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“Bestest Big Brother In The World”
Baby Durins
for
thegreensorceress
Little Dwarf
It was a very puzzling thing for a five-year-old Dwarf to understand. All year things had been strange. His Amad, the Dwarf he was with all of the time, wasn’t with him all of the time any more. She no longer carried him about on her hip like she used to, even when he held his hands up and begged. She did not run and chase him about like she used to, instead his Adad now chased after him which was okay but he didn’t sing the Little Dwarf song when he caught Fili like his Amad did. His very large and imposing Irak’Adad was at their house all the time now. That was good because he would tell stories and sing by the fire when Amad was tired, which she was all the time now.
Amad herself was different as well. She was, well… round. Her belly bulged awkwardly out in front of her and she walked slowly, with one hand on her back. Sometimes Adad would talk to her belly and rub his hands over it. The little blond Dwarfling didn’t understand why he would do this. And visitors were coming to the house all the time now. Amad would sit in the big chair with her sewing basket and talk while Adad and sometimes Uncle made supper and that didn’t suit him not one bit. Finally, one quiet night, he stacked his wooden soldiers and ponies in the basket where they lived, huffed softly and trudged across the living room to look at the fire. He wasn’t allowed to touch the fire or the fire tools or the fire grate but he could look at the fire and he could sit by the fire and at least find a little warmth in his abandonment. He sat on the rug and looked into the flames, finding small comfort there in his sad and lonely state.
“Little Dwarf, Little Dwarf,
Where, oh, where are you going?”
He didn’t want to answer. He wanted to be sad because that’s what all orphan Dwarflings were. (Not that he had ever known an orphan Dwarfling because there were no orphans in Dwarven society. But if there were they’d be sad and he was very determined!)
“Little Dwarf, Little Dwarf,
Where, oh, where are you going?”
The soft signing repeated itself, coming from somewhere in the direction of his Amad’s chair and sounding something very much like Amad’s voice. A little sad orphan tear ran down his little sad orphan face.
“I’m going to the mines to work,
because I am an orphan.”
The voice behind him became quite surprised. “An orphan? You mean you have no Amad or Adad?”
“None to call my own,” the little golden haired Dwarf replied to the fire.
“And no Uncle has come to claim you?”
“He is away and doesn’t know I am a… a orphaned, lonely little Dwarf.”
“And no Cousins to take you in? Give you food and shelter until he returns?”
The Dwarfling put his head down on his folded arms. “I have no family; they have forgotten me and now I must go work in the mines and live in the little wooden houses with the other Dwarves who have no families.” And his shoulders shook with sadness.
“Hôfukel, come sit with me,” his Amad said as she laid her sewing basket aside. He didn’t want to. He really didn’t want to. He had been very determined to be a sad little orphan destined for the mines. “Come here,” she coaxed. “Sit on my lap.”
Slowly he turned, stood up from his place on the rug and trudged the long journey to Amad’s big chair, his little boots scuffing forlornly on the floor. Her chair was very tall and he put his arms up to ask to be picked up. Dis leaned over as far as she could and scooped him up. She held him tight and placed little kisses in his blond hair as he quietly cried into her shoulder. Then, when he was done, she seated him on her lap as best she could and tucked his little braids out of his face. “Now,” she asked. “What is this all about?”
Fili sniffled a few times and looked sadly at her belly. “Everything is chang-ed.”
“You mean, I cannot spend so much time with you like I used to.”
“Yes.” He tapped the toes of his little boots together. “You used to play with me all the time, and carry me, and now Adad and Irak’Adad cook and that’s very, very bad!”
“Do you know why these things are happening?” she asked.
“Because your belly got big.”
Dis laughed and patted her ponderous midsection. “Yes, it did. Do you remember what we talked about?”
“Um, no.” He was hedging. They had talked about many things, most he didn’t really understand and which did not affect him immediately and so he had forgotten them.
“Do you remember me saying that you would soon have a baby nadad or namad?”
“Yes, but it didn’t happen.”
“Yes it did. It’s just taking a long time.”
He looked up at her with his sky blue eyes. “But it’s been a really long time!”
“He has to grow before he can come out.” She rubbed her belly. “He can’t come out before he’s ready.”
“He’s in there?” Fili eyed her with skepticism.
“For one more moon at least,” Dis assured him. “Here,” she placed his little hand upon her belly. “Feel for yourself.”
Fili leaned over and pressed his ear onto her belly. “I don’t hear anything.” As if in response to his voice a little nudging bump! happened under his hand. He sat up quickly and gaped at her. “He moved!”
