When Thorin finally came home, Kíli was waiting in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a mug of ale in his hands. He had calmed down considerably in the hours following the harrowing revelation of where Fíli was, especially after the thunderstorm finally passed and left a quiet stillness in its wake. But now that he had had time to sit and think, he had questions that needed answering.

"How is Fíli?" Kíli said softly as Thorin nodded in silent greeting.

Thorin sighed. "The same," he said. "He doesn't say much. He just sits and glares."

Kíli nodded with an almost imperceptible shake of his head. This was so new and yet so familiar at the same time—and either way, he hated it. He just wanted Fíli back. He felt lost and alone without him.

"Who's with him now?" he said.

"Balin," Thorin said. "Only for a couple hours, though—then I don't know who to send." He wiped his hand down his face and rubbed his beard wearily. "Not everyone can take the time to watch over him."

Suddenly a memory came back to Kíli—he had visited Bofur, to ask him questions about… about something. He didn't know what. But he knew that Bofur knew.

"You could send Bofur or Bombur," he said, and Thorin's eyes snapped up, flashing.

"I'm not bringing more people into this," he said.

Kíli ducked his head. "They already know," he said sheepishly. "They—they saw you carry him to the jail."

Thorin's eyes widened. "Did they—"

"No, they didn't tell anyone," Kíli said. "They promised."

Thorin's shoulders relaxed, and he nodded. "I'll have to go speak to them," he said. "I shouldn't have doubted them. They have always been loyal."

"Can I come?" said Kíli. He could remember bits and pieces of his conversation with Bofur, but large parts of it were lost to him; maybe if he spoke to his old friend, the rest would come back.

Thorin studied Kíli sharply, considering. "I suppose so," he said. "Are you sure you're up for it?"

Kíli sat up straight and squared his shoulders. "I'm tired of being afraid," he said. The strength of his own voice surprised him. "Whatever happened, I want to know. I'm not going to let myself be afraid anymore."

A fond smile came over Thorin's face then, and he nodded. Without another word, he made off for his room, patting Kíli's shoulder as he walked by. Kíli turned his head and smiled at the kind gesture, internally celebrating his small victory. He drank the last of his ale and stood, ambling over to the barrel in the corner for some more.

"That's one way to relax," said Dís. Kíli turned his head and spotted her coming up the hallway, and he grinned.

"It's better shared," he said. "Drinking alone—well, it's a bit sad, isn't it?"

"Well, then, get your mother some," said Dís, chuckling. Kíli obliged, and the two sat down at the table with their drinks. Moments of peaceful silence passed, and then Dís spoke.

"How are you holding up?" she said.

"Better with a mug of ale in my hand," Kíli joked. He took another swig.

"I'm being serious, Kíli," said Dís. "You've been through quite a lot. I want to make sure you're all right. Truly all right."

"Of course I'm not all right," Kíli snapped. Then he sighed and set down his ale. "Sorry, Mum. I mean—this isn't a normal situation. I don't know how to react." He grimaced. "It seems like my body has been deciding for me."

"You couldn't help that," said Dís kindly. "At least you're getting better."

"But Fíli isn't," Kíli said. "You and Uncle said that the same thing that happened to me happened to Fíli—but I can't even remember what that is. What's different between us? Why isn't Fíli getting better, Mum?"

Dís twisted her lips and thought for a moment. "I don't know if I should tell you," she said. "The thing is, Kíli, that before it happened to you—you probably don't remember this—but you tried to get Fíli to remember what happened to him. Dwalin told me it didn't end well. Fíli was so distraught that he had to fetch Óin to drug him in order to calm him down."

"Please tell me, Mum," Kíli pleaded.

"I really don't think it's a good idea," Dís said. "We don't know what will happen, Kíli."

"How am I supposed to fix it if I don't know what happened in the first place?" Kíli shot out. "I need to know."

"Who says that you have to be the one to fix it?" said Thorin from the hallway. He got himself a mug of ale and sat down with his sister and nephew. "I've told you many times—I will take care of this. I will fix this."

"Fat lot of good you've been so far," Kíli snapped.

"Respect, Kíli!" said Dís, shocked.

"You've done nothing productive, either," Thorin shot back. "The only thing you have managed to do is cause further damage to yourself and your brother. I think it's about time you left this task in someone else's hands."

"I don't even know what I've done!" said Kíli. "No one will tell me what's happened! How am I supposed to know?"

Thorin and Dís exchanged glances, and Kíli watched as a conversation passed between their eyes. Then they turned back to Kíli, and Thorin spoke.

"I can tell you," he said, "but you have to promise me one thing."

Kíli nodded eagerly.

