Happy New Year to you all!
I'm back again….. ^^
Quite a long chapter this, but I really hope you'll like it!
Enjoy…..
Outside the cave, a storm was brewing. Fili peered down into the dense forest below them, before looking up at the sky, hitching Kili further up his back.
Thick, black clouds hung dense in the sky, the rain was coming down in torrents; the ground was soaking. Flashes of lightening illuminated the trees, whilst periodic rounds of thunder made the ground shake.
Fili sighed, before he looked down below his feet; the mountainside was thick mud- he would slip if he stepped on it, and send himself and Kili to certain death on the rocks below. He very gently moved his shoulder blade upwards a little so it hit Kili's stomach; just to see if he was ok.
Fili listened, but there was no response. He growled in his throat, 'Hang on little brother, I'll see to you in a minute….' He promised, moving him up again, hissing in pain.
He felt a warm hand on his shoulder- Thorin stood next to him, a frown on his face. 'We make for those trees; we'll find a clearing or something- we need to get out of this rain!' he shouted amid a crash of thunder.
Fili felt his brother move against his back as though the noise had startled him. 'Thank Durin….' He whispered to himself- he wasn't carrying his dead brother on his back after all.
'How are we going to get down there?' he muttered, wind lashing rain into his face. 'I don't want to drop him.'
'I'll help carry him down- you take his head, I'll take his feet- the others can set up camp while we come down…' Thorin replied, before turning back to the rest of the company and giving them their instructions. Fili watched as they timidly started making their way down the mountainside, slipping and yelping as their feet went from under them.
He shot his uncle a quizzical look. 'I don't want him to fall.' He repeated, eyes wide as he tried to look to the trees; a dense fog had covered the high trees from view.
'He won't, trust me…' Thorin whispered, trying to smile.
Fili couldn't help himself; he snorted, before trying to turn it into a cough- he knew his uncle had heard, but at this moment he didn't care very much; he didn't have a very good track record of trustfulness of late.
Thorin bit back a retort, but let it wash over him. He instead held out his arms. 'Come on then, I'm not standing here forever!' he growled, waiting for Fili to put his brother down.
Fili sighed and gently bent down, letting Kili slowly slip from his back; he heard Kili groan, felt his fingers automatically clench into the back of his cloak.
'It's alright lad, I've got you…' Thorin muttered, taking hold of his nephew and holding him close to his chest, letting Kili's head fall onto his shoulder. He held him as gently as he could; when he took his hands away he still saw blood on his palms.
Fili quickly straightened up and took Kili from his uncle; he let Kili tuck his head into the crook of his neck as he lifted him- he nodded to his brother's legs for Thorin to do the same.
Thorin nodded, grabbing his nephew's legs and hoisting them from the sodden earth.
'We have to go slow…' he warned, looking down at the deluge of mud that awaited them when they stepped off the mountain.
Fili nodded in agreement, frowning to himself- this wasn't going to work, but he'd give it a try.
Together, they managed to move with Kili between them to the edge. 'His legs should go first…' Kili mused, waiting as Thorin nudged his way to the front, grunting with the weight of his legs.
'Don't drop him….' He whispered, teeth clenched as half his brother was held over the edge.
'Fili I will not drop him, I promise you.' Thorin said firmly, shaking rain out of his eyes. He looked behind him; the night was nearly upon them, the clouds blocking out the sunset.
Minutes passed, and gingerly the two of them managed to get a step or two down the mountain- Fili kept stopping and checking his footing, before wiping mud and rain off his brother's face as if he was about to drown.
Thorin also had to keep stopping, for he was walking backwards, and couldn't see where he was going at all. He sighed and growled with defeat, closing his eyes briefly.
'This won't work…..' he muttered, shrugging.
Fili sighed, looking about them- suddenly, an idea came into his head that made him smile.
'Thorin sit down!' he muttered, before looking down and doing the same, making sure Kili's head was secure.
'What? Why would I do that?' his uncle asked, eyes wide as he looked upon his nephew, sat in the mud.
'We can slide down! Like when we were kids- you used to do it as well, remember?' Fili grinned, rubbing comforting circles into his brother's shoulders and chest.
'Slide down? Are you mad?' Thorin asked, but he too supressed a small smile. He shrugged; it really seemed the only way.
