Whisper in the Wind

by drizzleandflames

"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home." - She was a servant of nature, was not made for the perils and horrors of their world and yet she was led to cross paths with a strange company of dwarves over and over again. Such coincidences don't exist, even fae know as much. And after all, what harm could come of a little adventure? (Kili/OC)

13. Scars

Wheew! I'm fast these days! I'll just leave this here with you :D

Thanks to Jenny-Wren28 and Guest for your reviews!

And thanks to followers and favouriters, as always!

I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

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Kili was thrown from an eagle's talons onto another eagle behind his brother, crying out as he fell through the air before he landed safely on its back. The brunet dwarf gripped the tremendous bird's feathers tightly as they soared through the sky, already a great distance away from the outcropping where the fire still roared. They were carried over mountaintops and valleys, seeing rivers flow deep down below them as the sun slowly began to rise on the horizon. The night had passed, and a new day was starting.

"Thorin!" Fili yelled from where he was sitting in front of Kili, both brothers staring at where their uncle lay unconscious in an eagle's talons, worry filling their hearts. Kili leaned forward, putting one hand on his brother's shoulder as he watched his motionless uncle being carried through the air.

"Do you think he's alive?" he asked quietly, though Fili heard him well enough. The blond just shook his head, his gaze still trained on Thorin's figure.

"Don't say that," he growled quietly, though Kili could hear the fear in his brother's voice. "Of course he's alive!"

Kili just nodded shortly upon his brother's words, and it was then that he suddenly saw another figure being carried past them. His eyes widened as he saw the small form lying motionless in an eagle's claws, her red hair swaying lightly in the wind.

"Fili!" he called and as the blond turned his head, Kili pointed to the unconscious fae. Fili said nothing, though he didn't have to. Kili could see clearly the worried expression on his brother's face upon seeing his friend in this state.

Kili didn't know how long they had been flying, but the sun had already risen almost to its highest point when they approached a massive rock structure that reached toward the sky. The eagles began their descent then, and Kili and Fili quickly jumped off their eagle's back once it came to a halt on top of the rock, running toward Thorin and Gandalf who had already been dropped there.

"Thorin! Thorin," the wizard called urgently, leaning over the unconscious dwarf-king as the dwarves all gathered around him once they had been dropped on the tremendous rock. Thorin didn't respond and Gandalf placed his hand on his face, whispering a spell under his breath. The dwarf-king's eyes fluttered as he gasped for air, his eyes opening slowly he spoke.

"The Halfling?" he asked in a hoarse whisper, causing Gandalf to smile, retrieving his hand from the dwarf's forehead.

"It's all right," he answered. "Bilbo is here. He's quite safe."

Thorin's eyes closed for a moment as he took in the information. He gave a weak nod before Dwalin and Kili helped him to his feet. However, once he was up, he shrugged them off roughly and approached Bilbo, who was standing a bit further away, on shaky legs.

"You!" he growled, pointing his finger at the confused hobbit. "What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?"

Bilbo shrank beneath the dwarf-king's dark gaze as he advanced slowly until he was face to face with the hobbit. Bilbo shot him a worried and slightly frightened look, not knowing what to say. However, his face fell completely in surprise when Thorin spoke next.

"I've never been so wrong in all my life!" the dwarf-king breathed and before Bilbo even had the chance to react, he reached out and grabbed him to embrace him deeply. The hobbit heard the other dwarves cheer loudly and slap each other on the back behind them as he slowly hugged Thorin back, still completely taken by surprise.

"I am sorry I doubted you," the dwarf-king said as he pulled back, looking the hobbit over for any sort of injuries.

"No, I would have doubted me too," the hobbit answered with a small smile. "I'm not a hero or a warrior… not even a burglar."

His words made everyone chuckle and Gandalf smiled fondly before his smile suddenly faltered as another eagle approached. The company took a few steps back as the tremendous bird landed in their midst, gently depositing Cinna on the floor before he lifted off the ground again and flew away. Gandalf looked after the eagle for a moment before he approached the unconscious fae and knelt beside her, his heart sinking as he looked at her.

Her face was marred with a large gash that had dried blood all around it, her clothes were bloody from the wound on her back, her hand bandaged from an injury that Gandalf didn't know the origin of. The wizard suddenly regretted having ever made the suggestion of her accompanying the dwarves, never having wanted anything like this to happen to her.

"Is she alive?" Ori asked quietly from behind Gandalf as the dwarves had gathered around him, staring down at the wounded and motionless fae.

