Hours had passed, and neither of the brothers had left Fili's room, locked away from the prying eyes and ears of the Mountain. Their chambers were laid out in such a way that the two bedchambers sat next to each other, connected in two ways. One was the door that connected the rooms directly, and the other was the main doors into the private Drawing room they shared. Not wanting to take the risk of someone barging into the Drawing room from the hall, both Durin boys had retreated to Fili's room, hatchling still in his hand.

"We have to tell Uncle. We can't keep a baby dragon here!" Kili repeated for the umpteenth time, almost as if he was trying to convince himself, as well as his brother. Fili knew that their decision making hadn't been working out as well as it could have, and with the lack of conviction and being on the fence with whatever Kili proposed to him for the past few hours, irritation was slowly settling in.

The debate had been swinging from killing the tiny destroyer, to maybe sneaking it out of the mountain and setting it free. The latter seemed impractical though, since doing such a thing would leave the new-born helpless and more than likely to either starve or be eaten by something larger in the area. Which, looked to be almost every other wild creature beyond the mountain. On the plus side, it would get it out of their hair. But when Fili had considered this, the creature had mewled quietly and curled even tighter onto itself, as if knowing the topic of the conversation at hand. Guilt had begun to trickle its ways past his misgivings at that point. It was such a tiny thing, no bigger than a six-week-old kitten. Its scales were by no means close to being the impenetrable armour it's sire had donned. If anything, they looked like a mottle of tiny delicate petals hugging the small amount of muscle and bone that made up its form.

"There is the possibility that it could follow us back to the mountain" Fili injected his brother's continued ramblings. "Or worse. It could be discovered by the humans."

"How is that worse?" his brother scoffed, flopping hazardously back down into the armchair after throwing another log on the fire. "Both Dwarf and Human alike were dealt a crushing blow by Smaug."

"The dealings between Bard and Uncle have not been the smoothest, on all accounts. If not for Bilbo before the battle, an alliance may not have ever been made. As it is, it's clear to all those in the company, and those close to him that Thorin hasn't shaken the Gold sickness completely. After the battle, he began to slip again. You must have noticed it, Kili."

Kili said nothing, staring off to the side like he was connecting the dots to previous happenings and the possible connection to the gold sickness.

Fili took that as a sign to continue.

"If the humans found out that there was offspring of the creature that wrought all that despair on Dale, and then later Lake Town, we could come under persecution. Questions will rise around why we never checked for eggs in the first place. Those against Uncle's right to rule will question his ability and competence."

"But the dragon was killed!"

"Not by dwarven hand. That honour goes to the Lord of Dale, Bard."

"So what? It's not our fault that we didn't think to check for eggs from a male dragon!"

"No, but Bard will want all of Erebor searched none the less to make sure there are no others. And Uncle will have none of that. Humans, tearing apart our mountain to make sure it's the only one? The animosity would shoot through the roof."

"I get it, ok. It'd be even worse if the humans found out, blah blah blah."

"It'd be bad if anyone found out."

Kili shot up in his chair, looking like he had been struck with the greatest idea in the world. The words that came next however, just proved to Fili how wrong that assumption was.

"What if we raised it?!"

He blinked at that goofy grin, not sure he had heard right.

"What?! Kili, are you mad?"

"Think about it, brother! We could be a kingdom that is protected by a dragon! No one could attack us!" He gestured wildly, already imagining the glory.

"That's because we'd most likely be dead" Fili dead-panned, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "What happens when it turns on us and decides it wants the mountain for itself? Just like that Fire Breathing Worm."

"We could teach it not to! That eating dwarves is bad."

Fili loved his bother dearly, would die to protect him. But even he knew Kili could come up with some devastatingly stupid ideas at times. Had it slipped Kili's mind what had happened in the burning of Lake Town? Maybe he had to use another approach.

"And what about Uncle, Brother? You expect him to just go along with this plan?" He pinned his brother with a stare, daring him to argue the fact. "He wouldn't listen, Kili. Uncle witnessed the destruction when Smaug first arrived. Those memories are still fresh with him, as if it was yesterday." Fili knew this, he had seen the dark look that passed over the King when mention of the fire-breather rose. Fili had only heard stories of the incident, and then later seen the destruction when he and the company had taken back their home. He didn't hold a first-hand hatred for the creature. And it was hard to convince himself to do that with how small it was. Maybe, in a different time and place, he would have sat in wonder over having a dragon in his possession. He would have showed it off to the whole of the Blue Mountains with his chest puffed out with pride, his little brother following along beside him looking just as delighted.

