Hey everyone, here's the next chapter!
"Who's that?" Elrond turned to face the echoed outburst and grinned when he saw two Periannath walking towards them.
Pippin found it very hard to keep his face expressionless as he saw nearly two thousand elves turn to face him and Merry. He shot a glance at his cousin and saw, to his relief, that Merry was keeping a straight face as well although he knew they both wanted to blush terribly.
He waited until the noise had ended and then began walking into the camp having spotted the more extravagant tents of the elven lords. Merry followed him and soon they were in the midst of the elven nations feeling their eyes pouring on them and hearing the whispered questions spreading through the camp.
"Welcome Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck. We are truly relieved to have you here," Elrond said keeping his face collected as the two Halflings stepped in front of him and bowed lowly.
"So these are two of the members of the Fellowship?" a noble looking brown haired elf lord said approvingly from where he was standing.
"Yes Thranduil they are the kin of Frodo Baggins and both played a part in the War," Elrond answered.
Both Merry and Pippin's eyes widened as they took in the image of Legolas's father. He had dark brown hair that shone in the bright sunlight, and his eyes were a hard blue reminding the two of them instantly of Legolas. He was tall, nearly six feet in height and was very slim. He was wearing a magnificent outfit and had a beautiful golden cape wrapped around his shoulders. They honesty thought that Elrond's quiet and reserved outfit was dulled in comparison to the King of Mirkwood.
"I am happy to greet those who traveled for so long with my son," Thranduil smiled softly dipping his head in acknowledgement of their accomplishments.
"I am pleased to see you again Peregrin and Meriadoc I am pleased you survived the War," Galadriel said coming up behind them as silently as a wraith making the two Hobbits jump.
"Yes, Meriadoc helped defeat the Witch King of Agnar and Peregrin took down one of the Dark Lord's trolls," Celeborn said, beside Galadriel as always.
"Where is your Dragon, Peregrin?" Elrond asked reminded of their task as Pippin's gedwey ignasia shone against the sun.
"He's over that hill we didn't want to scare anyone and risk him getting shot at," Merry answered as he saw Pippin blush slightly at having forgotten about his Dragon in the moment of being home.
"Call him here, no one shall harm him," Thranduil ordered throwing a hand up to shield his eyes against the sun.
Mor'Khemir you can come here. Pippin said then thought for a second and added, let me put a few wards around you just in case.
Mor'Khemir took a step and then leapt into the air, his wings filling as he caught a strong wind. Pippin winced as he heard many of the elves scream and saw several of them reach for their bows and arrows.
"Do not shoot at him, he is the Dragon of Peregrin Took and is from a foreign land," Elrond barked out as he also noticed the bows already pointing towards the sky arrows drawn.
The elves glanced at him in shock but slowly lowered their bows; the Silvan elves only after Thranduil nodded and gave them a stern glance. They watched in amazement as Mor'Khemir's scales caught in the sunlight and many of them had to shut their eyes.
"He truly is beautiful, much fairer then the beast Smaug or Glaurung," Galadriel commented as Mor'Khemir landed near them.
"His name is Mor'Khemir," Pippin said quietly as he walked over to stand by his Dragon.
"Black Diamond, it is a truly fitting name," Thranduil said pleased that the hobbit had used Sindarian, which he was, and not Quenya. (Quenya was used by the Noldor (Elrond) but Sindarian is now the common elven language)
"Frodo gave me the translation," Pippin said smiling as he remembered the night he found Mor'Khemir's egg.
"Hey Frodo, what's the elfish name for black diamond?" Pippin asked feeling his dragon's curiosity.
"Uh, Mor…Mor'Khemir if I remember correctly," Frodo answered back.
"You my little dragon, you shall be called Mor'Khemir. My black diamond," Pippin said feeling his dragon's pleasure at the words.
"Yes your cousin and uncle were very fluent in elvish," Elrond remembered smiling as he thought of Bilbo and Frodo sitting in a corner talking together in Rivendell so long ago.
"Where is the famous Ringbearer by the way?" Thranduil asked having heard the description of the black-haired blue-eyed Hobbit and his companion.