"What happened to her?" Gloìn asked.

"Can't you help her?" Fili uttered helplessly, staring down worriedly at his red-haired friend.

Gandalf gave a deep sigh, slightly inclining his head as he touched a hand to the fae's forehead as he had done to Thorin. "She has exhausted herself," he muttered.

"Exhausted herself?" Thorin repeated in a small rumble. "She hasn't done anything."

However, the dwarf-king shrank back slightly upon the dark glare that the grey wizard sent him upon his words. Gandalf shook his head at him. "Apart from sustaining these numerous injuries and still forcing herself to go on, it was her that held the last tree upright for as long as it did," the wizard said sternly, giving the dark-haired dwarf a scolding look. "You don't know the next thing about fae. She has done much more to help you than you realize, Thorin."

"It's true," Fili spoke up quietly. "I saw it. She held on to the tree, murmuring something, though I don't know what it was she did exactly."

"Fae magic," Gandalf replied with a small nod, retrieving his hand as Cinna's eyes began to flutter lightly. "However small it might seem to some, it goes deeper than you would imagine. She has a bond with nature; she can connect with it. And so she lent every bit of strength she had left to the tree so that its roots would stay in the earth."

None of the dwarves said anything as the fae's eyes opened slowly, though her gaze was unfocused and her lids fluttered shut again as soon as she'd opened them. Gandalf sighed again, motioning for Fili to pick her up from the ground. "She's alive," the wizard said quietly, shooting the small female a soft look as Fili lifted her in his arms. "She will wake up in time. We will rest here until she does to gather our strength and then make our descent into the valley."

Thorin just nodded upon the wizard's words, motioning for his men to follow his order.

"Oìn, take a look at Cinna's wounds. We don't want anything to get infected," the dwarf-king said and the old healer just nodded before he followed Fili who had carried the fae over to a small rock, to lay her down there. Gandalf watched as Oìn took care of the gash on her face for a moment before he turned back to Thorin.

"How did she sustain these injuries?" he asked seriously and Thorin inclined his head slightly, feeling guilt brewing in his stomach as he recalled the horrible screams of pain that had echoed through the cavern as she had been whipped. He should have done something, he thought. He had forced the fae to come on this quest against her will; he should have prevented her from suffering the way she did.

"She was whipped in Goblin Town," Kili spoke quietly from where he was standing beside his uncle and Gandalf looked at the brunet dwarf, though Kili's gaze was set on the small red-haired female that Oìn was fussing over a bit further away. "And her hand… that was on our climb up the mountain. She cut her hand on the rock."

Gandalf just nodded solemnly. "Well," he muttered. "Let us rest and gather some strength. The climb down will be a long one and tiresome."

Thorin simply nodded in return, looking up as Oìn came walking over towards them with a serious expression on his bearded face. "I've bandaged her back and renewed the one around her hand," the healer spoke as he reached them. "And I've put some ointment on the gash on her face. I think she'll wake soon enough, but her injuries are not to be taken lightly. They will definitely scar."

Kili didn't really listen as Thorin took in the healer's information before he told him to rest for a while, instead the brunet dwarf just walked away from the small group and over to where Fili was sitting beside the still unconscious fae. The blond had taken off his coat and draped it over the redhead's small body. Fili looked up shortly as Kili reached him and sat down next to him before his gaze wandered back to Cinna's peaceful features. The brunet watched his big brother for a moment, studying the stricken expression on Fili's face before he spoke quietly, looking around to make sure that no one else was listening to their conversation.

"You're blaming yourself," Kili said matter-of-factly, knowing his brother well enough to not have to ask. Beside him, Fili gave a deep sigh before he shook his head with a small huff.

"Of course I am," he said. "Aren't you?"

Kili said nothing for a moment, feeling a tight, uncomfortable knot build in his stomach as he shortly glanced at Cinna's scarred face. He inclined his head, thinking of the pain she'd endured. And Kili knew that it had only been because of them. If it hadn't been for the company forcing her to come along on this quest, she would never even have been with them when they fell into Goblin Town. If he'd managed to hide her better, protect her better when she was right beside him, the goblin king might not have discovered her, and she would not have been made to endure such pain.

"She's not made for this kind of peril," Fili continued quietly, drawing his knees to his chest as he took his gaze off the fae and instead stared straight ahead at the horizon. "It is not fair of us to ask it of her."

