The sun had just set far behind the trees as a cloaked figure shot through the darkening forest, running very fast for their small statue. The cloaked figure looked over their shoulder, careful not to trip over tree roots and the uneven forest floor, to find two burly men in pursuit.
"Come back here, you little wrench!" one of the two men yelled into the darkness. The cloaked figure had to find a way to lose the two pursuers. Their eyes searched the surrounding forest as they ran; pushing branches that threatened to hit them in the face aside. Nothing looked like it would help the cloaked figure escape their pursuers they noted as the last rays of the fading sun colored the bark of some of the trees. This made it almost seem as though the trees were burning, and it was for this reason that the cloaked figure hardly noticed the distant flickering of a small fire, but they still did see it. Seeing no better option they made their way towards the fire, in the very least leading their pursuers through a group of travelers would cause some confusion.
Two dwarves had just made camp as the sun slipped between the tall trees. They were talking animatedly about some adventure they were getting ready for, so animatedly that they didn't hear the rustling in the dark bushes on the edge of their little clearing. Until a cloaked figure jumped out of said greenery and ran past the two dwarves, disappearing into the forest again. The two dwarves stared at the dark patch of forest the stranger had just disappeared into, unsure of how to react. Before they could even start to wonder what had just happened two burly men stepped into the clearing, following the same path as the cloaked stranger had.
"There's two more of 'em." One of the men yelled, drawing a rusty blade. "It's a trap." The other panted, clutching his pitchfork a little tighter.
The two dwarves only blinked at the two newcomers for a moment, still confused by the situation. Normally they would have shot up and drawn their weapons right away, but they had been told to behave, so they would not initiate a fight.
Getting no reaction out of the two, still sitting, dwarves the second man raised his pitchfork and charged forward, aiming for the dark haired dwarf's back. The alarmed look on the face of the other dwarf made him turn around, but it was already too late to completely evade the rather sharp ends of the pitchfork. The spikes of the fork pierced their way through the dwarf's shirt and into his left arm. After this both dwarf were on their feet, weapons drawn. With the uninjured dwarf moving forward to cover the other, who held his sword in his right hand only, even though the weapon was obviously meant to be wielded with both hands.
The first man grumbled and attacked the uninjured dwarf, who had no trouble fending off the man's attack. The injured dwarf was once again being attacked by the man with the pitchfork and although his opponent was less experienced, he was having more trouble than the other dwarf. With only one arm to use the weight of his blade slowed the young dwarf down and the range of the pitchfork made it almost impossible for him to get close enough to strike his attacker. Giving the man a big enough advantage to fight the dwarf.
The blond dwarf was still too engaged in his own fight to help the other dwarf. The dark haired dwarf blocked some of the man's strikes and dodged the others, but the fact that the man mainly used thrusts for attacks, made it even harder to fight back.
Suddenly the cloaked figure from before shot out of the forest again, sword drawn. They landed a strong blow on the pitchfork, making the man drop his weapon. The dark haired dwarf was still quicker then the stranger had thought, for he already had his sword pressed against the man's throat.
It didn't take the blond dwarf a moment longer to defeat his opponent and he quickly stepped over the, now unconscious, man to check on his companion.
"Kili, are you okay?" he asked quickly, pushing the stranger aside.
The dwarf named Kili winched as he moved his arm before looking at his friend, "Yeah, I'm fine." He said, grinning as well as he could.
A silence fell over the group as the two dwarves turned towards the stranger, who was still wearing their hood down, covering most of their face.
Before either of the dwarfs could say anything the stranger spoke, "I'm sorry." They said softly. "I could take care of that wound, if you're alright with that." they suggested shyly, nudging their head in the direction of the wounded dwarf.
"How about you start by showing who you are?" the blond dwarf snapped at the stranger. "My brother got hurt because of the people you lead here." He added.
The stranger looked down at the forest floor before deciding to take off their hood, revealing a head of messy light brown hair, which was pulled back into a single braid that disappeared into a weather-worn cloak. The dwarf-woman sheathed her sword in a sheath that was apparently hidden underneath her cloak; a sword of dwarven make, the blond dwarf noted.
"I'm sorry I lead those people here, I didn't think they would attack you." She said, keeping her gaze fixated on the noses of her simple boots.
