Bain and Tauriel (for Nightgirl)

[Andras]

Fire and Death.

That was all that Bain saw as he dashed through the burning streets and walkways of his home, Lake Town. But his home would stay standing for long; as an inferno worthy of Mount Doom raged across the stilted buildings and homes of Lake Town, courtesy of the scaled, winged goliath that was destroying the settlement in his rage. In his trembling hands, the boy clutched an arrow the size of a spear, what he knew was the only thing that could possibly kill the monster before it killed all of them. Bain could only hope that he reached his father in time.

How had it come to this point? Bain was the son of Bard, the defender of Lake Town; a settlement inhabited by the descendants of the lost city of Dale, as well as refugees from elsewhere. Long ago, the dragon Smaug had devastated both Dale and the nearby Dwarven kingdom of Erebor. And only recently had a small party of dwarves, accompanied by a halfling, had arrived in Lake Town. Their leader, Thorin, claimed to be the rightful king under the mountain. They wished to slay the dragon Smaug and reclaim Erebor. Bain first became aware of them when his father had arrived at his house with a handful of these dwarves, including one who had been gravely injured, and told Bain and his other children to help treat the wounded dwarf.

But soon after, a multitude of evil orcs had arrived secretly in Lake Town, breaking into his family's house and ambushing them. The family and dwarves had fought them desperately, but they would have died had two elegant and powerful elves not intervened and saved them: a fierce, blond male elf with incredible fighting prowess, and a beautiful, young, and courageous elf-maiden with fiery red hair. She had been the prettiest woman that Bain had ever seen in his life. She was so tall, much taller then him, and the way she had been so protective of him and his family made him admire her greatly. He couldn't stop thinking about her, and try as he might he couldn't get the pale, tall, auburn-haired she-elf out of his head.

The dwarves had gone to Erebor to slay Smaug, but it seemed as if they had only enraged him, because he was now destroying Lake Town. Dain watched as his home burned, one structure at a time, each flaming husk of a building collapsing into the lake as the wooden supports burned. There was one deck he saw, a small deck hidden in the shadow of a larger building. He had a memory of it that was shameful, painful, and fond all at once. The younger, smaller Bain, at about 10 or eleven years old, thought it was fine to steal apples and fruits from a vendor and pocket them; since they were overpriced. Bard saw him do this, and when Bain laughed when his dad told him it was unacceptable, Bard grabbed his young son and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Embarrassed to be lifted and put over the shoulder by his father, especially in front of other people, he kicked, squirmed, and complained. Bard simply carried him all the way to that hidden deck, put him over the knee, and gave him a long, harsh spanking. Bain was crying by the end of it, and Bard held him on his lap and embraced him, letting him cry it out until he was okay.

Looking at it now, Bain felt sadness and nostalgia, strange as it were. His dad had only the best intentions for him, and raised and disciplined him when he was young and fragile. Bain remembered himself as a little boy slung over his father's broad shoulder, and how even when he was a kicking, squirming burden his father had to carry, he was a precious burden, one to be loved and protected even if that meant giving him discipline sometimes. All the memories, even the painful and embarrassing ones, were because Bard loved his son and did what he had to do to raise him. Now that tiny deck was consumed in flames, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Bain saw his father firing arrows ineffectually at the raging dragon from a bell tower, and grasping the black arrow tightly he climbed the ladder up to the tower to hand his father the black arrow.

Everything that followed that was a haze. He gave his father the black arrow, and he used it to slay the dragon, firing it into the beast's heart through one weak spot in his scales. But Smaug careened towards the bell tower as he died, smashing through the tower and sending both father and son falling off of it.

Bard fell onto a nearby dock and was knocked unconscious. Bain fell into a small boat, and then passed out from fear and the intense heat. In the destruction, the boat drifted far downriver. The boy woke up the next morning, down river from Lake Town, alone and afraid. He didn't know where his father, the dwarves, or the elf-woman was.

That day, Legolas asked Tauriel to find Bain and bring him back to the survivor's encampment safely.

[Nightgirl]

"Tauriel. I need you to find the dragonslayer's son and bring him back safely.", said Legolas.

"Actually, mellon, I was going to ask you for this very task. I saw what happened to the boy, but in the ensuing chaos I could not follow. He was lying unconscious in a boat, which drifted down river." Tauriel explained, concerned.

"Make haste." Legolas told her, as he left to help the survivors of Smaug's desolation.

Tauriel took a small boat of her own to quickly catch up to the boy.

Traveling far downriver, she finally found an empty boat around midday. Certain that it was the boat Bain had been in, she brought her boat to shore, and found signs of him having walked into the forest. She swiftly entered the forest to continue her search for the boy.

("Mellon" is elvish for friend.)