"I know," Kili answered with a sigh. "Mahal, we all know that."

He was about to say something else when a small whimper from beside them tore the brothers' attention back to the small fae, seeing her blinking against the sunlight and struggling to get Fili's coat off of her.

"Hey, hey," the blond dwarf quickly muttered, moving closer to her and pulling the heavy garment off her body. The fae took a deep breath, her eyes darting around nervously. "It's fine."

"You're safe," Kili added as he reached out and put one hand on the fae's shoulder, causing her to flinch before her emerald eyes focused on him. The brunet gave her a small, reassuring nod. Cinna stared at him as her breathing slowly calmed down and evened out, and she nodded jerkily as Fili carefully helped her to sit up. Kili smiled faintly, retrieving his hand from her shoulder.

"We've escaped?" she then asked quietly, her voice not much more than a whisper. Fili nodded at her, squeezing her arm comfortingly. The fae closed her eyes for a moment. "All of us?"

Fili smiled at her as she opened her eyes again and he moved slightly to the side so she could see past him where the company had set up a makeshift camp. The fae's expression turned into relief as she saw Dori and Ori sitting comfortably by each other together with Nori and a few feet further, she saw Bilbo talking quietly to Balin. A sigh escaped her as she caught sight of Thorin, a small smile coming to her lips despite herself. She was even happy to see the grumpy dwarf-king alive and more or less well. It wasn't long before the rest of the dwarves noticed her awakening, as well.

"Lass!" Bofur called with a bright smile. "About time you woke up, it's almost time for lunch!"

The fae smiled faintly as she saw Bombur waving at her merrily with a wooden spoon before he brought it back down to stir in the pot he'd put over the fire, one of the few of their provisions and paraphernalia that had survived the perilous night. The fae didn't say anything, not really being in the mood to talk much, and just gave small smiles whenever someone addressed her until lunch was ready. To her surprise, she was the first one to be served after Thorin and she took her bowl from Bombur with a small look of confusion but the large cook only smiled kindly at her.

"Best get some food in you, that'll help you," the large redhead said to her and Cinna inclined her head slightly, digging in her spoon as she felt a small warm flutter in her stomach. They were all so kind to her, she thought with a small sigh, even if it was just because she had gotten hurt. She still appreciated that they all seemed to care, even Dwalin, beneath their gruff exterior. As the rest of the dwarves were served, Cinna ate her food quietly; her fingers occasionally coming up to lightly touch the side of her face.

"Stop fumbling around," Fili grumbled from where he was sitting beside her, grabbing her hand mid-rise and pushing it back down onto her lap. He shot her a stern sideways glance. "It'll only get infected if you touch it with unwashed hands."

Cinna said nothing for a moment, staring at the empty bowl that was now sitting in her lap. It was a few moments before she looked back up at the blond dwarf who was just downing the rest of his food.

"How bad is it?" she asked quietly, almost in a whisper, causing Fili to raise his head and look at her questioningly for a moment. Cinna watched as his expression changed and became stricken, though he tried to hide it. But the fae could see that the smile he gave her did not reach his eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered, shortly reaching out and squeezing her hand before he took his bowl and hers and walked off to give both of them back to Bombur. Cinna watched him go, unable to get rid of the feeling that he was trying to avoid the topic by leaving her sitting there instead of giving her an answer. Her gaze shortly wandered around the group, and for a moment she caught Kili's gaze from where he was sitting a bit further away. The brunet was gave her a small smile, his eyes sympathetic before the fae turned her gaze away, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

It wasn't long after lunch that Thorin decided that they would move on as long as they still had the sunlight, and seeing as it was only a while after midday, they still had several hours before they would have to make camp for the night. Enough time to climb down the large cliff the eagles had dropped them on.

As Cinna stepped up to the edge of the cliff, her eyes widened slightly upon seeing the massive chunks that had been worked out of the rock surface, creating something like a massive flight of stairs that was leading down one side of the cliff down into the valley. The fae could see treetops far below and her heart lightened ever so slightly at the prospect of soon being in the green again.

"Can you manage?"

The fae turned her head at the voice that sounded beside her, finding Thorin's icy blue eyes fixed on her in an intent stare before he glanced down the cliff. Cinna just shrugged slightly, unsure of what to say.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked with a sigh, already knowing the answer. Thorin took in a small breath, shaking his head ever so slightly.

