The argument between Fíli and Kíli does not last long once Nori has sent the younger to apologise to the elder and they are soon as thick as thieves, a phrase Nori hates, once again. Or they are for as long as Fíli is in town. With the announcement that he will be courting Hela comes the news that Fíli will leave with her caravan to journey to Labamgarel Zarrakh. Which inevitably means that Dwalin will also go with them. Kíli is not the only one who gets upset over that development, but there is little that the two of them can do about it and so they settle once more into monitoring things in Thorinuldum and around the other settlements in Ered Luin as Nori helps Kíli to build up Cadan's own network of friends and contacts within the thieves of the guild.
Every thief needs a network and Kíli will need to form trusted acquaintances so that he can find replacements for the Pack when he takes over as and when he needs to.
It keeps them ticking over for the year that Fíli is away and although it lacks excitement, their trips to the various dwarf settlements that span the length of the Blue Mountains at least keeps them from missing the open road too much. Nori is also able to finally find out what happened to Galen when her old friend arrives back in town less an eye and his right hand. Their reunion is loud and long and she sheds a tear over it later once they have parted for the night. His news of Azog, is less welcome, but it is the absolute confirmation that they needed beyond the note and Nori spends quite a bit of time marshalling several contacts within the caravans to look into it all in even closer detail than they had been. She would rather go herself, but a two year long trip when Kíli's coming of age is so close does not appeal.
The lad really has made her soft.
Fíli returns just in time for Kíli's coming of age and, as Nori remembers from her previous life, he brings an absolutely exquisite dagger which he has obviously spent many hours working on. Unlike her last life, however, this dagger is not housed in a plain sheath. Instead the leather that holds the beautifully patterned steel blade has been carefully embossed with Kíli's symbols, the runes which mark him as a prince of Durin's line. That is not work that Fíli could do. Fíli is good with steel but he has little to no skill with leather and it turns out that it has been made by Hela as both a coming of age gift and a peace offering.
Nori is proud to note that Kíli accepts the gift with grace and genuine gratitude, a year apart apparently having been enough to completely convince him that he would rather be on good terms with his brother and the 'dam that Fíli has chosen than be at odds with them. The party is as fine as the one that Dís had thrown for Fíli five and a half years before, the inside of the mountain still cool though the heat of summer beats down on the parts of the town which are exposed to the outside air. Even so, the large hall is warmer than it had been during Fíli's coming of age. Nori wanders the room on Dwalin's arm, carefully disguised as the slightly wealthy Nori, daughter of Tori. There have been rumours flying around Ered Luin that Dwalin has found himself a 'dam to court and the persona of Nori, daughter of Tori, is a believable option while keeping her close to the dwarf she has claimed.
And claim him she has, even if he is not completely aware of it just yet. Something she will have to rectify at some point fairly soon and something that Ori points out on a semi-regular basis whenever they meet for dinner, which happens once a week whenever Nori is in town. Dori even joins them on occasion and her relationship with her fussy older brother improves, but never gets to the point where they can be close like they were before Dori threw her out. Not that they were ever that close to begin with. Her relationship with Ori, however, has never been all that strained and they remain as close as they have ever been with Nori keeping him just on the fringes. Ori appears content in his role as Hjalmer's assistant and while Nori knows that there are bigger things he could do and accomplish he has still achieved more in this version of his life than he had in the one where he had still been living with her and Dori when the quest rolled around. Ori is stronger, more confident and has actually bought himself a decent weapon rather than using the old and damaged thing that had once belonged to his father. Not at all the nervous lad who joined the quest because Dori had decided they were going to keep an eye on Nori when she signed on.
Kíli being of age and fully trained means that Nori can start sending him out into the world. So she puts him on the caravans for a time, although that is partially out of necessity after an assassination almost goes horribly wrong when Kíli hesitates upon realising that the dwarf he has been sent to kill is a childhood companion.
"Get your arse to the Shire and spend winter with Briar," she hisses once she has finished patching him up. "I'll clean up here. Soon as spring rolls in I want you on a caravan to Ered Nimrais. Tell Nila I sent you if I don't catch you up and see if you can get a read on things there. I'll join you and then we're going to the Iron Hills to poke around the area a bit."
The screw up was always coming, and it has at least come at a time when Nori is able to help him.
"Why the Iron Hills?" Kíli asks.
"Because I've been meaning to poke around since we heard that Azog was still alive," Nori replies. "Pack your shit and get gone. Understand?"
He nods and hurries away, hand pressed against his side to hide the dark patch on his tunic. Nori sighs and knocks her head against her desk for a moment before slipping out of the house and going to Dwalin. He will need to know that Kíli will be out of town for at least two years.
He is not happy about it and less happy that she will also be out of town for a long time. Truthfully Nori would rather not be out of contact with him for that long either. She knows all too well what happened the last time that she was away for more than a week. It comes as no surprise that when she leaves in the spring Dwalin has found an excuse to come with her and although she should be angry that he has decided to tag along, she feels relieved instead. There is every possibility that having Dwalin with her will cause more problems, but Nori knows herself well enough to know that she will probably need him when they finally reach the rotting wooden town on the Long Lake
They do not catch up with Kíli, not that Nori had expected to, and he does not arrive in town until almost two weeks after she, Dwalin, and Fíli, who has come with Hela, do.
"Briar wanted me to tell you that Belladonna died just before Yule," he says once he has settled into the large room that Nori and Dwalin are sharing. Nori swears. "I would have stayed with her, but she told me to come and catch you up."
