Vanáezae had woken up smiling softly. That was possibly the best night's sleep since she came here. Her right arm was tucked underneath her head facing towards the Lonely Mountain. It wasn't even dawn yet, probably an hour before. Oddly enough, she was pressed up against something and there was a weight on her waist.

Cautiously she looked down and saw her left hand intertwined with someone else's. She froze and slowly turned her head to find out who was with her. Vanáezae relaxed only a little to find it was Kili. She turned around fully and faced him. Her eyes weren't deceiving her; it truly was Kili.

Vanáezae's eyes widened and she sprang from Kili's bed roll and onto the stone beneath. Vanadessë looked up from staring into the fire and grinned at her. Gandalf was smiling along and he shared a knowing look with her friend.

"Have a nice sleep?" Vanadessë teased.

"Shut up," Vanáezae mumbled, face turning redder than a tomato. "I'm gonna go and, well I'm just gonna go."

She got of the ground and walked towards the cliff. Gandalf and Vanadessë weren't worried. Just before she walked off the edge Vanáezae shifted into a dragon. She glided to a river not too far away and sat. Her thoughts went wild.

If she could have, Vanáezae's face would have been beet red. She mentally facepalmed and sighed. Not getting attracted to Kili was going to be harder than she originally thought. But now, all of the company knew what she was.

A freak, her thoughts taunted. No body likes you.

She shook her head. What was going on with her lately? Her feelings where out of whack and her powers were dimming. Galadriel said this would happen but she didn't think it would happen so quickly. Although she could still shape shift, Vanáezae doubted she could still use her telepathy anymore. Sure she had used it on her friends just yesterday but it was as if her telepathy was dwindling. And wasn't as if she actually practiced it.

Looking to the sky she could see that it was almost dawn. The dwarves would be waking soon. She cast her gaze down to the river in front of her and watched as the salmon swam by. An idea struck her like lighting. Dawn appeared and light shined on the company who roused tiredly. Yesterday came back to them and some, like Dwalin, scowled at the thought of that traitor. She had no right...

Kili looked a little saddened at not waking with Vanáezae but he steeled himself. He, along with the rest of the company, started packing. Vanadessë and Gandalf didn't need to. Their rolls were still packed and clean as Gandalf seemed to never sleep and she had helped keep watch. Although Vanadessë did nod off sometime during the night, resting against a rock.

By the time the dwarves had packed almost half and hour had passed. Gandalf had to point out the stairs that they had to take to get to the ground. Bofur asked for another way and Vanadessë replied with a question of how far he wanted to fall. Bofur took the hint and followed his kin down the narrow path.

To say that Vanadessë was worried was an understatement. Her friend had been gone for almost half of the day. Even Gandalf was worried about Vanáezae. She hadn't yet returned from wherever she was. Thorin's thoughts only said good riddance.

The dwarves were starving by the time they got to rest. It was only about three o'clock and Bombur was the worst of them all. Saying that he could see the light and that he was nearing his end. No one took him seriously of course.

"I don't know if it will help," Bilbo called from where he was. "But there are some berry bushes over here."

Bombur was the first to get up and the first to make it towards the berry bushes Bilbo had spoken about. The rest of the company wasn't far behind. Bilbo, Vanadessë and Gandalf stayed, as they weren't very interested in the berries.

Soon the group was moving again and Bombur was once again complaining about impending doom that was certainly near. Vanadessë only smiled because it was a little entertaining for her. Searching the woods around her she still saw no hint of her missing friend. Although, there was a small clearing nearby and she lead the dwarves to it. It was almost night anyway and at most they had one hour of daylight left.

Some of the dwarves collapsed from exaustion and groaned. Vanadessë looked at them and shook her head, smiling at them. Her hearing picked up the sound of a twig breaking and she turned to look, only to find it was a squirrel. Her ears also heard the sound of rushing water. Probably a river near here.

Vanadessë turned back to the dwarves and watched as they began cutting at trees and gathered wood for the fire. She stopped watching the dwarves when she heard silent wing beats. She looked over towards the direction of the mountain and breathed a sigh of relief. It was only Vanáezae coming back. But she seemed to be carrying something. A few of the dwarves followed her line of sight and soon the entire company was watching as the blue dragon approached. Vanáezae landed in the clearing and stared at the group. Her eyes landed on Kili and she looked down.

"You may not like what I am," she began, "but I hope this will help you forgive me."

