stormaktstiden | [meme] The everyone survived AU

[meme] The everyone survived AU

Due to recent events in the movie world, it seemed like we needed one of these again...

THE ARDA AU MEME

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All the AUs! With classics as the obligatory and all important

> EVERYONE LIVED AU. Maybe you're at Thorin's festive coronation or a drinking game between Boromir and Haldir after the end of the War, or Fëanor and Thingol finally talk to each other. Maybe Belladonna comes with her son on adventures, or Maedhros spends some very awkward hours at Elrond's wedding. U know the drill.
> but let's not forget the staple COFFEESHOP AU either
> or the no less important WHAT IF AU: What if the Silmarils were glowing bunnies? What if Bard hadn't managed to take down Smaug? What if Maeglin had not betrayed Gondolin, what if Galadriel had accepted the One Ring? What if Sam had a giant afro?
> and really any other AUs that you can think of.

As a note, since not everyone has seen BOFA yet and some people care about not being spoiled, please make a note in your top level comment/the subject line of a comment if you might bring up spoilers in threads or don't want to be spoiled, something like "bofa spoilers yes" or "bofa spoilers no".

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She feigns the most offended look as she glares at Kíli, though none of this is anything other than friendly jesting between them. Still, she can tell from the slight fluster that takes over his features that this much has been enough to make him feel self-conscious, which makes her regret bringing that up, just a tiny bit. ]

My head is of a perfectly normal size, and you should so hope the same for yourself.

[ Sticking her tongue out at him, she slips on her own cloak, drawing the hood up to hide her hair and features, though if one looked long enough she could be easily recognizable. Their only hope is to be both quick and discreet, so that they will neither draw too much attention, nor stop for long enough that someone would see who they are.

Thankfully they both are more than familiar with the twists and turns of the Mountain by now, and they know exactly what the best paths are to avoid the bigger crowds during lunchtime, Kíli even more so than her. It feels like breaking out of a prison, she muses briefly as they step outside, and fresh air and warm sun greet her face.

Her own smile is fond, her eyes gleaming with gladness as she looks back at Kíli, her heart beating quickly as when they were younger, and they would sneak out against their Mother's wishes or orders, to go see the falling snow atop the frozen lake, or to hide and watch as companies of Men or Elves would walk on some of the paths a bit to the south, often headed from the Lowlands to farther down, the other settlements, the docks, or to cross the river.

All worries are left behind now, they don't cross the Gate with her. She feels lighter so suddenly that it nearly throws her off balance, but thankfully Kíli is right there to stop that from happening, as he always is and always will be. Her fingers wrap around his hand in turn, and she steps closer to him, nodding happily as she follows Kíli without hesitance. ] Where are we going?

[For the first time in months, Kíli feels good -- alive, excitement almost foreign now pumping through his veins. Erebor is magnificent, every pillar something out of legend, but all too often, he has thought of mountains half a world away, where they saw the sky and the sun warmed their skin. (It's funny -- there, he never really spent so much time thinking back to the things that made up their days, chores and the like, their mother's cooking, how much more comfortable it was to sleep side by side with Fíli.)

Tomorrow, they'll have to return to the Mountain, but today, they are free of all cares.]

Just past Dale! I suppose the place needs a name...

[And maybe they need a bit more in the way of gear than what they've brought with them on their spontaneous excursion, enough to make camp later, which Kíli considers but dismisses as he and Fíli take quieter streets through the city. Dale is recovering well, buildings too badly damaged torn down, those that were salvageable repaired. Already the city has a livelier atmosphere about it; around the town square, children chase one another, waving sticks and laughing, while merchants call out bargains.

A couple of months more, and Dale and Erebor both will be what they once were.]

[ There is new spring to her step now, energy and excitement that she hasn't felt in a long time. They're both young again, unworried and free, running away from beds to be made, rooms to be tidied, chores to see through.