"I'm afraid not," he muttered, his deep voice rumbling within his chest. And upon seeing him from this close distance, Cinna noticed the many scratches and bruises that were forming on his face, no doubt only a shadow of what was going on beneath his clothing. The fae felt a small shudder run through her as she thought back to how the dwarf-king had been mangled by Azog and the white warg. Thorin's expression softened slightly, though he didn't look at her as he spoke. "But that does not mean that you cannot ask for help if you need it, Cinna."

Cinna glanced at the dark-haired dwarf, a faint smile tugging on her lips despite herself. He had called her by her name.

"I will try to keep up," she answered and Thorin inclined his head slightly before he turned to his men and Gandalf who had packed what little was left of their belongings. It was then decided that they would climb down in groups of two, one group behind the other so that they could help each other down the giant steps. Gandalf, being considerably taller than everyone else, would go by himself to the front and lead the way.

They departed swiftly, and Cinna found herself climbing down with Nori by her side, his two brothers behind them and Fili and Kili in front. The dwarf with the dark red hair and a hairdo in the form of a starfish climbed next to her silently for the first few steps, which cost the fae already more strength than she'd thought. The steps were much too big for her to climb down easily and so she always had to let herself fall down onto the next one, all the while keeping her balance in order not to fall, for there was a deep abyss on one side of the stairs. After a while, upon noticing her struggle, Nori began to go ahead and then lift her down from the step above, taking some of the strain from her injured back at least. They had been going like this for a while when the red-haired dwarf finally spoke up, much to Cinna's surprise.

"So, tell me something," he said as he jumped down onto the next step, holding up his arms as Cinna stepped up to the edge. She crouched down and let her legs dangle over the edge, Nori grabbing her and lifting her down to his level. The fae shot him a confused look.

"Tell you what?" she asked as they proceeded to move to the next step. Nori shrugged.

"Anything," he answered casually once they had managed to climb down another step. "Do you have family?"

Cinna smiled slightly as they moved down further, all the time keeping their steady speed as she answered him. "Did you think fae grow from trees?"

Nori gave a short laugh, shrugging his shoulders as he grinned at her. "Well, I don't think anyone knows much about your kind, so I suppose it's possible?"

The fae chuckled quietly at that, shaking her head at him with an amused smile, though it quickly faltered when the side of her face began to ache again. "We don't grow from trees, I can tell you that," she replied as he helped her down yet another step, both Fili and Kili and Dori and Ori now listening in on their conversation from where they were climbing near them. "We have friends and family scattered around the earth, skills and talents. We love and have desires like everyone else in this world. The desires I have might be small compared to the ones in your future but for me they are quite enough."

"And what desires might those be?" Fili asked from where he was climbing down next to his brother in front of them, shooting a small glance back to her over his shoulder.

"At the moment, my biggest desire is to take a bath," the fae retorted, keeping her wishes that went much deeper than that to herself. Her words made the dwarves around her laugh as they nodded along.

"Indeed, a bath would be appropriate after all this time and hassle," Dori stated from behind them and Cinna stayed silent for a moment as she climbed while the dwarves now talked among themselves, telling each other the small desires that they had at the moment. Fili wished for an opportunity to sharpen his knives, Ori for a quiet moment to write in his journal, Dori wished he hadn't lost his tea supplies in Goblin Town and Nori said he should have saved some of the stuff he'd nicked from Rivendell from the goblins when he had the chance. The only person that had not said anything on the topic even when they finally reached the bottom of the cliff after several hours was Kili.

"And what do you wish for?" Cinna asked quietly as she came to stand next to him, unable to contain her curiosity despite the unwelcoming look he sent her in turn. Kili huffed quietly, keeping his gaze on his uncle who was waiting for the last two dwarves to reach the ground before he would tell them how they would proceed. Cinna silently hoped that they wouldn't have to go on any further today, but as the sun was still high up in the sky, she doubted that Thorin would let them rest before nightfall.

"I would wish for some good pipe weed," the brunet finally said and Cinna found herself being strangely disappointed in his answer, although the rest of the dwarves had not uttered wishes that were any more meaningful than his either. Neither had she. But before she knew it was happening, her mouth had already opened again to speak.

"Is that truly all you wish for?"

Kili shot her a sideways look, his eyes lingering on hers for a moment as he studied her. One of his eyebrows rose slightly. "Is a bath truly all you wish for?" he asked quietly and Cinna said nothing, though she inclined her head slightly before she looked back up at him, the small movement telling the brunet dwarf all he needed to know. He nodded slightly.

