Jeweled dolls of Durin

when bofur ran

A/N: I suggest you listen to the video as you read..it adds depth to this story and it inspired this chapter. Warning its a tear jerker but its the perfect compliment to this chapter.

Bofur was sitting upon a rock, blearily gazing out upon the battlefield that was littered with corpses upon the ground. His eyes not really seeing the carnage before him for they were drawn inside himself as his thoughts kept jumping all around. 

~Oh Mahal. How am I gonna tell Tia and Tohlm their father is dead?~ his sigh was deep and heavy..then his mind leapt back to a few days ago upon the lakeshore. Bofur swore he still could hear the childs cries as he disentangeled the small hands that were clutching Bofurs shirt so tightly to him...refusing to let go and Bofurs heart ached terribly as it had since that day. He reached up to his chest to rub the pain away...it didnt help now or any other time he tried to ease the ache inside of him.

~poor lad...I couldnt bring him with me. He has to be better wheres hes at now..right? ~

his thoughts just kept rolling around, thinking of the boy he had left behind with Sigrid, Bards daughter. ~I did right by him? So why do I feel like this? Like a hole is cut into my chest and salt is pouring over it?~ Bofur felt tears inching down his face..softly falling onto his war bloodied shirt to soak into it. He raised his hand to wipe them away when suddenly he heard a childs cry floating on the wind, being carried over the cries of others who had found a loved one upon the war torn land and Bofur felt something inside of him snap.

In an instant Bofur leapt  from his perch, racing towards Dale in the distance..not caring about anything else..not Fili who laid possibly dying in his tent ..not Thorin who was still teetering at deaths door..nothing else mattered to him in that moment. As he ran past his brother, bombur, and cousin, Bifur, he heard them holler out to his retreating form.

"Where yeh goin? Whats wrong?" they stood as if to follow him , but his words stopped them as they stared at each other in confusion at his parting words.

"I need teh find him!" there was desperation in his voice as he shouted back to them over his shoulder. "I need teh find me son!" he kept running..heart hammering in his chest as he powered through his exhaustion..needing to reach Dale. Finally Dales walls came in sight and his heart seized at the sight of all the destruction that greeted him within its walls. He feared that all was lost..no one could of survived all this..but he kept rushing along, eyes darting around..peering at the faces that wandered around the city. Their eyes were filled with pain and loss..they had seen the face of death and it horrified them to their core. Bofur didnt pause in his frantic search..suddenly his efforts were awarded for there stood Sigrid, handing out blankets to survivors near a large building, her back was turned away from as he approached.

"Sigrid!" his shout brought the girl to turn around to face him..surprise evident upon her face at the sight of coming up to her out of breath.

"Master Bofur?" she saw his blood stained clothes clinging to his body and the splatters of gore that still clung to his weapon that was in his hand. "Can I help you with?"

"Where is me son?" his voice was harsh from running but she wasnt frightened because his eyes seemed to be filled with pain and it made her worry for this good dwarf. 

"What are you talking about? What son?" she was confused...she didnt know what he was talking about.

"Me son..where is he? Where is.." suddenly he heard a small cry coming towards him from behind..stilling his words.

"Da da!" that one word broke his heart and then stitched it back together once more. Bofur spun around and saw a dark sweaty curled boy running towards him..dodging around debris with tears in his eyes. Bofurs legs propelled him forward towards the sweetest sight he had seen in a long time. As he got near the child he dropped to his knees, holding out his arms in welcome to the child who without hesitation threw himself into Bofurs arms as he cried "Da da!" once more...burying his face into Bofurs shirt.Bofur held the sobbing child to his chest tenderly, crooning into the lads ears as he clutched the fabric under his hands tightly..not letting go this time and Bofur was good with that.

" Shhh..me boy. Its alright. Bofurs here now." tears began to flow down his cheeks as his one hand cradled the childs head to his chest and the other held him tight to him. Finally his hand reached out to gently lift the boys face to look him in the eyes..sweet peridot green met hazel and Bofur smiled sweetly down at the child as he tenderly wiped a tear from the lads eye with his thumb." Dont yeh worry. Im here now, me boy and im not gonna let go...ever. Yeh hear me? Im not gonna leave yeh..yur mine. Yer me son now." A small watery smile graced his way as the two kept staring at each other..Bofurs heart soared as the child nodded his head in agreement.

"Da." that one word made his heart grow in his chest and he almost choked on his words as he smiled at this beautiful child there in his arms.

"Thats right...im yer da now. And yeh are me Kennan." the little boy looked at Bofur with a hint of confusion at the word he had used and Bofur chuckeled at the expression. " Kennan..it is a tiny gem..peridot in color, like yer eyes and very precious, which yeh are teh me. So since yeh dont have a name..Ill call yeh Kennan. If thats alright to yeh?" Bofur held his breath..waiting for the childs answer..it wasnt long in coming. The smile the boy gave Bofur was so brilliant..it was as if the sun had come out from behind dark clouds to shine down upon him.

"Ke..Ke..Ke.." his tiny mouth tried to say the word, but he couldnt yet. Bofur smiled at the boys attempted effort at saying this dwarvish word.

" Thats good. Yeh will say it in no time me boy. Even if yeh cant, know I still love yeh me little gem..me Kennan." Bofur took off his hat and placed it onto the childs head..chuckling as it slipped over his eyes. He wrapped his arms around the boy and stood up with him in his arms to look at a shocked Sigrid who witnessed all of this. Bofur nodded at the woman and without a word walked away, toting his son in his arms away from Dale and towards his new home..feeling the childs warm breath upon his neck as he clung to the toymakers shoulders..bringing a lightness to his heart and a thought of ~ Wait till Tia sees what souviner im bringing back to her from this trip.~ he couldnt help chuckling out loud as he made his way back to his family that waited for any word on the plight of the Durins.