Disclaimer: I only own Ira, Eleniel and Ghardaz. Mac Gustah owns Dwin, Vevina and Fundin.
A/N: Okay, yes, I'm a very bad person, not updating for so long. Sorry. It's been somewhat hectic here, especially with my brother going off to university last weekend. Hopefully you'll forgive me.
Big thanks to: hunterrylee, HHunter101, BetterWithThree101, RightHandOfPalpatine, Fredegar, Thecronus213 and nitro740 for following/favouriting.
Review Response(s):
Mac Gustah: ...Nah, that's alright, keep your manliness. You'll probably make better use of it than me. As for the birthday wishes, cheers. Oh, and don't stop being random. Randomness is highly underrated. Anywho...
snowbeard3: Well, you're about to find out! *dramtic flourish with flashing lights and laser beams, because DRAMA!*
Darkcrest27: If you go on the LotR wiki pages, you'll see that Kili was 77 during the Erebor quest, and Fili was 82, making them five years apart. Which, when you think of the lifespan of dwarves, is not very much, but, no, they're not twins.
gabiey: Thanks, here ya go!
Chapter 26:
To say that Vevina's eyes were wide would be an understatement. They'd practically popped out of her skull. Fundin was little better.
"D-Dwin?"
Dwin smiled. "Hello, sanâzyung," he greeted. "How've you been?"
Ira wanted to face-palm. That there was the perfect response that would warrant a physical retaliation. Vevina stormed up to him and-
Ira winced. That was a solid punch.
Dwin stumbled back, rubbing his jaw while everyone just stood back and stared in shock. Vevina then grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him full on the mouth.
Clearing her throat quietly, Ira averted her eyes from the scene, suddenly finding the leather straps of Alduin's armour to be very interesting.
"What took you so long?!" Vevina demanded, and the Dragonborn risked a glance back. Thankfully, it didn't seem like they were going to attack each other again any time soon. Physically or... romantically.
Dwin shrugged. "It's a long story. Look, I promise I'll explain everything later, but this is not the time and place for such things." Hesitantly, Vevina nodded. Dwin turned face his son, who was clearly fighting back tears. "Come here, azaghâlithûh." Fundin stepped forward, slowly at first, but then his eagerness to reunite with his father took over, and he sped up. He practically threw himself at Dwin, and Ira smiled slightly at the sight of the family. They were huddled together, letting out tears of joy, muttering to one another in both the common tongue and khuzdul.
Alduin's arm suddenly snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to him, the action alone taking her mind back to last night's conversation about family. She glanced up to see Alduin already looking down at her, a promise for later shining in his amber eyes. Swallowing the thrill of nerves and anticipation that shot through her, Ira faced the others again.
Having apparently caught the look they shared, Fili's knowing blue eyes shone with mischief, and he smirked at them. Ira shot him a glare that clearly said 'Not. A. Word.'
When Dwin's family finally pulled away from one another, Fili turned to one of the maids hovering by the doors. "Please get Alduin and Ira a room," he said. "Keep it close to the royal suites." The maid bobbed into a curtsey, before rushing out of the room.
Ira suddenly found Vevina standing in front of her. "Oh," she said in surprise (she refused to admit she'd practically squeaked). "Hello."
Vevina grinned. "I'd like to thank you for returning my husband to me."
Ira shrugged. "It was no trouble. He made for quite an amusing travelling companion."
Vevina chuckled. "He's never really learnt to be serious."
"Vevina!"
"It's true, dear." Dwin visibly sulked, and everyone chuckled. She turned back. "Anyway, thank you again. I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done."
"We don't want payment," Alduin said, while Ira nodded her head. "I guess seeing him reunite with his family is enough."
Ira's eyebrows rose, and she glanced at him. "Since when did you become such a softy?"
"I think that's something we're all wondering," Kili murmured. Alduin rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
"I'd imagine Ira may have had something to do with that," Matryd said, coming closer with her son and nephew. "It's the job of a wife to make her man a better person."
"Excuse me," Kili said poutingly, "I was perfect, thank you very much."
"Oh really?" Matryd challenged.
"You were childish," Ira offered.
"Careless," Fili added.
"Foolish." That was Alduin.
"Impatient." Ira again.
"Tactless." Alduin.
"Thoughtless." Fili.
"Impulsive." Matryd.
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Kili held his hands up, while the rest grinned smugly at him. "So maybe I wasn't perfect, but that doesn't mean Tauriel's made me a better dwarf."
"But she has," Ira argued. "I imagine if you saw yourself as you were on the Quest for Erebor you too would think yourself rather immature. Same with Fili, probably."
"It's not like it doesn't work the other way round, though," Dwin piped up.
"It's true," Matryd agreed. "Fili taught me how to control my annoyance in front of my council."
"Alduin's the only person alive who can actually snap me out of my rage when it flares," Ira said, and she felt Alduin's arm around her tighten slightly. "And since meeting him I've been able to trust my instincts more easily."
"Okay, so can we all just agree that everyone makes everyone better?" Kiki grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Good. Now, if you will excuse me, I am exhausted. Goodnight to you all, and I guess I'll see you... whenever." Without further ado, he walked off, steps quite clearly heavy and dragging.
