"It's rather short for it's kind," one of the dwarves said, looking down at me. "Do you think it's half halfling?" I did not cringe away from their stares and inquisitive looks.
"I am no halfling, I am from the kingdom of men. But by there standards, yes, I am short. And I am only young," I said defensively. In all honesty, I was taller than their shortest member, a shy looking lad with a youthful face and frizzy fiery hair.
Many of the dwarves seemed cautious, glaring at me or inspecting me suspiciously. But two of the younger boys, they must have been brothers, as well as one of the oldest seemed quite interested in me.
"Where do you think it came from?" The blonde one said, he seemed to teem with excitement, like he was holding back from sorting through my supplies or inspecting my anatomy.
"Perhaps it's a nomad? Or a scout? Do you think there are more like it around?" The brown haired brother said, standing straight so he was taller than me. It must have been a kind of novelty, to be taller than a human. He reached out a hand, like he was going to grab a lock of my hair. I slapped his hand away firmly, but not hard enough to actually hurt. His brother giggled and I rolled my eyes.
"'It' is actually a 'her'," I said, looking towards the oldest of the dwarves. He nodded, smiling. At least he seemed to have made sense of that. The others however… "And she is alone. I am not a scout, or a nomad. I'm a hunter. Hence the hunting supplies." I gestured to my bow and knife. "I got stuck in this stupid mountain when I was looking for a cave to take shelter in from the storm." I straightened up and brushed off my soaked and dirty clothes. "Bloody mountain giants," I muttered, picking up my pack. "Now, if you gents wouldn't mind, I'd rather like to actually bring something back home besides clothes in need of patching. Good luck with whatever you guys are doing, if you're sleeping in caves most nights, I do not envy you." With that, I hiked up my pack and started forwards as the small sea of dwarves parted.
There was a scuffle behind me, a swift snap and I heard muffled whispers, followed by slightly less muffled whispers and then silence.
"You do it," a voice said said, getting aggravated.
"No, you do it!" The other retorted. I sighed and turned around to see the two brothers glaring at each other. As they seemed ready to start a brawl when I cleared my throat. They spun to face me, stubble ridden faces turning red.
"I-uh," the blonde muttered before pushing his brother forward and returning to the crowd of sniggering dwarves. The brunette rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ground, knowing there was no where to escape to.
"Oh just spit it out, Kili," a voice said from the crowd, causing more cackles from the group.
"Shut it, Gloin," Kili snapped, but he seemed more embarrassed than angry. He looked back to me, dark eyes sincere. "I am really, really sorry, but-uh… Fili broke your knife." He held out the snapped bone handle skinning knife. I didn't go to grab it straight away, but raised my eyebrow, a smile tugging at my lips.
"Alright, Kili, I think I-" I was cut of abruptly as the ground erupted underneath us, throwing me to the floor. The earth seemed to turn and suddenly I was falling, flailing my arms as we plummeted into the cavern below.