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STARS AND HAMMERS

Meetings

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"Smile (Hippie Sabotage Remix)" Mikky Ekko

Tauriel hated to watch the tremble of her beloved's skin as she applied medicinal herbs to the small, uneven rip in Kili's thigh. Worse was watching his heaving breaths as he cried out, bracing himself back on his elbows in the grass—shirtless from his wash in the river, she could see the stretch of his chest as his lungs expanded in pained gasps and the way his muscles shivered just below his ribs.

Clenching his hands and gritting his teeth, Kili waded through the agony of the medicine with valiant effort, but Tauriel's heart stung at the sight of him struggling in such a way.

"It's fading," Kili finally moaned in relief, sinking to his back on the ground. Tauriel knew she had to move quickly or else he would fall asleep on the grass in only his skin.

"Wait a moment," She knelt beside him, raising him to sit again. "At least put a shirt on; you'll catch cold."

"Dwarves don't catch colds." Kili snorted, allowing her to slip his tunic over his head and drowsily raising his arms into the sleeves.

"I hesitate to ask if dwarves can become sick at all." Tauriel sent him a cheeky grin.

Kili tugged his trousers on and sank back into the grass again. "Sort of. Heart sickness."

"What is heart sickness?" Tauriel asked as she dressed herself.

"Fili got it when our uncle called us to head to the Lonely Mountain with him." Kili shut his eyes and laid an arm over his face. "It's when a dwarf has to leave his One and doesn't want to—his body sort of rebels against him."

"That's interesting," She commented as she bent over their things, putting the herbal medicine into her travelling pack. "Elves have something similar, but we call it fading. When a loved one dies, we can begin to lose care for everything and stop functioning properly. It's like dying, but… one would be trapped in a body that can't die."

"Let's not speak of that," Kili groaned as he pulled himself up to stand, hefting his own pack over his shoulders, which startled Tauriel.

"What are you doing?" Tauriel's eyes were wide. "You should rest, we don't need—"

"And waste away the daylight? No, I won't find proper rest until we reach the safety of the mountain. We need to tell Fili about the goblins, they're getting bolder."

As much as Tauriel wanted to argue, she knew he was right and began to follow him through the trees.

"Floating/Sinking" Peter Broderick

Increasingly frequent goblin sightings.

A wound that wouldn't heal.

And everywhere, meeting prejudice toward the one Kili considered his spouse, save Rivendell.

So many things were spiraling beyond his control—was it any wonder he chose to deny that his reoccurring dream was more than just a nightmare? But as the herbal medicine seared through his veins with a burning chill—like the coolness of peppermint at an unbearable ferocity—it also cleared his head and he could see how foolish it was to keep his concerns from her.

Reaching out as they walked side by side along the green and through the trees, Kili took Tauriel's hand in his and gave it a squeeze, smiling apologetically.

Oh, Mahal, how could he speak of his own fears when he had plainly seen hers? And now he remembered her words: "I don't want to lose you." Tauriel, through some magic he couldn't understand, had entered the dream with him and seen what he had seen. Her reaction had been so strong—was it really as bad as that?

"Tauriel," He finally said, breathing out a sigh through his nose as they passed under the branch of a tree.

"Yes?" She sounded so uneasy. Yes, it was time to be transparent with her…

But just as he began to speak, Tauriel held up a finger to her lips and silenced him immediately, her head turning this way and that as she listened to the forest around them. The trees parted in a natural pathway, but beyond this they grew closely together—anyone could be hiding.

Kili's hand automatically reached for the sword across his back.

Tauriel cocked her head sideways and her brows furrowed as her eyes scanned the trees and her wary stance relaxed. "A Mirkwood elf." The heavy cover of leaves above them allowed a few beams of sunlight through, but the dwarf couldn't see much.

Kili didn't need to wait much longer before a figure clad in dark brown jumped from a tree twenty paces in front of them and walked slowly in their direction, hands out and empty to indicate he meant them no harm.

"How do you know he's from Mirkwood?" Kili asked curiously.

"The sound of his feet," Tauriel whispered back, scrutinizing the oncoming elf.

"Peace, friends," The pale elf with honey-colored hair said in Westron.

Kili's eyebrows rose. It was unusual for an elf to greet someone in anything other than their native tongue, especially when there was another elf present—he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"I am Fonor and I hail from Mirkwood, as my honorable elleth elder so wisely deduced," The elf said with his hand over his heart as he made a low bow to Tauriel.

Tauriel and Kili shared an uncertain look.

"You've come far from the safety of the Woodland Realm, Fonor," Tauriel spoke.

"I have come to find the banished ones," Fonor grinned. "And the Valar smile upon me, for I have found them after searching long." His crystal blue eyes glinted with hope.

