Nori thinks that she does an incredible job of keeping a straight face when Thorin declares that she has been given the position of Wolf in front of his sister, her sons and Dwalin. She very easily keeps her glare on the princess rather than directing it at Thorin, much as she longs to. Becoming Thorin's Wolf had not been part of her plan for this life. In fact she had wanted to maintain some distance from the royal family when not training Kíli. That she has already failed in that intention is neither here nor there.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Dís demands, a question Nori would quite like the answer to as well.
"The identity of my Wolf is supposed to be known to me and the captain of my guard alone," Thorin replies loftily. "I saw no reason to tell you since you are not among those who should be told. Fíli, of course, would have been made aware in due time, but it was not for you to know or decide on appropriate action for."
There is a moment of silence, and then Dís storms from the room. Nori turns her attention to Kíli who has not managed to keep his own bafflement from his face, then she looks back at Thorin.
"Would have been nice to be asked before you went giving me a job," she comments.
"In truth I had been hoping to see you before you saw my sister," Thorin admits. "I have no objection to your reaction, of course, my sister has long since forgotten that there are often consequences to our actions though we do not always see them. I do not mean that her upset and anger was not justified, you are young yet, Kíli, and should not really be out in the world without your family. Your mother's reaction, however, was extreme and I know that no amount of gold to allow for the repair of your home can ease the loss of sentimental objects. I know what it is to lose items that you treasure with no hope of retrieval." He shakes his head. "I would have made you the offer before now, Nori, had you not vanished into the wilds."
"Alright," Nori nods. "Why?"
"Because you are good at what you do," Thorin replies, "and because Kíli needs to learn how to fulfil the role of the Wolf from someone who, apparently, knows how the job is meant to be done."
"I read," Nori says, "and there are books on it inside the Guild. It was always one of ours who took the role no matter which kingdom. We like to keep track of the rules and expectations of the only really official role someone in our trade might take on."
"I should be surprised," Thorin comments, "it says something about the last couple of years that I am not."
"Try it from my perspective," Nori snorts. "I assume you will have someone suitably discrete draw up the contracts?"
"They are already drawn up," Thorin confirms. "My cousin Glóin draws up the majority of my contracts of employment. He knows what he can and cannot share." Nori holds back a groan. She knows very well what Glóin's favourite topic of conversation is. The firebeard is a good lawyer, although he lacks Balin's knowledge and diplomatic skills which the Merchant's Guild rely on to smooth things over on occasion, but his tightfisted nature is legendary already. Thorin smirks. "I have ensured that your monthly pay is more than adequate, with a budget of ten times that for you to put together your own pack."
"Suppose we had better go and take a look at it, make sure it's all on the up and up," Nori sighs, "and get it signed. I'll want you there as witness, Guard," she adds in Dwalin's direction. "You I trust."
"Very well," Thorin bows his head a little, apparently not at all offended by the fact that Nori trusts Dwalin more than him. "Boys, I suggest you go and clean up. Find Kíli something to eat and avoid your mother."
The two princes leave quickly, heads already together and they mutter quietly to each other. Nori has seen them this way any number of times in her previous life and she knows that they are planning some form of mischief.
"Kíli," she calls, he pauses and looks at her, "meet me outside the Guild the day after tomorrow. Take the day, I'll need it to find a place anyway."
The lad grins brightly in thanks, then vanishes rapidly after his brother. Nori feels slightly abandoned for a moment, she's grown used to having him nearby over the last year, but she shakes it off quickly and turns her attention back to Thorin and Dwalin as they make their way to Thorin's office. She is amused to note that the king still has not moved his desk from in front of the window, and she takes great pleasure in raising a braided eyebrow at him. He scowls at her, but does not give her a response as he unlocks a drawer in his desk, removing two copies of her contract of employment.
The contract is incredibly clear, and far less detailed than the one that she had signed upon joining the quest for Erebor. It is also fairly standard as far as contracts for a Wolf go according to the reading Nori has done over the course of her life. The pay is not as high as she would like, but for all the wealth that Thorin and his family have amassed since beginning this colony in Ered Luin they are nowhere near as wealthy as they had been in Erebor. It is enough, however, for her to rent a house of a relatively decent size in one of the poorer parts of Thorinuldum with plenty to spare to set aside for the expenses that will come up during the quest. Renting a house with a few extra rooms will actually be really quite helpful as far as training Kíli to work with poisons, acids and other tools that she would rather not teach him to use in a public place, goes. There are some parts of the contract, however, that she has no intention of sticking to.
"I'm not telling you every little thing I come across," she shakes her head. "If I did that I'd be in here every day. I know what I'm doing, I know when something goes from being talk to a problem."
"I would prefer to be aware of anything that might be a threat to my family," the dwarf king disagrees.
