AN: Here's another idea about when Fili and Kili almost drowned in the river going after the runaway pony. Just a short little one-shot. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of The Hobbit.
The company sits around the campfire, their bowls of stew in their hands. They were stopping for a rest before continuing on their journey. They were in sour moods due to the constant rain that had just finished making everything around them drenched in water. The river nearby is roaring in their ears, the persistent rain causing the river to be wild and high. A loud crack echoes in the air around them and the Dwarves stop what they're doing and look around. One of the ponies takes fright and runs past the company. Before anyone knew what happened, Kili is racing after the pony without a second thought.
"Kili!" Thorin and Fili shout after the young heir. Fili drops his bowl and rushes after his brother.
"Fili!" Thorin shouts after his eldest nephew. The company quickly stands up and hurriedly moves after the two brothers.
The pony runs into the river but then stops, not making it very far, rearing up at the river crashing into him. Kili, without thinking, runs into the river and makes a grab for the reigns but the pony rears up again and Kili moves out of the way. The pony turns and gallops out of the river much to Kili's relief. Abruptly, Kili's feet are swept out from underneath him and he crashes into the swift river, his eyes going wide.
"Kili!" Fili shouts seeing his brother disappear under the water. Fili splashes into the water and lunges for his brother, who has just emerged from the water, coughing. Fili's hand makes contact with Kili's jacket and he latches onto it, pulling his younger brother closer to him.
Kili feels his brother pull him close and his hand grabs ahold of Fili's jacket, clutching to it for fear of being separated from him. The current carries the two brothers down the river, the waves splashing into their faces and pushing them below the surface. Fili does everything in his power to keep hold of his brother every time; not that it would matter because Kili's death grip on Fili's jacket wasn't breaking. They can hear shouts coming from the shore but the current twisting and turning them around prevents them from seeing what is happening.
Kili feels the current pull himself away from his brother and his grip becomes vice-like, pulling himself closer to his brother. Fili hangs onto his brother's jacket tightly but is trying to find a way to get them out of this as well. His eyes catch a fallen tree protruding out of the water.
"Kili, grab the tree!" Fili shouts over the rapids roaring in their ears and points in the direction of the tree. Kili looks in the direction Fili is pointing at and he notices the tree in the water. As the brother's get pushed towards it, they grab ahold of one of the branches with their free hands. "Get on Kili!"
Kili pulls himself up onto the trunk of the tree as Fili help push him on top of it. Once Kili is safely out of the water Fili climbs on top of the tree as well, noting that the tree is rotting. They hear shouting from nearby and they look to see Thorin and the rest of the company running towards them. The brother's hang on to the trunk tightly as it begins to torque in the current. Just as the company reaches them, there is a crack and the tree breaks away from its meager hold to the bank. Fili looks to his uncle with wide eyes and Thorin tries to jump onto the tree trunk only to have Dwalin yank him back. Fili looks back at Kili and sees the fear flowing over his face and he tries to give him a reassuring smile.
"We'll get out of this. I give you my word," Fili assures his brother but Kili doesn't relax, the rapids ramming into the tree, causing it to roll and twist in the river. Fili glances ahead of them and sees a giant rock in their way. "Kili…take my hand."
Fili reaches towards his brother, his eyes glued to the rock looming ahead of them. Kili looks ahead of them and sees the rock as well, his eyes growing wider. He looks back at Fili and quickly tries to crawl towards him to grab his older brother's hand, but isn't fast enough. The rotting tree crashes into the rock, breaking in half, the current separate it the rest of the way, and evidently, the brothers. Each half of the tree swirls in circles from the collision and the current, causing the brother's to lose track of where they are, clinging to the tree beneath them. Once the spinning stops, the brothers immediately start searching for each other, seeing their other half yards away from them.
"Kili, paddle towards me!" Fili shouts to his brother even as he begins paddling towards his brother. Kili hurriedly begins paddling towards Fili as well, and in his haste, doesn't see the rock in front of him. His log smashes into it, catching Kili off balance and knocking him into the river once again. "Kili!"
Fili instantly begins paddling faster towards where he last saw his brother, a sigh of relief when he sees his head bob above the water just in front of him. Fili paddles the last few feet towards him and reaches down, grabbing Kili's jacket and hauling him on top of his log. Kili clings to the log, pulling himself further onto it as Fili begins paddling towards the bank. Once Kili gets his breath back, he helps his brother paddle towards the edge of the river.
KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI
Thorin felt his breath catch into his throat as he watched his youngest nephew disappear under the water. His heart skipping a beat as Fili jumps in after his brother. Thorin shouts to the company to get rope and anything else that can serve to help them get the heirs out of the water. They run along the bank, watching as the brother's latch on to each other and then, finally a tree floating in the hazardous water. As Thorin reaches the tree, there is a crack and it breaks. The fear-filled look Fili gives him when the tree begins to float away sends Thorin into action and he launches himself at the tree, intent on jumping onto it or pulling it back to the land. Strong arms grab around him and yank him back onto the bank and Thorin shoves them off him, his eyes focused on his nephews swiftly moving away from him. Thorin rounds on the person who stopped him and sees it's Dwalin.
"I could've gotten them back!" Thorin shouts at the gruff man standing before him.
"You would've put yourself in danger as well," Dwalin challenges as he holds Thorin's firm gaze with one of his own. Thorin scowls but knows his friend is right. There is another loud crack and shouts from the company, causing Dwalin and Thorin to turn and look for the brothers, seeing the tree has broken in half and the heirs separated once again.
"Get the rope!" Thorin shouts, his eyes widening as Kili's log smashes into a rock and sends him below the surface once again. The company quickly runs along the bank, intent on finding a way to pull the youngest of their company back to safety. Thorin notices Fili pull Kili onto his log and the two of them trying to paddle against the current towards the bank. Thorin grabs the rope out of one of the Dwarves hands and moves towards the bank. "Fili!"
Fili glances up hearing his uncle's shout and sees Thorin swinging a rope over his head. He stops paddling and reaches out to catch the rope as Thorin throws it at them. Fili breathes a sigh of relief when his hands close around the rope and he grasps onto it tightly, feeling the company begin to pull them towards land. As they reach the land, Kili jumps off the log and to the bank, slipping and falling into the water. A strong hand grasps the back of his jacket quickly and pulls him back up onto the grass. Kili looks up and sees Dwalin looking down at him, concern on his face. Kili looks over at his brother and sees him climbing onto the bank with the help of Thorin and he lets out a sigh of relief.
Thorin looks between his nephews, taking in their appearance. Their clothes soaked and their hair plastered to their faces and dripping water, their breathing labored. Other than this, though, they seem to be all right and Thorin relaxes slightly. Fili looks over at his brother, making sure he's fine and is satisfied with what he sees. Thorin rests a hand on each of his nephews' shoulders and looks at the two of them.
"You were fools for jumping in the river," Thorin says gruffly, causing the brother's to look away from each other and over at their uncle. They look down at the ground with sheepish looks. "But I am glad you are all right."
Fili and Kili's head jerk up, surprised at the sudden softness in their uncle's voice, sure they were going to get scolded for their actions. Thorin gives their shoulders a slight squeeze before turning and heading back to their camp. Fili and Kili furrow their eyebrows and look over at each other, clearly confused at their uncle's reaction. Bilbo walks over to them, confused at their confusion.
"Is something wrong?" Bilbo asks them with furrowed eyebrows. Fili and Kili look over at their burglar.
"Thorin didn't scold us," Fili says, glancing over at his uncle's retreating back.
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Bilbo says as he shakes his head. Sure, Thorin was gruff but he would think he'd be relieved his nephews were all right.
"He's never done that before," Kili says, looking from the Hobbit and over at their uncle. Bilbo furrows his eyebrows; did Thorin scold the boys enough that they find it strange when he doesn't?
"Shouldn't you be happy then?" Bilbo asks, still trying to understand what the young heirs are worried about.
"No," Kili says as he shakes his head and looks back at Bilbo.
"Definitely not," Fili adds, also shaking his head and looking over at Bilbo. The brother's share another wary look and quickly head back to camp leaving a very confused Hobbit behind them.
AN: Wasn't sure how I wanted Thorin to react to the boys actions, but knew I wanted it to be different from what I had in Drowning. Thought this would be a fun little twist to it. I feel like with Thorin helping to raise the boys he would scold them when they did something wrong. So, when he doesn't, I feel like Fili and Kili would be worried about what their uncle has planned for them. Anyways, please review!