Admiration (Kili x Ameria)

Chapter 6

Ameria was sitting on the bridge before the underground waterfall, watching the water flow smoothly beneath her. She listened the distant noises of drinking and singing, making her feel like even more miserable.
But the dwarven burials have always been like this, first they mourn but after the actual ritual they drink for the fallen ones memory.
She sighed, seeing a tiny rock beside her which she quickly picked up and threw it into the water, scaring the fishes around it.
Her mind was all around the place as she tried to keep calm, flashes of the funeral creeping up on her.
Shivering she turned her head away from the waterfull just to be greeted by Kili, walking slowly towards her with a sympathetic expression.
"I thought i would find you here...how are you holding up?" He softly asked, keeping his distance as he sat next to the half-elf who was staring at the ground again.
"The funeral was huge, i'm glad that every fallen dwarf got their peace," Ameria simply answered, finally meeting his eyes with a dull expression.
Kili furrowed his brows a bit, trying to figure out how she was feeling but failing miserably.
He was about to mention that but decided to be quiet once in his life so instead he just scooted a bit closer to the girl, giving her the silent comfort which she clearly needed.
"I'm here for you, just so you know," Kili suddenly blurted out, shattering the silence between them and causing Ameria's ears to perk up a bit.
"I know Kili...Thank you," she whispered softly, smiling sadly at him before her expression got stoic again, "I should feel worse than this right?"
Kili raised an eyebrow at the girl, confused what she meant but still just sat next to her in silence, letting her continue.
"I should be destroyed to my core, beyond repair. My father meant everything to me and still i...i don't? I feel fine. It's like i'm glad that i finally have an actual reason to fight for, and i know i'm terrible person to even say this and-"she muttered, seemingly getting more freaked out by a second.
Kili just sat there, speechless as he listened to his friend and even though she said she was fine, Kili knew deep down that she wasn't and she was having trouble progressing all of this.
So he just hugged her tightly, shielding her from the world with his arms, interrupting her panicked rambling immediately.
"It's...okay. For what it's worth i don't think this makes you terrible, only strong-willed, like a dwarf," he smiled bitterly as he felt the girl sigh into his shoulder.
He realized that sound has become too familiar  lately as he stroked his hand on her upper back.
"I lost my dagger...the one my father gave," Ameria mumbled, like a reminder to herself that she has to go find it soon, as she softly pulled away from the embrace, getting ready to stand up again.
Kili quickly stood up as well, watching as the girl wandered towards the main hall, "Where are you going?"
"I need Ale to drown my sorrows in. You're welcome to join if you want," Ameria shouted over her shoulder, not bothering to wait for the dwarf as he quickly scrambled himself up, running beside the half-elf.
"I can never turn down some Ale, let's drink until we can no longer stand!"

...

Kili waddled around the table, laughing as he cheered with a full mug of Ale in his hands, almost dropping it for multiple occasions.
He was desperately trying to explain a joke, but soon forgot what the joke even was in the first place as he knocked a drink down quickly, almost choking which resulted on Ameria spitting her drink out from laughing too hard.
Fili and Norui soon joined them after hearing the loud, bubbly laughter of the pair, immediately cheering for the fallen ones memory.
And soon or later they noticed that many other dwarves has joined them, sharing stories and drinking, some even dancing on the table, Fili and Kili included.
Ameria cheered for them loudly, applauding on the rhythm of the music, doing the best she could, despite her drunken state.
"Dance with me Ameria!" Kili suddenly slurred out, almost falling on top of her as he let go of Fili's arm, flinging his big brother to the floor.
"I'm not a good dancer," she mumbled, moving a bit to the left to see where Fili fell, seeing him laughing uncontrollably on the floor with the other dwarves.
Kili pouted a bit before shaking his head, not accepting the answer and quickly grabbing her by the arm, pulling the high-elf on top of the table with him.
"I'm sorry honeycake but i do not approve thag answer," he mumbled, pulling her closer, grinning cheekily as Ameria bursted out laughing.
"Did you just call me honeycake?"
"Yes. Yes i did."
Ameria laughed harder, seemingly getting more relaxed and Kili saw his opportunity, starting to move along the beat of the music, the half-elf following along without noticing but stumbling a little bit.
The pair danced on the table, the moment of bliss, practically lifting them up as the other dwarves become only a blur in the background.
Kili smiled, enjoying to see his friend in a better mood, even if she was drunk, probably forgetting her grief, at the moment.
But then the tragedy striked and he stumbled, knocking himself and accidentally taking Ameria with him off of the table as they both fell to the ground, the half-elf crushing him under her.
She let out a deep 'oof', her breath smelling like ale as she was inches away from his face, grinning from ear to ear.
Norui bursted out laughing beside them, spilling her ale as she tried to regain her composure, failing miserably as the other dwarves chuckled at the scene, Fili quickly checking up on the pair on the floor before moving to Norui, giving her a wink and a new mug of ale.
"What are you grinning at?" Ameria slurred, a mischivious smirk appearing on her face as they still lied on the floor, not bothering to move.
"I'm not obligated to tell you that," he chuckled back before burying his face into her neck, "you smell nice."
"At least go behind a tree or something for Mahal's sake," Norui suddenly blurted out beside them, making a gagging noise as Fili snorted behind her.
"Yes that's repulsive," Fili added, pretending to throw up also before starting to laugh again along with Norui.
"Never," Ameria muttered but sloppily gathered herself up, Kili frowning in displeasing manner from losing her.
He scrambled up as well, leaning against the half-elf for balance, chuckling a bit as he saw her ears twitch again.
"Your ears look humorous when they move on their own," Kili hummed, finally poking her pointy ears making her yelp and jump back, making the leaning dwarf almost fall again.
"They're ticklish, don't you dare," she warned, shooing his fingers off immediately, slapping it lightly with a low chuckle.
Kili laughed, waving his hands defensively and looked around before speaking up, "That was an interesting piece of information."
Ameria furrowed her eyebrows at him, fully knowing that she was going to regret that later.
The pair stared at each other for a minute and then chuckled in union before the half-elf opened her mouth to speak,
"I need some water."
Kili grinned, taking two mugs to his hands and waited patiently for her to invite him to go get the water with her. Ameria rolled her eyes at the waiting dwarf, noticing how badly he wanted to tag along.
"So you're coming with me right?"
"I thought you'd never ask."