“He did,” she answered. “He does that sometimes.”
Forgetting all about being an orphan he pressed his mouth to her belly. “Hello baby! Are you in there?”
Again he felt little nudging bumps under his hand. “He did it again!”
“He’s responding to your voice,” Dis answered.
All thoughts of forlornness and abandonment fell from him. “He is! Hello baby, this is Fili!” Again, a series of wiggles and bumps. “What’s his name?”
“Well, if the baby is a boy we will call him Kili.”
“Like me!”
“Yes, like you. And if the baby is a girl we will call her Fris, after my Amad.”
Fili’s face scrunched up. “I don’t think you should have a girl. A brother would be much better. You have to hurry up and be here because we have a lot of things to do!” he called to the baby hidden within his Amad’s belly. She “Offed!” and rubbed her midsection with a tired smile as the baby enthusiastically responded.
“What’s going on in here?” came his Adad’s voice. Nali and Thorin walked in from the kitchen, drawn by the sound of giggling.
Fili turned around excitedly, very nearly falling off the chair. “I’m talkin’ to the baby!”
“I see that.” Nali pulled up the footstool and sat down on it, pulling Dis’ feet up into his lap to rub. He was short and broad and had golden hair and blue eyes like Fili. “Is he moving much today?”
“He is now!” Dis lay back into her chair with a tired look. “It seems that he and his brother have now been formally introduced.”
A pair of large hands swooped down and plucked Fili up off of her lap and tossed him shrieking and giggling up into the air. “Come here, you little goblin!” Fili’s Uncle Thorin was tall for a Dwarf and very, very strong. He always visited when he was home from his travels and would carry Fili around the village on his shoulders.
“Yes, get him riled up just before dinner,” Dis commented. “You shall be putting him to bed.”
“I want to sleep with the baby!” Fili kicked his little feet as he attempted to escape.
“I get to sleep next to the baby,” Nali laughed.
“Help! Help! I am captured by a troll!”
“This troll is going to put you in the stew!” Thorin laughed as he carried the little Dwarfling into the kitchen.
“Noooooooo….!” They could hear shrieks of laughter as Thorin blew whiskery raspberries on Fili’s little belly.
“Do you know what he told me?” Dis asked.
“No, what did he tell you?” Nali smiled at her from his position as Royal Foot Rubber.
“That he was an orphan and would have to go work in the mines!”
“Oh, Mahal!” Nali doubled over with laughter. After a moment Dis started laughing too.
“Amad! Adad!” Fili came running out of the kitchen. “Irak’Adad Thorin says to come and eat all the stew or we won’t save you any!”
“Is that so?” Nali asked, eyes twinkling.
“Hmmm… what kind of stew?” Dis asked skeptically.
“Rabbit stew.”
“Really?”
“And maybe a little squirrel.”
“I see.” Dis wasn’t sure if she could be coaxed to move from her comfortable position.
“Adad and Uncle made scones!” Fili yelled.
Dis had visions of her carefully maintained kitchen utterly destroyed. “Up! Get me up!”
Nali carefully helped her to lever up out of the chair. “Here we go. Easy now…”
A Bundle of Brother
“…an I’m gonna teach him to ride a pony!”
“Do you know how to ride a pony?”
“Adad is gonna teach me as soon as I’m big enough.”
“I see.”
“And we’ll go with you on the caravan and go to the cities of men and hunt elk in the high meadow and kill orcs an bears an lions an…”
Thorin laughed a deep hearty chuckle at the little blond Dwarfling riding up on his shoulders. “What will you do if the baby is a girl?”
“Run.”
Thorin stopped in front of a bake shop and plunked down a coin for a spicy sausage roll. “And why would that be?”
“Because girls leap from their Amad’s belly wearing the armor of their ancestors and wielding the sword of their destiny. Mph… is good,” he mumbled around a bite of food.
“Really? And who told you that?”
“Irak’Nadad Dwalin.”
“Yes, well he has known your Amad since her…” He was interrupted by a young Dwarrowdam. “Your pardon, Melhekhul! But Nali sent me to find you.”
“Is something amiss?” Thorin was immediately concerned. “Is my Namad unwell?”
“He said to tell you it is time.”
Thorin hefted Fili more firmly up upon his shoulders. “Come, my Sister-Son! It’s time to meet your baby brother!”
***
When they arrived back at the little wooden house they found Dis slowly walking up and down the hallway under the supervision of the midwife, breathing deeply. “Is brother come out yet?” Fili asked.
Dis kissed him gently on the forehead. “Not for some hours yet, Hôfukel. Maybe tonight.”
