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 lynx had not expected to be hit, and as the branch collided with its side, it knocked the large cat off of the bleeding dwarf. The lynx quickly recovered from the surprise attack, clamoring to its feet with a snarl.

Cirashala immediately stepped in between a gasping Kili and the now angry animal, holding the jagged end of the branch in front of her.

"Get away!" she growled as loud as she could, swinging at the snarling beast. The lynx jumped back slightly as it swung a paw at the branch, baring its teeth in a guttural growl. Not knowing what else to do, Cirashala simply growled back, her eyes flashing.

The lynx changed its approach then, calculating eyes assessing its opponent. Cirashala stood her ground, turning her body slightly as her eyes never left the wild cat. The animal stalked back and forth, Kili's blood dripping from its mouth and staining the fur on its paws, and she could see the sheer power in its front legs.

A low growl emitted from deep within the animal's throat, and she swung again, hitting the side of its face. Ears laid back on its head as the animal turned, and it darted toward her, only to be struck again. Anger flashed in its eyes, and the large cat snarled, before growling loudly.

Cirashala knew she was in a very precarious situation. She was keeping the lynx away from its intended prey, which was incredibly dangerous on her part, but it was only a matter of time before the cat decided to pounce. She knew that cats liked to play with their food, and had a sneaky suspicion that this lynx was toying with her. The young woman knew that if it jumped, she, like Kili, would get knocked down as well, and if that happened then there was a good chance that neither of them would make it out of this alive.

Another rustle in the woods sounded to the east. Cirashala was unwilling to take her eyes off the beast, whose ears pricked and eyes turned toward the sound. Risking a glance toward the same direction the lynx looked as a flash of gold caught her eye, the sight made the blood in her veins freeze into ice as the color drained from her face.

"Kili, get her out of here!"

XXX

The child stood frozen, her bright blue eyes as wide as saucers as she looked at the bloody animal.

She was a tiny thing, her homespun brown dress hanging loosely on her thin frame. Her pale, dirty face was framed by long blonde curls ending in two braids on either side, and her feet were encased in deer hide boots laced up. She held a handmade basket filled with greens and nuts, and her hands were stained from picking them. The basket she held was visibly trembling in her fear.

Kili's eyes widened as he caught sight of her, and his pain filled brown eyes flew back toward the now very angry lynx. Cirashala had moved to place herself between both him and the child, but the dwarf knew that she would not be able to fend off the snarling cat much longer, especially if it decided to charge.

His eyes landing on a tree near the frightened girl, he remembered their narrow escape from the orcs a few days prior. His body hurt more than he ever thought possible, and the forest was beginning to spin as his blood dripped onto the ground from his many wounds, but he would be dead before he ever allowed harm to come to a child.

With as much strength as he had left, the young prince rolled onto his side. Pushing up from the ground, he shakily managed to get himself on his feet. He could see Cirashala swinging her branch at the lynx, who was trying at every turn to get around her to get to the child.

The animal's stance shifted suddenly, its front legs coiled, and Kili's eyes widened in alarm.

"Cira, look out!"

XXX

Just as Kili cried out, the animal charged. Sideswiping the young woman, it pounced over Cirashala's branch and made for the little girl. A scream rent through the air as the child dropped the basket, arms coming up to cover her face, when strong arms wrapped around her and plucked her off the ground.

"Hold on to me tight," Kili whispered in her ear as he ran toward the tree, hoping that his voice would soothe the child, rather than having them both panic. The child grabbed his neck in a near chokehold, tears streaming down her face as she began to cry.

He reached the tree, and quickly swung the frightened girl into the first branch, before hoisting himself up as well.

"Kili!" Hearing the snarl directly behind him, he swung his boot out, kicking the lynx in the face as it tried to leap into the tree. The animal fell backward onto the ground, and was promptly greeted with a hit from a branch.

"Get back!" Cirashala growled at the beast, her own arm bleeding from the sideswipe. She managed to move herself between the lynx and the tree, but the young dwarf could see the pain in her white face, and the branch trembling in her hands.

"Cira, you need to g-get up here!" he gasped, tucking the child between him and the trunk of the tree. Turning toward her, he noticed her eyes wide with fright as she stared at his bloody arms and chest.

"Hold-hold onto the tree, little one," he said gently, grasping her hand and placing it around a smaller branch near her, gently turning her head away from the bloody sight. "Like this." The child sniffled, hiccupping through her tears.

"I…wan'…gramma," she said in a shaking voice, her accent a bit strange to his ears though she spoke Westron.

Kili nodded, before his eyes fell back on Cirashala, worry in the brown orbs even as the forest began to spin even harder.

XXX

Cirashala stood up in a panic after the lynx got past her, racing behind it as quickly as she could get to her feet.

"Kili!" she cried, and was relieved to see him kick the lynx back down in response. Bringing her branch up, she swung it as hard as she could at the animal before it had a chance to get back on its feet. Stepping between the trunk of the tree and it, she continued to swing at it, though her limited strength was waning fast.

"C-Cira," Kili gasped above her. "G-get up in-in the tree!"

Her heart began to pound from the effort of holding back the enraged animal, and her swings were getting slower as her arms began to feel the strain. Her hand was throbbing with a vengeance, grasping the branch even though it was broken.

With one last cry, she all out threw the branch at the lynx, who sprawled in the dirt at the impact, before running and jumping into the tree. Kili managed to grab her arms, straining as he tried to pull her up out of the lynx's reach.

She could hear the growling behind her, and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for it to pounce on her and its claws to sink in her flesh.

XXX

Meril looked up from the stubborn root she was digging up, sensing something amiss. Freida's laughter no longer carried through the trees, causing the old woman's brow to furrow with concern.

