Tolkien and Jackson own. I do not.

CHAPTER THIRTY

NEW MEETINGS

Rashadahl was a spectacle if nothing else. Of course, Kili had been to his fair share of cities, but this one was quite unlike anything he had seen. It had twists of Laketown, Naltus, and a bit of something he'd never quite seen. The air was warm and humid, laced with the spicy, mouthwatering smell of cooking food, incense, and a strange sweet pipe smoke. Sounds of Rhunish chatter, shouting, and a touch of soft music filtered through the haze in the air. The streets flashed with colorful clothing, and buzzed with excitement for the next day's festivities. Alabastrin explained that even more people than usual were in the city due to the festival. Indeed, the streets were busy. Kili was watching his back carefully, making sure that none of the people that bumped into him were pickpockets. They couldn't afford to lose what little wealth they had to some knock-off Nori.

They'd reached the city a bit after midday, and had made plans to meet in four days' time at the inn they'd spent the night, and then the caravan had split paths. They'd made plans with Kulasi and Haralasi to meet the next day, then Alabastrin had begun leading them off through the convoluted streets.

After perhaps half an hour, Al brought them to a stop in front of a wooden door. It was built into a two story building, no taller than any of the other buildings in the area. Just like everything else, it was built out of sandstone and mud, though this one had a particularly large number of clothes lines, heavy with brightly colored fabric strung off of its roof.

"This is it," Alabastrin turned back to them, a slight frown marring his face. "About my sister. She can be a bit...abrasive."

Kili shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to it."

Gwen didn't miss the pointed look Kili gave her.

Alabastrin smiled slightly, but it was watery. "Yes, well, just keep in mind that she speaks more than is...good for her sometimes."

"Oh, just go on and knock," Gwen said with a roll of her eyes. "I've spent time with Kili, so I'm quite familiar with mouth-running."

Al chuckled at that, and went to knock at the door, calling out, "Satirynn!"

Kili couldn't help but wonder a bit at his curious behavior. What on earth was Al so very nervous about? Unless his sister was somehow insane, the apology he gave seemed excessive. But...what if she was insane?

When no response came, from inside the house. Alabastrin sighed, pounding on the door harder. "She gets caught up in her work sometimes, and forgets to listen to the door," He explained, whilst half rattling the wooden door from its frame.

"Mabull-Goj!" A female voice shouted back at them, finally.

A smile broke across Alabastrin's face, despite his nerves, and he shouted back, "Shapit, Hundur!"

There was a moment of clattering from inside the door, before it burst open. There was a sharp cry, and suddenly, a dark blur threw itself at Al, forcing him to stagger back a few steps. "Alabastrin!"

Chuckling, Al steadied himself, rattling off, "Ashdatas Vrasubatlat, Tirynn."

"Nar Udatas!" The newcomer, presumably Alabastrin's sister laughed in return, pulling herself away from Al slightly to look him in the eye, grabbing his cheeks with both of her hands. She was pretty. A few years older than Alabastrin, with his warm, smooth skin, full lips and piercing dark eyes, her long hair in a braid over her shoulder. Her hands were rough though, clearly those of a worker. She looked like she enjoyed smiling. She broke off into a torrent of Rhunish that Kili was hopeless to understand. A glance towards Gwen showed that she wasn't a whole lot better off.

Still smiling, Al pulled her hands off of his face, responding to her, before he stepped back. "Sister, I brought guests."

She looked up, as if having noticed them for the first time. "Alabastrin should tell this first," she said, raising a brow at her brother. Her Westron wasn't as smooth as her brother's, but it was certainly comprehendible.

Al shrugged. "You didn't give me time. Satirynn, this is Kili and Gwen. They are travelling with the caravan, and they will be staying with us for the festival."

Her dark eyes flickered over both of them from head to toe, and Kili couldn't help but feel like he was being searched by her gaze. It was like she was looking right through him. "You are friends of my brother?"

