It was four days since they had first entered the lone lands.
The Company continued through the vast terrain of the woodlands, their ponies climbing over fallen trees, rocky cliffs, and stepping over the shallow parts of running rivers. Large and wondrous as the forest was, it was filled with obstacles that involved mountainous chasms, steep hills, and aged fallen trees that matched the size of a tall building. There were also plenty of animals they past by: deer, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, raccoons, birds, and bugs. Maia had to apply herself, Kyle and Lori. Since Texas was a state full of mosquitos, they were familiar with spraying themselves.
Then there were huge waterfalls raining down from tall forest mountain cliffs, wide and foamed with white that glowed pearly and bright from the daylight. When the Company passed over the path of boulders with their ponies, keeping steady with their rides and careful to not slip, the falls roared mightily as they crashed against the rocks, spraying water across the path as the wind picked up.
During the crossing, Kyle and Lori shared a pony, while it was Maia's turn to ride with Gandalf and for Bilbo to ride Myrtle on his own (though by the nervous look on the hobbit's face, he was already regretting it, having chosen the worst time to practice riding for himself). And for the fifth time in the past hour, Lori sang as they were crossing the rocks:
Into the woods-you have to grope,
But that's the way you learn to cope.
Into the woods to find there's hope
Of getting through the journey.
Into the woods, each time you go,
There's more to learn of what you know.
Into the woods, but not too slow-
Into the woods, it's nearing midnight-
Into the woods to mind the wolf,
To heed the witch, to honor the giant,
To mind, to heed, to find, to think, to teach, to join,
To go to the Festival!
Into the woods,
Into the woods,
Into the woods,
Then out of the woods-
And happy ever after!
"Lori, I swear to God, if you sing that song one more time," cried Kyle, annoyed, "I'm gonna take your stupid teddy bear and pummel you with it!"
It wasn't that Lori had a bad voice. For her age, her little child's voice was really good when she sang, all squeaky and sweet as it flowed musically from good practice, but when the little girl had a habit of singing the songs she loved on constant repeat and it would be hours before she got tired of the song. Though it was clear that the dwarves were just as irritated as Kyle was, the song now stuck like tree sap in their heads, none of them had the heart to shut the little lass up.
So Kyle snapped and did it for them. It was not a new thing for him; he picked up plenty of fight with his baby sister about these sort of things.
She twisted around and glared up at him. "Don't call Teddy stupid!" yelled Lori, her cheery mood switching to anger. She hugged her bear close, her face pink. "You hurt his feelings!"
"It's a toy!"
"He's my friend!"
"Funny. He was my friend, too, until I turned eight."
"You're a poopie-face!"
"Lori, c'mon!" Maia called, but Kyle retorted at the same time, "No, you are! Try looking in a mirror and you'll see what I mean!"
That definitely went overboard. Lori looked like she was going to cry, her lip trembling and eyes filling up with tears.
"Kyle!" shouted Maia and Bilbo at the same time. Bilbo blinked, surprised by his own outburst.
"Will you lot back there just SHUT IT?!" Dwalin hollered from way up front, causing everyone to perk up with alarm. "Your bickering is going to send at least one of us over these blasted rocks!"
Dwalin's loud outburst had sent Kyle and Lori in immediate silence. Everyone focused on crossing the wet rocky ledge, away from the falls, until reaching the blessed earthy grounds. During that time, Kyle didn't need to be lectured by anyone to know he already felt bad about insulting his baby sister.
He wrapped an around her little body as their pony stepped on the earth grounds, followed by Maia and Gandalf's horse. "Hey, L, I'm sorry!" he murmured in her ear. "I'm sorry! You're not a poopie-face...and for the record, neither am I!"
With that, Lori chuckled, a tear escaping. Kyle wiped it away. "It's just that song! We get it. We're 'into the woods.' Everybody's sick of the song, L!" he told her. "We've known that since, like, four days ago!"
"But what am I supposed to do?" Lori whined. "I'm bored! So's Teddy, 'cause every time we stopped, we wanted to climb the tree and nobody's letting us! It's like I'm not aloud to play!"
"Even if we had the time for that, lassie, the trees are far too wide and dangerously bent for your size to take," said Balin, who came up beside them, Dori on the other. "The lone lands are a dangerous environment, not a playground. You could very easily fall and break your neck, tree or not."
"No, I won't!" If Lori was standing, she would have stomped her foot.
"Who would want to climb a tree anyway?" groaned Dori, eying at their tall, wooden surroundings. The oldest Ri brother shuddered. "Nasty, tall things! It's more fitting for our feet to remain on the ground where it belongs! Ori nearly fell and broke his neck when he was a child, no thanks to a certain meddlesome of a brother!" He shot a glare to where Nori was.
Nori, who had been eavesdropping, drew up defensively. "Here, twasn't my fault our baby brother has a sweet tooth!" he exclaimed.
"But you were the one who told him where the honey hive was!" shot back Dori. "I'd say it's your fault he got stung in three places after that!"
"Are you still holding that over my head? I was not the one watching little Ori that day, so who's doing the thinking now?"
"It wasn't that bad!" Ori protested, having heard his brothers arguing and went over to join, his face slightly pink with embarrassment. Kili was riding next to him. "The honey was the fresh, wild sort! I've managed to get some and it turned out to be a good ingredient for our toast and tea, remember?"
"And in return, you got stings on your face and arms, which left you dangling from the branch and me having to call for nearby Men to help get you down!" Dori pointed out sternly. "All for a jar of honey! Best hope that experience gave you better lesson than a good beating would!"
"I was ten!" said Ori, eyes wide. "Of course it was frightening back then, but I'm an adult now. Climbing trees are hardly the worst things that a dwarf can do in Ered Luin."
"Well, technically you've got three more months before you're an adult," Nori corrected him, causing Ori to give him an exasperated look.
"As if that makes much of a difference!" said Kili, standing next to Ori defiantly. "We're here, aren't we? We can hunt, we can fight, and we have been climbing trees since we were small dwarflings. They also happen to be good advantages for scouting, just as they are for fun!"
Balin sighed. "Nonetheless, not all are built for your sort of skills, laddie. Even for you, luck may one day leave your side in those trees."
Dori rolled his eyes. "As I said before, dwarves are not meant to climb trees. It's highly profound and dangerous." Compared to Ori, Kili might as well be a squirrel. The lad has been climbing the steepest and tallest trees since he was but a babe, scaring the souls out of his uncle and his mother each time. Even when he is nearly grown, the process keeps repeating itself. It was one of the main reasons many refer to Kili as an elfling, which was a grave insult among the dwarves.
Kili opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Thorin, who was nearby and heard everything. "You should heed Master Dori's advice," said Thorin to Kili, wandering nearby with Dwalin by his side. There was the slightest hint of a smile when he faced his youngest nephew, but his eyes were stern. "I am surprised you have not grown out of this old habit of yours."
Kili sighed heavily. "I just don't see what is wrong with stomaching taller heights if one does not have to be afraid of falling," the archer replied to his uncle. "I know it's not customary, but you and Fili know more than anyone that I have been doing this for a while and I don't find anything wrong with tree climbing."
