My Kili, Mellon Nin

Approaching A Wall Of Rock

The sun shone over the treetops and a couple golden rays found their way to the ground. Tauriel was reloading everything onto the horses. She had taken off most of the gear so that the horses could rest properly. The elf glanced over to the slumbering figure leaning on a tree. It had been about a week since they had left the Challethin's farm. Kili had been conscious a couple times over that period. The dwarf was getting better and better every day. Hopefully the dark haired archer would be strong enough to keep consciousness soon. It would be nice to have someone to talk to instead of herself or the horses.

The peaks of the Misty Mountains had become noticeable above the tree tops. A couple more days of riding would take them to the base of the chain. Tauriel smiled at the sight. The stallion perked his ears at the sudden rush of excitement from his handler. A chipmunk somewhere started chattering to the horses about his problems and the mare whinnied back in response. Tauriel giggled out of sheer happiness. The only thing that could have made that moment any better was Kili being conscious to see the peaks.

Some time in the night, Tauriel was suddenly awoken by a low rasping noise. The elf looked towards where the sound was coming from. Both horses watched Tauriel intently. The red head was still puzzled about the noise. She looked everywhere for the location of the thing making the noise. It seemed to be coming from the spot she had just been. Kili was laying on his back with his mouth open. She looked around him, but it seemed to be right on the dwarf. Tauriel gazed over the body of the sleeping archer and pinpointed the noise to be coming from his head. Tauriel slowly eased Kili's chest upwards so he was in a sitting position. Nothing moved and the rasping noise was still going. Tauriel glanced at Kili's face wondering if she should attempt to wake him. He might know what the rasping was. Then it dawned on her. The noise was coming from Kili, not from around him. This bewildered her more. Why would Kili make such a loud and horrible noise? Tauriel experimentally shook Kili's shoulders a little bit, causing the dwarf to groan and slap at her hands. The noise had lessened. Tauriel shook him again until he stopped making the rasping noise. Instead he started spouting nonsense. Tauriel glanced around quickly before placing her hand on his mouth.

Not knowing it was Tauriel stopping his blabbering, Kili started fighting back against her. Tauriel immediately let go of him and blocked his feeble attempts to ward her off. She managed to get in front of him somehow. Without hesitation, Tauriel tackled the dwarf to the ground, minding the wound in his chest. Kili still fought her until he saw the hair. The dwarf started sobbing and clung to the elf. Tauriel placed a kiss on the dark haired archer's temple and shushed him softly.

"It is ok, Kili. You are safe here," Tauriel reassured the weeping dwarf.

"T-Tauriel..." Kili stuttered out, "I am so sorry! I didn't mean t-".

Everything was silent for a moment. Tauriel had stopped Kili's unneeded apologies. They broke apart and sat up against a tree, holding each other as close as physically possible. Kili was the first to break the silence.

"Tauriel, are we dead?" The dwarf blatantly asked. Tauriel chuckled and pecked his cheek.

"No, mellon nin. We are not deceased," Tauriel assured.

"What happened to the others?" Kili questioned. There was a note of sadness in his voice that told the elf that he was dreading the answer. "What really happened? Tell me the truth."

Tauriel sighed and closed her eyes. The fair head of the elf rested on the shoulder of the stocky dwarf. "Kili..."

"Please. I deserve to know. What happened to Fili and uncle?" Kili pleaded sadly.

"Fili was gone before I got to you. Thorin... He defeated Azog... The rest of them are ok," Tauriel sadly muttered out. The muttering soon turned to sobs. "Kili, I am so sorry!"

The duo both turned into weeping messes. The horses took guard by default. The only noise that night was the sorrowful cries of the two.

Hours later, the cries died down. Kili had fallen asleep. He still had a vice grip on Tauriel. The she-elf was still up. Never go to bed with a plan half finished. She decided that she had to take Kili to his mother. Most likely, they would get there before the news reached the poor woman. It was decided. Before they went to find their safe haven, they would stop in to see Dis.

Kili awoke the next morning. He protested and begged Tauriel to allow him to ride the mare. He soon gave up and rested on Tauriel. The ex captain of the guard set her chin on the pouting dwarf's shoulder and smiled. It was good to have him back.

"Hey, Tauriel," Kili piped up a couple hours later.

"Yes, mellon nin?" Tauriel answered.

"Do you have some water or food?" his voice rasped as he asked for something to eat. Tauriel smiled and handed her water skin to Kili while reaching into her bag for lembas bread. She promptly found the elvish meal. She tore a modest piece off and handed it to Kili.

"Lembas bread. The smallest piece will fill even a Dwarf's stomach," Tauriel assured and said dwarf gulped down the piece. He lent back against Tauriel again.

Kili fell asleep and didn't wake up for the rest of the day. He was still too weak to hold consciousness for that long. Anyways, Tauriel had managed on her own. She had gotten them closer to the Misty Mountains.