AN Hello there! This is my first fanfiction ever and I think you'd like to know that English is not my mother tongue. I decided to write a Fanfic for my pleasure but also to improve my English, so feel free to help. And I haven't written something for ages, so I'm a little bit rusted anyway.

To be honest, I don't really know where I'm going with this story so here again, if you have prompts or things you'd like to see, I could include them in this story easily enough.

I had no idea for the title and the genres and the summary so there is a little chance that they will change later, and I rated T already just to be safe.

No slash, no Durincest and things like that, just a warning about potential fluff at some points –hugs are what I secretly live for.

Oh, and I almost forgot: this story takes place in 2927 TA, 14 years before the Quest, so Fili and Kili are respectively 68 and 63 –see them somewhere just between teenagers and grown-ups.

And now… On with it.

Disclaimer : Everything related to Middle-Earth belongs to Sir Tolkien. I own nothing.

The Gathering Storm

Chapter 1

The gust of wind that followed the opening of the door almost shook the entire house.

And it was a rather strong one: made of carved stone and pine wood, strongly rooted to the ground, the building also resulted of Dwarven craftsmanship and thus was not to crumble anytime soon. But still, when a breach was created into these solid walls and provided the howling wind a way to enter the cozy house, each wall shuddered for a moment. Then the heavy door was closed again, and a peaceful atmosphere settled once more.

Thorin Oakenshield decided to take in the said atmosphere before doing anything else. Behind his back, he could still feel the door shivering under the repeated assaults of the storm and the recent and unpleasant memory that he himself had been walking through the angry weather only moments before had him enjoying being home even more. His gaze lifted from the damp ground below his boots to rest upon the doorframe at the end of the corridor. There he saw the more than welcoming light emitted by the fire, casting shifting shadows upon the ground, and he was no longer able to stay away from the warmth. He left his soaked boots near the door, hung his equally water-loaded cloak on the wall and walked into the main room until he was standing next to the blazing hearth. He rubbed his arms to try and bring back some life into the frozen limbs before reaching for the poker and stoking the weakening embers with it. When he was done, he let out a long sigh and took a few more steps to meet with the slumbering form of Dís, whose woolen blanket had slipped almost entirely to the floor. He bent down to pick it up and set it back into place, leaning forward at the end to kiss his sister's forehead. He wondered over getting her to bed, but finally decided to let her sleep in the large armchair. It was actually quite comfortable –it was Thorin's favorite seat, after all- so she wouldn't ache in the morning, and neither would she grew cold with the extra log he just added to the fire. With a last fond glance at his beloved sibling, the exiled king went out to get to his own chamber. Walking past the boys' bedroom, he decided that checking on them as well wouldn't hurt anyone and so he carefully pushed the door open to peer into their room. There were lying his heirs, curled up against each other on their bed to stay warm and comfortable in spite of the chilly winter air, snoring lightly.

The soft loving smile was on his face before he knew it and he didn't even bother to hide it. There was no one but him in the dark corridor and he saw no point in telling himself that he didn't love his nephews, because of course he did.

He slowly shut the door and finally headed to the room which promised him rest until the morrow, not to stop again. As he made his way to his bed, though, the thought that it was undoubtedly good to be home crossed his mind for the umpteenth time.

The next morning, Fili was as usual the first brother to wake up.

The first view to greet him was that of Kili's unruly hair sprawled on the mattress as a dark ocean, which was also his first scent of the day: that ocean didn't smell of salt and seaweed –thanks Mahal- but of pine and fresh air and musk. Sometimes, he wished he would be given the chance to see –and taste, because so much proximity also meant he ended up with a few strands in his mouth most of the time- something else to welcome him into the world, like a clear sight of his surroundings, maybe. But he also knew that he wasn't truly honest with himself when he let this kind of thoughts appear, because his little brother was what he held most precious in his heart and there was no greater reward or serener awakening than directly knowing that he was there and safe and close to him.

Detaching his face from the dark brown curls, he tilted his head and twisted his neck until he could see their room's window, veiled by a thin layer of mist and frost and casting a very soft light into the bedchamber. He had woken up just before dawn, then. Best moment of the day to go hunting, he told himself while a tired sigh escaped his lips. That meant he would have to get out of bed and into the snow. That meant he would have to leave his nest of mingled warm fur blankets and comfortable little brother and exchange it for a still spot in the brisk winter air and the thick snow.

