A/N Once again, thanks to all of you wonderful people who are supporting this story, I means a lot to me! Hugs and kisses shall be sent your way *watches as Fili and Kili try to smuggle a dwarfling into each package* Erm... come on guys, it can't be that bad right? *runs away before they can answer*
PS – Oh don't you worry you wonderful people, Thorin will most definitely remember, I promise you that!
The afternoon nap had been, surprisingly, completely uneventful as all of the children seemed to sleep deeply and it took everything they had for Kili and Fili not to fall asleep themselves. They were worn out and it wasn't even a full day since the transformation, Mahal knew how long it would last. Collapsed by the fireplace, Fili was nursing a couple of bruises and scrapes he had gotten while he was being attacked by twelve overexcited little warriors while Kili pondered what they should try and catch for dinner. Rabbits had been for lunch already and since larger game didn't sound like a good idea for the little ones, they settled for fishing. Using the time for making rods, they had made up their minds to make it a game of sorts for the dwarflets and hobbitling. Fishing had been one of the few activities that could make them calm as children and they both prayed it would work with the rest as well.
Deciding that letting the little devils sleep any longer would mean none would be tired in the evening, they began the arduous task of waking them up. Although the children weren't too thrilled with the prospect of a nap before, they were even less amused by the prospect of getting up. Ori kept falling asleep while leaning into Kili, Dori and Nori agreed for once in their lives, if only it wouldn't be to hide under the covers. Bifur, Bofur and Bombur were stumbling around, yawning wide enough to unhinge their jaws and bumping into everything and everybody in their way. Oin kicked Kili none too gently in the family jewels while Gloin held onto his own cover as if his life depended on it. Dwalin and Balin only got up after Fili promised to show them one of his knives under his careful supervision. Bilbo was the only one to get up with a smile on his face, complete opposite to Thorin who scowled darkly but didn't dare oppose so soon after his spanking.
Eventually, the big group went on their way to a nearby pond, Fili went ahead to try and catch at least a few fish before the kids arrived since there was a large chance the children wouldn't be quiet enough not to scare all of them away. Kili was left to finish preparing the dwarflings and leading them to the pond; he had never been forced to count up to twelve so many times before, especially since some of the dwarflets kept running away. Gloin was back to tree climbing during every stop to catch a wayward child hindering their progress further, Bifur kept on getting mesmerized by flowers along the way and decided to gather a few for Fili, after all the blond had been nice to him after the horror of night loo run with the brunet. Thorin and Bilbo were talking to each other in hushed tones reminding Kili far too much of all the mischief he used to get into with his brother and he made a mental note to keep an eye on his uncle as well, talking conspiratorially with a friend meant plotting which lead to trouble, clearly it was family tradition passed along the Durin bloodline.
Ori practically demanded to be carried along the way in Kili's strong arms and since the adult had been so nice to him so far and didn't shun him away like others, Ori began warming up to him and his tongue went a mile a minute. Happily yapping on about everything and anything that came to his mind, the once shy Ori prodded Kili every time he didn't get a satisfactory answer; unlike his brother, Kili hadn't developed the sense of answering at appropriate times without really listening just yet. Bofur and Bombur occupied themselves by singing, making up rhymes and new words if need be and while the songs usually made absolutely no sense except the one about slaying the blond troll earlier that day, at least they were happy. Dwalin and Balin marched on with determination and focus typical for dwarves, driven by the promise of weapons and although he couldn't always see them, Kili heard Nori and Dori loudly enough to know that they were following. The brothers were currently arguing about the direction of their destination with Dori saying it was North while Nori claimed it had to be South.
By the time they arrived, Fili had caught and hidden enough to feed them which meant that the kids could be as loud as they wanted, thank the Valar. Setting Ori down, the Durin brothers distributed all the rods they had created, helped each child with bait and observed the glee with which they plopped down by the bank and held onto the rods. Fili was explaining to Bombur how to properly hold his rod when Bifur walked up to him almost timidly and handed him the flowers he had gathered. Fili smiled at him encouragingly and was about to turn back to Bombur when he felt a strong burning slowly shooting up his hand. Taking a closer look at the flowers he had been handed, he realized that Bifur had managed to gather the sort he had been strongly allergic to all his life and was just about to throw them as far away from himself as possible. However the expectant look on Bifur's face made him stop, bite the inside of his cheek so that he wouldn't yell out in the pain and force out a thank you, after all Bifur meant well. Only once the young dwarfling was sitting by his cousin and holding his own rod courtesy of Kili did Fili dare put the flowers down far from his reach.
