Chapter Text
This had to be one of the few times that Fili and Kili were actually giving as good as they were able, instead of just goofing around and showing off.
As he twisted out of the way of Kili’s borrowed sword, he found himself thinking they should do this more often.
It wasn’t a perfect substitute for a real battle, with blood and death-cries and the vicious satisfaction of feeling Grasper and Keeper slicing through flesh, but it was almost enough.
Dwalin had to hold himself back a couple times, only taking swipes at openings instead of pressing his full advantage like he would have in real combat. Kili was leaving his left side open a lot more than was safe for him, and the weight of the war hammer was throwing off Fili’s balance enough that he took longer than he should have with recovering.
There were a few times when the boys would back off for a moment that Dwalin could feel something on the back of his neck, like someone was watching him, but seeing as how they were surrounded by the recruits he usually had training with the princes, he shook it off.
It wasn’t until he turned once that he noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye. He doesn’t belong here-- he thought to himself before he turned back and caught the haft of Fili’s war hammer, deftly twisting it so that the boys collided with one another.
Instinct had him glance at the figure.
No weapon. Ori. Not a threat, he assured himself before turning back to the boys--
The second thought registered, and he stopped in mid-motion, his muscles tightening against his desire to bring Keeper down onto Kili’s blade.
Ori? he thought blankly before turning back. What are you doing here?
When he turned back, he saw the young dwarf’s brown eyes widen, his slight frame -- too short, too skinny, too young -- shaking as he watched.
Dwalin didn’t realize he’d been hit until his helm started ringing like a bell.
His legs wobbled under the force of the impact. Grasper dropped from his hand to clatter to the hard earth of the training ground. Sucking in a quick breath, Dwalin reached up and wrenched off the helm.
When he looked up again, he saw Ori’s eyes -- those beautiful brown eyes that reminded him of a stag he’d seen one time in a forest somewhere, during the years after Erebor's loss -- widen.
Mahal’s beard, Dwalin thought to himself as he stared. He looks like he recognizes me.
He breathed deeply, the silence almost deafening after the din the recruits had kicked up during the fight. He couldn’t have, he thought quickly, I’ve kept my helm on. He wouldn’t know me unless he’s soulspoken already--
Dwalin’s heart plummeted in his chest.
Ori was still staring at him, frozen in place.
Instinct made him want to drop his helm, drop Keeper, and run to him, catch him up in his arms, and not let go. He wanted to bury his face against that soft-looking neck and breathe for the first time in his life.
The ache had disappeared nearly sixty years ago, but now it felt like a warg had torn his chest open and was feasting on his heart.
He nearly stepped forward, but he remembered the soulspeaking that had happened nearly four months ago.
That’s not where his shoulders are supposed to be, he’d thought to himself then. They’re supposed to be higher, wider.
Dwalin set his jaw, irritation rising up at not being able to move forward, to look his soulmate in the eye and say hello to him -- he’s still a child, you miserable bastard.
His throat burned at the growl running through it, and when he caught sight of a recruit out of the corner of his eye, he remembered that he had an audience.
More importantly, he had targets he could unleash his anger on.
He bent down to pick up Grasper, and adjusted his grip on both axes with a practiced flourish.
Roaring in frustration at not being able to tell the world to fuck off because he had a soulmate, and he was here, and he wanted to just hold him, Dwalin turned on Fili and Kili and swung.
He didn’t know how long he swam in his anger, let it soak into his skin, let it burn in his muscles and fuel his movements, but when he finally surfaced, the recruits were whooping and hollering, Fili and Kili were kneeling on the ground and panting heavily...
And Ori was long gone.