Well, it wasn't the most inviting proposition he had been made in his life. But it's not even a proposition, you have to do it and you know it better than anyone else, for your own good and that of your family, he chided himself. Finally ready to tear himself out of his lazy state, he let go of the still sleeping Kili and shrugged off a part of the blanket. The freezing air made itself immediately known, and a violent shiver ran through his body. Before he knew it, he had sunk deeper into the bed and his arms were wrapped around Kili not two seconds after releasing him. Mahal, I'm such a coward. I can't even confront a little bit of cold-

He never ended this thought as he felt his little brother beginning to stir and groan –for an awaking Kili was rarely a silent event- against him. He softened his hold on him to allow him some space for his usual morning wriggling and waited until the dark haired dwarf finally turned around to face him.

"Good morning, worm," greeted Fili with a smirk.

" 'Morning. Lovely as always," replied his brother in a voice hoarse with sleep.

"How are you today?"

"Hm. As usual as of late, I guess."

At that, Fili had nothing but another sigh to reply, and he reached for Kili's forearm and squeezed it lightly. He knew just too well what his brother meant, for he –and many others- didn't fare any better.

Winters had always been harsh in the Blue Mountains, with its low temperature which bit every being to their very core and an awful weather which rarely weakened. That didn't leave many sunny days to enjoy wandering the snowy landscape. Most of the time, they were prepared, of course: each settlement of the area, whether it was one of men, dwarves or both, had fields to harvest and knew how to stock every kind of goods to last the winter without going hungry or too cold. It was also a period of trades and solidarity amongst said settlements, and all in all they often overcome the difficulties without striving too much to do so.

Only, it wasn't so easy this time. Winter had struck way too early for anyone's comfort and most of the harvest had been destroyed, leaving a considerable gap in their supplies. Given the circumstances, many towns usually open for exchanges had closed their gates and kept whatever little food they had for themselves, or asked an enormous price for the slightest share, leaving those who relied on these trades deprived of supplies. Nobody blamed them for the decision, though, for one couldn't give away non-existent resources or afford to starve oneself for the sake of others.

But now, the problem was that the settlement where the Durin family lived was one of those situated high up the mountains and they grew little food: renowned for their skills in various craftsmanship –weapon-making over all-, dwarves let food production to men and drove their efforts into making beautiful objects instead. They earned money from it and it was enough to buy whatever they needed during the cold months. But none of their customers were interested in buying their products this year when they needed to acquire edible goods, and therefore, the dwarves and men gathered in the area had to fend for themselves. It included travelling further away to try and find more customers from towns which didn't suffer from scarcity, hunting in the storm all day long to discover where prey were hiding and restricting real food to eat some tasteless filler instead. Which resulted in their current predicament, and waking up with an aching stomach was one of the things they had grown used to for the last few weeks.

Fili startled when he felt fingers closing around his arm as well and squeezing back, brought back to the present reality by the touch. Kili was smiling kindly at him and his deep brown eyes were anchored to his big brother's sky blue ones.

"Hey. Don't make this face again; I'm not going to collapse or something."

"I know, silly," Fili mumbled back with a lop-sided grin. He couldn't really help it. Every time he thought about their situation, a worried frown appeared on his face. They all had lost weight and it was harder and harder to make ends meet and they had hardly reached the middle of winter. How on Middle-Earth are we going to go on for so many weeks?

"Will you stop insulting me every morning? It's not the most pleasant way to wake up, you know," moaned Kili in a scandalized tone while kicking Fili in the shin as a punishment.

"That remains to be seen… The day you'll beat me in a wrestling match, maybe," Fili teased with a smug smile. His dark-haired brother had grown like a weed until oversizing him, and it seemed he wasn't even done, but the blond elder still featured a stronger and muscular body, very useful when it came to pin annoying little brothers down.

Kili huffed dramatically and rolled over to crawl away from Fili. He made his way to the edge of the bed and swiftly reached for his clothes, changing from his night garments to his much warmer outside gear. Fili sent a last regretful thought to the warm spot he was about to leave and got up as well to do the same. Once they were done, they picked up their weapons and baits and other things useful to go hunting and left their bedroom to enter the living room where their mother was busy preparing a breakfast with what she could find. Thorin was already gone for another arduous day at the forge and wouldn't be back before late this evening.

It was kind of the daily schedule they had come up with to get through the winter the better they could: Dís was to stay at home since she could work there, Thorin had to work harder than ever at the forge to earn enough money to live and sometimes left on several days long trips to sell their wares or find affordable food and Fili and Kili went out to venture into the wild, hoping to catch any game or to stumble upon a track that would them to a prey. The family's efforts were barely rewarded, but they had no other choice, so they strived as everyone else.

Kili appeared behind their mother's back to envelop her in one of his enthusiastic hug, kissing the nape of her neck. She chuckled lightly and planted a kiss of her own on his cheek before turning to face her other son. Fili stepped forward to hug her as well and she returned the gesture. She pulled back after a short moment and contemplated both of her sons with her beautiful blue eyes –Thorin's and Fili's eyes-, smiling all the while. They both noticed how exhaustion was written all over her face despite the smile lighting up her countenance, how her so fair features were marred with restrained worry, and they didn't even look at each other before a whirlwind of light and dark hair sprung forward to cling to her once more.

