Hello! So, I saw Desolation of Smaug on the 14th. Let me say right now, when it ended I was...upset. I have to wait a whole year to see the third movie! Gr! Also, I saw the trailer for the second dragon movie and there was that one scene with Snotlout and Ruffnut and I was like yes! I shall ship this! SO. I will be incorporating some Snotlout/Ruffnut in this story. Ranting aside, please enjoy this newest chapter of Here We Stand United!

Rated-T

Warnings

Abuse/torture

Some OOC-ness maybe

I might not get all of their talking entirely accurate so please bear with me

Things you need to know

"Lydia/other Ereborians speaking in Khuzdul"

Disclaimer-I don't own the Hobbit or How To Train Your Dragon.

Here We Stand United

Chapter 10

The wind fluttered the sail as Gloin steered the boat towards their destination. The last bit of land before Middle Earth had fallen away quite a while ago, and it seemed the sun slipped farther away as well. Ruffnut had never been the poetic type, but she didn't need to be. Fishlegs was more than capable of that mushy stuff. She could say something about how the dark sky closed in on them like a foreshadowing to their day of reckoning, but what was the point? It was far easier to hit something.

She could swear there was something following them, though. What gave it away? The ripples in the water moving beside them, sometimes behind, and they were far too large to be a fish. When she'd told Lydia, the other girl had brushed it off, stating it was probably a shark. Whatever that was...

When she'd told Hiccup, he'd looked genuinely concerned,and she felt kind of proud that she'd contributed slightly and done something beneficial and half-way intelligent, but after pointing out the ripples to him when she saw them, he'd just smiled and relaxed, telling her not to worry about it.

Great. So much for that small amount of pride right there. Now she stood at the rail with Barf-Belch, petting the head that was Barf as she glared at the water. Tuffnut thought she was weird. The ripples had become her new obsession as the days crawled past. It was the only thing that could hold her interest in this bleak, never-ending sea. She had no idea what else to do with her time.

The days blurred together as one, and still she watched the ripples in the sea. Nothing else registered in her mind. Only those ripples. Eventually, even Barf-Belch left her to her brooding. Finally, it was Snotlout who dragged her away and over to Lydia. The young Ereborian was hard at work nailing down planks on the deck that had become looser than was liked. "Hey, Lydia! So, I was wondering. Maybe you could tell us some kind of chaos-packed story of Middle Earth to get Ruff's mind off of...whatever she's thinking of."

Every Ereborian in the immediate vicinity froze and looked to the three of them. Lydia hadn't moved a muscle since the last word had left Snotlout's mouth, and slowly she turned, glancing to each Ereborian as though wanting to find a way out. Frodo spoke, "You might as well tell them, Lydia. They need to know it sooner rather than later. They need to know...what we're up against."

Lydia scowled at her brother and snapped, "If you think they need to know it, why don't you tell it!?" Frodo gave his sister a level look, and then Lydia sighed and slumped her shoulders, muttering almost to herself, "I suppose that doesn't make sense, though. You are right. But, if 'Adad asks, its you head, not mine!" Frodo gave an indulgent smile and nod, before shooing the others back to their work while the other Viking teens had wandered over to Lydia as she pulled up a bucket and sat upon it.

"Erebor. It was our home. Where we flourished. A kingdom, built deep into the Lonely Mountain. It was the seventh home of Durin's folk. Our people have not had much luck with holding on to our homes, you see. Seven times we tried, and most failed. Erebor...was the greatest and grandest of them all. We all thought it would work," Lydia said, and shook her head ruefully as her icy eyes took on a far-away look.

"In all the world, I've not seen anything that could compare to Erebor's beauty and splendor. Men came from all around, seeking work, food, gold, protection. Erebor was a fortress, city, stronghold. Armies that marched upon her could not break our defenses. The ceilings were large, towered thousands of feet over all people, everything was carved from the very stone Mahal had used to create us. Bridges over great, yawning chasms, forges burning hotter than the hottest dragon fire, and mines that delved deep, deep into the dark. And the treasury! Piles of gold reaching nearly as high as the domed ceilings! None could comprehend our gold, but we worked hard to mine and forge each nugget, polish and cut every gem. It was foreboding to others, but to Durin's folk, it was home," Lydia began. In her eyes, they could almost picture it, a mountain kingdom overflowing with riches, never short on anything, with even the poorest of people living practically in the lap of luxury.

"What happened?" Hiccup dared to ask after they'd all been silent for a while. Why would the Ereborians leave a place like that if something hadn't happened? Lydia hesitated, looking to the sky. She didn't want to tell them, that much was clear, but why?

"Funny thing about gold...it's a dragon magnet. By the Second Age of Middle Earth, most great dragons had been wiped out. However, one remained. One fine day, the winds of a hurricane swept down from the North. The trees groaned their protests, and snapped their limbs. A shadow fell over the city of Dale as dragon fire from the sky rained down upon them. Dale was a simple, yet utterly and completely rich trading town. It had not been built to withstand such an attack, and so their towers crumbled beneath the wrath of the dragon."

