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HARD LESSONS

-Chapter 4 – Contributions-

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"Dorian" Agnes Obel

"Balin," Fili called as he trotted toward the dwarf in the library. "I need your help with something."

"Certainly, lad," The older dwarf said as he set down his book. "What can I do for you?"

Fili took in a steady breath, closing his eyes. "I need a book." He opened his eyes to see his mentor's brows rise.

"A book concerning…?"

"The mechanisms of the front gate of Erebor." Fili answered simply.

"The opening mechanisms or the weighting engineering?" Balin asked as he led Fili down a library aisle.

"I need to understand the weight distribution and how to replicate it on a smaller scale."

With a grin and a nod, Balin reached for a book on one of the higher shelves, stepping back when Fili offered to grab it for him.

"This is the one you'll need." Balin rubbed the red, leather cover affectionately. He turned to face Fili and placed his hands on his hips, fixing Fili with a scrutinizing eye. "Why so interested in engineering, lad?"

When Fili explained himself and what he was trying to accomplish, Balin wrapped Fili in a strong embrace and shook his shoulders.

"Mahal's blessings, lad… I hope this works."

"So do I." Fili said nervously as he gripped the red book.

"Your hammer strokes will need to be precise," Thorin said, stepping up behind Fili as the blonde dwarf stood in front of his smithing workbench. "The plaster won't have given you a perfect measurement, but it will turn out better than guess-work."

Fili turned his attention to the oven beside the bench, bringing it to a blaze that made the two dwarves sweat uncomfortably.

"You'll be needing this," Thorin said with a smile as he handed Fili a box.

The younger dwarf stared at the box questioningly and tipped the lid to look inside. When he saw what was in it, he staggered backward and gaped at Thorin.

"Where did you get this?"

Thorin laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You think that the King of Erebor can't send for Moria mithril at a moment's notice?"

"I know you could, I just didn't know you would." Fili said, stepping closer to the box and looking in as though to confirm it was truly there. "I never expected that you'd—"

"You're not the only one that wants to see that lad smile again." Thorin said, lifting the mithril out of the box and planting a few pieces of the precious metal into a melting pot. "You and your brother are worth more to me than this whole mountain."

Fili shuddered as the weight of his uncle's words sunk in. When he'd first planned out this project, he hadn't considered for a moment how many people would want to be included—he'd done almost none of the work up until now: Balin had taken over the mechanism plans, Ori had sketched out the blueprints, Oin had helped with the measurements, Dwalin had supplied blueprints already in the archives from dwarves who had previously attempted what they were trying now, Bofur had pulled together the best tools, and Thorin had just given him some of the purest mithril found on Middle-earth.

But now it came down to Fili's part—and Fili was certain that Thorin could have taken on the job, but the King was incredibly understanding and insisted that Fili be the one to do it—and he looked over the materials he'd been given.

"Mahal, bless this work," Fili whispered.

"Where are we going?" Kili grumbled with a half grin as Fili pulled him along the gravelly road out of Erebor's front gates.

"I told you," Fili said, shifting the strap of the bundle which was slung across his shoulder and down his chest, "we're adventuring."

Kili rolled his eyes, but complied, walking quickly behind Fili's long strides. When they finally came to a gathering of trees, Fili stopped in his tracks and unloaded the extremely long pack from his back.

"There's really no ceremonious way to do this," The blonde dwarf said, scratching the back of his head. "So… this is for you."

Kili eyed the pack with uncertainty, glancing at his brother as he knelt down and pulled at the strings closing the top. He reached his good hand into the pack and withdrew something long and smooth. After pulling it out all the way, Kili snorted as he understood what it was.

"It's a bow." The younger dwarf said with a sneer, handing it to Fili.

"It's yours," Fili said with a roll of his eyes, pushing the bow back into Kili's hands. "But I've… changed it."

Kili's lips pursed as he took a look at the middle of the bow. "What's this?" He asked, pointing to the bulky leather bundle wound around the center of the bow.

"It's a hand grip." Fili said, stepping closer. "I took your hand measurements from your plaster cast." He took the bow from his brother's hands and reached for Kili's left hand.

"What are you doing?" Kili said in exasperation—Fili realized Kili wasn't asking what he was doing so much as why he was doing all of this. He didn't answer the irked dwarf and pulled Kili's hand toward the grip when Kili pulled his hand away and took a step back.

