Ah thanks so much to all those who reviewed! You guys seriously make my week! I hope you like this chapter! It was so much fun to write! Baby Dwarfling antics ahead!:)
A little over five years had passed since the death of Aldín and the subsequent birth of Kíli. Wounds of the heart were mended, friendships were reinforced, and little Dwarflings grew to be more rambunctious than ever before.
Kíli, surprisingly, grew without any setbacks. No strange illnesses took over his tiny body, to the relief and thankfulness of his mother and uncle. Both he and Fíli grew healthy and strong under the stern guardianship of Thorin and Dís. But no amount of good parenting could hold the Dwarflings back from their mischief-making.
Fíli was, naturally, the more responsible of the two. But he had to be. He was "the second man of the house." He did a lot of growing up since the death of his father. This knowledge saddened Dís. Her baby was forced to give up a portion of his childhood. His innocence was so abruptly ripped from him. Thorin, however, saw this as a strength. Fíli would no doubt use his early experience for growth. The Dwarven King envied his nephew's early maturity. He was loath to admit he was more like Kíli as a child.
Kíli.
That child was a whole new story. He thrived in trouble. Now he wasn't whiny. No, that was actually the complete opposite of what Kíli was. He would rarely complain. Especially when he got himself hurt, which was all too often. The Dwarfling absolutely feared reprimand. His uncle was firm in carrying out punishment. But the main reason why he kept quiet was because his tricks were played successfully.
He loved to laugh. Even at the expense of others. Especially at the expense of others. Kíli was infamous for his games. His humor earned him quite the popularity among other Dwarflings, and even among a few young Humans of the Blue Mountains. But adults knew to retreat when the tiny Dwarf Prince came toddling down the street. They were fully aware of what the child was capable of, and they knew they could have absolutely no part in his punishment for fear of Thorin Oakenshield. The Heirs of Durin were untouchable. And Kíli knew it.
And he loved it.
He took advantage of this power that he didn't fully understand on a daily basis. Fíli was almost always dragged along. But, the blonde Dwarfling had to admit, Kíli's conniving schemes were really fun. And he could never let his baby brother take the brunt of the ensuing punishment alone.
Fíli and Kíli really were brothers, in every sense of the word. By blood and bond. By namesake. They were best friends. They were never seen apart from each other. Through illness and injury, they were always side by side.
They were young and smart. And they caused Thorin more trouble than he ever bargained for.
One instance of their antics occurred on any normal day. The sun was bearing down on the inhabitants of the large village, birds twittered in the cloudless sky. Just another normal Summer day in Ered Luin.
But every day was an adventure to two certain little Princelings.
Today's adventure entailed no small amount of courage to complete. Their journey took them high over the heads of tall Men, onto rafters and roofs of three story buildings. Certain death would follow should one child make a wrong move. How they even managed to get onto the rooftops, no one would ever know.
Kíli thought it would be hilarious to perch high above the world, and throw chicken eggs onto the heads of unsuspecting victims. Fíli wasn't so sure.
"Kíli… are you sure about this?" Fíli asked hesitantly. It was extremely difficult to dissuade his brother from doing anything he had his heart set on.
"Yeah! Gonna be so fun!" His tiny voice replied.
Fíli sighed. "Kíli, Uncle Thorin's gonna be really mad if he finds out…"
Oh. The puppy eyes. They melted his heart. He couldn't take it much longer…
"Ah, alright! But I'm not gonna be the one gettin' spanked if we get caught!"
Kíli laughed and clapped his hands in excitement. Fíli smiled. He loved to see his brother so happy.
"Fo' you." Kíli handed a spotted brown egg to Fíli, and carefully chose his own weapon. His wide chocolate eyes looked to Fíli's in preparation. "Count?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah. Okay. One…Two…Three…FIRE!" Fíli yelled.
Kíli unleashed a battle cry that had the potential to outdo even Dwalin's best, and launched the egg as far as his stubby little arms would permit him. It landed with a SPLAT onto a poor lady's head, who let out a cry of indignation.
Kíli immediately looked to his older brother, eyes searching for some sign of approval. Fíli smiled and tussled his hair.
"Good job! I probably can't even aim like that!" Fíli praised. Kíli beamed.
"Now you try!" Kíli said, nodding his head in the direction of the egg still in Fíli's hand.
"Ummm… okay I guess." Fíli really didn't want to be getting into trouble. But… oh, the puppy eyes again. Well, he supposed he could take just one shot…
"GO!" Kíli whooped. Fíli aimed and catapulted the egg into the air. He watched with eager eyes to see if it would hit the intended target and… yes! Right on a lanky young fellow. It wasn't quite as well placed as Kíli's egg, but it produced positive results. The poor Man sprawled onto the concrete, caught completely unawares.
Kíli cheered as Fíli pumped his fist into the air. That actually felt… good! He was beginning to see why Kíli thought it was so fun. He wanted to try again. And so he did. Both brothers released dozens of eggs into the air, successfully splatting them on top of the random passerby. This went on for a good ten minutes. Ten minutes of shouted curses and raised fists from angry people entertained the boys as they giggled in happiness.
Their ammunition quickly dwindled, and soon they were only left with one, lone egg. They both stared at it for a long time. They knew very well where this would go. Each brother made a quick grab for the egg, but Fíli was older and quicker. Kíli pouted and folded his arms with a huff, but said no more, waiting for Fíli to make his move.
The smooth, white egg felt heavy in his hands. This was it. This was the last of their little game. He knew he needed to make it count.
