Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings Imagines

Kili ~ Game 3

Thorin was furious.  He glared at his nephews as they both stood in front of Valey protectively, and the other dwarves looked a little nervous as well.

"I organised it Uncle."  Fili spoke up, earning Thorin's furious glare on him.  "I knew we would need someone skilled with maps, hence why she is here."

"And you did not think to consult me on this?"  Thorin's voice was deathly quiet, they all knew that his fury came out quietly.

"I knew you would not allow her, that you would insist on it being her father instead."  Fili continued.  "But her father is well past being able to travel, that's why he took to map making in the first place.  Valey has all his skills plus the youth of still being able to travel."

"Don't give me that Fili."  Thorin snarled.  "You organised this for Kili."

But Fili shakes his head, his golden hair flying.  "No.  I organised this for the betterment of the Company.  Yes, I did not tell you, but I felt it necessary to prove that I could do something right on my own."

They stare at each other, it was clear that Fili had planned for this outcome, and he was not backing down from Thorin.

Thorin still looks less than impressed.  "We will deal with this later."

Valey found herself nervously seated between Fili and Kili at the end of the table as the discussion went on.  Bofur and the others had explained what was happening on the way there so she wasn't in the dark about it all, but she was still a little stunned at the plan.

It wasn't everyday you planned to go against a dragon.

So the next day the journey truly began, the brothers making sure that Valey was well out of range of Thorin's fury, and making sure that she was more than comfortable, often going out of their way to help her with things, no matter how simple, especially Kili.

But they weren't the only ones, the other dwarves and Bilbo all taking a liking to her company.  It seemed to make Thorin's mood worse that he was the only one that did not approve of her being there.

Valey soon proved her worth when she pointed out that they were heading too far north and that they needed to head east as soon as possible to correct their path.

It didn't improve Thorin's mood.

"Don't worry Valey."  Fili says to her cheerfully.  "He'll come around."

"Right."  Valey mumbles.  It was very draining being disliked by the leader of the Company as his anger always seemed to beat her cheerful moods down in a second.

Kili was often the one helping her get into a good mood again, making sure that she was having a good time no matter how bad Thorin was treating her.

It changed when the rain came.

For almost three weeks straight, it rained.  They were all wet, all cold, and all sick of not being able to get dry, a few of them even having the sniffles.  The mud made the days slow and the humidity drained their energy until they were all a little snappy with each other.  The only one, seemingly unaffected, was Gandalf.

It was on one night that the rain finally seemed to ease and they could build a proper fire to dry some of their gear.

Valey was sitting by herself, eyeing off the miserable looking Company, many who were trying to gather close to the fire.  She was tired and weary as much as any of them and it had felt like some time since she had last laughed.

Her gaze moved to Kili, who was grudgingly putting his damp boots back on, a frown on his face, and, despite it all, a smirk crosses her face.

She gets to her feet and casually walks over to him.  "Kili?"