Vanáezae lifted a claw and set a dead buck down in front of Thorin who stood at the front.

Thorin eyed the catch. "And why, do tell, would we accept this?"

Gandalf huffed. "She is trying to say sorry, Thorin."

Thorin turned his glare from the dragon in front of him to the wizard who brought the winged snake. "Why, should we accept?"

"Because if you don't stop being a stick in the mud you will never be able to make any truces with anyone if you become King." That comment came from Vanadessë, which surprised Thorin.

The dwarves were looking hungrily at the deer. They hadn't eaten meat in a little bit and they completely missed food all day yesterday and all of today. Besides those berries Bilbo found of course. Bombur stared at the large buck, almost immediately forgiving the young shape shifter. Thorin only glowered at the dragon in front of him.

"We will accept your offer, Miss Vanáezae," Balin spoke for Thorin. "But we will be keeping an eye on you."

Some dwarves went forward and picked up the deer, carrying it away so as to skin it. The rest of the group followed save for Gandalf, Vanadessë and Bilbo.

"You have no enemies here, Vanáezae," Gandalf spoke, restating what he had told Thorin in Rivindell.

"No, just dwarves who think I betrayed them and want to kill me because I am a dragon. No enemies," she sarcastically shot back.

Gandalf sighed and went back to the company. Bilbo gave her an apologetic look. Obviously for the behavior of the dwarves. He then followed Gandalf. The dwarves had started the fire as the now setting sun was almost gone and stars were beginning to shine. Bombur could be seen cutting the meat from the deer and two other dwarves were carrying two buckets of water to fill the pot, obviously just coming from from the river.

"Come on," Vanadessë said. "You can shift back. Everyone knows."

Vanáezae gave her a sideways look yet shifted anyway. Then she was back to her regular self. She followed her friend back to the group yet kept her eyes towards the ground. Some dwarves cast her wary glances and most tried to ignore her.

When dinner was served no one came near her to giver her some. Well, besides Bilbo and Bofur that is. Bofur had assumed that Vanáezae didn't tell them for her own reasons and he respected that and forgave her. Vanáezae smiled at the little hobbit and dwarf before thinking them. Bilbo and Bofur smiled and went back to their own seats to have their supper. She finished hers easily and sat quiet for a few moments before turning and grabbing her bag.

"Where are you going?" Vanadessë asked.

"Just to the river to clean up. It's getting dark so it should be safe if any dwarves make the mistake of wandering."

Vanadessë chuckled and shook her head in agreement. She went back to her meal and conversed with Gandalf, comparing their knowledge of Middle-Earth. Vanáezae left the comfort of the fire and the small clearing to find the river. Her hearing lead her straight to it.

She stripped and waded into the cold water. It wasn't exactly frigid per se, it just felt nice to wash off the muck from Goblin Town. Vanáezae dunked her self a few times before trying to clean out and untangle her hair. The darkness around her and the stars shining through the trees gave her just enough light to see what she was doing.

A stick snapping interrupted her thoughts and she immediately dropped herself further into the cold water, making it come up to her neck. Her arms wrapped around her chest as she watched and listened for more than just the river. A figure walked near the river and Vanáezae visibly relaxed, only some. It was Kili, yet just him being here put her on edge.

Kili didn't seem to notice her and he walked towards the rivers edge. She watched as he began to wash his hands and silently begged him to leave before he found her. Kili sat on the bank and Vanáezae went to shift her position but ended up moving one of the large rocks in the stream.

The noise seemed to draw Kili's attention and he drew his sword. He stood and walked in her direction. This was the exact opposite of what she wanted. She silently panicked. Then a voice came from behind Kili.

"Thorin needs to see you."

Kili jumped a little and turned to see Vanadessë. He thanked her and sheathed his sword, walking back towards the group. Vanadessë stayed quiet a few moments waiting to see if Kili would be back.

"You can come out now," she called, turning her back.

Vanáezae breathed a sigh of relief and ran from the water, eagerly getting dressed. She threw her dirty clothes back into her bag and looked to her friend.

"You're a life saver," she said, joining her friend as they began to walk back.

"I know," Vanadessë grinned.

"No I mean it. I'd rather not have had Kili seeing me naked. In a river or no, that's just not on my bucket list."

Vanadessë laughed and shook her head. She left her comment of 'Are you sure about that?' unsaid and they rejoined the group. A little while later the group settled and went to bed.

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Edited!