"Even after the times in your life that you have fallen and broken your arm twice over?" said Thorin, incredulously. "If you had been any higher, you would not be with us today. Tell me, what is it going to take for you to get the message, that you were built for the earth and not for its plantation?"
Kili winced at his uncle's harsh tone. "It's a valuable vantage point," he said defensively, "and I hardly ever fall anymore."
"It's an act built out of sheer recklessness, sending a poor example for your birthright among the people, one that I will not tolerate any longer," Thorin scowled, causing Kili's eyes to widen with disbelief, shining with hurt. Fili had come in and began to argue for his brother, "Thorin-"
Thorin silenced his heir with a raised hand. "If you had not considered already, then know this. With time, the trees will no longer be your calling, as it should have never been. When we reach Erebor, you and your brother will adapt to the life of carven stone, as you were always meant to."
Kili scoffed and twisted the reins of his pony. His brown eyes were blazing. "Do not pretend that you have never climbed a tree in your life!" he spat at the Dwarf King. "Mum told me. Just because you chose to give it up, doesn't mean I have to, no matter what they call me!" With that, he rode his pony away from the company.
Thorin seemed to realize what he had said and then instantly regretted it. "Kili..." he called, but the young dwarf ignored him and just rode ahead in fast pace. Fili shot a derisive look at Thorin, who was still staring after the dark-haired youth, and then went to hastily follow his brother, calling out, "Kili, wait up!"
Thorin turned to look at the Company, who were still watching in silence, including Kyle and Lori, who were both stunned from the drama they caused to begin with. Gandalf, Maia, and Bilbo were just watching wordlessly in the background. His contempt was returned to his previous scowl, when he ordered harshly, "Well, are you just going to stand there all day? We are wasting time!" Thorin turned around and started riding, the company slowly following him.
Lori and Kyle still haven't moved from their spot, when Bilbo, Gandalf, and Maia stopped next to them. "What was that all about?" Bilbo asked in bewilderment.
"Lori started something about wanting to climb trees and then it just kind of played out from there," Kyle quickly explained, still staring after the dwarves.
"I didn't mean to," said Lori, also staring. "I just said that I wanted to climb trees, and then..."
"Yeah, we heard," said Maia. "It felt like watching a lifelong debate to me."
"That's exactly what it was, Miss Maia," said Gandalf, solemnly. "The dwarves carry great pride within them. It is the pride in their nature that creates the legendary stubbornness of dwarves, the secrets of their ancient customs, and their common preference to the underground than the greens of the surface, for reasons of their own, I might add. Still, as the existence of dwarves continue for ages to pass, the latter continues to be a verdict to the knowledge of few among other races in Middle Earth, including the dwarves themselves."
"About what?" said Bilbo.
Kyle already guessed it. "About whether all their so-called customs are just one big stereotype, right?"
Gandalf nodded. "Yes and no. They are fiercely loyal to their traditions, Master Kyle, so much that there are those who follow them with such pride, such unwavering devotion to their cause of their race, that they would perhaps go so far to call themselves 'real dwarves,' prior to other who do not always agree with the customs."
"Those who are too different lose much respect," guessed Bilbo, suddenly understanding.
"Precisely. Though in my opinion, too much pride in one's custom can lead to pompousness, pettiness, and absurdity among others," muttered Gandalf. "Traditions are built from the beauties of various cultures, but like us, they are imperfect, for it was we who created them in the beginning."
"Guess that's one of the bright sides of being a wandering wizard, huh?" Maia complimented. "No laws or customs to hold you back! You can probably do whatever you want!"
Gandalf chuckled and shook his head. "Mostly true, but I'm afraid even a wizard has some rules to follow. We wander with our powers to protect, not to spoil. In due time, you may see what I mean."
Bilbo was about to ask what Gandalf meant by "we," but was interrupted by a heavy rumble from the sky. Large, gray clouds were rolled in over the lone lands. Big, wet drops started plummeting down, splashing on their faces.
"Yay, rain!" Lori cheered, holding up her hand to catch a drop.
"Well, that's just great!" groaned Maia, shifting to dig into her bag for her jacket.
"Hmm." Gandalf nodded to himself. "Come on. We best catch up with the Company before the rain grows heavier. I hear Master Kili is quite a ball of energy when he's put himself into his moods and it's likely Thorin will have us all chasing after him."
The rain had only grown heavier, the faint drizzles of sky drops becoming as relentless as from the spout of a watering pot. The forest was soon quickly filled with foot deep puddles, damp bark, and a freezing temperature of under fifty degrees. Having grown up in the hot, humid conditions of Texas, the Dainsons were unused to the cold weathers and started missing the hot sun tanning their skin, nearly as much as Bilbo missed the warmth of his hearth and armchair back in Bag End.
And it would not be the last time they thought of it, especially when the Company stopped to rest under a large fallen tree for the night. It was too wet for fires and everyone barely ate a thing, their supplies and Bombur's ingredients being soaked enough as it was. They all spent the night hungry, struggling to stay warm and dry.
That night, Maia had felt a cloak drape over her. It was still damp, but it was warm. She looked up to find Fili standing above her.
"You know you're welcome to ask Dwalin any time for your cloak back," he said.
"Technically, it's not my cloak," she reminded him, "but thanks. Did Kyle and Lori-"
"Already done." They glanced over to where Kyle and Lori huddled together at the base of the rock holding up the large tree above them. On either side of them was Bilbo and Kili, who were still trying get some sleep, huddled up in their dark cloaks like everyone else.
"How's Kili?" asked Maia. "Is he still mad at Thorin?"
"Aye, but he'll get over it," shrugged Fili. "Kili is just being stubborn, like Thorin, but he is not one for holding a grudge for too long. He's good like that." There was an edge in his tone; Maia didn't miss it.
"What about you?" she implored. "You seemed a little pissed off yourself."
Fili snorted and then slumped down next to her. His expression was dark as he stared into the rain. "You remember what I told you about most dwarves preferring the stone and darkness to trees and daylight, and how Kili and I tend to enjoy quite the opposite?"
"How could I forget?" Maia nodded, rolling her eyes.
"Many of our kind frown upon it, and then there are many who would use it to their advantage against us. Thorin always told me that there are many in this world who would seek to bring down the line of Durin. As part of the royal bloodline, since Thorin has no sons of his own, Kili and I are the last lving descendants of Durin the Deathless, his rightful heirs to the throne. I am the eldest, and therefore the next to rule after Thorin. I have been prepared my whole life. I have been taught through letters and parts of diplomacy, trained in weapons, and guided under the responsibilities as Thorin's heir and Erebor's...prince," he finished, the word sounding strange on his tongue. "Kili, he...he's my heir, but he is not given or taught as many responsibilities as I am.
"Anyway," Fili continued, deciding to get to the point, "it's not a big secret that my brother is...different. Advancing in archery, lithe in build, climbing trees..." His tone hardened again. "Thorin has been trying to get Kili to stop climbing trees ever since he was two years old. I always knew it was because he feared Kili would fall one day, possibly be killed. I thought the same thing, too...but what Thorin said to him today, forbidding him his pleasures for sake of appearances..."Fili hissed spitefully. "I thought he never feared the scorn of others...and even he had, by using Kili as if he were the cause of all our misfortunes..."