"I count this time!" Kíli announced. "One…two…fwee…GO!"
Fíli threw the egg with more force than ever before, and it soared high into the air before landing with a sickening crunch onto the back of a Man's head.
But this Man didn't land on his face. He didn't curse or make frightening gesticulations that the Dwarflings didn't understand. No. This Man turned slowly. Terrifyingly slow.
And then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
"No…" Fíli breathed, horror welling up inside him. That was no Man. Nor was it an Orc. Actually, Fíli thought he would actually prefer an Orc to what was glaring straight up at them.
"Oh no, Fíli! You hit Unca Thowin!" Kíli whispered, the danger of the situation finally reaching him.
"Run! Hide!" Fíli growled, scrambling to move further back on the roof.
But in his hasty attempt to get away from sure trouble, Kíli stumbled, and slipped off the roof.
Fíli grabbed for his falling brother, but it was too late. Kíli was falling three stories to his death.
"NO KÍLI!" He screamed. Nothing could possibly be worse than this. Fíli watched in utter horror as his baby brother fell. The tiny Dwarfling was mere feet from slamming into the hard, unforgiving ground when Thorin swooped in and grabbed Kíli in his safe arms.
Fíli hung his head in relief, discovering tears trailing down his face. That was far too close.
He looked down on the scene. Several onlookers dawdled in the street, trying to see what the big deal was. When they realized it was Thorin and his nephew, they quickly dispersed. They knew Thorin didn't like it when attention was drawn to him.
Kíli was in hysterics. He was bawling into his uncle's shoulders. Muffled 'sorry's' quietly filtered up to Fíli's ears. He had to get down to his brother. He had to know he was okay.
Fíli quickly, but carefully, climbed off the roof and ran to his uncle's side.
"Kíli! Kíli, are you okay?" Fíli asked, worry etched on his face.
"He's fine." Thorin snapped. He was definitely miffed. Fíli looked down, knowing that retribution was certain. "We're going home." His uncle's eyes dared Fíli to challenge him. The blonde quickly nodded, and they set off, Kíli wailing all the while.
When they walked through the door, Dís frantically rushed in.
"You've found them?" Relief flooded her eyes, but then she took in the sight of her youngest. "Oh, my sweet Kíli!" She gathered him into her arms. "What happened?" She demanded.
"He fell. I caught him." Thorin said, wiping egg yolk out of his hair with disgust.
She rolled her eyes at her brother's short answer, and looked to Fíli for an explanation.
"Well… um… we were gonna play a game… throwing eggs, and—"
"I hit Unca Thowin wif a egg!" Kíli shouted abruptly. All eyes were on the tiny Dwarfling.
"You what?" All of them said at once, including one very confused Fíli.
"I hit him…" His voice faltered. "You gonna spank me Unca?"
Thorin pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation. "I should…" Kíli whimpered and buried his head into his mother's chest. "But, I won't. Not today. I—I almost lost you, Kíli. If I was just a second later…"
Durin forbid that thought ever cross his mind again. He would never lose Kíli. He would never lose either of his nephews. He would die before he saw them draw their last breath.
"Thank you, Thorin. For taking care of my sons again." Dís said with complete fervency. She glanced down at her baby. "It's time for you and Uncle Thorin to wash up, supper's almost ready."
"But I don' wanna take a baff—"
"Do you want me to give you a spanking then?" She questioned with raised eyebrows.
"No! No, I take baff." Kíli nodded furiously. Thorin sighed and walked away, carrying a very distraught Dwarfling.
Fíli stood there, unsure of what to do now that he managed to get out of his punishment, thanks to Kíli's little white lie.
Dís let out a long sigh, and looked him straight in the face. Oh, great. Kíli got to have a warm bath while he had to suffer through one of his mother's speeches.
"Fíli…" Here we go. "You're going to be starting your studies soon. You can't be off gallivanting with your brother. Especially not supporting him when he's up to no good."
He hung his head.
"Please show me you can be responsible. Please? Because I can tell that responsibility is going to be a very hard thing for your brother to take a hold of. I need you to be the example. Can you do that for me, Fíli?"
"Yes, Mum." Fíli resigned.
"Come here." She held out her arms, enveloping her eldest into a warm hug. "I love you two so much. I can't imagine losing either of you."
"I'll protect Kíli. I don't want anything happening to him, too."
"I know you will." She smiled. "Now you get washed up for supper." She ushered him away.
Fíli shuffled down the hallway, very uneager to clean up. He peered into the doorway of the washroom, only to find a very soaked Thorin and a very happy Kíli giggling and splashing in the bathtub.
I'm gonna explain my views on Dwarf ages. I don't think that their mental development is stagnated just because they have a longer lifespan. Kíli is 5, so he's going to think like a 5 year old, but look like a 1 or 2 year old. Same with Fíli. He's going to think and act like a 10 year old, but look 5 or 6. I'm not sure about the perfect math, but I'll let you know their ages and age appearance according to this fic. When they're 77 and 82, they are those ages. They just have young bodies. People don't change that drastically in their views and interests as they grow older. They're the same person. But humans are cursed with sooner old age. Experiences make a person wise. And that's why I think Kíli and Fíli struggle with that when they're older. They've been stuck in the Blue Mountains all their lives, never having experienced a real battle. They've never really had a reason to grow up so fast, and that's what makes their death in the end so sad. They're so innocent and naive about the world. They just don't understand.
Anyway, there's my two cents:)
Please review and recommend to friends or anyone who you think would like this fic! Thanks you guys!:)