Thorin decided that the company would take the next few days taking it easy, and by taking it easy that means still travelling but trying to not get attacked. Which was totally fine by Cheyenne she had, had enough excitement for quite a while and she knew the worse was yet to come. It was a particularly sunny day which was good since it was just starting to get cool in the mornings and evening, they were on the cusp of winter and it could be seen almost everywhere you look. The leaves were starting to crisp around the edges ever so slightly, Cheyenne couldn't help but think about this as they made their way down the leaf strown pathway.

"Is it time for me to start stretching and get ready to run?" Fili said from her right his voice was joking with just the slightest hint of seriousness.

Cheyenne raised an eyebrow at him this had broken her out of her daydreaming, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, "what are you talking about?"

"You always have that look before things jump out and try to kill us, I learned to recognize it that way I can be ready" he chuckled softly, twirling his mustache braids between his fingers.

"No need to run" Cheyenne smiled weakly "yet" she whispered softly enough that he did not hear her. In fact she wasn't completely sure herself when they would need to start running again. Neither the movies or the book gave a lot of detail about exactly how much time passed between certain events. She knew that they would meet Beorn at some point probably soon but when exactly she was unsure, so best be on her toes. The past few days she had let her guard down some, laughing with the dwarves and asking Bilbo all sorts of questions about Hobbiton.

While she was zoned out a large arm was slung over her shoulder, it was Kili, "I have a question for you?"

"Okay…" she was worried where this was about to go, knowing Kili it could go anywhere, her eyes flicked quickly to Fili and back.

He moved a stray strand of hair out of his face "why do you look more and more upset the closer we get to the mountain?"

This caught her off guard she had not been expecting this question, though she probably should have, she had always been bad at hiding her feelings. "Oh do I?" smooth "guess the thought of the dragon is getting to me" I bet he totally bought that, not.

He gave her the 'I don't believe one word you just said' look but thankfully as he went to reply Thorin's voiced boomed from the front of the company. "We need a scout to make sure we don't have anymore unexpected visitors" he looked around and his eyes settled on Bilbo. "Mr. Baggins seeing as you are out burglar, this should be a perfect opportunity to show off your skills." Bilbo shuddered slightly but nodded and with a last look back disappeared into the trees ahead.

"Well lassy make yourself comfortable, we won't be going anywhere until Bilbo comes back with news" Balin who was behind Cheyenne had come up beside her on the left.

This was it, she thought, this had to be where Bilbo saw Beorn and they would have to make a run for it. "Please stop looking so worried, you are going to give me an ulcer" Kili huffed and took her hands in a pleading manner.

Before she could reply that there were a lot of things to worry about Fili was beside his brother and chimed in. "You aren't from Middle Earth instead of worrying, why don't you enjoy the surroundings most never get to see this much of it."

These words hit her like a punch to the stomach, he was right, she had spent so much time worrying about what was going to happen she had forgotten where she was. She had always to visit Middle Earth and even though it wasn't under the circumstances she would have preferred this was going to be her only chance to ever see it, so why one earth was she wasting it. "You're right" she said firmly, "I need to enjoy my time here with you guys even if it isn't the brightest of circumstances."

"That's the spirit" Kili smiled broadly clapping her on the back.

"When we reclaim the mountain we will show you all around Erebor and it will be amazing" Fili smiled bigger than she had ever seen him smile before, which made her grin herself.

Their joy quickly was shattered as a rustle came from the bushes and Bilbo came barreling through, clearly out of breath. Cheyenne reflexively flung her head back and groaned, just when things were looking up it was time for trouble again. Fili and Kili looked at her but before they could say anything, Bilbo started speaking very fast and out of breath. "They are not to far behind us but they aren't what I'm worried about, I saw something huge and black, a big animal."

Cheyenne flicked her eyes to Gandalf who was rooted to the spot "did it take the shape of a giant bear?" his voice was unsettling even for her and she knew what was about to happen.

"Yes!" Bilbo squeaked "how did you know?" just then a great roar erupted from the forest not that far behind them.

"Run!" Gandalf yelled "quickly" and without seeing if they would follow he tore off as fast as he could which was much faster than Cheyenne expected after all he was in the form of an old man.

You didn't have to tell her twice, she took a deep breath and took off after Gandalf before the rest of the company had even processed what was happening. She heard their feet not that far behind her as she jumped over roots and dodged low hanging tree branches. She felt a sharp pain on her right cheek and instinctively wiped her face with the back of her hand. Blood, of course she was still getting hurt just by running, she heard the roar again and picked up her pace. Gandalf was much faster than her and was quite a bit ahead as a few dwarves past her, even Bombur.

They broke through into a clearing and a small cottage could be seen just behind a small stone wall in a gathering of trees. "There!" Gandalf yelled again and everyone picked up their pace. Just as they made it about halfway there a great roar came again and the sound of branches breaking. Cheyenne didn't dare to turn around but she knew it was Beorn, in bear form, chasing them.

They had cleared the stone fence and she flung herself into the house and as the last dwarf ran in, she saw just how close Beorn really was. The company had thrown themselves against the door trying to hold it shut as the bear snarled and tried to claw his way in. After one of the longest moments of her life, Beorn finally backed off enough for them to latch the door shut.

"What the hell was that?" Thorin bellowed out of breath to Gandalf.

"That Master Dwarf is our host" Gandalf had taken his old tattered gray hat off and was attempting to brush the dirt off of it.

Cheyenne had collapsed onto a giant pile of hay, incredibly worn out. She felt the hay move on either side of her as Fili and Kili followed suit on her sides. "That was nice workout" Fili said light heartedly.

"I never knew you could run so fast, it was pretty fun to watch" Kili chuckled.

Cheyenne rolled her eyes at him "well it's surprising the things you are capable of when you don't want to get mauled by a giant bear."

"If that's the case then I'm interested to see what you are capable of when you don't want to get eaten by a dragon."

Her stomach gave a painful lurch and she supposed Fili could tell because for once he gave his brother a very reproachful look. "He was only joking, the worm is probably dead anyway" Fili tried to sound comforting.

"I'm not going to lie, I am terrified but on the off chance this is my first and last adventure then I don't want to ruin it being scared the whole time." The words left her mouth and she was a bit surprised to hear them, she supposed she had come to this conclusion running from Beorn. If Frodo can do it in like 80 years then so can I, she had to think to herself. Real courage is knowing that you will probably not survive but still deciding to push forward because it is for the best.