"He didn't mean it, nadad."
"Kili!" Fili and Maia spun around in surprise. Kili was standing above his, solemnly, but smirked a little at their surprise and flicked his wet hair out of his face.
"Miss me? You both looked like you were having so much fun talking about me, I'd thought I'd join in."
"W-w-we..." stammered Maia, feeling so embarrassed like being a girl caught in gossip, while Fili just looked ashamed, afraid to look at his brother. "We didn't realize you were listening. I'm sorry, nadadith."
Kili just smiled and shook his head. "It's fine. Nothing I haven't already known, right?" He sat down on Maia's other side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "So, as my brother had been tell you a bit about us both." It was a statement, not a question.
"Uh, yeah," said Maia, trying not to sound guilty about it. Though Kili was smiling, she could see the sadness in his eyes and his made her heart clench. "So, how are you doing? Fili told me about..."
"About Thorin and me." Kili snorted and threw a nearby twig in the rain. "He's having it out on me. I'm sure of it. Ever since before we left Ered Luin," Kili pointed out in frustration. "Thorin never wanted me on this quest! Everyone knows this! I see what he's trying to do, Fee. He's trying to use this quest as an excuse to double the lesson. He's treating me like a child!"
Fili snorted. "I'm hardly surprised, Kee. You do have a gift of getting under others' skin. It's a wonder you you get away with your troubles."
"True." Kili then looked at Maia. "If my boring older brother here was going to tell you my story, don't you think you should hear it from the protagonist?" Fili made indignant noise and clouted Kili on the head, who ducked and laughed.
Maia smiled. When Kili was in a better mood, the world seemed like a better place. For everyone. "You know, I'm kinda in the mood for a bedtime story," she said, "since I have trouble sleeping anyway. Lori would have liked this."
"Lori will know it in the morning, when it's my turn to give her a ride."
"You would do that?"
"Aye, why not? She and I both love climbing trees! If she wants to learn, best she learn from a natural," Kili pointed a thumb back at himself, raising an eyebrow in meaning.
Fili shook his head hopelessly, but was smiling. "Idiot."
"It's the truth," said Kili lightly. "Now, back to the story."
"You do realize you were two years old and shouldn't actually remember much of anything of what happened back then," Fili pointed out, causing Maia to laugh.
Kili pouted. "It's a long-termed memory. As I was saying..."
After enjoying Kili's story and some of his jokes, Maia finally felt sleepy and said goodnight to the two and went to cuddle up with her younger siblings, the hobbit still huddled next to them.
Fili and Kili still sat where they were, keeping watch in the night rain, their hoods up for caution. "Was I interrupting something, nadad?" joked Kili.
Fili blinked. "What?"
"Your time with Maia."
The elder brother shuffled uncomfortably. "If you are upset that I went to Maia instead of you, I'm sorry. I was going to later, when I wasn't too angry..."
Kili waved that away dismissively. "That's not what I'm talking about. Although, yes, you should have come to me, angry or no," he teased him, making Fili smile again. The younger nudged him. "Speak your mind, brother. Don't think I never notice the way you look at Maia, which is almost all the time." Fili looked down at the ground, looking unsure, so Kili had bend over to meet his eye. He was surprised when he saw torment in them; it alarmed him. "Fee, do you...do you have feelings for her?"
Fili was quiet for a while. Kili thought he wasn't going to speak, when Fili said, "It's been two weeks since we had left the Shire, Kee. Two weeks since we had met Master Baggins and the Dainson siblings. Two weeks since I first met her. I know it's not been long, but...when I first saw Maia, I think I felt it. I didn't understand it at the time, but I have never felt this way about anyone before. I feel like I can share things with her, laugh with her, be comforted by her...I feel like I have known her my whole life, and yet there is so much more I want to know about her."
Kili nodded, but his heart was beating rapidly with surprising joy as well a hint of wariness. He had noticed all along how Fili was feeling toward Maia, even when others had not. Kili may have never been in love, but he knew his brother and he sensed the signals Fili showed whenever he looked at the young human woman. Especially the way his face lit up like a beacon whenever he was close to her.
It was obvious that Maia was Fili's One. It seemed unusual, though, since she was of the race of Men, lacked a beard (though it didn't make her any less attractive, Kili confessed to himself), was half a foot taller, and Kili didn't know how differently Men aged from dwarves. She looked young, close to his age (late sixties or early seventies, at best), but she was definitely old enough to marry and bear children.
It had to be possible, though, for a human to be a dwarf's One. Kili was just surprised that the process had happened to Fili, his perfect Fili, who had done his best to follow his uncle's expectations and groom himself into being a fine Dwarf Prince under Thorin's guardianship. Before the Dainsons, like almost every dwarf, Fili had been slightly wary of those outside of their race, especially after a few horrific events from their childhood. Men especially, because most Men had not been thoroughly kind to the Durin family.
Speaking of uncle...Kili didn't want to think about what Thorin would do if he found out about Fili's affections toward Maia Dainson. She, Kyle, and Lori were barely permitted into the Company as it was, and Thorin had a grudge against the race of Men. Elves so much more, but a grudge nonetheless.
Ignoring those thoughts, Kili nudged him playfully. "So, when are you going to tell her how you feel?"
Fili sighed in frustration. "Never."
Kili frowned. "Fee-"
"I love her, alright?" Fili said softly, glaring at his brother. His eyes were a mixture of pure tenderness and vulnerable pain, making Kili feel the hurt as if it were happening to himself. "I know she is my One. I have known since Bag End, but I have not understood it until four days ago! There are many reasons why it can never work, and it's not just our racial differences! She is trying to get home with her kin, and I am traveling with mine to reclaim our lost homeland. We're both trying to go home, but our homes are very far apart. Even if they weren't, it's not possible for me. Forget about what our people would think, or the council of Dwarf Lords; Thorin would never give his blessing, I'm certain of it," Fili added bitterly.
"You don't know that," Kili shook his head, though he too looked doubtful.
"Neither do you!" Fili shot back. "In fact, I don't know what Mother would think, either."
"More understanding than Uncle," answered Kili with surety. "You and her had told me plenty of times of how Thorin didn't approve of her with our father at first, being a miner and all, and how she wedded him anyway, despite our family's disapproval. They ended up loving him, eventually; at least, that's what I've always heard. How is that any different?"
"Da was still a dwarf," Fili pointed out. "At least our Mother was lucky enough to have her One be legal."
Kili scowled. "Our laws shouldn't have to interfere with whom our love should belong to," he retorted darkly. "Come to think of it, it's a wonder many of us don't marry, if our One happens to not be a dwarf and we cannot even have them just because it doesn't follow tradition!"
"Oh, and what do you know about it, little brother?"
"Not much. It's just a theory," admitted Kili, "but you have to admit the whole thing sounds rather foolish."
"It doesn't matter," Fili shook his head, sadly. "Our opinions alone cannot change how it all is, and perhaps always will be. Even if it were all possible, there is still Maia. She may not feel the same way about me. It had been easier when I hadn't understood it, but now that I do...I do not want to burden her with this pain, or with any guilt this might give her. However she feels about me."
