Ori woke to a silent house, for once. There were no shouting brothers, no slamming doors, no accusations being thrown; just silence. And it was a good silence too, not the tense, glaring one that constantly occupied his home. No, it was a peaceful, calm silence, as his family should be.

Ori smiled tiredly and huddled down into his blankets, not quite willing to get out of bed yet, despite the irresistible smell of popping, sizzling, juicy bacon crackling on the stove wafting into his room. Curse his brother for getting up so early.

He sighed. It was impossible. Bacon was one of Ori's favorites, besides biscuits of course. Maybe Nori had made some of those as well? Ori loved these early mornings he spent with his brother, before Dori made them go to their chores. With a sigh, he hauled himself out of the warm bed and trudged to the kitchen.

But when he saw who was cooking the bacon, Ori's world crashed. It wasn't Nori in the kitchen. To Ori's disappointment, it was his eldest brother, Dori. Now, dear reader, do not misunderstand. Ori loved his brother more than he could say. Their father had died when Ori was barely five, with their mother following soon after. So for the past forty years, it had been Dori's job to raise his two brothers, making him the only father figure Ori remembers having. Yes, he loved his eldest brother, but he and Nori had a completely different kind of relationship. Dori was the 'father', but Nori…Nori was his Nadad. He was the older brother, the model, the protector, the banisher of nighttime terrors. But he was also the black sheep. A wanderer, always getting into trouble.

Always leaving him.

Ori and Dori had perfected their 'When-Nori-Is-Gone' routine. Dori would get up, make bacon, Ori would sit at the table, and the two would talk about everything under the sky, except for their star-headed brother and his ways. Then, after the dishes were cleaned, Dori would go to the Higher Halls and work on documents with Balin, while Ori would check his secret alcove.

Now this alcove is going to take some explaining, I believe. When Ori was barely old enough to walk, Nori somehow nicked him away right from under Dori's nose. But his plan had completely backfired. Nori ended up chasing the dwarfling all through Ered Luin, right up to the outermost gates. That is where Ori found his Alcove. Well, it actually wasn't anything more than a large hole; not nearly big enough to take notice of. It was, however, plenty big to hide a dwarfling, and as said dwarfling grew, it became the perfect place for hiding from shouting matches between his brothers.

Besides Ori, only Nori knew of the Alcove. But then again, Ori was positive Nori knew every single little crack and scratch in the mountain. Because Big Brother always knows everything, right?

The Alcove was where Ori was headed now. A few years ago, as soon as Ori was able to read, he and Nori wrote their very own secret language, known only between the two of them. They used it frequently in passing notes behind Dori's back, and every time Nori left, he made sure to leave a letter in the Alcove, as a reassurance to his nadadith that he would come back, always.

Ori looked around as he entered the large, outermost cavern of Ered Luin. It was lit by torches, and had guards stationed at the front gate, but fortunately no one was looking towards him or his Alcove, which was (also fortunately) cast in shadow. He quickly dodged past them and into his little hole.

Ori loved his Alcove. It was always warm, probably because it was right next to the forge. He kept candles and matches hidden in the corner, and had tacked up a shelf to put food on (and the occasional birthday ale, but that was another of his and Nori's secrets). Below the shelf was a woven basket filled to the brim of yarn and his wooden knitting needles sticking out the top. But Ori walked past all theses, and towards a flat stone protruding from the back wall. It was his 'mailbox', of sorts. It was where Nori always left his letter, and occasionally, Ori would find little gifts from an anonymous giver. He knew who the giver was though, but would never tell Dori.

There was indeed a letter sitting on the mailbox, along with a gift wrapped in soft cloth and tied with leather straps. Ori grabbed the letter with a sigh, deciding to open the parcel later.

Nadadith,
Yes, I have left. I am sorry, but times are getting rough again, and Dori does not need any more mouths to feed. I would rather leave knowing that you are being taken care of, than stay with the knowledge that we don't have enough for the three of us.

