Don't look, don't look, don't look.
Brown eyes betrayed their master and flickered the slight Dwarf female being coached by Dwalin. She had her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and she was dressed in a form fitting shirt and breeches. The eyes flickered over the curves of her body (just checking for any sign of her injuries, that's all I'm doing) and she held her twin battleaxes with ease. She listened to Dwalin carefully, nodding every now and then, and a loose braid bounced up and down with her head. It was bloody distracting and needed to be pushed away from her smiling face. It was a nice smile, though, all soft pink lips, white teeth, and bright hazel eyes-
Stop thinking, don't look, stop thinking, don't look, stop thinking, don't look.
Kili stomped away and shook his head of those thoughts surrounding the girl he'd been fighting with for over twenty years. He was in his forties now, no longer a child, and would not moon over some girl like a love-struck stripling. If Fili ever found out, he'd never hear the end of it and there was nothing to hear of. He was just relieved that his verbal sparring partner hadn't perished a horrible death at the claws of some Wargs and he'd been forgiven for his slip up. The guilt that'd weighed heavy in his stomach was gone now, but had been replaced with something heavier and more sickening. He was sure he was ill. It kept him awake at night, made him toss and turn, all with stupid memories of stupid her dancing over his head, and he was going mad. He shook his head again and shuddered when he heard her laugh.
Stop thinking, stop listening, don't look, stop thinking, stop listening, don't look, stop thinking, stop listening, don't look.
For six months, Ovila had been driving Kili mad and he just wanted his stupid head to stop thinking. He tried to distract himself by setting up a target to practice his archery with and comforted himself with the fact that she was utterly awful at archery. If she hit the target, it was on the very edge and she'd given up with it. He grinned a little and then realised he was thinking about her again. He shook his head hastily and put an arrow to his bow quickly. A little practicing would distract him and keep his mind occupied and he wouldn't think about the annoying, blonde, reckless girl with the scorching temper. Especially because Fili liked the stupid girl, walking her home and all and laughing with her. Was he allowed to laugh with her? Was he allowed to walk her home?
Stop bloody thinking!
A low whistle made Kili jump and he swung around to see his brother striding towards him with a grin. "You are off your game today," Fili teased and Kili grunted in acknowledgement and turned back to the target. "Ovila, on the other hand, is doing very well."
"Good for her," Kili bit out through gritted teeth and raised his bow. "Haven't you got training to do?" he asked and pulled the string taut on the bow.
"Alright, alright, touchy," Fili laughed cheerfully enough and made his way to the equipment shed to get a training dummy.
Bloody blondes.
Slowly, the sounds of Fili throwing knives at the practice dummy and his own arrows hitting the target helped to distract Kili from the whirling thoughts in his head. The sounds were familiar as his mother's voice and were as soothing too. For as long as he could remember, he'd been fascinated with archery, a rather unusual weapon of choice for a Dwarf admittedly, and he'd loved watching the passing rangers practice. When he'd come of age, he'd begged and pleaded Thorin to let him learn and Thorin had agreed after a long, terrifying moment of silence. So, the feel of the smooth bow in his hands, the strong string against his fingers, the carefully crafted arrow held with careful precision, the sound of it whistling towards its target to land with a gentle thump, were as familiar and comforting as his own bed.
"Fili!"
Bloody blondes!
The bow jerked in Kili's hands and the arrow sailed over the target and landed in a heap of ruined equipment. "Good afternoon, Kili," Ovila added politely and Kili grunted at her. "Did you drop him on his head when he was a baby?" she whispered to Fili and Fili laughed.
"Not as far as I remember and I think Mother would've told me," Fili answered and Ovila shrugged. "Ready for practicing hand-to-hand combat?"
"If you are," Ovila replied with a quick smile and Kili wasn't listening, he wasn't looking, and he definitely wasn't thinking. "Mister Dwalin wants me to practice everyday," she stated with a hint of pride and Fili grinned at her. "I really want some of those swords," she sighed enviously when Fili drew his twin blades and he laughed.
"Ask Mister Dwalin," was all he said and leapt forward.
Don't look, don't listen, don't think.
The clang of metal meeting metal and the gasps, grunts, and oaths of those sparring set Kili even more on edge. Whenever Ovila let out a muffled yelp, he wanted to shove Fili away from her and stand between the two. He stopped himself every time and forced himself not to look over his shoulder, but the urge was there and he didn't like it. She was perfectly capable of looking after herself in a fight (he still had the scar on his arm where she'd bit him during their first meeting) and it wasn't even a real fight. The worst Fili would do would be to bruise her and he, Kili, had done much worse than that. She'd survived a lot worse than a few bruises (but she shouldn't have had to) and could use those axes with deadly precision, just like her fists. She fought dirty, he'd experienced that countless times, and she would be fine.
Don't look, don't listen, don't think.
A quick peek over his shoulder was all Kili gave himself and instantly regretted it. His heart beat faster, his mouth went dry, and his palms started to sweat as he watched his brother and Ovila spar. Blonde hair swirled and swirled until he could only tell whose was whose because Ovila's was paler than Fili's and the axes and the swords flashed in the sunlight. Their grins were near blinding as they ducked and dodged and lunged in some sort of twisted dance. It made a knot form in Kili's stomach and caused a bitter taste in his mouth that he didn't care for. He forced himself to look away and carried on with his mantra and his attempts to practice.
Don't look, don't listen, don't think.
"Ovila."
Ovila stubbornly ignored Calim's voice.
"Ovila."
Sleeping, she was sleeping.
