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".

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[ 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.

[Though not as round as a ball, Kíli is noticeably nowhere near at risk of wasting away, and he was fully prepared for Fíli to tease him again. When nothing comes, it's puzzling, but he lets it go after a longer glance her way, leaning in to smack a noisy kiss onto her cheek, grinning against it afterwards.]

Your secret is safe with me.

[Missing a rabbit and hitting a boar, that's better by far than shooting one's sister.]

Maybe it'll happen to me next time -- I'll share!

[It's Fíli, really, who might be too busy to sit down for a meal these days.]

[ Fíli can't help but smile at the kiss, and at what sounds like a promise from her brother, playful as it may be. She wouldn't have thought he would spread it all around the mountain the moment they got back, of course, but still it is a sweet thing for him to say.

Besides, it was such a long time ago now, it feels like. Some might not even remember that one time she caught a boar, let alone think that much on the fact that it had been no more than a fluke. ]

I would expect so! I did share my own with you, did I not?

[ And she would have said that the both of them had caught it together back then, if only Kíli hadn't been so quick and prompt to announce she had been the one getting it the moment they got back. ]

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[meme] The everyone survived AU

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