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

{source}

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 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. ]

[His laughter joins Fíli's, exuberant and louder than her yelp or her giggles (chances are, it'll be him giving away their secret place). He doesn't get around to correcting her, though. All her squirming against him, her hipbones digging into his belly and her thigh between his legs, doesn't seem to agree with him -- or it does in the strangest way, sneaking up on him without warning just as Fíli did, and that's the problem.

It chases him from his claimed perch to draw his legs up to his chest before another part of him can jab his sister. Eyes wide and cheeks colouring, he hugs his knees, mouth open as he searches for the words to explain his behaviour.]

-- The rabbits! They're not going to cook themselves...

[When his stomach doesn't growl but roars its anticipation over the promise in his change of subject, that should make up for his stammered excuse. With any luck, Fíli didn't notice anything amiss.

Better to have her tease him for his supposed gluttony than for her to investigate.]

[ It does leave her wondering for a moment, the way he moves away so quickly, but the possible reasons that come to mind are all too far from the truth. She thinks that maybe she's hurt him, all her wiggling and squirming getting too uncomfortable for him to remain where he was. Or maybe he really is that hungry, and all the shifting around has reminded him of just that.

The loud rumbling in his stomach does help that last option, and so she doesn't give it any more thought. Still looking a little sheepish that she might've hurt Kíli somehow, she smiles, then lifts herself up from the ground, taking a seat near the fire as she pulls one of her knives out to skin and prepare the rabbits. ]

Make yourself useful, then! Assuming you still remember how to do this, yes?

[ Though despite the teasing tone and smile, she hands Kíli another of her knives, then starts on one of the rabbits slowly, in case her brother needs to follow the steps. ]

[Luckily there's no need for him to put up an act. His empty stomach genuinely rejoices to know that it won't be too terribly long a wait until its demands are satisfied, its approval voiced in another gurgle. Maybe he wasn't hungry this morning or the day before, or every day before it, when every bite of food was like choking on mouthfuls of ash to force down, but he is hungry now, truly so and looking forward to their simple meal.

It's what they did back home on their trips around the mountains.

His other source of discomfort wanes, and he unfolds himself, shuffling over to the fire on his knees to accept Fíli's knife and pick up another of the three rabbits, though he scoffs and sticks his tongue out at his sister.]

Of course I remember, I must have eaten at least ten of these by now! [They weren't as good as the rabbits around Ered Luin, but perhaps they'll surprise them today.] I'm amazed that you still know how to hold a blade for servants' work. I didn't think they let you do anything on your own anymore.

[Nothing like this, at any rate.]

[ It's her turn to scoff then, shoving lightly at Kíli's side, though the smile doesn't leave her face for long. He's not entirely wrong, it's been a long time since she's had to skin or prepare any animal, rabbit or otherwise, but that doesn't mean she can't remember how to do it either.

The skill of her hands hasn't left her after all, and she could never forget how to handle a blade. Just like she had managed to catch those rabbits, even if it had been a while since she last went on a hunt. ]

I can still do it better than you, so watch what you say. You may yet have to swallow your own words.

[ And with practiced ease she starts preparing the rabbit, making a cut all around its middle so she can rip the skin apart from the middle to the edges, making it easier to strip it down to the meat. ]

[Fíli's confidence is not unfounded. This is a task they've performed so many times that the motions require no thought. It's a piece of the life they knew, and each muscle, tendon and bone remembers.

Kíli works quickly himself, not only to have his rabbit skinned and cleaned and over the fire soon, but to get to the third of the three caught before Fíli does.]

Can't say I mind, as long as there's lunch to swallow. Where's the boar?

[His grin is teasing before it dims somewhat, his memories bittersweet. That time, their outing to the lake, was one of their last back home.

This clearing is a different place, but he would come here every day, if Fíli could.]

[ He aims to tease her with that, but instead he's giving her all that she needs to do that herself. Her memories not so quick to go back to that day by the lake, she grins in return, narrowing her eyes as she looks at Kíli. ]

The boar! Don't you feel round enough as it is, you still want to have a whole boar for lunch? That's a bit much, don't you think?

[ She chuckles for a moment there, nudging her brother's side playfully as she continues to clean the rabbit in her hands. Unaware that Kíli's making a race out of it, though, she takes her time to do it as perfectly as possible.

Her grin dims to a small smile, and she looks up at Kíli a few moments later. ]

It was luck. The boar, that day. [ She glances back down. ] I was aiming for a rabbit, in true.

[How does Fíli do it, turn his teasing her around with such ease so that she finds yet another opening to tease him? He gives her a nudge in return, a little harder than hers, but luckily not so hard that he knocks her knife out of her hands and into anything that isn't her rabbit.]

I'm not round... Remember me fondly when I've wasted away before your eyes.

[Fíli's confession comes as a surprise, and he's not sure that he believes her. He hasn't forgotten her skill.]

Luck? How did a boar get between you and the rabbit?

[By chance or deliberate, it went over well when they got back from their trip. Their mother was pleased -- with them both -- and so was Thorin, as their uncle and their king.

It's painful to think of Thorin, still.]

[ She keeps her smile then, just as always, but the amusement he probably would expect to that doesn't truly come. The mere thought of it, of ever seeing her brother waste away, it makes her stomach twist, and it sits sourly at the back of her throat.

Swallowing it down, she simply shakes her head and shrugs, moving on to the other topic and dropping that first remark entirely. ]

It didn't. It was... behind the rabbit, hidden in some bushes. [ She looks almost sheepish when she adds. ] I missed the mark. By a great margin.

(no subject)

notreckless - 2015-05-31 23:21 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

murukh - 2015-06-03 15:02 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only