It had been two days since we'd left Rivendell, and with each day the sky around the mountains we climbed grew darker. It would have been fine – the clouds providing much needed shelter from the sweltering sun – that is... if clouds were all that came upon us. As we walked, the sky grew dark and heavy; so heavy that the sky seemed to sag with the swell of the rain concealed within the dark mass that blotted out the sky.

Rain began to fall around us. What started as a gentle shower of minuscule droplets, grew into a monsoon. I bent with the weight of the water that began to fill my clothes – soaking me to the bone –. Shivers racked my body as the cold set in. I felt my skin prickle and raindrops rolled down my hood onto my face and rolled down my nose, dripping onto my shirt.

Thunder clashed overhead and I gripped the mountain side to my left, not daring to trust the slick stone beneath my boots.

"Hold on!" Thorin shouted – just as he did every once and a while – leading us further down the slippery path. There was a clap of thunder that nearly smothered a yelp. I turned to see Bilbo falling forward and I reached outwards, grabbing him by the collar and pulled him back until he was pressed against the rocky wall. He was panting under my hold, terrified by his slippery blunder.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin roared over the sounds of the wind and pouring rain.

"Look out!" Dwalin shouted from Bilbo's opposite side and I looked up – following his warning, directed towards the skies above –. The clouds parted, as if it were a dark curtain, and a large piece of rocky land came sailing through the air. Fear leapt into my throat and I watched helplessly as it sailed to the mountain side above us. It slammed into the rock mere yards from our head and I threw my hands into the air, crying out in shock as my body surged and my energy projected into the air above us, forming a semi-translucent dome of energy, tinged with red as splinters and boulders broke from the wall and fell around us.

The dome was long enough to cover the entire company, but it was stretched so thin that if it were to take another hit, it would surely brake open. Rocks and pieces of the mountainside showed over my shield and thin red lines began to form in the air around us – a spider's web of fractures in the dome I had created –.

"Look out, brother!" Gloin shouted and pulled Oin away from the edge.

"Hold on!" Kili shouted as the mountainside shook. My arms were quivering with the effort of holding the shield in place. My arms felt like they were being compressed by an unseen force. I felt as though I couldn't take much more of this, but my prayers were answered when the shower of splinters slowed and stopped altogether.

"This is no thunderstorm!" Balin shouted over the wind, "It's a thunder-battle! Look!" I directed my attention to where Balin pointed through the ever-falling curtain of rain. At first, I was unsure of what I was being shown, but as the dark shapes in the clouds began to move, I realized that the mountains seemed to have come to life.

"Well bless me." Bofur breathed – barely audible over the wind – "The legends are true! Giants, Stone-Giants!" One of the giants reeled its arms back and flung a chunk of earth towards us. I prepared to open a second shield, but the glacier of rock and stone sored through the air past us, knocking into a second giant that emerged from the mountain beside us.

"Take cover, you fool!" Thorin shouted and someone pulled Bofur away from the edge. I pressed my back to the stone wall, as far as I could with the bag on my back. I closed my eyes against the wind and the rain as I fought the exhaustion that accompanied my use of magic.

The ground rumbled beneath me and my eyes shot open. I was moving... I looked over to my side to see that the mountain was splitting down the middle, between Fili and Kili.

"Kili, grab my hand!" Fili was shouted urgently, reaching out for his brother as the crevasse widened. "Grab my hand, Kili!" He shouted again.

"What's happening?" Kili shouted and watched in shock as the company was divided by the crevasse. I looked up, seeing the rock above us straighten and a body emerge from the rock. We were unfortunately settled upon the knees of a Stone-Giant, and one that was getting up from his place of rest.

The mountain moved beneath us, swing us to the side. I grabbed the rock and Bilbo beside me; determined to keep him safe. There were showers of boulders and shards of rock that fell around us like a rain of chaos. One wrong step, or the lessening of ones' grip could lead to death.

My throat burned, and it was only then that I realized I was screaming, and it wasn't just me. Every dwarf beside me was screaming or shouting at one another. The air was thick with rain and fear. I looked to see where the second half of our company had been carried off to but found that they were no longer within our range of sight. I dreaded the thought of any member of our company laying at the bottom of the ravine, lifeless and limp.

The giant – of which we were stuck upon – engaged a second giant, dodging a blow and managing to dispatch him with a swift uppercut. The giant fell back and landed on the rocky mountain side with a colossal crash. Everything shook and I pressed my chin atop Bilbo's head as I gripped him tightly in my arm while my second wrapped around Ori who was screaming in terror. I gripped the two members of the company tightly as we suddenly began careening around. The head of our giant had broken off and fell into the abyss below. The knee we were perched upon pivoted and we once again faced the other half of our company we had thought to have lost.

Fate taunted us as we were brought within ten feet of our company, but ripped away as the giant began to collapse, I saw our destination, the path a fair way from the others. We would be smashed to a bloodied paste on the side of the mountain. It seemed to be inevitable. Everything seemed to slow down as our impending doom settled in.