Now however, he knew better.

Three years on, the burning of Lake Town still haunted him in his sleep. It had started with just the sight of a flickering flame, setting off in his head the screams of the residences fleeing for their lives. Woman and children crying out, clinging desperately to life, the freezing water before them just as the raging inferno danced behind. Many had fallen silent, and for him, that was the worst part. Screaming meant that they were alive, still fighting. Silence was nothing but death.

It had taken months before he could be comfortable around the hearth, and many more till he could have a semi decent sleep without starting awake in the middle of the night, cold from sweat.

"If he did find about this-" he raised his occupied palm to emphasis his point- "Uncle would destroy this small thing, and then go on a mad rampage looking for any others within the treasury. I wouldn't put it passed him to even travel all the way to Bilbo's just to make sure one wasn't hiding in the Hobbit's hill." Fili replied, lowering the lizard onto the floor this time and watching it carefully as it shifted. They were getting nowhere with this. "The people have only just settled into the mountain and started rebuilding. Word of a dragon hatching in the treasury would push back all the progress the people have made up to now."

Kili sighed, slouching back into his chair in defeat. Fili knew it wouldn't last long. His brother would come up with another insane idea soon enough, and Fili would have to be the one to talk sense back into him.

The hatchling raised his head to sniff at the air, as if testing for danger, stretching out its oddly shaped arms and creeping across the floor. Eyes flicked around nervously, as step by step it explored its new surroundings.

In the flickering light of the fire, the dragonet seemed so much more…darker. Its tiny body blended into the shadows, so he couldn't quite see where the lizard ended and the furniture began. It was the perfect lighting to start believing that this thing was the spawn of evil, until it gave a squeak of distress after it had knocked into one of the chairs, dislodging some of the many blades Fili had deposited there to be taken care of later. The move had made the thing scamper across the floor, tiny claws scratching as it propelled itself right up Fili's leg and dived into his pocket, leaving nothing but the tip of its tail twitching over the lip, as the owner of said coat's pocket just blinked down in surprise.

The sound of barely contained chuckles issued forth from Kili, feeling the heavy weight of their problem lift, swearing that even the light in the room brightened slightly. They needed a break, something, anything, to liven their spirits for a few moments. And what better then ale and a hot meal.

"I'll go get us something so we don't starve in our own chambers. Can't be looking too bony and pale if the little beast murders us before we solve this problem." Kili grinned, bouncing back into his usual happy self. Even throwing a cheeky grin at his brother when he added, "Shall I tell them that the Golden Son of Lady Dis has had the sanity knocked out of him and cannot join for dinner?"

"If it keeps Uncle and Mother away from our rooms-" he huffed, the corner of his mouth twisting up into a grin, "-give it your best shot."

He trusted Kili to charm his way into making people believe whatever story he came up with, even if their kin were harder than most to hoodwink.

Kili paused for a moment, hand on the door knob that would lead him out of his brother's room.

"What about…" The rest of the sentence needn't be said. Fili knew what he was asking.

"Maybe a little of something, until we figure this all out." He sighed, before adding under his breath, "We can't have it trying to chew on us if it gets hungry."

A snort was all the reply he got, having heard Fili's quite comment, before Kili was slipping out the door and closing it behind him with defining click.

Fili was left alone in his chambers, the cackling of the fire filling in the silence of the room. For a moment, he thought he saw the form of a building within the light, its timbers collapsing down to silence the pleas for help form the inhabitants that hadn't been able to escape. He felt his body tense as the memory played through, before the flames engulfed it all and left him blinking at the hearth, empty of structures and screams.

He had been doing well lately. The flashes hadn't hit him in weeks, even with the torches everywhere within the halls. Could the trigger have been caused by the presence of the creature? Or was it just the stress he was under to sort out this situation without tearing the already frail alliance? Or, quite possibly, it was a combination of both.