“Awwww… But that’s so far away!”
Nali scooped the Dwarfling from his Uncle’s arms. “Don’t worry, my little son, I have arranged for you to spend the evening with your cousin Dwalin!”
“Woo-hoo!” Fili threw his arms up. Dwalin babysitting meant roughhousing in the yard and being allowed to handle weapons (his Amad did not know) and falling asleep in the common room because Dwalin did not make him go to bed.
Suddenly Dis bent over, groaning through gritted teeth. “Namad!” Thorin said with concern. He placed a hand upon her arm to help her. She responded by grabbing the fingers of his left hand and twisting hard as she uttered a string of oaths that would make a caravan guard blush.
“Whoah!” Nali covered Fili’s ears and whisked him out of room as Thorin fell gasping to one knee. Fortunately his cousin Dwalin was just now coming up the walk to fetch him.
“Irak’Nadad Dwalin!” Fili called out. “Amad said words and pulled Irak’Adad Thorin’s hand off!”
“Did she now?” he asked, taking the squirming Dwarfling from his father.
“Aye,” replied Nali. “He forgot himself and got within striking range.”
Dwalin laughed and hefted a giggling Fili under his arm like a sack of potatoes. “Think he’d learn. You got a pack for this little goblin or should I just throw him out into the shed overnight?”
“Nooooo…..!”
“I would say just toss him out with the goats but Dis made me pack his things.” He tossed Dwalin a small bundle. “Just don’t take him into the tavern this time?”
“Right!” Dwalin jiggled Fili to make him giggle. “Tavern it is!”
“Yeah!”
Nali shook his head as he watched them go down the walk. Thorin came walking up behind him, cradling his left hand. “How bad is it?” Nali asked.
“Broke two fingers,” answered Thorin. “Should have known better after she dented the wall with your head with that one was born.”
Nali laughed. “Come into the kitchen. I’ll splint those for you.”
“It’s going to be a long night,” grumbled Thorin.
***
The inn known as The Broken Bell was owned and operated by Bombur of the Broadbeam clan with help from his Forgemaster wife Mirra, brother Bofur and cousin Bifur. This night the whole family was in attendance as the Captain of the Guard strode in with a very excited Dwarfling tucked under one arm.
“What have ya got there?” asked Mirra.
Dwalin plunked Fili down on the bar. “A fine scoundrel I apprehended!” Fili shrieked with laughter. “I’m gonna take ‘im ta lockup – but first, how ‘bout a round for a couple of thirsty warriors?”
“A round of what?” Mirra scooped Fili up off the bar top and onto her hip. “Warm milk?”
“Nooooo…!” insisted Fili. “Dwarven Fire Ale!”
“Oh! And who taught you about that?” Mirra gave Dwalin a look. “Don’t worry little warrior. I’ve got just the thing for you!”
“Does this mean we can expect another Durin by morning?” Bofur slid up next to him at the bar.
“Aye, his Amad’s already breakin’ bones. I’m gonna keep the little goblin with me until it’s safe to go back.”
Mirra returned followed by Bombur carrying a tray with two mugs of mulled cider, hot bread and a bowl of stew each. “No fire ale for you two,” she announced. “I’ll not have ye breaking up the inn.”
Fili and Dwalin clinked their mugs together and took a sip. For something that had no alcohol, Mirra’s warm cider was amazingly good. “What shall we do fer the rest o’ the day?” asked Dwalin.
“Chase bandits!” proclaimed Fili.
“You think so?” Bofur asked. “I think they’d just scoop you up and take you with them!”
“Noooo…!”
“I’ll just take ‘im down to the lower taverns and roust out some trouble,” offered Dwalin.
“Yeah! Let’s do that!”
“It’ll be trouble all right,” said Bombur on his way past. “Dis will find out and you’ll be volunteering for the Long Patrol!”
Bifur bellied up the bar and spoke something in his old country language with a few gestures thrown in. Fili turned to Bofur, “What did he say?”
“Ah, I believe it was about your dear Amad feeding Dwalin’s… hey now!” he turned to Bifur. “There’s not need to be teaching the wee lad that!”
Bifur just laughed and illustrated the point with some well-formed gestures, much to Fili’s delight.
“Ah think mayhaps some weapons work would do this one good,” Dwalin commented.
“At least get him down to sleep tonight,” Bofur offered.
“No sleep!” Fili insisted. “I has to stay awake. My brother is gonna be out of Amad’s belly soon.”
“That’s a lot of work, pushing that babe out,” Bombur observed.