...

Ameria hummed in her thoughts as she finished the fresh mug of water, as Kili was kneeling down, wishing he would've taken ale instead of water.
"Where did your mind wander?" Kili suddenly asked, noticing that her eyes were focused on a one particular rock as she was hardly blinking.
She jumped a bit, surprised by the dwarf and she turned to look at him with a confused expression, "Huh?"
He deadpanned and flicked her forehead, making the half-elf chuckle in response, "I have to be honest, i actually did not think of anything."
"And thus she went over a mountain finally," Kili responded, dramatically moving his hands to his face, making a stupid expression afterwards to make Ameria laugh again.
"At last," she joined in on the dramatic speech, flopping down on the floor her hand still upward towards the ceiling.
The dwarf stared at her for a minute, admiring how her eyes shined against the dim light of the hall, a small smile dancing on her lips.
Kili scoffed, shaking that thought of his head and flopped next to her in a starfish position.
"I'm so....drunk." He mumbled, chuckling afterwards as he put a hand on his forehead, closing his eyes for a minute.
"You're not alone," Ameria soon answered with a familiar mumble, turning to look at him briefly, "You have a cute nose."
Kili's eyes shot open, he immediately turning to look at the smiling half-elf as he felt his cheeks get warmer, "What?"
She poked her tongue out, turning her attention back to the ceiling as she smiled,
"You heard me."
"Just...making sure," The dwarf mumbled, moving his hand to his cheek as he cursed internally the reaction.
He looked away, hearing the half-elf laugh whole heartedly beside him, snorting in between the laughs before the bubbly sound died down.
The pair stayed there, laying silently, for a minute, staring at the ceiling of the hall, mesmerized at the dim light of the candles which reflected all the way to the top, a warm tint taking over the athmosphere.
Ameria yawned suddenly, the drowsy feeling from being exhausted and drunk surrounding her completely.
Kili looked at the half-elf with a side-eye, holding in a chuckle as she kept yawning and stretching, suddenly rolling straight into his side.
He freaked out for a hot second, his cheeks getting bright red as he felt Ameria's arm getting wrapped around him, the half-elf seemingly seeking for somekind of comfort before she was going to pass out.
"Ameria..?"
The girl just hummed in response, snuggling closer to him, seemingly unaffected by the questioning voice.
Kili sighed and smiled, wrapping his hand around her, shielding her from the world and letting her rest beside him.
Ameria woke a bit more as she felt his hand but only smiled into his neck, tickling him a bit as her breath hit against his skin.
"If you're exhausted i can escort you home," He finally whispered, not moving a muscle from the sheer excitement.
Truth to be told he hasn't been this close...bonded with a female dwarf before and even he had to admit he was kinda nervous when she was so comfortable with him.
The dwarves around here didn't think much of his looks since he didn't have a big beard or a big nose. He scoffed at the thought and looked at the half-elf with a side-eye, feeling a small smile creeping up on his face.
"No no...i'm good here, this is soft," Ameria mumbled, moving his hair away, playing with it a bit before flopping down again, "Your hair is really pretty."
"Thank you?" Kili chuckled out as he closed his eyes, not bearing his mind too much into the drunken girl's drowsy blabberings. It's not like she had any idea what she was talking about anymore since she was on the edge of falling asleep.
"It's so pretty....i want to braid it," Ameria slurred before her eyes finally fluttered shut, her breathing getting heavier as she slowly let the dreamworld take over, smiling softly.
And just like that Kili's eyes shot open again faster than ever before as he felt his heart stop for what felt like a lifetime.
"Did she just...?" Kili practically screamed inside his head as her words echoed in his thoughts over and over again.
There was no way she could've said that just now, maybe he just heard her wrong.
He squeezed the half-elf closer, panickingly breathing in and out as he tried to think of an explanation, "There was no way she could feel- no no Kili. She's just drunken."
Soft snores soon interrupted his thoughts and he peeked down seeing Ameria now deep in her sleep, "i wonder what she's dreaming about."
He chuckled quietly as he saw a bit of drool on her lips, careful trying not to wake his friend up as he adjusted himself to be more comfortable.
The dwarf moved his hand slightly and stroked her hair in order to make Ameria feel more at peace as his thoughts were still running wild, not really knowing if he should bring it up later or if he even should do that in the first place.
Kili sighed and closed his eyes, calming himself down as well feeling the drowsiness overcome him.
They could always discuss the incident later, he decided before taking a deep breath and relaxing as he listened the deep breaths of Ameria beside him.