"With respect," Dwalin shakes his head, "I can think of two guards that you and I have reprimanded this week alone who've been mouthing off about getting back at the pair of us. It's just talk," Thorin looks like he might cut in, "but if I told you about it, you'd go off for no reason at all. If she says she knows what she's doing, then she knows it. She doesn't need you to manage her."
"Did something happen while you were away?" Thorin asks and Nori snorts, the sound more derisive than she intends.
"I spent the winter with her and the lads, like I told you," Dwalin points out. "If we're trusting her to train Kíli to do this, we need to trust her to know what she's doing."
"Very well," Thorin takes a pen to carefully adjust the contracts so that they read that Nori will keep him informed of anything that he needs to know about. The three of them make small marks next to the amendment and then Nori points to another.
"The only people who need to know the identity of every member of my pack is me and my second," she says. "It's better for you that you don't. It's better for a lot of people that you don't because they won't work for me otherwise," this is something she learnt in her last life and it had caused her a lot of problems in the run up to the quest. "Kíli will know them all too, but he won't be my second. Even once he's trained I'll want him as my shadow. You'll know my second for when I have to leave town, and I'll have to do that plenty until Kíli is trained up, and probably still after that too." Thorin glares. "They're thieves, if you know who they are they won't work for you. That's how it is. Either you remain ignorant of all but one or I don't have a pack and who knows how much information will get missed. I can't be everywhere all at once."
There is a moment where she thinks that Thorin will object to this stipulation, especially after she had made her last demand. This is, however, the one thing that she cannot move on. There are other clauses in the contract that she dislikes, but there is little about them worth mentioning. As long as she is not out of town, and even if she is there will be her second, it will be easy enough for her to discreetly attend parties and council meetings. She even knows the dwarf she will approach with the offer and she will once she has found a house, registered Kíli's tests and found the information she needs so that the two of them can go through possible candidates for a small pack. Rather than object to her requirement, however, Thorin nods.
"I told Glóin you would object to that one," he says, "he insisted we try anyway."
She rolls her eyes, hardly surprising given what she knows although in this lifetime she has not yet met Glóin or his brother. Then they make the changes and mark them once again before all three place their signatures in the correct places at the bottom; employee, employer, and witness. It is a document that Nori had very much hoped she would never be signing again.
Funny the way that fate sometimes steps in.
"Here," Thorin places a large pouch on his desk, "pay for the last two months, since I've lied to my sister and told her you were already working for me."
"That's unexpectedly generous," Nori comments, although she is quick enough to grab the bag.
"I know what it is to be homeless," Thorin reminds her, "and while it is true that my sister is at fault for your current circumstances, I would prefer you have the funds to set yourself up quickly so that you may continue Kíli's education with as minimal disruption as possible."
"I had already begun to think about it," Nori hefts the purse, happy to hear the clink of coins inside. "This will go a very long way towards ensuring that I can set up what I need to." Unless the purse is filled entirely with coppers, in fact, Nori should be able to purchase everything she needs and pay off her first month of rent with the contents. She slips it into the pocket she has hidden in the breast of her coat with a grin. "If there's nothing else?" She tilts her head.
"Unless you have anything to report," Thorin arches his eyebrow and Nori shakes her head. She has nothing set enough to tell him yet. "Then I imagine you are tired and hungry." He gestures to the door and Nori inclines her head to him silently.
"I'll see you out, lass," Dwalin rumbles.
"I very much doubt that is necessary," Thorin shakes his head with a roll of his eyes.
"Not to keep an eye on her," Dwalin huffs, "to make sure that if your sister decides to try something stupid the lass has a witness."
"Good idea," Thorin agrees after a moment. "My sister has already displayed her impulsive and unpredictable side once this evening, I would rather she not be given the opportunity again." He settles at his desk, not even bothering to look up as the pair leave the room.
They walk in silence together for a short time, though there is a great deal that they probably need to say to one another on a large number of subjects this is neither the time nor the place.
"We started something earlier, lass," Dwalin says in a low voice, hand holding the door closed and easily shifting to hide her body with his. "You up for coming to my place and finishing it?"
She should say no, she really should.
"My brother is expecting me," she breathes, "and I need to get something to eat. I'll find you after dark bell," she mentally curses herself for being a heart struck fool.
"Dark bell," he agrees. "You want me to…"
"I know where to find you," she cuts him off. "I made a point of it when I first started training the lad." He nods and leans in before seeming to think the better of it.
"Eat well," he breathes, "you'll need the energy."
A.N: Just a quick reminder, updates are Mondays and Wednesdays. If I get ahead of myself by much more you might get extra ones, but I'm in the middle of exam revision hell. I'm more likely to slow down because I'm trying to remember the trigonometric equations for product to sum identities. Yay, maths.