A note from Balin summoning Briar to the Merchant's Guild that morning arrives before Nori has even managed to sit down for her breakfast. Balin, it appears, has always been an early riser. Still, it solves the problem of what Briar is going to do with herself while Nori is busy getting Kíli registered with the Thieves Guild quite nicely and will allow Nori to take her to where she needs to be before the thief goes on to meet up with her new apprentice.

Briar takes a nervous breath, for all she has handled her time with Nori and Dori well, the thief can tell that the hobbit is less certain of her ability to deal with someone with power and influence behind them. Nori would find it odd given Briar's familial relationship to one of the Shire leaders, after all Kíli is second in line for the throne but he has still had the same lessons in ruling that Fíli has since the Durin line seems plagued with the premature deaths of many of its heirs, except that she knows that Briar's connection to the Thainship is far more distant than Kíli's to the throne. Briar has a multitude of cousins between her and that particular honour, not to mention the fact that the Shire tends towards a more patriarchal set up than dwarvish society does.

The hobbit has pinned her hair back again, and Nori can see Dori looking the barely tamed curls over with speculative eyes as Briar casts her gaze over the documents she has brought with her again. Her clothes are clean, unworn during her journey to Thorinuldum, and of better make than anything Nori would bother taking on the road with her. They have obviously been brought specifically for this meeting and the thief is well aware of the importance of good first impressions. Something which the Briar of the quest had failed to make, though through no fault of her own.

The trip is a quick enough one, and Nori points out various shops, buildings and squares that Briar can use to find her way back to Dori's once she is done with Balin. Neither of them know how long the meeting will take, it might be a simple fifteen minute thing where Briar presents her evidence and delivers her ultimatum and that is the end of it, or it could end up being something which takes the entire day. It depends, for the most part, on what kind of mood Balin is in. Given what she knows of him, Nori suspects that this will turn into something that it takes multiple trips for Briar to resolve and although she warns the hobbit that this might be the case, it has to be done in more general terms about the Merchants Guild rather than more pointed advice on how to deal with Balin himself. There is only one thing she tells her friend that she hopes Briar will take in the spirit it is meant.

"Don't mention that we're friends," Nori says as they get closer to the small building belonging to the guild. The merchants operate out of their own premises, this place is only for registration and regulatory purposes. "My name isn't all that well known and won't carry any weight anywhere, but his brother is one of the guards usually assigned to the lads we met yesterday. My name carries about as much value as dust right now with that family. If it comes up I'm your employee and nothing more. It's better for all concerned that way." She hands Briar the contract she had asked the hobbit to sign that morning. "Keep that with your papers, in case Balin asks to see it."

"Do you think he will?" Briar asks, tucking the contract into her satchel with a sad smile.

"I hope he won't, he's a crafty old goat by all accounts, though, so better prepared than not," Nori shrugs.

"I suppose he wouldn't be the Guild Master if he wasn't," Briar observes, then she pauses. "We are friends, though, aren't we?" She asks abruptly. Nori stops walking and looks at the hobbit seriously.

"Of course we are," she replies, "but being friends with me won't do you much good."

"I'm just the silly hobbit," Briar grins, "what do I know about it all?"

"More than you should," Nori points out, given all the information she has quietly fed Briar about dwarf customs on their way here.

"Right," Briar says as they draw close enough to the building that it means they have to part ways, "wish me luck."

Nori smiles, offers her a small bow and takes her leave quietly. She does not go far, slipping into an alley and then waiting to ensure that Briar enters the building she is aiming for without harassment. Once the hobbit disappears inside she makes her way to the meeting point with Kíli. Nori half expects that the young prince will not show, she would be unsurprised if Thorin had not had the lad taken out of the town in the night to keep him, but after waiting for a short time she sees Kíli bounding towards her with Dwalin walking slowly behind him. She pulls one of her little throwing knives from her belt as she leans casually against the wall behind her, using the sharp blade to trim her nails as she waits for them to get a little closer.

"Didn't think you'd bring him," she says to Dwalin when both are closer.

"Told you I would," the burly guard replies with a scowl. "Although if you were thinking Dís and Thorin were going to be difficult about it you'd be right."

Nori snorts, because of course they would have tried something, but she chooses not to comment on it and tucks her knife away.

"Well, the lad is in good hands," she grins at Dwalin, "so off you trot and tell them I'll have him back in time for them to tuck him into bed." Kíli flushes and Nori feels a twinge of guilt for embarrassing him. "Come on, lad," she straightens and gestures Kíli over, "sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get started training you. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Thief," Dwalin calls as she turns to walk away and Nori feels her stomach clench tightly.

