nadad = brother
nana = sister
nan'ith = little sister
+l+
"Kee! Give it back!" A shout jolts Emery out of a sound sleep, and she bangs her head on the underside of the low table. Thankfully, she didn't hit it too hard, and it doesn't bother her much. However, it does get attention for two reasons: a) the dwarflings remember she's there and excitedly peek under the table, and b) being now fully conscious, she becomes aware of a familiar - and urgent - sensation. Uh oh. She tries to figure out how to tell the children that she needs to go outside before she ruin's the rug. Think, think, think, think...think...think...oh! Right! How could she have forgotten? Before the foster system, when she still lived with her family, their dog Chocolate would lightly scratch at the door when she had to relive herself.
Plan in mind, Emery carefully crawls out from under the table and limps toward the door.
"What's wrong, Lassie?" Fili asks. She lightly paws at the door in response. When he and Kili don't seem to get the message, she paws the door again and adds a whimper.
"Is she okay, Fee?" Kili asks his brother. Fili just shrugs his shoulders. It's right then that Thorin comes down the stairs and asks what's going on. Kili runs up to him and grabs his pant leg as he steps onto the floor.
"Uncle! Is she okay?" he asks while pointing at Emery. Seeing that neither of the boys are taking the hint, she paws the door again and whimpers. Seeing the blank expression, she huffs and lifts one leg to imitate a male dog relieving himself. Thorin's brow furrows for a moment before realization crosses his features. His mouth twists into an amused smile.
"She's fine, don't worry," he tells the boys, "she simply hears nature's call." It takes a moment, but the dwarflings eventually catch on. Their eyes widen and their mouths drop to form little oh's. Fili moves first, going to open the door. Emery manages to move out of the way before the door can accidentally hit her, and she speed-limps outside. She sees the widely populated street and her canine instincts can't override her instinct for privacy. She heads to the side of the building and turns the corner. Deciding it's as secluded as it's gonna get, she's about to squat, but then she hears two pairs of small feet. She turns and sees the dwarflings following her. Oh, for heaven's sake! Seriously? Do you mind? She huffs in annoyance and glares at them. It takes a few minutes of charades and glaring for them to get the message and go back to the front of the building.
After finishing her business, she limps back to the front and follows the boys inside. The unmistakable smell of sausage in a pan wafts up her nose and her stomach softly growls, which sparks a confusing train of thought. Dogs only eat once a day, and wolves usually eat even more sparsely. She had a big meal just last night. She shouldn't be hungry. Maybe it's just the delicious smell of the cooking meat? No. Even that wouldn't be enough to make her stomach growl. She is very big for a puppy of her apparent age...maybe that has something to do with it. Either way, she's hungry, and the sausage smells heavenly. The boys return to their chase and she follows her nose to the kitchen, where Dis and Thorin are cooking and talking.
"...don't know. He's still so young, Thorin-"
"He'll be twenty-five in three short years, and Kili is only five years behind him. Nan'ith-"
"I know, I know. It's just that...well, Flynn was supposed to teach them." Both adults become quiet. Thorin removes the finished sausage from the pan as Dis leans on the counter for support. "When Fili was born," Dis continues in a soft, unsteady voice, "he spoke of little but the times we would share with him. More than anything, he spoke of teaching Fili his way around the forges. Then we learned Kili was on the way and he would talk of having two wee ones sitting on his shoulders as he showed them silverwork. Her voice becomes a whisper toward the end, and her shoulders tremble. Thorin's face softens and he walks towards his younger sister. He puts his hands on her shoulders and gently turns her around to face him. Dis's eyes are filled with tears, and one is already running down her left cheek. Her next words are spoken with sobs. "Oh, I'm sorry nadad. Y-you'd think th-that it would get easier af-after sixteen years." Thorin says nothing, but pulls his sister into his arms, and she folds herself into his chest and sobs quietly into his shirt.
Not quite knowing whether it's her human or canine instincts driving her or both, Emery quietly limps into the kitchen and sits beside Dis's feet, leaning on her leg in a comforting gesture. Flynn must've been Fili and Kili's father. If what she knows about Dwarves and how strongly they're bonded to their mates is correct...it makes sense that Dis is still mourning her husband.
+l+
After a while, Dis pulls herself together, pets Emery on the head, and she and Thorin continue discussing whether he should begin teaching Fili to work in a forge. Apparently, the reason the silver beads in Fili and Kili's hair are plain is that Dwarves are expected to create their own family beads, and the dwarflings simply aren't yet old enough for that. By a dwarfling's fortieth birthday, he's expected to have learned enough blacksmithing to imprint his own design on his family bead. Fili, being just 18 years away from that day, doesn't have much time to gain enough skill to do a good job (at least by dwarven standards). The result of the discussion is the decision that both of Dis's sons will begin learning from Thorin at the beginning of next week.