The Dwarf slept all throughout the day and woke only long enough for dinner that night before falling back asleep. They were very quiet as they got ready for bed and slipped beneath their blankets. The next morning, Dopey woke up to see the naked stranger slipping downstairs as dawn's rays lit up the sky. The young Dwarf was curious and he followed.
At the top of the stairs, he paused to see the Dwarf digging through his pack. He pulled out some clothes and awkwardly got dressed, his face set in a grimace. When he lifted his arms to slide his shirt on, his face contorted, but he managed to get it on without a sound. He took a moment to get his breath back, his eyes on Doc's sleeping form on the bench. Dopey wondered at that then his eyes widened as the stranger opened the door and limped out, shutting it quietly behind him. He was leaving!
Dopey bounded down the stairs and shook Doc, who opened his eyes and stared at him.
"A nightmare?" Doc asked blearily.
Dopey shook his head and pointed at the door.
"Too early to go outside."
Dopey stomped his foot then gave up and bolted to the door, flinging it open and racing into the chilly dawn. It hit the wall with a crash, and Doc sat up as there was a cry of alarm from upstairs. He looked around, unsure of what was going on. Then he noticed the pack was gone. The next cry he understood and the words that came next didn't surprise him.
"He's gone!" Happy yelled, coming to the door at the top of the stairs.
Doc leaped up and grabbed for his boots as the others scrambled down the stairs. Meanwhile, Dopey, barefoot and in his nightgown, ran after the stranger, who was moving with startling quickness. He wasn't sure why there was such an urgency, but he knew that it was a bad idea for somebody so wounded to run into the woods. He was young, but he knew there were wolves and snakes.
He tripped and went sprawling, yelping as he slid across the forest floor. The stranger jerked around, his eyes wide as his hand went to his belt. He was crouched, wary, then he saw the Dwarf. He was muddy and bleeding from several cuts on his face, hands, and feet. The Dwarf sat up and stared at him with big eyes.
The stranger could tell that this Dwarf was very young. He might even be a child, considering how short he was. Plus he had no beard. He hesitated, knowing that the others would be coming. He could continue on and tell this child to go back home. He took a step backward, and the child looked panicked and reached out imploringly. The stranger's heart clenched. He was forcefully reminded of himself, young and reaching out for help from those who were supposed to care for him. Nobody came for him. He couldn't do that to this child.
He was limping forward before he registered he'd made a decision and knelt down beside the child. Shrugging out of his pack, he pulled out a small rag and his canteen. He dampened the cloth and began dabbing at the scratches on his face, wiping off the blood. The child smiled and wiggled his ears, making the stranger snort.
"Yer some kinda fool, kid," the stranger grumbled. "Got no sense trustin' a stranger." The child shrugged then wiggled his bare toes, biting his bottom lip.
"I'll get to it," he muttered. "Hold still."
Bashful watched curiously as the gruff stranger took care of Dopey. He'd gone from ready to bolt to infinitely tender in the blink of an eye. He would never forget the look on the Dwarf's face when Dopey had reached out. His scowling visage had crumpled into a mask of pain so raw that it was heartrending. His scowl was back in place now, but that moment of vulnerability touched Bashful. He shifted forward and a branch snapped beneath his weight.
At once, the stranger looked up. Seeing Bashful, his expression became crazed, like a wild animal in a cage, and he surged up and tried to flee, but his leg gave way and he hit the ground with a gasping groan directly onto his bruised ribs. He clutched at his side, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath, pain his only reality. Bashful hurried forward, kneeling beside the stranger.
"Golly, are you okay?" he asked compassionately.
The Dwarf couldn't even snap at him. He couldn't breathe, each inhale a worse agony than before. He should have left! Why didn't he leave? He was gasping, tears burning down his cheeks as he struggled to get a proper breath. Bashful gingerly rolled him over into his back and pulled him so that he was leaning against him to take pressure off of his side.
"Doc!" he shouted. "Over here! He's hurt!"
There was the sound of crashing feet and Happy and Sneezy burst through the brush.
