Rhavaniel recalled her last conversation with Balin and Dwalin. It was so hard to imagine that those two were brothers. She had finished helping the Dwarves by clearing the dead Orcs from the battlefield for burning. It was a dirty job, but it spared the Dwarves to reverently attend to their own fallen. She had only touched Kili's body for a moment before they came to claim him. What happened next was not for her to share, even if she had been Dwarf. Only the men prepared their fallen brothers for burial.
She asked if she could stay at Lonely Mountain for a while. She wanted to be in Erebor when Kili's mother and the other Dwarves returned home from exile in Blue Mountain, that she might pay her respects to Dis.
Dwalin said 'no' and walked away. Balin had at least been apologetic. He thanked her, and told her that they had seen her from the Mountain as she disrupted the cavalry attack. Balin told her that Kili knew it was her. No single Elf was braver or had done more damage to the enemy than she. But, the sentiment against Elf was still strong among his people. A single female, unaccompanied by family, was shocking for Dwarves. She could best show respect to Dis by respecting Dwarf rules of propriety. Her friendship with Kili, though innocent, would be embarrassing. She'd heard enough.
She had promptly packed up Warg, and headed south. She was not rushing to catch up with the army of Thranduil, as Balin assumed. She was looking for Bard the Bowman.
She caught up with the men of Lake-Town, of the old Kingdom of Dale, on the road. The horses neighed and skittered, and the men gave her and Warg a wide berth as she moved to the front of the procession.
Kili had described Bard to her, so she knew who to introduce herself to.
"Bard the Bowman, I presume?" she asked.
"Yes." Bard glanced behind her, as if assuming more Elves would be with her. He looked at her quizzically. "You came from the battle. I saw you break the Orc flanking maneuver single-handed."
"Not single-handed when you have a Warg with you." she said, petting her mount. "My name is...Raven. At your service."
"I am pleased to meet you, Raven, and to thank you." Bard replied.
"I cannot help but notice that you have taken heavy casualties in the battle. You have my condolences. " Rhavaniel said. "It must weigh on a leader, to be so short of fighting men when he needs to rebuild his city and keep the roads safe from scattered, foraging Orcs and Goblins."
"I was thinking about that." Bard admitted.
"I was thinking that a good archer, one that could rival even yourself, might come in handy at such a time. And having a tame Warg, that can go places no man on horse could...imagine how many Orcs a pair like that could bring in, if a decent bounty were offered?"
Bard looked skeptical, "An Elf bounty hunter? I have never heard of one, and here you are still a child."
"Did I look like a child on the battlefield?" Rhavaniel challenged.
"No, but now that I see you face to face, I am surprised."
Rhavaniel chuckled, "Oh, I know, I have heard it all. 'You are too dark', 'You are too short', 'A Dwarf must have climbed your family tree.' I assure you, I am five-hundred and forty-eight and made for hunting. Life in Elf villages bores me to tears."
Bard smiled at this odd, charming Elf, "I believe we can do business."
Rhavaniel smiled back. She knew her pregnancy would last a full year and she had a good six months before she even began to show. She could earn plenty of gold in that amount of time.