They were both silent for a long time. For nearly half an hour, looking into the pouring rain. Neither of them dared turn around to see Maia sleeping next to Kyle, Lori, and Bilbo...or their Uncle Thorin who slept on the complete opposite end with the rest of the Company, snoring away.
"She likes you," Kili whispered, breaking the silence. "More than either of you think."
"How would you know?" whispered Fili, still not looking at his brother.
Kili smiled sadly. "I just do, nadad, and you may not be as comfortable as I am when it comes to sharing thoughts, but there's one thing I do know, from experience: you keep a secret as large and painful as this one for too long, and it's going to eat you up inside." Kili then laid his head on Fili's shoulder, like he did when he was smaller, sharing comfort with his big brother. "I cannot watch that happen to you, nadad. It's happened too often in our lives, but this kind of secret seems like the worst yet. Please, promise me you will one day tell Maia."
Fili sighed tiredly. He wrapped his arm around Kili, pulling him close and laying his chin on top of his head. "We'll see, nadadith. We'll see."
The rain continued pouring heavily, harder than ever like a massive draught if possible. The skies rumbled with thunder like the bellows of a mountain. Lori gasped and shrunk back into Kili's chest as they rode, whimpering under her mop of soaked black hair. She loved the rain, but thunder always scared her, as it did most children.
Kili sensed her fright and pulled her close in his arm. Her body was shivering from the chilly air. "Hey, it's alright," he soothed, stroking her little head tenderly. He remembered when he and Fili had the exact same fear when they were dwarflings, always crawling into Uncle Thorin's bed so that he would protect them. "It's alright. It's just thunder. It makes loud noise and nothing more."
"It's scary," says Lori in a small voice. "What if it comes down and blows us all to a billion pieces?"
Kili laughed at the child's question. "What? What makes you think that?"
"'Cause loud noise usually comes from stuff like fireworks and-and-and fireworks explode!"
Kili snorted, barely containing his laughter. "I think you are confusing the thunder with lightning, little one. But no, we're not going to get hit, or explode into a billion pieces. I promise you, namadith. You're safe with me. With all of us."
Lori wondered at the nickname he just gave her. Was it a dwarfish language, like Bifur's talking?
The ponies hooves kept splashing through the deep puddles of the path through the woods. Bofur had pulled at his pipe, but as the cup kept filling to the brim, he kept dumping it out with the ashes and continued chewing the handle. His floppy hat flopped even more from the heaviness of the rain.
Maia and Kyle rode together on Feren, their hair soaked under the cowls of their dark cloaks. Poor Bilbo wore no cloak, his red overcoat and brown hair completely drenched, making him feel like a drowned rat and definitely regretting not asking Dwalin for a cloak earlier. If only I had no run out my door of Bag End, he thought, not for the first time, and certainly not the last. What I wouldn't give for a hot cup of tea and a warm, dry blanket.
Gandalf was in the lead, Thorin trailing behind him. Somehow, even without a claok or a cowl, wearing his tall hat and gray robes as usual, the wizard seemed less affected by the rain than all the others. Oh, how they envied his ability to appear immune to the changes of the weather!
"Here, Mister Gandalf," Dori called out. "Can't you do something about this deluge?"
"It is raining, Master Dwarf," Gandalf called back, irritation edging his tone, "and it will continue to rain until the rain is done! If you wish to change the weather of the world, you will have to find yourself another wizard."
Dori rolled his eyes, but he wasn't the only one. The dwarves all grumbled. What was the point of having a wizard if he couldn't even change the weather?
Which brought back the previous question that the hobbit had on his mind since yesterday at the falls. "Are there any?" asked Bilbo.
"What?"
"Other wizards? Are there any more out there?"
"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two blue wizards..." Gandalf paused and frowned in thought. "You know, I've quite forgotten their names."
Maia snorted. Over two thousands years, Gandalf couldn't even remember two of fellow wizard friends. Or were they even friends? Oh, well, Gandalf did tell her he was losing track of even his own age.
"And who was the fifth?"
"Well, that would be Radagast the Brown."
Bilbo squinted through the rain. "Is he a great wizard, or he...more like you?"
Kyle snorted, but then quickly covered it with a cough, as if choking on the rain; Maia hid her smile behind her wet hair. Gandalf looked offended at that last part, but replied with pride, "I think he's a very great wizard...in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others."
"Animals?" Lori called from the back, sounding interested. "He talks to animals?"
"And they to him," Gandalf replied. "He keeps a watchful eye over vast forest lands to the East. And a good thing, too, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."
"What kind of evil?" asked Maia, pushing wet strands out of her face. "Orcs?"
Thorin grunted and looked away.
Gandalf nodded gravely. "That, and more, Miss Dainson," he said. "Much more."
The Dainsons were silent, not wanting to ask more, as they pondered the wizard's answer. Bilbo shivered, wondering about what kind of dangers Thorin and Company expecting, and hoped that they will never have to face them.
Something in his gut told him it was going to all go wrong very soon.
The rain had gotten worse in the late afternoon, the day shrouded by dark clouds.
The river they approached was larger and deeper, splashing over rocks and creating foam with its running rapids. The rainy weather had increased its torrents, streaming further down into the forest and into the unknown of the lone lands. Such wild rapids that also blocked their path. The only exception of continuing was a a large log cross the bend, wide enough for a pony to cross.
Thorin observed the obstacle before them and then announced with finality that they were crossing before laying out a camp. "We go one at a time," he said.
Maia looked uneasily at the soggy, weather-worn log that tilted slightly from each ends. The wild waters running closely below looked even more unsettling. "Uh...I hate to break it to y'all," she said to Thorin and the others, "but that looks dangerous. Couldn't we just camp here for the night and wait till the river calms down?"
"Ah, I think I agree with Maia," said Bilbo loudly, who didn't like the idea of falling and drowning. Hobbits were not good swimmers. "Surely it wouldn't hurt to wait-"
"Nonsense," interrupted Thorin, dismissing both girl and halfling, guiding in pony closer to the log. "If we make the cross now, we will make good timing with or without the rain. The trees are thicker on the other side, and unless you want to get pneumonia in your sleep, we will make for drier soil on the other side."
"How does he know all this stuff?" Kyle growled irritably in Maia's ear. "That log looks like it's about to shrivel!"
Maia nodded in agreement, feeling a bit irritated herself, and extremely nervous. She can swim just fine, so can Kyle, and Lori, too, already out of her wings and a fluent swimmer for her age, but there was no way either of them could attempt to swim a river wild enough to challenge even Michael Phelps himself. Plus, there was the rocks. Some of them looked sharp enough to break skin, or worse.
"In single file!" ordered Thorin, as they started their ponies-and Gandalf's horse-towards the log. "Be mindful of the supplies!"
"And where we step!" added Dori, the dwarves nodding in agreement. None argued with their leader as they followed. Gandalf volunteered to test their crossing first, even though his horse and himself combined were deemed the largest, but with careful steps and a steady steed, the wizard made it across almost flawlessly.
