"May I see the carvings you have made for the children?" Tauriel asked as she and Kíli walked to the medical area. Kíli reached into his pocket and pulled out the little kitten and puppy, careful not to take out the other piece of wood he was working on. He passed the carvings to Tauriel.

"You have skill with a knife," she remarked. Kíli shrugged.

"Bofur taught me how to do it," he replied. "He's much better than I am. I haven't carved in years. I forgot how much I enjoyed it."

"These are lovely," Tauriel complimented, handing them back to Kíli. He tucked them in his pocket. "Perhaps you could add some carvings to your staff," Tauriel added. Kíli was fairly certain she was teasing. "It would make it much more interesting."

"I could try and carve the beautiful elf maid who healed me," Kíli remarked, grinning, "although I doubt I could capture her loveliness." Kíli flattered himself to think that Tauriel looked a little flustered by the attention, although he knew she probably didn't care for his flirtations.

"Perhaps you could carve the story of your journey," Tauriel suggested. "And as you carve it, you could tell it, for I greatly wish to know how you came to reach Erebor."

"Oh, it's quite a story," Kíli replied with a grin. "Full of adventures and a daring, handsome prince-"

"Fíli?" Tauriel interrupted, looking as innocent as she could. Kíli gave her an unamused look.

"Myself, of course," he replied, gesturing at himself. "How could poor Fíli compare to this?"

"I'm sure he agonizes over it daily," Tauriel replied dryly. Kíli shot Tauriel a flirtatious grin.

"And why wouldn't he, when faced with such perfection?"

"What adventures did you and your Company face on your way to Erebor?" Tauriel asked. Kíli grinned.

"I can tell you some great tales, but later. For now, we're nearly at the children, aren't we?"

"Of course," Tauriel replied, looking up to find they were nearly at the medical center. "I will go to the children first, then you can present them with their gifts."

"Whatever you think is best," Kíli replied amicably. Tauriel slipped forward, going over to the children, who were huddled next to each other. She bent and murmured something to them. Brigit nodded. Tauriel turned and gestured Kíli forward.

"This is my friend, Kíli," she told Brigit and Dominic. "He's a dwarrow, or as you call them, a dwarf."

"Is that why he's so short?" Dominic asked in a whisper. Kíli grinned as he sat down gingerly.

"I'll have you know I'm considered fairly tall among the dwarrows," he told the children. Dominic looked unconvinced. "Truly! Dwarrows do not grow to such great heights as men. Among my kind, I am considered to be of a good height."

"Don't dwarves have beards?" Brigit asked quietly. Kíli made a show of having his eyes go wide and reached up to his chin.

"What? It's gone!" he cried. Brigit and Dominic watched him with wide eyes. "My beard is gone! Someone must have stolen it. Tauriel, have you seen anyone come by wearing my beard? They must have taken it!" Brigit let out a little giggle. "My beard has been stolen!"

"Calm down," Tauriel told Kíli, looking slightly amused herself. "You've never had a beard, you daft fool."

"Oh, yes," Kíli replied, letting his hand drop as if he'd just remembered. "I haven't had a beard, have I?" Kíli turned back to the children. "I'm an archer, so I've always shaved my beard. I wouldn't want it to get caught in my bowstring, now would I! It would be quite silly if I were to go flying forward instead of the arrow."

"Could that happen?" Dominic whispered, wide eyed. Kíli nodded solemnly. Dominic looked shocked.

"Kíli, stop filling the children's heads with nonsense," Tauriel scolded. She turned back to Brigit and Dominic. "This dwarrow is the most foolish I have ever come across. You must not believe a word he says."

"She's right," Kíli added in an undertone. Brigit frowned.

"If she says we're not to believe you, but you say she's right, then should we believe you or not?" she asked quietly. Kíli just winked. Tauriel sighed.

"Kíli, did you not have gifts for the children?" she asked. Kíli shrugged, seeing the way Brigit and Dominic's eyes went huge at the thought.

"I do, if they want them. I don't know if they would."

"We do!" Dominic cried. Kíli laughed.

"Alright, then," he replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the carvings for the children. "Brigit, for you, I have a little kitten." Kíli placed the carved kitten in Brigit's unburnt hand, watching with a smile as her fingers curled around it. "And for you, Dominic, a little puppy." Dominic held his hands out as Kíli placed the carved puppy on them. He looked overjoyed.

"I always wanted a puppy!" he told Kíli, who smiled.

"So did I, but my mother was convinced it would be too much work and I would not do my part to help."

"And was she right?" Tauriel asked, arching an eyebrow. Kíli shrugged.

