Their second day on open ground fared much better. Kili took the time to explain to Rhavaniel that the wildlife here was smaller, slower, and far less poisonous than their Mirkwood counterparts. They mended their misunderstandings and returned to a comfortable mutual trust.
The lands they now crossed had once been fertile farmland, and wild versions of former crops could still be found. Kili showed Rhavaniel how to identify bilberry bushes and petty-dwarf roots. Dwarves had taken these important plants with them into exile and cultivated them on Blue Mountain, but Rhavaniel had never seen them before. They ate the berries and filled sacks with roots to cook on the evening fire.
"We might even find a well, since there were farms through here." Kili said.
"What should we look for?" Rhavaniel asked.
"Foundation stones, or circles of stones to keep children and animals from falling into the well. The grass has become so tall here, it will be difficult to tell."
"I would have liked to have seen this when it was built up with Dwarf homes." Rhavaniel mused.
"Dwarrows didn't live here," Kili corrected her, "Men did. This was out land, but we preferred to live underground, in the Mountain. Men lived above ground, so they tended the farms and we traded with them. It worked out well for a long time."
"Is that how things are with your neighbors in Blue Mountain?"
"Not so much." and Kili left it at that. "I think we might get a storm." and he pointed to ominous clouds rolling down from the North. "We should try to make it to those trees and take shelter."
They were both young and fit, and easily ran for several hours until they were able to reach the only decent patch of trees. It was late afternoon, and the wind had begun to howl.
They set up the bedroll, just a few feet off the ground, beneath the trees, and secured their packs. Winter was coming, and it would be cold that night but it was not safe to start a fire.
"We should try to collect the rain." Rhavaniel suggested.
"There won't be any." Kili replied. "It is a windstorm. There will be dry lightning. We will be safe under the trees, though."
"We are low on water. Perhaps I should run back to the river. I can run the rest of the day and all through the night, and I will be back to you by morning. I am not afraid." Rhavaniel eagerly offered.
"No." Kili said. "I have been assuring you that open ground is safe, and it mostly is. But in a lightning storm, it is the worst place to be. Lightning seeks metal - even the iron in Dwarf blood is enough to call it down."
"What if I left my weapons? I am not Dwarf - perhaps lightning will not seek me."
"That is just..." Kili was about to say reckless and completely foolhardy, but stopped. He realized how much that would sound like Fili's words. Fili had been the voice of reason, keeping Kili in line when he wanted to prove himself with some act of daring. Kili had been trying not to think of where Fili was, and how much he missed his older brother and feared for his safety. Rhavaniel looked at Kili as if he knew what he was doing - the way Kili had always looked at Fili. Now Kili wondered if Fili, a mere five years older, had been guessing as much as Kili was now.
Kili thought of what Fili would say. "We stay together. We're stronger together, and we will find water in the morning."
They drank sparingly, and ate the last of the apples they brought with them. Rhavaniel tenderly collected the cores and buried them on the southern side of the sheltering stand of trees. "So there might be apple trees, the next time Dwarves live in Erebor." she explained to Kili. He was touched by the gesture.
The wind began to howl in earnest, and they retreated to the bedroll, pulling the covers over their heads.
Rhavaniel asked, "How did you become an archer? We Elflings practically learn to walk by pulling ourselves up on our first toy bow, while it seems rare to find a Dwarf bowman."
"Dwarflings are usually short and surefooted." Kili explained, "They can swing anything without toppling over. I was all arms and legs. My father told me to stop thinking of that as a weakness, and make it a strength. He came back from a neighboring village with a small bow soon after, and taught me how to use it. I was better than any child and many grown Dwarves in no time, thanks to his patience. Not that I gave up on learning the sword. It just took me longer to learn. But I'm good now, even Dwalin says so, and he is not easy to please."
"Who taught you sword fighting?"
"Lots of different Dwarves, including Dwalin, but I would have to say that Fili is my favorite teacher. Did you know that Fili is already decreed a Master of two-sword fighting? He stopped taking lessons three years ago, and started giving them to the younger Dwarves. It is unheard of for someone so young to teach."
"As much as I love the forge, you would think I would be a master at swordplay, but I am not." she confessed, "That requires a sparring partner, and boys my age consider me much too small to spar with."
"Could you not take lessons?"
Rhavaniel sighed, "Sword lessons are a privilege, and I must confess that I have lost that privilege more times than I can count."
"Then we will spar tomorrow." Kili assured her, "You will need to learn how to wield that sword properly, and soon."
He gestured to the Elf Guard sword, which they kept between them so that it might warn them of approaching Orcs.
"You have no clue what makes it glow?" Kili asked.
"Not for another fifty years." Rhavaniel pouted. "I have to prove myself worthy to be taught. It is not the steel, but the maker's magic. Magic must wait, I am told, until wisdom can take root and the light of a soul is certain to be pure."
"It seems like a long time to wait, but the caution does make sense. Magic is not a toy. Dwarves always say 'the heart is not a toy' to remind each other that we are not supposed to fall in love and marry before we are one hundred."
"You equate love with magic. I find that very poetic - not one bit practical." Rhavaniel teased him, "I don't know nearly enough about love or magic yet to challenge your philosophy."
"Keep it that way." Kili teased back. "You are too young to be casting spells or casting hearts."