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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 13

"This place is so amazing," Fishlegs said to himself as he wandered around Rivendell, stopping every so often to marvel at and sketch a plant that he felt was of particular interest. Meatlug trotted after him, sniffing idly at her surroundings, but leaving them alone for the most part. After all, plants didn't make much difference to a Boulder Class dragon. "Yeah, I know girl. We'll find you some nice rocks to munch on later, yeah?" Fishlegs offered as he passed a fancy fountain where Lydia's Scauldron was relaxing with Lydia nearby sharpening her axe. She took no heed of him, too focused on her task, nor did she noticed Tuffnut slowly creeping towards her with a devilish smile on his face. Fishlegs winced and then scurried onward. He had no desire to be nearby when that pot boiled over.

Farther away from the main paths he wandered, until he was well and truly "lost" with no sign of humans for several yards. Fishlegs was quite content with this. He was a bookish lad, and even though he loved hanging out with his friends and being included, he often sought solitude so that he could have a few moments with his one true love: books. And Meatlug, of course. He was truly surprised when a Terrible Terror scuttled across his path, pausing to stare at him with large, unblinking eyes.

Then there was a great commotion from the bushes, and the Terror scurried off as Ruffnut, Snotlout, Fili, and Kili tumbled across his path. Kili sprang up first, rushing forward to grab Fishlegs at the shoulders and shake him. "That dragon. Which way did it go man, which way did it go?!" he wailed, eyes wild and desperate. Fishlegs desperately wanted to get away from Kili in that moment. That look he had about him was much like that of a cornered animal. Cornered animals were dangerous. Luckily, Fili was there to pull his brother away from the distressed Viking.

"Ah, what my brother here means to ask, Master Ingerman, is would you mind terribly to point out which way the dragon went? It's very, very important that we catch it," Fili explained calmly, relaxing Fishlegs slightly. Fili was calm and levelheaded, even in a "dire" situation like this. He'd been trained to be like that for a good hunk of his life, until Frodo and Lydia came along. By that point, most of the calm and collected traits of a Crown Prince had been drilled into him and he was stuck with them, even though he was not the heir, nor the spare. When things went south, out of the four royals, it was either him or Frodo who could be trusted to keep their wits about them. Kili was too rambunctious and Lydia too hotheaded for politics, which was quite worrying because if anything happened to Frodo, Lydia would be forced to step up and become Queen Under the Mountain and she just did not have the patience for it.

So Fishlegs pointed to his right, where the little dragon had gone, and Kili shot off in that direction like a bat out of hell. Fili sighed for a reason that remained unknown to Fishlegs, but he too walked briskly in the direction Fishlegs had pointed to. That just left Ruffnut and Snotlout standing by him. "Hey Ruff what do you say we let the Princes figure this out on their own and we go explore?" Snotlout offered, his voice filled with his usual self-confidence, but to Fishlegs eyes, he seemed a lot more hesitant when asking this of Ruffnut. Ruffnut looked thoughtful for a moment, as though trying to come up with a reason to refuse, but shrugged when one didn't come to mind and the other two Vikings departed.

Well. That was interesting. It seemed that Snotlout had moved on from Astrid and was pursuing Ruffnut. However, the question of whether or not Ruffnut knew it was prominent in his mind. Her heart was in the right place, but Ruffnut was just not that bright. Although, Snotlout wasn't being overly obvious about like he had been with Astrid, either. He really didn't want to think about it though so he dropped the question and continued to wander Rivendell.

As he wandered, he heard voices coming from a secluded part of the gardens, and he crept towards them as silently as he could, shushing Meatlug when she made too much noise. So his dragon hung back while he moved as close as he dared. Peering around a bush, he spotted Elrond, Thorin, and Bilba in deep, serious discussion.

"Much has changed in the seven years you've been gone. You must have noticed that there are many missing settlements along the Great East Road, and the kindly old farmer and his wife were eaten some months ago, torn limb from limb by Wargs. We tried to get to them, but it was too late. Not only that, but the Runners have grown more bold, going so far as to attack either in the early hours of dawn as the sun rises, or just before sundown. All manners of darkness have swept down from the mountains and grown quite bold. But the most troubling development is the problem in the Greenwood," Elrond explained, his face grave and back held stiffly.

