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Thorin frowned, Gandalf's words echoing in his mind as he gazed at the Halfling currently fussing over the placing of his bedroll. "They can pass unseen by most..." Until they were the only thing standing between a half-unconscious king and death, that was. The thought of the Hobbit - so much smaller, so defenceless - standing between him and the pale Orc, waving that ridiculous excuse for a sword around. Thorin would have laughed if he hadn't been on the verge of passing out.
To be saved by a Hobbit.
And yet...what a Hobbit. Untrained, unskilled, practically unarmed...and he had followed Thorin down from that tree in order to save his life.
It seemed some Halflings were closer to Dwarves in spirit than Thorin had ever suspected.
Words returned to haunt him - words he'd spoken in anger...anger aimed not at Bilbo but at himself.
Some leader he was. The smallest, most vulnerable of his company disappeared and he failed to notice. Instead, it had been Bofur who'd cried out against Bilbo's disappearance; it was only thanks to him that they'd spotted their burglar dangling from the rock shelf in time to prevent him falling to his death.
And how had Thorin reacted? By telling the Halfling he had no place among them. Well, he'd had to eat his words sooner than he could possibly have expected, and the Halfling had accepted his apology handsomely.
As Bilbo left his bedroll, Thorin's curiosity was piqued. While it was no surprise Bilbo had scrapes and cuts all over his hands, Thorin was positive he'd borne a number of them before the fight with Azog. And where had his waistcoat buttons gone to? They had been lost in the Goblin cave - Thorin remembered his waistcoat hanging half-open when their burglar promised to help Thorin take back his home - but where and how? Yes, there had been that tumble onto the bridge, but he was fairly certain Bilbo had landed on top. There hadn't been time for the Goblins to inflict so much damage, nor time for them to steal his shiny, gold buttons before Bilbo had slipped away unseen. So where had he lost them?
Thorin thought back to when Bilbo had reappeared. He'd explained why he'd come back, but not how he'd got past the Goblins, and Gandalf had aided him in that distraction. So where had he been? Given his actions later - attempting to defend Thorin with that puny sword he carried - Thorin could not believe Bilbo had abandoned them, for all that he'd snarled those words aloud earlier. No, the Halfling would have been far more likely to rush the Goblin horde and attempt to slay the Goblin King himself.
Foolish and foolhardy... Thorin was beginning to believe that Bilbo could take the dragon and retake Erebor all by himself.
As for the explanation of those buttons, it seemed their burglar had had an adventure all of his own and didn't want to share the details.
Well, Thorin may have failed to keep his eye on the Halfling so far but, now, he was on his guard. There was more to Master Baggins of the Shire than met the eye, and Thorin planned on working out that mystery for himself.