"Of course," Kili said, giving the girl a grin despite his slight unease.

Kili was a bit confused to see Satirynn's eyes flicker over to Alabastrin. The boy's eyes had gone to the ground, a slight flush of pink barely visible on his cheeks. Was that a blush?

"You've been most generous, opening your house to us," Gwen added.

Satirynn shrugged. "I never did tell you that you can stay." Alabastrin's head snapped up, and his mouth opened to protest, but the girl beat him to it. "But I am familiar with Alabastrin making promises that I am to keep."

Al rolled his eyes, but Satirynn paid him little mind, sweeping her way into the house. "I did not know you came, so there are things about," she mentioned. Indeed there were things about. A small stove and kitchen area sat in the corner of the room, while the rest of the space was strewn with swaths of brightly colored fabric. Some was rich and silky, some like air, in a veritable rainbow of saturated shades. A few dummies lie scattered around, half-finished dresses and shirts draped off of them.

"Satirynn is a clothes-smith," Alabastrin explained, a bit of pride tingeing his tone, as he followed her in. "She had taken the business our parents left her."

"And I have thrived," She added, throwing a grin over her shoulder, as she lead them to the staircase on the opposite wall. "You will place your things upstairs then we will talk."

The upstairs area was only slightly neater than the bottom floor. Half of the room was curtained off by swaths of material, while the other half was scattered with scraps and strips of clothing. "With festival so soon, work must be done," she excused. "Your things go here," she said, sweeping the multi-colored clutter off of what seemed to be a low- seated couch.

They did as they were told, happy to lose their heavy packs and cloaks. Satirynn sat down in the middle of the floor, plucking up a half finished project. "Come, sit."

They did so, sitting in a loose circle. Satirynn went to work immediately, her needle flashing, while Kili followed Alabastrin's lead and shed his boots. "Where do you come from?"

"The Blue Mountains, formerly," Kili explained. "But we recently...Relocated to Erebor."

"Erebor?" Satirynn repeated, raising a brow, sparing him a glance. "There is a dragon?"

"Not anymore," Kili said, smiling.

Satirynn whistled. "You are beast-slayer then?"

Kili shrugged. "Something like that."

"He's royalty too," Al said, sounding slightly smug as he picked at a scrap of fabric.

Satirynn spared Kili a slightly longer glance before sighing, and looking back down at her work. "I always say, why does Al not find normal people?"

"Normal people are boring," Al drawled.

It seemed that bit by bit, Alabastrin's nervousness was dissolving. That was good. The last thing Kili was to lose their lodging due to awkwardness alone.

"You," Satirynn said, glancing up to Gwen. "Are not dwarf. So where come you from?"

"Northern foothills of the Rhun Mountains."

"Not far then," Satirynn mused. "You are not foreign to the way that we are here, yes?"

"Not so foreign," Gwen confirmed with a smile.

"Why be Gwen and Kili here, then?" she asked.

"We," Gwen shot a glance towards Kili, barely noticeable, but it told him to keep his mouth shut until she had told a suitable lie. "We wished to see the world."

Satirynn nodded slowly, but did not stop with the questioning there. "You have seen this part of the world before, yes?" Upon seeing Gwen's affirmation, she continued. "Then why do you come to see again?"

"I'm keeping this one from getting lost," Gwen replied smoothly, indicating Kili.

He had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. If anything, he was along to keep Gwen from getting lost.

"Unusual friends," Satirynn commented.

"Aye," Kili half-snorted. "She is."

Satirynn looked up for a moment, her eyes flicking between them, a sort of understanding dawning on her face. She smiled secretly to herself, before moving back down to her work. "Unusual couple."

Gwen flushed instantly. "We're not—"

"Aye," Kili said again, smiling cheekily at Gwen's embarrassment. "We are."

Satirynn shook her head. "Short one is right, Gwen. I sound stupid in the other speak, but I am Alabastrin's sister. I am sharply smart."