"We all have our deep secrets and hidden emotions," Kili said then, his quiet voice almost drowned out as Thorin called for the company to move on, though Cinna heard it well enough since she was standing right next to him. "I like to keep mine to myself. As do you."

And with that he turned his gaze away from her and moved forward, falling in step with his companions as Gandalf led them away from the cliff and into the woods that surrounded it. He had a plan of where they should go, he had said, although they had been driven away many miles from the path they had originally wanted to take. They were now much further north than planned, with no provisions or paraphernalia. He didn't tell them where exactly he was leading them and Thorin stopped asking after about an hour, knowing that the wizard would only part with his information when he finally decided the time was right and not a minute before. They didn't go on for much longer though, for the sun quickly began to set above them, dipping the land in orange light before it disappeared behind the mountaintops.

"Stop!" Thorin finally called when the sky had turned grey above them, night falling steadily. They had reached a small clearing that was surrounded with trees, near a river that they would have to cross in the morning to go further. "We make camp here. Bifur, Nori, go and collect some firewood, and Bombur, get out what little we have left and make supper with it. Rations will be sparse tonight."

As the three dwarves did as they were told, Cinna slowly made her way through the dwarves to the edge of the camp, although stopping abruptly when she heard a deep voice behind her speak up.

"And where do you think you're going?"

The fae turned around to see Thorin standing behind her, his arms crossed over his broad chest as he gave her a stern look. She smiled slightly at him, trying to put him a bit more at ease at least, though it didn't seem to make any difference. Thorin's expression remained stony.

"I'm going to take a bath," she then said and the dwarf-king's eyes rose in turn. The fae fidgeted slightly beneath his gaze, though she returned it stubbornly. "We are camping so close to the river, I want to take advantage of it while I can. The Gods know I probably won't get the chance again soon."

Thorin remained silent for a moment, simply looking at her sternly before he gave a curt nod. Cinna was about to turn and move away when his voice stopped her once again. "Kili will go with you."

The fae turned abruptly, her eyes wide with indignation as she glared at the dwarf before her. "Excuse me?" she growled quietly. "Do you truly trust me so little? I do not need someone to keep watch over me. Don't worry, I won't run away and tell your secrets to the world."

"It is not about whether or not I trust you," Thorin answered evenly, though Cinna thought she heard him sigh quietly to himself. "I do not want you to be away from camp by yourself in case you run into danger. We might have escaped the orcs for now but that does not mean that we can throw all care to the wind."

Cinna deflated slightly, not knowing what she could say against that. The events of the previous day had very obviously shown that she wasn't capable of defending herself very well when it came down to it. With a huff in Thorin's general direction, she turned on her heels and stomped away without another word, hearing the dwarf-king call for Kili once more before she heard heavy footsteps following behind her. Neither of them said anything until they reached the river and Cinna turned around again, seeing Kili standing by a few trees with one hand on the hilt of his sword.

"If you please," the fae drawled slightly, motioning with her hand for him to turn away. Kili did so without a word, turning his back on her before she pulled her tunic over her head, her back aching at the movement. She suppressed a groan as she put the garment on the floor, crouching down next to the water. It was then that she suddenly saw it, her reflection in the surface of the slow-moving river.

Her eyes widened as she beheld the large gash that ran down the side of her face and the bruise that had built around it. A small gasp escaped her as she raised her hand to touch the wound lightly, her mouth opening in shock upon seeing her scarred face. This scar would not disappear the fae realized suddenly; her face would be forever blemished by it.

Cinna tried to suppress the dry sob that rose in her throat without success and she quickly put her hand in front of her mouth to muffle the sound as she kept staring at her own reflection. She couldn't tear her eyes away from it, not even when she heard Kili approaching her slowly from behind.

The dwarf stopped a few feet behind her, his eyes shortly lingering on the bandage that covered her torso before he spoke. "Is everything all right?"

The fae kept silent for a long moment and Kili was about to say something else, find out what had happened when her quiet voice echoed over the riverbank. "I'm… ugly."

Kili's brows furrowed and he unconsciously took a step closer to the small redhead. "What?"

His eyebrows rose as she slightly turned her head so he could see her profile and the big scar on her face, though she didn't look at him. "My face, it's… it's blemished. Marred. I – this won't go away. It… it… I –"

The fae broke off when Kili took the final few steps toward her, crouching down next to her and giving her a stern look as she turned away her gaze as to not let him see the tears that had begun to form in her eyes. She didn't want to admit how weak she truly felt to him, although that was probably the way he saw her anyway.

