I don't own The Hobbit. Astrid however, is mine. This fic spawned from too many cute ideas about the mischief she would cause and how it would affect her relationship with Kili later on. This is a prequel to Treasures Lost and Found and follows the movie canon. Enjoy!

The Adventures of Tiny Astrid
—Arrival

The dwarf settlement in the foothills of the Blue Mountains wasn't spectacular or grand like the halls left behind in Moria and Erebor, but it was well-established and, once you were welcomed, a rather warm and comforting place to be.

The traveling tinker Bran had a long-standing business relationship with the dwarves and had been welcome for quite some time, and the same courtesy was extended to his wife Hild, and their daughter when they joined him. Currently, their wagons were parked on the edge of the settlement, close enough to be safe, but far enough way to not disturb the ebb and flow of the dwarves who lives there. The tinker and his wife were engaged in business, and their five year-old daughter Astrid, smaller than the average human like her parents, had been left to the care of Dis and a couple other dwarf women, their careful eyes watching the few dwarf children of the settlement and the human girl.

Or they would have been watching the human child, had she not picked her moment and slipped away.

Astrid ducked under a table and crawled away from the area where they'd been playing, darting around the corner of the first building she came to; they had only just arrived in the Blue Mountains the day before and already she was bored. She giggled to herself and looked around for something interesting, anything more engaging than the games the dwarf children had been playing. She wanted to explore, to find places to hide, things to collect, things to see that she had never seen before.

Somewhere to her right she heard laughter. That seemed like a good place to start.

"Where do you think you're going little one?" someone asked, sweeping her off her feet as she made for the noise.

Astrid flailed and wiggled, trying to get free, small groans of protest escaping her lips. She stopped the frantic movements when her captor turned her around. He was a dwarf, someone she'd never met and at first she was a little scared. He had no hair on the top of his head, just tattoos, and what hair he did have stuck out above his ears and covered his shoulders, joining almost seamlessly with his beard. He was smiling and the smile set her at ease.

"Who are you?" she asked, bunching her lips and narrowing her eyes as he adjusted his hold on her to something more comfortable. She fastened her little fists onto his shirt.

The dwarf laughed, a loud noise that Astrid liked. She laughed too. "My name is Dwalin."

"Dwalin," she repeated carefully. "Dwalin."

"Very good, little one."

"That's not my name."

Dwalin laughed again and Astrid smiled, though she tried to keep the look of displeasure on her face. "What is your name then?"

"Astrid," she stated proudly. "Daughter of Bran and Hild. And I was going over there." She pointed towards the sounds of laughter and what sounded like metal banging against metal. "I want to see what's making that noise and who is laughing."

Dwalin started walking towards the noises. "It is just some foolish young dwarves," he said when they reached the side of the practice arena.

The tiny human girl wiggled out of Dwalin's grasp and approached the arena slowly, stopping exactly where the grass turned to dirt, the toes of her shoes meeting the line and her hands clasped behind her back. Dwalin remained close behind her, his arms crossed over his chest, as she watched the mock sword fight in front of her with rapt attention, her eyes darting between the blond and brunette dwarves. There was a small smile on her face and a light in her eyes. The dwarves who were fighting didn't look young to her, but they didn't look as old as Dwalin either so Astrid didn't say anything, just enjoyed watching.

Soon enough the two dwarves were finished and they turned to their spectators, wide grins on their faces. They both greeted Dwalin before turning their attention to the human child.

"And who is this?" the blond one asked, crouching in front of Astrid.

The question was directed at Dwalin, but the girl answered for herself, cross her arms in front of her. "My name is Astrid, and you can talk to me."

The other one laughed as he knelt. "It's nice to meet you Astrid. I'm Kili and this is my brother Fili."

"Kili and Fili. Kili. Fili." She nodded once to herself, satisfied that she had their names down. "Your names sound the same."

The brothers laughed and Astrid smiled up at them. Fili reached forward to ruffle her hair but she ducked under his hand and batted ineffectually at his hand, which prompted more laughter. Astrid tried to look upset, but she couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"Astrid!" a dwarf woman cried, running up to the practice field. She swept the girl into her arms. "There you are! What in Durin's name are you doing all the way over here?" Her dark eyes found Dwalin, Fili, and Kili and she frowned hard, disapproval all over her face.

"Dis," Astrid whined, after a moment of trying to recall the dwarf woman's name. "Dis, I do not want to go back to play with the dwarf children and I do not want to be picked up!"

Dis ignored the second part. "Child, your mother asked me to keep my eye on you. I do not think she would appreciate it if I were to let you watch my sons pretend to beat each other senseless."

Astrid's face bunched in confusion and she looked between Dis and the trio of male dwarves. "But it is more fun here."

Dis rolled her eyes and started back towards where Astrid had started her little quest. Looking far more put-out than the situation called for, Astrid waved at Dwalin, Fili, and Kili over Dis's shoulder. She laughed when Fili and Kili made silly faces at her and waved again in earnest.

So this is the second prequel to Tresures Lost and Found. Hopefully you guys enjoy it, even though there's no romancey stuff in this one and it's disjointed and weird. I still like it, but then, I always love my original characters.

Also, a disclaimer: I suck at writing children. It's not something I've ever done before, so I'm not sure why I decided to do it now. Hopefully it's all right.