The town was emptier than the last time he had visited, though perhaps it had something to do with the rain. The people of the land didn't seem to like water, but it was wonderful in his opinion. The rain was cool and sweet on the ground; the rain brought life!
One or two people watched as he walked carelessly down the center of the street rather than darting between places of shelter, and he wondered if he should try a little harder to fit in with these land folk. He looked around for a store or food stand with some semblance of dryness, and he found one on the edge of town near him. He didn't have much taste for any land stores with their desperate pleads for others to buy their wares, but this shop seemed even dingier.
However, currently there was a short little blonde thing that he was fairly sure wasn't a man (perhaps a hobbit or dwarf? He didn't really know the difference, or care to) staring at him. He should get under cover to avoid all of the attention he was gathering.
Ducking under the awning, he glanced in the store to see artifacts of the sea lining the walls. The shells and sea glass sparkled even in the dim light, and he entered in order to 'dry off'. When that pesky blonde thing moved on, he would come back out and continue more carefully without drawing attention to himself.
The bell of the door clanked, and he slipped into the dingy sea store, watching as the blonde being crossed the street and walked away.
Fili hurried down the street, confused and frightened because he honestly didn't remember dropping the selkie pelt. Kili couldn't really have it, could he? He wouldn't lie to his brother and uncle! Fili had heard tell of the power that having a selkie pelt could cast over a dwarf, and he brother wasn't acting strange, but who said that the power would be obvious?
Slipping into the inn, Fili found the majority of the dwarves in his party still sitting around. Thorin was conspicuously missing, and Fili wondered where he was. A few other dwarves were also missing, such as Lesur and Nori, but Bofur called him over and made room on the bench for him.
"We don't know what to do in town, so we're just hanging around here," Bofur told Fili, "What have you been up to?"
"Looking for things for my uncle. Speaking of which, where is he?"
"Thorin? Last I saw him, he went up to the rooms in the inn and hasn't come back down," Vufur shrugged, "What happened to Kili and his lady friend?"
"Oh, they're around town," Fili fidgeted. So, Kili had announced things to the other dwarves; could that complicate things? His uncle should know.
"Ah, I see. So are Nori and Lesur, not sure what that'll mean," Vufur shrugged.
"Well, I'm going to go see my uncle," Fili stood.
"Careful," Bofur warned, "He seemed a mite bit upset. Canna say for sure, just be careful. We all know how Thorin can be when he's upset."
And I'll bet he's upset with me, for good reason, Fili fretted, but still he ascended the stairs to see his uncle.
"Uncle Thorin," Fili knocked on the door to Thorin's room, and he heard something being dropped.
"Fili, go look for your brother or the pelt or something useful. I'm busy!" Thorin called through the door.
Fili hesitated, his uncle hardly sounded like himself.
"Are you alright?" Fili called.
"Why wouldn't I be? Now go make good use of yourself."
Fili didn't leave quite yet, something in his uncle's voice was foreign and made Fili nervous. Fili never questioned his uncle's orders, but Thorin had never sounded quite like that before.
"I just thought I should tell you something."
There was a slight clatter, and then the door opened to reveal a frowning Thorin.
"What? Did you find it?"
"No, but Kili told all the others downstairs already while we were gone."
Thorin frowned, "You need to tell him to be less careless sometimes. He couldn't have known, but he still shouldn't have. You should go find him and bring him back here so I can talk to him."
Fili hesitated again, and then nervously he asked, "Uncle Thorin, why didn't you ever tell him the stories you told me about how a selkie can play with a dwarf's heart? This might not have happened."
Thorin sighed, licking his lips in thought, "I underestimated your brother as I too often do. He wasn't as enchanted with the sea itself as I predicted. I don't even know how he found out about the selkies, but as per usual, the minute he found out about something, he had to be curious and find out even more. It's how some dwarves are, Fili, not all dwarves deem it necessary to follow their elders advice as you do."
"Kili would have followed advice, but you never gave it to him!"
Thorin turned away, marching into his room, but leaving the door open. "I understand Kili, and even if I had given him advice, he would not have taken it."
"You don't know that!"
"Fili!" Thorin turned to glare at his nephew, and Fili quieted, chastened.
"I'm sorry," he sighed.
"I have not told you everything either," Thorin sighed, "It is an Uncle's duty to hold back that which may make things worse rather than better."
