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 Reuel 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 first thing Cirashala was aware of was that the pattering sound of raindrops that had lulled her to sleep had ceased. The second thing she was aware of was warm breath ghosting across her scalp, and a growling stomach.

A slight sigh left her mouth as she managed to crack her eyes open, her eyelids still quite heavy with sleep. Squinting as she tried to clear her blurry vision, she quickly realized the reason behind the slow breaths, brow furrowing in confusion even as a large yawn escaped her.

Kili was fast asleep, his breaths shallow but even as his head rested near the top of hers. His right hand was loosely draped across his stomach, rising and falling with each breath even as his left hand lay on the ground next to him. One leg was extended as best it could be in the narrow trunk, while the other was bent, boot coming to rest near his opposite knee. The young woman blinked in surprise.

Did he…fall asleep sitting up?

Regret laced her features as she realized that, with as quickly as she had fallen asleep the night before, he had likely taken it upon himself to keep watch. Her gaze softened as she looked at the clearly exhausted young dwarf's face, realizing that he had likely stayed up most of the night. She furrowed her brow in thought, trying to remember if he had attempted to wake her in the night, but she could not recall him doing so.

She bit back a groan as she struggled to sit up, the wound on her back burning slightly at the movement. Propping herself up on her right elbow, she reached over and gently brushed a strand of dark hair out of the young dwarf's slightly open mouth, being careful to not put pressure on her broken hand. Kili did not stir.

"You crazy dwarf," she whispered, sighing in both pity and frustration. You need your rest too, especially since you are ill.

She managed to push herself to a sitting position, before a glint of light in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Glancing down, her eyes widened as she caught sight of a dark green stone lying on the bottom of the trunk, next to the young dwarf's prone hand. Reaching over, she picked up the polished stone, eyeing the runes etched in it.

His runestone, she thought to herself as her eyes widened, having remembered it from the movie. The one his mother gave him, as promise that he would return to her.

The etchings in the stone were as clear as day, but she felt no hard edges as she ran her fingers over it. The stone had obviously been polished very carefully, for each edge was smooth and rounded ever so slightly, enough that it wasn't sharp, but not so much that the runes weren't clear. She shook her head in wonder, realizing that this was the first time since she had come to Middle-earth that she had ever held something of value crafted by a dwarf's hand.

If I don't miss my guess, she thought to herself, seeing the dark and slightly lighter green swirls in the stone in the morning sunlight, intermingled with the tiniest sparkle of gold flecks barely discernible. This stone came from Erebor itself. Its colors are the same as the walls on the inside of the Mountain.

She felt slight tears well up in her eyes as she held the stone, made with obvious care and the love that passed between mother and son. A token, a symbol of the love Dis held for her children, and a symbol of the promise they would return. Her throat tightened as she choked down a sob, knowing the depth of a Mother's love all too well, and the feeling of utter hopelessness that accompanied the loss of one's children. The smooth stone in her hand was a symbol of Kili's last promise to his mother.

A promise, that Cirashala knew he was going to be unable to keep, not if the quest ended the way it did in the book. She gripped the stone then, determination settling in her gaze even as she remembered the words she had spoken to Kili back in Rivendell.

No mother should feel the pain of burying her own child. No matter how young or old they are.

Swallowing heavily even as a few tears of grief escaped her eyes, the young woman eyed the stone once more, before bringing it to her heart. Silently she made a promise of her own, then glanced hesitantly at Kili's trousers, debating whether or not to place the stone in his pocket so he wouldn't lose it.

Making a decision, she reached over and moved the edge of his jerkin out of the way, hoping that he had a pocket in his trousers. Spotting one on his right side, she began to gently attempt to put the stone where it would be safe.

XXX

The young dwarf frowned a bit in his sleep, unsure of the odd tugging sensation he was feeling.

He had stayed awake as long as he could, but his exhaustion proved to be too much, and he must have fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning. His ribs cried out at the odd position, twinges of pain shooting up from the breaks, and he mentally berated himself for not paying attention and anticipating the likelihood of falling asleep when positioning himself for watch last night.

He felt a slight tug on his trousers again, and his brow furrowed in confusion. He was so tired still, his brain very foggy and his thoughts only semi-coherent. He heard a feminine voice whisper, but his sleep riddled brain didn't make sense of the words.

Feminine voice?

He felt a sharp tug on his trousers, stronger than the last one, and dark eyes flew open in panic.

XXX

Cirashala had some difficulty getting the stone in Kili's trouser pocket. Being used to the larger, modern pockets of her world, she was surprised to find that the shallow opening in Kili's trousers was actually a very small pocket…and a very tight one.

Gritting her teeth together in frustration, she attempted once again to open the pocket and place the stone in it with one hand, inadvertently tugging at his trousers in the process. The stone was just barely wider than the opening, and had she had two hands at her disposal it would not have been an issue at all.

However, with only one hand to work with, her patience was wearing a bit thin. Taking a deep breath, she attempted once more to shove the stone into the stubborn pocket, unaware of the young dwarf beginning to stir. As she finally managed to slip the tiny rock into the pocket for safekeeping, a hand suddenly shot out, wrapping around her wrist. The young woman nearly jumped out of her skin, yelping.

"W-wh-what are you doing?!" The young dwarf's eyes were wide open as he stared at her in shock, dark orbs filled with panic as his breaths came in quick succession. Cirashala's eyes widened, her heart beating rapidly from the startle.

