Thanks so much for all the support. I know that I don't update often, between each chapter I write, I'm usually hit with an intense bout of utter cluelessness, I can't find out what I want to write next. So with that, I will try to update every week. Give me ideas on what you think might happen next, even if I don't use them they really help me get the plot flowing smoothly and motivation to keep writing!

Piper easily kept up with the fast strides of Bilbo as he desperately sought to reach the company of dwarves. "Wait!" he shouted and showed them the signed contract, he was unceremoniously pushed onto the back of a pony, when some of the other dwarves looked at her curiously she huffed and scrambled, quite humorously, some noted, up the nearest tree.

"What of the girl?" Thorin questioned in his deep, resonating voice.

"Oh, Piper? Just leave her be, she'll follow us by herself." Although Piper had grown up in the wild, she had no affection for animals, she knew how soon one could turn on you given the need, so she had no intentions of climbing on the back of a pony, no matter how sweet and genteel it may seem.

"I won't be held responsible should she become lost or left behind" Thorin rumbled.

"She can take care of herself, I trust her with my life." Bilbo said.

"Yes, well dwarves can take care of themselves; they have no need for a woman to look after them." A loud roar of agreement went over the dwarves, and Bilbo flushed. Out of nowhere, a large, and rather spikey, pinecone came flying and smacked Thorin right on the forehead. Muffled guffaws ran over the company and a small smile graced Gandalf's face. Thorin glared out at the tree line as he could not find her presence anywhere.

When they stopped for the night Piper crawled out of a tree and dropped a few rabbits to the floor tiredly, she walked over to where Bilbo sat quietly on the ground near some other dwarves and dropped to the floor and placed her head in Bilbo's lap. He stroked her soft hair while her eyes began to slowly close. She didn't care that she wouldn't be able to eat the food, since she only ate raw meat, she ate her rabbit fresh, the moment she caught it, it was still alive as she began to dig in. With a belly full of warm blood, and exhaustion creeping in from running all day, sleep came easy. A howl soon woke her though, she immediately sprang up and sniffed the air, the others didn't seem to notice her as they teased Bilbo, so she ran into the forest.

Five minutes later found the dwarves telling the lone Hobbit the story of Erebor, and how Thorin came to be the way he was. Some of the dwarves curiously wondered how piper had come to be in his company.

"She was young, probably only 14 while I was already 30, I found her in the forest. I had gone in because I was looking for some wild mushrooms for my dinner, she was naked, not a stitch on her when I first saw her. She was so thin and emaciated that I took pity on her and asked her in to dinner, it came as no small surprise to me that she could not speak; she had never had anyone to speak to. It took a lot of coaxing, and godly patience to get her to come to my house. She couldn't eat the food or drink I gave her, she threw it all up (all over my mothers rug might I add), it soon became apparent to me that she could not eat anything cooked, so I gave her a rare steak and it was gone in less than a minute! I realized that she had no family, she had been thrown in the forest at a very young age, her family had probably not had enough money to raise her and had left her in the wilderness to ease their burden. I could not have possibly abandoned her again! So I took her in, I gave her a name, I taught her to speak, though admittedly she doesn't do it often. I gave her clothes, although she doesn't like them, one does not walk around the shire with no clothes, imagine the gossip! I taught her all there is to know about the civilized world, and overall, I gave her a family, even though it's just me and her, I feel like she is the younger sister I never had. Years have passed since then, time has changed her little, but I know that she has been longing to leave the shire, she is shunned there, she is no dwarf, nor hobbit, nor elf, nor child of man, nor any other recognizable race, she is part of the reason I left to go with you, I couldn't stand the scathing glances everyone threw at her any longer. "Bilbo ended his tale somberly.

Everyone threw pitying glances towards her resting place, or at least tried to, but there, in Pipers spot, was no one! Where had she gone to? Bilbo threw himself off the ground and searched the camp with a frenzy that only happens when a loved one is in trouble. For five minutes this search went on before some pushes from the north side parted and revealed a bloody piper, Bilbo ran faster than she had ever seen and began fretting over her, quite a few dwarves did as well. Although they didn't approve of a woman coming with them, they sure as hell didn't want her to be hurt either. When it was confirmed that very little of the blood covering her actually belonged to piper, she was asked what had happened.

"There were orcs close to camp, too close for comfort, so I took care of it." She stated simply. She began stripping her bloody clothes off, she didn't like wearing them anyway, she always felt better without them, in her natural state, Dwarves blushed and looked away, some, like Fili and Kili peeked though, when they thought nobody noticed.

"Piper! What have I told you about just stripping like that?!" Bilbo yelled angrily. "Sorry guys, she really has no sense of modesty."

Piper snorted, "What's modesty? Only a false belief that will get you killed. There's no sense to it really, I'd rather be like this, the way I was born, rather that hidden away under bundles of itchy cloth that only hinder me from protecting my life, besides, these clothes are soiled and I packed no more. I can't wear them until they are washed."

Thorin took the shirt from his back and handed it over to her, "I have a spare." He stated simply. Thorin had begun to understand her after he heard her tale; he understood her brutish, rude, and uncivilized ways. He pitied her, she, like themselves, had no place to call home. He left it simply at that.

Soon after they all went to bed, all pondering to themselves about different things, Thorin about his lost kingdom, and piper about Thorin. How warm and nice his shirt was, the well-worn material was soft enough to not bother her sensitive skin, and the smell was heavenly, like spices and man, for men carried a particular scent that could not be reproduced. Piper slipped off to sleep once more with her nose pressed into the fabric of her shirt, and a serene smile on her face.