"Rude," Nori chides, schooling her features to hide the pain of what was once a fond nickname.

Something shifts in Dwalin's eyes, however, and for a moment she wonders if he has noticed the hurt he has caused her. Then she looks at Kíli and sees the wounded expression on his face. That is something that they will need to work on, the Kíli she remembers was just as bad at hiding when the words of another had cut deeply. Hearing it from Dwalin is probably worse for the lad, Nori knows that both of the princes idolise the guard, even if it is not as powerfully as they do their uncle.

"My apologies," the guard acknowledges with a nod towards Kíli. "His uncle wants to meet with you when you're done here."

"And why would I want to do that?" Nori responds.

"Your king wants you to meet with him, lass," Dwalin points out. "You're better going in willingly than having me drag you in."

"It may be an honour, Guard," she tells him, "but meeting my king doesn't fill my belly, or keep a roof over my head." Nori stalks up to him. "So, I'll ask it again, why would I want to meet Thorin Oakenshield?"

"Uncle just wants to know who you are," Kíli says. "He's not that bad."

"I'm sure he isn't," Nori says, "but I need a bit more than that. I'm not going to walk into his place of power without some promises from your guard here. I'm not going in there and never coming out."

"Thorin would never…" Dwalin hisses and Nori arches a braided eyebrow at him. She knows that even if Thorin is too noble to make someone like her disappear, he should have others in his employ who will think of it. He used to employ her to do that kind of thinking after all. Regardless of the fact that she knows he currently does not have anyone in the position she once filled, and then he had only employed her reluctantly. "I give you my word you will leave in the condition you arrived."

His word is good she knows and although she has little reason to trust Dwalin in this life Nori nods regardless.

"Three days," she says after a moment, "I have other business to attend to and the boy's training to begin."

"Uncle really wanted it to be this afternoon," Kíli cuts in. "I doubt it will take long."

"First lesson, lad," Nori grins, "never let anyone who isn't paying you think they have any power over you. I already have an employer I answer to and she requires my presence this afternoon," she informs Dwalin. He pulls a face.

"Three days it is, then," he agrees finally. Then he leans in towards her. "If he comes to any harm…" he warns.

"He's my apprentice, guard," she snaps, "if anything happens to him it won't be for lack of action on my part." He stares at her and she meets his eyes defiantly. After a moment he nods and marches away. She turns to Kíli. "Is he always like that?" She asks him, even though she knows the answer to that already.

"Yup," the lad replies brightly. "But he's alright once you get to know him. Ma always says that Dwalin's heart is about five times more gentle than his scars would have you think."

She does not reply to that, simply because she knows that it is true. Dwalin comes across as gruff and hard, but really he is incredibly gentle and caring. It had been something that she had not expected to find in him and something that she had especially enjoyed about their relationship.

"Marvellous," she mutters, using her apparent irritation to force her heart to behave itself. This is not, and cannot ever be, her Dwalin. Training Kíli and Briar is too important and she knows that she will have to remind herself of that fact frequently in the coming years. "Let's get this done, then," she huffs. "Quickly in, quickly out. We have got a lot to get through today."

Kíli follows eagerly, not that Nori blames him all things considered. He has wanted this for some time, at least eighteen years from the little she managed to glean from her conversation with Dís, and the lightness of his mood helps to pull Nori from the dark places that her own mind had been going after her encounters with Dwalin over the last two days. He bounces in behind her, and Nori sees a few arched eyebrows and the odd indulgent grin as they pass a number of thieves and spies on their way out for the day. Even she cannot suppress the fond smile she casts in the younger dwarf's direction as they make their way to the records room.

This is a place kept under strict lock and key, only Mavik, the gang leaders and the clerk have access to it. This clerk is elderly, likely long overdue replacing but for the fact that no one suited to the task has signed on in the last few decades and those who are already have high positions in the guild that they prefer to work in. No one wants to be responsible for ensuring that the identity of every thief in the town remains safe and generally it is a task taken on by one of the spies as they get older and have less desire to be trying to make their way into places that they do not belong.

"Alstin," Nori greets the white haired dwarf as they enter the room.

She ushers Kíli into one of the chairs at the desk the elderly dwarf sits behind before closing the door behind her and locking it. The walls of this room are thick and the back of the door is padded to help absorb sound. There are plenty who want as little about their identity to be known as possible and Nori has already decided that it would be for the best if Kíli were among that number.

