Fili had never been one for drawing, unlike his younger brother Kili who would draw for hours upon end if you let him. If he wasn't trying to get hold of a sword or running off somewhere, you would likely find him on his own with colouring pencils and paper scattered everywhere. It was one of his favourite hobbies, so he did tend to draw whenever he had spare time, colouring trees and flowers and occasionally some dwarves that lived in the area too.
Fili watched with a fond smile as Kili lay on the floor, happily scribbling away on a page. He had been told it was a surprise and therefore Kili wouldn't let him see it until it was finished.
Thorin had gone out to see Dwalin, so that left Fili to keep an eye on his younger brother. Twelve was an appropriate age to leave him with his sibling, apparently. Their uncle wasn't too far though, so if anything did happen, he could fetch Thorin within minutes.
"Done!" Kili exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement as he lifted the picture to get a better look at it. It was his best yet.
"Let me see." Fili grabbed the seven year old and sat him down in his lap. He peaked over the other's shoulder and glanced at the drawing, eyes travelling over the detail and colour. He wasn't sure who Kili had drawn this time, but it was a lady dwarf he was sure he hadn't seen before.
"Who's this?" He asked with a smile, resting his chin on Kili's tiny shoulder.
"Mummy!" Kili beamed, proud of his drawing. Fili froze when he heard the answer, inhaling deeply to calm himself. He wasn't sure how Kili could even remember his mum; she had died giving birth to him. Their father had disappeared that night, leaving Thorin to raise them.
"That's... that's great," Fili forced a smile, carefully taking the drawing from Kili and setting it beside them. "Time for bed, yeah? It's getting late."
Kili grumbled in protest, yet allowed himself to be lifted by Fili and brought into the bedroom. He gently set him down on the bed and tucked him in, pressing a light kiss to his brother's forehead.
"Tell me a story, Fili," Kili requested, gripping the older dwarf's sleeve as he was getting up to leave. "The one about the brave dwarf prince who promised to get his kingdom back." He had heard it many times before, but it was his favourite.
"All right," Fili nodded, wanting to distract himself. "There once was a very brave dwarf who lived in a faraway kingdom called Erebor, where dwarves were wealthy and had enough gold and jewels to fill an entire castle! The King was well known and all the dwarves liked him. Everyone was happy, until one day a fierce dragon came swooping down upon their city!" Kili gasped and then giggled as Fili used his arms to demonstrate.
"This dragon was known as Smaug the Terrible," Fili continued. "He burnt the houses and sent people running and screaming for their lives! But that wasn't all, a huge war broke out and The Pale Orc attacked them too. His name was Azog, and he was evil with weird pointy ears and an ugly scarred face!" Kili giggled again as Fili pulled a silly face at him.
"What happened next?" Kili asked when Fili paused, desperate to know more.
"Azog beheaded the King." Fili whispered, and Kili clapped both hands over his mouth in surprise.
"No!" He shouted, receiving a "Yes!" from his brother.
"Then what happened?"
"Well, The Pale Orc was also out to kill the King's grandson, who fought him with an oak shield! Then he grabbed a sword and chopped his ugly arm off, so The Pale Orc was not very happy at all."
"Did he kill the prince?"
"No, Uncle Thorin said the prince is still alive today, and that one day he is going to fight off Smaug the Terrible and get his kingdom back and be King!" Fili replied with a grin, getting one in return from Kili.
Little did they know that Thorin had been listening to every word at the door, Kili's drawing of his mother crumpled between his fingers as a low sigh escaped him. He walked away wearing a disconsolate expression, the drawing falling to the floor as he left his two nephews to finish their stories of another war that was yet to be fought.