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Balin stared at his dirt-stained hands with blank eyes as he knelt on the ground and wondered how his people, his family would find their way after the loss of Erebor, the Mountain they called home to a giant Dragon.
There is so much that is lost to them now, their lives and history lay in that Mountain, lost to Dragonfire. How would they come back from that?
His favorite books were still in his quarters of his families home, alongside a gift that he'd been planning to give to his One as a courting gift. So much lost with no time to grab any of it as the dragon attacked their defenses and breached them.
What -?
"There you are. Get up your lazy butt up, Balin. We need you here with us now."
Balin's disturbed out of his swirling thoughts by a roughened pair of hands - dirt stained like his own, he looks up to his younger brother's dark eyes and becomes aware of the hollow cries all around him that he'd been ignoring. He buries his head into Dwalin's chest and forces himself to breathe slowly for a few minutes before pulling back to meet his brother's eyes.
"How many lost?" He asks hollowly.
"Don't know rightly. There's no official count yet and no one's thought to do it either. Still, in shock from a blasted dragon taking the Mountain from us, I think."
Balin snorts softly, ignoring the glare that he feels burning on his back.
"Not surprising. But it'll have to be done sooner or later. Have you seen Father yet or Thorin?" Balin asked.
"Yeah. Over between the edges of the river and blasted Mirkwood. Father told me to come and find you as he's trying to help Thorin with his family. The King's been trying to go back to the blasted Mountain, while we don't have enough guards to keep him from going back there. Or something." Dwalin answers, shrugging both shoulders slightly.
"Sounds like we'll have our hands full then," Balin states softly, before looking at Dwalin. "Are you well, brother? No secret injuries that you're keeping from me?"
"Well enough, just a bit sore since I'd been in the training yard when the attack happened. Nothing serious," Dwalin answered, his gaze softening slightly at Balin's concern.
"Good, it would be disquieting to learn if you were hiding another injury again, brother." Balin teased gently.
"It was one time, not gonna let that one go are you?" Dwalin complained.
"Never. Not when you do things like that almost regularly, brother-mine." Balin answered with a slight grin.
"Wonderful."
Balin chuckled softly, listening to Dwalin's complaints as they walked among their people, they stopped to help the frazzled healers with the injured as they made their way to the area where Dwalin said that he had seen their Father with Prince Thorin and his family. Their father gathered them into his strong arms and sighed in relief under Prince Thorin's watchful gaze.
"My boys. I'm so glad to see you both."
That night he stayed awake, wondering how their people would come back from this loss of their world in the mountain.