Kili ran, but he was not fast enough. Only he and Thorin were left on the plains, the rest having already slid to safety from the wargs and their riders.
Quicker than Thorin could believe, a riderless warg pounced on Kili. A heartbreaking scream was torn from his nephew as the warg pressed his body into the earth with long and impossibly sharp claws.
"Kili!" Thorin shouted, running towards his nephew. Kili's screaming grew even more frantic and agonizing when the beast tore into the flesh of his hip and thigh with its jagged teeth.
Thorin reached the scene and attacked the warg with fersocity before any more damage could be done. He had no time to comfort the wailing and writhing Kili. More foes were closing in. Thorin threw his nephew over his shoulder, cringing when Kili's wailing increased.
The distance to safety was quickly covered, and the two slid down and landed in a heap. The sound of horns from above was almost drowned out by Kili's agonized keening. He understood nothing, only the pain he was in.
Fili was immediately at Kili's side, hands hovering. He didn't know what to do. Oin pushed his way forward.
"Quiet him down. Now!" Dwalin barked. The last thing they needed was for their position to be given away. Thorin knelt above Kili's head. He and Fili tried to placate Kili and reason with him, but the agony he felt rendered him unable to respond. Thorin clapped a hand of Kili's mouth finally muffling the wailing. When the sounds of battle stopped and receding hoof beets were heard, Thorin removed his hand.
Oin began ripping the tattered remains of Kili's pants away from the torn flesh. Kili tried to pull away from them. Oin stopped his work and placed a hand on Kili's cheek. "Something for the pain, lad?"
Kili didn't seem to hear him. He just screamed. The rest of the company were mortified by what was happening. Most had never heard such horrible agony-filled sounds in their lives.
"We need to stop the bleeding. Put pressure on the wounds and I will get herbs to dull his pain." The old dwarf grunted and stood up stiffly. Gloin and Thorin pressed bloody cloths against Kili's more freeflowing wounds while Fili did what he could to comfort his brother. Kili was sobbing and gagging when he wasn't screaming.
"Lift his head, Fili," Thorin grunted. "So he doesn't choke." Fili did as he was told, kicking himself for not thinking to do so. The gagging stopped when Kili's head was cushioned in Fili's lap. Oin returned with several vials. He held two of them up to the light before uncapping one.
"Have him drink this down. All of it," he said, handing it to Fili. He helped his brother drink the vial, praying it took effect quickly.
Oin began pulling away the bloodied cloths. The bleeding was not slowing. The young dwarf's flesh was torn in so many places and in so many directions that Oin didn't even know where he could hope to stitch anything together. He looked sorrowfully at Thorin.
Thorin understood. Kili had been dealt a great misfortune when he did not die quickly. He would not survive wounds like this, and any amount of time he did continue to draw breath would be filled with agony.
Kili had quieted. His face was still contorted in pain. His breathing was ragged, and he was moaning and grunting. Oin wiped at the wounds on the brunette's hip and thigh. This caused Kili to start screaming again, and thrashing. White from his bones glinted in the nauseating wound. Because of the state of the shredded and ripped flesh, Oin was not going to attempt stitches.
He simply wrapped the dwarf's hip and thigh tightly in clean bandages. If by some miracle he survived the blood loss, pain and shock of the wound, and the likely infection from being on the road, Kili would never mend completely. With the muscles being torn as such, the leg would likely not bear any weight in the future.
Oin motioned to Thorin to step aside with him.
"Kili is still in great pain. I'm surprised it hasn't already led to unconsciousness. I have stronger herbs that would help him greatly and also induce sleep. Unfortunately, coupled with blood loss and shock, there is a chance that he wouldn't wake up. So your choice is this. Would you have me administer the herbs to keep Kili comfortable, or wait and see?"
Thorin closed his eyes. Either way, the chances of his nephew living were slim to none. Should he keep the lad comfortable and relaxed during his final hours or allow him to suffer in the unlikely hopes that he will survive?
"Give him the herbs. I want him to be as comfortable as possible," Thorin answered heavily. Oin nodded and walked back to his patient.