"Wait, wait, wait. What does this Dale city have to do with Erebor, and all that gold?" Tuffnut interrupted. Lydia scowled at him and looked as though she would hit him, but her cousin, Kili, had pulled up a bucket and plopped down beside her with an easy hand on her shoulder, warning her away from responding violently.

"Oh, you see, Dale was right outside Erebor. That's why it was so rich. It depended on trade with us," he explained, and Lydia transferred her glare to her cousin.

"I would have gotten to that if I hadn't of been interrupted!" Kili held up his hands placatingly and gestured for her to continue, so she did. "Smaug the Terrible, had come to Erebor. He cared not for the city he'd destroyed, setting his sights only upon Erebor. Even our great gates could not keep the beast out. He claws, so much like the sharpest swords, crushed our gates like flimsy tin. Countless Ereborians fell beneath his feet, and he breathed fire upon them all. He desecrated our halls and all who still lived fled. Many could not get to an exit, and were burned. I'm sure their corpses still lay beneath the mountain. Smaug gathered and hoarded our gold, and the entrance was sealed. No one has ventured into the Lonely Mountain for eleven years," Lydia finished. She started rushing towards the end of the tale, as though it was too hard for her to tell it, and likely it was.

The Vikings fell silent to digest this new information. What had they gotten themselves into this time? Smaug was not so much like the Red Death as apparently he was quite intelligent, and as he earned "The Terrible" to his name, it was not something they were used to. But, nothing had stopped them before. Why should this?

"Smaug was not without mercy," Bofur said as she walked over and stopped right beside Lydia, who glared up at her while Kili took on a despondent look.

"It was not mercy Bofur! It was his own twisted sense of humor!" Lydia snapped back, jumping to her feet. Bofur barely twitched and Kili sighed, shaking his head. That implied this was not the first time the two Ereborians had had this fight.

"Lydia, it was both. Mercy and humor on his part. Either way, he let the both of us walk away with our lives. You and I both know he must have exceptional intelligence to have the capacity to allow us to leave. I would very much like to know why the two of us still draw breath today if you believe there could be any other explanation than that," Bofur said wryly, crossing her arms over her chest and meeting Lydia's fierce glare with an even stare.

"Oh, you see here, Smaug looked right at Bofur and Lydia, actually looked Bofur in the eye, and let them live! Weird, huh? I've never heard a dragon do that before!" Kili told the Viking teens excitedly. Hiccup's eyes widened. Kili may not have ever heard such a thing, but Hiccup had seen it, had lived it. Toothless had literally been about to kill him, but had stopped for some reason, and spared his life. That had been the unofficial start of their friendship. If Smaug was like Toothless...maybe things weren't as hopeless as they'd thought.

*THIS IS A PAGE BREAK*

"We're another day's travel from Middle Earth," Gloin told Thorin, and he nodded in approval. They'd made good time from Berk, and Stoic had done an excellent job keeping Alvin at bay, if the fact that the Outcasts were nowhere in the vicinity was any indication. Unfortunately, Thorin knew that now they were near Middle Earth, Hiccup would become insistent that the Ereborians learn to train the "wild" dragons that had boarded their ship back on Berk. He was not looking forward to it.

"These are the most dangerous waters. Proceed carefully, Gloin. If we crash on those rocks, we'll not be long for this world," Balin warned, and the red-head nodded before leaving Thorin and Balin to discuss their plan of attack. "Laddie, what's troubling you?" Balin asked with a sigh, causing Thorin to jump guiltily. He should have known Balin would pick up on his stress.

"Balin, we're about to go face Smaug. With dragons, our enemies, on our side, supposedly! What's more, I'm putting my wife, son, daughter, and two sister-sons in danger, all for some gold and a kingdom that might be better off lost to us. My father and grandfather went mad because of all that gold, and Thrain...he rallied all able-bodied men and marched on Khazad-dûm. Most of our people were slaughtered in that battle, and Mahal's children scattered to the four winds. What could possibly rally them again, after the last of Durin's heirs failed them so miserably?" Thorin snapped as he began to pace around the room, his thoughts whirling. He was conflicted. More than anything, he wanted his home back, but would it be worth whatever cost he had to pay?

"Now, laddie, you're being too hard on yourself, and your father. Mahal made us to be strong and sturdy. We were meant to endure, and endure we will. Let's not forget the stubbornness either. I'm sure if you ask the other clan heads, they will offer to send troops our way," Balin advised. Thorin paused and considered Balin's words. He'd always had more faith in the nobles than Thorin ever had.

He opened his mouth to say as much, but a scream cut him off. Alarmed, Thorin burst from the room with Balin on his heels, just in time to see one of the Viking teens, Snotlout, yanked over the edge of the ship by a black shadow. "Damn it! Dwalin! Shadowswimmers!" Thorin roared, his voice carrying over all of the chaos. Dwalin grabbed Grasper and Keeper, and without hesitation leapt over the side of the ship after the teen, and Thorin was hot on his heels.

