#the lonely mountain

So, I’m still thinking about Aulë and the creation of the Dwarves, and how this makes them such softer creatures in my eyes. 

When the Dwarves sing the Song of the Lonely Mountain to Bilbo in The Hobbit, their voices are described as “deep-throated singing of the dwarves in the deep places of their ancient homes,” and furthermore Tolkien adds the addendum, “this is like a fragment of their song, if it can be like their song without the music.” 

In this instance, we see an initial, subtle example of the immense power Music and Song has over Middle Earth (as at the time of publication, of course, The Silmarillion had not been published and the audience did not know of Eru’s composition, nor the great Music). 

I absolutely adore this description of the Dwarves’ voices though, as it ultimately reflects the feeling behind their music and also their origin being made after Aulë’s own passion and hands. 

Despite the song being so hardy, devoted and most of all mourning,the Dwarves play gentle instruments like harps and flutes. Despite how they work with their hands and are often those to cut down trees and - in Yavanna’s sentiment - have no disregard for the living things of nature,  Aulë’s influence of being beautifulabove even a craftsman is very much present. The Dwarves value precious jewels and heirlooms and crafts, and treat their heritage as such. 

The Lonely Mountain

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The Hobbit : Prompt

Kili x Reader

Word Count: 2024

Warnings: just that this gif literally KILLS me 

Request: “Hii can i request a kili x reader prompt with 129. “Don’t you have to be stupid somewhere else?” “Not until four”? Both crushing on each other and teasing each other and it ends with kili asking her out? Ignore this if you don’t like it, have a wonderful day ” Anon

A/N: Kili is always finding reasons to be around you - perhaps one day he’ll do something about it 

The cavern was stifling as innumerable fires roared. The rock of the walls was stained black with soot as coal and ash escaped the chimneys. Tunnels were dug upwards to the surface to relieve the smoke, but it was somehow still hazy within.

She was stoking her own furnace, prodding the coals turning white hot with the heat. Her hands were smeared with grease and coal dust, cracked from the dry smoke of the air. Her face was similarly stained, freckled with the salt of the earth.

Her hair was tied back in a thick braid, but it still frizzled with humidity and static. She had to blow a few wavy strands from her line of vision. She extracted a pair of iron pincers from her leather apron, moving into the fire to grab a cannister of molten lead.

It burned fire red and the contents redder still. She carefully turned to her station where a mold lay waiting.

She was just pouring the steaming metal when an interruption graced her concentration.

“Hello, (Y/N)!”

She jumped, spilling the lead on her tools. It rapidly cooled before she could do much about it.

“Agh!” she cried, thrusting her pincers to the side, “Kili!”

The princely dwarf stood before her, a sheepish grimace on his face, but the light of his eyes was mischievous.

“Thought I’d drop by and…”

“And destroy my project!” she yelled, “You know it has to be perfect if I have any hope of being promoted in my apprenticeship. Now I’ll have to make another order to the mines, which they’ll take out of my pay, which will…”

Kili went to grasp her shoulders, “Hey – hey, there’s no need to overwork yourself. You have steam coming out of your ears as it is.”

She shoved his hands away, “Why do you feel the need to interrupt my work at the most inconvenient times?”

“I’m actually here on an errand.”

She scoffed, tossing her mold into a rubbish pile. “Since when do you run errands?”

“Since I lost a bet to Fili. I was sent to fetch his newly crafted swords. It’s a shame I plan on losing one of them on my way back to the courtroom.”

(Y/N) went to wipe her hands on an already dirtied cloth, “Then you’ve got the wrong blacksmith. I don’t handle royal weaponry.”

“I know,” Kili said, “I just… I just thought I’d drop by and visit.”

“Unfortunately, you are most unwelcome,” she grumbled, bending her knees in a bow, “My prince.”

Kili gazed at her in silence, his fists tightening at his sides. “Do you need help with that?” He pointed towards the rubbish pile and splashes of cooled lead.

(Y/N) snorted, “I wouldn’t put you anywhere near these fires. You’ll singe your beard off.” She gestured to the new growth adorning his chin, “I see you’re trying to grow it out.”

“Yes, well – I think dwarven beards are rather impressive, don’t you? I’d like it long enough to braid a few…”

“Oh, but then you’d have to give up archery.”

Kili stopped short, “You think?”

She shrugged, pumping air into her furnace, the flames crackling and blazing. Her face was shiny with sweat.

“Scruff is better than full beards anyway,” she muttered, straining as she lugged fresh coal into the hearth.

Kili was watching her arms as she moved, “Why is that?” He was pulling on the ends of his scraggly beard.

Her voice was a whisper he could barely hear above the fires, “I like them more.”

His hand ran over his chin as he hummed, “Well, this has been a complete waste of time.” He nudged her iron pincers until they fell from the workstation, “Whoops. Sorry – I’ll see you later when I wish for the company of commoners.”

She grabbed a lump of coal from her bag and chucked it at the back of his head. He merely turned enough to flash her a knowing grin.

And she returned one.

It wasn’t many days after that Kili began wandering the blacksmith mines again. He had developed a talent for evading his royal duties, though they weren’t nearly the workload that his brother had.

Still, he’d rather pester a certain girl than learn battle stratagem and crop stores.

He found her at a grinding stone, sharpening a few throwing knives. She didn’t see him until something was thrown in her lap.

She removed her hands from the stone, picking up a small bundle of wildflowers. “Are these… flowers? Did you pick me some flowers?”

Kili looked anywhere but her, “I saw them growing among the weeds. I thought them ugly, which made me think you’d like them.”

“Yes, you must know…” she stood and went to pat his chest condescendingly, “I do like ugly things. Why do you think I still talk to you?”

The smirk fell from her face as she eyed his chin.