Ori, you need to remember that no matter what, your needs will always come before mine. We love you little brother, and we, that is, Dori and I, want to see you grow up strong and healthy, even if that means giving up a few things. I will be back, I promise, but it may take a little longer than normal this time. I plan to go to a town far from the mountains, where work is plentiful, and I can find a well-paying job for the winter. I am not leaving forever, I would never do that, but I may be gone longer than you are used to.

Remember all I have taught you: stay away from Dori when he is in a mood, don't antagonize Dwalin any more than necessary, and stay in the halls. I cannot stress that enough. Not to scare you, but there have been multiple orc sightings in the near-by villages, and the last thing I would want is to come home and find my nadadith in the healing wards.

I love you. Stay safe. Stay strong. Continue your studies, and I shall be home before Durin's day of the next year.

Always you Nadad,
Nori, son of Bouri

Ori's heart dropped to his stomach as he read and reread the letter. Durin's Day? But…that was almost a whole year! They were well into the fall of this year, Durin's Day only right around the corner. That means Nori will be gone for a whole year! Nori always said that he left to take the burden of caring for two brothers off Dori, but sometimes, Ori couldn't wonder if there was another reason. A reason that involved him.

Refusing to let the tears roll down his cheeks, Ori folded the paper up and set it in the box with all the others. He rocked back onto his heels, and buried his face in his knees. How in all of Arda did Nori expect him to survive for a whole year without him! a year without their special quiet mornings, without their whispered secrets in the dark, no daring escapades behind Dori and Thorin's back, all because of Nori's stupid selflessness.

"It's not fair," the young dwarf muttered into his knees. He let himself sniffle for a minute before untangling his arms and grabbing the parcel. It wasn't a very heavy thing, he could tell. It had a somewhat odd shape, one Ori didn't recognize. With a little shrug, he pulled open the leather strings and let the cloth fall away.

It was a slingshot, not a toy slingshot, but a real hunting one. The dark brown wood was smooth, not a single chip or dent in the design. Ori flipped it over in his hands, looking for what he knew he would find…eventually.

There. On the very bottom, in carvings so tiny he could barely see them, was Nori's name and sigil. He cracked a smile through his tears. Now he knew what Nori had been working on so diligently for the past few weeks, every night before the fire.

Ori turned the slingshot over in his hands a few more times before reaching down to pick up the cloth wrapping it had been in. he was planning to fold it up and reuse it for something else, but stopped when he saw the charcoal writing on the inside.

Happy Birthday, Nadadith.

Of course. Nori would never forget his birthday, which was barely a week away. He tucked the cloth into his belt along with the slingshot before crawling back out of his hole and into the halls.

The halls were mostly empty, what with most dwarrows still waking in their homes. Ori ambled through the main passageways, kicking a rock here, rapping a stick against the wall there, until he came to the main marketplace. It was already full of torchlight and early risers hurrying around. He spotted the prince, Thorin, walking with his best warrior and friend, Dwalin, their heads ducked together as if discussing something important. Then Thorin's gaze drifted upwards, and caught Ori's. His face softened a little; he must have heard that Nori left. Thorin always knew everything.

The weeks flew by, and eventually turned into months, which then evolved into a year. Ori had designated a wall in his bed room as a calendar of sorts, marking off each setting of the sun that brought them closer to Durin's day, and Nori closer to home.

Hello everyone. Now I know when you read this author's note, you are expecting huntressofartemis101 to be typing it. Well she's not. She is currently unconscious in a hospital bed hooked up to all kinds of wires and IVs. A few days ago a drunk crashed into her truck, and the doctors haven't given us much positive feedback on her state yet.

But anyways, this is a story that she was planning on posting, and asked me to do it for her. She said that it is going to be a two-shot, and that it is based of the pic "Protection" by Tenshi-Inverse on DeviantArt.

The next chapter will be up as soon as the hospital lets my sister go, but until then, all her stories are on hiatus. Thank you.

~Allie Beth