wished to turn away. "His name is Beorn, and he is a skinchanger. He lives off the Anduin somewhere near a great rock shaped like a bear called the Carrock, which is due east of Goblintown if I remember the maps correctly. If Thorin or anyone else is injured, I am sure Gandalf would lead them there." Kili looked at her wide eyed, his astonishment clear.

"H-how do you know?" he said, a confused expression entering his face. "Thorin didn't say anything about a skinchanger." Cirashala took a deep breath, hoping her lie wasn't evident on her face.

"I overheard Gandalf discussing it in Rivendell when they thought I was asleep."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX

A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan: Yes, I sew. My grandmother has been working with me to teach me how, and I sew my clothes and my girls' clothes- I haven't progressed enough to make my husband's work clothes yet, and my machine cannot sew denim for his jeans. It isn't always easy, especially when my sewing machine decides it wants to be a stinker ;) As to Fili- yes he is taking the blame, but he is also very much in grief mode. He will shift the blame to Thorin in his grief because Thorin is the one that missed Cira's boot by a hairs breadth as they fell. There are five stages to grief- Denial, Anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Fili is still very much in shock at what happened, and angry with himself for not being able to do more- and no it's not rational thought. Yes, it was an accident, but in his state he doesn't see it quite the way he should. Right now, he is in between the anger/bargaining phase. His desire to die is a bit of bargaining in a way- and also survivor's guilt (much like Cira has). This will be important in his characterization now, and for him and Thorin's characters later, as well as Cira.

A response to guest reviewer- Guest- Yeah, he's got it rough…. Poor guy will become a basketcase so to speak for a while, and sink into a deep depression :(

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- I couldn't be doing this without you! :D :D :D