Gandalf and Radagast were talking quietly off to the side whilst the rest of the Company dawdled impatiently, waiting to pack up their belongings, saddle the ponies and set off.

You are standing with Fili and Kili, and the two are quite the entertainers. Presently, they are sneakily throwing acorns at the back of Dwalin's head, and quickly facing the other way when he turns around in annoyance. Kili hands you an acorn, eyes sparkling with mischief.

"50 points if you get it right in the middle!" He whispers conspiratorially, but you return the acorn with a shake of your head. Now was no time for games.

You watch Thorin out of the corner of your eye, and every so often you would sneak a glance in his direction. He was talking to Balin about some matter or the other, but then Balin moved away to talk to Dwalin, and the conversation ended. Nerves pricked your stomach and you made your way over towards Thorin, where he was standing quietly near an outcropping of rock.

"Hey," you greeted him nervously, and he made no response, looking around at anything but you. An icy cold feeling began to settle in your stomach.

"Look, Thorin, we need to talk. I've got some explaining to do, and I'd prefer to do it sooner rather than later."

You are met with only silence. Frustration and anger start to set in, like barbs piercing your skin.

"You can't just continue to ignore me and pretend I'm not there!" You exclaimed irritably "Do you think I want this?"

"You've seemed fine with it for the past sixty years." Thorin's voice was low, but with a steely edge.

"Oh my!" You fake exclaimedglaring at him. Everyone was staring in your direction now, their eyes boring holes in your back.

"He actually deigns to speak to me! Ignoring me isn't going to solve anything, because like it or not, I'm here to stay. And if you'd give me a chance to explain instead of automatically judging me, maybe you would understand!"

"Do you think I wanted to stay away?" Your voice breaks on the last sentence, and tears stung your eyes.

"Do you really doubt my love for you, Thorin?"

"I have every reason to doubt your love! " Thorin roared, his face a haze of anger and pain, like an injured wolf.

"You rejected me, then disappeared! I thought you were dead, and now you're back and expect everything to go back to normal!" His face was mere centimetres from yours, and his words cut you like knives.

"He doesn't love you," the voice in your head whispered. "He loathes you for leaving him. How could you have ever hoped he would forgive you?"

Your last hopes began to crumble into ash, and you felt your face crumple. This was not how you had planned things to go at all.

"Well then I'd best be leaving," You finally say, gathering your belongings. It was time to give up. Thorin obviously didnt want you here.

"Y/N!" Gandalf exclaims, calling after you as you stride back towards Thorin, who has his back to you, ignoring your antics.

"I come back here to try and fix this, but I see that cannot be."Tears sting your eyes, and your throat tightens.

Thorin looks over his shoulder at you, and then notices you're crying. His face immediately dropped at the sight of your tears, and he turned around, reaching out and grabbing your shoulder, fingers digging into your skin.

"Y/N, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he started, but you pull yourself from his grip, shaking your head. Gandalf was wrong- Thorin, the one person who had never pushed you away, had now done so. It was all too much to bear.

Suddenly there was a loud howling noise, and a dark shape appeared behind Thorin. You screamed as a warg bore down on the pair of you, ghashing it's razor sharp teeth.

Immediately, Thorin drew his sword and finished the creature off with a few choice swipes.

Another warg appeared, but was quickly brought down by Kili's archery skills and Dwalin's axes.

"Warg scouts!" Thorin called out to the Company, wiping his bloody sword on the monster's hide. "Which means an orc pack is not far behind!"

"Orc Pack?!" exclaimed Bilbo Baggins, shock and fear covering his face.

"Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf barked at Thorin as he approached, Radagast at his heels.

"No one," Thorin growled.

"Who did you tell?!" Gandalf's tone became angrier.

"The ponies!" cried Ori in despair as he rejoined the Company. "They've all bolted!"

A sense of panic suddenly overtook the Company. "You are being hunted," Gandalf told Thorin grimly.

"How do we get out of here?"

"I'll draw them off," volunteered Radagast. Did this batty, animal-loving wizard have a death wish?!

"These are Gundabad wargs," Gandalf warned gravely. "They will outrun you."

"And these are Rhosgobel rabbits!" said Radagast, a steely glint of determination in his eyes. "I'd like to see them try."