"Searching long? Banished ones?" Kili felt his patience wearing out. "Speak plainly; what is your purpose here?"

"You are my purpose, Prince Kili of Erebor," Fonor said. "I am one of many who wish to re-establish a working alliance with the King of the Lonely Mountain."

"King Thranduil made it quite clear he wanted nothing more to do with us," Tauriel said with a faint scowl, turning away from the elf—but Fonor stepped forward and spoke quickly.

"I do not speak on behalf of Thranduil, but of those who would no longer call him King." Fonor paused a moment while Tauriel turned slowly to face him again. "Lady Tauriel, you are not the only one to feel imprisoned in a glittering cage…" But then he cleared his throat and took on a more respectful stance. "I cannot tell you the whole of the matter—that is for Rothel, our leader—but I know that your departure from the Woodland Realm was what stirred certain hearts to action."

"What action?" Kili asked.

"I fear I am telling the story out of order," Fonor bit his lip. "All that is important is this: we have severed our ties with Thranduil and seek to colonize elsewhere—and we had hoped Prince Kili would consider serving as our emissary to King Fili."

"You are certainly telling the story out of order," Tauriel said with no small amount of frustration. "How can the exile of a dwarf from an elvish kingdom mean so much that it prompts a divided people?"

"Lady Tauriel, I beg your forgiveness and patience," The younger elf said with his hands raised up in surrender. "I am only one of many scouts, sent to find you and your…" Fonor glanced in confusion at Kili. "…husband? Of what ceremony?"

"That is none of your business." Tauriel snapped, taking Kili and the elf off-guard.

The elf immediately blushed and ducked his head. "My apologies."

"You say that you wish to start a colony," Kili squinted at the elf, whom he was beginning to realize was a young lad. "And that you desire an alliance between your people and mine?"

"Yes, my lord," Fonor said, head still bowed.

"That is not something I can give you in the middle of the wilderness," Kili did his best to hide a grin. "But I will consider what you have said and bring it to the attention of my brother as soon as I can. Where is this Rothel you speak of?"

"We reside near the shores across from Laketown for the time being."

"Have you already petitioned King Fili?"

"No," Fonor said warily. "We feared he might be angry with us…"

"And you thought that if you appealed to me, he wouldn't easily say no to his own brother." Kili nodded knowingly.

"Yes…"

"Return to your leader and tell him I will meet him within the week."

Kili knew Tauriel's eyes were wide, even without looking at her, but he kept his gaze on the young elf in front of them, who had begun to bow repeatedly with earnest.

"Thank you, my lord!" Fonor smiled widely. The lad turned and sprinted away, disappearing into the trees.

"I never thought I'd see the day—"

But Kili's bewilderment was cut short when a low string of elvish curses left Tauriel's mouth. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Is something wrong?" Tauriel shook her head, but Kili could see that she was silently fuming. Taking her hand in his again, he led her forward and continued through the trees.

"I am young in years, according to some, but that one was even younger," Tauriel murmured. "It amazes me how little they are taught in manners these days."

Kili nearly guffawed, but kept his outburst to a snort. "Is that what's bothering you? A little inappropriate behavior from a young lad?"

"I would never have been permitted to speak so freely or to ask such questions." Tauriel huffed.

Ah. Now Kili understood a little better. "You speak so little of your childhood. In fact, I find it hard to imagine you as a small, red-haired lass dancing through the trees and picking wildflowers for crowns."

Tauriel immediately became silent and as they walked further through the trees, Kili began to wonder if he'd accidentally struck some sensitive nerve. He was about to apologize when he heard the soft whisper of words from his lover's mouth, as smooth as the sound of wind through the leaves so that he might have mistaken it for such if he hadn't seen Tauriel's lips move.

"I was like that, once. A long time ago."

The words tore a small rip in Kili's heart when he looked up into Tauriel's sad face and he knew that she spoke of a time when her parents had lived. Though she hadn't mentioned much in past conversations, he knew enough to form a rough timeline of her life and could guess with ease that things had become much harsher for Tauriel after her tutelage under King Thranduil.

"A different time," Tauriel said with a quirk of her lips—a movement Kili hoped very much would turn into a smile, but seemed instead to be actively working against a frown. "When my parents and brothers lived."

"I didn't know you had brothers," Kili tried to keep the surprise from his voice, but he knew it was a losing battle.

"Three of them," She said, finally permitting a smile as she seemed to recall a fond memory. "They were very protective of me and seldom let me play in the trees unsupervised."

Knowing his curiosity could be a terrible thing, Kili kept the burning question from leaving his lips, but Tauriel looked at him with determination and seemed to hear it anyway.

"You want to know what happened." She said, matter-of-factly, stopping in her tracks.

"Tauriel, you don't need to speak of it if you don't want to." He protested, tugging on her hand and suggesting they move on. But Tauriel could be as stubborn as him and refused to budge.