He groaned as he moved upwards to sit next to Fili; Kili was now horizontal between them. Fili smiled at his uncle. 'Let's go then!' he grinned.
'….Let's go….' Muttered Thorin, before the two of them hitched up their knees, giving them some lift before they set off.
It was still slow going, but at least they were actually moving this time. Thorin muttered under his breath as he felt mud sliding onto his skin from his un-tucked shirt; he squirmed, but kept a firm hold on his nephew's legs.
Fili laughed out loud, both hands around his brother's face. He shot a look to his uncle. 'Kili would have loved this!' he shouted over the rain, before he looked down at Kili; he still hadn't opened his eyes.
Thorin nodded, smirking. He hoped he still would be able to enjoy it for many years to come. He felt something hard hit his stomach, but held it back.
Together they made their way down the mountain, amid the thick tide of mud that was making its gloopy journey down the side.
Thorin held Kili's legs tight, shivering- he hoped they wouldn't succumb to the cold, along with everything else that had happened to his family.
Soon enough, they finally slid their way to the foot of the mountain. Fili immediately sprang up, gently moving Kili's head and torso so he was more comfortable.
'I can take him from here…' he muttered to his uncle, giving Thorin a thankful smile as his uncle relinquished his hold on his nephew's legs.
Thorin helped him to get his brother back to his place atop Fili's back- he heard his nephew hiss with pain once more; he would make sure Fili was ok as well when they got to camp.
Suddenly, Fili stopped, eyes wide. 'Where's the burglar? Where's Bilbo?' he asked urgently, looking around them as if to spot him in the darkness.
Thorin supressed a snort; he settled for shrugging. 'Who knows? He bolted at the first sign of trouble- we're better off without him….' He growled, before he motioned for Fili to walk in front of him.
'We need to find him, Thorin; Gandalf will kill us if-'
'Gandalf?! Don't speak to me of the Wizard!' Thorin spat, eyes sparking with anger. 'Where was he when we needed him? Where?'
Fili sighed, nodding- this time he had to agree with his uncle; they could have done with some magical help back in Goblin-Town; Kili needn't have got so hurt if Gandalf was with them….
They slowly made their way into the forest copse, the tall, wide trees gave them adequate shade and shelter from the rain that was still lashing it's way in blankets over their heads.
Thick green hedges lined the chalky path they walked down- on one side was a hilly expanse of flooding fields, to the other was a clearing of trees; perfect to camp in and recuperate.
They kept an eye out for the other dwarves; Fili's back was now really starting to ache; he pushed his pain far from his mind- he knew, no matter how hurt he was, or how much pain he himself was in, Kili was in ten times worse pain.
The rain was numbing his fingers; he was glad Kili's face was against his neck- he could feel and hear his breath on his cheek as well as ensure he kept relatively warm against the harsh cold of the storm.
Thorin was just about to speak when they heard a voice carried in the wind. 'Thorin- Over here!' it was Balin, standing amid the other company, waving his hands at them.
'Thank Durin….' He breathed, putting a hand out to Fili to stop him; he nodded his head at the others- he saw his nephew's shoulders visibly slump with relief.
They made their way inside the copse; the rain lifted a little- the thick leaves of the high trees seemed to keep the wet out.
As they got nearer, they spotted a smaller figure between the group- Bilbo was back.
'At least we didn't lose him….' Fili muttered to himself; he heard Thorin growl beside him.
Fili grimaced as he felt Kili slip from his back; he heard his brother moaning in his ear, fingers slipping to his collar, nails digging into the flesh of his neck as he weakly fought to keep steady.
He quickly made his way to the group- Bofur dashed forwards before Thorin could do anything, putting his hands on the young dwarf's back to steady him.
'There you go laddie….let's get you down….' He muttered, as Thorin joined them- together the two older dwarves moved Kili's prone body from his big brother's back and gently put him to soft, warm and dry ground next to the fire.
'Get the sleeping mats out- he'll have to lay on his front whilst we look at his back.' Thorin ordered, looking around for their packs. The mat was laid down, and Kili was slowly rolled onto it.
Fili knelt next to his little brother; he moved wet hair from his eyes on the side of the face he could reach, numb fingers searching for a pulse once more.
'Don't worry, he's breathing.' Bofur smiled, his hat back on straight. Fili nodded in appreciation.