"You're not ugly," the brunet dwarf said sternly but the fae just shook her head, causing Kili to frown at her. "You are not. Look at me."

When Cinna didn't comply, Kili reached out his hand and grabbed the fae's chin between his fingers, forcing her to turn her head towards him. She tried to blink away the few tears that had gathered in her emerald eyes, though some of them tumbled down her cheeks despite her efforts to hold them back. Kili felt his heart constrict slightly at the sight. When she finally looked up at him, his gaze had softened slightly, though his expression was still serious.

"Yes, you've been wounded. And yes, this wound will leave a scar that you will not be able to hide," he said and held her head in place when she tried to move away.

"If I could wish for anything," Cinna murmured almost soundlessly as she resolved to stay in his hold, her voice trembling. "I would wish for it to disappear. I would wish for all of this to never have happened."

Kili sighed silently, his gaze flicking between her emerald eyes before he answered, his voice now a bit softer than before, comforting.

"Cin," he muttered, holding her gaze with his. "None of what you have endured makes you any less beautiful. We all have scars and we all should carry them with pride, because for a dwarf, scars are a sign of dignity and strength. Can you not see that? You've been wounded, but you survived. You fought on and struggled through, and that is admirable. That is true strength. And that is what makes beauty, not a perfectly smooth skin or an unscarred body. It's courage and character."

"But I don't have courage," the fae whispered, new tears forming in her eyes as she looked at Kili. "I have never been as afraid in my life as I was last night."

"Courage is not the absence of fear," Kili answered seriously, repeating the words that his mother always used to say to him and his brother. "But the triumph over it. You may have been scared but you fought through the night and you triumphed. And your scars are proof of that."

Cinna sniffled quietly as she stared at the dwarf silently for a long moment, his hand still holding her chin in place as he returned her gaze earnestly, a small crease between his eyebrows. Though she knew that he was just trying to comfort her, she had no doubt that he meant every word of what he had just said. And somehow, his words made her feel better. Fae didn't usually have battle scars but then again, she was not leading the life of an ordinary fae anymore now, was she? She was on a dangerous quest, on the way to reclaim a homeland. And though she had not wished for it to happen, she would have to live with whatever came with it.

Kili released her chin when she gave a faint nod, his dark brown eyes still trained on her as she looked again at her reflection in the water. "Do you really not think it makes me ugly?"

Kili huffed slightly and Cinna's head swivelled around to him when she saw him lifting his tunic up from the corner of her eye. The brunet only uncovered his left side, the fae's eyes suddenly landing on a thin white scar that ran along his skin there.

"We were an escort for some merchants from Ered Luin," he explained as he glanced down at the scar himself. "They were trading in silverware for furs. We were on our way back to the mountain when we were ambushed by orcs. No one died, luckily, but some of us carried away a little keepsake such as this." He paused shortly as Cinna looked up at him, his eyebrows rising slightly. "Do you think it makes me ugly?"

A faint smile appeared on the fae's face as she glanced back at the white line that ran across Kili's tanned skin and she shook her head as she looked back up at the dwarf. "No," she said and Kili smiled slightly as well before he let his tunic fall back into place.

"So then you see that if my scars don't make me ugly in your eyes, you should try and see it the same way for yourself," he muttered before he stood back up. "Mahal knows everyone else does."

And with that he stood and turned away, and walked back to the trees where he had been standing before, his back turned to her as he leaned his side against the trunk. Cinna watched him for a moment, the faint smile still playing on her face as she wiped away the remaining tracks of tears on her cheeks and slowly undid the bandage around her torso and took off the rest of her clothing.

Kili didn't turn when he heard the water splashing and lapping against the fae somewhere behind him, and just kept on staring into the trees, his heart feeling a bit lighter now that he had managed to ease her sorrow at least a bit. He let her bathe in peace for a while, as he was thinking about what she had told him about what she would wish for.

"Cin," he uttered then, addressing her without turning around. He heard the splashing stop for a moment.

"Yes?"

The corner of Kili's mouth lifted slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his shoulder against the tree trunk beside him. He continued, loud enough for her to hear him easily from the distance they were to each other. "If I could wish for anything, I would wish to be able to talk to my mother."

He heard her moving around slightly in the water behind him and he kept his eyes on the trees before him as she answered, a small smile audible in her voice. "That's a good thing to wish for, Kili."