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

Cirashala's stomach rumbled as she helped Kili pack what food they could carry, as well as the cooking utensils, in the undamaged pack.

There's enough supplies here to make biscuits, she thought to herself, mouth watering at the thought. At least, there is- if this small crock is baking powder like I think it is.

Kili's find of an unspoiled side of bacon in the barrel of brine also lifted their spirits. She had asked how they would keep it from being spoiled when taken out of the brine, as they could not take the barrel with them, and Kili had responded that they would smoke it in their camp tonight to make dried strips that would keep for a long time.

Glancing up at the young prince's pale face, the young woman frowned, noting the dark circles under his eyes and the paleness of even his lips.

We got food at least, but where are we going to find medicine? We need that just as badly.

She sighed, wishing once again that she could remember what athelas looked like.

XXX

Once the pack was full to the brim with as much food and utensils as he could carry, Kili buckled the top. The rounded bottom of the cooking pot caused the top of the leather pack to bulge and strain a bit in places, but he would not risk any food that could even remotely fit to be left behind. He had no idea if the company was still at this…Beorn's, or if they had moved on, and he did not wish to run out of supplies before they could catch up to the others.

As he thought about the company, his gaze moved down to the Oakenshield still tied to his belt. Worry passed over him, even as the red bloodstains had slowly begun to fade amidst the orc blood from his kill a few hours prior, despite his attempts to clean it off. The young dwarf cursed under his breath that he hadn't gotten a decent chance to clean it immediately after killing the stupid orc.

Was Fili all right? Was Thorin even alive? What about the rest of the company? What about Bilbo? The thoughts nagged at him, even as his worry for his own injuries and illness grew. Would they try to find them?

No, Kili decided. They wouldn't look for them. Thorin may love him like his own son, just as he loved his uncle like a father after his own father died, but his uncle was no fool. Only a halfwit fool with a death wish would run back into a mountain filled with angry goblins to search for what was likely only a body. He only wished his uncle had been able to pull Fili out as well, as he knew that, goblin or no goblins, his brother would never have left him behind- not even his dead body to be defiled.

How close he had come to death once again hit him very hard. If Cira hadn't caught him when she did…if the stream hadn't been there to catch them, if the rock face hadn't been shaped just well enough to slow their descent…

And now- he was ill, they were very nearly lost, injured, suffering from exposure without proper blankets and clothing, and, up until now, starving. He was trying so hard to be a leader for them both, and he felt as though he was failing miserably at it. Coughing again, the young prince brought his hand up to his mouth, glancing down at the bloody, dirty discharge in his hand afterward before wiping it on the grass at his side.

What if I don't survive this…pneumonia? He thought to himself, knowing it was a very serious illness that often brought death with it, at least among humans. Glancing at Cirashala, who was also quite pale as she quickly rolled a couple of blankets and tied them with small amounts of rope for bedrolls. Her cheeks had begun to sink in a little with the lack of food, and her thin wrists were bonier than they had been even before. He noticed her belt was also three holes tighter than it had been when they left Rivendell three weeks ago.

What if…what if she is left out here all alone and injured with the orcs and wargs, and no one to defend her and keep her safe?

Jaw setting in determination, the young prince slung the pack on his shoulders and stood up.

He may have failed as a leader so far, but he would not fail his friend. Not again.

XXX

Cirashala glanced back as they reached the top of the small hill toward the east of the wreck. The smoke trails were all but gone now, and a good most of the day had gone by. The wagon in the small clearing was now barely visible from the distance, and had it not been for the remaining scraps of white canvas fluttering in the breeze, she likely would not have been able to see it at all.

She had managed to cut a large piece of canvas from the top without a hole in it, and, tying it with rope, slung it over her shoulder. Kili had insisted he carry everything due to her injured back, but she insisted back just as hard that the makeshift canvas roll rested on her side, not her back, and that it wasn't as heavy as his pack was. In the end, Kili had relented, and they had set out. She knew that the dwarves didn't really use tents, preferring to sleep out in the open, but that was with thirteen healthy, uninjured, fully armed warriors, and Bilbo. The hobbit could barely be counted a warrior, but he did bolster numbers.

With the two of them injured, and the only weapon worth using Kili's knife, as the axe they had found was broken beyond repair or usefulness, Cirashala felt a tent to at least attempt to protect them from the elements should it rain would be helpful. The last thing either of them needed was to come down with a cold on top of everything else.