"Who's Briar?" Dwalin asks.
"A contact of mine," Nori passes it off. "The lad and I have stayed with her a few times, she's his safe place when things go wrong."
"Makes sense," Dwalin shrugs and lets the subject go, apparently content with the idea that Nori has a safehouse somewhere.
"Guess that changes things," Nori mutters. "I don't like that you left her, lad, not with everything that's happened her way the last few years. Looks like we're heading back."
"Thought you had stuff over Dáin's way to look into?" Dwalin asks.
"Iron Hills and Lake Town can wait," Nori shakes her head. "I've got a few contacts here I can set up to go that way."
"That isn't what we agreed with Thorin," Dwalin points out.
"I don't care," Nori shakes her head. "Belladonna being dead means that Briar's vulnerable; grief stops you from thinking straight and she's been threatened before."
"I made sure she would be as safe as possible before she chased me out with a frying pan," Kíli assures her, although the relief that they will be heading back to the Shire is clear on his face.
"I know," Nori touches his shoulder to reassure him. "Fíli's caravan left here two days ago on the way back to Ered Luin, the three of us should be able to catch him up easily enough and I'm sure Hela's da wouldn't mind having you tag along after all while the lad and I go back to the safehouse and make sure it's all secure."
"Alright," Dwalin says after a moment of thought, "I'll go find ponies and supplies, Cadan better get rested. We'll leave at first light." The look he gives Nori, however, tells her that the subject has not been put to rest.
"I'll come with you," she says. "We'll get it done faster if I go for the ponies and you get the supplies, and I need to find a couple of people to set on the path." He pauses.
"Alright," the large guard agrees after a beat.
Nori trots out of the room after him and waits until they are in a fairly secluded part of town before she grabs Dwalin's arm and spins him. It is not easy, but she has the strength of the Ri line behind her. She will never be as naturally strong as Dori, but she is a lot stronger than she looks and it is something that she knows that Dwalin enjoys.
"What's crawled up your arse?" She demands.
"You lied to me in there," Dwalin replies. "Whoever this Briar is, she's a lot more than just a contact."
"So?" Nori shrugs. "I'm allowed to have friends, Guard, and you shouldn't just expect to know all of them."
"I hardly know any of them," he points out. "And I'm alright with that; except for when your friends seem to suddenly come between you and your ability to do your job. I don't mind lying to Thorin to get out of town for longer than he wants when you need the muscles behind you, but I object to it when we don't follow through."
"You saying you don't trust me?" Nori snaps.
"We both know that's not a question I can answer without coming out badly, no matter what I say," Dwalin snorts. "I trust you, I do, but you don't make that any easier when you start lying to me."
He turns.
"Briar isn't just a friend," Nori blurts. "She's more like a sister. She…" She takes a breath. "She stopped me from going down a dark path after everything that happened."
Dwalin bows his head.
"Briar isn't a dwarf name," he sighs, "is that what's got you so cagey? Worried about what I'll think?"
"No," she shakes her head. "Briar is only a safe place for the lad to go if not many know about her. I'm keeping them both safe by keeping her identity secret."
"Not one of the Men, then," Dwalin concludes. "And I can't see you making pretty with elves for long enough to call one sister either." Nori lets out a soft laugh. "Makes her a hobbit, and they're a bunch of strange ones at the best of times. You sure it's a good idea to be dragging her into it all?"
"No," Nori replies in a rare moment of complete honesty. "Frankly, I'm actually fairly sure it's a terrible idea, but when we met we were each what the other needed and with that came a friendship stronger than any I've had. And by the time I realised what a bad idea it was, we were close and the lad…"
"The lad has feelings for her," Dwalin sighs. Nori makes a surprised noise. "I've got eyes, lass, and I do use them on occasion."
"Yes," Nori huffs, "the lad likes her. She likes him. I haven't gotten involved, I was his sponsor not his mother." Dwalin sighs.
"I need you to trust me with these things," he says. "I know it goes against your instincts, but we can't be anything if you don't trust me."
"I trust you with a lot more than I trust anyone else," she reminds him. "And I…" she pauses, holding her hand up with a frown as she signals for Dwalin to be silent. Then she moves a little further down on light feet.
"...said they'd pay good money for any word on Thorin Oakenshield or his heirs," a voice says. "They call him the King, but he isn't even that without Erebor, and I don't know about you but the pickings have been getting bloody slim the last few years."
"But Sela's caravan?" Another hisses. "I know Fíli's bodyguard stayed in town, but he's supposed to be more skilled than a dwarf three times his age even without the muscle behind him."
"We'd just sell them the information," the first speaker snarls, "idiot. We wouldn't go after the boy ourselves. I'm not stupid."
"Oh, but you are," Nori breathes, looking at Dwalin whose face holds a thunderous expression. "Go and sort out our transport," she whispers. "I'll take care of these idiots." He nods.
Looks like home might be the best plan after all.
A.N: Gigantic time skip! Because it was time for one and I really need to get things moving. Belladonna did, in fact, die in the same year that Kili came of age, so I went with the tail end of the year and had Kili in town to support Briar through it. Because I could and it was going to be hard for her all alone. Also, up early because I have more surprise D&D, one of our players has to self isolate and since we all play online together it means we can cram a few extra sessions of my main two campaigns (campaign three should be kicking off again soon as well). One of these days I will actually stick to my updating schedule.