Autor Tópico: [Fanfic 4, cap. 13] Loyalty, Honor etc - Uphill  (Lida 5233 vezes)

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Offline Luinwen

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[Fanfic 4, cap. 13] Loyalty, Honor etc - Uphill
« em: Novembro 07, 2013, 06:09:02 am »
They rest of the day wore with no news; those of the Company that noticed the strange ongoings among grumpy uncle and his nephews were relieved to see Kíli smile again. He and Ellen just rode side by side, talking small, but it was obvious that the strain that was there for some days already was gone. Even Thorin seemed more lighthearted, as if making up his mind about this issue freed him to go on with his own thoughts.
Several days later Lily and Iris were sharing one of the night watches. At first Thorin thought that the women should not, but then it came to his mind that if they were to be treated as equals by his men in warfare, then it should be so in everything else. The only exception he made was that they should not watch alone until he was surer about them.
They tried to be the quieter possible, so as not disturb the Company’s sleep, but Iris could not quite hold her curiosity on what Lily was doing next to the fire with the scabbard of the new sword Thorin gave her before they left Imladris. She came closer and whispered.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m pyrographing.”
“How? You don’t have a pyrograph here!” Said Iris, stating the obvious.
“But I have fire, and my Swiss Army switchblade. I’m heating the screwdriver and using it to mark the leather.”
“What is this design? I figure out I have already seen it somewhere.”
“It is a surprise. Now stay quiet, we should not disturb the others.”
It snapped to the hobbit-lass where she had seen that design.
“You should kiss him.”
“What?”
“You should kiss him. It is obvious you are in love, why else would you get into the trouble of pyroghaphing his personal knot into your scabbard?”
“Iris, I cannot simply kiss him, what would he think of my behavior?”
“And when in life did you care about misbehaving?”
Lily sighed, and Iris went on.
“Hear me, these guys cannot see the obvious even if you shake it in front of their eyes, you must be subtle as an oliphaunt in a crystal store to make them understand what you feel, ok?” She looked around to make sure she didn’t wake up anyone. “Kiss him, stupid!”
“Oh, shut up, Iris, why don’t you go and kiss Bilbo?”
“Why do you think I haven’t already?”

ooo000ooo

Next day it begun to rain, much to the Company’s disgust, as they were approaching the mountains and climbing that step slopes with wet ground didn’t sound at all a smooth ride. Thorin called for an early halt, deeming it better for them to start the mountain paths early in the morning rightful rested. There was no means for a fire to get started, and they huddled up together under the trees in small groups, for warmth and company. Thorin managed to sit beside Lily with the excuse of having a better view of the camp. They exchanged some small conversation, then he noticed Lily’s things beside them. His eyes grew wide.
“What have you done to your scabbard?”
“I...” She stammered, fearing of having done something improper. “I just made some decoration on it, I thought it would do no harm.”
He took it in his hands looking at the careful made fire markings on the leather. He remembered the day he made that sword, back at Imladris. He should have perceived something was going on along Kíli and Ellen right then.

ooo000ooo

He asked permission to use Elrond’s house forge and went for it, the idea of the sword already in his mind. Lily was doing well with her bow, but she should have her own sword for an emergency, if she ran out of arrows. There was no point in him training her if she would have no sword to use. He closed the first door before opening the second one asking himself who could probably be there, as he was hearing the sound of talking and laughter. He opened the second door.
“What are you doing here?” Uncle and nephew spoke at the same time. Now Ellen was sure it was a family use, no doubt. Kíli took an arrow from the pile to show what he meant.
“I am working, Uncle.”
“And so will I.”
Thorin made sure the fire was well tended and put on a leather apron.

ooo000ooo

“Lily, I must... explain to you something about... dwarven uses... the meaning of some symbols, and how they are used.”
“I am sure I did something wrong now! I offended you!”
“No, not really! I... I liked what you did. Very much, indeed. But I... I must be sure you understand its meaning and if you mean what it means, do you understand?” It was confusing, but she nodded nonetheless. At least she would know what she had done wrong this time. “If after I explain it you find out that you don’t want my knot on your scabbard, you are free to remove it, do you understand?”
“Do you want me to remove it?”
“No!” He answered hastily. The he took in a deep breath while he thought how to explain. “These knots are very personal, I believe you noticed.” She nodded slightly. “Each one of us has his own. They are used as... a family mark, so to say.”
“But Fíli and Kíli have different knots, and they are brothers, and they are different from yours, too.”
“Yes. This is because it is the mark of who is, or will be, a... family head. When Kíli and you aunt get... betrothed, she will use his personal knot.” The example was useful for not to be completely direct. “When she uses his knot it will mean that what belongs to her belongs to him too; that they belong one to the other.”
Her heart beat fast.
“Then, when I put your knot on my scabbard...”
“You meant that these belongings of yours belong to me too, to say the least.”
She shivered for more than cold. Did she hear him right? Did she really understand what he said? Iris’ voice came to her mind. “Kiss him, stupid!”
“And you don’t want me to remove your knot from my scabbard?”
He noticed her shivering and thought she really looked like a delicate white lily flower blown by the wind. Carefully, as if she would break if it were otherwise, he put his arm around her and pulled her a little closer.
“No.” He gazed into her deep sea blue eyes. “And you, do you want to remove my knot from your scabbard?”
Iris’s voice shouted inside Lily’s head. “Kiss him, stupid!”
“No.”