It just so happens the duties are different this time around, most of all on her end. But she cares little about details at the moment, not even enough to think about them fleetingly. ]

Maybe we should name it ourselves.

[ She doesn't suggest names, though, and she won't until they get there and she sees the place for herself. For the moment she simply follows along the streets of the city, calling as little attention to themselves as possible until they're farther away from the livelier part of Dale. The thought of stopping and finding some more supplies for the night crosses her mind, but not wanting to be recognized, especially by other dwarves, she doesn't suggest it.

They'll manage somehow, as they always have; worst case scenario, they can come back to Dale and find a room somewhere by the edge of the town. ]

[The Mountain is still an imposing peak at their back, Dale and charred ground between them and Erebor, but as the city walls shrink, the terrain changes. Sparse tufts of vegetation gradually thicken into grass and shrubs and trees. These aren't their mountains, their woods, but out here, they'll be alone and undisturbed.

The place to lead Fíli to is nothing all that special or breathtaking, just a clearing in a patchy forest, and although Kíli stops here and looks at his sister with a smile and a sweep of his arms, showing off their secret hideout, he would have liked to take her somewhere a little more exciting. This place is peaceful, perhaps a spot to sit beneath the stars. A stream winds through the trees, its burble soft and steady, and the only other thing to stand out is the target that Kíli has fashioned himself, set up against one tree and riddled with marks.]

What do you think? Worthy of a name we've thought up?

[He wants Fíli to like it here, at least.]

[ These are not the mountains they've grown in, true, they're not surrounded by the trees, the plains and the slopes they've always known like the palm of their hands, but this is a place of theirs now to. It will take time to get to know it, to grow used to it, but one day it will feel like their home just as much as Ered Luin always did.

Or so she hopes, anyway.

There is nothing wondrous about the place Kíli takes her to, nothing extraordinary. Yet its simplicity brings a smile to her lips, and it's perhaps the entire lack of any ostentatiousness that makes her like the spot so much. ]

We'll have to think of something good. [ She looks around for a good while, taking in the details before glancing back at Kíli. ] It's beautiful.

[It was a place to get away and be himself, not as often as he thought he easily could, certain that no one would rush out to look for him, but it was lonely. He thought too much, out here with no one's company but his own -- of Thorin, of Tauriel. Of Fíli.

It's different today. The hood of his borrowed cloak pulled back down, the breeze whispering in the treetops is invigorating, ruffling his hair. His smile softens as his gaze returns to rest on Fíli, and there it is again, that sense of coming home at last. For once, he is content to feel at peace, not to seek adventure.

It is beautiful, this place.]

Over lunch? [Lest their stomachs eat themselves, kept waiting. Breakfast this morning left mostly untouched, Kíli's is grumbling threats at odds with the tranquil forest.

He eases his bow free.] I'll see about some firewood... And moss?

[It'll have to be a night of sleeping on the hard ground again, but he would take a bed of leaves and moss over his chambers any day, in a heartbeat.]

[ It is freeing in many ways, liberating. There are no walls around them, no small windows through which she can only catch glimpses of the fields outside, no constant flow of people coming in and out looking for her. Here it's only the two of them, and she feels this is the first time since arriving in Erebor that she can take a deep breath without feeling a weight pressing down on her chest.

She smiles and nods at his question, chuckling quietly at how his stomach grumbles. Gratitude is clear in each line of her face, and for a moment she steps closer, giving her brother a kiss to his cheek, hands mussing up his hair playfully as she does so. ]

Then we'll need something to eat. [ She glances at the stream, unsure if perhaps it's not too small to actually have any fish. Her best bet is among the trees, she figures, even if she can only hunt a few rabbits or squirrels that'll last them until tonight. ] I can get us that.