Kili smirked at Gwen, who elbowed him away, rolling her eyes.

"Al," Satirynn said after a few moments of silence. "You forget all the manners you have. You offer the guests food and drink, yes?"

"That's what you're supposed to do, Tirynn," he huffed. "You're the—"

One sharp look from his sister had Al rolling his eyes, getting up to his feet. "Kili, Gwen, how about something to drink?"

"Sure," Kili said with a shrug. After all that desert, he'd never not be thirsty.

"I come down in one hour or two," Satirynn told them as Al lead them back down the stair case. "Then we will go out."

"Good luck," Al tossed over his shoulder.

Once they were downstairs, he motioned towards a few cushions on the floor right outside of the kitchen area. "You can sit there, I'll get us water."

Kili and Gwen sat themselves down as Al had said. "This is all very much like my home," Gwen said softly, looking about with a fond smile. "Minus the mess of fabric, that is."

"Weren't much of a seamstress then?" Kili asked, raising a brow.

Gwen shot him a dry look. "Really?"

Alabastrin sat in front of them before Kili could reply, setting down a clay cup in front of each of them. "As I said, my sister..." he said, smiling slightly. "She can be a little bit much for some people."

"Al," Kili began. "Compared to Gwen, she's an angel."

He got a punch in the arm for his trouble.

It had been a full three hours until Satirynn descended the stairs, a large basket of fabric in her arms. She'd escorted them out the door with a few sharp words, and from there they'd followed her about the city as she delivered the garments she'd finished making that day. She seemed to be paid well for her creations, and she and her brother were greeted by many people they passed on the streets. It seemed that the two of them were well known in their hometown.

After her work was done, Satirynn folded her basket up and lead them to a small tavern of sorts. It was open to the street on one wall, and filled with low tables and cushions. The food was smoky and spicy, the mix of flavors growing familiar to Kili. It was odd, and made his tongue burn and his eyes water, but it certainly wasn't bad. Admittedly though, it might be nice to get back to the roast boar and potatoes they'd practically feasted on in Erebor.

Conversation was lively at the tavern, and they'd stayed there for perhaps an hour after their meal, sipping cups of a cool green colored tea and sharing stories. Satirynn seemed eager to hear of their adventures, as well as she wanted to tell a few of her own tales. When they left the tavern, Kili's stomach was full and the sun was beginning to set.

Of course, Satirynn wasn't going to end their evening there. Kili was grateful for the night's sleep he'd gotten the previous evening, because Satirynn deemed it a good time to take them on a tour of the city. Kili did his best to remember the routes and sights she showed them, but the streets were terribly winding. As far as he could determine, the wealthier district was on the east side of the city, the slums on the far west. In between those were the merchant's and craftsmen's homes. On the outskirts, were apparently farms and fields, where many of the poor went out to work during the day. At the very center of the city was a vast marketplace, bustling in preparation for the next day's rush. A river cut through the center of the city, running from the north of the city to its south, fed by the rains in the Rhun Mountains.

By the time they stumbled back to the house, Kili's feet were aching but he felt that he had a bit of a better understanding of Rashadahl. Satirynn fetched cups from the kitchen, handing some of them to her brother, and lead them up the stairs. Instead of stopping there, though, she went to the corner of the room, where a ladder lead out to a wooden hatch door. She'd opened it in a moment, and the room flooded with cooling night air. "The night is young, Kili," she chuckled upon seeing his raised brow.

He and Gwen had little choice but to follow the siblings up the ladder and onto the roof. It was spacious up there. A small wall ran along the edge of it, and one half of the space was taken up by numerous potted plants, vines and spiny things. As per usual, the sky was filled from horizon to horizon with stars, the moon beginning its slow crawl across the night. It was cool, and quiet, except for occasional shouts from the people in the streets below them. He spared a glance over to Gwen, and couldn't help but smile. A look of awe was plastered across her face, her lips parted in a sigh as she looked up at the sky, her eyes lit up with glimmering starlight. He remembered her talking, once, about spending long nights on the roof in her childhood. He could practically see the memories in her gaze.

