video - open to both courts

[kilimanjaro]

[Kili's expression is stormy, his beard that once stretched down to his toes now loose and cut jaggedly, now just a few inches long. Beside him is the knife that must have done the job; there are still a few strands of coarse dark hair scattered about and his voice is deeper than usual and hoarse.]

Thorin has left this place. For those that had business with him...my brother and I will pick up where he left off.

[Standing beside Kili, hand placed on his brother's shoulder, Fili nods when the announcement is done, his own expression grim.]

Ask for us by means of the locket - Fili and Kili are our names.



[ooc: for his close CR and/or those that are in the area, you can find Kili getting very drunk in Cothromach]

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[gloinul]

[Gimli is...not quite as distraught as his cousin, but it's a close one. He manages to find him shortly after his announcement and hands him another large bottle of some unfamiliar alcohol. It does the job, and he's pretty sure that's all Kíli wants]

Here.

[kilimanjaro]

[It cuts him deep, losing Thorin. He's the closest Kili's ever had to a father, and he's never been without him before, not really. Sure, Thorin's had trips away every now and again, but never for more than a season or two. This...he doesn't know how long this will last. It might never end, for all he knows.

Family is everything to Kili, and it's all he has here. Just him and Fili and Gimli now. He takes the bottle wordlessly, taking a long gulp before wiping his mouth and handing it back.]

...Thanks.

[gloinul]

Keep it. One of us has to stay sober in case help is needed, and I don't expect either of you to do it. Not right now.

[kilimanjaro]

[A humorless smile curves his lips.]

Cheers, cousin.

[gloinul]

Aye.

[Gimli sits down and thinks for a moment. He won't tell Kíli what happens, but...]

You will see him again.

thAT ICON YOU ARE tryING TO KILL ME

[kilimanjaro]

[He looks down, hands curled around the bottle.]

I wish that I had your confidence.

NO????

[gloinul]

Remember, I am from several decades after you. I know.

[kilimanjaro]

Mahal never meant for us to come here, though. [Kili's expression turns thoughtful. It's clear he's given this some thought.]

What if this place...what if it changes our fates entirely? Ruins the lives we were meant to have?

[gloinul]

If that were the case, we would all come from the same point in time. [Gimli's thought as well] Yet I am nearing a hundred and fifty when you last saw me as a lad of sixty, and Legolas comes from some time after my death. I do not think any harm will come to our home while we are here, nor do I believe coming here changes anything.

[As much as he wishes it did.]

[kilimanjaro]

...I suppose you're right.

[He takes a long swig.]

Is it childish to be homesick, do you think?

[gloinul]

Of course not! I was homesick my entire quest across Middle-earth, until I found the Glittering Caves and found a new place to call home. I told you I'm to be the Lord of the Glittering Caves, yes?

[kilimanjaro]

The Glittering Caves? [Kili frowns slightly.] I've never heard of them.

[gloinul]

You wouldn't have. They are in Rohan, under Helm's Deep. I found them by mistake. There is crystal and rock the likes of which I have never seen in that land, cousin.

[kilimanjaro]

How do you find them by mistake?

[gloinul]

There was a battle against Saurman's army of Uruks. I was separated from Legolas and Aragorn and was forced to flee. There was a small entrance to the caves that only a Hobbit or Dwarf could fit in, so I went that way and made my way to the surface from below.

[walkingarsenal]

[Listening quietly thus far, Fíli speaks up then.]

You've done well for yourself, Gimli.

[And the change of subject makes a good distraction, better than Kíli drowning himself in bottle after bottle to wake up later feeling worse.]

[gloinul]

I'm just wondering if it is really a good idea to leave me in charge of a colony! My father is a banker, not a politician. I have no time for that nonsense.

[walkingarsenal]

[A faint smile.]

Perhaps your famous charm gains you plenty willing to take on that nonsense in your stead? Surely you won't be expected to shoulder it all on your own.

[gloinul]

Well, of course not, but still. We all know how the first meeting with an older politician will go--with him being thrown out on his ear!

[walkingarsenal]

[Now that, that actually gets a chuckle.]

Will go? Or went?

[gloinul]

...went.

[Cough cough]

[walkingarsenal]

[With a light bump of his elbow against Kíli's:]

Still our Gimli after all these years.

[kilimanjaro]

[Kili bursts out laughing at that.]

What else could they expect of you, really?