Bofur let out a frustrated grunt as he struggled with his hair, finally giving up and letting it curl around his face in large, poofy, unkempt waves. He glared at his reflection in the pond, barring his teeth at it, before realizing how ridiculous he looked and sticking his tongue out at himself with a laugh.
"There ye are, lad. Yer mother's been wondering after ya.
Bofur looked up to find his cousin sauntering through the woods towards him, the little dwarfling eyeing Bifur's well kept plaits with envy. "I can't go home," he muttered, glancing back at his reflection, scowling at the wild mess his hair had become.
"Why's that?" Bifur asked, flopping down into the grass next to his young cousin.
Bofur turned to stare at Bifur, arching his eyebrows and gesturing towards his hair. "Why do ya think?"
Bifur blinked at the dwarflings petulance, before letting out a guffaw and reaching for the little one's hair.
"No!" Bofur snapped, ducking away from his cousin's fingers and rolling through the grass, before springing to his feet. "I need t'learn how to do it myself! Ma can't keep helpin' me with my braids! I'm almost twenty!"
Bifur rolled his eyes at the dwarfling's outburst, reclining back on his hands, "Well then, what are ye going to do? If ye can't braid yer hair yerself, and ye can't go home to get yer mother to do it."
Bofur sighed dramatically, dropping into the grass like a stone, sending flower petals and insects scattering. "Live in the wilderness like a savage," he declared, staring up at the clouds overhead.
"All 'cause ye can't do yer own braids! For pity's sake," Bifur grumbled, rubbing at his face, before scooting over to where Bofur had all but thrown himself onto the ground. "Why don't I just show ye? And perhaps ye can do an easier pattern than yer Ma's been doing for ye. Sound good?"
Bofur seemed to think the proposal over for a long minute, before nodding and sitting up, watching in awe as his cousin undid one of the braids in his beard.
"It's real easy, once you get the hang of it," Bifur said, demonstrating to the dwarfling the way to hold one's fingers while twisting the strands back and forth over each other. "Now. Why don't we start with just one plait, at the side of yer head?"
Bofur nodded, shifting to the edge of the pond so he could watch himself in the water's reflection. Bifur scooted up close to the dwarfling, helping to separate Bofur's hair into neat thirds. "So, like this?" Bofur muttered distractedly, fixing himself a tight, if a bit messy, braid at the side of his head. He grinned at himself in the water, turning his gaze to his cousin, who nodded back in approval.
"Aye. Look about right. Try another on the other side."
Bofur nodded, doing just that, letting out a whoop of triumph once it was complete. He pause for a moment, looking at himself curiously in the water, before turning to look over his cousin's braids.
"Why're mine curly?" he asked, indicating the slight upward curve of his braids.
Bifur chuckled, patting Bofur on the head as he moved behind the dwarfling to fashion a third braid down his back, since he knew Bofur would get frustrated with not being able to see. "Probably because ye made them tighter towards the ends. Or, yer hair's natural curl. I think it rather suits ye."
Bofur hummed thoughtfully as he allowed his cousin to finish his hair, shoving himself to his feet once the task was complete.
"Can we go home now?" Bifur asked, watching his little cousin preen at his newly fashioned braids for a minute, smirk on his face.
"Aye. I think we can," Bofur said with a nod, eliciting a laugh from Bifur.
The elder shoved himself to his feet, scooping a squirming dwarfling into his arms, chuckling to himself as they headed home.
