This one needed lots of tweaking and I'm hoping I actually did it justice because it was more difficult to write than expected.
After the others had left, Fili had mercifully fallen asleep quickly. He had avoided the older dwarves' gazes, hoping that he might conceal his moment of weakness. He had insisted he be sitting, and so she had helped him prop himself up against a few pillows to be more upright. Sigrid had a feeling he was doing that too to appear less frail and did not think he noticed that the fact that he was trying to do so clearly seemed to pain them, especially the bald warrior.
Her father had been carefully watching the dwarves, giving her a firm look as well at finding that it had been her suggestion to involve the people of the lake, but had spoken little. He had agreed to sign the letter as a witness then had moved over to her, kissing her forehead and hugging her close. "I will be back once I've spoken to both those kings." He had rolled his eyes so only she could see and Sigrid had smiled that some humour was still to be found.
Her father had turned to incline his head to Fili who had nodded. Bard's eyes had softened at seeing the swollen bloodshot eyes meet his, though perhaps only Sigrid out of all present had really been able to see it. "You have my word that first and foremost we will work together as neighbours. I do not care for politics and you have proved your honour in helping my children to safety when the dragon came. That is enough for me." He had then addressed the wounded dwarf who at first had merely nodded until he remembered himself.
"I thank you." He had hoarsely spoken, gaze dropping as soon as the man had left.
Dwalin had squeezed his arm before leaving, then also quickly turned and left with shoulders squared. His brother had stayed a moment. "Laddie…" He had begun, lowering his gaze when Fili had just looked up at him blankly. "I will see this makes its way to Dain. I still hope he can be reasoned with but his advisors are not helping."
Fili had nodded, and closed his eyes with a sigh. "Just make sure no one is allowed into the treasury except those of us from the company who already have been." He muttered, then reached out for Balin's arm where he stood next to him.
"Balin?" His voice had Sigrid turn away and busy herself with some bandages lying on a table that needed sorting. He had sounded more like a scared child than the future king of this mountain.
She still had heard the following conversation loud and clear though.
"Do you think,…if we give the hoard away,… spend it on Dale's rebuilding a-and give the elves and Dain their due…" Fili had continued, hand still fisting Balin's sleeve. "Do you think it won't do to others what it did to uncle and save Dain?"
Balin had seemed to melt, gloved hand reaching to smooth over the younger one's hair. "Oh, my lad. We will try. We can most certainly try."
When the old dwarf had left, there had been tears in his eyes but he had waited for his king's nephew to fall into an exhausted sleep.
Sigrid was therefore once again left alone since Tauriel was yet to wake from her healing trance.
It was very apparent thought that maintaining this 'connection' as she had called it, was very taxing on the elf. Sigrid was not sure how to articulate it, but she appeared to be losing her light. She still did not really understand what she was doing, but it must be difficult indeed, to sap at the strength of an elf like that.
She really did not look well. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin was starting to look translucent. Sigrid was also sure she had not eaten once in her presence and since Tauriel had not left the tent once, she assumed she had not had rest or food since before the battle.
Giving Fili's hand one last squeeze, she carefully eased her fingers from his lax grasp. It was time to at least solve one of those problems. She was not sure what elves ate, but surely a simply vegetable stew would be a nice start.
Sigrid cast her own charge one last look, before leaving the tent in search for something to eat. If she was honest with herself, she might not have eaten either if not for either Tilda or Bain bringing her every meal. Tauriel clearly did not have anyone to look after her.
She quickly located Bofur and the large dwarf, Bombur, playfully fighting over the ladle next to a merrily bubbling pot on a small fire.
"Give it here you silly lump!" Bofur eventually appeared to win only to note why Bombur was distracted enough for him to grab the thing. "Why hello lass! What brings you here?"
Sigrid could never help the smile these two seemed to bring to everyones faces. She laughed at Bombur giving her a bow. "Well, I was hoping to get some food for Tauriel. I do not think she's been eating."
"Surely she just went to her own folk for that." Bofur frowned, "Elves have weirder tastes than us lot, trust me on that." Beside him Bombur gave a shudder in remembering something. She could only guess it was the time they had spent in the Elvenking's dungeon; surely he would not judge their taste on what they fed to prisoners?
"I doubt she has. She is yet to leave Kili's side."
"He's still not woken up, has he?" Bofur sobered, even his hat appeared to droop though that was probably Sigrid's imagination.
"No, I'm afraid he has not. I wish I had some news for you, but he remains the same."