"New blood?" Alstin says as he peers at Kíli. "Boy looks familiar," he says after a beat. "Can't place him though."

"All the better people can't," Nori agrees. "My new apprentice, Kíli, son of Fesli." The lad stares at her. He is named for his father, but his mother is of higher rank and so should be the one mentioned.

"You mean son of Dís," Alstin corrects, even though there was nothing technically wrong with using the boy's father's name.

"His mother has requested discretion," Nori shrugs. "Given her station I thought it best we register him under his father's family, and pick a suitable alias before we leave the room. Mavik and the gang leaders will need to know his identity, of course, and I'll tag his home personally over the next few days."

"Wise," Alstin agrees, "very wise. Not the first time we've had to do it, boy," he explains to Kíli. "Particularly if it's a family with a bit of wealth or social aspirations. Not that it's ever stopped this one from digging their identities out, mind, got yourself a good sponsor." He grins at Nori who pulls a face.

He reaches into a drawer and pulls out some forms and a leather folder, quickly writing down the relevant details. Like the Merchant's Guild, thieves tend towards efficiency and pre-printed forms are a must for them. Once he has finished he has Kíli sign, sands the ink and then folds the parchment and tucks it into a narrow space between the leather and the soft cotton which lines it. Both watch as he stitches the cotton in place with quick, almost invisible, stitches. Then he picks up another form, squints at Kíli for a moment and begins to write again.

"There's a low level town guard who owes us a favour or twelve," Alstin grins wickedly and Nori decides she has no desire to know. "He's married, got three sons. We'll give him a fourth. For as long as you're registered with us, lad, you're Cadan, son of Hadan. Luckily, you won't need to know much about him, got your Ma, we'll say it was Caja, with child long before he married, kept his distance on account of her being a member of our guild, barely supported you and you don't want nothing to do with him on account of him not having anything to do with you." He jots out a quick note, folds and seals it, and sets it into a box at the edge of the desk with a hastily written direction on it. "Common enough story in our line of work," he continues as he places the new paperwork in front of Kíli. "Don't think your sponsor even knows who her Da is."

"Never needed to," Nori replies.

"Do I have to have any living connections here?" Kíli asks.

"It's easier if anyone gets suspicious," Nori explains, "You don't want people trying to find out who Cadan is only for him to be an orphan with no idea who his parents are. Hadan is obviously known to enough people that he will be perfectly happy to pay off his debt, and Caja, if I remember right, was killed three years ago while trying to get into your uncle's place. As far as we knew, she never had any children and no living family who wanted much of anything to do with her."

"That's the lass," Alstin agrees. "She wasn't all that good at her job anyway, always resented it. You need to keep it simple and believable. Hadan will play his part well enough, owes us enough, and it's in our interest to get you trained and useful to us."

"I suppose I can manage it," Kíli agrees after a little thought, creating a basic signature on the spot which makes it look like Cadan can hardly write.

"You catch on quick, boy," Alstin grins. "I can see why you wanted him, lass."

"The lad's a natural," Nori agrees and sees Kíli flush slightly at the praise. She doubts it is something he has ever heard in the past. "We done?"

"Aye," this sheet of parchment is tucked carefully into the leather folder as well, unfolded so that anyone who looks can see who it belongs to through a small window in the front. "Here's his band. You're to wear that when training," he tells Kíli, handing him a simple piece of green cloth with a rune stitched into the middle of it. "Left wrist is best," he explains, "in case one of us catches you without your sponsor around." He looks the lad over. "You'll be going to the costumers next I assume?" He asks. Nori glances at her new apprentice.

"He is a little clean, isn't he?" She chuckles. "But I can handle it, some of my brother's old things should fit him, and Dori never throws out something that he might be able to use later. Besides, I'm going on a trip in about three weeks and dragging him along with me, better we do some of the early stuff where none of his friends can see him."

Alstin waves a hand dismissively, his part done. "Well, whatever you do, I don't need to know it. Off you trot, you interrupted a nice nap."


A.N: So, the UK has gone back into lock down. Yay. Which means that my kids are off school again for the next 6 weeks. Unlike last time, however, (for those who read Wild Magic) the schools have actually set up online learning. Which means that the children have absconded with my computer and the family laptop. This means that I have nothing to type on during the day and no time to do it besides. What with my own studying, and the house, and the children and all the rest. So, updates once a week until further notice unfortunately. And to my readers in the US, keep safe.