"They are back in Alagaesia," Merry answered pointing away to the East where, somewhere over the horizon, his friends were.
"When do you want me to bring you there?" Pippin asked quickly covering the fear in his eyes as he remembered last time he had transported this many elves.
Galadriel watched him for a moment and Pippin had to shift his gaze, he had felt her conscious brush his and had almost allowed his defenses to fall. He thought back to the last time she had entered his mind and reminded himself she meant no harm to him, he struggled for a second and then lowered his defenses feeling her mind sweep over his like a wave against rock.
"You found your courage in battle it appears, but now you fear a task that nearly claimed your life. Do not fear you have the strength," Galadriel comforted running through his memories to see what was bothering him.
"As soon as possible would be better," Elrond answered noticing the conversation that had passed between Galadriel and Peregrin but not bringing it up.
"Pippin, do you think you have enough energy to do it again?" Merry asked noticing as his cousin stumbled slightly and how his eyes would unfocus for a second.
Pippin nodded his head, as if he had just come to the same conclusion, "May I take some of your energy so that I can bring you to Alagaesia?" He asked the four elf lords in front of him.
They all nodded and Pippin quickly took all the energy he needed, he winced when he saw them stagger slightly as though they had just been hit, and he took the rest of the energy he needed from the few plants around him.
"The Dragon Riders must be an amazing race indeed if they can steal the energy of another being," Celeborn said quietly watching Galadriel to make sure she was alright.
"They were, Gallbatorix wiped them my Master Eragon and I are the only remaining," Pippin whispered his eyes staring into the distance as he remembered the funeral of Oromis, Eragon's master.
"What else does your magic allow you to do?" Elrond asked quizzically the scholar in him interested.
Pippin grinned over to Merry and dug into himself for the magic inside of him. He reached down and lifted a pebble placing it on the center of his palm, "Stenr reisa."
He heard all the surrounding elves gasp as the pebble lifted smoothly out of his hand and hovered about two inches in the air.
"If we had only had a Dragon Rider in our fight against the Dark Lord; many lives would have been spared," Thranduil said, his thought straying to the Last Alliance when his father, Oropher, had been killed.
"Now is not the time to dwell in the dark times of pat," Elrond said snapping the King of Mirkwood out of his thoughts.
"You are right. Come young Periannaths, we are ready to fight," Thranduil agreed looking down at Pippin and Merry expectantly.
The two Hobbits turned, ready to get on Mor'Khemir and bring the elves to Alagaesia, when a strong breeze came and lifted Pippin's curls revealing the now perfectly pointed ears of an elf, not the bent down pointed ears of a Hobbit.
"Peregrin what happened to your ears?" Celeborn asked as Pippin winced and turned around his hand already traveling to his ear, grimacing when he felt the ears that marked him as a Rider not a Hobbit.
Merry saw that Pippin wasn't going to answer and said, "It's what happens to Dragon riders if they're not already elven. He also has they're reflexes and strength."
Pippin rolled his eyes although he was glad that Merry had answered, he was sick of being branded by his ears and the gedwey ignasia as a Rider. He didn't turn around to face the Elven Lords but climbed on Mor'Khemir's back cursing under his breath when he found little trouble to the distance but saw Merry struggling to get up.
"Be ready, do not be afraid. The more you struggle against it the more energy it will take me," Pippin shouted as loud as he could pleased when he saw the elves relaying the message to those who couldn't hear him.
Pippin glanced back at Merry and grinned taking a deep breath and drawing a little more energy from a somewhat living plant, "Fœra allr staddr hryggr til Surda."
From the part of his mind still paying attention, he heard hundreds of elves gasp before his mind shut them out and he focused on Mor'Khemir's flame seeing the land just outside of the confinements. He flew it and heard several elves scream as they were pulled through with him.
He looked around and spotted Eragon and Saphira flying towards them at a break-neck pace. Pippin smiled faintly and managed to glance back at Merry and see that the elves were all right before his energy failed and he fell forward against Mor'Khemir's saddle.
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