She was a curious child of five, who often wandered when they went out gathering nuts and roots. But her laughter and excited chatter would always allow Meril to know where her granddaughter was, and she never wandered out of sight.

Standing up and brushing her skirt off, she grew silent as she listened closely, once again thanking the gods that her hearing had not diminished with age. She had lived in forests all her long life, and knew the sounds of nature quite well. She could name any tune a woodland bird sang, any track a forest animal made, and could tell whether a piece of wood had been cut recently or long ago.

Today the forest sounded different. She could hear her horse neigh as it grazed in the meadow a hundred paces east of her location, the animal a sturdy yet somewhat skittish one. But it was not that sound she concentrated on, but rather a faint growling sound further west.

Suddenly, a strange scream echoed through the trees, one that clearly belonged to no animal. A distinct growling followed, and the old woman immediately recognized the sound as a lynx. Quickly drawing her bow, she made for the direction the growling and screams came from, her heart pounding out of worry for her little one.

She did not even bother with retrieving her horse, as the stupid thing would likely spook anyway.

XXX

Cirashala braced for the painful tearing of flesh, but a familiar twang sounded in the bushes, followed by an animal's scream and a loud thud.

She looked down over her shoulder, eyes widening in surprise as a speckled brown fletched arrow protruded from the chest of the lynx, its eyes finally devoid of any life. Panting as the adrenaline coursed through her, she allowed herself to release Kili's slippery hold on her and slide back to the ground. Heart pounding as she sank to her knees, she shakily reached out to poke the lynx, letting out a breath of relief that there was no reaction.

The child looked down with wide, tear-filled eyes at the dead carcass, and as soon as she saw the fletching, her head immediately shot up.

"Gramma!" she cried, looking around the bushes. "Gramma, where are you?"

Cirashala looked up as a tall woman with white hair stepped out from behind a tree into the small clearing where they were at. She was clad much the same as the child, in homespun brown with deerskin boots, and her two long white braids reached to her waist. Her eyes were the same bright blue, though sunk in a very wrinkled face, their large orbs filled with long years of memory. Despite her obvious age, she held herself upright, and moved with little trouble toward the tree, her eyes wide with worry as she saw the bright red blood all over the child's body.

"Freida!" she cried, racing towards the child, who now held outstretched arms toward her, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. Kili's eyes followed the action, quickly realizing that the two were kin, and with a pained grunt, moved the child in front of him to pass her down to the old woman.

The woman took her quickly, holding her close as tears flowed down her wizened cheeks. Pulling away slightly, alarmed eyes took in the child's form.

"Frieda, are you hurt?" she asked. "Where is it bleeding, child?" The child sniffed, rubbing the back of her bloodied hand against her nose, before pointing at Kili.

"On him," she sobbed. Three pairs of eyes turned toward the now deathly pale young dwarf, who was swaying badly on the branch he sat on. The child's eyes grew wide.

"Mister, you have to hang on, or you're gonna—" her words were cut off as the dwarf slumped over, his limp form falling out of the tree and landing on the hard ground with a loud thud.

XXX

Cirashala's eyes widened as Kili fell, and quickly scooted over to him, eyes wide with panic at the amount of blood seeping through the gashes on his chest and bites on his hands. Pressing down on what seemed to be the most heavily bleeding one, she looked up at the old woman, who had begun to wipe the blood off the child's face.

"Help me please!" she cried, tears filling her eyes as the stress of the attack finally took its toll. The blue eyes turned toward her, distrust in them as her gaze roamed over the pair, seeming to take a particular interest in Kili's face and hands. Not saying a word, she turned and blew a sharp whistle through her teeth.

Cirashala's tear stained face turned as the sound of a hooves approaching reached her ears. A large black horse came out of the bushes, a rough braided bridle and a woven blanket being the only tack it wore.

The woman approached the animal and set the child atop it, before moving to mount it herself, not sparing the pair another glance. The young woman's eyes grew wide as realization dawned on her.

"Please," she begged, tears once again falling on her cheeks. "Please don't leave us! We need help! Please!" The woman paused, glancing over her shoulder. Their eyes locked, and Cirashala's heart sank at her expression.

"Please," she whispered, looking down at Kili. Her gaze came up and landed on the child, and her eyes widened as she looked at the pair.

Kin…

"Please," she whispered again, taking Kili's hand as he gasped and coughed for air. "Don't let my brother die."

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A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan: I'm glad you liked it :) I had a LOT of trouble putting this chapter together. I didn't want Beorn to find them, because in bear form he's incredibly unpredictable, and his animal instincts would have kicked in at the smell of blood I think, and they wouldn't have had a prayer after that. I had definitely considered it, but after thinking about it I don't think it would have worked. And since there are wild animals in the wild, as that also makes sense, I picked one native to the mountainous regions of Europe, since Tolkien had the idea that ME was actually a very, very long time ago in our world, specifically in present day Europe. And lynxes are nasty, nasty predators to get in a tangle with!

A response to guest reviewer Alana: I will, don't worry :) Hopefully by the time you've read this, you might have an inkling of why I had this chapter go down the way it did :) And while I am not necessarily meaning to dishearten you, if you are getting that way then it tells me I'm emoting well, as you are feeling what the characters are ;) Thanks for the compliment on writing style :) I relish in details and description, because it has always made me feel as though I were really there in a novel when I read.

Thanks to all who review, favorite and follow! You guys are fantastic! I couldn't have gotten this far without you! And special thanks to Library Ghost for getting me out of the major snag I had last chapter! Without her it wouldn't have gotten posted anytime soon! :D