Returning Home: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 67 - Diplomacy Fail

~~ Elena ~~

They were just turning to leave when they heard voices calling their name. Turning again to look for the source, Fíli slipped on loose gravel beneath his feet and knocked into Elena, accidentally sending them both into the wall of the mountain. Tripping over her feet, he dropped the bandages and instinctively put his arm out to keep her from crashing into her, and ended up with his arm outstretched next to her head, his surprised eyes looking down into hers. 

And that's when their siblings showed up.

Because of course they would.

"Fíli! Elena! There's something -" Kíli ran out onto the lookout beside them, helping her sister - still wrapped in blankets - over the uneven ground before stopping abruptly when he saw them. He raised his eyebrows. "I see. Good to know that not all of Amad's lessons were wasted. Perhaps we should come back later, Celia. It would seem that our siblings are... otherwise occupied."

Celia - far paler than normal, but looking mischievous enough to distract from it - very deliberately looked them up and down, then waggled her eyebrows at her sister suggestively. "Very nice. I approve," she informed them, clapping her hands.

Fire burning in her cheeks, Elena awkwardly sidled out from underneath an equally red Fíli. "Oh, shut up," she grumbled. "I hope you actually had a good reason for coming out here, and it wasn't just your incredibly awful timing."

Her sister frowned in consideration, pulling the blankets a little tighter under her chin, then turned to Kíli. "You know what, I think it can wait. Let's leave these two alone with their presumably unresolved tension. I feel like that needs more attention than this issue. Let's go, Kíli. I expect detailed reports later, El," she called over her shoulder, threading her arm through his once more. 

He looked torn, gaze switching between her and the two of them. "As much as I want to agree with you, we did actually have a good reason for coming out here. Several, actually."

"Oh, fine. Be that way," Celia complained. "Deny a dying girl her last wish." She collapsed dramatically against his arm and pretended to sob. "Nobody loves me! Betrayed by my closest confidante! Is there no loyalty left in life?"

Kíli looked up at the sky with a deadpan expression, as if asking what he did to deserve this. "The whole point of coming out here was so that you wouldn't die, do you remember that?"

"No," Celia whispered in an overly dramatic trembling voice. "Everything's going dark... my memories are slipping away..." She slid down to the ground and curled up against his leg, stretching a shaking hand up to him. "Remember me, when I'm gone. And remember who you are... remember..." She collapsed to the ground in a huddle of blankets, burying herself underneath them.

Kíli just looked down at her with a sigh. "You know, at first I thought you were just joking, but I think I'm actually starting to grow concerned now." He nudged her with one foot. "Are you still alive in there?"

"Mustn't ask us. Not its business," Celia hissed, voice muffled by the blankets.

Elena alone heard the sound of something dripping water and slithering over rocks along with them, and shuddered involuntarily at the memory. "As amusing as this is, I'm the only one who gets your reference, and I'd really rather not. I actually met him, and he tried to eat me. Please don't remind me of that until he doesn't haunt my dreams."

There was some rustling before Celia's head popped out of the blankets, hair messy and the faintest hint of color dusting her pale cheeks. "Sorry. Forgot. Help me up, Kíli?" She extended one hand from the blankets, and he took it, easily helping her up with a fond roll of his eyes.