The Dragonet's Burglar
It had been said that one's life would flash before their eyes right before the exact moment before their death, that they had one last split second alive to reflect on their happiness, regrets, and the moments they cherished with the people they cared about.
In truth, it was not his entire life that was flashing before his eyes. Rather, his mind instead turned back to those comforting memories of his home, and all of those welcoming sights and sounds of the Shire. He could hear the warm lapping of the river, and the gentle tweeting of the little birds that sang every sunny morning. He could taste his pipeweed, his little rack of genuine spices, and whatever delicious food was left in his pantry. He could not remember the last time his bed felt so soft.
His breathing was slow, and his eyes were shut, hoping that if he kept his body and mind calm then the end would be quick and painless. He kept his word and honor as a hobbit intact, which was at the cost of his own end. How fitting that the end would be at the behest of outsmarting a dragon, and one had mercy on.
This was quite the end for the burgling little hobbit; the greatest adventure he could have ever asked for was coming to an end. Just by being true to himself, what a way to go.
…
…
…
…
…
Tsunami was certainly taking her time on going for the kill. Was she savoring his suffering, or was she hesitating? She couldn't be hesitating, her aggressiveness proved that her strength was not in being patient. To Bilbo, she was like the kind of person that would act on their emotions rather than waiting. And yet…could dragons hesitate?
Nothing continued to happen for the next few moments, which was unnerving as it was confusing. It was like the higher powers had a cruel enjoyment at throwing anything unexpected right at the hobbit.
And so, he dared to open his eyes, his vision being clouded with shades of blue and patterns of lighter shades. He peered up to the face right above his own, expecting to see the snarling fangs of the mighty SeaWing Tsunami; truly she was a mighty dragon, but not like Smaug was. She was mighty like Thorin: a proud and strong dwarf in the body of a dragon. What a cruel twist of fate: mocking him just one last time.
Except that was not what he saw. Instead, the SeaWing's head was hung low, as if trying to hide her face, most likely from the crowd and Scarlet. Was it: shame that she was feeling?
Was that guilt?
"What am I doing?"
Just like that, Bilbo became wide awake and alert, right at the moment that the dragon of the hour removed her claw. She placed it right beside his body, letting his arms dumbly slump against the sand. He could not think clearly, too many unexpected things were happening all at once.
First a dragon had been scared of him, then that dragon challenged and beat him in a game of riddles. Two dragon friends were forced into this horrible situation where one had to kill the other, and yet they chose to remain strong and loyal to their bond of friendship. And now, Tsunami: the more aggressive of the two, had chosen to spare the life of the little hobbit, even when he had resounded his fate to her.
He kept hidden in the shadows, knowing that the great fire-serpent Smaug would not hesitate to incinerate or eviscerate him. He kept hidden in the shadows so that he would not be sliced and cooked for Queen Scarlet. Even he did not dare to expose himself to the Mad SeaWing, or dared his chances against the aggressive Tsunami. He had no doubt that she would have killed him if it meant keeping Starflight saved, or done something to him to keep Starflight alive.
Speaking of the NightWing, he stood off to the side, likewise dumbfounded. "Tsunami?" he nervously asked.
"I can't do this, Starflight," Tsunami replied, frustrated. To Bilbo, he could also hear the despair in her voice and her stature.
To be a successful burglar, he realized he needed to be able to read every little detail of the situation, should he find anything that could benefit him. That also meant there were some details that could leave him befuddled.
"What?" her NightWing friend asked, again in a hushed voice.
"All of this. This scavenger can talk, and is actually smart. He could have killed us… killed you, and could have run away or just…not have appeared. But he kept his promise." She darkly chuckled. "And now Scarlet's gonna have us both killed, because I took pity on a scavenger."
At this, Starflight likewise hung his head. Bilbo finally sat up, staring ahead at nothing in particular, then back to the grains of sand. There was no doubt in his mind that it was by his hands that placed these two dragons in their predicament. He felt his face drain from him down the stream and into the lake, shivering as he reached the depths of the center of it all.
Never in all the years, and all the places he risked his own life and that of the Company, did he ever think to be spared by the claws of a dragon. No one would believe that story, let alone the dwarves.
And he had been pitied on? He took pity on Gollum, choosing to spare the creature's miserable life rather than killing him while having the advantage. And now the dragons were sparing his life, having spared their lives?