"Aye, well it won't do if his caretaker does not eat." Bofur noted but already Bombur was shoving a bowl of stew filled to the brim into Sigrid's hands.
"You dolt! That's dwarven food! She won't like it." Bofur accused him, but Bombur was adamant and so Sigrid found herself returning to the tent with the bowl and a large piece of dry bread the rotund dwarf had also pressed into her hands.
She hesitated a little before approaching Tauriel where she sat by Kili's side, never letting go of his hand. Fili was still sleeping on his cot and thankfully it was still a peaceful sleep.
"Tauriel?" She addressed the elf, placing the food on a small table that held various herbs and medicines.
When there was no reaction, she moved closer and put her hand on her shoulder. "Tauriel." She gave her a little squeeze before she abruptly pulled back, suddenly worried it might do something terrible to her or Kili.
The elf stirred, smiling up at Sigrid though it was a little wan. "He's breathing easier."
Sigrid returned the smile but then gestured to the food. "You have not eaten in days." He noted, perhaps a little lamely, but she just was not entirely comfortable speaking to a creature like Tauriel still.
The elf looked at the meagre offerings before turning grateful eyes back to Sigrid. "I thank you. I… I must admit that I have not even noticed until now." She looked rather sheepish, glancing back at the unmoving Kili.
"His spirit is still far away," She noted and Sigrid took the opportunity to bring over the food lest the elf might forget once again. "I'm not sure if I can draw him back, I wonder if it is something else."
Sigrid frowned at that. "But you said he is healing?"
"His body is healing, yes." The elf trailed off and Sigrid, though not quite sure about the cryptic responses, nodded. "Fili will need to know." She quietly noted.
Tauriel met her eyes, something suddenly alight in her own gaze. "Would it be terrible to wake him? Perhaps his presence will change things." She asked almost a little over-eager.
Sigrid nodded at the bowl of food. "Once you have eaten." She told the elf who could not help but smile a little sheepishly.
"You will be a great mother one day." Tauriel noted after her first bite under watchful eyes.
Sigrid blushed. "Sorry, it's habit."
The elf laughed and Sigrid noted with perhaps a little envy how even that sounded like the tinkling of bells.
"It was no criticism. I admire that. I lost my parents when I was very young, so I never truly learnt what mothers do firsthand."
Sigrid thought back to the vague memories she still had of her own mother, the warmth and security of her embrace. "That's quite sad." She noted quietly.
Tauriel paused to consider the comment, then shook her head. "I never knew what I was missing, so I was not aware of it. I am who I am because of my past. Just as you are." She told her.
Reluctantly, Sigrid placed a gentle hand on Fili's shoulder. She was still not entirely happy about waking him, but she could not bear to keep his brother's serious condition from him any longer.
She had let him sleep as long as possible but her and the elf had spoken and if Kili did not wake soon, even elven healing would not be enough to sustain his body with no sustenance and the little water they managed to trickle into his mouth.
"Fili?" She quietly called him, squeezing rather than shaking his shoulder to not aggravate his injuries.
He only stirred when she called him twice more and even then he looked disoriented at first.
"Sigrid?" He instantly looked alarmed once his eyes focused on her. He pushed up and to her utter shock almost managed to sit up leaning on his arms all by himself. He immediately looked to Kili with fear all over his expression before sagging a little bit so that she had to reach out to steady him.
"I-I thought…" He was visibly trying to take deep breaths. Sigrid tried to help him lie back down, but he was having none of it, instead sitting up more though he had to lean on her even for that.
"It's alright. He's doing better, Tauriel and I are just concerned he is not waking yet." She tried to soothe, sitting on the bunk next to him so the stubborn dwarf had a shoulder to lean against if he insisted on sitting up like this. If she was honest with herself, she was surprised he was already able to move this much.
Fili nodded distractedly, breathing a little easier, though his blue gaze was entirely fixed on his brother. After a long silence in which he seemed to come to some sort of decision he grasped for her hand.
"Help me up." He croaked and it was impossible to misunderstand his intention.
She hesitated. "I... You should not move so much yet. In fact, you should lie back down." She told him, understanding at the same time that if it were one of her siblings, nothing would keep her in bed either.
He must have read her mind, because his mouth twitched into a small smile. "It will be easier if you help me. I will go to my brother either way. I will fall over and crawl if I must but I will sit with him." He told her, still raspily and she could not help but smile back, though she rolled her eyes too.