"Probably. We never got a puppy, but another family nearby did, and I played with theirs instead."

"Can I play with this puppy?" Dominic asked. Kíli grinned.

"You can pretend. He's sleeping now, though. Can't you see?" Dominic peered down at his puppy, then nodded.

"I don't want to wake him," he replied solemnly.

"You should sleep as well," Tauriel put in. Brigit and Dominic didn't protest, surprisingly, and simply lay down, curling around each other and their new toys. Within minutes, they were asleep.

"Thank you," Tauriel told Kíli softly as he heaved himself upright with the help of his staff. "I believe you did much good to help the children."

"It was nothing," Kíli replied, shrugging it off. "I like them. They're sweet. And Óin wasn't entirely wrong when he said I was a child myself. Where is he, by the way?"

"I believe he is helping to tend to another one of Smaug's victims. The elderly man has fairly serious burns, and in his age, he is no longer so strong as he once was. I am not sure how much longer he has to live." That abruptly sobered Kíli. A blessedly small amount of people from Lake-town had died in Smaug's attack, but there were still casualties, and some much more serious than those of Brigit and Dominic. "We are lucky that there were so few victims," Tauriel added, as if she could read Kíli's mind.

"There were five who did not flee and still survived," Kili replied darkly. "But think of all the others who stayed, who are now dead. There were many victims."

"And many survivors," Tauriel replied, gesturing around them. "Look at all those who were saved."

"And think of all those who were lost," Kíli retorted. Tauriel's reply was cut off as Bard arrived, looking grim.

"The hunters have returned," he told them. "They don't have much."

"Not much," it turned out, meant the hunters had two rather scraggly looking rabbits and one more rabbit that looked slightly healthier. Bard turned to the hunters.

"Was that all there was to find?" he asked. One of the men nodded.

"There wasn't much of anything. It took time to find these. There's naught alive here but us."

"Thank you," Bard told the men, who dispersed, leaving the rabbits. "We'll have to take these to the cooks. Perhaps they can fabricate some sort of stew with them tomorrow. Fresh meat will raise people's spirits."

"If there is so little food to be found here, perhaps we ought to go to Mirkwood," Kíli put in, turning to Tauriel. She was frowning.

"As I said before, I would not have us pin our hopes on my king. I know not if he has the stores to feed all of the town."

"Where else are we to go?" Bard retorted. "Erebor has gold, true, but we cannot eat gold. There is little food there, as there is little food here. Mirkwood may well be our only option."

"We ought to discuss this more come morning," Kíli put in, looking at the sun, which had almost completely set. "The Desolation grows cold when night falls. We discovered that last night. Everyone ought to return to their families and rest for tonight, then we can decide what path we will take tomorrow."

"I will return to Brigit and Dominic," Tauriel stated, sweeping off.

"I will return to my daughters," Bard added. "Will you join me, Kíli? I believe your kinsmen are there as well."

"I will join you soon," Kíli replied distractedly, watching as Tauriel wound her way through the people. Something was troubling her, and he wanted to help.

Bard smiled knowingly before leaving. Kíli limped over to a little spot, not part of any family's camp but still sheltered slightly, and pulled out the other carving in his pocket. It was a star. Engraved on it, in such delicate work such that it was barely noticeable unless you knew it was there, were tiny vines crawling up and down. Kíli planned to give it to Tauriel, but he had to finish it. It was mostly done, but it required a bit more work.

When Kíli finished the star, he delicately carved his name into one bit of it, using Westron letters, as he didn't know the proper Sindarin ones and Khuzdul was far too secretive a language to carve it into a wooden star, let alone one Kíli wished to give to an elf.

Tauriel wasn't with the children when Kíli arrived, but he could see a flicker of red farther off on the Desolation, which he took - and rightly so - to be her hair. "The stars are beautiful tonight," she murmured as Kíli approached. He put his hand over the wooden star in his pocket. "Do you still think of them as having a cold light?"

"No, I have found warmth in the light of the stars," Kíli replied, sitting next to Tauriel. She was hugging her knees to her chest, looking remarkably vulnerable. "Is something wrong?" he asked, putting a hand on Tauriel's shoulder. To his surprise, she let it stay there.

"I do not wish to return to Mirkwood," she replied honestly. "I am afraid of what reception I may find there."

"What reception do you expect?" Kíli asked. Tauriel sighed, leaning forward to press her forehead against her knees.

"I left when I was not given leave to do so. I took Legolas along with me, taking the only son and heir of my king into danger. And then I let him go off by himself, after dragging him along with me, so I could heal you. I do not regret it, but I doubt King Thranduil will see things in the same way."