Kili scrunched his brow at her brightened gaze, “What is it?”

“You shaved,” she said, her hand raising to hover over his cheek, “Your beards gone.”

He almost held his breath to wait and see if she’d actually hold his cheek, “Fili reminded me again and again that it was barely a beard to begin with.”

(Y/N) backed away, still holding her flowers, “Why would you shave it?” She was looking at him suspiciously.

He picked at his chin, bemused, “Like you said – I would have to give up archery. The beard would get in the way every time I strung my bow.”

The smile on her face told she thought otherwise. “You on another errand?” She turned back to her workstation, laying the flowers down.

Kili was rather delighted she didn’t immediately throw them into her furnace.

“I was bored.”

“Training yard unavailable?” She piled a handful of the sharpened throwing knives.

Kili folded his arms, tugging on the straps of his arm braces, “No, Fili is using the dart boards and targets today. I don’t have my knives, so I can’t join.”

(Y/N) stood still, hands holding two of the knives. Her eyes fell to the insignia blazoned on the handles. It was the royal seal.

Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath through her nose.

“How did you get these to me?”

Kili laughed, “I just slipped them into your box.”

She sighed, putting a hand to her brow, “Kili, you know I’m not supposed to handle royal weaponry.”

“I trust you.”

“This could have me removed from my apprenticeship.”

“Hence why I didn’t put in a work order – I just put them into your box.”

(Y/N) put her hands on the table, eyeing him now with disdain, “You just wanted an excuse to see me.”

He raised his eyebrows, scoffing, “I just wanted my knives sharpened.”

“And of the hundreds of experienced blacksmiths in these mines – you couldn’t find a single one to help you?”

Kili frowned, “I’ll pay you handsomely for the work.”

“I don’t want your money.”

His face went clear, looking at her now with a bit more sincerity. “Come on, you need a new furnace. One that works with steam – that way you don’t have to waste time pumping air and adding coal.”

“My furnace works just fine.”

He sucked in his lips, face becoming hard again, “Well, I’ll be taking them now then.” He went to the table and fisted the lot of them.

She sniffed, still huffy, “Fine.” She turned to stare at her furnace, getting angrier as she saw it needed more coal and air.

Feeling the need to yell about it, she turned around only to find Kili was gone. In place of the throwing knives was a drawstring pouch.

(Y/N) rubbed at her nose, hands on her hips in defiance. But curiosity fueled her more than anger, making her pick up the leather pouch and pull it open. Within were more gold coins than she could earn in months of work.

Kili tried his best to stay away after that. They were both too stubborn for their own good. Though it was never (Y/N) looking for Kili.

It was always Kili looking for (Y/N), and he couldn’t stay away for long. Fili kept catching him daydreaming and sulking.

This time he was led on a major chase throughout the kingdom. She was no where to be seen in the blacksmith mines, supposedly because she was on her way to deliver a sword.

He traveled floor after floor, until he came across the entrance of the throne room. He had to do a double take to make sure he was seeing right.

Itlookedlike (Y/N)… but it didn’t look like (Y/N).

She was out of her leather apron and gloves, adorning a dwarven dress and corset. Her hair was silken and freshly woven in a few braids. Trinkets and gold bands were clasped in her hair and ears.

There wasn’t a speck of coal or a spot of grease on her. It was almost strange to see her so clean.

“(Y/N)?”

She was carrying a sword and sheath in her hands, almost dropping it when he startled her.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he laughed, jogging over to her, “Since when do you leave the blacksmith?”

“Since my boss asks me to deliver all of his creations for him.” She rolled her eyes. He smiled. “I just stand there while they talk about how great he is.”

Kili couldn’t stop his grinning, “You look amazing.”

Her eyes got very wide, “Are you making fun of me?”

He immediately started panicking, “No! No, it’s just… you look… different.”

She gave him an almost pitying look. “Don’t you have to be stupid somewhere else?”

Kili scratched at the back of his head, “Not until four.”

“What are you going to do until then?”

He kicked his boot into the ground, “Well, first I was going to find you.”

“Already did that, congratulations.”

“Then I was going to make sure you weren’t so mad at me that you’d never speak to me again.”

(Y/N) turned her face to him to see his eyes wide and innocent. It took her by surprise, so much so that her voice came out in a whisper, “I’m always mad at you.”

The brown of his eyes was shining.

“But never mad enough to never talk to you again.”

Kili cracked a relieved smile, “Thank Mahal.”

She gripped the sword sheath tighter. “Now that you’ve done that. What were you going to do next?”

“I… I was going to do something about this.” He pointed his finger between the two of them.

“Something about the two of us?” she laughed.

“Something about the fact that I can’t stand being more than a day away from you. That I’ve run out of excuses to come see you. That I can’t stop thinking about you night and day. And wondering if I’m insane to think you could ever feel the same way about me.”

He found that he had gotten incredibly close to her now. He could see the anxiety rising in her.

She was still whispering when she replied, “What are you going to do about it?”

Kili tilted his head to the side, trailing his eyes all over her face. “Have dinner with me.”

“What?” she was breathless.

“Have dinner with me.” His lips quirked in a smirk, but there was very real fear in his eyes.

She had to look away before that gaze scorched her. She contemplated for a few moments. Perhaps too long because Kili felt the need to ramble on.

“We could also just go back to how things were before. You go back to being a blacksmith and I’ll just go back to being lovesick and shutting up about it before…”

“Kili – I would love to have dinner.”

He bit his tongue. “You would?”

“Tonight? How long is your four o’ clock stupid appointment?”

He laughed, his eyes twinkling, “I could make dinner on time.” He bit at the inside of his cheek, “You really do look fantastic.”

“I’ll keep the dress for tonight,” she laughed.

~~~

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