"Do not speak to me of the Greenwood. What cares do I have for Thranduil and his kin, after they turned their backs on us when Smaug came? I care nothing of the Greenwood," Thorin rumbled ominously, his face dark for another reason besides the trouble Elrond spoke up. Hidden in The King in Exile's blue eyes was immeasurable hate towards Thranduil.

"Thorin, don't be rude! Let Lord Elrond finish!" Bilba scolded, and Thorin grumbled some more before subsiding, at least willing to hear what their ally had to say before he would pass judgement.

"As I was saying, we received word from the Woodsman, Radagast, that a sickness had laid siege to Greenwood. Darkness crept in past the borders and twisted the land and trees. Giant spiders, servants to the Dark Lord, prowled beneath the trees. Thranduil would not ask for help, though, so we could do nothing. Last we heard from Radagast, he was going to investigate rumors of a Necromancer in Dol Guldur. We have not heard from him since. Now, locals call Greenwood Mirkwood, for all things fowl that crawl beneath the forest's canopies," Elrond finished, and Fishlegs felt a chill go down his spine as he listened. Bilba and Thorin seemed disturbed as well.

"This is ill news. If it is the enemy...then another war is coming. Middle Earth will be torn asunder. And surely the Mewlips within the darkest corners of the old fortress will rally under...him," Bilba shuddered, rubbing at her arms and glancing around warily. Thorin pulled her close and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Do not fear the Mewlips, wife. They are nothing more than an old tale, meant to scare little children to stop them from wandering too far from home before they came of age," Thorin assured, but Bilba did not seem comforted, even though Elrond seemed to agree with Thorin.

"Sauron is considered an old wives tale by many, and yet we all know he is out there...that he will rise again. We cannot ignore this most hated enemy, Thorin, nor can we rule out the viciousness of the Mewlips being against us!" Bilba hissed so quietly that Fishlegs had to shift forward, straining to hear more, and in doing so, a branch snapped under his weight. The three adults looked in his general direction, and Fishlegs bolted, and as he scampered back to Meatlug, all he had heard weighed heavily on his mind.

*THIS IS A PAGE BREAK*

"It is folly to attempt to fly over the Misty Mountains. You'd be flattened against the rocks within seconds," Thorin snorted, and Hiccup frowned.

"Now I know we're just kids, and the rest of you are rookie flyers at best, but I doubt we'll be flattened against any rocks for lack of skill," Hiccup protested, and the other dragon trainers nodded in agreement.

"Thorin meant no disrespect to your talent, Master Hiccup," Balin cut in smoothly, stepping in front of Thorin with a warning look to the King. Once again, the old advisor had to do damage control. Thorin did not have political tact, nor could he make nice with anyone other than those close to him, or so it would seem. "It's just, over half the time the skies over the Misty Mountains are stormy and brutal. Just walking through the mountain range is a great hazard, and it'd be a death wish to fly. While it might take more time, it is safer to walk through the mountains. Now, the way I see it, since this walking journey will likely completely drain our supplies, we could stop at Beorn's. It is my understanding that Bofur is good friends with the man. It would be foolish to not seek shelter with him," Balin finished, pointing to the map before them that they had been consulting.

Thorin nodded in grudging agreement, and Hiccup finally relented, seeing the logic in Balin's argument. "Very well. Then we'll be off. Elrond has already graciously given us our much-needed supplies, and has also agreed to watch over Gimli while we travel to Erebor," Balin stated, rolling up the map and tucking it into his pack. "Now, lad, I won't lie to you. The journey through the Misty Mountains will likely be the most difficult thing you will ever endure in your life. No one would hold it against you if you wished to stop," Balin offered.

Hiccup met the kindly elder man's eyes, and saw in them what this truly was. It was their last chance to back out.

"If it's all the same to you, Master Balin, we'll be coming with you."

Ugh, lame ending is lame. Anyway, this is the last chapter before I acknowledge canon again. Next chapter, will be super long. We'll see the Misty Mountains, Goblins, and a surprise dragon!

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