"Oh! Dopey!" Happy exclaimed. "Ya found him!"
Dopey beamed and then turned back to look at the stranger. They followed his gaze and were dismayed by how bad the stranger looked. He was pale and struggling for breath, sweat beading on his forehead as he trembled. Happy put his fingers in his mouth then gave a sharp whistle that would carry farther than their shouts. Another whistle sounded out, and he whistled again.
"It's okay. Doc's comin'," Bashful said gently. "He'll fix ya up."
"Dumb of you ta leave like that," Sneezy pointed out, crossing his arms. He sniffled then gave a huge sneeze, the force lifting him off his feet. He shook his head and wiped his streaming eyes.
"Sneezy," Happy scolded.
"What? What if we was still sleepin'?" Sneezy demanded. "What if he met a wolf or something else? What if he hurt himself worse and we wasn't here?"
Happy shifted, knowing his older brother wasn't wrong. "Still. He don't need that now."
Another whistle, much closer, and Happy responded. There were a few moments of silence then pounding feet. Doc and Sleepy hurried through the brush. Sleepy leaned against a tree and his eyes closed as a huge yawn made his ears pop.
"It's too early for this," he grumbled.
Doc took in the scene with sharp eyes. Dopey was barefoot and a bit scratched up, which wasn't good, but the stranger was in much worse shape. He went over and patted Dopey's bare head then knelt down beside the stranger. His breathing was very shallow.
"What happened?"
Bashful glanced at him and turned bright red. "I, uh…"
"Oh, what now?"Sneezy demanded.
"I just… Mama never liked when we tattled…"
Doc took one of his hands. "This is different. I have to know to help him." He paused. "I'm guessing he tried to sun, um, run, right?"
"Yeah," Bashful murmured. "He looked…"
"Looked?" Happy prompted.
"Scared," Bashful said quietly. "He was so scared when he saw me. Dopey he didn't mind, but me? He looked like a witch was on his tail."
The stranger groaned, his eyelids fluttering open. He was in pain and disoriented, and he heard voices above him, but they flowed through his mind like water, gone as soon as they were noticed. He saw the face of the one who had cornered him, and he jerked upright, trying to flee, but stars burst in his vision and he screamed, a hoarse, wild sound torn from his throat that made them all jump.
"Stay down!" Doc shouted, grabbing him and easing him down.
That only made him fight harder. He was muttering and fighting even as his body spasmed with pain, desperate to get away. Doc swore, something he rarely did, and he grasped his shoulders, pushing him down.
"Somebody grab his legs!" he shouted. "Hold him down!"
Sneezy and Happy lunged forward and pressed him down. They held him still until he went limp, too weak and tired to fight anymore. His entire body was alight with pain and he sobbed, knowing he couldn't escape. What would they do to him? He just couldn't pay.
"There. Hold still now," Doc murmured, wiping a tear away.
"C-cain't," the stranger croaked, panicked eyes looking up at their faces.
"Cain't?" Happy asked, his eyes wide. "Cain't what?"
Doc looked into the frightened face and understood. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"You don't need to pay us," he said softly but clearly.
The others stiffened and stared at their eldest brother, mouths slightly open then looked down at the panicked Dwarf. When Doc had said he believed human falsehoods about their kind, they'd thought it was funny. But seeing the stranger panicking and fighting desperately through pain, trying to get away because he had nothing to offer was not funny. It was even worse because he was a Dwarf just like them. And they wondered what had happened to this poor Dwarf to make him so scared.
Happy and Sneezy sat up slowly, and Sleepy and Bashful leaned in.
"Gosh, it's okay," Bashful said gently. "We don't want anythin' from you. We just wanna help."
They knew that he didn't believe them, and they didn't know what to do. Then Dopey crawled over and grabbed the stranger's hand, squeezing gently. When the stranger looked at him, he smiled and wiggled his ears, his blue eyes bright. The stranger stared at him for a long minute then slowly swallowed.
"Cain't," he croaked again.