"If any of this becomes too much for you, you have to tell us to stop," Thorin said. "I don't want to have to call for Óin, do you understand?"

Again Kíli nodded, and so Thorin started in on the story, beginning with Kíli's memory of Fíli stomping out the door after their fight. There were bits that Kíli remembered, and others that still eluded him; it was like being reminded of a half-forgotten dream—or in this case, a nightmare. When Thorin mentioned Kíli bringing Fíli back on his pony, Kíli interrupted.

"He was unconscious?" he said.

Thorin nodded. "We couldn't wake him for anything. Do you remember that?"

Kíli compared this news with the memories he had, and a small piece of the story came together. He nodded slowly.

"But why was he unconscious?" he said.

"I don't know," said Thorin. "You're the one who found him, Kíli."

"Was he injured?"

"No, he wasn't. Let me finish, Kíli."

"But I remember the next part," Kíli said. "He was screaming, and then he woke up and he attacked me—and all of that. I remember going to see him in jail, but then after that… nothing." He shrugged.

"That's when you tried to get answers out of Fíli," said Dís. "Do you remember that? We weren't there."

Kíli thought, but nothing came to him. He shook his head.

"I don't know where you went after that," Dís continued.

"I went to see Bofur," Kíli said, surprising himself. "I went to ask him about… oh Mahal." The fey. Fíli had been attacked by a fey creature. His brother's words at the jail finally came back to him: It was darkness and despair and anger and laughter… Hollow eyes and sharp teeth and dead flesh. It wouldn't let me go—it laughed and laughed and I screamed and begged but it wouldn't stop, it wouldn't stop, it wouldn't stop! An image of the creature flashed through his mind, and his heart instantly seized up with horror and terror. He grabbed fistfuls of his hair and bowed his head, breathing hard.

"Kíli!" said Dís from somewhere far away. Kíli gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, fighting with all his might against the memory and willing it away. He could feel its cold claws on his face, and he pulled on his hair and screamed through his teeth. Go away go away please go away leave me alone.

"Don't touch his face!" Dís shouted, and Kíli's eyes snapped open to find Thorin right beside him, his hands quickly dropping to his sides.

"Kíli, listen to me," he said. "You're safe. Remember? It can't get you here. You're all right."

A sort of strangled animal sound came from Kíli's throat. He felt lightheaded and sick, but he kept his eyes focused on his uncle. Slowly, Thorin lifted his hands, watching for Kíli's reaction. When Kíli simply kept staring, he reached up and took his nephew's hands, untangling them from his hair and pulling them down.

"All right?" he said.

Kíli shook his head, shaking. "I-I remember it," he said. "The creature. It grabbed me—it grabbed my face, and it was so—so—" Another strangled sound left him, and he clenched his hands into fists and fought the urge to run and hide.

"You're doing well," Thorin said. "Much better than I thought. You'll be all right, Kíli. Relax. Take in a deep breath."

Kíli breathed in and let it out shakily.

"Good. Again."

Again Kíli did as he was told. A familiar twinge came on his left side, and he did his best not to wince; then a sick feeling arose in him as another memory struck him—one of this twinge, when he couldn't remember how it had come about, and he had told his mother about it. He looked to her uneasily, and then glanced away when he saw the curious look on her face. He took another deep breath and avoided her eye.

"Better?" said Thorin.

Kíli nodded, keeping his eyes fixed anywhere but his uncle and his mother. He still felt absolutely awful, but his lung had distracted him enough where he no longer felt like he was falling apart at the seams. He swallowed and closed his eyes, and Thorin ruffled his hair. When he opened them again, Thorin was back in his seat, and both he and Dís were watching him.

"Fíli was attacked by the same creature that attacked me," he said with a shaky voice. "It said it had attacked a 'yellow one'. I remember it now."

"You are sure about this?" said Dís.

Kíli nodded resolutely. "But no one was there to save him," he said. The thought made him feel sick again. "Gimli rescued me, didn't he?"

"He said that he attacked the creature and pulled you out of the cave," said Thorin.

"But not Fíli," Kíli said, horror rising in him at the thought. "He—he would have been so alone, and that thing had him at its mercy until he couldn't take it anymore—oh, Fee." He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. No wonder Fíli was so far gone. Kíli had only been in its clutches for a few moments, and he was still recovering, days later. Who even knew how long Fíli had borne the same thing? Minutes? Hours? He moaned and dropped his head into his hands.

"We have to go back," he said.

"No," Thorin barked, and Kíli jumped. "Absolutely not. You are never going back there."

"But Fíli—"

"We will find some other way, Kíli," said Thorin. "This creature is far too dangerous. There must be another way to solve this."