[Andras]

When Bain awoke, he did so with a startled yelp. When the small boat beached itself on the shore of the lake, he imagined it as the impact of the dragon landing on a pier next to him. His eyes were blinded by the morning sunlight as he tried to open them, and he lacked the energy or constitution to rise out of boat. The boy tried to process everything that had happened to him over the past several hours...he recalled the dragon torching the entire settlement of Lake-Town, he remembered handing the black arrow to his father, and then his dad heroically killing the dragon. But then he fell from the tower, slid off a cloth awning and into a boat before he fainted. And the boat must have taken him here.

Still nearly delirious and very tired, the skinny boy with the brown hair and furry coat slowly picked himself up and got out of the boat, looking around to see where he was. There were tall hills on one side and a forest on the other. The forest seemed easier to pass then the steep hills, so Bain headed into the woods, taking clumsy, shaking steps as he did so.

At the present moment, Bain didn't have a strong sense of direction. But he knew he had to head back upriver to get back home; or rather, find what was left of home along with any survivors. So he walked through the forest, following the general path of the river. The shore itself had too many big rocks and other obstacles; so he couldn't just walk beside the river, especially not in his weakened state.

Taking a moment to pause and rest under the shade of the trees, Bain closed his eyes and rested for a little while. Suddenly, he heard voices...and he realized he was not alone in the woods. They were deep, ugly voices; conversing with one another. Slowly creeping across the ground in the direction where they were coming from, he hid behind a rock and looked over it.

He saw several human-shaped figures, clothed in animal skins or dark armor, with unnaturally pale skin, wild eyes, and sharp teeth. They carried swords that looked more like butcher knives, heavy axes, or long pikes. And beyond the sight of them, the foul stench coming from their direction was all too familiar to Bain; as he recalled the night he had to defend his home from these vile monsters.

"Orcs!" thought Bain.

He wouldn't stand a chance against even one of these monsters. He had a small knife with him under his coat, given to him by his father. But for now the right thing to do was hide.

There were nine of them in total. The tallest among them carried a scythe, and his face, along with the rest of his body, was covered in bandages. This was an orc captain, Mazu the Burned. Among the orcs, there were those who rose above the common, swarming rabble and seized power for themselves among the horde; becoming leaders of orc-kind. Above the regular soldiers and thugs were captains, who served as leaders of small warbands, controlled a bit of territory for themselves, and served as bodyguards to warchiefs. The warchiefs themselves led armies of orcs and ruled over large territories from their own strongholds that they had claimed for themselves. And above the warchiefs were overlords, truly feared champions of the orc species, who were served by vast legions of orcs and ruled vast fortresses; filled with traps, siege equipment, and tamed war-beasts. Orcs fought among themselves to rise through this hierarchy, and orc society was a constant war for the survival of the fittest, filled with constant duels, backstabbings, and betrayals.

Mazu's bloodshot, angry eyes looked around the forest.

"Alright, boys. This looks like a good place to set up camp. Get your rest, you're going to need it. Tomorrow, we'll start raiding the roads and attacking any travelers or merchant caravans that try to pass through here. Remember the warchief's orders: loot anything we can, and kill any Tarks we find." Mazu said, "Tark" being a nasty slur towards the race of Men.

"He wants use to get any loot we can from the Tarks, and put fear into their hearts. Goroth will not tolerate failure, and as one of his best captains; neither will I."

Mazu then looked towards Bain. Not at him, but towards him. Enough to make Bain duck further behind the rock and completely out of sight, his heart pounding as his eyes widened with fear.

"Alright, you lazy pieces of Shrakh, secure the campsite and get some firewood for us to burn. We're going to have a very busy day tomorrow."

Bain remained behind the rock, wanting to stay hidden and worrying that any attempt to creep away would be too loud and would draw the orc's attention. But when he noticed two pairs of heavy footsteps walking through the leaves towards him, he realized he had no choice but to abandon his position.

Bain slowly crept through the underbrush, finding a hollowed-out log to hide in. He crawled inside of it and waited, hearing the orcs very near by as they gathered firewood.

[Nightgirl]

As Tauriel made her way through the forest, she began to hear voices. Quickly climbing a nearby tree, she scouted the area. Not too far from her, she saw the back of a boy who was hiding behind a rock, and looking intently at something. A little further down she saw what had his attention; orcs.

The orcs dispersed, leaving only two in Tauriel's vicinity.
They began to walk towards where the boy was hiding. The boy quickly left his hiding place, finding a new one in a hollowed-out log.

Tauriel got a glimpse of his face, and as she could already tell from his furry coat, it was indeed Bain. She smiled, happy to find the boy safe.

