Okay, not the best chapter, but in any case, enjoy. Sorry for the longer update than usual, but I had a small case of writer's block. Next chapter should be quicker and better though - should contain some Durin fluff.

Chapter 9: Trust and fear

Sitting down at the table, Dis began to twiddle her thumbs, thinking. It was early in the morning, not yet dawn, but close to it. She had not been able to sleep, the shock from what had occurred the night before still etched painfully deep into her soul.

Both she and Thorin had apologised to the boys once they had woken, which had been late in the afternoon. Thankfully, they had accepted them, both showing no signs of bearing a grudge. Dis didn't think she would be able to live with herself if her two little rays of light came to hate her. Fili and Kili meant too much to the somewhat broken woman. Never the less, the apology had not meant that the bitterness between her and her brother had gone completely away, though she would be wrong if she did not say that it had abated somewhat.

Dis also thought back to what Dwalin had said as he had been departing. She knew that Thorin was acting strangely, sometimes worryingly so, yet she could not keep a tab on him all the time. And besides, even if he was dwelling on a not so healthy topic, Thorin would not stoop to an alarmingly low rate. He was too proud to do so, and, in effect, it was one of the reasons why Dis was glad he was so proud. Whatever its drawbacks might be, at least it made those it affected turn their nose up at such drastic behaviours. But still, Dis could not help but worry.

"Can't sleep?" a deep voice asked her. Dis jumped before turning on her brother.

"What have I told you about sneaking up on me like that?" she scolded. Thorin raised his eyebrows.

"And what have I told you about staying up instead of sleeping?" he answered. She met his stare with a withering one.

"That was years ago, Thorin, it doesn't count. I am not a child anymore," Dis defended. Thorin looked at her for a moment before rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Let's not fight anymore, at least for now. Can we not just sit and talk?"

"I'm not the one that starts these things," Dis said, brow furrowing slightly. Thorin pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Fighting," he said, nodding his head subtly towards the way he had come. Dis felt any fire in her leave in an instant. She would not have her children wake to that again.

"Very well then," she relented, "What shall we talk about?" Thorin shrugged in response.

"Anything," he answered, being his usual, non-contributive self. Dis rooted around in her mind for a non-argument-inducing conversational starter.

"Remember when we were children," she started, her mind suddenly remembering a time that had sent a warm feeling flooding through her.

"Mmm," Thorin acknowledged, contributing to the conversation half-heartedly.

"I was about as old as Fili is now," she continued, staring into the distance and smiling slightly at the memory, "You and Frerin were off with father to greet some of the dwarfish lords who had come to visit." Thorin stared at her with some interest, recalling the day himself.

"Yes, I remember well. Father had us both dressed up in so much of the 'regal clothing fitting for the heirs of Durin' that we could barely move. Frerin was especially fidgety and bad tempered; he never liked all the formalities we had to go through, and each of the old lords insisted on following every formality to the T."

Dis stifled a bubble of laughter welling up inside of her as she remembered Thorin's face when Thrain had told him what was expected of him and his brother. She had been thankful that, as a female and deemed too young, she did not need to attend. Her brothers, however, had been quite resentful of the fact, Frerin especially.

"Well, the two of you might of hated me at the time, but you both were practically falling over your feet to thank and congratulate me afterwards," she said after several moments of not so quiet reflection. Thorin snorted.

"I have never fallen over my own feet in my life," he said, defending his dignity in good humour.

"Well, you did that day," Dis informed him. She visualised it all in her head as she said this; a child version of herself stumbling into the room and demanding that one of her two big brothers kill the ferocious monster in her chamber. She had done it with such a dramatic air that Thrain had been forced to let both his sons go in order to get her to calm down and go away. Once out of the room, it had then been proved a ploy that she had made to get them to come and play with her, thus saving them from several more long hours filled with tedious formalities.

The brother and sister stayed silent for a while, reliving old memories of supposed innocence and unyielding delight. In that small fraction of time, Dis realised that there had been so many adventures she had been on in her youth with both her brothers by her side; from scaling the highest area of the city, to sneaking down into the mines. There had been tears, blood, and no end of injured egos and scraped knees and elbows; they had nearly driven their father to insanity, and their grandfather too, before the elder had scummed to the sickness that had seen the end of Erebor.

The dwarfish woman sighed as more bitter memories came to light, ones involving the loss of certain members of her family. There were only four of them left now, for Thorin would not marry, nor could she remarry. And until such time where her sons could help bring into the world their own children, she had no one else.

"It seems family grows all the more dearer to you the more tragedy you all go through," she said as a passing remark. Thorin grunted, caught up in his own thoughts, a small frown now creasing his brow. Dis knew the look; knew it to be the same one he wore when dwelling on matters he could not change. She was about to speak when Thorin beat her to it.

"Tomorrow, I think I will take the day and spend some time around the house doing a few small jobs that need to be done," he informed her. Dis sat, startled as she tried to find his reasoning behind such a notion, not that she was against it. She had been saying for a while that he needed a few days away from the forges.

"That's great!" she said, still trying to reign in her disbelief. Thorin nodded absently.

"Dwalin and Balin should be able to handle things there, and I can make it up to the boys for last night," he continued, staring into the nothingness behind her. Dis suddenly found herself with a revelation about the reasons behind his objective as the last words left his lips.

He had almost lost Fili and Kili last night, and it had been due to his own mistakes as well. Still so soon after Rhorin's death, and with the little family he had left, it was no wonder why he suddenly had the urge to spend time with the few kin he had left.

Looking at her brother with new eyes, she remembered that he had not slept at all last night, and she would not be surprised if he had not slept this night either. It would explain why he had been up and about so early on. There were dark shadows forming under her brother's eyes, only serving to reiterate the point. Still, she could hardly tell him to sleep when she herself was having so much trouble.

Yeah, if you could review, I would be grateful.