The Dwarf awoke to the feeling of a cool rag passing over his forehead. His eyes fluttered open and he saw Doc in the light of a small, flickering candle on the bedside table dipping the rag back in a bowl of water and wringing it out. A moment of panic struck him before he fully remembered what was going on, and he sucked in a sharp breath. As Doc's eyes jumped up to his face, his entire body seized as pain lanced through him and the world went white. He came to a moment later to concerned voices, his ribs aching.
"What happened, Doc?" Happy asked.
"I think I sight mav, ugh, might have startled gem, urm, him."
Doc flushed and looked away, adjusting his glasses. Bashful wrapped an arm around his shoulders and shook him gently. When he saw that the stranger was looking at him, his entire face turned a deep red and he looked away, hiding his face in Doc's shoulder. The Dwarf was bewildered. Hadn't he been leaving? He caught sight of the littlest Dwarf climbing up on the foot of the bed and his memory came back. They'd all been there and promised they didn't want anything. And the child had been hurt…
"He okay?" the stranger croaked, looking at Dopey.
Dopey gave a wide grin and gave two thumbs up then mimed eating something. The brothers smiled at each other then turned to explain when the Dwarf snorted.
"Didn't deserve no treat. Little fool."
Dopey blinked then shook with laughter, grinning at him and clapping. The five older brothers stared in stunned bewilderment. Though many Dwarfs could speak some form of sign, they'd never met anybody who could read Dopey as well as this stranger just did. Dopey was tickled pink and crawled up to sit beside him on the bed, beaming and pointing at himself as he looked around at his brothers.
There was silence for a moment then Happy jumped in. "Guess we ain't actually met yet."
The Dwarf shook his head tiredly and Dopey pointed at himself again.
"Welp, this here's our youngest brother, Dopey. He's taken a shine to ya," Happy said.
Dopey curled up next to him and smiled up at him. The Dwarf rolled his eyes and scowled, but that only made Dopey laugh again. Happy finally remembered to speak after the Dwarf looked at him.
"I'm Happy, but I think I told ya that."
The stranger blinked and scowled again at the memory. "Yes," he growled, looking away.
"I'm Doc," Doc said quickly. He nudged his brother, who peeked at him.
"Bashful," he said, barely audible.
"Eh?"
"I'm B-Bashful," he said a bit louder.
"No kiddin'?" the stranger grumbled, half wanting to see what would happen.
Bashful turned scarlet up to his ears, hiding his face and mumbling something. The stranger found for a moment that he was enjoying himself.
"Oh, come on," Sneezy scoffed then sneezed. "I'm Sneezy."
"Uh-huh."
Sneezy squinted at him and adjusted his nightcap. It was then the Dwarf noticed it was nighttime.
"I'm Sleepy," a tired-looking Dwarf muttered.
"Perfect time fer it."
Bashful giggled and peeked at him while Happy hid a grin.
"That's my name," Sleepy said scornfully.
"What kinda names is them?" he asked, shifting and wincing.
Sleepy frowned and stood up straight, a glint coming into his eyes. "We're Estodiens, fer yer information. We're given our names through the knowing stone based on personality traits and quirks. What clan are you from, huh? What's yer name?"
At once, a wall went down and he went quiet, narrowing his eyes then looking away with a scowl. He didn't speak, and the silence stretched on until Doc coughed softly.
"Well, we at least need to call you something, if you don't want to give us your name. Um, do you have a reference, erm, preference?"
The Dwarf squinted at him, confused.
"You know, clan preference?"
Another blank look for a moment too long then he shook his head and scrambled to cover his lack of knowledge. "Estodien's fine," he grumbled, closing his eyes tiredly, wincing slightly as he shifted.
The brothers looked at each other then a wicked grin spread over Sneezy's face as he jumped in with the first suggestion.
"You're a Grumpy, alright."
Bashful gave a crow of laughter then went scarlet again when the Dwarf glared at him.
"I like it," Sleepy said, his eyes gleaming with mirth.
