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 continued to bathe Kili's face in the cold water as he slept fitfully, and while the young prince cooled a little, the fever refused to fade completely.

A soft gust of wind blew through the trees overhead, causing the bushes nearby to rustle. Cirashala shivered slightly, and was very grateful that Kili had given her his wool tunic, rather than her having to wear the thin elvish summer garb that she had been given in Rivendell.

Her eyes trailed over the healing scrapes on his cheek and forehead, and she was relieved to note that those seemed to be healing well despite the lack of proper medicine. She moved over to dip the cloth in the cool water again, wincing as it pulled on her back wounds, and she frowned.

Are they still supposed to burn? The young woman thought to herself worriedly as she took a few controlled breaths to work through the pain. It must be because they were whip lashes. After all, Kili did clean them up.

She glanced up at the sun, noting that its position had shifted slightly. Where it had previously just graced the top of the trees on the eastern bank, now it was visible in the canopy of leaves above their head. She was glad for the shade, however, because it meant that the sun wasn't glaring as badly off the water as it had been.

As she turned to refill the pot with cool water, an unexpected rustle sounded to their left. It was very faint, but clear. She dipped the pot into the water, before her eyes suddenly widened. Glancing up at the opposite bank, not a single leaf stirred in the now still air. Cirashala froze as realization dawned on her.

There was no reason why the leaves should rustle like that, unless…

Silently but quickly setting the small pot aside, she turned toward the sleeping dwarf, one hand falling to the hilt of his knife as the other gently but firmly nudged his shoulder.

XXX

Kili frowned as he felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder. His entire body hurt, and he wasn't even sure he could open his heavy eyelids.

His muscles seemed leaden, as though no command from his mind could seek to move them. He felt as though he hadn't even slept, and yet he must have else he wouldn't be so tired. He didn't want to move, didn't want to breathe because the very act hurt his chest.

Suddenly he found himself in Erebor, exactly as his uncle described it to him when he was but a young dwarfling. The gold threaded through the smooth green pillars, shining brighter than the sun. The air was stifling hot, as though the great forges of the dwarves had set the lower halls ablaze.

No, not the forges. A great roar sounded, and suddenly the young prince found himself face to face with the largest beast he had ever seen. The great dragon was covered in scales of reddish gold, his wings folding outward from his great arms. His claws were like giant spears, and the dwarf found himself without sword or bow with which to defend himself.

"Well, thief," the great dragon Smaug hissed, for it was indeed his uncle's great foe- who else could it be? "What do you think you are doing, entering my home and stealing my treasure?" Kili found himself rooted to the spot, unable to speak for a moment, before a hot fire awoke within his own chest.

"This is not your home!" the young prince replied vehemently. "You stole it from my people! You killed them, you stole their gold! I am not here for treasure- it is mere trinkets. I am here as a Prince of the line of Durin, these are the halls of my fathers, and you will pay for what you have done to my kin!"

The great dragon laughed, shaking the very pillars of stone that held up the mountain itself.

"And how do you plan to take your revenge?" the serpent replied, grinning evilly. "What chance do you think you have against me, dwarfling? You have no weapon. I can make the very air burn! I am a furnace with wings, and I will give you pain such as you've never had before!" The dragon's chest puffed out, and a great flame flew from his mouth. The young dwarf tried to run, but his feet were rooted to the spot, unable to avoid the dragon's wrathful heat.

Kili felt hot. Hotter than he had ever felt before. But strangely, he wasn't burning. The air within his lungs seemed to sear through him, but he was still alive. The dragon screamed, anger in his eyes as his plan failed. The scream shook the very walls of the mountain, and Kili watched with wide eyes as the pillars and halls fell away.

His whole body shook, and the dwarf's eyes widened as the dragon hissed his name, the blood draining from his face.

XXX

"Kili! Kili, wake up!"

Opening his eyes, the young dwarf expected to find the ruins of Erebor surrounding him, only to see a green canopy of leaves and blue sky surrounding Cirashala's face. His brow furrowing in confusion as he glanced around their resting spot, he realized that he must have been dreaming.

"Kili," she whispered, causing his gaze to return to her. "Please, you have to get up." Hearing the urgency in her voice, the young dwarf felt the sleep instantly leave his eyes as his warrior instincts kicked in.

"Wh-what's wrong?" he whispered back as she once again brought her arm around him to help him rise.

"There was some rustling downstream, but no wind," she replied quietly, reaching for their pack once the dwarf was on his feet and leaning against a tree for support. Her concerned gaze moved back toward him once the pack was on.