The blond dwarf let his eyes scan the woman in front of him; he was too surprised at the moment to see a dwarf-woman to say much. She was still examining the grass around her feet, making more of her brown hair hide her face from his view. She looked every bit dwarf to him, her height and her build, but she did lack a beard, could she be that young?
"You said you could take care of his wound, do you have any healing skills?" the blond dwarf asked her a little calmer now, he felt a bit ashamed of yelling at a woman like that. The woman nodded silently, still not looking up. He looked over at the wounded dwarf, their eyes met and the wounded dwarf nodded at his brother before walking over to the brown haired female.
"Please, sit down." She shyly asked the wounded dwarf, before sitting down beside him; gently taking hold of his arm. She tried to examine the wound but it was too dark to see much and the blood that had made its way into his shirt didn't make it any easier. She shook her head, catching the attention of both dwarfs.
The blond dwarf just came back from tying the two men up, he didn't want them raising alarm in the village.
"It's too dark to see anything. All I can do now is wrap a bandaged around it and wait until tomorrow." She told them quietly. She went over to the bushes were she had hid after the men had turned their attention to the other two dwarfs and pulled out a small bag; she had left it there when she decided to help the two dwarves. She walked back to the two dwarves before opening the bag; revealing some bundles white cloth, most likely bandages. She took on of the bundles and started wrapping the bandage around the dwarf's wounded arm.
"How does it feel?" she asked, not looking up from her work.
"Not that bad, as long as I don't move my arm." The dwarf told her, still trying to sound cheeky despite the wound on his arm. The woman smiled a little as this, but her smile faded as soon as it had appeared as she turned back to her work.
"I could be of more help in the morning..." She said as soon as she was finished, letting the unasked question hang in the air.
"What's your name?" the dark haired dwarf asked her, seeming to trust her more than the other dwarf did.
"Nithyi." She answered quietly, moving a little closer to the fire.
"I'm Kili and that's my brother Fili." The dark haired dwarf said, sounding rather cheerful. The blond dwarf, Fili, seemed a less at ease with the strange woman.
"Why were those men chasing you?" Fili asked her, his voice was now calm, but still not as friendly as his brother's.
Nithyi stared into the fire, before answering. "Cuz' I stole the bandages." She all but whispered.
"Why did you do that?" Kili asked before his brother could say anything, he sounded rather surprised. His eyes trying to search Nithyi's face, but her light brown hair once again hid it from view.
"The old lady at the healers didn't want to sell me any, but I sometimes need them." She whispered, ashamed of herself.
"Can't your parents get you those?" Fili asked carefully, knowing that a subject like that might be a sensitive one.
"I live on my own." She replied quietly but curtly and the brothers decided to leave that subject alone, too many dwarves had lost family.
After that a silence fell over the small group of dwarves until it was broken by Fili, "How much do you know of healing?" he asked her, hoping this was a safer subject.
"Not much, I know how to clean a wound and how to apply a bandage, but that's about it." She answered shyly, that were the only things she really knew. Someone had once told her how to stitch a wound, but she had never done that before. She wasn't really much of a healer, knowing nothing more than how to dress a wound a how to identify 2 or 3 herbs.
A thoughtful look crossed Fili's face as he heard the woman's words and he locked eyes with his brother, who seemingly caught on with what the older of the two was thinking. Nithyi missed this whole exchange, for she was still looking into the fire.
A healer, though not very skilled, was what their soon-to-be company was still lacking; aside from the vital burglar.
"Then just stay here for the night, so you can treat Kili's arm in the morning." Fili said finally. That would keep her around for now, he wasn't about to let this dwarven healer slip away, who knew what they might encounter on their way towards the lonely mountain and no-one in their company had any healing skills for as far as the young dwarf knew. After Nithyi had nodded in agreement Fili got up and took his bedroll from his pack and doing the same with his brother's bedroll.
After rolling his bedroll out, he crawled in, facing the fire. "'Night." He said before closing his eyes. In the same time Kili had crawled into his own bedroll and looked over at the other two dwarves, "'Night, brother, 'Night, Nithyi." He said, before turning around.
Nithyi looked at the two young dwarves for a moment. Even though they had no reason to trust her or even help her they had been so kind to her. She smiled slightly before curling up in her cloak, keeping close to the fire, "Good night." She whispered.