"My brother, myself and others of our kind came over with Gandalf and his kind," Beorn started, looking into the fire. "He was still young then, a new born in my eyes. But even before we came here he had seen and known too much. In the Old Lands, we had been at war with those of our kind who thought we should use our gifts to control all the lands. We defeated them, but it was at a cost and we became homeless. A once bright, hopeful civilization, we were reduced to just a few. Thankfully, the wizards knew us and offered us a new start. We gladly took it. We could not know, however, that we were leaving one war to start another. Bilbo…..all he had known was fighting, was loss and pain. He was talented for our kind, capable of many forms, of being able to flow from one to the next. It made him perfect for battle. I didn't want that, not for him. We watched our parents be slaughtered, our siblings burned before our eyes. We were all we had left and I had hoped that would be enough. But Bilbo…..Bilbo had used his gifts to kill our kind. He had not thought anything of it till we came here and watched the nations rip each other apart. He watched those of the same species destroy each other. I think what made him snap…"

Here Beorn had to pause, pressing a fist to his mouth, collecting himself, "We had traveled with the elves, hoping to find at least one wizard among the ranks. The elves were camping for the night in the woods near a human settlement. The humans did not know we were there, but that did not matter. The elves asked Bilbo and myself to go scout out the settlement, make sure that the dark forces had taken up residence there. We arrived in time to witness the execution of a father of six with a seventh on the way. We stayed only long enough to watch the middle son hold his father's head high before ordering the death's of the rest of his family. It hit Bilbo harder than I thought. He with drew, from me and from the others we had come to call friends. He remembered what he had done in the Old Lands, what he was doing here. He was sick of fighting. When he went with to fight the dragons…..I thought I had lost my brother that day."

Beorn fixed his eyes on Thorin, "He and a group of elves had gone to aid a village battle a dragon that lived in the nearby mountains. I got word later that it was not just one dragon, but a mother and her young. The mother, being old, was easily defeated by the elves. The young were another matter. A few escaped, disappearing into the wild. One was a firedrake named Smaug. He was the last, the elves told me, to leave, after watching Bilbo and his older sister fall into the mountains, their cries echoing so loudly you could feel the earth shaking many leagues away. They found her body, they did not find Bilbo's. I thought he was dead. I thought I had lost my brother…."

"It felt as if the world had fallen out beneath you and there was nothing that could catch you," Thorin whispered.

"Yes," Beorn nodded sadly, focusing back on the fire. "I wandered alone for some time, before I came upon this place called the Shire. It was peaceful, in its own way. And there, I smelled him. I will always know his smell. We cried worse than new born babes when I finally found him. He was hurting, physically and mentally. We were done fighting, done meddling with others. We needed rest. I let him have this, his green land. He was keeping them safe, keeping the borders safe so they could have peace. I went and created this place, keeping this little space safe for others. We were done with wars and politics. But it seems…you are changing that, aren't you?"

"I….I didn't know," Thorin breathed out, blinking away a tear. "If I had known….."

"You would've what? Not let him come? No, Thorin Oakenshield, I don't think you would've changed a thing. Maybe would have used those abilities of his, maybe gotten yourselves killed. What is done is done. What we can do now is plan out this trip of yours properly. You have a dragon to kill and my brother has decided to help. It won't be easy, but you dwarves won't be alone," Beorn nodded to himself.

"What do you mean?" Thorin looked at Beorn.

"You think I will leave my brother to be protected by you lot? I trust you with his heart, but not with his life. Not yet. You'll need more than a few axes and one shape-shifter to take down Smaug. You've got Laketown to worry about as well, and Mirkwood. Those elves won't take kindly to you. Legolas, the prince, may be of some help, but his father….well."

"Thrandruil has made it clear what he will and will not do for us," Thorin growled. "He abandoned us once, he will do it again."

"His mind is not in the right place. To get through Mirkwood you will need me. From there….well, then the adventure truly begins," Beorn smiled.