Dis stroked the back of their heads as her heart swelled with love and her grin widened. It hurt her to see her sons and brother –and herself- suffering from scarcity and winter's hardness. Well, especially when it came to the boys. She was reluctant to think about it, but Thorin and her had already went through starvation during their long exile, watching their comrades falling and never getting up, fearing that they and the rest of their family would meet the same fate, struggling to survive into vast wastelands, and all of that just after their mighty home had been stolen from them by a giant firedrake. It was the worst thing she had to live in her life so far, and she knew it even though her memories were blurred –she had only been a little dwarfling at that time, after all- and she had thought, once it was finally, finally all over that maybe their hardships ended here. She had been wrong, of course, but thankfully, none of their plight until now had been direr than their long exile through Middle-Earth.

What she was sure of, however, was that she had promised herself not to allow any of her son to go through that kind of misery, no matter what it took from her –she would starve herself to death if it meant her sons could have enough. Thorin would do the same as her without a second thought, too. She knew how much he loved the boys as if they were his owns. More than an uncle, he had been their new father after his demise, always present shall they need help and reassurance, a strong aid she had relied on for a long time when her grief and load of work had threatened to crush her. In return, the very presence of his nephews had done Thorin good: Death had left bloody stains at many points during his lifetime and each loss still plagued him, but when Fili and Kili had –easily enough- wormed their way into his heart, she had witnessed a shadow lift from his gaze to be replaced with mirth and love again.

And now, what she had been dreading for so many decades was lurking near her family as a wolf waiting for the right moment to strike. It wouldn't be nearly as bad as long as they had a solid roof to sleep under and a place where they belonged, but hunger was still the worst sensation she had ever felt –if she had to choose, she would pick a full belly with a night in the wilderness rather than the contrary. You could make do and find a shelter when confronted with your surroundings; you couldn't make food spawn out of nowhere.

It was with these thoughts in mind that she pressed her precious sons to her as they rubbed soothing circles on her back in return. They eventually broke their embrace and she pushed them toward the wooden table of the room. She turned back to grab the two bowls which contained her boys' breakfast –hot water with oats, mostly, though they had the luxury this morning of a few meat scraps from the hare they had caught on the eve; the resulting broth carefully spiced to turn the taste from awful to decent- and placed the recipients before them. Kili eyed his bowl with a barely contained greed that made her heart seize painfully again –how had they come to yearn for this? - before a thought seemed to occur to him as he suddenly looked up to her.

"Have you eaten already?"

"I have, sweetheart. I was up early, so I ate with Uncle Thorin. Eat now before it grows cold, it's always better when it's hot."

Kili narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, but lowered his head to do as he was told. He didn't believe his mother –Fili and he were almost sure that their mother and uncle didn't eat their fair share of food just so that the youngest would have more- but it wasn't as if they could do something against it. Except bringing more meat at home. Which he intended to do. He dug in his meal without thinking too much about it, simply grateful that it somehow filled his rumbling stomach and they finished it in silence, getting up when they were ready to go.

"We'll be back at dusk if everything goes well," Fili announced while getting hold of his heavy coat.

"But don't be worried if we're late, we planned to scout further down the forest if we don't find anything in our usual area," added Kili.

Dís nodded absently and shot them a last smile before they were off for the day.

Kili kicked a pebble with a frustrated groan, sending the sorry rock flying through the air.

"Calm down, nadadith, we can't be far," Fili said, placing a hand on his brother's arm and scrutinizing the bushy area as well.

"But I don't understand!" Kili cried in dismay, ignoring the placating touch. "We've been here for hours and there isn't a single hint of the traps we've settled yesterday!"

Fili sighed and pursed his lips as his irritated baby brother darted forward to resume his furious search of the woods. Kili was right, of course; he remembered well where they had previously put their traps and he had been utterly dumbstruck as well when they had found nothing but frozen ground and fresh snow there. But now after the fourth area they visited, Kili had exploded from soaring frustration over the disappearing traps and was raising a racket that would scare every prey of the area for sure. Kili knew that even more than him; he was the best hunter out of the two and usually didn't allow any sound to be produced when they were on the hunt, which meant that the mysterious disappearances had greatly unsettled him. Despite his calm external appearance, Fili was equally raging inside, mostly because he was out of explanation –one disappearance was disturbing but alright, two began to be rather suspicious and hard to explain, but four? –and he hated being helpless when faced to an issue, but as the big brother he forced himself to be as calm and rational as possible to soothe his upset sibling. Said sibling was currently stamping and cursing amongst the tree trunks as if in the middle of a tantrum and didn't seem ready to cool down anyway.

