AN: I had readers ask that I continue Warg Scouts with the idea that Kili was more hurt than he let on, so here it is. Looking at the Line of Durin online, I noticed that Frerin was only five years younger than Thorin (just as Kili is with Fili), but also that he died at a very young age. I believe he was only 46, which means in human years he wouldn't have been 12 yet. Seeing this, I feel like Thorin (being the war hardened man he is) he wouldn't have talked about his brother a whole lot and I feel because they were so close in age they would have been just as close with each other as Fili and Kili are. Which then leads me down the thought process that (according to Richard Armitage, Thorin is tough on Fili and over-protective of Kili) Fili reminds Thorin of himself which is why he's so tough on him. And that Kili reminds him of Frerin, his younger brother, so he becomes over-protective of him. I actually never planned on writing the scene between Thorin and Fili but my fingers had other ideas and it just kind of poured out onto the page. But it worked because then I was able to explore this thought process and it was really cool. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out so I hope everyone enjoys this story.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hobbit, the movies, the characters, or anything else of that nature.
Kili follows the company, trying not to breathe too deep. He had told his brother and uncle his ribs were sore but it wasn't anything he hadn't dealt with before. But he is of the line of Durin; and the youngest one at that. There is no way he is going start complaining about a little pain. Of course it is a sharp pain every time he breathes and he isn't able to get a lot of air like normal. Fili keeps looking over at him so he does his best to cover it up; besides Thorin was behind him as well.
Thorin walks behind his nephews, keeping an eye on his youngest. Kili isn't breathing normal; he can tell by the way his youngest nephew continues to take shallow breaths. It could just be because his ribs are sore, but deep down he knows something is wrong with him. Kili's steps gets slower and slower the further they walk and he can tell Fili is noticing it as well by the way he continues to glance over at his brother. Fili looks back at him, worry evident in his eyes before turning his attention back to his younger brother. The company walks out of the narrow pathway and onto a ledge. They stop, overlooking what lies before them.
"The Valley of Imraldis. In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name," Gandalf says, looking at the extravagant city before them.
"Rivendell," Bilbo announces in awe, his eyes wide gazing at the view in front of him.
"This was your plan all along. To seek refuge with our enemy," Thorin asks angrily, pushing his way to the forefront to stand next to Gandalf.
"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf says to Thorin, looking down at him. Gandalf returns to looking at Rivendell. "The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself."
"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us," Thorin argues, turning to Gandalf and glaring at him, daring him to contradict what he is saying.
"Of course they will," Gandalf agrees, raising an eyebrow. Thorin's eyes widen slightly, not expecting Gandalf to agree with him. "But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me."
Gandalf leads the company down the ledged pathway of the mountain they are on. Fili looks over at his brother, seeing he is beginning to look pale and he's leaning up against the cliff next to him. Fili glances in the direction the company is going, seeing his uncle reluctantly following after Gandalf. Turning his attention back to his brother, Fili watches as it seems to take Kili too much effort to push himself off the cliff.
"Are you sure you're fine?" Fili asks Kili, furrowing his eyebrows in concern and watching his brother carefully. Kili's head whips around, realizing his brother has noticed his slip-up. He instantly forces the pain back down and gives his brother a determined face.
"I'm fine. I told you I was fine," Kili responds, forcing his self to walk after the group. Fili sighs, watching after his brother. Something is definitely wrong with him, and he knows Thorin sees it as well, but Kili's not talking. The best he can do right now is be prepared for when Kili finally face plants in his lie.
Kili tries to remember not to use the cliff face next to him to steady his balance, but he's continuing to catch himself time and time again resting a hand on it. It is getting harder and harder to breath and the pain in his chest is getting worse and worse with every step he takes. The company climbs down the stairs and makes their way to Rivendell's bridge. They walk across it and enter into Rivendell. Before them is a stairway where a dark haired elf descends and meets them in the circular entryway. Fili makes sure he stays close by his brother, glancing at him more than he should. He knows Kili sees it, but Fili doesn't care. This is his younger brother; he's supposed to look out for him.
"Mithrandir," the dark-haired elf greets the company.
"Ah, Lindir," Gandalf greets, a smile on his face. Kili can feel Fili watching him so he tries his best to stand up straight, even if he is keeping his left arm close to his painful ribs. He looks straight ahead at Gandalf and the elf called Lindir but he is only concentrating on breathing so he doesn't pass out. The dwarves begin to murmur to each other, hearing the greeting between their wizard and the elf. Thorin leans closer to Dwalin.
"Stay sharp," Thorin whispers to him, keeping his eyes on their surroundings, not trusting anyone here.
