Hello! Just a few quick notes, then we'll be on our way.
This is my first fic, usually I write original stories but they're usually abandoned. Hopefully that won't happen with this one!
This is a slight AU (more in the later chapters) featuring our favorite dwarves, Fili and Kili. I, of course, jumped on the bandwagon and threw another character I made up in there. Just because I can. ;)
I try to fact check, but there will still be things I change on purpose. So just keep that in mind. :)
Lastly, I have school and ride horses, so usually I'm pretty busy with that. I have a few shows coming up soon as well as a young pony I have to prepare for it. I have about 7 more chapters typed up and ready, so I'll try to update every other day or something like that. Chapter lengths will vary, though, but they're mostly 1.1k-1.3k words each.
Enough with the rambling. Hope you all enjoy! Make sure you tell me what you think of it!
Kili walked beside Fili, while Thorin led the company across the ridge. Kili's palms were bleeding from the climb up the forty foot rock face, the sharp rocks slicing his palms. He wiped the blood absently on his cloak, before inspecting his wounds. They were shallow, but stung painfully. Fili noticed this, and grabbed his left wrist, inspecting it. He frowned.
"I'm fine, Fili," He said, pulling his hand away. Fili shot him a look, shaking his head and sighing. Kili playfully nudged his shoulder, saying that he didn't mean it in a bad way. It was still early in the morning, but it felt like they had been walking forever. Bombur trudged on in front of them, grumbling and shielding his eyes against the sun. Bofur was chattering away, oblivious to his kin's complaints, swinging his pickaxe.
"And then, I walked straight into the biggest patch of thorn bushes I've ever seen! Can ye believe that, brother? It was bigger than the one back home, and you would've thunk that it was the biggest, since father complained about it sometimes," he beamed, nudging Bombur. "I'm just lucky my pony ran around it!"
Kili snorted. While on any other day the pointless story would have bored him, even annoyed him, the company was short on good stories to tell. The trek had drained them, even though they were only a few days in. He assumed they would get used to it, but it was even harder after their ponies all ran off the previous day.
"Did they have any berries?" Bombur asked.
"Oh, aye, yes. The juiciest blackberries I've ever had! Too bad the birds had gotten there first."
A howl pierced the air, and Thorin abruptly stopped. "Draw your swords!" He yelled, and the dwarves all held swords, axes, and in Kili's case, a bow with an arrow at the ready. The first warg crested the hill, catching sight of them and galloping their way. "Kili! Get him out!"
The command came from his uncle, and as soon as the beast was in range, Kili fired. It caught the warg in the eye, sending it skittering to the ground as more came running towards them. There weren't many, only about six, and only two had riders. One with a rider set its sights on the brothers who were standing ready. Kili fired at the rider, knocking the orc off.
Kili had replaced his bow with his sword, and he and Fili both raked their blades down the warg's sides. Black blood coated the ground, but the larger-than-normal warg seemed unfazed. It turned and faced them growling, showing exposed yellow teeth.
It barreled into Fili, knocking him off his feet, onto the ground against a rock. His brother screamed, the warg seizing his leg in his jaws. It started dragging him away from the boulder, oblivious to the cliff a few feet behind it. Kili leapt forwards, slashing at its legs, but it only barely stumbled. Fili was clawing at it, trying to stop it, for he saw the danger behind them. His brother kicked with his free leg, but the jaws didn't loosen.
Kili's hand found his brothers for a split second, but then the warg reached the edge. It yelped, not loosening its death grip on the dwarf. Its hind legs went over and it was left scrabbling at the rocky surface with its front paws, breaking off chunks of stone. Fili tightened his grip on Kili's hand and kicked out, but the weight of the massive warg was too much.
His hand sprang open as the whole wolf went over, and Kili watched them plummet to the ground in horror. Fili landed on top of the warg rather than the boulder the creature had, but he rolled off and was unmoving. The warg was, however, and limped over, and Kili could hear the growls over the noise at his level. He pulled a throwing axe out from under his tunic and took aim, throwing it. It sliced through the air and embedded itself in the warg's skull, causing it to go limp on the ground.
Only one warg remained, and was taken down by Dwalin and Bifur. The others were standing around, checking each other for wounds. Thorin was helping the older Balin to his feet after a tumble off a rock.
"Thorin!" Kili called, his voice cracking with worry. His uncle looked up, his hair falling into his face. "Get the ropes!"
"Where's Fili?!" He demanded, running over, and looking down beside Kili. "In Durin's name... DORI GET THOSE ROPES!"
Dori bustled over, tripping over the ropes, and most of the dwarves ran over as well. Thorin wrapped his hands in the rope while Dori and Dwalin began to lower him, and his uncle disappeared over the ledge. After a minute or two, Kili climbed on and began to slide down, kicking off the uneven rock face has his hands picked up the rough fibers of the rope, stinging his cuts from the climb up.
He dropped off while there were five feet left, stumbling onto the warg and then hurrying over to his brother. He was unconscious but alive, and blood began to soak through the heavy layers of pants and other clothing on his leg. Thorin was bent over his head, muttering things that Kili couldn't make out.
"We need to get him back up," his uncle said quietly, stroking Fili's blonde hair. Kili nodded in agreement, not knowing what he should do. It was always Fili who did that, Kili just went along. "The two of us will break the rope. Go up with him first, and I'll follow. Here, take him like this..." Thorin and Kili heaved Fili to his feet, carrying him over to the rope. Kili got a firm grip on him and the rope, his cut hands wrapped tightly and his feet wound in it.
Dori started pulling and Kili bumped against the rock, not minding as long as Fili was safe. His brother's head rested against his shoulder, and he leaned his face into his hair, breathing in. His hand started to slip when they almost reached the top, blisters bursting open and the fibers digging into his cuts.
They finally reached solid ground, and collapsed down onto it. Bofur gently moved Fili away from the edge, Kili close behind. He leaned over his brother while all the other dwarves crowded around, except for Dori, Dwalin, and Thorin. Kili wound his hands in his brother's hair, feeling the life in him as Thorin bustled over. He carefully slid his pants up, which were covered in blood, revealing his bare leg.
It was covered in two neat rows of tooth marks, several turning into gashes, probably from the warg's grip slipping. The flesh around it was red, and Thorin said it was burning hot to touch.
"It'll get infected," Kili murmured, stroking his brother's face. Thorin sighed and shook his head, looking defeated. He knew all too well that the only people who could help were the elves in Rivendell. "We have to, uncle."
"I am not going to give my nephew to elves!" He snapped, sitting back on his heels. Fili stirred underneath him, and Kili bent down to whisper into his ear, but his brother still kept his eyes closed.
There was rustling in the nearby forest, and the dwarves all formed a protective barrier around the three, drawing their weapons against the new threat.