"I will kill you if you tear up the elf's good work." Sigrid muttered as she herself got up to stand in front of him and let him grasp both her arms for leverage.
"Don't think you'll have to in that case, love." He replied, far too casually for her liking, but when she glared, he only grinned sheepishly. "It'll be alright. I promise." It only occured to her afterwards, the endearment he had used, too worried about his injuries for the moment.
She kept careful watch as he slowly pushed to his feet, using her support for balance. His eyes rested on his brother as he took a first tottering step forward. It was not far, but even the few steps were enough to make Sigrid doubt his decision.
Tauriel watched silently as he limped his way closer, Sigrid steadying him as much as she could, then pulled up a cushion and moved over a little to allow Fíli to sit by his brother's side on the bench that she herself sat on. She still held his hand, as if that connection was what kept him tethered to the world.
"How is he?" He asked, worriedly taking in the wan look on Kili's still face. Sigrid squeezed his shoulder before turning back to the cot he had left for the first time in days to take the chance to replace the old sheets.
"His hold on life is strong." Tauriel sighed, fingers brushing through the unruly mop of hair. "I'm afraid something else might keep him from waking."
Fili watched her with wariness in his eyes. "What is it then? You healed his leg, didn't you?" His hand automatically went for his brother's forehead, mercifully cool but still clammy. He tried not to think too much of Laketown when he had done the same thing, only his brother had been delirious with fever not still like this.
Tauriel cast him a look, then sat back letting go of Kili's hand. "No. No, I believe it is the fact he saw you fall."
Fili's eyes widened but soon found himself shaking his head and turning back to stare at his brother again.
"Can he… can he hear me?" He asked, once he had sat forward with a suppressed groan, too absorbed in taking in the pallor of his brother's face to really notice the pain or care for that matter.
"Does it matter?" Tauriel gently asked, but her eyes were fixed on the younger dwarf.
Fili swallowed and leaned closer over his brother. "Kili, I'm here." He whispered awkwardly, fully aware of the audience he had. "Don't you dare leave me, you hear. Ma will be here soon and she would beat me to death if you're not there to greet her!"
At the thought of their mother, he gulped down any emotions welling up, instead wanting to focus on his brother.
"Please wake up nadadith*… I can't do this without you." He watched him closely as if by some miracle his voice alone might be enough to cause Kili to wake up.
After a tense silence he turned around to look at Tauriel, feeling helpless.
"I'm not sure he knows to place your voice in reality with the state he is in." Tauriel told him gently.
Fili looked back to his brother, trying to will him to wake up, to will him to know that he was here waiting for him. The elf's hand on his own where he rested it on his brother's upper arm had him look up again.
"I would like to try something if I may." She spoke then, ageless eyes shining with some strange light.
"What would you have me do?" He found himself saying, trying to ignore the twist in his stomach. He remembered quite well his uncle's stories of elf-witches.
"Take his hand and mine." She said and bent over his brother's form, eyes closing. Then she began to whisper in elvish and after a long while of feeling like a fool, sitting there and watching her, Fili decided to take things into his own hands.
He cast her an assessing glance, debating if this would disturb her own attempts of reaching Kili, but deciding she would probably not hear anything over her low chanting.
He bent closer so that his mouth was right by his brother's ear. There was a slight pain in his strained back that he ignored, the pain not enough to suggest tearing stitches.
Sending a quick prayer to Mahal, he whispered in Kili's ear in their people's secret language, calling to him with his true khuzdul name and begging him to wake up.
He held his breath, but when there seemed to be no change, he rested his forehead on his little brother's temple and felt tired like never before in his life. Perhaps he should just lie down in the cot, next to his brother and join him in deep sleep.
The elf was no longer chanting and there was no sound in the tent other than slow breathing and so Fili kept his eyes closed, wishing to slip into his brother's dreams and leave reality behind.
"F-Fee?" There came a croak by his ear and a sudden intake of breath from the elf.
He laboriously lifted his head to find bleary brown eyes meeting his. Kili blinked rapidly, disbelief written all over his pale features.
"I saw you fall." He breathed.
His brother cupped his scruffy cheek, bringing their foreheads back together. "I'm alive, Kee. We're both alive." He whispered, relishing his brother's gasp of surprise before a heavy, shaking hand landed on the back of his neck, keeping him in place.
"How?" Kili croaked and Fili only then realized that his brother's throat must be raw from dryness. He pulled away to sit up, only for Tauriel to push a cup into his hands with a smile and then turned to tend to some herbs but he had seen the tears in her eyes anyway.
