They walked the entire day until they couldn't walk anymore. Fili wasn't sure where they were; he had never been this far away from the village. But he led them on. He hoped they would run into some sign of civilization soon.

Sometime near dusk, Fili could swear that he heard the sounds of rushing water somewhere close by. A river or a stream. The day had brought misery in this relentless heatwave, and Fili's wound ached terribly. Finally, some hope for some direction.

"Are you alright, Brother?" Kili asked as they arrived in a small clearing. Fili tried to suppress a wince and smiled reassuringly at Kili.

"Yes," he said. In truth, the wound hadn't been that deep and had stopped bleeding long ago, but the dull ache that resonated from the wound was slowly growing more painful. Fili knew that infection was a possibility, but with no supplies, there was not much he could do about it. Besides, he was the leader of this group now; he couldn't afford to be weak and falter because of a small wound. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

Kili didn't look convinced but didn't press the issue. He didn't feel much like talking anyway. They were all still shell shocked over the events that led them into this situation. There had been no further signs of orcs, but no signs of dwarves either. Fili hoped that Thorin had survived, but that hope began to dim.

"We will camp here," Fili said firmly, turning to look at Ori and Gimli, "Ori, go find that water source, Gimli, you can help me start a fire, and Kili, I'll need you to hunt for something to eat."

"I don't have many arrows left," Kili said, holding his bow, "I used them all on orcs."

"Well then, make sure you don't miss," Fili snapped harshly. Kili gave him a look of surprise but sighed and hurried off to do as he was told. Fili squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment to try to compose himself. He could feel the pressure mounting inside of him. He had to lead them; he had to take care of them. He'd never been in this kind of situation before, but he knew he couldn't fail.

Ori whimpered a bit as his arm dangled painfully to his side. Fili sighed.

"Ori…" Fili said, and the young Dwarf looked at him, "Nevermind, Gimli can go get the water. You stay here and help me with the fire."

"No, I can do it," Ori insisted, "it's just… I don't have anything to carry it back in."

"We should camp on the river itself," Gimli put in as he wandered the small clearing, gathering firewood.

"No, we'll be easier to track down that way," Fili explained. "Animals and orcs could be traveling along the river and see our fire."

Gimli grumbled and put the wood down and hurried off to carry out Fili's instructions. Fili turned to Ori, "Here, let me see your arm, Ori," Fili instructed, coming over.

"No, it's fine," Ori insisted, looking a little scared at the thought, "It's fine."

"No, it isn't," Fili snapped again. He wasn't in the mood for any challenges. He hoped it wasn't too apparent to the others how stressed he felt.

Ori winced and sat down in the grass and allowed Fili to inspect his arm. As Fili kneeled, he felt the stabbing pain in his side again, but bit back a wince and ignored it. Ori's dark eyes gazed at him with concern.

"I'm fine," he assured him, looking over his arm. It was broken, the bone was visible just under Ori's elbow. Ori winced hard as he tried to move it. Fortunately, it hadn't broken through the skin.

It was good that Oin had taught the young Dwarves the basics of wilderness care. Thorin thought it necessary since they spent so much time out in the forest. Today, Fili was grateful that he paid attention to Oin's boring lessons. Set the bone , he remembered. Set it and get a splint .

"I'm going to have to set it," he said to Ori as he glanced around and picked out some sticks from the pile of firewood. Ori looked frightened at this idea, but Fili ignored him. He felt terrible for the pain he was about to inflict on his friend, but he had no choice.

"Okay," Fili said, taking a breath to compose himself as he grabbed the bones, "Let's just do it and get it over with…" and without further warning, he pulled hard and manipulated the bone back into place.

Ori led out a scream so loud it scared a few robins that were nesting in the tree above them. Fili quickly tore off a piece of his tunic and splinted Ori's arm, making him a makeshift sling.

"Sorry…" Fili said as he worked, "I'll get busy on our fire."

"... too hot for fire…" Ori gasped, "Must we?"

"Well, the temperature will drop once the sun goes down," Fili reasoned, "And besides, we'll need light, and I'm sure whatever Kili catches will need to be cooked."

Ori nodded as Fili went to work, building a spot for the fire. Sweat gathered on his brow as his movements caused agony. He took a few breaths to beat down the waves of pain as he piled the firewood up.

"Kindling," he muttered to himself, "We need something to start the fire with."

"Bombur says you have to rub some sticks together," Ori said, "I could show you how."

"Here," Came Gimli's voice. Fili looked up to see Gimli carrying a large tortoiseshell filled with water.

"The river isn't too far from here," he explained, "I had to find something to carry water back in. I found this shell, seems it's own must have gotten caught by predators."

"Good," Fili said as Gimli set the water down and hurried over to help Fili, "Ori was about to show me how to get the fire going."

