Dis' Story - Part 28

It seemed that when Fili made a promise, he was in no hurry to break it.
True to his word, Fili oversaw everything his brother did.

He watched his Uncle rock him to sleep and he tried to learn the lullabies too, so that he might sing them.
He always knew when Kili needed to be fed for he would fetch his mother and bring her to the baby.
If Kili was too hot or cold, Fili would undoubtedly be the first to know and respond to his needs.
He seemed to know what Kili liked and didn't like.

For example, Fili had gone to his mother with a very grown-up look on his face. "Mama, I think you should move the cot next to my bed," he said. Both Fili and Kili slept in the nursery. "Why, my pet?" Dis frowned. "Kili doesn't like sleeping on his own. And he likes to be put to bed when the sun is going down and not in the dark because he likes the colours the sun makes. He won't go to sleep in lots of dark. Also, he much prefers having the blue blanket when he goes to sleep rather than the brown blanket because the brown blanket gets fluff up his nose and he goes to sleep much quicker if he can see you lying down with him," Fili carefully explained, ticking off the points on his fingers. Dis had to stop herself from laughing.
But...to everyone's everlasting amazement, Fili was right.
Kili hadn't been a very good sleeper. He never slept longer than an hour at a time. Thorin had decided to try Fili's suggestions.
They moved the cot to Fili's bed and only put him to bed when the setting sun was low in the sky and casting warm evening rays into the room. They wrapped Kili up in the blue blanket, not the brown one, and Fili lay down on the bed, pretending to sleep, when Kili was lowered into his cot.
Kili never cried once.
He yawned, fell asleep, and woke up again the following morning having slept all through the night.

It seemed Fili knew exactly what Kili needed and it remained an unsolved mystery for many, many years...indeed, Dis never found out how he knew.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dis saw Fili sat by the cot and caught sight of something on his hand. "Fili? What...what are you wearing on your finger?" she asked him. Fili held it up. It was Krili's ring. "Papa gave it to me when he got me out of the fire," Fili told her. Dis felt the tears yet again but blinked them away.
The ring was a band of gold with a lion's head carved into it. In the lion's mouth was a glittering yellow stone. Krili had received it from his grandfather, who was also of the rare blond haired breed. Krili had known he was going to die and he had given his son his ring...the mark of the Lion. Dis told Fili to look after it and hurried away.

She and Thorin had been brutally cut by the death of Krili.
Thorin now had seen so much of loss and death that he became ever more sullen and cold. Hardly anyone saw him smile. He couldn't bring himself to smile anymore. His smile was saved for only those closest to him. To Dis and to his sister-sons, his smile was more frequently given, especially when Kili grew older.
Kili wasn't really an explorer to begin with. He much rather preferred to be cuddled and to sit on someone's lap. Being premature did not help Kili stay in the best of health. He got very cold from time to time and Fili (knowing when he was) would hug him until he warmed up again. When Kili could crawl, he would scurry about after his brother like a loyal puppy.
Dis and Thorin didn't have to do much at all in rearing the baby.
All Kili needed was Fili.
Dis was almost tempted to say, "I do not know. Ask Fili," whenever people asked after baby Kili.

Thorin, also, was proud of them, though he did not say so very much.
He silently promised himself that he would raise the boys into Dwarves that Krili would be proud to call sons.
But he was hurt by something else.

He would watch the boys play and be glad at first...
Then he remembered who he was. He was King. Fili would be King after him and what would he inherit from Thorin?
An exiled people.
Stolen Wealth.
A Lost Kingdom.
All Fili would inherit was the misery of the wilderness.
He would inherit a dragon-infested Mountain.
Nothing more.

That was when he knew he was going to get Erebor back. He would reclaim their homeland for his grandfather, his father, his brother, and his sister.
He would take back Erebor in memory of Krili.
He was going to win back the Mountain for Fili and Kili.

For them...