"Well, I reckon that's settled," Gandalf announced with satisfaction. "I would suggest three at a time. It was not as steady as it looked, mind you." He raised his staff and beckoned them to join.
"Alright, enough of this!" muttered Thorin, and then ordered, "I will go first. Balin, Master Baggins, you will follow. We all go in threes."
"Aye," Balin agreed.
"Oh, dear," groaned Bilbo in a small voice.
"Is that a problem, Baggins?" said Thorin, his tone dangerously low, eying at the hobbit sardonically. Bilbo opened his mouth, but then closed it; then he reluctantly shook his head. "Good. Then we move."
When Thorin, Balin, and then a very nervous looking Bilbo started riding their ponies across the log, all wincing at the creaking noise the log made from under their weight, shaking slightly, but it didn't move. As Bilbo followed Balin, his ice-cold hands shaking while gripping the reins, his spine stiff and his eyes forward, he tried to keep the pony steady and told himself not to look down. Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't...look...and sure enough, his eyes had slowly lowered sideway until they met the gray, swirling rapids of the river five three feet below, the foamy waves splashing against the protruding rocks ahead. He imagined himself falling in, meeting the deathly cold grips of swirling currents, pulling him under, filling up his mouth to the point when he could scream or breathe, tumbling round and round until he drowned...Why on in all of Middle Earth would young Drogo Baggins want to work as a boatman? he thought of all things in his panic. He's reckless! He hadn't realized his pony stopped walking, balancing right in the middle of the log.
"We won't be going anywhere 'til you start walking, laddie," Dwalin called from behind, sounding irritated, while Kyle called out, "C'mon, Bilbo, you can do it, man!"
"You're halfway there," added Bofur, encouragingly.
How was it that he could be able to cross the slippery rock cliffs near a giant waterfall with a river streaming thirty feet below, when he couldn't even handle a log with a river three feet below? Where was that old Tookish part of him when he needed it? Bilbo groaned slightly at himself and then mentally readied himself before gently starting his pony again.
Next thing he knew, he was on the other side and he sighed in relief.
"Well done, Bilbo!" Gandalf smiled, while Balin added, "Not so bad, was it?" Thorin just sighed and shook his head hopelessly. Bilbo couldn't blame him; he felt pretty hopeless for being afraid of the thought of drowning when he was crossing a log.
Then came Dwalin, Bofur, along with Maia and Kyle, who still shared their pony. Kyle had decided he didn't trust the pony carrying two people and a bunch of supplies while balancing on a crappy-looking log in the rain, so he had leapt off and preferred going on foot. When they crossed, Kyle held the reins and walked in front of their pony with a nervous looking Maia on top, guiding them straight to the other side.
Then followed Oin, Gloin, and Bifur. Bombur went alone, since nobody trusted how much weight the log would take when the ginger-haired cook was two dwarves put-together in size. Next that were in tow were Fili and Kili with Lori, behind them Dori, Ori, and Nori.
When Fili had stepped onto the log, Kili's pony started acting up, the dark haired dwarf trying to keep her still. Daisy has always been the most active of the ponies they brought, but now was the wrong time to start straining. Lori even tried to help but patting the pony's flanks, "It's okay, Daisy. Calm down, Daisy," but her words were lost in the wind and rain; Daisy started to toss her head and whinnied, the whites of her eyes showing. While trying to hold on, Lori couldn't even focus to listen to what the frantic pony might be saying.
"Daisy, stop it! Right now!" shouted Kili, pulling at the reins hard to get her in control, cursing under his breath.
While Lori was holding onto the bridle for dear life, Kili's strong arms the only thing keeping her from falling off, she looked to the side to where the pony was possibly backing away from. Squinting through the rain, in the mud next to them, she saw movement slid slightly from out of the bushes. Was it a tree root? A stick, or a-its black surface was shiny and it began to coil as it slithered...
"SNAKE!" screeched Lori in fright, wording what the pony had been saying all along.
Her high-pitched scream of the word 'snake' was the straw that broke the camel's back...Kili's pony bolted forward. Kili yelled in surprise and Lori screamed again when the next thing they knew, they were splashing in the freezing cold water, soon surrounded by it when the ground left the pony's hooves.
"KILI!" screamed Fili and Thorin, while Maia, Kyle, and Bilbo screamed, "LORI!"
The river showed no mercy as the cold waves took over. Lori could feel the saddle disappear from beneath her as she was thrown off, but Kili's arm caught her before she would be pulled under, wrapped around her fiercely, while his other was caught in the pony's reins. Water kept filling her mouth and when she tried to breathe, the little girl screamed out of fear and supplication, but the thrashing waters kept cutting her off from air. Kili was no better; like her, he was barely keeping his head above the water, his hair a drenched dark mop and his mouth opening his heavy gasps.
The currents were strong, already pulling them far away from the log and the dwarves. The others were chasing after them, hollering for them in panic, but Thorin's voice was the loudest. "KILI! LET GO! SWIM!" his uncle screamed.
Kili tried to scream that he couldn't, that was tangled with the pony, that the currents were too strong and heavy, but he was cut off by the weight of more water, his hair strands brushing across his vision. Soon, he was completely swallowed by the river, hearing Fili screaming, almost swearing that he said he was coming...hearing his uncle shout something at Fili...then he felt Lori struggling frantically underwater.
Lori! Oh, Mahal!
At the moment of his realization, though his lungs were burning for air, he gritted his teeth and lifted Lori on his shoulder, though her light weight was enough to push him further down. He felt his back crash against a rock, his body colliding with Daisy's, who seemed to have the most success of keeping her shaggy head above water, whinnying in panic. In the dark, swirling depths, feeling as though he was being thrashed around like a rag doll, but he kept a firm grip on the little girl's waist. His lungs screamed for air, his vision blackening as his chest burned greatly for the need, his booted feet started kicking until his face broke to the surface. Gasping desperately for air, still swallowing too much water, he could hear Lori wailing for help as they thrashed around in the waves.
When Kili stopped choking water, blind and deaf to all but the deadly roars of the rapids, hitting rocks and the pony's struggling body, the reins cutting deeply into his right arm (Bloody beast is going to yank my arm out! he thought), he only managed to cry out with a gasp, "FEE!" And then he was pushed under again into the merciless cold river gloom.
Struggling endlessly in the cold, wild darkness seemed like minutes-hours-his lungs were already burning and his mind growing numb from lack of oxygen. Oh, Aule! Oh, Eru! I'm drowning! I'm drowning! Please, Aule, not like this! Fili! Uncle, help! They were still at the beginning of the quest. He had even gotten a chance to prove himself, to become a man, to become a warrior, like his uncle. He would never get to see Erebor, like in all the tales he heard for as long as he could remember. He would never see his mother again. He would never see Uncle Thorin, never get to apologize for lashing out at him the other day, never get to show him that he can be worthy.
Worst of all, he would never again see Fili, his beloved brother, his guardian, and his other half, never get to see him become king, help him through his love for Maia Dainson, never...Desperately, not wanting to die like this, in the water instead of on a battlefield, Kili kept struggling. But every time he struggled pull up, he felt Lori about to be swept away, and only tightened his grip and kept her steady above him. All his strength was failing, his breath spent, but he used the last of it to keep the little Dainson child above the water as best as he could…he would not succeed in saving her, but at least he would try….he would die knowing he saved an innocent life, that was something….even when it had been his fault...even when the world was fading away...that he was floating, the burning in his chest drifting away...Fili...