"Come, sit!" Satirynn urged them motioning to an open place against a wall. "And we will drink."

Kili gently took Gwen's arm and lead her to the place. Satirynn had set out four cups and taken two bottles out of the bag she'd used in the market. She hummed in disappointment. "Alabastrin, you will get the..."

"Ice?" he guessed, raising a brow.

"Yes!" Satirynn said, snapping her fingers. "It is the good time to use it."

"If you say so," he chuckled, standing to go back down the ladder.

"This is a drink," Satirynn explained, pouring a clear liquid into the clay cups. For a moment, Kili thought it was water, until the scent caught his nose. That was alcohol. Definitely. He smiled slightly. This could be interesting. "You call it Beast's Milk, I think." She uncorked another bottle, adding it to the cups. Instantly, the liquid went from clear to a milky white color. "We drink slow," she told them, setting the bottle back down. She shot them a wink, adding, "But much."

"Much" may have been an understatement. After two hours spent on the roof, the bottle of Beast's Milk was almost empty, and they were sloshed. This was at least twice as potent as any ale he'd had, even watered down. The drink wasn't his favorite. It tasted like a candy his brother had been fond of, that he'd never had a particular taste for. But it was alcohol, and the other three seemed to be enjoying it well enough.

He'd cut Gwen off after eight drinks, and she'd agreed fairly readily, already flushed in the face and swaying in her seat. Al and Satirynn were holding their drinks, but not much better than Gwen. They laughed loudly and often (to the dismay of their neighbors) and they seemed to be struggling with staying upright. Kili, was of course, fairly fine. Being a Durin had its perks.

"Is this what you have been doing since I left you?" Al asked, leaning back onto his elbows.

"...What?" Satirynn slurred after a moment. As she got more inebriated her Westron was slipping, but she was still giving it a valiant effort.

"You just been getting drunken on ice and Beast's Milk?" Alabastrin's immaculate speech was blurring slightly as well.

"No," Satirynn argued, sipping her drink again. "I do not drink...not all."

Alabastrin snorted, in a rather uncharacteristically ungraceful way. "Either your Westron is bad, or you lie."

"You...Shapit." Satirynn said, rolling her eyes, giving her brother a weak kick. "I should not have let you back home."

"Where else would I go, Tirynn?" Alabastrin asked, sending Satirynn a mournful look.

"The stables," Satirynn deadpanned, ignoring Al's pitiful looks. "Where you should be."

"You are mean," Al said, frowning.

"Get used to it," Kili intoned, nodding solemnly. "Older siblings are cruel."

Al jerked to look over at him, eyes growing wide. "You are still here."

Kili raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his drink. "Am I not supposed to be?"

"...no," Al answered after a pregnant pause. He had a strange look on his face. There was a flush on his cheeks, and not just one born of drinking. His eyes glittered oddly in the faint light, flicking between Kili's gaze and Gwen, who was lying with her head on his lap. "You..."

"Are you alright?" Kili asked after at least a full minute had passed.

This seemed to jog Al out of whatever stupor he was in, reaching up to run a hand through his already mussed hair. "Yes."

Satirynn opened her mouth to speak, but Al was faster, spitting out, "I will go to bed."

His sister reached up at him as he stood, her eyes widening. "No! My Westron..." she struggled for a moment. "I not can speak good."

Al shook his head, pushing Satirynn's hands away. "Good-night."

Kili frowned, as Gwen tilted her head back, wondering at the commotion. "What...What happened?"

Satirynn huffed, sitting back down. "Al is stubborn. He is...Ass."

Kili nearly spit his drink out. Out of all the words she knew in her drunken state, that's what she knew? Mahal, he couldn't wait to tell Bofur about this. "It's fine," Kili coughed out.