Beneath them, Kili's eyes started to flutter open; he groaned and tried to move; wide eyed, Fili yelped in surprise. 'Kili! You're awake!' he muttered, grinning despite himself.
He helped Kili to roll onto his back, and let him gently fall against his chest in a sitting position. He buried his head into his brother's chest, sobbing and whimpering in pain.
'Hurts….Fili….' he managed to get out. Fili swallowed emotion, and rubbed his brother's shoulder.
'I know Kili, I know…' he soothed, rubbing circles into his skin like he did when he had a nightmare when they were children.
'I want to go home; I don't want to be here….' He sobbed, sniffling into his brother's chest.
'You know we can't- we don't have one.' Fili reminded him, hugging his brother close- he looked at their uncle; Thorin's eyes were shining and glassy as he looked upon them.
Kili fell silent for a while; Fili was sure he was asleep, but then- 'I want mum…..' he cried suddenly; he lifted his head to look at his brother- Fili looked down into his wide, deep brown eyes, at the tears welled in the corners.
'She- she's…' he tried to find the words.
'He's hallucinating, the pain….' Balin whispered, putting a hand on Thorin's shoulder, for he had started to shake.
'Where's mum?' Kili asked, looking around in his brother's arms like a lost child.
Fili felt tears drip from his own eyes. 'She's dead Kili- remember?' he said, voice high and cracking.
Seconds passed, and Fili's heart broke as he looked upon changing emotion right before his eyes in his brother's face. Confusion turned to shock, shock turned to denial, and finally, shaking his head, Kili buried his head into Fili's neck, shaking.
'How did he forget?' Thorin muttered, a hand upon his nephew's side to comfort him.
'He hasn't, he just wanted comfort- he'll remember when he wakes up properly…' Balin reassured him, before he stood, groaning.
'Let's get some water on- we need to clean those wounds before infection sets in, yours as well, Fili.' He said, before walking to the fire.
'Just do enough for Kili; I'll sort myself out later…' Fili muttered, arms tight against his brother. He rocked him silent from side to side; chin resting on his head as Kili presumably slept against his chest.
He started to hum quietly, just something and nothing- anything to comfort his little brother.
'Don't ignore your wounds, boy.' Thorin warned, sidling closer.
'I'm not.' Fili muttered, before giving his brother a shaky smile. 'He'll be ok though, won't he?' he asked.
'If we get his wounds cleaned and dressed properly- he may need help from the wizard, if he ever turns up….'
Fili nodded. Maybe Gandalf had something that could speed up the process.
'Will you be ok looking after him? Should we take watches?' Thorin asked, looking down at his nephew with concerned eyes.
Fili shook his head. 'Nah, I'll watch over him tonight, until the water is ready for cleaning his wounds.' He looked across at the boiling water on the fire- it shouldn't be too long now, then he could get Kili sorted and changed into fresh warm clothes.
Thorin nodded, and stood up. 'I'll go wait for the Wizard, see what everyone is up to- I'll be back soon, ok?' he looked down at the two of them, eyes wide. He didn't really want to go, but he didn't want to sit around doing nothing at the same time.
Fili nodded, arms still tight around Kili, who had seemed to relax a little. As Thorin made to walk off, Fili called him back. 'Thorin, thank you.' He muttered. 'I was wrong back there, and on the mountain….'
Thorin cut off him with one hand. 'We'll talk about this another time, Kili doesn't need this, and neither do you- just try and regain some strength, and we'll get you both sorted soon.' He muttered, before flashing his nephew a smile.
Fili nodded slowly, before putting his chin back on his brother's head.
Thorin walked off and sat down next to Balin; he made sure he had Fili and Kili in his eyeline at all times- he wasn't going to be caught out again.
Fili relaxed back against the large tree, gently bringing Kili with him. He closed his eyes and listened to his brother's short, pained breaths- even though they sounded painful, it was the sweetest music he had ever heard.
Fixing his arms around his brother and rocking him once more, he resumed his humming, the sounds echoing through the silence of the company- now they were just waiting on the wizard now…
….he only hoped he wasn't far away.
To be continued….
More comfort on the way! More Bilbo as well, as he hasn't made much of an appearance yet!
Thank you for reading!
Please review!
Xxx