Springtail tried to pass on as much of his body heat to the ruined body of his two legged friend as possible. He also licked off the sweat of the dwarf's brow, the only visible part of his body without some sort of fur on it. As much as Dain was his Master the dwarf named Thorin – a distant littermate of his master's – was his personal friend.
The merciless and unstoppable killing beast had known this Thorin since he had been a piglet on wobbly legs and the dwarf had hidden him under his beard and allowed him to snuggle.
This is because Springtail had a mysterious past – his mother, Sowfrieda – had run off to the woods and returned pregnant a year later. She had never squealed, meh, given even half an oink as to who had sired her litter. The labour was difficult and long and Oin and Gandalf – both conveniently visiting the Iron Hills at that time – had massaged Sowfrieda's belly and poured draughts down her snout. Alas, not only did she not survive labour, Springtail was the only piglet to leave her birthing canal capable of breathing. Thus the orphaned mite was raised by hand by the Durin Royal Family. He bore a light brown blond mane, different from all the other battle swine of Iron Hills and had blue eyes, another unique feature. Those orbs usually were light blue and full of prankish mirth, but took upon a grim greyish tinge with hints of bloodlust before battle. When Springtail pondered deeper issues his spheres took upon an even darker hue, said to mirror that of Kheled-zâram.
Incapable of taking him West, where prejudice against his kind was strong, particularly amongst the Elves, Thorin impressed upon his Royal Cousin the need of proper care and grooming, of warm slops at least once a day and fresh straw every second day. And merciless retribution if Dain failed in this. Oin in turn had read the portents and prophesised that Dain's Day of Elevation would be from a pig's back.
His keen hearing heard what he had been dreading to hear – no more rasping breath, no more light and irregular heartbeat. Springtail raised his powerful muzzle to the uncaring stars and squealed in anguish. His friend, the two legs called Thorin, had just gone to the Great Pigsty of the Two Legs.