"Ijits," he muttered
Dopey grinned and pointed at him.
He softened at once, and the brothers all saw what Bashful had: tenderness beyond compare under that hard, grumpy exterior.
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "I guess I'm Grumpy."
Dopey clapped and snuggled close. Doc cleared his throat.
"Well, you best get plum zest, erm, some rest," he said. Then he picked up Dopey. "And it is far past your bedtime."
"I'd say that's true fer all of us," Sleepy yawned.
"Try to stop hollerin'," Sneezy said tartly.
Grumpy scowled at him as Doc came back and sat down in the chair. "Are you comfortable?"
Grumpy shrugged, but even that made him wince and gasp a little.
"Just a peckant, erm, second." Doc stood up and grabbed a bowl. He drew the blankets back and Grumpy looked grimly down at his ribs. They were dark and so tender that he knew he'd be stuck there for a while.
"Not so pretty," Doc agreed. "But this should help. Take a deep breath. Breathe out slowly."
Grumpy obeyed and a strangled noise burst out of him when Doc began to massage the salve into his ribs. He sucked in a stuttering breath and gritted his teeth, the world narrowing in on one point as the pain began to register as nothing but white heat in his mind.
"It's okay. Easy now. Take a breath," Doc encouraged. "It's all over. I'll remember to do that sooner.
"I thought I told you to stop hollerin'," Sneezy snapped from across the room.
"Sneezy!" Doc said harshly.
"Ijit," Grumpy replied, embarrassed.
Bashful laughed from his dark corner.
"Oh, stop it!" Sleepy groaned. "We ain't got a good night's sleep in two days!"
"We told you ta take a nap," Happy pointed out.
"Eh, Doc's been readin' to him. Them stories always give me funny dreams the way he reads 'em."
Doc blinked and turned pink as Grumpy gave him a funny look. "That's enough! You're all keeping Dopey up."
They all settled down, and Doc pulled the blanket back up and sat down, wiping his fingers on a cloth that he tucked into his belt. He smiled at Grumpy and spoke in a low voice.
"Are you hungry? We have some bread and cheese as well a bit of stew left over from trupper, um, supper."
"Why d'ya do that?" Grumpy asked.
Doc didn't even try to pretend he didn't know what he was talking about. He slumped and turned his face away, embarrassed. "Just something that happens."
"Mm." Grumpy didn't like the shame on Doc's face so he switched topics. "Supper'd be fine."
Doc nodded. "I'll get some for you."
A few minutes later, he was back and handed him a bowl of stew and set a plate in his lap. Grumpy hesitated for a moment, his guarded gaze flicking up to Doc, who only smiled, then he began to spoon the stew into his mouth. Even if it was cold, it was very good, far better than what he usually ate. He chewed on the tender meat, glancing up at Doc, who was looking through a bag by his feet.
Grumpy didn't know what to say to this Dwarf. He'd never spent any amount of time with a bunch of them. He did know they ran in packs, but that was little comfort. Doc looked back up and he busied himself with his stew again. When the bowl was empty, Doc took it away and he began to tear into the bread and cheese, something he was much more used to. When he was done, he hesitated.
"Thanks, I guess," he grumbled.
"You are might, um, quite welcome."
Grumpy squinted at him but made no comment on the mixup. Still, Doc turned a bit red in the candlelight and adjusted his glasses.
"Anyway, what brings you to our little cottage?"
Grumpy snorted. "Thought you did."
Doc blinked then chuckled. "Fair enough, I oppose, um, suppose. Let me rephrase. How did you come to be so badly injured?"
Grumpy pressed his lips together and looked away. "Spot a trouble."
"That's berry, um, tarry, urgh! very obvious," Doc stammered, frustration edging up with each wrong word. "I meant more specifically."
Grumpy didn't answer, wary and reluctant to divulge the truth, but he didn't know what lies to use. What did Dwarfs do? He knew they hoarded treasure, but as he looked at the kindly, smiling face of the Dwarf before him, he began to wonder if that was true.