"Kili…"

"Don't! I know what you're going to say, but I… If…"

Kili seemed to struggle for words while wringing his hands for a moment before he gave up on trying to voice his thoughts, instead turning around to face Fili. The look of sheer despair and helplessness he saw etched upon his brother face made his heart clench and his legs began to move on their own will, taking three steps to stop before him, arms held out in invitation. Kili only glared at him for a second before he allowed himself to sink into the comforting embrace of his big brother. Fili held him close to his chest, determined to suppress the angry shivers coursing through Kili's body, result of exhaustion after his outburst and cold air at the same time. The young dwarf eventually seemed to relax as his heavy breathing eased off to a quiet one, and he turned his face away from Fili's fur collar to speak in a low voice, fidgeting with the buckles holding Fili's daggers to his belt.

"I'm sorry," he breathed out. "It's just that… If we don't bring some game, Mum and Uncle are going to keep starving themselves for our sake. I-I don't want them to, it's unfair. And if Thorin were here, he would know where to look to find prey and how to explain the damn missing traps, but he's not here because he has to work for us so he relies on us and he's going to be so disappointed if I can't find something-"

"Oh, Kee," Fili shushed him softly while tightening his hold on his little brother. "You're one of the best hunters in these parts and you know it, if you can't find where the prey have gone, nobody can. And he's not going to be disappointed either. I'm sure he is proud of you, you managed to catch several hares and birds this week, and it's more than most of the other hunters. There, stop worrying now, will you? We'll pull it through just fine, even if we don't find anything today. And we still have one snare to check, so come on; I bet this one can't be gone too."

Kili nodded silently and pulled back from Fili, keeping his head down –obviously not believing to find their last trap and thus bracing himself already for the disappointment. Fili hoped with all his heart that they would find it at its right place –and occupied with a beast in the brightest perspective- even though it wouldn't solve the evaporation of the four others, and that it would free Kili of that unsteady mood of his.

They didn't speak again when they headed to the last area where their snare should be, unable to get rid of their angst about what they would –or wouldn't- find, trudging through the snow. Mahal had at least granted them one of these rare clear days, and they weren't slowed down by the weather for once. They soon walked past a familiar pine, towering above the nearby trees and Fili began to turn around the twisted trunk with apprehension. He could still hear Kili's traipsing steps behind him and the way they slightly faltered as he, too, recognized the place. Then they both glanced in the direction the trap was supposed to be-

And he didn't even have a chance to check for it as Kili leapt forward with a short relieved cry and ran toward their still present snare, almost pushing him out of the way.

"It's still here! It's-" Kili suddenly trailed off and slowly lowered himself to the ground, bending forward and extending a hand to pick up something from the ground.

Fili gasped in shocked disbelief when his eyes fell upon the severed ends of their solid and carefully made trap that Kili held out at arm's length.

He took a few trembling steps to crouch next to his brother who was staring blankly at the ruined object, all enthusiasm forgotten. He took a closer look at their snare as well and brushed his fingers along it.

Fili and Kili made their hunting gear themselves when it came to snares and traps and the like, preferring to trust their skills in fashioning solid ones and saving money –killing two birds with one stone. They knew the strength of the materials they used and the safety of their knots, the resistance of their ties to any kind of pressure that would come from a struggling prey caught in the mechanism.

The hacked ropes were no animal doing. Jaws clenched in fury and fists curled around the wrecked trap, the brothers had no doubt when they came to the same conclusion: someone had voluntarily and repeatedly swung a sharp object at their snare until it broke. That someone has surely stolen –destroyed?-their four other traps as well.

That someone was deliberately depriving them of their means to survive.

AN So, end of the first chapter. It was not supposed to end at this event but it was beginning to be very long –almost 4 000 words already- so it'll be for next chapter!

As I said in the first AN, it's my first Fanfiction as well as my first "serious" English writing (until then, what I wrote in English were 250 words essays for school even though I couldn't help reaching 500 words because 250 is definitely too little) so… Please tell me if the amount of description I've set up for is too much. I've been role-playing on the Internet for 5 years in my mother tongue so that is the way I write since I learnt how to expatiate everything, but it was for role-playing games purposes and now I'm not so sure it is well adapted for a one-sided story. So I don't know if I'd really be able to change it but tell me if it is too much and I'll try and improve it for future chapters. :)

And one last thing before saying goodbye for now: I'm saying it again but I write for my pleasure and to learn and improve my english. That being said, I truly want you to tell me even the slightest mistake I made or to feed me with new ways to improve my writing, turn sentences, vary the words I use –everything you can think of. Please? Don't hold back any criticism, really, as long as you're sure of what you claim. :)

Until next time!