"Lastannem I anthrennedh I Vruinen," Lindir says to Gandalf. (We heard you had crossed into the Valley)
"I must speak with Lord Elrond," Gandalf says to Lindir. Fili looks over at his brother, seeing him begin to space out a little, staring straight ahead.
"My Lord Elrond is not here," Lindir replies, shaking his head slightly. Gandalf scrunches his eyebrows in confusion.
"Not here? Where is he?" Gandalf looks around them, expecting to see Elrond appear in front of them. Elvish horns are heard, the same from earlier with the warg scouts. They bring Kili back to the present and he looks around him. The rest of the company turns around and they see a group of armed horsemen coming towards them at a fast pace along the bridge.
"Ifridi bekar!" Thorin shouts to his men. (Ready weapons) "Hold ranks!"
The dwarves quickly gather near Thorin, keeping their selves tight together. Fili makes sure he's right next to his brother, ready for a fight. Kili, not that he wants to admit it, makes sure he's next to his brother. He is beginning to feel lightheaded from the small amount of oxygen he's been bringing in. He sees the horsemen ride towards them but soon there are black spots encompassing his vision. The horsemen ride in a circle around the dwarves before stopping, surrounding them and pointing their weapons at the company. One of the elves, Elrond, moves his horse forwards enough to separate himself from the rest of the horsemen.
"Gandalf," Elrond greets, looking directly at the wizard.
"Lord Elrond," Gandalf says, bowing gracefully. He stands up and looks at Elrond. "Mellon-nin! Mo evinedh!" (My friend. Where have you been?)
Kili hears Elrond respond to Gandalf but he dazes out so he doesn't make out the words. The company being so close together isn't helping his breathing at all. He feels as though he can't get any air in his lungs whatsoever. Kili blinks but is rewarded with his vision spotting out. He reaches out to keep himself balanced, grabbing a hold of something soft.
Fili feels someone grab his arm and he looks over to see Kili's hand hanging onto his coat. Fili's gaze drifts up to his brothers' face and can see he's in a lot of pain and…is that wheezing? He doesn't even think his little brother knows he is hanging onto his arm. Fili looks up when he sees movement in front of him, notices Thorin walking up next to Gandalf.
"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain," Elrond says, recognizing the dwarf king.
"I do not believe we have met," Thorin responds, eyeing the elf king warily. Kili closes his eyes after seeing his uncle step towards Elrond. He's trying to control his breathing, but it's hard to do when it feels as if someone is stabbing his lung with a knife every time he takes in a breath. Fili watches his brother closely, seeing him close his eyes, trying to will off the pain. Fili glances over at his uncle who is still talking to Elrond. Pursing his lips, Fili returns his attention back to his brother, resting a hand on Kili's shoulder. Aside from Kili leaning in to his hand slightly, Fili doesn't see any recognition that his brother knows he's there. Gloin's angry voice draws Fili's attention to the conversation.
"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" Gloin asks angrily after Elrond says something in Elvish. Kili opens his eyes and slowly looks up at the dwarves and elves before him, trying to gain his bearings. His chest feels like it is on fire.
"No, Master Gloin, he's offering you food," Gandalf clarifies, a playful smirk on his face. The dwarves move into a huddle, discussing this turn of events, slightly jostling Kili who hasn't moved. Fili feels his brothers' grip tighten slightly as the company bumps into him. Fili tightens his hold on his brothers' shoulder, letting him know he's still there. The company stands up straight and looks up at Elrond and Gandalf. Gloin is the one who speaks up. "Ah well, in that case, lead on."
The company begins to follow after Elrond and Gandalf. Fili looks over at his uncle, who's watching after the elves in front of them. Fili needs to get his uncle's attention; something is not right with Kili.
"Thorin," Fili says, trying to call after his uncle. Thorin doesn't hear him and Fili let's go of his brother and takes a few steps forward. "Thorin."
This time Thorin does hear his nephew and turns around to see Fili, wide-eyed and worried looking at him. Thorin's gaze shifts to his youngest nephew who is looking pale and has a death grip on his elder brother's arm. Thorin furrows his eyebrows in concern and walks over to his kin. He rests a hand on the side of Kili's head and bends to see his youngest nephew's face. Kili looks up and sees his uncle studying him.
"You said you were fine," Thorin accuses Kili, his jaw setting. Kili blinks, tries to take in another breath, but only manages a wheezing one, causing his uncle and brothers' looks of concern to intensify.
"Kili…" Fili begins but Kili shrugs them off. Kili sends them a determined look. He isn't a child; he can handle a little pain.