They were moving much slower than either of them would have wished, but both saw the wisdom in leaving that site as far behind as possible. Their injuries and weakness from hunger slowed them down, but there were no ingredients in the food that could be eaten as they walked. The mice had gotten all the cram in the wagon, and the orcs had taken all the dried meat. Why they had left the bacon barrel behind was anyone's guess, but Kili had said it was likely due to it being heavy and weighing them down, and them not having the time to smoke the meat instead.

They did not speak much as they walked. The exertion of marching hour after hour wore on Kili's lungs, and he couldn't spare conversation in his struggles to breathe properly. They were also increasing slightly in altitude, which wasn't helping, as the air became thinner and thinner the further they went up.

Cirashala was also silent as they marched, her thoughts troubled. Little Mizimel had opened a wound that she had buried deep within her ever since her babies and her husband had died, and she felt the grief very near to her heart. She had felt comforted by Kili's actions, and wondered why she had instinctively sought the comfort during her pain and grief.

He looked remarkably like her dead husband, though shorter, stockier, and with much longer hair, as Kili was a dwarf whereas her husband was a human man. But there were other traits that Kili possessed that reminded her of her dead husband as well- his caring, his kindness, his protectiveness, and his compassion among them.

She shook her head. Surely she was merely seeing her husband's traits in him because of resemblance, and not because it was the way Kili really was. She had been stabbed in the back with words so much in her life by those who claimed to be "friends". She had also looked at people with rose colored glasses when she was young, believing them to be more honorable than they were, and had learned the hard way to shut her heart out from those around her for fear of being hurt again.

Glancing up at Kili's back, she frowned. Her heart warred within her. She wasn't blind. She could see clear as day that Kili was honorable and trustworthy. If he weren't, there was no way she would have let him tend the wounds on her back after the goblin tunnels.

And yet…

She had seen the way he had treated the slain dwarves. The way he had cradled little Mizimel like she were made of glass and very precious. The way he at least situated the dwarf man's beard to appear as though it weren't cut. Those actions spoke of someone who cared for the dignity of others- someone who showed compassion even in death.

She had seen the way he continued to try and keep going, and the way he continually tried to protect her despite his own hurts. She had seen all of this.

So why was she still afraid to trust at times? She honestly didn't know. Perhaps it had to do with her grief coming out again- her last memory of the world she came from before ending up in Middle-earth. But what she did know was that fear can also sometimes blind someone to the traits in others.

She shook her head. She had come a long way, but the effects of the abuse and the distrust it caused still lingered. Would she ever be able to escape her past and see things clearly?

She honestly had no idea.

XXX

Kili looked up as the sun began its descent. Being in a mountain valley, he knew that it wouldn't take long for the shadow of the mountains to the west to descend upon them and shroud them in the darkness of night.

"We need to find a sheltered place to camp tonight that will help hide the smoke from our fire," he said quietly, looking back at Cirashala. "We both need to gather firewood as well."

She nodded, and began glancing around for dry sticks. Picking up an old branch off the ground, Kili shook his head.

"It's not green enough," he replied. "If we're to smoke this meat, we need the branches green to give us enough to preserve the bacon." The young woman set the branch back down, and looked at him skeptically.

"How are we supposed to get green branches when we don't have an axe to cut them?" she asked, trying to keep her frustration out of her tone. Kili sighed, glancing down at the knife on his weapon's strap.

"My knife is double bladed," he replied, unsheathing the weapon. "It has a saw edge on one side."

Cirashala nodded, glancing around.

"Would that work for a smoky fire?" she asked, pointing towards a gathering of large boulders similar to where the company had spent the night on her first night of weapons training. One of the boulders leaned up against another, providing a rather open cave of sorts, yet closed off enough to be away from prying eyes. Kili nodded.

"Aye," he replied, holding his knife at the ready even as his arm trembled a bit from hunger. Cirashala nodded and went to move past him, but he held his arm in front of her, gently stopping her from entering the natural cave. Dark eyes met hers, and his tired but stubborn gaze held firm.

"Let me make sure it's safe first."

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WOOHOO! I'VE PASSED 500 REVIEWS! Thank you all LOTS! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D And as a reward, 3 chapters in one day! 8D (that's supposed to be sunglasses ;)

A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan: :) thanks for being understanding :D Yeah- one daughter in April, my husband in May, and one daughter in June. I'm the oddball in October ;) Yes- I have strawberries already and an apple tree that's a good producer but sick so I have to cut it down, and am hoping to expand to berry bushes, fruit trees, a grape vine, and a vegetable garden this year :D As for the procedure- I won't go into details, but it's minimally invasive. No knives, but the preparation for it today sucks :( But at least it forced me to sit, and I was able to pump out two chapters and hoping to get this one out today for the win too :)

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- you guys are so patient with me, and so awesome! :D :D :D