Before he was swallowed into darkness, something grabbed his arm.
"KILI, HOLD ON! I'M COMING!" Fili yelled, as had charged his pony off the log and then struggled off the saddle.
"FILI, DON'T!" Thorin shouted, his panic evident, but his blond nephew had already dove into the wild river rapids with a loud splash, disappearing under the waves. He screamed out curses in Khuzdul and immediately leapt off his pony to run to the side to search desperately for his heir. "FILI!"
Finally, he spotted a flash of gold. Fili broke to the surface with a gasp ten feet away from where he dove, the currents already sweeping him away like it did Kili and Lori. Thorin's heart pounded in fear. Now both of his nephews were in danger of drowning! Though he knew he couldn't swim-but neither can Fili or Kili, for that matter-he made a move to dive, but Dwalin caught him around the shoulders before he made the attempt and pulled him back. "Thorin! Thorin, it won't help!" he shouted, as Thorin struggled in blind panic. "Look, they're already too far!"
Thorin knew Dwalin was right, but he watched in breathless horror where Kili's pony was being swept away, toward the rocks and where the waters collided into massive, turbulent waves. He couldn't see Kili. Lori...Lori's little head broke from the surface, gasping and screaming in a high-pitched wail for help, her long black hair a soggy messy. Her upper-body was showing...Kili must be trying to hold her up, but the effort was preventing his younger nephew from fighting for air. Fool!
Hoping to catch up with the lads and child, Thorin was already running along the stream with the dwarves, Gandalf, Bilbo, and the two elder Dainsons, who both screamed for their baby sister. Fili was bobbing wildly in the river, gasping for air as he briefly disappeared and reappeared from the crashing waves. His attempts at swimming were poor, but at least he was keeping afloat.
Lori disappeared underwater when the pony tossed her head. The supplies were still attached, heaving them down. When the little girl appeared again, so did Kili's pale face, gasping desperately for air, the dark of his long hair swirling wildly in the currents. His left arm was wrapped around the child's torso, keeping her propped on his shoulder as he struggled, looking panicked but determined.
"Kili!" cried Thorin, but the lad made no sign of hearing his voice, except when he cried out, "FEE!" When more water thrust over him, he was gone again and Lori cried out as she sunk at neck-level in the water. Fili was almost there, barely keeping his head above, but his clothes and long hair were weighing him down. Still, Thorin was amazed at Fili's strong will to attempt at swimming. Dwarf bones were dense, making it harder for them to float, and he could never remember Fili having any swimming lessons from anyone, let alone himself.
When Lori called out Fili's name desperately, her hands scrambling to grip the pony's soaked mane, Thorin realized Kili had been gone under too long. His heart stopped in alarm. "Kili, Kili, Kili..." he kept whispering over and over with wide-eyed look, as if saying his name would beckon him out of the water. Not Kili. Please, not like this. Not his Kili, his precious lad. They weren't even halfway to Erebor. They've barely begun and he was losing Kili, and possibly Fili and Lori to drag down with him. To a river. He felt so helpless. He should have never brought Kili on this quest. Even if the lad hated him for it, he should have stayed at home, where he would be safe. Not Kili. Oh, Dis, forgive me...
"Somebody, do something!" shrieked Maia, her voice high-pitched and fearful. "Let me go!" The Dainson girl looked like she was about to dive into the river herself like Fili, but was struggling to get loose as Dori was latching onto her arms tightly to prevent her. There were enough people in danger of drowning, as it was.
Hands digging in his wet hair anxiously as he watched, Kyle shouted, "Does anybody have a rope or something?"
"What-oh, wait! Aye! Be right back!" Nori turned around to the ponies to fetch the rope, which were now around fifty feet behind them from running.
"There's no time!" Kyle groaned desperately. He needed his baby sister out of that river, and he needed her out now! He looked around for something, trying to think fast...then he spotted it. Further down the stream was thin bent tree trapped between a pile of rocks, leaning over as though it were bowing, like a pole over the river. He looked at the drowning group, where he saw Fili reaching out for his little sister and the pony, caught midway through the currents against the rocks, and then back at the bending tree. It was up high, though, high than the log...
Then it clicked. "Got it!" Kyle started sprinting ahead.
He heard Gandalf, Maia, and the dwarves call after him, but he ignored them. He had to made sure was ahead of the drowning people if this was going to work. He wasn't too confident, not really sure how much weight the tree could take, but it would at least stop them from going further down stream while Nori got the rope.
"Kili!" Fili gasped, water filling his lungs as he reached out the thrashing pony. "Lori!"
"Fili!" screamed Lori, before water splashed over her in the riptides. "Fili!" Kili was still underwater. He was down for long.
"Hold on, I'm coming!"
Finally, Fili reached them and grabbed the reins. "Get on the pony!" he yelled at Lori. Before she would protest, he held his breath and dove under, his hand finding Kili's arm. His brother's body felt limp in his arms, but Fili pulled himself up on the reins.
Lori cried out suddenly when Fili pulled Kili from underneath, having risen high above the water and fell back against the thrashing pony, her little arms wrapped around the neck. Kili was unconscious, his arm still tangled in the reins. Trying to keep his head up, Fili struggled desperately to haul the limp form of his brother up on Daisy. The pony tossed her head, causing Lori to scream as the water rose at high level and Kili would have rolled off if not for Fili keeping him propped. Fili fumbled with the reins and pulled himself up, coughing out water.
"Kili, wake up!" he cried over the roar of the river, but no response. His head just bounced with the tides. Fear clouded his mind. Then Lori gasped again; he looked up to see her bending over and lifting her bag out of the water. Following her wide-eyed gaze, the supplies were coming undone off Daisy's back, but some of them still tied to the saddle were pulling them down. Even some of Kili's arrows were disappearing in white foamy waves.
Then he heard Kyle's voice call out in a distance ahead, "Hey, Lori! Fili! Up here!"
"Kyle!" screamed Lori, high-pitched. When Fili managed to look up, he found Kyle up ahead and mouth dropped when seeing the boy climbing across a bent over tree...right over the river.
Kyle had sprinted ahead of all the rest of them, faster than the river carried the pony and three companions, and was soon crawling with steady hands and legs hastily across the thin trunk that bowed from between the rocks.
"Kyle, what the hell are you doing?" he heard Maia scream.
"Get off of there, you fool! You will fall!" Thorin shouted, even though the human lad was already near the end of the branch.
"No, I got this! Trust me!" shouted Kyle, though his eyes were only on the drowning victims coming hastily up. His weight was light enough for his perch, but he worried if the it would take the weight of three more and a much heavier pony with the load. There was only one way to find out. Until the dwarves came with a rope.
The branch groaned under his weight, and Kyle hurriedly tightened his grip, heart pounding. "Shit!" The rushing water seemed so close below.
"Be careful," he heard Maia call behind him.
