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“I know you know how to use that sword, Balin, but I wish you would spar with us.”
Balin smiled at Kili’s plea but gently shook his head. “There is little you could learn from me in that field; Dwalin offers much more of a challenge.”
His brother snorted in amusement. “Only because you burned all your energy in one shot.”
“Dwalin...”
Thorin shook his head in amusement at the memory. “Facing off against my cousin. I would not have believed it had I not actually seen it.”
Kili gawked at Balin. “You sparred with Dain? From the stories Thorin keeps telling us of him, I would have fled screaming.”
“Aye, I bouted with him.” Balin stroked his beard, glancing up at the young prince from beneath his bushy brows. “And with no option to show weakness; for Dain, that is like blood on the breeze. So, hoping to startle my opponent and gain an early advantage, I entered into the salle like a wrecking ball.”
“And startle him you did, though you came in more like a rubber bouncing ball.”
Balin leveled a glare at his brother. “Who is telling the story here? You are not helping.”
Dwalin chuckled as he stretched his legs. “Nor am I hindering, merely telling the facts.”
“As you remember them.”
Thorin cleared his throat. “No, Balin, actually, as we remember them.” He gave an apologetic look to his advisor before turning to his nephews. “From where I stood, Balin did indeed seem to attempt an entrance of bluster and belligerence. Likely to set Dain off-guard, not a bad approach to that boar-brained puzzle. However, one of the straps on his shin guard had slithered free and completely tripped him up as he ran in.”
Now both Fili and Kili gaped at Balin, who reminded himself that regicide would not look good on his list of accomplishments. He took a deep breath to keep his calm demeanor intact, and opened his mouth to reply.
Dwalin, relishing the chance to poke at his brother, beat him to it. “Head over arse he tumbled up to Dain. Our cousin took one look at that sight and nearly passed out from laughing so hard.”
Balin counted to ten, then counted again, letting the assembled audience air their amusement. “An unorthodox way to win a bout, true, but Dain did cede the match to me.”
Thorin gently nudged a giggling Kili off his shoulder, and spread his hands wide. “And it is that, ahhh, unique approach to problems that I appreciate about you, Balin.”