My grip on Ori and Bilbo tightened subconsciously and my eyes narrowed. I was determined to keep this company safe. I let go of Bilbo and Ori, extending my hands as I leaned precariously over the edge. With my palms our flat, I narrowed my eyes and watched as my markings glowed beneath my sleeves. The light gathered in the palm of my hands. I took a shuddering breath, and I forced the energy to project itself outwards.

A dome erupted from the energy in my palms and wrapped about the company. The shield was thick and red, impenetrable and a rich shade of scarlet. I could barely see the stone beyond my shield of light and energy. The shield slammed into the rocky wall, shuddering with such force as my shield drove into the rock and created a cater in the rock.

We were thrown from the knee of the giant as it jarred against the cliff and I screamed as the energy broke from my fingers and evaporated, leaving us laying against the stone ground, safe in our crater. I lay there. Unmoving as we were approached. I could hear distant shouting and was approached by a darkened shape. My head was lifted and set on the crook of someone's arm as I was pulled onto a lap.

My eyes fluttered as rain caressed my face. I was limp, breathless, and exhausted. My vision cleared a little and I barely made out Dwalin's relived face. "You alright lass?" Dwalin asked and I nodded.

"Sure." I mumbled and Dwalin smirked at me.

"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur called, "Where's the hobbit!" he shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. I shot up and looked around.

"There!" Someone shouted and I was just able to see fingers gripping onto the side of the cliff. Bilbo... I felt sick.

"Get him!" Thorin shouted. Bofur and Ori leapt forward, but Bilbo's fingers disappeared over the edge. I jumped to my feet; swooning as my vision swirled around. I took a couple staggering steps forward and reached out my hand. I could feel an invisible extension leave my arm and wrap around something soft and warm, despite the cold.

I pulled upward and I was just able to see Bilbo's hand rise up, held by a red tendril that resembled my hand. Thorin swung down a little and grabbed Bilbo's hand pulling him up and passing him to Bofur just as he slipped. I yelped and covered my mouth with my hands as Dwalin slid past me and grabbed Thorin.

There was a moment where all I could do was breathe. Everything was blurry, but my eyes focused on Dwalin as he pulled Thorin up onto the ledge, and I grabbed their hands, pulling them further into the crater. I was done with near death experiences for the day.

I fell back and lay on my backside, breathing hard as Thorin an a few of the others looked at me.

"I thought we lost our burglar." Dwalin panted.

Thorin turned to look at Bilbo and growled, "He's been lost ever since he left home." Thorin huffed, "He should never have come. He has no place amongst us." No one dared to speak against Thorin – still winded from our nearly fatal adventure. "Dwalin!" Thorin said as he stepped past me, looking into a cavern I had discovered.

Everyone clambered up and I pushed myself up to my feet and caught myself against the side of the cavern and staggered in.

"It looks safe enough." Dwalin observed. The cavern was spacious and dry. If it were safe for camping in, we could rest here, wait for Gandalf.

"Search to the back. Caves in the mountain are seldom unoccupied." Thorin grumbled and began to explore the cavern. I moved to look around myself and even provided a small flame for Dwalin's lantern. I felt around the walls of the cavern as I looked around. A hand attached itself to my shoulder firmly and I turned with a stifled grunt and met Thorin's eyes.

"What are you doing?" He growled.

"Searching the cave." I responded quickly, tilting my head.

Thorin's eyes softened and he let me go. "Sit down, let Oin tend to you. You've done enough." He spoke. His voice was laced with his usual gruffness, but I could see he meant this in a good way. He was grateful for my help.

"There's nothin' here." Dwalin called.

"Right, then. Let's get a fire started." Gloin said, setting down a bundle of wood on the floor.

"No. No fires. Not in this place." Thorin said and I sat down, discarding my bag beside me. "Get some sleep. We start at first light." Thorin advised. I stripped off my soaking jacket and lay it flat against the wall, unbuckling my sleeping pad from the bottom of my bag. It was damp, but dry enough to sleep on.

"We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us." Balin spoke. I looked up, and my eyes found Balin's.

"Plans change." Thorin said in a low whisper. Then turned. "Bofur, take the first watch." Bofur opened his mouth to object but he ended up nodding his head in agreement.

I wanted to take Bofur's place on watch, but some selfish desire stopped me. I wanted to sleep, to replenish my energy. If I was to be of any help, I needed it. But then again... So did Bofur.

"Bofur." I called before I could stop myself. "I'll take first watch; you get some sleep." I said and stood, walking over to Thorin, Balin, and Bofur.

"No lass. I'm not tired." Bofur lied. I could see the exhaustion in his eyes; just as he saw it in my eyes, no doubt.

"Well, I won't be able to sleep with my bed still damp from the rain, and it won't do any good for the two of us to be awake when only one need be." I spoke. Bofur opened his mouth but before he could speak, I stepped past them and sat down promptly beside the entrance to the cavern and looked up at him with a sort of defiance playing on my face.

Dwalin burst out laughing at my antics and I tried to smoother my own grin, biting my lip a little as the rest of them settled down...