Chapter 2: Girl

Kili's POV

We run after the archer as fast as we can but somehow he stays ahead of us. But then he reaches a part of the woods where the trees are closer together and is forced to slow down, enough that we are finally able to catch up. Fili grabs the archers arm, and he spins around with a knife, but I grab his arm with the knife causing him to drop it. Then he does something unexpected he freezes staring at me; I take the opportunity and pull off his hood. A long black braid falls from where it was hidden under his, no HER, hood.

"You're a… GIRL!," Fili is staring wide eyed and, judging from the amused expression on the girls face, I probably look the same. I can't believe it, and I bet Thorin wouldn't either, a girl had saved us. What happened to girls being the ones who needed rescuing? I look at her appearance. She is wearing a dark green shirt, black pants and knee high leather boots. She also had on brown fingerless gloves, silver arm bracers, and a dark green hooded cloak. She was armed with a bow, three swords and least seven knifes. I tune back in to hear Fili ask her what her name is, and to see her look away sadly.

"Can you talk?" She nods than looks me in the eyes. I can almost read her thoughts when she looks at me like that.

"You choose not to, don't you?" I ask. She gives me a slight smile as she nods. "Can you write?" I hope she can otherwise it will be really hard for her to tell us anything. She nods smiling and leans down, scratching something on the ground. Fili and I look down at what she wrote, it says, My name is Talyn. I smile and say, "Well then, how would you like to meet our friends Talyn?" She looks excited and gestures to us to lead the way, raising her hood to cover her face once again. We head back to the troll's campsite and from there follow the others tracks to a cave.

As we arrive Thorin, who appears to have been pacing, probably worried that it took so long for us to catch Talyn, stomps up to us. He looks at us and then Talyn, and snaps, "Well, who are you?" We look at Talyn, who flinches at his harsh tone and then looks down, scared.

Gandalf walks over from where he was talking to Radagast and, being much more observant than Thorin, says, "Kili, Fili, can he speak?".

Fili answers, "No she can't." Gandalf and Thorin look surprised as he says she. Talyn, in turn, reaches up and pulls off her hood, revealing her long black braid. All the dwarves are staring at her, some in shock and others in an insulted manner.

Gloin says what I'm guessing they are all thinking, "We were saved by a girl! That's not possible!" The rest mumble in agreement, exempting Ori, Fili and I.

Then Thorin, obviously annoyed that she is a girl but not instantly assuming she's weak , I mean she did save us from the trolls, surprises us by saying, "Can you even use those?" gesturing at her swords and knives. Talyn smiles and before any of us can react, throws one of her knives at Fili. We all tense but the knife misses him by an inch lodging in the tree behind him. She smiles and leans down to writes, Don't worry I always hit what I aim for.

At that point I was almost going to ask if we could bring her on the quest, but Gandalf beat me to it, "How would you like to join us on our adventure?". From the look on Talyns' face I know she wants to, but she doesn't automatically agree. She leans down to write, I would hate to join in without Thorins permission, and after all it is his quest. I am a stranger to all in this company, and a girl.

Thorin looks surprised at her answer and then starts thinking about it, finally he says, "Why not? At least you're a dwarf, and you can fight." Talyn smiled and wrote, Wow that took you about 15 days less time than I thought it would, suddenly she paled. Not having the time to write a warning she drew her bow and shot at something behind the dwarves. They turned and saw a warg fall to the ground, dead. Then Dwalin, who luckily had not turned around to see the warg, took out the other warg who had jumped over the ridge. I watch as Gandalf grills Thorin. I look for Talyn and see her at the top of a hill, though I don't have a clue what she's looking at. Then I look to Radagast as he offers to lead the wargs away from us. Then we run.