I now present you with a new story! Enjoy!
Five-year-old Farria ran lightly through the stone halls under the mountain, giggling as she wove through the adult dwarves with ease. She was dressed much like a dwarfish male. And her long brown-blonde hair was studded with tiny braids. As she ran past the adults she practiced her pickpocketing skills—at five years old she was already an accomplished thief, and the other dwarves living under the Blue Mountains had learned to keep their valuables out of the nimble dwarf-girl's reach.
Finally Farria reached the rooms allotted to her and her parents. As she went to enter, however, she was met by a foreboding sight—her Uncle Thorin, his face drawn.
Thorin looked down at his small niece. "You can't go in there right now, little one," he said gently, if a bit absently.
Farria frowned. "Why not?" she asked, knowing she needed somewhere to hide before she was cornered by angry dwarves demanding whatever she had stolen back.
As if reading her thoughts, Thorin frowned down at Farria. "Turn out your pockets." Farria shook her head violently, hair flying across her face. "Turn out your pockets," Thorin repeated, this time in what Farria thought of as his 'king voice,' even though he didn't technically have a kingdom to be king of.
Wide blue eyes, full of innocence, peered up at the dwarf king through a veil of hair. Not buying into the 'I'm small and cute, so you shouldn't yell at me' act, Thorin opened his mouth to speak. He was cut off, however, by a shriek issuing from the rooms behind him.
Farria immediately tried to bolt around Thorin to the door—the shriek was her mother's, for Durin's sake!—but her uncle scooped her up before she could make it. Ignoring Farria's protests of how she was perfectly capable of walking on her own, Thorin carried his little niece back to his rooms.
When they reached the rooms Thorin sat Farria on the bed and knelt in front of her.
"You know how you've seen dwarf women carrying babies?" Thorin asked, and Farria nodded impatiently. Of course she knew—it wasn't like she was four anymore. "Well," Thorin continued, "your mama's going to have one of those. Your little brother or sister."
Farria nodded her understanding.
Thorin grinned at the small girl. "Good. Now, pockets."
Scowling, Farria obeyed.
Thorin and Farria spent the next few hours trying to return the various small items Farria had pilfered to their rightful owners.
When they were finally finished, the pair returned to Thorin's rooms.
Farria grabbed at a dagger Thorin had left on a table and started flipping it between her fingers.
Thorin grabbed the dagger from his five-year-old niece, eyes wide. "Don't do that," he snapped. "You'll hurt yourself."
Farria looked up at Thorin. "But I have lots of practice."
Thorin buried his face in his hands. "Do I even want to know?"
There came a knock on the door before Farria could respond, and Thorin went to answer it. A dwarf-woman with hands and arms slightly tinted with blood stood there. "Yes?" Thorin asked.
"Lady Dis has had her baby," the woman reported. "She is asking for you and her daughter."
Farria, upon hearing this, ran around Thorin and the woman. She dashed down the hall, and Thorin swore and raced after her.
When they reached the rooms where Farria lived, Thorin was out of breath and Farria was giggling.
Thorin looked at the laughing girl. "Remember, behave yourself. No jumping around, no being silly. Your mama will be very tired, and your brother or sister is little. Behave."
Farria scowled. "I know."
With a final warning glance at his niece, Thorin opened the door.
Farria walked in, surprisingly calm. "Hullo."
Farria's papa's mouth quirked at one corner at his daughter's calm and casual greeting. Dis shook her head and smiled tiredly. "Come meet your brother, Farria," she said. "His name is Fili."
Farria walked over to the bed where her mother lay. Dis handed her daughter the bundle containing baby Fili.
Farria grinned widely. Thorin, guessing what the girl was thinking, caught her eye and shook his head.
Dis and her husband looked askance at Thorin. Thorin had always been the one to deal with Farria—her parents didn't know about her thieving tendencies. To assuage his sister and brother-in-law, Thorin shook his head with a grin and looked over at Farria, cooing gently to Fili.
Soon enough Farria and Thorin had to leave, once Farria gathered a bag of things she wanted—to let Dis and Fili rest, Farria was to stay for a time with her uncle.
That night Thorin built himself a bedroll, giving Farria his bed. After he tucked in the five-year-old, he sat on the bed next to her.
"You'll have to be a good role model for Fili, Farria. No stealing or sneaking around. Fili's going to learn from you."
Farria blinked up at her uncle, then, burying herself in the thick blankets, fell asleep.
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