[This kiss lands closer to Kíli's mouth when he turns his head at just that moment, grabbing for his sister's hands, smile widening with his laughter, and his nose bumps against Fíli's. (Small wonder -- Fíli's nose is hard to miss.) Her beard scrapes against his, then she's moving away, but he still feels something, the ghost of that touch, as if her lips left an imprint upon his cheek. She's done nothing unusual, nothing that she hasn't done before, and yet these few short hours alone with her have made a marked difference, tending to wounds that no salve, no medicine could have healed.

Beneath the mantle of her duties, Fíli will remain Fíli, and he has a place beside her.

Near overflowing with elation, he could turn cartwheels and climb to the topmost branches of the tallest tree. After they've eaten, of course.]

I can-- [The reality is that he can't be everywhere at once, hunting while he gathers dry twigs and branches for their fire, reluctant though he is to accept it. Knowing his sister, she has a new collection of blades on her, and he is the better shot, but he offers her his bow nonetheless, making to slip his quiver off his shoulders.] Meet you back here, then? The fate of our stomachs rests in your hands, Fee.

[ She already expected Kíli to offer to do that too, even though he said he'd go look for twigs and moss. It would be near impossible for him to manage both, though, and even if he did it would take him much longer, but he's not alone today. Between the two, they can get everything done that much faster, by doing something as simple as splitting the tasks.

Lifting a single shoulder and smiling playfully, she accepts the bow and quiver from Kíli. She has a few blades on her, yes - that would be a surprise to no one, really -, but this will make it easier for hunting, and faster as well, even if she isn't as good a shot as Kíli. ]

I'll not disappoint. [ She has done this plenty of times for them before, found them some small game for a lunch by the side of a lake, to fill their stomachs for the night when they camped away from home. It would not be too hard to find something, she thinks, now that the nature has taken back this soil there should at least be some smaller game for them to find.

Once the strap of the quiver rests safely across her torso, she beams at Kíli one last time and turns around, making her way towards the stream and disappearing through the thicker bits of the woods around them. ]

It's a race! [He calls out, the decision made then and there, but rather than taking off, he watches until his sister has vanished from sight. Only then does he head away from the stream to carry out his task, leaving Fíli's part of the forest to her, the game they hope to make their meal not alerted to their intentions by his footfalls. Of course Fíli won't disappoint. She could never.

Kíli's search is reasonably fruitful; he returns to the campsite after a short while gone, pockets stuffed full of moss, a haphazard pile of kindling and firewood in his arms. The moss doesn't yield much of a bed, spread out on the ground by the roots of a large tree, leaves to come on top later, but they have their clothes to bundle up and they have each other. There aren't any rules against using the Queen Under the Mountain as a pillow, are there? None that younger brothers (who are graciously prepared to play pillow in turn) must follow, away from all eyes.

Fire lit, Kíli feeds it another branch now and again, and the flames dance merrily. Between branches, his hands find a chunk of wood broken off, just the right size to grip and idly whittle away to pass the time.]

[ Well then, if it's a race, she ought to start right away! She merely waves at Kíli from afar, then as she disappears through the trees, she goes on to find the best spots, lying in wait for any animals that would make some nice lunch.

It doesn't take too long, though she thinks that perhaps in this race, Kíli will win. And indeed, by the time she makes it back, three rabbits hanging from her waist, her brother is already sitting by a decent enough fire, one that must've been lit quite a while ago, and she smiles. Jokes and competitions aside, it is nice to have all that already set up for them, as well as what little moss he could find for a bedding.

It won't make much of a difference, she agrees with that. They have their clothes and each other; that'll be plenty comfortable already.

She walks up to where Kíli sits, quiet as a mouse as she approaches him from behind. Then swiftly she jumps on him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and neck with a roar, in a most vicious of attacks. ]

[Fíli is quiet as a mouse only if the mouse is the size of Erebor's imposing statues -- that's what Kíli will claim if his sister takes his reaction to her return for surprise. The loud yelp and the dropped knife and piece of wood were all a thoughtful effort to humour Fíli.

