(no subject)

[shieldandbody]

All was chaos.

The army of orcs and of wargs was vast and came upon them swiftly, and in their coming, all quarrels between dwarves, elves, and men were forgotten. Thorin took up his sword and ax on the eastern spur of the mountain for which they had travelled so far, and his voice was like thunder, battlecries shaking like a horn in the valley.

For Thorin, Fili raised his swords, and Kili followed, striking as many of the teeming mass of goblins as he could with his arrows, but it was not long after his quiver ran out that Kili realized his uncle’s folly. The path they cut through the orcs grew ever slower, their arms heavier and their breaths more labored. They had fought their way to the heart of battle, and now they were surrounded by goblins whose bloodlust was more fierce than any Kili had seen in the hall of the goblin king, and Thorin would not stop, and Fili would not leave him.

And Kili would not leave Fili.

With arms like lead, Kili swung his sword and felt in his shoulder the cruel bite of black arrows.

He did not stop.

Sword broken, Kili drew his knives and threw them, slashed with them, beat back a new wave of orcs with borrowed fire from Thorin’s eyes, and felt in his thigh the blunt agony of a spear.

He did not stop.

He drew his bow, the arrows spent, and beat a clawing orc from Fili’s back. The bow broke, and Kili used his shield instead.

He did not stop.

He saw them gather, twisted bodies drawing arrows of their own, saw them nocked and aimed for Thorin. Saw them released.

Kili did not stop.

He flung his body before Thorin’s and felt the arrows pierce him one by one. With the first, his lungs were fire, but by the fifth, he only felt tired, hands sliding on Thorin’s new and beautiful gauntlets as he fell.

In his ear he could hear Fili, and that was good. Fili was there. Fili would not let their uncle fall.

“You,” said Kili, the words bubbling thick and red, but he could not remember what it was he meant to say next.

Kili smiled, and he felt that it would be alright to close his eyes now. Somehow in the crush of bodies a wind begin to stir, and in the darkness Kili could almost believe he felt the grip of eagles bearing his body again away.