Fíli and Kíli want to try out Kíli's brand new bow, but as always with the Durin boys, things don't go exactly as planned.

I know this is a shorter chapter, but it was the best way to divide what I've written so far into several chapters.

2. A competition gone awry

They walked for half an hour until they found a wide clearing with trees and bushes at all sides.

"A bit of target practice, don't you think?" Fíli asked, using his knife to carve three rings into the broadest tree. "Your arrows against my knife!"

"You won't stand a chance," Kíli replied, at which the blonde dwarf only laughed.

They both stepped away from the tree, so that Fíli's distance from it was about 30 yards, whereas Kíli went further away until he was almost 80 yards away. It was a distance they had agreed on when they had first competed like that, because no matter how good Fíli was at throwing daggers and knives, he couldn't throw it as far as an arrow could fly and the brothers may have been competitive, but remained fair at all times. That "arrow factor", as Kíli used to call it, ensured equal chances for both brothers.

Fíli was the first to aim, and he threw his small silver dagger with ease, hitting the middle circle right on the spot. He turned around and shrugged, as if to say that he'd done more difficult things when peeling potatoes for his mother. Kíli only grinned, because he was used to his brother's attitude at competitions like this, and aimed carefully at the tree. Arrows were much lighter than knives, and therefore he had to take into account not only the distance, but also the force and direction of the wind as well as the properties of the bowstring.

After two seconds he let go of the string, and the arrow flew in a perfect arc and landed right next to Fíli's dagger.

"That was too easy!" laughed Kíli as the brothers went to retrieve the dagger and arrow, respectively.

"Great shot, little brother!" Fíli said in an appreciative voice. "You really know how to handle that thing."

"It's much easier than with any other bow I've ever shot with, it's just perfect. I can't thank you enough, Fee," Kíli replied warmly, his fingertips tracing the rune carvings.

For Kíli, my brother and best friend forever.

They stepped away from the tree once more, each putting more distance between himself and the target this time. Now it was Kíli's turn to start, and he drew back the bow string, his forehead creased in concentration.

A noise in the bushes startled them. Kíli flinched, and before he could stop himself he let go of the string. The arrow missed the tree and landed in the thicket next to it.

"Argh! Mahal's sake, what…?"

Kíli and Fíli looked at each other in alarm. The top of a very familiar, pointy hat rose from the bush, with a still vibrating arrow protruding from it.

"Oh no…," whispered Kíli, staring rigidly ahead until his brother grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.

"Run!"

And they ran. They ran and laughed until Kíli thought that his lungs would burst and he dropped down on the earthy ground, tears of laughter running down his face.

"Oh my… oh dear," he wheezed, "Bofur will kill us!"

Fíli sat down next to him, giving his younger brother a stern look.

"You. He will kill you. It's not me who destroyed his favourite hat!"

"You were supposed to keep me out of trouble!" Kíli shot back, a mischievous smirk on his reddened face.

"It's impossible to keep you out of trouble, the only one refusing to believe that is our mother. Even uncle Thorin knows that. Speaking of Thorin…"

"He won't be amused when Bofur tells him," the younger dwarf finished the sentence. "I remember the time I smashed old Téo's window – my left buttock hasn't been the same ever since." He grinned with a pained expression when Fíli roared with laughter.

"Oh well, it's your birthday, he might go easy on you."

Unfortunately for Kíli, his brother didn't sound very convincing. He tried to not think about it and instead got to his feet. He had never been in this part of the forest before and he didn't have any idea of how far he and Fíli had run.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking questioningly at his older brother.

"I have absolutely no idea," he replied, "but there's one way to find out." He pointed to a high tree. "Someone's gotta climb up there and look out."

He looked pointedly at the younger dwarf, who sighed dramatically and put down his bow. Fíli had always been better at climbing, for he was older and stronger, but Kíli was nearly as good and after all it was his fault that they'd ended up here in the first place.

The dark-haired dwarf checked the tree carefully, but found that the branches began quite low so he would have no difficulty getting to the top. He started to climb, while Fíli was watching from below, following his every movement. He reached the top quickly. He turned around, shielding his eyes from the sun, and realised that they had run into the exact wrong direction. Not that it surprised him, really, because he had learned very early that things that could go wrong would go wrong.

"We went in the wrong direction! I'd say we are two miles from home!" he called down to where Fíli was standing.

"Awesome," Fíli mumbled to himself. They'd be late for lunch. "Okay Kee, get back down!" he yelled. "We better hurry!"

Kíli did as he was told, and carefully put his foot onto the next lower branch. He agreed with Fíli, they ought to get home fast, for it was almost lunchtime and judging by the sounds of his stomach, he was starving.

Maybe he should have taken his time. Maybe he should have been more careful. But as always, Kíli didn't do what he was supposed to do, and he cried out in surprise when suddenly his foot slipped and he lost hold of the branch above him.

Oops, chapter 2 and already a cliffhanger... ;)

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