The Ranger ➵ Kili Durin

PART I : CHAPTER 6

The company travelled for many miles. They passed through grasslands and rocky terrain, over mountain peaks and quiet rivers.

The company crossed through a quiet oasis where a large, magnificent looking waterfall fell into a crystal clear blue lake. They all walked slowly behind the waterfall, each one enjoying the way the cold mist cooled their hot faces. Kili walked behind Elvira and watched as she looked up at it in awe, putting her hand gently into the middle of the waterfall and letting the cool liquid run down her hand and arm. He watched her eyes light up at the beauty she was embracing. He wanted to embrace the beauty of the nature too, but she was the only thing he could focus on.

He noticed the way her blue irises glowed, and the way the golden ring surrounding the light blue shined like a thousand pieces of gold. He was sure that no gold in Erebor could shine brighter than her eyes as she stared at the waterfall with a small smile on his face.

He only came out of his trance when his brother behind him tapped his shoulder strongly, knowing exactly what was slowing him down. However, Fili just smiled, and pushed his brother on as each member of the company slowly came out from behind the waterfall and continued on their path.

The sun and calm scenery didn't last long. Soon, they were on top of a mountain pass as lightning struck around them, the rain whipping their faces harshly. Each of their hoods were pulled up to block the strict wind, but it was to no avail. The storm was strong, and the company was standing on narrow cliffsides through the misty mountains, the path crumbling at their feet as the thunder roared.

"Hold on!" Elvira heard Thorin shout, but the thunder masked his voice, making his shouts seem only like whispers on the wind. Bilbo lost his footing a moment and almost dove over the side of the cliff, had Dwalin and Elvira not grabbed his cloak and pulled him back towards the rock they were backed against.

"Watch out!" Dwalin yelled, seeing rocks come tumbling down from above their heads. Each member of the company pressed their bodies as close to the side of the mountain as possible, rocks hitting their packs and landing at their feet as the thunder roared yet again.

"This is no thunderstorm, it's a thunder battle! Look!" Balin shouted, pointing towards the sky, where a human-like figure made of rock came from the side of the mountain, throwing a large boulder at the mountain above the company.

Kili, who stood behind Elvira, noticed her gaping at the figure before them, and grabbed her shoulders before she could get crushed by the falling rock. Her body was shoved against the mountain quickly, and Kili tried to shield her from the falling rocks by putting his body against hers, his back to the rubble and the rain. His hands were on either side of her head, her face was pressed into his shoulder as they both tried to get away from the dangerous rock-throwing battle. The rocks soon stopped falling, and Kili lifted half of his body off of her to look around. Elvira was still momentarily pressed between his side and the mountain, Kili's hand beside her head where they both had been. As strange as it had been, the proximity was not the reason for Elvira's heavy breathing.

"Consider us even, then," Kili's voice cut through the wind. "You saved my life, and now I've saved yours." Elvira laughed loudly, despite the situation they were currently in, and Kili was grinning wide just at the sound.

"Well bless me, the legends are true. Giants! Stone giants!" Bofur yelled as another stone figure came out behind the opposite side, and the two giants began to fight each other violently with their rock fists..

A loud rumble came from the mountain they were pressed against, and the ground behind Kili began to split. Fili, who was behind Kili in line, yelled and reached for his brother as the ground started to get wider and wider, fearing the outcome of the separation. Elvira noticed this, and quickly took action.