"I'm fine," Kili says forcefully, but the loss of breath doesn't support his argument; before they can question him further, Kili weakly shoves past them. However, he only takes a few steps before the world tilts and his vision becomes spotty. Thorin and Fili see it happening before Kili even realizes it and quickly lunge forward, grabbing their youngest before he hits the ground.
"Kili!" Fili shouts, gently lies his brother down and can hear the shallow, wheezing breathes emanating from him. Fili looks up at his uncle, this time, the look in his eye surpassing concern and going straight to fear. Thorin meets his eldest nephews look, not bearing to see that look in either one of their faces. Thorin looks up at the retreating backs of their company, making a decision.
"Gandalf!"
KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI
Fili is sitting in a chair, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his brothers' bed, his forehead resting on his intertwined hands. The elves had rushed Kili to one of their hospital rooms where they were able to heal him. Elrond had said something about Kili having broken a few ribs and one of them had punctured his lung. Fili looks up and over at his brother, asleep on the bed, watching his chest rise and fall.
"Why didn't you say anything Kee?" Fili whispers to his unconscious brother. Fili hears footsteps behind him and he looks over to see his uncle walk into the room.
"How is he doing?" Thorin asks, taking a seat on the other side of Kili's bed, watching his nephew, his gaze drifting to Kili's chest just as Fili's has done. Fili shrugs, moving his gaze from his uncle back to his brother.
"He's breathing," Fili answers. Thorin nods his head. That's all they can ask for. Thorin looks over at his eldest nephew, seeing the dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. He's sat by his brothers' side the moment the elves would let him and hasn't left it since then. Thorin's gaze moves around the room, falling on the tray of uneaten food.
"Fili," Thorin sighs, looking back over at his nephew. Fili glances up at his uncle, already knowing what he's going to say. "You need to eat."
"I wasn't hungry," Fili says, looking back over at his brother. Thorin's jaw tenses.
"You can't help your brother if you end up in the bed next to him. You need to eat to keep your strength up," Thorin says, leaving no room for argument.
"Why didn't he say anything?" Fili asks, his eyes moving to Thorin's and then dodging back to Kili. Thorin studies Fili for a moment before answering.
"I don't know. For the love of Durin, I don't know what goes on in that boy's head," Thorin says, shaking his head and looking over at Kili fondly.
"You sound like our mother," Fili says, smiling slightly at the mention of her. Thorin does the same before answering.
"That's probably because she heard our own mother say the same about me and Frerin." Fili's eyes shoot over to his uncle. Their uncle didn't talk much about his childhood, let alone their other uncle. What little they knew they learned from their mother and the bits and pieces Thorin did tell them. Thorin looks over at Kili and smiles, memories coming back to him. Thorin glances at Fili, seeing the hopeful look on his face. "Did you know Frerin was only five years younger than I?"
Fili shakes his head. He knew he was younger, but not by how much. Thorin looks back over at Kili, making sure he is still breathing okay.
"You two remind your mother of me and Frerin," Thorin continues, not taking his eyes of Kili. "And she'd be right."
Fili doesn't say anything, just continues to watch his uncle. He didn't want to ruin anything; he is just sorry Kili isn't awake to hear this as well. Thorin watches Kili for a moment before continuing.
"We used to get into trouble all the time. I think at one point we had cut the bottom of our mothers market basket so when she had filled it up, it broke and everything went everywhere," Thorin says, his eyes on Kili but not focusing on him. Fili's eyes grow wide, a grin on his face.
"What did she do?" Fili asks. Thorin looks over at his eldest nephew and smirks.
"She made us work in the market to buy her a new one," Thorin says, chuckling. Fili's smile grows bigger. He had to remember that one. When they got back, Kili would want to try it out. At the thought of his brother, Fili looks over at him.
"Don't go getting any ideas," Thorin lectures, seeing the look of glee on Fili's face. Fili looks back over at his uncle, feigning innocence. Fili's eyebrows suddenly furrow and he studies his uncle for a moment before speaking up.
"Is that how you knew it was us who tied Darin's coat to the back of his horses' saddle?" Fili asks. It was quite a funny picture. Darin was another dwarf. At the age of 121, he began to think he was better than everyone. So, Fili and Kili decided to put him in his place. After he had climbed upon his horse, Fili intercepted him and distracted him by talking to him. Little did Darin know that Kili was behind him, tying the back part of his coat to the back of his horses saddle. They followed him all the way to his house, which was on the busiest street, and hid so he couldn't see them. And when Darin had swung his leg over to climb off, his jacket didn't move. Here was Darin, hanging off his horse, his coat stuck between his legs only to lose his balance and end up upside down. It was the boys' entertainment of the year. And they had thought they had gotten away with it. That is until Thorin had stopped by and called them out on it and they were made to apologize.