They're forgotten in a flurry of movement and laughter as Kíli twists in his sister's grip and grabs at her, throwing himself against her to tackle her to the ground. Growing up, he rarely bested Fíli in their friendly scuffles, but he cares less about that than the fresh rush of exhilaration spilling from his core and pulsing through him to the very tips of his fingers and toes.]

They never told us to watch for lions in these parts!

[ A big liar, is what Kíli is, and if he were to claim all that there is not a soul in Erebor who would believe him, and much less so Fíli herself. Especially with the way he yelps and drops all that he's holding, he gives himself away plenty, and even if there were any chance that he could ever fool his sister, that alone would most certainly ruin it.

She lets out a loud squeak of her own, followed quickly by laughter as he grabs her and tackles her to the ground. She could fight him off easily, best him in only a few motions, but she doesn't, instead letting herself fall with her back to the ground and a wide and victorious grin on her lips. ]

Clearly you should've been paying more attention, because this one almost got you!

[Kíli's grin mirrors Fíli's, even if his triumph is dubious, for he knows full well how effortlessly his sister could turn the tables on him. With the advantage of coming at him from behind and above, she let him pin her down. It doesn't bother him to realize it -- were they sparring, she wouldn't pull her punches.

He's fairly certain that he is heavier than she is, though, so he sprawls out on top of her like a blanket, arms folded across her chest. The rabbits are nearly crushed between him and Fíli.]

But she didn't, and here I am with a fine pelt for a bed!

[And he reaches up to fluff Fíli's hair, shifting around as if to get comfortable and go to sleep where he is right then.]

[ Fíli laughs through it all, in louder bursts but also quieter breathless chuckles and giggles, squirming a little underneath the weight of her brother but not making any real effort to get away. The rabbits are for the moment forgotten between them, though hopefully they won't be too terribly crushed that they would find themselves without dinner.

For just this little while, though, food is not on her mind. Soon enough their stomachs will growl, no doubt - Kíli's first and loudest as always -, but for now she wants nothing more than for this moment of peace to stretch on. ]

Only because the lioness surrendered. And you ought to be thankful for it.

[ She puts her arms loosely around Kíli's neck, fingers combing through his hair distractedly, not really minding it at all if he really decides to stay as he is for the time being. ]

[Food is far from Kíli's thoughts for now, too, his stomach lulled into learning patience while he revels in the slow, gentle motions of his sister's fingers. He might have moved to let her up so they could get their meal prepared, but the touches turn his limbs heavy, and it's only because he has something to focus on that his eyelids and his head don't follow suit.

Dropping his chin onto his forearms, Kíli shoots his sister a cheekier smile.]

She was a ferocious beast, I'll give you that, but I wasn't afraid. What could she have done?

[ She smiles when she feels him relaxing against her at the touches, her fingers sifting slowly through the strands, drawing lines across his scalp. No matter how old he may be, she will always know just the kind of touch that makes him calm down like so, that brings him the most peace and contentedness, and right now she is happy to give that to him. ]

Oh, a number of things. She could have bitten your neck, and so close it was! Perhaps dig her claws into your sides, and... tickle you mercilessly.

[ Still, despite the fact that those words could be heard as a threat, she makes no move whatsoever to follow through. ] But she won't. She may be ferocious but she's not without mercy.

[He braces himself for those claws, so often their target in the past, but the attack never comes. Fíli's fingers continue to stroke his hair, hardly an incentive to get up anytime soon.]

And it has nothing to do with her being at my mercy? I've got her cornered -- she had no choice but to surrender!

[With a laugh, he butts Fíli in the crook of her neck, nose against warm skin as he pretends to snap his teeth at her.

It's a moment like so many throughout their years in Ered Luin, normalcy that takes no effort.]

[ She feigns a laughter at her brother's words, eyes rolling a little as she shakes her head. Her hands never stop, though, not to pinch nor poke him, not to tickle him either, continuing on with that soft tender attention given to Kíli's hair. ]

Cornered? I don't remember being the one dropping all and yelping for my life. Had I truly been a wild beast you would not have stood a chance.