"I….uh," she stammered, realizing that she had just startled a warrior awake, and thankful that he had not reached for his knife in his panic. "Y-your r-runestone…it was on-on the flo-the bottom of the trunk. I-I was just-just trying to-to put it back in your pocket so-so you wouldn't lose it!"

Kili's eyes widened considerably as he gasped, and glanced down fearfully at his pocket, the blood draining from his face. Her eyes followed his, noting the slight bulge where the stone rested safely in his trousers. Suddenly, her eyes landed on something else entirely, and she felt her cheeks grow hot in embarrassment as she realized just what her hand-and the pocket- was next to. Yanking her hand out of his grasp, wide blue orbs met his, the young dwarf blushing to the roots of his hair as he refused to look at her.

"K-Kili, I-I didn't mean—" she began, only to be cut off as the young dwarf shot to his feet. A loud thud echoed through the hollow trunk, followed by a cry. She winced in sympathy.

"Kili, are you all right?" she asked, her voice filled with concern as Kili cradled his head in his hands, the young dwarf wavering slightly on his feet. The young prince did not answer, moaning slightly before stumbling out of the trunk as quickly as he could.

XXX

Kili stumbled through the bushes and puddles as fast as he could, head swimming from both knocking it against the top of the tree and his own jumbled, panicked thoughts. He went a short distance, before finally stumbling behind a tree. Sinking down to the ground, the archer held his head in his hands, moaning.

Of all the things she could have seen, did it have to be that?! The young dwarf thought to himself, face and ears scarlet as he recalled the morning's events.

He could hear her crying out after him, but the young prince was still far too embarrassed to face her. He knew it was a natural event. It happened every morning since his body had begun to grow up, and he had long since gotten used to it. However, he had never expected a woman to discover it by accident.

Logic told him that she must have known about this…particular event, having been wed before. But that knowledge didn't console the mortified dwarf at all as tears of embarrassment and shame pricked at the corner of his eyes.

As her calls faded somewhat, the young prince rested his forehead on his knees, wishing that he would wake up in his bed with his brother at their home in Ered Luin and discover that this had all been a dream.

XXX

Cirashala emerged from the tree trunk, having had a moment of difficulty in standing with one arm on the curved surface. She held Kili's coat in her left hand as she looked around the surrounding trees, a worried and apologetic look on her red face.

"Kili!" she cried out, frantically looking around for the young prince. Despite the trunk being dry, the area near their shelter was nearly filled with puddles, the trunk itself having been propped up high enough to avoid getting water inside it. She glanced at the ground, but Kili's tracks were obscured by the water.

"Kili!" she called out again. She glanced at the heavy coat, before hesitantly placing it on the log. "Kili, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean….I was just trying to put the stone in your pocket, I swear! Kili!"

She began to move eastward, hoping that was the direction he had gone. She knew that he would likely return to either the log or herself, and get his coat back either way. However, it was very heavy, and she didn't think she could get it on with her back wound to carry it.

"Kili!" she called again after a few moments. "Kili! It-it didn't bother me, honest! I- It's natural….I didn't mean to upset you! Kili, where are you?"

She rounded a tree, before stumbling on a slick root. Grasping the side of the tree with her good hand, she took a moment to steady herself, before stepping carefully over the remaining roots. Once she had cleared them, she looked up.

And let out a blood curdling scream.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

WOOHOO! Up to 100 follows! Thank you all so much for sticking with me despite health troubles and a rough time as a result in my personal life right now! And a very Merry Christmas to you all too! :D :D :D

A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan: Ah ok :) I get it now. I am glad you felt immersed into the story, if you are talking about mine. If you are talking about feeling immersed in the story because you feel like there are actual orcs in your city, then I am not so glad :( I don't know where you live at all, but it doesn't sound like a very nice place right now :( I hope things get better for you soon!

A response to guest reviewer Ari: Thank you! Yeah, I don't know if you briefly saw my author's note I had replaced this chapter with, but life has dealt some nasty lemons in regards to my health- been constantly sick for the last 6 weeks with every bug that goes around and also having other health issues that require a specialist, so it's been very difficult for me to write :( Bifur likely gets left out because no one can understand what he says, but I know that people who are mentally disabled sometimes can be the best people to reach those in a coma (which Fili essentially was). Studies have shown that when people read/talk, etc to those in a coma it can actually help improve their state, and sometimes has helped them wake up. I saw some great character moments with him in DOS (which I had already purchased my ticket for, so managed to crawl in though I paid dearly for it later) and hope that there will be more in TABA. I will try to get the next chapter out when health (and sanity-it's nearly Christmas and I am so not ready because of my health issues! I usually have my tree up in October and it's still not up yet let's put it that way) allows.

A response to guest reviewer Kaia: Thanks :) I didn't necessarily think of Bifur as being from Erebor- they lived in the Blue Mountains west of the Shire near the Grey Havens when the Quest started, so I was thinking the Blue Mountains (Ered Luin) when I wrote Bifur's story. RL is crazy right now- health concerns plus my great grandmother passed away yesterday afternoon, so I will try to update when I can but I cannot promise consistency for probably another few weeks :( But I will try.

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- you guys are so understanding and so amazing! Thank you lots! :D :D :D