Chapter Text
They had fallen….
Nori clutched the feathers of the eagle carrying him, the wind blowing across his face spreading his tears even further, he hunched in on himself, pressing his face closer to the eagle’s feathers.
He could hear Dwalin shouting at Thorin in the background, what good that would do when said king was unconscious Nori didn’t know.
Dori and Ori was on the eagle slightly in front of him holding onto each other like the other might fall apart at any second, and they could have Nori miserably thought as the eagle started swerving slightly to the right, they could have.
Nori was like the winter, beautiful dangerous and fleeting.
He was unpredictable in the way he swerved through alleyways and jumped over rooftops,unpredictable in the way he kissed Dwalin so he could escape arrest, he was unpredictable in the way he… was.
But one thing was a sure point in the Winter thief's life.. his brothers.
He would always return like clockwork, it could have been days, weeks months, heck even years, but he would always return.
”I’ll be the one that dies first” Nori had confessed once to Bofur when they sat together on a rooftop watching the night sky.
”I’ll go out in action… they’ll never know what happened until weeks after probably”
They thief had said almost carelessly, as he twirled on one of his braids.
He’d never thought or even… entertained the possibility that his brothers might die before him…
Once before he left Ori had clung onto his sleeve and asked him with tear filled eyes, if he would be home in time for his birthday?
Nori had simply ruffled his hair and answered with a smirk ”of course I will sprout! I wouldn’t miss cake would i?”
When he came back Ori had simply given him a hug and a smile before retreating to his room, while he and Dori had one of their worst fights in a while.. they had both said things that they regretted, things that stuck still to this day.
”You can't just wander in here after missing his birthday and being gone for well over six months! We’re a family! Though I don’t know if you know what that word means..”
Nori was like the winter he left but always came back like clockwork.
—. — — — —. —. —. —. —. —
If you’d asked Nori to explain what he felt when that root snapped he wouldn’t have been able to.
When that root snapped it was like his world was falling apart, his brothers (Sweet sweet Ori and Dori oh Dori he’s sorry) they were falling.
He stretched out his hand like he would be able to catch them, he would have thrown himself after them off this cliff unless Dwalin had held him back, Nori fought he screamed and sobbed and clawed but Dwalin held firm, Nori gave up… he hunched in on himself tears streaming down his face into his beard as the cries of eagles were heard.
”THE EAGLES THE EAGLES HAVE COME!”
They were saved.. his brothers were saved.
As the eagles landed his brothers were already standing there as he barreled into the, hugging them for the first time in… forever.
They cried, Ori was sobbing into Nori shoulder shaking, Dori was holding them both as he cried tears streaming into Noris hair, who found that.. he didn’t mind.
”How did you feel when you realized you could have lost them..?
”…”
”Vulnerable”