"We don't want nothing," Sneezy said firmly, disturbed by the fear.
"Nothing at all," Sleepy agreed.
"Just let us help you," Happy implored.
The stranger looked at each of them, one by one, then shivered and closed his eyes, going limp.
"That's as good as we're gonna get," Doc said grimly. "Let's get him home."
After half an hour, the stranger was back in bed, stripped of his clothes, and Doc was gingerly checking the wounds again.
"He landed on his ribs, didn't he?" he asked Bashful, who glanced at the naked Dwarf and flushed, looking away quickly.
"Yeah. He couldn't breathe right. Sounded like the bellows when they gots a hole in them."
"Wheezing," Doc muttered.
"Mmhm."
A gentle knock, and Happy came in with a pot of steaming water, trailed by Dopey, who was holding a bunch of flowers.
"Good," Doc said to Happy, then he looked at Dopey. "What're those floor, um, for?"
Dopey pointed at the windowsill then smelled them and smiled, gesturing at the stranger.
"Certainly. It'll brighten up the room. Go on. Get a glass to hold them."
Dopey hurried out, rushing past Sneezy and Sleepy. Happy set the pot on the floor and grabbed the bowl full of salve, holding it away as the pollen from the flowers caused Sneezy to sneeze several times in a row. Happy chortled and handed Doc the bowl.
"What's it fer?" he asked, handing Sneezy a blue handkerchief from a clean pile.
"It'll numb his ribs. They look awful. They're worse now than before."
Doc began to gently rub the cream into the bruised skin, and the stranger groaned, tears leaking down into his short beard as he shuddered and gasped. They knew he was around Doc's age because of the amount of grey in his beard, though there was still quite a bit of black. He was young, too young to be alone. Where was his family? Where were his kinfolk? Why wasn't he with his clan? Why was he all alone in the woods, banged up and bruised, ready to bolt at a moment's notice? And why, oh why, was he so afraid of his own people?
"I don't think he has anybody," Bashful said quietly, tears stinging his eyes as his voice quavered. "He's all alone, but he really shouldn't be. Oh, Doc!" He burst into tears. Happy hurried around to loop his arm across his shoulders.
"I don't think he was raised by Dwarfs," Sneezy said, blowing his nose. "Did you see the look on his face when we grabbed him?"
Bashful wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "He's so scared and alone. Nobody should look like that. Nobody, never ever!"
"Look like what?" Sleepy asked, wandering over to his bed and falling into it. He yawned.
"When Dopey reached for him, he looked like he was gonna cry," Bashful sniffled and wiped his eyes again, leaning on Happy's shoulder. "I don't think anybody's ever looked at him like that, like they wanted him. That's why he didn't run."
Dopey skipped in with a bowl of water, the flowers resting gently on the side. Sneezy sneezed then held the handkerchief up to his nose as Dopey carried them past. He carefully put it by the window and opened it to let the fresh morning air in then turned to beam at his family. When he saw that they were unhappy, he wilted, tilting his head and pointing at himself.
"It's not you, Dopey," Sneezy said, gesturing him closer. "We've just been talking about him. We think he don't have no family."
Dopey's eyes widened and he gawked at them. He'd been raised by his brothers and had never known a lonely night. He looked at the stranger and his bottom lip quivered. He pointed at the stranger then down at the floor.
Doc nodded. "He's staying. For a while, at least. He's in so much pain he can hardly breathe. The wound in his leg was torn open again from his fall. I need my suture and my kit and more rags."
Doc sounded tired, and he turned to study the Dwarf's face. He was shaken by the thought of this Dwarf being alone. Dwarfs were supposed to live in tight-knit groups. To have one alone, so young, with nobody coming for him, was heartbreaking. Because Doc knew nobody was coming. He felt it in his bones, like knowing that a diamond was flawed with a single touch, an innate, deep, natural sense connected to his very nature. It was with great sorrow and compassion that Doc brushed his fingers over the Dwarf's cheek, wiping away the tears. The fact that the Dwarf shuddered and flinched away only hurt more.