Author's Note: I'm having a lot of fun creating stories about the dwarves when they were children. At first I was going to do a story about a young Bofur and Bomfur, but this little bit popped into my head. I LOVE FLUFF. As far as head canon goes (with him being the baby), Ori is one to two dwarfling years younger than Kíli. I also believe he would've dealt with them while growing up, as I totally believe those two hooligans would be completely well-known as Thorin's little trouble-makers.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for the awesome mother, Elna.

Of Broken Pencils and Tears

Ori peeked out from behind his mother's skirt, face red with tears that were already threatening to spill from his eyes. The market was his favorite place in the whole world, but he preferred to be left alone while his mother managed her stall. Usual customers were well aware of the boy's shyness, typically spotting him drawing or writing in a tattered journal. Two young customers one day, however, tried to help the young lad overcome his shyness.

"It's just us, Ori!" young Fíli explained, on hand grasping his younger brother's tunic. Kíli, the more tactless out of the two, was worming his way behind Elna to try to pull Ori away from her. "Kíli, stop being rude, or I'll tell Mum!"

The youngest heir of Durin pouted. "I dunno why he's so scared! It's just us!"

Elna, the mother of Dori, Nori, and Ori, chuckled as she tried to push her youngest towards the two boys. "Aye, little Ori doesn't like to be poked and prodded, Kíli, something you do all the time."

"We just want to play with him..." Kíli muttered under his breath as he kicked the ground in irritation.

"You hurt me last time," Ori whined, remembering the last time Kíli wanted to 'play' with him.

Ori didn't prefer swords or weapons like the other children. While some were given fake swords or maces for birthday presents, Ori was quite content with books or his mother's knitted clothes. The other dwarflings were aware of Ori's strange likeness, but they learned early on not to shun him. If anything, Ori was the best one to go to for stories. He'd always have a new adventure to tell his friends - or anyone who wanted to listen.

Fíli was the one who was the most curious of the youngest son of Elna. While Dori was also very knowledgable and liked to talk, he held an air of authority and superiority Fíli hated. Dori just discussed simple facts while Ori chose to exaggerate the things he knew, to make them seem more fun and interesting.

"Hey, Ori! Kíli was bugging me about that story with the puppy wargs, but I couldn't remember the end of it. Could you tell it to him so he stops pestering me?" Fíli asked on a warm summer's day. He found Ori sitting behind his mother's stall, busy scribbling in his journal.

"Okay, but lemme finish this," he replied, his pink tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. Fíli sat down next to his creative friend, aware of the weapon Nori was known to carry around. The look of excitement wasn't one to miss on Ori's face. "Mummy doesn't like me drawing weapons, but I find them fascinating. Nori and Bofur are the only ones who show them off, so I take any chance I get to draw them."

Fíli nodded as he took out a small knife Thorin recently gave him. "Would you like to draw this?"

Ori looked at him eagerly before taking the sharp object into his small hands. It was a simple dagger that young dwarves were given by their guardians, a tradition Dori and Nori once explained. "If you come over later, I can sketch it. I just want to finish Nori's drawing first. Mum gave me some coloring pencils!"

The two sat in silence as Fíli watched Ori diligently continue the drawing. Ori colored slowly, mixing the colors whenever needed or used his thumb to smudge the darker colors to seem lighter.

"You're too good at this," Fíli commented when Ori looked down at his completed artwork. "I've never met someone who draws as well as you."

"Dori says that not many dwarves enjoys the things I do. He says that I'm the most unique dwarf around," Ori said proudly, but the gleam in his eyes disappeared when a blur of dark hair flew into him.

"Ori! Ori! I've been looking for you all over the place!" the unmistaken voice of Kíli squeaked into his ear. "Stupid Fíli can't remember the story that well, and I'm dying to know if that hobbit lived or not!"

Before he had a chance to reply, Ori found himself being pulled up by the hyperactive child. The swift tug was too strong, and Ori found himself falling face down onto the ground. The warm liquid from his nose caught his attention first, next to the broken colored pencils he saw near Kíli's feet. Tears sprang from the youngest's eyes.

"You broke my pencils!" he cried, pointing at the wooden sticks crunched under Kíli's boots. "And you made me bleed..."

Fíli helped Ori to his feet before turning to glare at his youngest brother. "Pick up the pieces and come with me. This is the third time this week you accidentally hurt Ori."

After remembering the unfortunate scene, Ori immediately brought his hand up to his nose. While it wasn't broken (which wouldn't be the first time thanks to Kíli's antics), it was hard to forget the familiar feeling of blood gushing down his face.

"I'm still really sorry," Kíli said with a pout. "I was just so excited to hear your story. Wasn't paying attention."

The dark hair dwarf reached into his pockets and pulled out a few wooden sticks. Fíli looked on proudly as his little brother gave Ori the small gifts. "I got you some new coloring pencils, if it helps."

Ori allowed his mother to push him towards the two boys, but he was still weary around Kíli. The boy held an air of mischief whenever around, but he seemed completely genuine in a sense. Tentatively, Ori reached out and grasped the pencils. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a few more colors than he previously owned.

"These are more than you broke!"

Sheepishly, Kíli placed a hand on the back of his neck. "I figured I'd get you more since I'm always getting you in trouble, even if it's always an accident."

"Thank you," Ori said earnestly, quite shocked that Kíli thought of something so thoughtful. "Would you like to see the drawing of Fíli's dagger I did?"