"Surely he wouldn't punish you too severely," Kíli countered. Tauriel let out a dry chuckle.

"You do not know my king so well as I do. I do not doubt his anger, and I do not doubt that I will feel his wrath, in some way or another."

"You can always come with me, if you must," Kíli offered. "My uncle will understand that he owes you a debt, after what you have done, and if you are no longer welcome among your people, you may join mine."

Tauriel's lips twitched into a slight smile. "That is sweet," she told Kíli softly. "But elves are immortal, and the lives of all mortals seem short to us. What would I do after you and your uncle were dead?"

"Whatever you so wished," Kíli replied. "Perhaps your king would have forgiven you. Or perhaps you could travel around all of Middle Earth and see all there is to see. There is so much out there, Tauriel. You could see it all."

"I could," Tauriel replied doubtfully, "but I do not know that I would wish for such a thing, after those whom I cared for were gone."

Kíli felt a strange warmth in his stomach at the thought of being someone Tauriel cared for. "There are other ways to keep the ones you love close to you," he replied, pulling out the star. "You may keep their gifts, so you will not forget them," he added, handing it over to Tauriel.

Tauriel looked at the star, taking it in her hands, then closed her eyes. "You are so good," she whispered, putting her forehead against her knees again, still holding the star. When she didn't look up, Kíli sensed that she needed some space and took a step back, slowly leaving her to her solitude and returning to the rest of the camp.

"And where have you been?" Fíli asked as Kíli limped over to him. "Bard said you would be coming soon. What were you doing?"

"Talking to Tauriel," Kíli replied. Fíli's eyes lit up with mischief.

"And what does our darling elf maid have to say?" he asked playfully. Kíli sighed.

"She is worried as to how King Thranduil will react when she returns. I told her she would always have a place in Erebor, if she so wished."

"You didn't," Fíli whispered, eyes wide. Kíli shrugged. "Kíli, I understand that you like Tauriel. I like her too. But might you wish to slow down a bit, at least until Uncle has approved?"

"And what are the chances that Uncle will approve?" Kíli retorted. "I think it is better that I spend as much time with her as I may before Uncle contrives to tear us apart."

"Kíli," Fíli replied with a sigh. "Uncle will not do anything that would compromise your happiness and wellbeing. If he does contrive to tear you apart, as you say, I have no doubt that he would relent when he saw the effect it had on you."

"At least I know I have you on my side," Kíli replied with a smile. Fíli grinned back.

"Always," he promised. "And Bofur likes Tauriel, as does Óin. I'm afraid Uncle Thorin will simply have no choice but to accept her."

"What of her family?" Kíli asked, frowning. "Who are her parents? What will they say to this match?"

"Her parents are dead," Fíli replied. "We spoke of it earlier," he added in response to Kíli's confused look. "She said King Thranduil has been as a father to her, and Legolas like a brother."

"Then it is no wonder that she is afraid of King Thranduil's reaction to her actions," Kíli murmured. "But how did you come to such a topic?"

"Well, we didn't just talk about you," Fíli replied with a grin. "We spoke of a few other things as well. One of them was Tauriel's parents. I have told you all I know of the matter. Tauriel's parents died when she was young, she was raised by Thranduil, and Legolas is like her brother. That is all she told me."

"Thank you for relating it to me," Kíli replied, sounding slightly distracted. Before their conversation could continue, they heard the sound of soft little feet padding across the ground. It was Tilda, rubbing her eyes.

"I cannot sleep," she told Kíli. "Sigrid and Bain are already sleeping, and so is Da, and I don't want to wake them."

"Why can't you sleep, child?" Kíli asked, gesturing for Tilda to lay her head in his lap. She did, and Kíli maneuvered her so she wasn't touching his injury at all.

"I can't stop thinking," Tilda replied. "Will you sing me a lullaby? Ma used to sing to me, when I was very little."

Fíli shot Kíli a sightly doubtful look that Kíli completely ignored. "Shall I sing you the song my mother used to sing to me when I couldn't sleep?" Kíli asked. Tilda nodded, curling up against Kíli slightly, who began to sing.

"Far over the Misty Mountains cold…"


I've always been of the opinion that Kíli shaves his beard for his archery, although I know some people believe his beard just hasn't come in yet. As an archer, however, it would make sense for him to shave, and as a 77 year old dwarf, his beard ought to be longer than it is.

Westron is the Common Tongue of Middle Earth - the one they all speak in the movies that sounds suspiciously like English. Sindarin is the most well-known elven language, and Khuzdul is the secret dwarf language, as explained in chapter seven.