He glanced down at the lizard still cowering in his pocket.

He didn't want to admit it, but after observing the thing scuttling around the room before fleeing straight back into his pocket, there was a twinge of affection building towards the creature.

An affection that he had a bad feeling was only going to grow if he didn't solve this soon. Unfortunately, it was just as likely that the dragon would turn out like it's father and slaughter those within the mountain then help them defend it.

"What did you tell Uncle and Mother?" Fili asked, as Kili entered through the adjoining door from his rooms, carrying a tray piled high with hot food fresh from the kitchens.

"That you were ill. It's the only thing I could think of at the time" Kili tried to defend when Fili threw him a 'That's all you could come up with?' look. "Honestly, they fell for it. However…"

Fili paused as he went to grab a plate from the tray, raising a golden eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Well…" He scratched the back of his head with his free hand, suddenly becoming very interested in his boots.

"Kili…"

"Oin may be coming to check on you later this evening, to…you know…make sure you're not that badly ill."

"Kili! That's exactly what we didn't want!" He stressed, his hand absentmindedly covering the pocket with the little creature still inside. "We can't have anyone walk in here and find a baby dragon crawling across the floor!"

"I know, I know! But, what was I to say? I couldn't say no. Both Uncle and Mother would have gotten suspicious." Kili placed down the tray on one of the side tables, before continuing. "I at least managed to convince Mother to stay away for the time being."

"Right, and when Oin shows up?" he inquired, grabbing the plate and sitting down to eat. "I'm not even sick."

"We'll just do what we used to do when we were kids, and didn't want to be tortured by that droll History teacher."

"Kili, I'm 85 years old and the heir to one of the greatest Dwarven cities every built. I'm not sure I can pull stunts like pretending to be ill off anymore." Well, maybe he could have if it wasn't Oin. If it had been the old darrowdam that had treated them back in the blue mountains, he could probably pull it off. It was all down to the right amount of charm. A charm that wouldn't work on Oin.

"Nonsense!" Kili grinned. "You've got me, remember! You may have lost a little of your fooling touch these last few years, but thankfully, your younger brother has been keeping his own rather sharp."

Fili huffed. Of course his brother had. Kili lived for pranking the city, and truth be told, it did liven the people up a little. It certainly did him, until their mother caught word of it. He grabbed one of the still warm slices of bread and took a bite, the butter already softened from the heat, and waited to finish chewing before asking his next question.

"And what of the scaly one?"

"We can put it in my room, just while Oin's around?" Kili suggested. "I can lock my main door so that no one can come through. And Oin's deft as a post. He shouldn't hear it even if it tipped something over."

"I guess that could work." He still had misgivings though. What if Oin did hear? What if it cried out?

"Of course it will! Come now brother! You used to have so much more faith in me!" He spluttered, playacting as if he had been hit in the chest with an arrow, clutching at it tightly.

"Kili, you are one of the few people I trust unconditionally."

"I know" he grinned. "Now, shall we make sure we're not made into a chew toy tonight?"

Kili fished around in one of the pockets, before pulling out a brown paper bag that looked almost like something was about to seep through.

"I managed to steal away some of the softer off-cuts before Bombur or the Head Cook noticed what I was doing. It should be ok for the little thing, right?"

Fili couldn't help the soft smile as he thought of Kili dancing around the kitchen, trying to find something that the creature wouldn't have too much difficulty eating. It was clear that Kili wasn't really concerned with the fact that it was a dragon. It seemed that until they came to a decision, he was going to treat it to the same consideration and thought that he gave to any of their animals.

As Fili pulled out the mini terror from its current lair, he couldn't help but feel that it was slowly ensnaring them both. Not in the way of gold sickness, but in some other way he just couldn't put his finger on.

A/N: I apologize immensely for how late this is. I've been staring at it, re-reading it and changing bits and pieces here and there in between work and uni. It's out today because one of my best mates almost looked ready to grab me by the ear and force me onto my computer. She cringed a how long its taken this chapter, and I have a feeling she's going to make sure it doesn't happen again.

On the bight side, I have about 12 chapters worth of outlines and plans for this! However, feel free to comment something you want to see happen between the dragons (wyverns), Bilbo and the boys. Any ideas are welcome!