"Please, don't…" Kili said with a grimace. Fili could see the hurt in his brother's eyes, the recognition that there was a risk Fili's contraption wouldn't work. Risk meant there was a possibility of failure and Fili understood that Kili wasn't sure he was ready to face another failure.

"Trust me," Fili whispered, taking a slow step forward. "Please…"

After a shuddering breath, Kili looked into his brother's eyes and nodded, lips pressed into a line as he offered his left hand again. Fili gripped his brother's hand gently, sliding the awkward fingers into the leather glove attached to the bow grip. He saw the look of surprise on Kili's face as the hand slipped perfectly into the glove.

"There's metal," Kili uttered with a quirk of his brow.

"There's leather on the inside to protect your skin, but there's a metal reinforcement behind it to keep your fingers in place." Fili explained as he worked the buckle of a strap around Kili's wrist. "And there's leather on top of that so it doesn't glint in the sunlight."

"It's so light," Kili mused, moving his wrist around and finding that his entrapped hand would not be sliding out despite the harsh movements. "What did you use?"

Fili shook his head. "Not saying. Not until you've used it and say that you like it." This earned an expression from Kili that said, you're so odd, but Fili was determined not to let Kili shy away from his chance at using his favored weapon and Fili was sure the mention of mithril would have set him off.

"Arrow?" Kili cleared his throat as he received one in his good hand. He set the shaft along the sighting, notching the end, and without raising the bow he pulled the arrow against the string, testing the amount of strain his hand could take.

Fili savored the look of surprise when Kili's eyes widened—the weight of the bow decreased as he pulled the string further.

"How did you do that?" Kili said in absolute awe. Fili realized his brother had only just noticed the wheels set at each end of the bow.

"It's a pulley system," The blonde dwarf answered with a prideful smile. "Got the idea from the front gates." He shook his head. "It's long and complicated, but the point is that exertion is not as necessary as before. You'll need to pull it back to a certain point, but all of the weight will release as you sight up your target."

Kili held the bow up experimentally, aiming for a tree and letting out a wavering breath.

Thunk! Before Fili was even aware his brother had been ready to loose his arrow, it sunk into the knot of a tree fifty steps away.

"Mahal…" Kili breathed, eyes wide. He glanced at the bow and then back at his brother. "Did you see that?"

Fili nodded, laughing and clapping Kili on the back before bending over to hand him another arrow.

"Do it again."

Kili moved quicker this time and sent an arrow flying at the same mark, hitting just beside the previous arrow. Whooping and jumping like children, the two dwarves embraced each other and clamored for more.

Thorin hadn't meant to spy on his nephews when they left the gates, but he couldn't help himself from watching them from his balcony at the side of the mountain. Even from that distance, he could see them and hear their crowing as Kili spent his arrows on a tree. If he'd had wings, Thorin would have flown to them instantly and crushed their bones with an embrace.

Fili had done it. He'd brought Kili back. It was worth every coin of gold and every jewel Thorin possessed to see his nephew come back to life.

Thorin's eyes followed them as they trotted back up the hill towards the gate, coming closer to his balcony with every step.

"…to tell me?" He heard Kili say.

"It wasn't my idea," Fili said in reply, "Thorin supplied it."

"Supplied what?" Kili said with one of his famous smiles, proof that a despaired weight had left him, and smacking Fili's shoulder. "What's the big secret?"

"It's mithril." Fili said, ducking another of Kili's swats.

Kili stopped dead in his tracks. "He what?"

Fili shook his head, turning back to face his brother. "He said he wasn't sure what weight your hand could endure, so he didn't want to take any chances on it being too heavy."

"Oh, Mahal…" Kili said, looking like he wanted to vomit.

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Yay for improvised compound bows! :D I'm an archer myself, so I can totally understand how devastating it would be to have that taken away :( But Fili's a crafty fellow and had plenty of help.

Not sure where else to take this story, so I'll leave it as is for right now- maybe I'll add it in the future if I think of anything- but anyone wanting to take over is very welcome to continue! (And I encourage you to do so!)

Thank you for reading through, thank you for all the compliments and reviews, they really mean a lot to me. Be sure to read some of my other stories and show them a little love ;)