I do not own any of the characters or The Hobbit (just the AU storyline and my OC) Those are the work of the esteemed and brilliant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, and without his genius, this and many other fan fics would not be in existence.

Please review! I love getting them- they keep me encouraged! J

Meril cast a glance at her two visitors as she struck the flint against the steel, her thoughts troubled.

What she told Freida in the woods was very true- dwarves did not care for anyone but themselves, and have done so for as long as she could remember. It had been many, many long years since the dwarf traders had come to these lands, mostly due to the old trade routes falling into disuse with the rise of the human sorcerer in the old ruins, and her grandmother was a mere child of ten the last time she had seen the Naugrim.

But though many long years had passed since, Meril remembered all the stories her grandmother told her as a child about dwarves. The much beloved woman had been ten years old at the time, and still clearly remembered how every trade was negotiated and hassled to the point that everyone was frustrated by the time goods were exchanged, if they were at all. The dwarves would cast disdainful looks at the villagers, and her people would look down upon the short people with derision as well.

Each race would keep to themselves, the dwarves in their encampment and her people in their cabins, only coming together to trade. The Naugrim had always been cave dwellers and miners of gold and gems, and rumors of the riches amassed in Erebor had spread even to the great wood, yet those traders who came to her village refused to pay what her people deemed fair for food harvested from their fields and spun wool from their sheep.

They seemed highly interested in what the woodsmen could offer them, yet they would hassle until the price was so low that it was beyond fairness. Whenever the woodsmen declined the low prices, dark looks and angry words resulted, and it was not rare for negotiations to come to blows. Neither were stupid enough to bring weapons to the arguments, but the fact remained that the Naugrim were determined to cheat her people into giving them food and cloth and yarn for barely any gold at all.

When weapons were finally drawn after one of the Naugrim was caught trying to steal a sheep, one of her people got killed in the altercation. Their chief then commanded that the dwarves leave, declaring that they would no longer trade with those who were so greedy that they would pay next to nothing for the goods offered and resort to stealing, and if they didn't they would find arrows in their backs.

And so it was. The Naugrim left, after bitter, hateful words were spat at the woodsmen by their leader, his bright blue eyes flashing behind a long, white beard. And her people had not seen or heard from dwarves ever again.

As the sparks caught the tinder, the old woman couldn't help but wonder why, after 105 years of estrangement, two strangers, dwarves even, would be willing to save the life of her grandchild at great risk to their own.

He picked me up an' put me in the tree.

She hit the cat, Gramma. She kept hitting it an yellin' at it so we could get up in the tree.

The big cat bit him lotsa times, an' scratched too.

As the sound of the injured dwarf's moans reached her ears, Meril made a decision.

XXX

Cirashala watched as the old woman lit the fire, a wrinkled hand moving the large pot over the flame on a hook much like the one at Bilbo's house, before she turned toward the pair.

"Has the bleeding slowed?" the elder asked even as she lit an oil lamp and moved to take a small bag off a shelf on the wall. Cirashala looked down at the pale dwarf, his breaths coming quickly even as his face twisted in pain, feeling her own heart pound in her chest with worry. Slowly lifting the edge of the soiled tunic off his chest, she was relieved to find that the blood seemed to have slowed a bit.

"I- I think so," she whispered, returning her hands to their former position as she looked up at the older woman hesitantly. "Wh-what do you want me to do now? We- we're out of bandages."

The old woman didn't respond as she sifted through the various berries, herbs and roots that she dumped out of the woven bag onto the table. Selecting a few, she quickly stepped over to the pot and dropped them in, before turning back towards Cirashala.

"I will cut up some rags and bring a needle and thread," the elder replied. Gesturing toward Kili, she continued. "Those clothes are filthy and might infect the wound. You need to get them off of him and clean his cuts with the water from the pot." Cirashala's eyes grew wide even as she felt her face heat up.

"B-but I can't do that!" she blurted out at the old woman's retreating back before she could stop herself.