Thorin watches Fili as he smirks in amusement at the memory. Thorin looks away, his own smirk evident on his face. He had to admit, it was a good prank. But he was helping Dis raise those boys and so he had to punish them for it. Although, he wished he had thought of that back when he was young. He knew a few dwarves who could've used a little coat trouble themselves.
"You should eat," Thorin says, looking back over at Fili. Fili opens his mouth to protest but Thorin fixes him with a look.
"Just a little," Fili says, standing up and grabbing the tray. Fili sits back down next to his brothers' bed and begins nibbling on the food.
KILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILIKILIFILI
Kili slowly begins to come to, taking a deep breath. The first thing he notices is it doesn't hurt when he breathes anymore. His ribs feel a little sore still but no more stabbing pain every time he breathes. The next thing he notices is the air doesn't smell familiar. Kili opens his eyes, quickly shutting them when the sunlight pierces through them. He tries again, going slower, this time being successful. Kili looks around the room he's in, seeing he's alone. He tries to remember what happened and it all comes back to him. The warg scouts, being blind-sided, the sharp pain in his chest, arriving at Rivendell, and…
Kili lets out a groan. He fainted. He was of the line of Durin and he fainted; right into his brothers' arms. Taking a deep breath, Kili slowly pushes himself up to a sitting position, resting his back on the wall behind him. There is a sound outside the room and Kili looks up, a slow smile appearing on his face when he sees said brother walk into the room. Fili sets the tray of food on the table, looking at it, debating as to whether he should try to eat it.
"It's not going to eat itself," Kili says, a playful smirk on his face as he watches his brother. Fili whips around and looks over at the bed his brother is occupying. Seeing Kili sitting up in bed, and fully awake, sends a wide grin on his face.
"Kili!" Fili shouts, running over to the side of Kili's bed and pulling his brother in for a hug. Fili pulls away and sits in the chair, watching his brother for any sign he's in pain.
"What happened?" Kili asks, looking over at his brother. Kili squirms slightly under his brothers' intense scrutiny.
"You don't remember?" Fili asks, furrowing his eyebrows, searching his younger brothers brown eyes. Kili thinks for a second before answering.
"I remember being attacked by the warg scouts. And following the path to Rivendell. And…"
"And what?" Fili prods when his brother doesn't continue.
"And the pain. It would pierce through my chest every time I breathed. And then, everything went black," Kili continues, shifting his gaze to the blankets on his bed, not wanting to look at his brother when he admits to not telling them the truth about how badly he was hurt. Fili nods his head.
"Well, you fainted," Fili says with a smirk, seeing his brother become uneasy. Kili looks up at him, scrunching his face.
"I did not faint. I…dropped to the ground awkwardly," Kili argues, sending his brother a glare. Fili's smirk grows.
"You fainted," Fili replies, giving his brother a look when Kili opens his mouth to argue. "Lord Elrond said you broke a couple ribs and one of them pierced your lung. Which is why is hurt so much to breath. The Elves were able to heal you."
Kili nods his head. He looks around the room, seeing another chair on the other side of his bed. Fili watches his brother for a moment before speaking up.
"You were out for two days. You must be hungry." Fili gets up and walks over to the tray of food, Kili's eyes following his brothers' path. Fili brings the tray back over and sets it on the bed in front of his brother. Kili looks at the tray and looks back over at his brother, an eyebrow raised. Fili shrugs.
"It's not horrible," Fili says. He nods towards the plate filled with greens. "Eat. Get your strength back."
Kili begins eating the food, realizing how hungry he really is. Footsteps coming their way stop him and he and Fili look up to see Thorin walk into the room. Thorin notices Kili up and awake and a small smile appears on his face.
"I see you decided to stop being lazy and wake up," Thorin says, walking over to the other side of the bed and sitting in the chair across from Fili. "I trust Fili told you everything that happened."
Thorin shifts his gaze to Fili who nods his head. Thorin looks back over at his youngest nephew, silently checking him over, happy with what he sees. The color is back in his cheeks and the black circles under his eyes are gone. The playful gleam in his eyes is back as well and deep down, Thorin is thankful for that even if it did mean trouble for everyone else.
"Eat. Get your strength back up," Thorin says, noticing the food on Kili's lap. The food that is most likely supposed to be Fili's but he'll let it slide this time. Kili takes another bite and a playful smirk appears on Thorin's lips as he shares a look with his eldest nephew. "Especially since you fainted."
"I did not faint!" Kili sputters out, glaring at his brother and uncle. Thorin and Fili chuckle, happy Kili is awake that they can have fun with him.
AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think! Would love to get some feedback!