Matryd sighed. "He's been doing that more and more lately," she muttered.
"What?"
Fili shared a concerned look with his wife. "He's been getting really tired a lot. Not to mention he seems to be physically deteriorating."
"He's losing weight?"
"That, and a lot of the time the contents of his stomach," Fili added, brow pinched with concern. "Kili being Kili, he denies that anything serious is wrong with him, but it's been going on for a while now, and the healers have asked us to keep an extra close eye on him."
Ira was quiet for a long time, searching through her extensive memory. These symptoms sounded familiar, as if she'd been near someone who had experienced the same thing. She muttered idly under her breath as she thought. "Fatigue, loss of weight, nausea..." Her eyebrows lifted. "What else?"
"What else? Well-"
"Loss of appetite, strange red marks on his hands, sporadic sleeping patterns...?"
Fili nodded slowly. "All of the above."
"Draaf," Ira hissed.
"What is it?" Alduin asked, noticing the panic in her eyes. She was quiet for a long time, eyes glazed over as she recalled as much as she could about Oerin's condition. "Ira."
She blinked away the memories. "I've known someone who experienced the same thing. Well, at least at the start. It later developed to moments of confusion and memory-loss, high fevers and shivers, immense shortness of breath simply from walking around and, on a couple of occasions, he started vomiting blood."
"What happened to him?" Dwin asked. Ira had almost forgotten he and his family were even there.
"Long story short: he died. But they did at least discover what was wrong with him."
"What?"
"He was experiencing liver failure."
Fili's eyebrows rose. "What even is that?"
"From what I can remember of what I was told, the liver is important for many things in the body. If it fails, so too does your body, in a nutshell. The healer told me the most likely cause is drinking too much, or ingesting too much salt."
"If this is what Kili has, how can we stop it?"
Ira exhaled slowly. "I don't know," she admitted, voice meek and quiet. "Have you taken him to see any of the healers or alchemists from Nirn?"
"No, why?"
"Well, their magic could be able to heal him. And if not, a Cure Disease potion should do the trick. It was too late by the time we realised what was wrong with Oerin, but the healers were confident a potion could have saved him if given in plenty of time."
Nodding sharply, Fili instructed Morac to find both a healer and alchemist who still had the aforementioned skills, and the raven once again launched himself from the King's shoulder. They young maid from earlier re-entered the hall, and, after curtseying again, led Alduin and Ira along the stone corridors towards their new chambers. Ira's grip on Alduin's hand as they walked was like a vice.
...
"Welcome to the camp of the banished, Princess," Eomer stated dryly as they and their company entered the camp, finding themselves amongst hundreds - maybe even thousands - of tents. Every ten tents or so there was a campfire lit, casting an orange glow on the morose faces of the camp's inhabitants.
"What a dreary place," Eleniel stated bluntly.
Eomer glanced back at her, leading her towards his own personal place, on the outskirts of the camp. "We have been betrayed by our own King. It would be a surprise to find anything else but weary men with sorrowful hearts."
"You must have some faith and hope left, else you would not still be here," the elleth pointed out with a quick grin, and Eomer tilted his head to the side in recognition of her words.
"We do indeed. We may not be allowed in Edoras, but Rohan is still our home, and we feel it our duty to protect her."
"You're doing a fine job," Eleniel commented, jumping back as a drunken man stumbled past her, almost barrelling her over with his weight and size. She was tall, but her narrow and willowy figure made her incredibly small compared to these men.
Eomer chuckled and gently took her by the crook of her elbow, leading her faster so she wouldn't get trampled to death. "Thank you, my lady," he said.
Eleniel sighed. "How many times must I ask you-"
"Not to call you 'my lady'?" Eomer finished with a wide grin, which caused Eleniel to narrow her eyes at him. "As many as you wish. But that won't make me stop. It is an acknowledgement of your station."
"Which I appreciate," Eleniel retorted. "That doesn't mean you have to continue to address me that way, though."
"No, it doesn't," Eomer agreed. "But I can't deny I take pleasure in seeing you so annoyed."
Eleniel scowled. "You're beginning to behave like my brother," she grumbled.
Eomer threw his head back and let out a loud bark of laughter. "You forget; I have a sister of my own. I know what gets on your nerves. All women are the same."
"Excuse me," she bit out, "but women are about as alike to one another as elves and dwarves. Same as men. Don't make the assumption that just because you know some who are similar, that we all fall in the same category."
Eomer held his hands up in a pacifying manner. "Forgive me," he said, "I did not wish to offend you. My interactions with women are admittedly few, but for my sister and the noblewomen my uncle likes to send my way. There are simply some things that seem to get the same reaction from you all."
Eleniel let out a long breath. "Fine, you're forgiven. But please don't make assumptions like that again. Mahal only knows how many poor people I've ranted to about things like that."
Eomer smirked. "Somehow, I think I can guess. Come, I suspect there will be a meal for us somewhere close by."
"Good to hear; I'm starved."
For those interested, the khuzdul meanings are as follows:
sanâzyung: true/pure/perfect love
azaghâlithûh: my warrior that is young
Until next time, my lovelies!