Meril paused, her hand already pushing the door to her bedroom open, and turned toward the flustered young woman with an eyebrow raised.

"Why not?" she asked. "He's your brother, isn't he?" The young woman's heart threatened to jump out of her throat as she realized she nearly blew their cover. The old woman's eyes seemed to rest on her face for a moment, her expression unreadable, and Cirashala quickly replied.

"W-well yes, ma'am, but he…we're dwarves, a-and we don't… it would embarrass—" Cirashala began, but Meril cut her off.

"Bare his chest and arms, and clean them," she repeated. "The pot has herbs that will help."

With that, the old woman left the room, the door swinging shut behind her with a slight thud.

XXX

Cirashala gaped at the shut door, her face scarlet even as her heart seemed to have stopped.

S-she wants me to do what?!

The young woman clearly remembered the woods four days prior, when Kili backed away from her into the log, his eyes wide and face scarlet when she suggested she wrap his injured ribs for him because he could not do it himself.

Because Oin's not a girl. The hesitant words he spoke then sounded through her mind.

She did not know what happened to make Kili so shy of women healers, or if that was how male dwarves were in general, but she had compromised and bound them on top of his long underwear, respecting his modesty as best she could. Glancing down at the torn bandages and seeing the jagged cuts underneath, she wasn't so foolish to think that such a compromise would work now.

It has to be bared, she thought to herself in dismay. But, would he even let me?

Kili hadn't seemed to hear the old woman's words, whimpers and strangled gasps coming from the young dwarf's mouth as his head moved from side to side and his face twisted in pain. Sweat beaded on his brow, his cheeks quite flushed after the attack had sapped what little strength he had left. His fists clenched as he arched his back slightly, and Cirashala gently moved her hand up to brush his bangs aside, eyes filled with worry at the heat emanating from his forehead.

Her eyes drifted toward his blood covered hands, dried trails of scarlet stemming from small puncture wounds where the cat's teeth had bitten. His bracers had taken the brunt of the attack, but there were still a few holes in his gloves where the teeth had gotten through, the brown leather now stained a dark red as his fists kept clenching and reopening the small marks.

She could smell the scent of the herbs in the now boiling water wafting through the main room of the cabin, and was saddened to notice that the smell was more earthy, rather than sweet like she had read athelas was.

So it doesn't grow around here then, she thought to herself in dismay. I just hope the ones she has will help at least.

Taking a deep breath, she reached for his bracer, hoping that he would be oblivious in his pain to notice what was going on.

XXX

Kili's lungs felt like they were on fire. The weight of the lynx had put a great deal of pressure on his broken ribs and dislodged a couple of them, but the burning in his lungs themselves far outweighed the pain emanating from the broken bones.

By Durin, everything hurt- his hands, his chest, his arms, and his shoulder. As far as he could tell, the bruises from the fall in Goblin town were healing all right, but the area around his shoulder and upper back and chest was still very tender.

He could hear murmuring voices amidst the rushing sound in his ears, but was in far too much pain to even open his eyes. He was vaguely aware of being dragged into a house and could feel the wooden planks under his back, but did not remember much beyond that.

If only he could breathe more easily….but each breath rattled in, and rattled out. It took every ounce of energy not to break into a coughing fit; the last thing he wanted to do was cause his chest anymore pain or risk his ribs puncturing a lung like Cira had mentioned when she wrapped them.

As memories of the attack assaulted his mind, he was suddenly filled with panic.

XXX

Cirashala jumped when Kili gasped out her name, having just finished getting his bracers and gloves off and moving toward his coat.

"Cira," he gasped, his voice slightly breathless. "Cira, where are you?"

"I'm here," she said softly. The young dwarf turned his head toward her voice, eyes cracking open slightly.

"A-are you…all right?" he whispered through nearly white lips. His whole face was extremely pale, standing out in stark contrast to his flushed cheeks and dark hair.

"Aye," she replied, causing him to nod and shut his eyes again. His struggles were getting less in strength, which concerned the young woman greatly, knowing how much pain he must be in.