"We are joined; there is no sense in keeping it from you."

Looking up into the trees, Tauriel paused and Kili thought she looked very much like she was lost in listening to some song of nature.

"My brothers were older than me, but not by much. It is a testament to my parents' love that we were so closely grouped, as elves seldom have more than two or three children. My mother was growing her fifth child on the day that…" And now Tauriel looked at the ground, as though she was lost in a turbulent sea of thoughts. "I was petulant that day. I was the youngest of the family and wanted to remain such, but when my mother announced that this was to change, I selfishly announced that I didn't want it to be so."

"You were the baby?" Kili couldn't help but grin. "I am, too. I understand being upset about losing that place in your mother's heart. Fili didn't seem to mind so much, but—" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm interrupting."

"No, you're relating," Tauriel smiled kindly at him. "And it's good that you know what I mean—you'll understand when I say that I was so upset that I threatened to run away."

"All children say foolish things like that."

"Foolish, yes… but ultimately it saved my life."

That piqued Kili's interest.

"I was still very young and wasn't able to get far before my brothers came looking for me." She bit her lip. "I had heard a terrible scream and climbed high into the trees. When I looked down again, I saw a band of orcs at the bottom."

Kili's heart dropped and his eyes widened.

"They meant to climb after me, but elves are much daintier and I wasn't full-grown. They called to me, threw things at me, but when they saw that they couldn't reach me, they meant to cut down the very tree that I clung to."

Tauriel was trying to keep her composure, but Kili knew his lover's inner workings. She was calling on that same battle-readiness that would steady her nerves in the face of the enemy, and though he wanted very badly to reach for her hand or to comfort her in some way, it wouldn't be wise to startle her.

"Two of my brothers attacked the orcs—idiots! They were young and untrained, even unarmed!" There was a squeak of leather and Kili realized that one of her hands was squeezing the bracer of the other hand and the wrist armor was protesting under her grip. "They were killed instantly. And I saw it all." Tauriel's head fell mournfully. "My third brother attacked them in a fit of anger not much later and the orcs cut him down as well." She blew out a shaky breath. "Soldiers from Mirkwood came to my rescue not long after. And when we returned to my home, my mother and father were dead. Slaughtered by the same vile creatures who killed my brothers."

"I'm sorry," Kili whispered, wanting more than anything to hold her to him, but waiting for her to give him some sign that she would allow it. "I'm so sorry, Tauriel."

"I miss them sometimes," Tauriel's face suddenly broke into grief and tears welled in her eyes. "I know there was nothing I could have done, but…"

Kili didn't care about caution anymore and stepped closer to her, taking her hand and tugging on her arm until she dropped to her knees and leaned her forehead against his chest. Winding his arms around her, Kili squeezed until he was certain she felt that he had strength enough in him to protect her even from these long-carried sorrows.

"I can fathom that they are gone, that it wasn't my fault, and that nothing I do will bring them back," She said in a parroted voice that made him think those were the consolations given to her countless times by others. "But the thing that plagues me and will not leave me be is how pointless their deaths were."

Kili nodded, but bit back his comments. He suffered the same question with the death of his own father and of his uncle, Thorin. Why did they have to die?

"No one can ease that hurt of heart," Kili whispered into her hair, running his fingers along the back of her neck and smoothing a hand over her hair. "But we cannot know what purpose their deaths served until we see them again and ask them."

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As always, your patience is so appreciated! The allergies keep me from writing much

and they're only lessening now, after an entire month of intense reactions. Believe it or not,

this story is about to wrap up and we'll start the next story, reuniting Kili and Tauriel with Fili and Nur.

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Want a Kili and OC humorous parody? Try HOW TO WRECK A MARY SUE

Kili and Danika are tired of being pushed around in fan fiction stories and make a pact to defy writer's prompts, but do they have any idea what will happen if they don't play by the rules? Guest appearances from Luna Lovegood, The Doctor, Sherlock, and others!

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Want some Fili/OC romance/adventure? Try GOLD AND FIRE

Fili and Princess Nur of the Iron Hills marry in secret just before he leaves for Erebor, but what is a lonely wife to do while her husband is braving life and death for their future? Covers the Battle of Five Armies and afterward. Explanations for some of the actions within the movies as well as some behind the scenes! A sequel to GEMS AND POISON- the first big adventure of Fili and Kili!

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Want some Thorin/OC romance/angst?TryJEWELS AND DAGGERS

Just as Thorin becomes engaged to be married, the dragon attacks Erebor and all is thrown into chaos! Men with wicked intent take captive some of the wandering dwarves- will Thorin, Frerin, and Dwalin be able to rescue the enslaved dwarves, including Runa, Thorin's beloved?