[ Just poking some fun, really. There were no such animals around these parts, in true, and often both men from Dale and dwarves from Erebor scoured these areas. If it were dangerous they would have surely heard about it by now. ]

[Most of Fíli is covered in the fabric of her cloak, but there are weak spots from the neck up, exposed for Kíli to prove the truth of his words -- without making his sister reconsider her decision not to tickle him. Her ears, peeking out among her hair, are one option. Her nose, that stunning and very there nose, is the most obvious choice.

Catching it between thumb and forefinger, he pinches it the way she likes to do to him.]

Neither do I! You must be thinking of someone else, Fee. Or it was the wind?

[Though that reminds him... That chunk of wood he'd been whittling at was supposed to make a stand-in charm of sorts, unplanned but not unlike the stone their mother gave him. Kíli lifts his head, glancing around for it.]

[ It is a very successful catch, and a good choice too because it's not enough for her to want to move much or even turn them around. She yelps, though, snorting out a quiet laugh as she shakes her head away from Kíli's hold, nose wrinkling as those fingers finally leave her be. ]

Liar! I saw it clear as day, don't try to hide it from me. You were well and truly scared by my approach, I caught you entirely off-guard.

[ She feels Kíli moving then, his head lifting as he looks around, and she glances down at him as he does, her hand stilling in his hair. She casts her eyes briefly to the ground around them too, although she has no idea what she should be looking for. ]

What is it?

[There it is-- Nestled among leaf litter sits the wooden token, the gleam of a knife's blade close by. Satisfied, Kíli settles back into his spot to offer Fíli an answer.]

A surprise -- this one's a bit smaller than the fiddle or me.

[He'll pick it up and show Fíli when they move to see to their rabbits, but the contented warmth hasn't left his bones, and he barely budges to flick his fingers at the tip of her nose, her earlier remark reaching him only now.]

... Did I hear someone yelp for her life?

[Cornered, just like he said!]

[ She tries to catch a glimpse herself, especially when Kíli says it's a surprise, but to no avail. From this angle, and with her brother's weight on her, she can't see anything at all, and she sighs a little in frustration as she lets her head rest back against the ground. ]

And I suppose you'll have me wait for this surprise now? Oh, the anticipation will be the end of me.

[ Although she is far more patient than Kíli would be under the same circumstances, and the teasing tone in her voice gives away that much. She doesn't mind waiting, especially when she would rather not move just yet.

That may change soon, though, what with the way Kíli resumes his vicious attack. She snorts and giggles, tipping her head to the side to keep her nose away from his reach. ]

No, that's not fair! I let myself be willingly pinned to the ground! And there was no yelping involved whatsoever. [ A pause, then she grins teasingly at her brother. ] Well, not on my end.

[Calling his makeshift charm a surprise makes it sound more mysterious and exciting than it really is, and he wishes it were that, with Fíli so curious about it. It's more childish than anything, if he thinks on it, but on the other hand, their mother's talisman was her presence there with him the whole way from home, in a way.]

Count yourself lucky that I'm not without mercy, either, and I won't make you wait too long or yelp so loud that they'll hear you back at the Mountain!

[But he will settle for another yelp like the first, jabbing Fíli in the sides. At the same time, he descends upon her to blow a puff of warm air past her ear.]

[ She huffs a little sound, rolling her eyes though both looking and sounding all too amused at Kíli's words. ]

I think you're confusing me with yourself. Only you could yelp so loud that--

[ But ah, the words are cut all too short as she lets out a sound of surprise at another vicious attack. Wiggling first, then her shoulders tensing and her head turning away when Kíli puffs near her ear, her loud yelp dissolves into giggles as she shifts around where she lies underneath her brother's weight.

Louder than before, if anything because she was caught off-guard. But certainly not loud enough to reach the mountain - not that she would ever admit to it. ]

[meme] The everyone survived AU

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