Lydia raced to the railing as her father disappeared into the water, and Gloin dropped anchor to make sure they didn't leave anyone behind, rushing Gimli below deck to safety after that. Lydia bit her lip. If she knew anything about Shadowswimmers, it was that they never hunted alone or on a clear day, unless they were desperate. It was a foggy day, so it was very unlikely that the Shadowswimmer that had grabbed Snotlout was alone. She grew more anxious when they didn't resurface. Everyone stood around on deck, holding their breath, waiting. The world seemed to stop spinning.

Finally, Dori had had enough, and he grabbed his flail and jumped into the water, despite Nori cursing at him for being stupid. More time passed, and then the surface of the water was disturbed. It was not Dori, Thorin, Dwalin, or Snotlout. Lydia found herself gazing into the gaping black maw of a Shadowswimmer, with piercing yellow eyes and rows of razor sharp fangs. Lydia leapt back as it lunged for her. "Frerin!" she screamed, just as her Scauldron burst from the sea. Yes, she knew he'd been behind the boat the whole time. However, had Thorin known he would be furious, so she very carefully didn't give her dragon away. The Shadowswimmer might be faster than Frerin, but it clearly hadn't been counting on his appearance, as Frerin managed to sink his poisonous fangs into the Shadowswimmer before it could retreat or grab Lydia. With a scream, the Shadowswimmer delved back below, and Frerin looked to Lydia.

She pointed to the sea, screaming for Frerin to go, damn it! Her family was in danger! Frerin disappeared beneath the water as well, and waves started to kick up, hinting towards an underwater battle. Then, all fell still, and after a few more moments of stillness, Frerin reappeared, Dwalin, Dori, and Thorin clinging to him. For a moment, everyone wondered what had become of Snotlout, even as Frerin dropped the three Ereborians on deck, and then Dwalin uncurled from where he'd been holding on to the Viking. He wasn't moving, didn't seem to be breathing.

Oin rushed over to revive him, and as Snotlout started coughing up water, Thorin started ranting, "What were you doing? Did no one say to stay away from the edge, to stay completely silent? These are dangerous waters! If no one told him, I want to know why they didn't!" No one said anything, sharing awkward glances, and then Snotlout gathered his strength.

"No, Frodo...Frodo warned me. I didn't listen," he said weakly, avoiding everyone's gaze except Thorin's, meeting the King in Exile's gaze. Thorin's expression turned thunderous.

"Why the hell not? Are you trying to die? When someone tells you something, you better listen!" Thorin exploded, and Snotlout finally flinched back, dropping his gaze. Thorin calmed himself, and continued on in an angry tone, almost to himself, "This was a mistake. We should never have brought these outsiders." Then, he turned from the others and headed down below deck, even as Fishlegs began to whisper to Hiccup.

"Did you see that? Those were Darkbreathers! Oh, I wonder what else we'll see? This is so exciting, dragon species to study and document! This is gonna be good!" Fishlegs said enthusiastically, his voice raising slightly. Hiccup tried to signal to his friend to stop, but it was too late.

"Are yeh serious right now? This is not a game, Laddie! People will. Likely. Die! Yet you get all interested in the dragons when your friend there nearly had all his blood drained of him! If Dwalin, Dori, and Thorin had not jumped after him, and Lydia called on that dragon, Snotlout would be dead right now, a feast for the Shadowswimmers!" Bofur snapped. Her braids were falling out, as though she had been pulling her hair and her eyes watered the tinniest bit. She took a deep breath to calm herself and wiped at her eyes. "Yer just children, I don't expect yeh to understand. You've never seen yer home burned. But please, try to be serious about this!"

She might have continued ranting but Nori was there, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder and guiding her away. Dwalin sent a glare towards the thief, as though Nori had committed a heinous crime just by placing a hand on Bofur's shoulder, and stalked after them. The other Ereborians took that as their cue, and went back to their normal routines, until only Fili, Kili, Frodo, and Lydia were left.

Hiccup took a step towards them, "Lydia, I am so sorry for what Snotlout did. I'll keep a closer eye on him from now on." Lydia did not respond, turning a cold glare on them. Her brother, sensing a brewing storm, led her away, and Kili gave them sad eyes before following.

"You best be keeping two eyes on him, then. I'm no expert, but Snotlout seems a right idiot, and idiots won't last too long in Middle Earth. They're slaughtered, or killed if they stand in the way of something important. This quest is very, very important. Don't get in our way. Bifur is not particularly stable, the Brothers Ri would kill for each other, and if Dwalin thinks any of you might be a threat to his...obsession...not a one of them will hesitate to cut you down," Fili warned, and then he too left the Vikings alone on deck, wondering once again just what they'd gotten themselves into.

In case you haven't noticed, there is a little tiny bit of a love triangle going on. Nori and Dwalin are both kind of competing over an oblivious Bofur. I'm personally leaning towards Dwalin/Bofur (I call it Dwofur!) but I would love to hear from you guys and what you think! Should I give Dwofur a turn in the spotlight, or stick with the classic Nofur? I mean I love both pairings, but... *shrug*

Also, I'm not quite sure how to feel about the end of this chapter. Was it good enough?

Lemme know in a review!