ooo000ooo

The hard decision of the next day was to leave the ponies behind. Some scouting made clear the path was too step and narrow for any four-legged being that not a goat to climb it, so the only way was to backpack their things and let the herd go. Gandalf was nowhere to be seen, although he said he should catch up with them before they begun the uphill stride.
Albeit having subsided during the first days of the climb, the rain came back late in a dark afternoon, making the whole company feel miserable. Worse than a thunderstorm were two of them banging together in the heights, the snow white ridge of the mountains hidden by clouds, justifying its name, and the only light to be seen was that of the lightning. A bolder crashed down close to where they were, making them stick themselves to the cliff, shaking from cold and fear. One more lightning showed the noise was more than thunder: down in the valley they could see the frightening form of a stone giant, throwing a boulder to another one, huger than the first.
“The legends are coming alive!” Shouted a frightened Bofur. Iris shouted back to him.
“What’s the matter? In my world, you are legend!”
Just then another bang reverberated, a boulder thrown higher than the giants’ battlefield hit just above them, sending down a drizzle of stones.
“Run!” Thorin’s powerful voice commanded from the front of the line. “Keep close to the wall, and run!”
Easier said than done, but they struggled on the best they could on the slippery stone path when the mountain under them begun to move. They could hardly believe, but they were on the knees of a stone giant. As they ran he moved, making them lose their balance; the giant stepped out of his resting place, carrying the last ones away from the cliff; Ellen, who was near the end of the line, managed to push Iris to the path but she herself, along with Kíli, Bombur and Bofur, went off on the creatures’ knee, much to the others dismay. Kíli heard Fíli shout out his name, but all he could do was to look back at him in terror, as were the others beside him, until the giant’s step made them lose sight of them.
A loud crash from stone against stone and they were able to jump back onto the path, on a small ledge Thorin and the others were quick to reach.
“Where is Iris?” Ellen shouted, being not able to see the tiny hobbit-lass.
“I’m here!” She cried from the back, dragging herself out of the edge. “Help Bilbo!”
Bilbo, indeed, was hanging a foot bellow from where Iris was before, looking up with desperate wide eyes, trying to hold foot but finding nothing that would not slip under his hairy feet. Some of the boys tried to reach his hand, but it was too far bellow; then Thorin himself found a place where to hold on and jumped down the path to push Bilbo up; Several hands were ready to pull the hobbit up as soon as his hands were reachable, but Dwalin had to lend his hand to Thorin for him to manage to clamber up again.
“We almost lost our burglar!” Stated Bofur, relieved to see his friend safe.
“What difference would it do? He’s been lost since he left the Shire.”
Thorin’s voice was bitter, he was himself past weariness and in no mood for any cheers around him. When he turned around to hit the path again, Iris was right in front of him, her sky blue eyes lightning anger at him.
“How can you be so harsh? Bilbo saved my life!”
He just looked down at her, shook his head and led them to get away from the giant’s wrestle. Too much danger to face yet to waste time worrying about hurt feelings, anyway.

ooo000ooo

A couple of hours later they found what seemed a small cave where they could hide for the night. There was no means to light a fire to dry their drenched clothes and moods, but it was enough for them to rest. They shared some way-bread and the last of Iris’ tuna cans.
“Now I’ll have no more tuna to bet with you!” She said sadly to Fíli, who was at her side.
“And I will never more have a chance of having a tuna can all of my own!” He mockingly complained.
None of the Company was really in mood for much talk. Some of them managed to light their smoking pipes, as an exhausted reward for the miserable day. Ellen tried to disguise her disgust for the smoke going to sit down at the cave mouth, looking outwards, but Kíli followed her with his pipe in hand, embracing her with the other.
“Anything I can do to make you more comfortable, my fancy?”
She laughed to herself quietly.
“Not at all. I... I’m just trying not to be an anti-smoking squad, all right? The cave is small, here the air is fresher.”
He looked up at her, frowning his eyebrows and putting his pipe as far from her as he could.
“I didn’t know it bothered you. Sorry. If you want, I...”
“No, shut up, silly! By the smell of it I know that what is used to smoke here is not at all what is used at my former world; and if it would do any harm I’m sure Gandalf would not smoke it. It is just that I quit smoking several years ago and can’t stand smoke anymore, even the smoke of incense. Or maybe it is an elf thing, I don’t remember having seen anyone smoking back at Imladris, do you? Maybe my changed body just does not tolerate it very well.”
Ellen rested her head against Kíli’s shoulder, and he caressed her neck soothingly with the pipe-free hand. She had braided her hair to her back when they were about to start the climb, not wanting it to hinder her in an adverse environment, even if it used to ‘behave’, as she used to say. The elf sighed.
“It was a long day.”
Kíli nodded.
“Go take some rest. You must be exhausted.”
She shook her head, disagreeing. He went on.
“I saw the look in your eyes when we got down from the giant’s knee and you didn’t find Iris. Too much strain on you, go take some rest.”
“It surely was not different from the look I saw in Thorin’s eyes when he saw you on the giant’s knee.”
“You are not Uncle, and he has gone to rest already, why don’t you?”
“I’m uneasy. I don’t know why. I think I’ll share first watch with Bofur, if you don’t mind.”
He emptied the ashes from his pipe knocking it lightly downwards on a stone; then stowed it in an inner pocket of his cloak.
“Just stay at my side and wake me up when you go to rest.”
“I didn’t hear your name be called to take second watch. You sleep this night.”
They kissed gently, then stood up and he gave her that cheeky smile she loved so much.
“And how will I be sure you go to sleep after first watch?”
"I´m shieldmaiden, and my hand is ungentle."