Once Dwalin and Balin had had enough of fishing and sat down next to him waiting for the knife presentation, Fili's whole arm was an angry shade of red and alternating between pulsating with pain and itching. Balin found the colouring much more interesting than the actual blade that Dwalin was currently turning around in his little hands and kept on asking Fili if he was injured and would die. No matter the amount of reassuring, Balin seemed to be set on the fact that Fili was dying, Kili almost burst out laughing at the fact that the child was everything but distressed by the idea, if anything he was fascinated and asked Fili if he could go visit his tomb once they gave him a proper burial. Acknowledging the lost battle for what it was, Fili sighed and gave Balin the permission to visit his resting place, a promise that made a large smile spread across the dwarfling's face. Happily, he turned to face his brother and went back to admiring the finely crafted blade, the blond dwarf ready to take it from them at a moment's notice should they so much as nick themselves.
Kili meanwhile kept watch over the other dwarflings from the corner of his eye, even if it wasn't too much work as they did seem to be interested in fishing after all, irregardless of the fact that no one caught anything. Only Thorin and Bilbo sat a little further away, constantly whispering to each other excitedly and occasionally giggling. Kili couldn't see what exactly they were doing but although highly suspicious, they hadn't done anything yet that would demand his attention. Besides, a giggling Thorin was something he wouldn't stop for the world.
An hour later, the kids were staring to get restless again and knowing it was time to pack, Fili got up to start rounding those that weren't fishing anymore but were playing around them. Kili went to do the same, a vital tactical mistake as it left their headquarters with their boots and clothes exposed. Seizing the chance, Thorin and Bilbo put their plan into action and sat nearby with suspiciously innocent faces before the adults returned. Once all the kids were rounded, Kili and Fili sat back down by their things and began putting them on, not looking closely since they had to keep watchful eyes on all the dwarflings. Kili was already up when Fili yelped loudly and began doing a rather hilarious dance as all the ants in his boots and clothes began crawling over him and biting making Kili laugh louder than anybody else as he watched. In his hurry to take the garments off, Fili unexpectedly slammed into Kili, causing the younger to fall into the pond with a loud splash.
The water was shallow enough that he could sit in it without drowning but it did nothing for keeping him from getting thoroughly wet and coughing and spluttering all of the water he had breathed in. As if on cue, all of the dwarflings began laughing and considering it another game, ran after Kili splashing him with more water still, yelling something about a lake monster than needed to be slain. Once Fili got all of the ant infested garments off, his eyes immediately fell onto Thorin. His uncle was the picture of innocence, even with that self satisfied look on his regal face and as much as Fili's fingers burned to give out yet another well deserved spanking, he had no proof that it really had been Thorin. Damn the cunning bugger.
Seeing that his younger brother was doing just as poorly against the overwhelming odds as he had and that although no one drowned yet there weren't any guarantees it would stay that way, Fili began gathering the laughing dwarflets once more. And if he splashed Kili a couple of times when he wouldn't be able to tell it was him, well nobody needed to know. Looking at the now dripping dwarflings as they marched back to the camp with the fish Fili had caught, the brothers shrugged exasperatedly and looked at each other.
"At least we don't have to bathe them now? No need to worry about laundry either."
Fili supposed that his brother was right, there was no way they would have been able to bathe twelve children without causing a flood in the forest. By the time the dwarflings were fed and ready for bed, the adults just collapsed by the cave entrance and tried to get as comfortable as possible with all the injuries they had sustained so far. The night would undoubtedly be long again and each sent a prayer for Gandalf's swift return with a cure. Behind them, Thorin smiled triumphantly and closed his eyes knowing his victory would bring forth good dreams while Oin got up asking for help with his usual bladder problem. Kili would have offered to go but Ori snuggled up to him with big pleading eyes and wouldn't let him go.