"He is..." Now, it was Satirynn's turn to look between Gwen and Kili, her mind working furiously behind her dark eyes. "His heart..." she couldn't seem to find the words she needed. Finally, she swore faintly. "I go now." She downed the last of what was in her mug, before stumbling to her feet. "Good-night."

"Goodnight," Kili called after her, but she was already gone down the ladder after Alabastrin.

Kili frowned, combing his fingers absently through Gwen's hair. It was all odd. Alabastrin's awkwardness...since when was that boy awkward? There had to be something causing it. He seemed to be astonished, and a bit alarmed by Kili's presence, and then the look he gave to Gwen earlier...

"Kili?"

Gwen's low voice brought him away from his thoughts. He looked down to see her staring up past him, her eyes soft and dreamy as they caught the night sky like a mirror. "Yes?" he said smiling faintly. It had been a while since he'd seen her this out of her head.

"How...did we get here?"

He lifted a brow. "Don't you remember, love? We traveled with the caravan, with Kulasi and—"

"I remember that," she corrected him, her eyes leaving the sky to look up into his. "But...how did I...This is so close to home."

He nodded slowly, waiting to see where her point was going.

"Very close," she assured him. "And...Those stars...And...The words, and the people, and the food..."

Seeing the confusion on his face, her frown deepened slightly, and she began trying to sit up, he gave her a bit of help, considering that she seemed to have forgotten how to properly operate her limbs. She was practically on his lap, once she was upright, and she slid even closer, her warmth heavy on top of his legs. Her nose was mere inches from his as she said, "No, really. This...I left here forever ago. But...the stars are still the same. And the drink is the same taste, and the people say the same things..."

Kili nodded, smiling as he took in a deep breath of her warmth. The soft wave of flushed heat coming off of her skin was a welcome comfort against the cooling air around them. "Is that really so odd?"

Her eyes left his, to stare over his shoulder, the thoughts churning behind her clear eyes. Her hands found his, slipping almost absently together. "It seems so strange that I would have changed so much, and this place changed so little."

Kili ran a thumb over her knuckles. "Time is much less changing than you are, love."

She looked back at him, letting out a hum of confusion.

"Well, think about how long you've been around. It's been what, one hundred and thirty years?"

She gave him the best stern look that her hazy eyes could muster. "One hundred and twenty seven."

"My apologies," Kili admitted, raising a hand in mock surrender. "No matter how old you are though, Middle Earth is thousands of years old, aye?"

She nodded slowly in comprehension.

"So what might seem like a lifetime to you, is just an instant for Middle Earth. If you think about it that way," he concluded. "It makes sense that you have to grow and change quite a bit faster than the rest of the world."

She contemplated his words for a minute, before smiling slightly, a warm, close smile that put golden heat into the starlight on her face. "You know, maybe you aren't as dumb as everyone says."

"Watch yourself," he protested. "I'm not dumb!"

Gwen snorted out an indelicate laugh, slumping forward into his chest. "Yes, well, you called me old."

Kili rolled his eyes, but brought his arms up around Gwen to keep her from slipping away. She fit a bit awkwardly into him, her legs everywhere, her head tucked a bit uncomfortably up against his windpipe, but that was fine by him. Holding her felt like holding together the pieces of his heart, warm and breathing against his chest.

He felt like he was finally getting to become whole again.

"I thought that I would never see you again."

His words rang out almost reverently into the still air.

She stiffened slightly in his arms, and for a moment, he thought she would pull away. However, Gwen just sat still, her voice, barely audible, murmuring. "As did I."

He held her a little tighter, and leaned down to press a kiss onto the crown of her head.

Welp. It's been a month since my last update. I have no words, no excuses. But I do want to thank you all for your continued support of this story. You guys are actually fantastic to be sticking around like this and I love you all. Review? Let me know your thoughts on new settings, new characters, new character development? Anything you feel like saying! Thank you again so very, very much!