"Well," Doc finally said, breaking the silence. "Whatever it was, you'll be waif, um, safe here."
"Here," Grumpy repeated, glancing around. "Got spells cast 'round here?"
Doc's expression flashed to shock then a coldness settled in his eyes. "Oh, we don't use magic," he stated brusquely. "No, it's the isolation of the place that will keep you safe. Most people don't find us unless they've asked somebody."
"Somebody… magic?" Grumpy asked cautiously.
"Sometimes. But as long as they don't bring the magic here, we don't much care."
Grumpy nodded, but he was puzzled. "Whaddya offer if ya don't have magic."
"Treasures and riches," Doc said, shrugging as he relaxed and the coldness melted. "We have a rich mine nearby. We're miners and we make jewelry and pretty much anything they want made of sold and tims, urm, gold and gems."
"Not blacksmiths, then."
Doc paused and saw that the Dwarf genuinely didn't know. So he responded with great patience and kindness.
"You must have forgotten. We're Estodiens. We're treasure-makers. Of course, you're referring to the Warnoks."
A flash of panic was there and gone in an instant. "Right. Sorry. Slipped my mind."
Doc nodded. "It can happen to busybody, urm, anybody."
Grumpy nodded and took a slightly deeper breath, stretching his tender side a bit more. He let out a soft groan as he exhaled.
"Guess I'm stayin' fer a while. Hope that's okay."
"We expected no dress, um, mess, erm, fess—oh for the love of—less!"
Doc was flushed again and he looked angry as well as embarrassed as he adjusted his glasses and glared at the floor. He heard somebody shift.
"Doc?" Bashful's sleepy voice came from the darkness. "You okay?"
"Fine," Doc snapped.
Grumpy watched the Dwarf twist his fingers together as Bashful got up and padded over in his stocking feet. Bashful ignored Grumpy and slipped an arm around his brother's shoulders. His red beard was longer than Doc's and had only streaks of grey, and his eyes were soft.
"It's okay, Doc," he murmured.
"No, it's not," Doc grumbled.
"Hmph," Grumpy said, and Bashful looked up, a spark of anger in his normally shy face.
"Do ya mind?"
"No. So it shouldn't bother him," Grumpy replied.
Bashful was about to snap when he paused and thought about what the stranger just said. Doc certainly noticed, and he sat up a little straighter, surprised.
"Really?" he asked.
"Wouldn'ta said it if I didn't mean it."
Bashful looked him over then smiled and yawned.
"Best get to bed, Doc."
Doc hesitated and glanced at Grumpy. Grumpy snorted.
"If I don't owe ya nothin', then I'm stayin'. I can hardly move."
Doc relaxed and stood up. "Well, in that case, I think I'll go to bed.
"Ya can sleep in my bed with me," Bashful said. "Don't want ya downstairs tonight. Don't like ya downstairs."
Doc smiled. "If you don't mind."
Bashful shook his head. "Gosh, you know better than that. I like sleeping with ya. You make me feel so safe."
Grumpy raised his eyebrows and Bashful caught his eye and flushed bright red again. He ducked his head and hurried to his bed, which was the one right beside the one he was in. Doc leaned over.
"He really can't help it," he said.
Grumpy grunted again then relaxed back. "'M gonna try and sleep."
"Good fight, uh, night, then."
Doc took the candle and went to put on his nightshirt. Before he slipped into bed, he blew out the candle. In the darkness of the room, as soft snores came to him, Grumpy considered what he'd seen and heard. They didn't seem so bad. And they were certainly interesting. Plus, they didn't seem dangerous. They seemed kind and awkward and funny all at the same time. All in all, he could think of worse places to recover from his injuries, and he'd been in many of them. After another ginger, deep breath, he closed his eyes and fell into a heavy sleep listening to the nighttime noises of these strange Dwarfs, who were all so different, yet so alike himself in some way he just couldn't define.