She then made her way down the tree, and drew her daggers. Sneaking behind the orcs, she swiftly struck both of them down with fluid movements.

She then peered her head into the hollow log with a smile, making eye contact with Bain.

"It's alright. You can come out now."

[Andras]

Bain tried to remain perfectly still and silent inside of the log, holding his breath. If he made so much as a sound, the orcs would probably pull him out and kill him, or worse. His father had taught him how to defend himself, but he had never succeeded in a real battle: when orcs had invaded his house, he had desperately acted to defend his family. If not for his father and for the two elves who had arrived just in time; they would have slaughtered him. Bain would try to defend himself from the two orcs if he was discovered, but as a young, small, and skinny boy against two hulking orcs...he didn't have much confidence.

And then he heard one of the orcs walking towards the logs, his heavy footsteps drawing unmistakably towards him. Had he involuntarily made a sound? Had he disturbed the leaves as he crawled into the log, in such a way that made it obvious that something had crawled inside of it? Or did the orc just want to hack it apart for firewood?

In any case, his spirit would not remain in Arda for long...

But it was not his time. He heard the heavy body of the other orc hitting the ground, and only a few seconds afterwards heard a pained gurgle as the orc that had approached the log fell onto the forest floor, landing right in front of him. Bain could not suppress a gasp as he came face-to-face with the dead orc, his large, malevolent eyes wide open in shock and his toothy mouth gaping open as black blood drained from a terrible wound on his throat.

And then, he saw the face that had captured his dreams: the beautiful face of the elf-maid who had rescued him and his family along with her companion. Backlit by the rising sun behind her, the elf's long, red hair took on a radiant, burning aspect; like beautiful flames, and her green eyes were like a pair of jewels; peering right into his own eyes. The she-elf smiled and told him it was safe to come out. She seemed divine. Not only had his life been saved, but he had been rescued by this...vision of beauty, who almost seemed like a Maia to him. Bain almost felt like he didn't deserve this.

Slowly, and hesitantly, he crawled out of the log...and nervously stood up; looking up and into the she-elf's green eyes as she towered over him.

'T...thank you."

[Nightgirl]

The young boy carefully crawled out of the log, and nervously stood up.

"T...thank you."

Tauriel put a hand on Bain's shoulder, smiling warmly at him.

"Your welcome, young one. I have come to rescue you and take you back to your father."

Taking her hand off the boy, she took a step back, proudly introducing herself.

"I am Tauriel, captain of the Elven guard of Mirkwood."

She motioned to Bain.

"And you are... Bain, correct?"

[Andras]

Bain looked up at Tauriel shyly. In normal light, she didn't look as divine as before, yet she was still very beautiful and impressive; and he felt very small and delicate in the she-elf warrior's presence.

His eyes lit up when she mentioned his dad.

"My father! He's alive!? I didn't know what happened to him! I was worried that...thank goodness!"

She took her hand off his shoulder and stepped back, introducing herself, then motioned to him and asked if he was Bain.

"Yes, I am. Bain, son of Bard. And I know, I remember you! A few nights ago...there were orcs breaking into our house, and you and your friend saved us from them! You've saved my life twice now! I wish I wasn't so weak...that way you wouldn't need to save me."

Bain looked down, discouraged.

Then he looked up, a look of concern in his eyes.

"T...Tauriel. There are more orcs in this forest. They have a leader who carries a scythe. He looks incredibly dangerous. W...what are we going to do if he finds us? Can you fight him?"

[Nightgirl]

Tauriel listened to Bain speak of his weakness and the orcs.

"I saw the other orcs, including their leader. If he finds us I will have no choice." Tauriel replied.

"But let us speak of your weakness," she said, smiling again.

"You are still merely a child. Weakness is to be expected. But you have plenty of time to gain strength. In fact, after we get to safer ground, I shall teach you how to fight myself. You may need to defend yourself on our journey." She said.

Then her smile disappeared, as she looked around.

"But for now, we must flee. We cannot return to the boats as I saw some of the orcs head that direction. So follow me."

She turned to lead the boy to safety, determined to protect him.

[Andras]

Bain looked up at her as she spoke, and blushed slightly when she said that his weakness was to be expected. He knew the logic of what she was saying, but he still felt a bit ashamed.

But she was going to train him? How much could he possibly learn in such a short amount of time that would be useful?

He nodded when she instructed him to follow her, and did exactly that.

[Nightgirl]

Tauriel led Bain deeper into the forest, taking care to move slow enough for the boy to keep up. After the pair had jogged for a good twenty minutes, she spotted another hollowed out log, large enough for the two of them to sit comfortably in.

"Let us rest," she turned and told Bain. "In here," she motioned towards the log, wanting the boy to go in first, so that she could be on the lookout.