"I'm sorry if this hurts, Kili," she whispered, moving toward his coat. "But it has to come off."

The young dwarf did not acknowledge her words, merely wincing as she pulled his left arm out of the coat sleeve. When she went to pull his right arm out of it, however, he let out a sharp cry, causing her to freeze in place.

"Kili?" she asked, her tone laced with worry as his face twisted in pain. It was a moment before he could answer, his breaths coming so quickly that she feared he would hyperventilate. "What hurts?"

"S-sh-shoulder," he finally gasped out, tears slipping out of his eyes as they scrunched tight. The young woman frowned, glancing down at his jerkin covering the spot in question. There was no blood, nor indication that the lynx had gotten to it. Nevertheless, she continued to remove the coat and then his jerkin, being as gentle as she possibly could despite a few more strangled cries.

The bedroom door creaked, and Cirashala looked up as the old woman came back into the room, arms full of makeshift bandages.

"Why aren't his wounds cleaned yet?" the elder woman asked, moving to Kili's left side and setting the bandages down. She rose and moved to the fireplace, taking the pot off the hook. Returning to Kili's side, she set the pot down and looked at Cirashala expectantly as she wet a rag with the water.

Cirashala looked back down at the pale dwarf, now clad in only his long underwear and trousers, then back up at the older woman's expectant gaze.

Taking a deep breath, she reached for the first button, her heartbeat pounding nervously in her ears. On the first tug, however, a bloodied hand reached up and weakly grasped her wrist, causing both women's gazes to turn to the young prince.

"N-no," Kili whispered, glassy eyes wide with fear as the brown orbs met blue.

"Your wounds have to be cleaned," she said quietly. "W-we have to stitch them up, and—" Kili cut her off.

"Cira, please," he begged, his eyes misting even as he swallowed heavily.

The pleading gaze caused the young woman to freeze, the healer in her warring with the fact that Kili was her friend. The last thing she wanted to do was humiliate or embarrass him, but at the same time she didn't want him to die from infection. Slowly pulling her hand back, she looked up at the old woman, then back at the young prince, a hesitant expression on her face.

"Is there no other way?" she asked, and the other shook her head.

"Not unless you want him to die of infection," Meril replied matter of factly. Cirashala looked back at Kili, her eyes trying to convey the message that she couldn't say.

Please Kili.

Their eyes met, and Kili looked at her for a long moment, before shutting his eyes and nodding almost imperceptibly.

As she reached for the first button once more, Cirashala couldn't help but wish that he would pass out until they were done.

XXX

Kili's heart pounded in his chest as he felt button after button being loosened, exposing his chest. His entire body trembled with nervousness, even as he longed for his wounds to be cleaned and bound. If it would stop the pain, he was willing to try.

He cried out as the fibers of the underwear were tugged out of some gashes, pulling on the newly formed scabs. His head ached badly, and every time he opened his eyes the room began to spin. He finally began to just keep them closed to avoid the odd sensation, but it only heightened his sensitivity to the pain radiating out from his chest.

He clenched his jaw against the pain, but it only grew as damp cloths were pressed against the wounds and began to scrub, and he found himself crying out as the lacerations and bite marks began to sting.

Suddenly, something was placed against his lips, and he found himself swallowing a foul tasting liquid. Within moments, the room grew dark, and he mercifully slipped into unconsciousness.

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A response to guest reviewer Guest: Don't worry- it will be very soon, especially if I can keep updating frequently (but not before lots of angst and grief). Not to sound mean, but I'm glad you said it's breaking your heart- that means I'm emoting well, and you're feeling what the characters are :)

A response to guest reviewer Kaia: Me too! Thanks :)

A response to guest reviewer guest: I know- I was sick, and that's how I was able to update so much (I didn't have energy for anything else). I hope you enjoyed your tea :) Yes, they found at least more civilization than they had in the wilds all alone :) It's not much, but it will help :)

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow- 600 REVIEWS! Woo hoo! You guys are WONDERFUL! :D :D :D