"Was it a nightmare?" Kili asked as soon as he had moistened his vocal cords.
Fili's voice would not obey him and so he could only shake his head.
Kili blinked at him again, before his eyes widened and fear filled them. "U-uncle?"
When Fili shook his head again because he seemingly had forgotten how to speak, Kili's eyes filled with tears.
"No!" He breathed, his expression grief-stricken as he silently begged his brother to tell him everything would be alright. It broke Fili's heart that unlike when they had been children, there was nothing he could do to fix this.
Instead he ignored the twinge in his own wounds and pulled his little brother into an embrace, immediately feeling Kili cling to him and bury his face in his chest.
He noted that both Tauriel and Sigrid had gone outside to give them privacy.
"I… I thought I saw…" Kili tried, clearly not yet able to sort the thoughts in his head. He twisted fistfuls of Fili's tunic around his hands, making his brother wince as it pulled on his injuries and he noticed, quickly easing his grip.
"I thought I'd lost you, Fili. I could not have lived with myself!" He mumbled, though still making no move to pull away.
Glad his brother had no head injury, Fili slapped him over the back of the head quite soundly then.
"You orc-brain! Is that why you tried to get yourself killed? Can I not leave you alone for one moment?"
Kili reared away, gritting his teeth when it agitated his injury and batting at his brother's hands when he eased him back onto the cot. "I did not 'try' to get myself killed! It's not like I planned for that beast to stab me!" He whined and then stopped, seeing the wry smile on his brother's face.
"Fili…" He said, tears shining in his dark eyes. Fili simply clasped his hand and the brothers spent a silent moment just taking in the fact that they were together and alive.
They only moved when there were footsteps outside which were all too familiar to the both of them and both looked up expectantly.
"I'm sorry, lad..." Dwalin trailed off, stopping in his tracks when he saw Kili awake and looking at him.
Both brothers stared when the old warrior suddenly teared up, then barged forward, enveloping the both of them in a bear hug, though he held back on his strength to avoid hurting them.
Kili shot his brother a shocked look, while Fili did his best to to pat Dwalin's back to calm him.
"Boys!" Their weapon-master choked and squeezed them a little before pulling away to look at each of them, clearly not ashamed of the tears he was still shedding.
Kili still seemed terrified. "A-are you alright, Dwalin?" In his shock dropping the honorary 'Mr' he had always addressed him with.
It seemed to set him off again because more tears trailed into the bushy beard and he ruffled Kili's already mussed hair. "Bless you, laddie!"
He paused, looking at them both, then smiled widely. "I'm alright." He reassured them, though Kili still looked at him warily.
Fili could not help but smirk and shake his head. Who would have thought?
"Did you need something, Dwalin?" He then asked.
The old warrior shot him a look, then sighed heavily.
"I've spoken to Dain. Something's not right with him. There is no reasoning with him. He has it in his head that both of you are caught in the sleep of the living dead and we're keeping you alive only with elf-magic to keep him from his rightful throne."
Kili's eyes had gone wide, clearly disoriented by all this. "Everyone's gone mad!"
Fili tried and failed to stop himself from rolling his eyes at him. "Is the letter not enough for him?" He sighed.
Dwalin nodded, looking worried. "Balin is doing his best, but he's just lost his marbles if you ask me, lad."
Trying to think of a solution, Fili rubbed at his healing scars absentmindedly. They were healing much faster than expected and though he had quite confidently convinced Sigrid to help him get up, he had not been sure wether his legs would carry him until he had tried it. Clearly elvish healing had it's perks.
Nontheless, he needed to be able to stand up to Dain and as of yet, he tired quickly and could not hold his own weight for more than a short moment or so. They needed to stall a little longer.
"I'll write him another letter myself, that will keep them occupied a little longer. At least they can argue about it while I can get ready to meet him." He eventually said. "Do we have quill and parchment?"
Dwalin eagerly left to find some, wide smile still apparent under his beard as he looked at the two of them and shook his head before he left the tent.
"What are you planning to do?" Kili asked and lay back on his bedding gingerly.
"I'll write to Dain, thanking him for his help and inquiring about his willingness to negotiate with Balin about supplies for the winter." Fili forced a smile "It will give them something to discuss if nothing else, and might buy us a few days to come up with something else."
Kili took in the worry-lines on his face, the exhaustion his older brother could not hide and his eyes widened with anxiety. "What did I miss, Fili? What is going on?"
tbc...