I'm not sure if this is where the Author's Notes belong, but I guess I'll add them here all the same.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not thanking any of you any earlier than chapter 7, I'm so, so, so sorry!

Then, well, Thank you (sorry, no other way I could think of to put it *sheepish grin*), for taking time to read and follow the story so far, I sincerely hope you're enjoying it! :)

I'll try and uptade it every Friday, and I can already guarantee that I won't be abandoning the story in mid drama (I know how it feels to love an unfinished story, it's quite frustrating in a sense, and I'll try and spare you that!). I've gotten most of it written already, but I'd rather do weekly updates, so I can go over what I've done and give you the best version possible.

As for typographical errors, I apologize already if there are some you come across. I really don't know why there are so many. I mean, I check the document in Word, and go over it to make sure there are no spelling mistakes, but once I upload it to FanFiction, it just goes and deletes words and stuff, it's so frustrating! (Grr! ^^)

Well, other than that, here's chapter seven, in which we get a little more into the story, with Bilbo, Fili, Kili and Thorin. And for those of you who have a soft spot for angsty Fili, fear not, for there is lots more to come. ;)

The company rode on for the whole of the rest of the day, and not one of them could deny that their legs were especially sore once they stopped to rest, not even Thorin. They'd managed to go a good distance and as night fell, they found a small rock formation that he deemed good enough for spending the night in. After getting Bombur to look after their soup, and tending to his pony, they all gathered around a fire that Kili had made and ate while discussing their plans for tomorrow.

To his dismay, he noticed that Bilbo, who was sitting in between Ori and Fili, looked as lost as ever, not having the slightest clue as to what all these places they were talking about meant. His outburst from earlier about the handkerchief had already put Thorin on edge, and he was beginning to seriously doubt Gandalf's ability to choose wisely. Although, he'd noticed how Fili had constantly been around their burglar, at least someone was getting something out of the hobbit, even if the dwarf leader couldn't imagine what Fili could possibly see in the small hobbit.

A part of him was hurt about how his nephew had been so taken by the Halfling, spending almost as much time around Bilbo as he did around him or even Kili, and he knew how inseparable those two were.

Bilbo seemed to notice Thorin's stare on him, and it unsettled him. He knew the dwarf leader didn't want him here, he didn't want a lost hobbit mingling in with his dwarven companions. And so Bilbo got up, using stretching as an excuse to get away from the uneasy stare.

After setting his bowl down next to Bombur and the pot containing their evening meal, he decided that he needed a distraction. Looking around, his eyes fell on Myrtle who was happily grazing a little out of the camp, the pony he'd been given to ride along on his adventure. Is was as good as an excuse than any, and picking up an apple from around the fire, he made his way to the small animal.

To be honest with himself, it also got him farther away from Thorin, and the more distance they had between each other, the better, for now anyway. It wasn't that Bilbo disliked Thorin, on the contrary, he could almost say that he admired the dwarf leader, it was just that Thorin didn't seem too taken by their burglar, and Bilbo didn't want to give him an occasion to have Thorin's image of him crumble even further.

Slowly, he passed through the resting ponies before finding his own chestnut one. It was the smallest of the lot, but Bilbo didn't really mind. Looking around, as if to make sure nobody would catch him, he took the apple out of his pocket, and dusted it off his sleeve. Truly, he wouldn't have minded taking a bite out of it himself, but it was for Myrtle, and Bilbo thought she deserved it after the hard day the poor pony had had, carrying both him and the extra packages.

Giving her the apple, he smiled as the beast ate it, without thinking twice. Although he had been afraid of the pony when he'd realized he'd have to ride one, and even more so when Kili and Fili had picked him up and, to put it bluntly, just dropped him onto it's back, he'd eventually quite enjoyed the ride, and Myrtle was indeed a very nice pony. At least she was much calmer than Nori's speckled one, who kept moving it's head around as if it were constantly chased by flies, the poor dwarf had had a hard time in the saddle.

As he was petting her forehead gently, he was startled when he heard a noise out there, in the wild, and a most unsettling one at that. He looked back at the company for reassurance, and found them as calm as ever, as if it had just only been a bird chirping.

"What was that?" the hobbit asked uneasily. The sound had given him chills, and the little fire Kili and Fili had lit didn't comfort him in the slightest, especially if there was some kind of great beast out there, lurking in the shadows, just waiting for them to fall asleep before devouring them one by one.

"Orcs" Kili simply replied, looking around too, as if he were trying to spot them. Bilbo stopped dead in his tracks, he hadn't signed up to fight monsters like that! It was already hard enough to deal with a grumpy Thorin as a leader, no second breakfast and aches from riding Myrtle, now he had to put up with orcs too? Did these dwarves think he was some kind of super-hobbit? Because he most certainly wasn't.

Fili, on the other hand, immediately got the joke his brother wanted to play, and thought it would be a good idea to join in. After all, the company could use a bit of fun, couldn't they?

"Throat-cutters" he added, as if it were common knowledge to anyone "There'll be dozens of them out there. The low lands are crawling with them." Oh! The look on Bilbo's face was priceless!

"They strike, in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams." Kili continued, thoroughly enjoying himself. "Just lots of blood." He added in a whisper, as to truly startle their unfortunate companion. But he couldn't keep it in, turning towards his brother, they both laughed when they caught each other's eye, that was a good prank they'd pulled off!

"You think that's funny?" A hard voice cut through their merriment, and Fili fell silent. Of course Thorin wouldn't agree to have fun on such a matter. "You think that a night raid by orcs is a joke?" he continued, staring at them harshly, obviously not taking kindly to what they were laughing about. It wasn't in Bilbo's defense that he told them to stop their nonsense, it was because Thorin thought his nephews should have known better, his eldest especially.

"Sorry Uncle" Fili apologized, looking down. He knew better than to argue with Thorin, it was a lost cause anyway. He and his brother had tried ample times already, as to try and get out of trouble when they were slightly younger. In the end, it just landed them in a worse situation then they'd been before.

"You know nothing of the world!" their Uncle almost spat, leaving the fire and walking to the cliff edge, staring out at the night sky.

Balin tried to comfort them, saying they shouldn't pay attention to their leader's words, but Fili knew better. Being Thorin's heir meant no joking around, and orcs was definitely not something Thorin would laugh about. He could recall how his uncle had vowed to kill one of them, Azog The Defiler he'd been calling him, or the Pale Orc as he was more commonly known, and how he'd been so relieved when he'd learnt of his death. He knew Thorin had some kind of revenge he wanted against that particular beast, but his Uncle had never explicitly told him the whole story behind all the hatred.

Thinking about it just made him feel worse, on top of scaring poor Bilbo out of his mind, he'd also hurt his Uncle with his stupid joke. He knew apologizing to Thorin would do no good, his Uncle was too stubborn to accept any, unless his name was Thranduil King of the Woodland realm apologizing for abandoning the dwarves in the mid-battle against orcs, and even at that, he couldn't be certain his Uncle would ever find it in himself to forgive the elf lord.

The rest of the company, who had fallen deathly quiet after Thorin's outburst, and had only started to move again, decided to turn in for the night, it would probably be best for everyone. With Gandalf taking the first watch, they let sleep overpower them one by one, 'till none were left awake, not even the rowdy Dwalin.

However, little did they all know that on the cliff just across from where they had all peacefully drifted off, one of Thorin's old acquaintances was much closer than any of them could imagine…