Mirra tsk’d. “Nah, get’s easier the more you have!”
“How did he get in there?” Fili asked innocently.
Bofur leapt up to stop Bifur from enacting a recreation of the process with a beer keg. “No ya don’t! That’s for his Adad to ‘splain, ya filthy beast!”
Fili nearly rolled off the bartop giggling. “I saw the geese making babies by the pond!”
“Oh, really?” asked Mirra. “And who let ye wander around wild geese?”
“Adad! They did this,” and he flapped his arms wildly and made excited honking noises.
“That’s how all my children were made!” announced Bombur as he dodged a dishtowel thrown at his head from his wife. “Mirra’s very noisy – ouch!”
***
The next morning saw a tousled-headed dwarfling peeking carefully around his Amad’s door. “Is he here yet?”
“Yes, hofukel, you may come in.” Dis looked tired. She was bundled in the big bed, propped up with pillows and holding a small bundle of swaddling in her lap.
Fili carefully scaled the footboard and climbed up and over, looking for his new nadad. “Where is he?”
“Right here,” Dis carefully parted the cloth wrappings to reveal a very tiny, very scrunchy face.
Fili looked at the baby dubiously. “I don’t know. He’s small.”
Nali laughed. “All babies are small when they first come out.”
The baby yawned and smacked his lips together but didn’t open his eyes. “He doesn’t move around much, does he?” asked Fili.
“He won’t for a while, he’s still very little,” Dis told him. “Babies sleep and eat and not much else for the first few months.”
“Months?” Fili was aghast. “That will take forever! Can you put him back until he’s ready?”
Dis and Nali broke into laughter and the baby started to squirm, bothered by the voices. “Hey baby!” Fili crawled forward. “Don’t cry!”
The infant scrubbed a tiny fist up next to his face. Fili reached out and touched that fist with his finger only to have the baby grab onto him with a surprising amount of strength.
“Oh!” Fili gaped. “He grab-bed me!”
“He knows your voice,” Nali commented. “Don’t you Kili?”
“It’s me, Fili!” the little blond dwarfling crowed. “I’m your big-nadad Fili!”
The baby, for his part, seemed unimpressed, but did not release his hold on Fili’s digit. Dis gently tapped her finger on the corner of the baby’s mouth and he responded by opening it like a baby bird and snuffling about.
“What’s he doing now?” Fili asked.
“He’s hungry,” Dis replied, adjusting her sleep shirt.
“Can I feed him?”
Nali laughed. “Your Amad makes special milk just for him.”
Fili leaned forward and watched. “In there?”
“It’s true, hofukel,” Nali assured him. She makes milk for him just as she did for you.”
“What? No! I never did that!” He was very skeptical.
Dis softly stroked the baby’s head. “Just as the cows and goats and ponies do, so do we.”
Fili looked up at Nali. “Are you sure?”
“I assure you this is true.” He leaned forward to wrap his arms around all three of them. “And I take the extra to make cheese and butter!”
“What?!” Fili’s eyes went wide.
“Oh, don’t tell him that!” Dis tried to scold her laughing husband. “No, Fili, do not listen to your Adad. Besides, if Kili’s anything like you were there will be no extra. He will grow tall and strong as are you.”
“Eat lots baby,” Fili told the suckling infant. “We has things to do together.”
“Kili Wants”
“Amad! Amad!” A very excited Fili came running to the common room.
“Did you wake your brother?” Dis asked her small son.
“Noooo…” Fili hopped about from one foot to the other. “I was very quiet.” And in truth he had been very quiet, almost falling asleep while waiting for Kili to awaken from his nap.
“What’s he doing now?” she asked, putting her tools away into her work box.
“He’s standing up,” Fili reported. “Kili wants to come out and play.”
Dis hummed to herself as she spread the thick play blanket over the smooth wooden floor. “Kili wants…” had become her son’s new mantra. “Kili wants to eat, Kili wants to get down and play, Kili wants Uncle to sing to us.” And Kili was awake and standing expectantly at the side of his crib. He was healthy, pulling up and trying to walk already, he just wasn’t talking at all. She brought him out to the common room and carefully placed him on the blanket along with an assortment of toys made of wood and stuffed cloth. “I am expecting your Adad home for the nooning,” she told Fili. “Can you watch over him for a short time?”
“Kay!” Fili was already engaged in rolling wooden balls around for his brother to crawl after.
“No battles!”