"I looked in my books that Mr. Balin gave me and I asked Bofur and Bombur—there's nothing about this anywhere," Kíli said. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Maybe he will get better of his own accord," said Thorin.

"That could take weeks, months, years, even, Uncle," said Kíli. "I'm not waiting that long to have my brother back. Not if we don't know if it will even work that way. There has to be something we can do."

"We'll keep looking, Kíli," Thorin said. "I promise you."

"And never give up?" said Kíli.

Thorin smiled. "You should know by now, Kíli," he said, "that your stubborn old uncle never gives up on anything."

Kíli and Thorin were welcomed into Bofur and Bombur's home with a warm smile and a cheerful greeting, as was customary of their old friends. Bofur bowed his head low to Thorin, and Bombur hurried to put together some food and boil water for coffee.

"To what do I owe this honor, Thorin?" said Bofur, gesturing to a chair at his table. Thorin and Kíli sat, and Kíli folded his arms on the table and dropped his chin on top. Bofur gave him a curious look before turning his attention back to his king.

"Secret business," said Thorin, graciously accepting a plate of biscuits that Bombur pushed in front of him. "Kíli tells me that you know about Fíli."

Bofur's cheerful grin faded, and he nodded gravely. "How is he?" he said.

"No better," said Thorin. "And Kíli here was almost subject to the same fate."

"Blimey, lad, I told you not to go alone!" Bofur said, turning to Kíli.

"I didn't!" said Kíli defensively. "I took Gimli! I just… left him behind."

"You knew about this plan of his?" said Thorin, turning a sharp eye onto Bofur. The old miner quailed under Thorin's gaze, glancing between the king and his nephew.

"I—we talked, Kíli and I," Bofur said. "He wanted to know about fey creatures—he thought that one had gotten to his brother, and I told him that maybe it would fix him up if asked. But I told him not to go alone if he did, Thorin, I swear."

"It's not his fault, Uncle," Kíli cut in. "He was worried for me, and I didn't do what I promised to do. Don't blame Bofur."

"That's very humble of you, Kíli," Thorin muttered sarcastically, but his sharp eye softened, and Bofur relaxed.

"Is there anything else that you can tell us?" said Thorin. "I never put much stock in such creatures—I always accepted their existence, but I never imagined that they would interfere with my own life."

"Kíli, did you see it?" said Bofur.

A surge of fear went through Kíli at the thought, and Thorin rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Kíli took a deep breath and forced back the rising feeling.

"I did," he said simply. He wanted to say more, but he was afraid that his mind would betray him.

"I'm sorry, lad," said Bofur gently. "I didn't think—well, I didn't think at all, it seems. I shouldn't have said those things to you."

Kíli tucked his chin into his chest and rested his forehead on his arms, making a noncommittal noise of acknowledgement. His head was buzzing as he tried to force the memories and the fear away, but he knew it was pointless to try not to think about something. Thorin's hand did not leave his shoulder.

"Are you going to be all right?" Thorin said in a low voice.

"Give me a minute," Kíli said through gritted teeth. His voice came out strained, and Thorin's hand tightened.

"The reason I'm here is to ask for your help, Bofur," said Thorin. "As you are aware, we are keeping Fíli safe in the jail for the time being, but I am running out of people to keep watch over him. If you aren't too busy, I would ask if you would be willing to take a shift when asked. You and Bombur."

"Of course, Thorin," said Bofur seriously. "When do you need me?"

"Balin is with him now, but he can only stay so long," said Thorin. "If you would—in an hour or two, relieve him?"

Bofur nodded. "For how long?" he said.

"How long can you stay?"

"A few hours tonight," Bofur replied. "And a few hours tomorrow."

"I'll let you know when you're needed," Thorin said gravely. "Thank you." He accepted the coffee that Bombur set before him and looked up to the large dwarf. "And you, Bombur?"

"Aye," said Bombur, setting another cup before Kíli with a kindly smile. "I'll stay tomorrow for a while."

Thorin nodded gratefully to the both of them as Bombur set some biscuits before him as well.

"Kíli, have something to eat," Bombur said.

Kíli lifted his head and took the coffee with both hands, drawing it closer to himself. He breathed in the aroma and focused on its warmth, pushing away the cold thoughts that made his hands shake and his heart pound. He looked up at his friend with a halfhearted smile.

"Thank you," he said.

Bombur pushed the biscuits towards him. "Eat," he prompted, and Kíli took one. Finally Thorin's hand left his shoulder, and he focused on his food and his drink, ignoring the worried faces surrounding him.

He could beat this fear. He would beat this fear—and he would save his brother. If he could fix himself, he could fix Fíli, and no one was going to stop him.