"I know how," Gimli said, "You can rest."

Fili wanted to protest. He didn't want to rest; he had to take care of everyone, after all. Kili hadn't come back yet, and Fili was starting to get a little concerned. But his wound made itself known, so he reluctantly sat beside Ori and watched Gimli work.

A few hours passed, and Fili was getting nervous. He fiddled with his hunting knife and watched the trees constantly.

"You don't think the orcs could have gotten him?" Ori pondered, and Fili shot him an angry glance. He was barely containing his feelings of guilt over sending his brother out there alone. He should have gone himself.

"I hope he didn't get lost," Gimli said, "Maybe we should go look for him?"

"I can't risk losing someone else!" Fili retorted, not hiding the anxiety from his voice.

But finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kili emerged from the trees, holding his jerkin in his arms. Fili ignored the pain and rushed over to him.

"Where were you!" he demanded angrily, "You had me worried sick!"

"Hunting, like you, asked me to," Kili responded, "Only I couldn't find anything. It's too hot; animals are moving on… so I had to travel further."

"I can't lose you too," Fili continued to shout, "Just don't be so foolish next time!" Fili winced as he said those words. He didn't mean to say them, but it was too late. Kili glared at him,

"I was doing what you wanted me to!" He bit out, shoving his jerkin at Fili before stomping past him to get to camp. Fili glanced down to see some walnuts, berries, and grasshoppers contained inside the jerkin.

Fili sighed and closed his eyes tight, trying to soothe his raging emotions. He was losing control, he knew. This was too much, too much for him to handle. He was lashing out at his closest friends because he was scared.

Silently, he brought Kili's catch over to camp. His brother sat quietly, staring at the fire and didn't even look up at him. Gimli and Ori were too uneasy about speaking either. Sighing, Fili poured all the food out onto a flat rock and set it close to the fire to roast.

"We have to eat bugs…" Ori complained, but was silenced by a glare from Fili.

"We have to eat what we can get," he said shortly, "No complaining." He divided the food and gave everyone a share before putting an amount aside for later. They might have to conserve what they found.

It was a quiet dinner. No one said a word. And when it was over, Fili watched his brother get up and go lay down in the grass, his back to everyone.

"Get some sleep," he told Ori and Gimli, "I'll take first watch."

"You should rest," Gimli said, "I can take first watch. I-"

"No," Fili interjected hotly, "I'll do it. I'll wake you up in a few hours. Just get some sleep."

"What is going to happen to us?" Ori asked honestly, as he and Gimli both lay down in the grass, "Where are we going to go now?"

"We don't have anywhere to go," Gimli responded. Fili watched them silently as they eventually drifted off to sleep.

Fili sighed as he glanced in the direction of Kili. Though he appeared asleep, Fili could tell he wasn't. Taking a breath, the golden-haired Dwarf slowly got to his feet and moved to sit beside his brother.

"Kili?" he whispered. Kili ignored him. Fili lay down in the grass beside him and waited, silently. Eventually, Kili turned around to face him.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper," Fili said softly, "I was just scared that something had happened to you. I shouldn't have told you to go."

Kili didn't say anything for a long time, just stared at Fili. Fili swallowed hard as he began to think his brother wasn't going to forgive him. A hard lump formed in his throat as he tried to hold back tears.

But then, Kili scooted over and into Fili's arms, and Fili eagerly embraced him. He didn't realize how bad he needed that, and he let his tears flow freely. Kili's body quivered a bit as he wept too. They both lay there silently for a long time, shedding tears for those they had lost and for each other.

"What's going to happen, Fee?" Kili asked softly after a while, "I'm scared."

"I'm scared too," Fili admitted, "But I am going to take care of you, I promise. We'll stick together no matter what. The four of us."

I promise … He thought to himself, over and over as he held his little brother in his arms. He'd take care of them no matter what.

"I miss Mother…" Kili sniffed, and Fili blinked back more tears, "And Uncle…"

"I know," the golden-haired Dwarf said, "So do I…"

As the night wore on, Fili stared up at the sky, at the stars far above them. Though their situation was dire, he didn't know where they were going, his wound still hurt terribly, and he missed his family very much, he suddenly began to feel much better. Somehow, holding his brother tight, protecting him from the world and its dangers, Fili began to recognize his determination. They'd get through this because Fili would see to it.

… that is until Fili heard the rustling in the bushes. Instantly, he was brought back to reality as he sat up, causing Kili to jump up as well.

"What is it?" Kili asked wearily.

"Something's in the woods," Fili said and then tried to get up. He winced hard as he struggled to his feet- with Kili's help. Kili looked at him with concern, but a stick cracking nearby forced him to focus.

Quickly, the two brothers withdrew their weapons and readied themselves as the thing came out of the forest…

"Thorin!"