His legs wrapped tightly around the branch. "Okay, okay, okay..." Kyle muttered between clenched teeth, feeling his heart pound faster as he then let go of the branch. He soon found himself swinging upside down from the tree like a monkey in a barrel.
The water spraying his face and hair, roaring like thunder below him, his dangling fingers brushing the floods, Kyle spotted the pony, Lori, Kili, and Fili quickly being pulled toward him.
"Kyle!" Lori cried again, Fili echoing her.
"Over here! Grab my hands!" cried Kyle urgently, stretching out his hands while feeling the blood rush through his head. "COME ON!"
Kyle felt the pony butt his head and he almost lost the leg grip on the tree when he found Fili and Lori's hands grab both of his. The pull of the river and the weight of all four of them stretched, straining Kyle's body as he struggled to keep hold. Lori latched onto him with both hands, while Fili only held him with one and with Kili on the other, who was still tangled up on the reins of the pony, motionless and deathly pale. Oh, God, did he drown?Kyle thought in horror.
"The supplies are weighing us down!" Fili yelled as the pull continued, making Kyle grunt. "I need to cut them loose!"
"Hang on to the pony!" The pony, Daisy, kept tossing her head around the waters, whinnying in complete panic and nearly knocking them all off her again. Kyle lost his patience and yelled at the steed, "HEY, SHUT UP AND STOP STRUGGLING, YOU STUPID HORSE! WE'RE GETTING YOU OUT! JUST STOP!"
The pony had finally calmed slightly, making the load more manageable, but the steed kept struggling through the currents as Fili let go of Kyle's hand (passing him the reins), latching onto the saddle, and wielding one of his many knives to start cutting the baggage pulling them down. They all watched with sadness as bags of food and other tools disappeared in the river rapids down the bend.
Lori was sobbing and Kyle panicked as he a creaking noise from the tree, his whole body burning as he kept hold of the four. He wasn't in a position where he could pull them in, making them stuck where they were, and Kyle was sure he couldn't hold on much longer (nor could the tree). What the hell is taking those dwarves?
Just when Kyle started to cry out in frustrated pain from his sister's tugging, feeling with panic that both pairs of his limbs were about give away, he heard a heavy splash. While still upside down, he saw Thorin and Nori paddling towards them, each with a rope tied tightly around their chests. Thorin wasn't wearing his fur-collared coat and his armor was dismantled, while Nori's triangular styled hair started to flop over while soaked. While they wrapped part of their ropes around the pony, Thorin cried out Kili's name, but his youngest nephew didn't answer.
The dwarves from the shore, including Maia, Bilbo, and Gandalf, had the rope anchored in their grip. Maia was already knee-deep in the water, her skirt tied in a knot around her hips as she went ahead, eyes wide with anxiety and determination while reaching out with one hand to grab either of her siblings.
Kyle passed Lori to Nori, settling her on top of the pony while he grabbed the reins, while Thorin took hold of Fili, who in return held onto to the motionless Kili, finally cutting him loose of the tangled reins before they were pulled to shore by the others with determination.
SNAP!
Kyle didn't get a chance to scream when the tree broke in half and his face hit the cold, freezing river with a slushy smack. Water filling his lungs and stinging his eyes, the dark currents had started to yank him further underwater when he felt a strong grip latch onto the collar of his T-shirt. Getting his senses straight, Kyle started waving his arms and kicking his feet against the strong riptide threatening to suck him down. He needed to breathe!
Finally, his head resurfaced. Gasping soundly for oxygen, his drenched bangs whipped across his eyes, Kyle kept kicking his feet against the currents, his jeans and shoes making his legs heavy, but luckily someone still kept a firm grip on him. Was it Fili, or was it-?
"Reckless fool of a child! Did I not say that you would fall?!" retorted Thorin, tightening his steely grip on Kyle as they were being pulled in.
Coughing out water, Kyle gagged for breath and snapped at the Company leader, "Quite calling me a child! And you're welcome!"
"For what?" snarled Thorin. "For nearly drowning with my nephews?"
"For buying time to save them! What'd you think I was up there for, a circus stunt?"
They were already pulled to shore before they would further the argument, Thorin practically throwing a shivering Kyle onto the mossy ground as he pulled himself out with his nephews. Kyle looked up to scowl back at the leader, but it instantly replaced with concern when Thorin and Fili laid out Kili's body.
Fili was beside himself, shaking Kili frantically and calling out his brother's name. Thorin kneeling over his nephew, pumping his chest to try to get him to breathe and kept calling out Kili's name hoarsely. Kyle had never seen such raw terror in Thorin the whole time he has known him. The sight left him stricken and Kyle felt a similar fear freeze up his bones. Was Kili dead? Kili, whom his was just becoming great friends with...If Thorin was like this, then...Kyle felt sick as he turned away, not bearing to watch any longer.
He spotted his sisters on the far side and scrambled over to where Maia held a shivering Lori tightly in her lap, wrapping her own cloak around the little girl. Both of them were crying. Bilbo was kneeling next to them, rubbing their backs, but stepped away when Kyle approached them. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around the girls, feeling his own heart pounding from witnessing all of Lori's near-drowning experience. She was still shivering from the freezing cold, even when sandwiched between the shared warmth of her big brother and sister, looking tiny as a mouse with her big brown eyes peering beneath the wet strands of her dark hair, framing her pale baby-like face.
Kyle was freezing, too, but he didn't care. His little five year-old sister had nearly drowned in a stormy river! The shock of it all struck Kyle in the chest, as he and Maia shared their fright, recalling their helplessness as they watched the thrashing waters threatening to swallow up their baby sister forever. If it hadn't been for Kili in the beginning, Lori would have been long gone.
Kyle felt a sob choke him and he kissed the top of his sister's head, which cuddled against his chest like a kitten. "Y-Y-You ok-k-kay, sis?" he whispered, his teeth chattering.
"Y-Yeah, m'ok-k-kay," she whimpered, shaking horribly. Maia leaned over and rested her chin on Lori's head, rubbing either side of her body to get the warmth back in her skin. "I-I-I thought w-we were gonna d-die! K-Kili...is he d-dead?" Her voice went high-pitched with alarm, her body stiffening with horror. "H-H s-saved me!"
"We know, L," said Maia, sounding strangled, "but he going to be fine! He gonna wake up! Thorin and Fili are trying! He's..." Maia sniffled and just buried her face in Lori's head, trying to hide the tears that mixed in with the rain.
Kyle felt like he wanted to crumble. To scream. To cry. But he was frozen. He was numb. Something he hadn't felt since their mom's car accident, before finally breaking down when he realized how badly damaged she was. Please, Kili. You have to wake up, man. You can't leave us like this. Thorin and Fili need you. I need you to stay, man. We're hunting partners, remember? Kili, just wake up! Wake up!
He thought all of this as he continued listening to Thorin and Fili shout for Kili to wake up and breathe.
"Let him come, Uncle! Let him fight with us..."
"My mind will not be swayed...He is staying!"
"Then I am staying! I will not leave my brother behind...not against his will!"
"Fili, he is too young!"
"Why do you have so little faith in him? He is as good as any great warrior."
"He is still reckless! He is not ready!"
