I am so sorry for not being able to update! My life has been pretty frantic, with school work and life in general. Also, for a while I lost the inspiration for this story. Don't worry, I will finish this; the end was planned out before I wrote chapter one. Finishing might take a while though.

Chapter 6

Fili! Kili screamed in his mind. His brother, who always looked out for him, always there, was injured and unconscious, possibly dying, and he was useless. Pathetic. Kili knew that he wouldn't survive if Fili died. He may live, but his soul would go with his brother. A life without Fili didn't bear thinking about. And yet one was on the horizon, the possibility looming.

Kili shook his head and continued running next to Gandalf. He couldn't think about that right now, that wouldn't help Fili, so he couldn't think about it. Fili! Stay with me! He pleaded in his head.

Blood was dripping from the wound, slowly, but definitely dripping. If they didn't stop to treat it soon Fili could die of blood loss. Of course Thorin didn't voice his observations, choosing to concentrate on his younger nephew. Kili needed his brother as much as Fili needed him. If one was hurt, then the other tended to neglect their own health until the other was better or they collapsed from exhaustion. It was usually the latter.

After what seemed like forever but was probably only half an hour, they finally reached the exit. Gandalf was still holding Fili, with Kili close behind, not bothering to count everyone, just trusting that they would all be following. Thorin did a brief headcount; everyone was there, though Bilbo almost seemed to appear from nowhere just after they reached sunlight, thought he immediately dismissed it, as there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Kili was at Fili's side, not even looking at either Oin or Gandalf, his whole attention was on Fili. Thorin walked over and placed a comforting hand on Kili's shoulder in a gesture of support.
"How is it Oin?" Thorin asked, looking him dead in the eye, silently asking him to tell him the truth.
"Not good." Oin glanced at Kili before continuing. "He's lost a lot of blood, but it could be worse. A lot worse. As far as I can tell, the arrow was un-poisoned and with a normal tip. Getting the arrow out will be as tricky as usual, but not hard. I recommend removing it as soon as possible, otherwise the wound may begin to close around it, or cause infection."

Thorin nodded somberly. "Can we do it now?"
Just as Oin was going to open his mouth to answer, Gandalf spoke.
"Warg pack."
"Wait…what?!" Thorin exclaimed.
"Yes. Everyone get in the trees! Now!"

Before anyone could even begin to protest, Gandalf had gently scoped up Fili and was already half way up a tree, Kili close behind, not wanting to be separated from his brother even for a moment. In the short time in which it took the rest of the company to join them in the trees, they were surrounded.

Wargs were all around them, they had no way out. Gandalf, multi-tasking as usual, pulled out his staff and began to set pinecones on fire and lobbing them at the wargs. Bilbo really was good at conkers with the skill at which he threw them, not that Kili noticed. He was too busy keeping Fili from falling from the tree to worry about anyone else.

Unfortunately, just as wargs dislike fire, trees aren't fond of it either. Some of the trees erupted in flames, causing them to fall. The clearing was soon in chaos, trees falling, dwarves jumping from tree to tree, and fire everywhere. The only bonus was that the smoke kept the wargs from seeing or smelling as well as they usually would. That also meant that, as smoke rises, everyone else was choking. That's it. We are going to die here. Even Bilbo had given up hope.

Just at that moment of despair, hope shone forwards. Eagles arrived, scooping up dwarves and carrying them away. The eagle that picked up Fili, Kili gave it a pleading look, begging it not to hurt his eagle blinked once before taking off, soaring into the sky with huge wings. Kili would've watched the eagle carrying his brother until it flew out of sight, had another eagle unceremoniously picked him in its claws and dropped him on the back of another.

Once everyone was seated (stable, at least) on an eagle, they started flying in formation, headed to a large rock, where everyone got off. Gandalf thanked the eagles, then they flew off, leaving them all alone.

"Can we take the arrow out now?" Kili asked, anxious about his brother. Oin looked at him somberly before nodding.
"Aye, we can, though I'll need hot water, bandages, and a few small knives." As everyone rushed around trying to find what Oin suggested, Kili crept closer to Fili. He was pale, almost deathly white, but there was a slight movement in his chest and his pulse, although faint, was steady. Kili gently drew three small knives from one of Fili's many hiding places in his jacket, careful to avoid the arrow embedded in his chest. Wordlessly, he thrust them over to Oin, before retreating a few feet to give them space, but still be close enough to come if Fili so much as stirred.

Once everything was ready, Oin, gesturing to Gandalf, spoke words that chilled Kili to the bone.
"Make sure Kili stays away. He is only likely to be upset and disrupt me, which could be very dangerous if I am in the middle of something."
"No! Fili needs me!" Kili protested, starting forward. Dwalin caught him and, lifting him up, carried him away from his brother and whatever scene was about to unfold. Kili struggled, before realising that it was hopeless; Dwalin was far too strong.

Nothing was heard, save a few murmured words from Oin, asking for something or other. This, more than anything, worried Kili. He had sat by his brother, and his brother by him, enough times to know that silence was often more deadly than screams.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Oin stepped back to look at his work. As soon as Kili saw this, he slipped out of Dwalin's arms and ran to his brother, praying that he was alright.
"How is he?" The words were out of Kili's mouth before anyone could even draw breath. Oin looked at Kili sorrowfully.
"He has lost a lot of blood, lad. I've done my best to prevent the wound becoming infected, but there's not much that I can do. As we are travelling, the risk of infection goes up hugely. If there is anywhere that we could safely rest, to give him time to heal, then he has a better chance. If we have to continue travelling - " Oin couldn't, or wouldn't, finish his sentence. He turned away sadly, wishing that there was more that he could do, other that give them space.

Kili sank to his knees next to his brother. No. This can't happen. Fee, I need you too much for you to go! Thorin knelt down beside him and put his arm around his shoulder. Kili looked up to see the mask that Thorin wore to hide his emotions falling away. Kili let out a sob and buried his head into his uncle's chest, like he had done when he was very little and wept.

I know nothing about wounds of any kind, as the only wounds I have seen have been books and fanfictions, so I just avoided it.

Thank you for reading!
Please review, it means a lot to me when people take the time to tell me what they think. All feedback welcome (no hate please)

:)