"I need your help at the shop; Chalrim's mooning over some female ranger."
Female ranger?
"Get up, Ovila."
Nope, it was Sunday, her day off from training and she ached.
Quite abruptly, the icy, winter air slammed into Ovila's bare legs and her warm quilt was wrenched away from her. She shrieked in protest, grabbing uselessly for her quilt, and Calim grinned cheekily at her. He strode out of the room with the quilt pointedly wrapped around his shoulders and she muttered angrily under her breath. Usually, she would've taken her time getting dressed just to irritate him, but the cold air forced her to dress quickly in her warmest clothes. A dark look was sent at the hearth, where a fire had been glowing when she'd fallen asleep, but it'd sputtered out some time in the night and had left her room cold and unwelcoming.
Calim was waiting with a slice of cold toast and she took it with a muttered thanks. With the toast clamped between her teeth, she wrapped her cloak around her, tied a scarf around her neck, and wrenched on a pair of gloves. A glance out of the window told her that it was snowing and she shoved her feet into her thickest, warmest boots with a sigh. Before she could even say goodbye to her parents, Chalrim shoved her out of the house and she shot him a quick glare. She took a vicious bite of her toast to get her irritation across, but it only earned an amused smile and an eye roll.
The walk to the butcher's shouldn't have taken long, but childish urges seized the siblings and they found themselves enthralled in a snowball war. Snow was flung with deadly precision from both parties and Ovila squealed with protest and giggles when Calim shoved her into a snow pile. Her cloak was thick enough to protect her skin from the worst of the cold, but her hood fell back and her long, loose hair got littered with it. She shuddered at the ice that touched her cheeks, nose, and lips and leapt up to fling a handful of the snow at Calim, before haring down the street. Peals of laughter echoed through the early morning and she ducked beneath a lump of snow her brother tried to smear into her face. They swung around the corner to the butcher's, still flinging snow, and Calim almost smacked into the back of his sister when she came to a sudden stop.
Stood in front of the still closed butcher's (half an hour after opening time) was Thorin Oakenshield and his two nephews. Fili was grinning with amusement at the snow drenched pair and Kili cracked a small grin himself. Thorin, however, just raised his eyebrows and Calim and Ovila gathered what little dignity they had. They shook the snow from their hair, from their cloaks, but some stubbornly clung and they couldn't dispel their childish smiles. They apologised profusely and opened the doors to let the trio in.
"I thought you had the day off," Fili said to Ovila, following her inside, and she sighed.
"Chalrim's got a fancy for a female ranger or something, so I got dragged in because he's an irresponsible little git," she muttered and Calim laughed.
"Fancy? He's declared to follow her to the ends of earth," Calim stated and watched his sister's eyebrows fly up with surprise. "I know, never said that before."
"I'll have to meet this woman," was all Ovila said and began to light the fire.
"Sorry again about the late opening, Mister Thorin," Calim said for the umpteenth time. "But, I could've sworn Fili picked up the order yesterday."
"He did," Thorin stated and shot Kili a dark look. "Kili sent it across the kitchen as though the pheasant were still alive and in flight."
"How?" Ovila blurted out and Kili glared at her weakly.
"He was making some new arrows and hit the platter Mother had put it on," Fili supplied cheerfully and Ovila snorted slightly.
"We haven't got anymore pheasant until Wednesday," Calim said apologetically and Thorin sent the red eared Kili another glare. "I have got quail, chicken, turkey, goose, or duck," Calim offered quickly and Thorin was silent for a long, tense moment.
"Goose, thank you," he answered with a slight incline of his head and Calim hastily escaped into the back of the shop.
With Calim gone, Thorin listened to the conversation Ovila and Fili were having about training the next day. They'd been hand-to-hand combat partners for near ten years, ever since Ovila had started her training, and Kili was suspiciously silent. Of course, Thorin knew the rumours of Ovila's involvement with his nephews, but put no faith in any of them.
Thorin very much doubted that she and Kili were secret lovers that were bitter to one another in public because he, Thorin, did not approve of the relationship and she resented Kili for the fact. He also very much doubted that she and Fili were to suddenly announce their courtship and produce several, beautiful, blonde babes. He had questioned Fili once about the girl when he'd spotted his nephew walking her home, the pair arm in arm, and Fili promised they were no more than friends. That much was obvious as she teased Fili as she did her brothers, but her interaction with Kili was different.
It was Kili that acted strangely and was rather distant from the girl he'd so often got into scraps with as a child. He watched in almost brooding silence as Ovila and Fili joked about the new recruits and laughed freely together. There was a slight tension in his shoulders and a reluctant sort of acceptance in his eyes. It would've been amusing to watch if he didn't look so like a beaten puppy and Thorin sighed slightly. He remembered courting without any fondness and felt a pang of sympathy for his youngest nephew.
Calim emerging from the back of the butcher's distracted Thorin from his musings and he nodded politely to the boy that'd stepped easily into Baltil's shoes after the attack. Thorin dropped a few silvers onto the counter and ignored Calim's word of protest as Fili took the goose with a grin and Thorin left. Kili stood dumbly in front of Ovila for a moment and Fili kicked him in the back of the leg on his way past the darker haired brother.
"You are so dense," Fili sighed and Kili glared after him. "See you tomorrow, Ovila!"
"Bye," Kili added and Ovila waved as the pair left and she saw Thorin shaking his head slightly.
"You're dense too, you know," Calim said and she frowned at him. "Just get cleaning and earn your pay, little sister," he laughed and flung a cloth at her. "You'll understand one day…I hope."
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