"No, you are not ready! Uncle...let him come. Let us come together!"
"This is not a game, boy! This quest will be dangerous! If something happens to you both, I won't be able to-"
"Then let us fight side by side with you, protect each other, as we have always done! I know what you are thinking, Uncle, and I know you want to protect Kili...so do I...but if you don't permit him this chance to prove himself for who he is, as you have always wanted him to be, Kili will keep thinking that whatever he does will never be enough!"
"He cannot think like that. He has got nothing to prove to me..."
"Then show him! Let him come with us. Let him be a part of this quest. He was the first to volunteer, Uncle! He wants this! It is in our blood...Let us come with you together..."
Together. It is in our blood...
Kili? Wake up, my boy...
Kili...Kili...KILI...Can you hear us?...
I want this. The darkness faded and the air started whooshing deliciously in his lungs once Kili choked away the water. As he gasped for air, he opened his eyes in the rain.
Once his vision cleared, he found Thorin and Fili looking down at him with strong fear in their eyes. Bilbo was spotted in the background, looking concerned. Thorin was brushing away the hair from his face, his hand trembling. "Breathe, Kili. That's it. That's it..."
"U-Uncle..." Kili said softly, his eyelids flickering heavily. "F-Fee..."
"It's alright, brother," Fili said quietly, as he moved closer to Kili and started to slowly sit him up. Dizzy, Kili laid against his head against Fili's shoulder, his older brother keeping him propped with a hand over his head. "It's alright. You're alright now. Just breathe..."
Suddenly, Kili remembered when he passed out underwater, feeling Lori on his shoulder. "Lori!" he gasped suddenly, panic returning as his eyes widened. "L-Lori...w-where is she?"
"She's fine, Kee," assured Fili. "She's with Maia and Kyle, over there. A little frightened, but she's fine. She also saved your bow. I hadn't even noticed until we were out of the water. Most of your arrows weren't as lucky, though. You should have seen how Kyle helped...the lad is just as bad as you are."
Kili closed his eyes and let out a breathless laugh in relief, burying his face in his brother's shoulder.
Neither Kili nor Fili were unprepared for Thorin's sudden outburst, "FOOLS! BOTH OF YOU!" Kili cowered against Fili's chest, while Fili flinched and tightened his hold on Kili when Thorin grabbed hold of both their shoulders. His eyes were blazing with fury. "What in Durin's name were you thinking? You could have both drowned! Fili, I expected more sense from you!"
"I was trying to save them!" Fili argued. "If somebody hadn't reached them in time, they would have drowned for certain before we would pull them in!"
"So would you! You cannot even swim!"
"You saw me, Uncle! I didn't drown. I have practiced before," he blurted out, fully knowing that this was the first time Thorin was learning of this. From his uncle's surprise narrowed eyes, that discussion was going to continue for later.
"It was still stupid and reckless thinking! You should have at least taken off your boots before jumping in! And you..." His eyes moved to Kili, who flinched under Thorin's rage. "Do you care to explain why you had no control over your pony, or why you could not even bother keeping your head above the water to begin with?"
"There was a s-snake, Thorin," Kili tried to explain. "Daisy...the pony...she just panicked...and Lori...I was trying to keep her from drowning! I admit it was my fault we were in the river, that I had no control over the pony when it happened, but would you have me let the river take a child in order to save my own skin?" His voice grew louder with anger. Why couldn't his uncle see that he was trying to protect a life of another, and that life belonging an innocent little girl?
Kili would never have been able to forgive himself if he lived on knowing he had paid for it with the life of a child. Especially when that child was someone he has grown fond of and that it was his fault that she was in danger. He loved his uncle, but how could Thorin think her life was any less than his own?
When seeing Kili's angered face, Thorin felt his own rage lessen and the fear behind filling his expression. He sighed tiredly. "No, I would not...but neither can stand the thought of losing you," he said softly, though the sternness still pressed on. "Both of you. You could have died, do you understand? Do you have any idea what that would have done to your mother?" To me, his eyes read, the hint of fear still showing.
Not used to seeing Thorin like this, Kili gulped while he felt his brother shift. "We're sorry, Uncle," he said softly, his eyes lowered. He felt as he did when speaking that orc raid joke on the cliff days ago, and he felt his uncle's disappointment like a wound reopened.
"Aye, we are," Fili said, also lowered his gaze. "It won't happen again."
Thorin sighed when looking at them, the remorse in both blue and dark eyes already quenching his anger. They were truly a mixture of their parents. Of Dis and Vili. He reached out and then pulled both of his nephews into his embrace. Feeling their heartbeats soundly against his own chest, assuring that they were alive and safe, Thorin buried his face into the crowns of their hair. "Be sure that it doesn't," he murmured to them with a fatherly tenderness. And be safe, he added in his thoughts.
Knowing that all was forgiven and forgotten, Kili felt himself smile and buried his face in his uncle's chest, savoring this moment before Thorin would have to let them go and act as their leader again. He didn't care if everyone else watched. He felt safe in his family's arms. He even wondered if the Dainsons' were safe with each other at this moment.
Maia watched with warmth in her heart as Thorin pulled both of his nephews into his embrace. She had never seen Thorin so open with his emotions, full of anger, fear, and then open affection preserved for his nephews alone, though they were like how a father would feel in the wellbeing of his sons. It reminded her strongly of how their dad would have such love preserved for her, Kyle, and Lori when he had them to himself.
Maia felt sad again when she thought of her dad. Still in his uncle's arms, Fili peered up and met Maia's eyes, a twinkle appearing in his blue gaze.
Thank you, she mouthed at them both, still holding Lori in her lap. He nodded in return, before mouthing back to her, Any time.
Then, right next to her, Kyle suddenly laughed. Maia looked at her brother, saw him guffawing, and then she felt indignant anger. If Kyle was laughing at the scene, she was going to hit him really hard. "What the hell are you laughing about, clown face?" she demanded. "You climb up a branch, fall in the rapids, and think that's funny?"
Kyle's looked at Maia and Lori, his gray eyes sparkling with humor. "Remember when Lori cried 'Snake?'" he said, smiling. "Didn't you say she screams loud enough to startle the cows? Guess now she startles the ponies, too!"
"Oh!" Maia remembered her joke back in Bag End, and then started laughing.
Lori tried to be angry, but the little girl started laughing, too. "It was really was a snake!" she pointed out, in between her giggles. "I'm serious!"
As the Dainsons kept laughing together, the dwarves were staring at them with strange expressions, Gandalf smiling in satisfaction, and Bilbo, who had been listening and recalled the snake topic, found himself smiling with humor, forgetting all his worries for a moment.
The Dainsons were quick to recover from their earlier fears. They were very brave, like the dwarves. Even Lori, despite what she thinks.
Bilbo only wished that he would be able to protect them better. He smiled fondly as he watched the hardened dwarf leader melt as he held his nephews in his arms with fierce protectiveness, seeing them truly as a family for the first time, and the hobbit in that moment found a new sense of respect for Thorin Oakenshield. The respect that he hoped to win in return from the dwarf leader one day, no matter how much Bilbo wanted to go home.
I guess Thorin and I have something in common, after all.