“Awwww!” Stuffed toys and large wooden balls were fine for the baby, but small trolls and warriors with pointy parts were not. Still, there were carts full of gemstone to roll out of the mountain, cave-ins to rescue miners from and big hairy wargs to devour said miners once they escaped from the mines. As the two hungry wargs crawled around on the blanket the front door opened and sturdy feet walked inside.
“Hullo the house!”
“Adad!”
“Hullo yourself,” Dis walked out from the kitchen, a mug of cool cider in her hand and a kiss for Nali. “Luncheon is almost ready. Why don’t you help these two wargs devour villagers?”
“Wargs? In my house?” Nali was incredulous. Fili nearly fell over giggling. Nali scooped up his two sons and liberally peppered kisses upon the tops of their messy heads. He stopped only to inhale the scent of their fine hair and closed his eyes.
“Adad?” whispered Fili.
“Hmmm…?
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“You kiss my… you kiss the tops of our heads and then you whisper.”
Nali smiled. “I’m praying, little son of mine.”
“What for?” Fili asked.
Nali leaned back against the chair, his little dwarflings in his arms. “I give thanks to Mahal and Yavanna for all that I have,” he answered softly. “Especially for my strong sons.” He leaned down and let his thick blond braids brush over them, making Kili coo and Fili giggle. The baby promptly stuffed one into his mouth.
“Ready to eat?” Dis’ voice was quiet and close by.
“Well somebody sure is!” Nali tickled the baby’s tummy, prompting him to let go of the braid.
“Good, because Kili’s hungry!”
Nali only laughed. “We need to work on his talking, don’t we?”
“Nope!” Fili replied. “I understand him. That’s all he needs.”
Mighty Warriors
“What do you two think you’re doing?” the troll asked, while the dragon quietly snuffled along the ground for stray villagers, just out of reach.
“We is driving the dragon out of Erebor!” announced Fili, his golden hair shining in the late afternoon sunlight.
A second troll tromped forward on pillar-like legs and regarded them with mild amusement. “And then what? Just have a loose dragon flying around?”
Kili waved his sword. “To Mirkwood! To eat all the elves!”
The two trolls looked at each other. “Sounds reasonable to me,” said the second troll.
“You didn’t strike a blow on that poor dragon, did you?” asked the first.
“No,” Fili’s sword wavered. “He keeps flying away.”
The dragon raised its head and pricked its ears at them as it chewed, a tattered lead rope dangling from its halter. In fact, the trolls had seen the dragon fly by their window and come out to investigate, hence their discovery of the two heroic warriors chasing after it waving long twigs that had fallen from the tree.
“I seem to remember you being sent on a mission to collect kindling for the stove,” said the first troll, drumming his fat fingers upon his odiferous belly.
“No, um…” Fili suddenly remembered there being something said about kindling before they set out on their quest.
“But, there’s a dragon!” Kili leapt to his defense.
“Do you know what happens to naughty dwarflings that get caught by trolls?” asked the second troll, fingers curling as if he were thinking of a nice, plump dwarfling dinner.
“No!” Kili giggled and stepped up upon the second troll’s thick and horny feet.
The troll moved fast, despite his great and ponderous bulk and in a wink! it had grabbed up Kili and was now dangling him upside down. “They get put into a pot and boiled for supper!” The troll tickled Kili’s tummy mercilessly while the first troll grabbed up Fili.
“Help! Help! We are captured!” called the dwarflings while the trolls only laughed and tickled them some more.
It looked like it was the end for the two brave adventurers. The trolls would eat them and never more would they steal pickles from their Amad’s root cellar and that would be bad. Their pre-feast revelry was interrupted, however, by the appearance of a balrog. “What do you two think you’re doing?”
“Ahhh! No! Brother, run!” The two mighty warriors kicked and squirmed but it was to no avail. The trolls held fast.
“Rescuing the dragon,” offered the first troll.
“I see that,” replied the balrog. “But why is it out of its mountain?”
“The elves did it,” replied the second, most untruthfully. “They’re always making trouble.”
“And you two,” the balrog shook its wings. “Where’s the kindling for the stove?”
The dwarflings stopped squirming. “The dragon burned it all up with his fire,” offered Fili.
“Did the dragon also let the chickens out of their yard?”
“Elfs. They did it,” offered Kili.
“I see.” The balrog blew a flume of heat through its nostrils. “You four gather kindling. I’ll seal the dragon back into his cave and maybe we’ll get some supper going.” It whistled and the dragon trotted obediently after it as it walked back towards the mountain, taking its plume of fire and darkness with it.
“Close call,” said the second troll.
“That it was,” said the first. “Let’s gather that kindling before she comes back.”
“Agreed.”