Of The Earth And Starlight (A The Hobbit/Kili fanfiction)

Thirteen Questions

Kili

The campfire was lit and the smell of cooking pork wafted through the woods, filling every Dwarf's nostrils and causing their bearded mouths to water. Emeril, Fili and I were sat by the large oak tree that I had put my belongings by, before I had journeyed to find firewood. Emeril had helped me to unravel my pack and prepare my sleeping blankets and now we were sat on them waiting for the food to be ready for eating. We didn't talk. Emeril seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, her eyes glazed and not focussed on anything in particular, rather staring off into the distant trees that to me were barely visible, however I knew her keen eyes could probably pick them out of the dark without strain.

I noticed Fili giving the She-Elf an occasional curious glance as he sat beside me in silence. I knew he was still wary of her but over the last hour since her arrival, he had appeared to warm to her, more so than most of the other company, who still kept their distance from her. I did not understand fully why I trusted her so much and why I chose to defend her. My brother and I knew better than most our Uncle's hatred for the Elves and it surprised me that I was able to find such comfort in the presence of one. However I tried not to question it so much, perhaps it was a twist of fate that had brought her to our company, or maybe pure chance, but whatever the reasoning, I knew that she was an ally, someone that could be trusted.

"Food's ready boys," Bofur's voice reached our ears swiftly and at once my brother and I jumped to our feet and started forwards. Only when I was a few feet from the campfire did I remember Emeril and turned to see her sat in the same position that she had been before, watching Fili and I curiously.

"Are you coming?" I asked her. She paused for a moment, considering whether she should continue with what she had agreed earlier and join us or bail and stay where she was in the shadows.

"Of course," she finally decided and stood, gliding over to me and following my lead to the gathering. Most of the Dwarves, save Thorin and also Gandalf were now sat in a ring around the campfire, a few feet back. They had kindly left a small gap between Balin and Dori for the three of us to join them. We sat down carefully, trying not to disrupt the merry company and waited for our food to be handed to us, which it soon was as both Bofur and Bombur were dishing out platefuls of whatever they had concucted and passing full plates around the circle.

"Are you sure you don't want any?" I turned to Emeril, who had placed herself between me and Fili, and noticed that she looked out of place without a plate of food.

"I'm sure, I really don't eat that food," she answered sweetly. "And I had a light snack about an hour before we met so I am full."

I turned back to the company, who were now all digging into their food greedily. I for one had never cared about manners but since Emeril was with us and having to witness the pig like troffing of the Dwarves, I suddenly felt extremely self-concious about the way I ate. Instead of shovelling the meat and bread into my mouth, I decided to take small bites and try not to spill any down me. A silence had seemed to fall over the group who, while devouring their food, were staring at Emeril, silently studying her. The Elf did not seem to mind or even notice the attention she was getting and stared into the flickering flames of the campfire regardless.

A moment later, as if some spell of silence had been broken, every Dwarf around the fire suddenly sprang to life and questions flooded from their mouths. Each Dwarf was trying desperately to be heard over the next and their voices grew louder and louder until they all mingled into one creshendo of noise, making it impossible to distinguish any one voice from the next. Emeril was drawn once again from her thoughtful trance and she seemed to recoil backwards from the overbearing Dwarves, a flicker of surprise and fear filling her face momentarily.