She drops the human. "Hello?" she shouts - dog could be with someone - and then the dog leaps at her and she barely dives aside -

It doesn't look like some creature of Morgoth's. 

It also doesn't look like it'll appreciate being patted and told to calm down -

Malak lands in a roll that looks uncontrolled but keeps them from getting injured in the fall, then scans for other threats. They left the knife behind a while ago--too inconvenient when being carried--but that doesn't mean they're helpless. They start assessing the threat they know--Big dog, if it starts breathing fire, hit it with cold, otherwise...acid, probably...

It does not start breathing fire! It wheels around and the woman dives into the river and it hesitates for a second before chasing her.

Oh, no, it is not chasing away the one person Malak has managed to find in this place.  They conjure a fist-sized glob of acid and launch it dog-ward.  If that doesn't draw attention, Malak will shout.

That draws attention; now the dog will snarl and leap at Malak. It's fast.

And why did it just have to be a dog, Malak can hide from sight and sound and even echolocation and whatever the fuck it is that dragons have but never did figure out scent, maybe the water...

They jump. Over the dog's leap, they can still do that even without their boots--barely, that was closer than they thought it would be--and try a jet of fire to see if that has any effect.

And then they land and they're regretting the lack of boots again because ow that rock was sharp.  Fuck.  They turn invisible and stumble toward the river.

Fire has an effect. It mostly has the effect of seriously annoying the dog. The woman is singing.

It's very nice singing and Malak has no idea how to fight a seemingly impervious dog, certainly not unarmed.  They kind of doubt they can drag the woman to safety, but maybe the singing will do something. Maybe it's magic singing?  Malak has heard of people who could do that, but none that were particularly powerful...

They hide in the reeds and watch. They'll interfere if they think it will help.

It's definitely magic singing, something in the vein of everything calm down which is having an effect on the water and the grass and the human and the singer herself, of course, she is marvelously calm about this Maia dog that might be a servant of the Enemy, the dog wades out into the river after her and closes its jaws gently around her upper arm and starts dragging her towards shore and everything is going to be very calm, very calm, nothing wrong at all -

Well this doesn't seem like anything to worry about. Malak relaxes, and their concentration on the shapeshift and the invisibility relaxes, and then they're visible and back to normal and there's a brief surge of panic, but, no, that's not anything to worry about either.

Their eyes lack whites or irises, and their teeth are sharp and pointed and they have a tail. this is probably going to look bad murmurs a voice in the back of their head, but it's not anything to get worked up over, they can just calm down and relax...

That is weird, but definitely not worrying!

...everything about this is both weird and worrying - 

"Stop singing," he calls at the Thinda woman, "he won't hurt you - Huan, behind you -"

The dog turns around. That person does look significantly more likely to be a servant of the Enemy, yep. 

He leaps.

Everything is calm, nothing to worry abou--That is a very large dog.  Malak dives under it this time, turns invisible again. They're probably really fucking up any hope of a peaceful resolution but it's better than being eaten.

They look in the direction that the second person spoke from, trying not to calm down, calm down, calming down, visible. They would scream in frustration if they were less calm. They sit down, instead.  Much better idea.

The dog puts its jaws around the human's upper arm without biting down. Her companion stops singing. The man approaches. He's on horseback.

"I'm seeking Nargothrond, can you guide us there?"

"I can, and will insist - these aren't safe lands. What are you seeking there?"

"I need their aid in war with Tol-in-Gaurhoth."

"A noble purpose. And she - uh, he - the human -"

"No idea, I don't speak any of the human languages."

He tries one.

That sounds like a different language.  Are they trying to talk to them again? Hm.

Is he trying to talk to me? Is he a telepath too? I'm not sure what this looks like but it's probably not that.

Looks like you serve the Enemy only you didn't try to kill me and the dog would probably be able to tell - 

I don't believe I serve your enemies but I don't know who they are. I don't intend to kill you. They are also thinking I hate telepathy, telepathy is awful... in a loop but are trying not to send that. Not that they've ever been any good at that.

(Also present and trying not to send: anger, frustration, hunger, pain)

"I've got food." He dismounts and pulls out a wafer of something breadlike. "My lady, if you've got mind-control that powerful you've presumably got healing -"