"Such as?" Fili asked, curious now. His eyes traveled to an array of items laid out of Thorin's bed, and his eye was drawn to one in particular. "That drawing, it looks like Rae, but it's not her… Uncle, is that a drawing of… Uncle, you knew…. You're in that drawing! You're in that drawing and you're with a selkie?"
Thorin's eyes traveled to what Fili was looking at, and it quickly went to stand in front of it, a glare lacing his face.
"I don't hate selkies, Fili, they are not bad creatures, but I don't want Kili to get hurt. Selkies will always, always, return to the sea no matter what ties they had on land!"
Fili stared at his uncle.
"It's not as if he even need get particularly close to Rae, believe me. They only need know each other and the damage is done!"
Fili looked at his uncle in a new light, and Thorin brushed the things on the bed into a small, worn box.
"You will need to find that pelt, Fili. I will help you look, but it needs to be found by us before it is found by her."
"And if it is never found?"
"Then I just can't say. She wouldn't return to the sea, but she could never really be happy on land. She would keep looking, I think, for the pelt and I don't think she'd want to leave the sea. Kili could never truly be happy either."
"We need to find it then," Fili stated simply.
"Yes, we need to find it."
Krangon was examining the pelt when the bell over the door clinked, and he looked up to see a little man entering the shop. He wasn't a hobbit, and his ears were too long to be dwarf ears; he looked like a short elf, honestly.
"Can I help you?" Krangon called over, hiding the pelt away. The short elf, or whatever he was, glanced up with strange, deep eyes and shook his head. "If you do need help, please let me know. I have lots of wonderful wares from the deep sea."
"Do you like the sea?" the question was abrupt, but Kragon nodded hesitantly.
"Me too," the short elf said, and then went silent again.
"Well, I've got lots of things if you like the sea! Shells, sand dollars, sea rock, sea glass, even a selkie trinket!"
"Selkie trinket?"
The young man's eyes snapped up, anger flickering, and Krangon hesitated, suddenly quite unsure of himself.
"They aren't particularly special, as far as selkie trinkets go. Just a bit of hair found on the beach is all."
"Have you ever seen a selkie?" The young, short elf approached, and Krangon hesitated.
"Well, once someone brought a selkie girl he'd met into my shop, but that's the only time…." Suddenly, something clicked, and Krangon gasped, "And you, my good man, are a selkie, are you not?"
The short elf/selkie took a step backward as if shocked that this man had figured it out, and he gave a small gulp, filled with nerves.
"I, I have come from the sea."
"Welcome!" Krangon gave a smile, his mind working quickly, "I am named Krangon!"
"My name is Lee," Lee hesitantly said.
"Welcome, and what brings you to our fair village?"
"Nothing in particular, I've just been looking around," Lee shrugged, edging toward the door.
"Oh, so you're not searching for your friend?"
"My friend?" Lee moved closer to the door.
"Yes, your selkie friend! I told you a selkie girl came in my shop the other day; I just thought you might be looking for her!"
Lee stopped, completely still, "What was her name?" he cried.
"Oh, uh, I'm not sure," Krangon hesitated, "But she was with a dwarf name Kili, do you know who he is?"
"No," Lee shook his head, "But I'm going to find out!"
"Wait a minute!" Krangon hurried over to Lee, grasping his shoulder in a desperate attempt to keep him from leaving, "You can't go rushing after him with no plan! You know how these land folks are when they get a hold of a selkie pelt!"
"Yes, I do know," Lee glared at Krangon and he jerked himself free.
"That's why you'll need a plan!" Krangon continued, unfazed, "You see, the dwarf she was with seemed rather attached. I'll help you though, I hate to see a creature of the sea taken from her home! If we can get the dwarf lad in here, perhaps we can take from him whatever is keeping her here! It may not even be her pelt, I've heard tell of yet another power!"
"And what would that be?" Lee asked skeptically.
"A small, black pendent often worn around the neck or slipped into a pocket. He had one when he came in, so we must take it from him in whatever way necessary!"
Lee seemed hesitant, but he sighed.
"Fine, I'll listen to your plan. If it's true that this Kili is with a selkie, maybe action is necessary."
"Yes yes, now, take a seat and we'll talk," Krangon grinned.
AU: Interesting new developments, please tell me what you think!