"I-I'm sorry, Kili, but…I really think we need to move on." Swallowing heavily, he nodded even as his own sharp eyes scanned the forest surrounding them.

"Aye," he whispered.

XXX

The pair trudged on, wary eyes glancing around them far more often than simply on their path ahead.

The rest aided Kili slightly, and though it was nowhere near enough, it did help him to keep his feet a bit better than before. He had insisted that he carry the knife before they set out, since it was their only weapon and, despite his illness he was still a far better trained warrior than Cirashala was.

They continued to hear slight rustling every now and then, but there was no sign of anything that would cause it. The slight breeze of the morning had died, leaving the air heavy and still around them. Each time it sounded, they would pause and look around the forest, before quickening their pace.

I do not like this, the young prince thought to himself. I would prefer to fight an enemy head on, rather than one that sneaks about.

The only explanation he could come up with was that whatever was following them was clearly waiting for them to stop before making its move, and Kili was determined not to be caught unawares. He could easily feel the tension emanating from Cirashala through her shoulders, and knew that she was also being incredibly vigilant as well.

What chance would we have against an orc or warg now? He thought to himself, swallowing thickly as he glanced toward the young woman.

A low, throaty growl was all the warning they had, before a mass of tan fur came barreling toward the pair.

XXX

Kili could feel Cirashala freeze beside him with a gasp even as the blood in his own face drained. His right hand flew toward his knife even as he pushed her away in the opposite direction of the snarling animal.

"Run!" he cried, drawing the weapon even as he spoke. As he turned to face the threat head on, the lynx leapt, barreling into Kili's chest and knocking the young dwarf to the ground with a loud cry before he had a chance to bring his knife up. Cirashala dropped to the ground with a cry as well as the force of the impact caused his knife to fly through the air, narrowly missing her and landing in a bush some feet away.

The dwarf's screams mingled with the lynx's growls as the animal's sharp teeth repeatedly lunged for his throat, his arms bearing the brunt of the attack even as its claws tore at his chest and arms. Cirashala quickly stumbled to her feet, leaving her pack on the ground as she ran toward the large bush where she had seen the knife land.

"Where is it?!" she cried, pushing the leaves aside as she searched for the weapon. Her hand dug through several leaves from autumns past, but there was no sign of the blue hilted blade.

"Cira!" he screamed behind her as he tried desperately to fight off the lynx. "My knife! Get my knife!"

She looked back over her shoulder, her eyes widening in panic at the red blood visible on his hands, and as she turned back toward the bush to keep searching, her eyes landed on a broken branch. It was about three feet long, and the end was jagged from where it had broken off of the tree above.

Without hesitation, she reached down and grasped it tightly, hoping that her idea would work.

XXX

Kili's chest felt like it was being crushed under the weight of the lynx, each breath more difficult than the last. Pain seared through his chest and arms as the animal's paws put pressure on his broken ribs and its claws slashed the skin, and the blood from the bites on his hands dripped onto his face and in his eyes.

"Cira!" he cried again, realizing that even if she were to find the knife, she wouldn't be able to fight such a strong animal, not when it was testing even a dwarf's strength. "Get out of here!"

Her reply was most definitely not what he expected, nor was the sight of a branch swinging full force into the animal on top of him.

"Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-menu!"

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A response to guest reviewer IAE11- Don't worry- I have no intention of stopping the story :) Even if updates may not be as frequent due to real life. Thanks! I'm glad you like it :D Wow- that was a LOT of reading to do in one day! You must not have kids ;) Wow- I haven't read through it in a while so I'm glad that it's still flowing and not getting boring :) That's a relief to hear! I will keep writing and try to update more frequently as real life allows :D

A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan: :) I will let you all know when the quilt is done- I finished the first block yesterday and have 99 more to go, plus the border, so it won't be anytime soon! I will try to update as frequently as I can with real life :D

A response to guest reviewer SMCB: Thanks :) As to finished, I have NO IDEA why FF did that- is it being a stinker butt again? (I'm around little ones all day, so I tend to "swear" like that most of the time ;) I will be doing a part two, but not until the edge of Mirkwood (a natural breaking point in the story). And thanks for the idea, and yes once this part 1 is done I will post an author's note declaring a second part so people can still continue and follow (and likely change the title of this one to TLBTM part 1 specifically once I reach that point). Lol I just saw your nevermind- I wasn't aware that one could review twice! I'm glad you are enjoying it, and I will update as real life allows :)

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- I NEVER in my wildest dreams thought this story would get so big, and I've gained some wonderful friends through the course of this journey! You guys are amazing! :D