Summary: Thorin and Dwalin worship and dote upon Fili. Their favoritism annoys Balin to no end. Missing scene from The Hobbit.
Author's note: Back to Balin's POV. In which Kili tries to please everyone.
The brothers heaved themselves from the frigid water. Soaked clothing hung off their thin frames; mud caked not just their bare feet, but half-way up their calves; and through lank ropes of wet hair, their cheeks stung bright red with cold. During their incident in the river, the rain had died down to a soft mist, but those two would not dry out for hours.
They tried awkwardly to embrace one another, though Kili's fingers were still wound in the bridle and Fili's still tangled in the reigns, and both were hopelessly waterlogged.
Dwalin was on them in an instant, enveloping Fili in one arm and taking the pony's reigns in the other. Next to them, Kili stumbled as his hand came free and nearly lost his footing on the slick stones of the riverbank. Fili, still pulling away in Dwalin's iron grip, made a strangled noise of protest and reached for his brother. Balin's chest tightened as the boys struggled, but his hands were each occupied with an unruly horse.
He watched with relief as Thorin approached his youngest nephew, and held out a hand to steady his progress. "Are you hurt? Are you alright?" he demanded.
Balin could not hear Kili's answer, but he shook his head vigorously, which Balin read from afar as I'm fine-though he didn't believe that for a moment. Thorin, however, seemed satisfied, and immediately left his younger nephew to help the other. Balin could have yelled with frustration if it wouldn't give the horses an even greater fright. Fortunately, Bofur and Bilbo materialized at Kili's sides, each taking an elbow and guiding him to lean against a nearby oak. In that time, Balin was able to tie off both ponies in his care.
Thorin draped a spare blanket over a distressed Fili and forced him to sit on the log at their feet. He rubbed Fili's shoulders to produce some warmth, and Balin could tell he was muttering in his nephew's ear. Across from them, Bofur tried to do the same for Kili, but gave up when he was clumsily shrugged off.
Kili clutched his right arm with his left, trembling and holding it close, which Fili noticed; he called his brother's name and tried to stand and help, but Thorin held him down. When he spoke, he addressed both of his nephews, but his scowl was trained on Kili.
"I expect better behavior out of my heirs," he growled. "Raising your voices in the wild, frightening ponies like children. Have you no care for your surroundings?" Bilbo looked shocked, and dissolved into the background. Kili hung his head and Thorin continued, "I hope I haven't made a mistake bringing you along in the first place." His voice and his eyes darkened as they bored into his youngest nephew. Then he gave Fili's shoulder a brief squeeze before sweeping away.
Balin observed the exchange with a clenched jaw, but held his tongue. Kili slid down the tree trunk to slump on its roots, where Balin approached him and said gently, "you did good work, lad."
Big, dark eyes looked up at him from behind stringy wet hair. "I'm sorry we lost the food, Mr. Balin," he said softly, biting his lip.
"But the pony is safe!" the elder dwarf smiled. "We can always find more supplies. That mount, though-he's irreplaceable, and I'm sure it will come in handy before the end." He winked and clapped a hand on Kili's back, which flinched at his touch. His stomach curled with concern. "Lad, have you been injured?"
"No!" Kili answered quickly. He pulled his knees up and let his hair fall over to hide his face. It took an effort for Balin to keep from rolling his eyes.
He called over his shoulder, "Dwalin! Bring us that blanket you've got, brother!"
Dwalin was in the middle of gleaning Fili for scrapes and bruises while the younger dwarf swatted at his hands; he glared at Balin and Kili, but didn't argue. Crossing the riverbank, he shoved the wool scrap into Balin's arms and promptly stomped away.
Ignoring his brother's mood, Balin knelt and wrapped the blanket tightly around Kili, who shivered. Balin rubbed his shoulders and felt the boy stiffen.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Balin murmured.
The reply was almost inaudible. "... My arm hurts."
Balin nodded knowingly. "Let's have a look, son."