What was he to do now? Leave them to suffer the torture of the evil Queen Scarlet while escaping by the skin if his teeth? He shook his head, cursing those thoughts to fires of a dragon. That was not how he was brought up, and in doing so, that would be the end of his precious hobbit-honor, let alone his honor as a Baggins. Why should he do that when he remained with the Company all the way to Erebor? Because Tsunami and Starflight were dragons?
Shame on you, Bilbo, he cursed. It is clear that these dragons are not like Smaug. Definitely Scarlet, yes, but not these two.
If he could spring the dwarves from under the noses of the entire kingdom of Wood-Elves, then he had the power to help these dragons.
"No."
At the sudden but quiet voice of the hobbit, the two dragons shot their attention to the little creature.
"It was because I took pity on you," he sighed.
"What?"
He expected Tsunami to be confused. The way she furrowed her brow and crinkled her snout was as telltale as it was for Gandalf to speak in riddles when giving advice.
"You…pitied us?" Starflight added, more so in shock.
The hobbit had a feeling that dragons, regardless of their origin, were unfamiliar with "lesser creatures" pitying them. Why should the mightiest being alive need such unnecessary…what: desires? Wants? Definitely neither of the two, but the point still stood. He did not pity that Smaug had stolen the kingdom of Erebor and slaughtered thousands, yet he pitied these two dragons in front of him.
Bilbo sighed, and chose his words carefully. "You both are unlike any dragons I have ever met. You care for each other, and your friendship, and you would be torn apart at the thought of killing someone you greatly care about."
He paused, watching their reactions before he could continue. Starflight subtly stood back a bit, almost reeling in shock, and yet continued to eye the hobbit with growing curiosity. He figured that the NightWing was all too experienced in fully expressing his emotions, choosing to bury his comfort in written words on paper or locations on a map. The fault was not on Starflight: Bilbo remembered staring for long minutes on end at maps he collected around the halls of Bag End; he too found it to be a comforting pastime.
Tsunami…was hard to read. Her eyes were wide but her neck was drooping, and her breathing was audible and slightly huffing. She stood on her legs yet they looked ready to buckle, while her chained wings were drooping over the sides of her body. Her brows were furrowed, very much scrunched in agony. It was impossible for the hobbit to guess what the SeaWing was thinking of, most likely a messy conglomeration of many thoughts that were fighting each other.
A beanstalk cannot grow without guidance, nor can a tomato plant grow without support. A flower may bloom in the valley, but a garden is all for naught with no gardener. And the strongest tree can support and protect all from the horrors of it all.
Contrary to well-established belief, it was not only wizards and elves that could speak in riddles: hobbits could as well, just so long as they made actual sense.
For Bilbo, these dragons were just as lost as he was, or maybe more so than him. Whatever this Dragonet Prophecy was it involved these two friends, meaning they had some larger purpose to this world. He was only a lowly halfling, brought along by his signature on a contract, hired as a burglar. He had no personal stakes in the journey to Erebor, which brought the question: what were the stakes of the Dragonet Prophecy?
In his confusion, Bilbo lost focus of the situation surrounding himself and the two dragons, because without warning, there came a raging roar from the balcony. Instantly, he shot his eyes up, to the snarling teeth gnashing SkyWing queen as the scales around her face burned as bright as the fires of fir trees in the twilight hours. Beside her, Burn remained stoic and cold, but with a hint of a small snarl. Her pitch black eyes were leary, staring into his very being.
"Are you serious?!" the SkyWing queen screamed. "How can a dragon, let alone two, fail to kill a scavenger?! Three Moons, it's not difficult at all!"
"I think it was more of a case of: they chose not to kill it," Burn calmly growled.
That only angered Scarlet even further. There was no doubt that it was intentional. "What?! A dragon choosing to spare a scavenger?! These Dragonets of Destiny are more pathetic than I ever thought!"
If there was one thing Bilbo had learned on his adventuring, it was to never incur the wrath of a dragon. And to add further misfortune, the wrath he just had to incur came from two dragons, allies, of separate royal kingdoms. Scarlet's strong and wrathful voice also invoked the rage of the crowd, all shouting curses and obscenities that grew the ire of the hobbit himself. And though he dared not speak up, he did not hide his emotions: instead he hid behind Starflight, who was thankfully gracious to obliged. Thorin's haughty attitude was no different to the royals staring him down, as all he could see were the piercing gold and soulless obsidian.
The dwarves would have stood no chance as a Company, nor would an entire army of them, much less aligned with Elves and Men. They would all be massacred within minutes. Instead of an army, there were two dragonets who had no right to be here, forced to fight to the death while a little hobbit scampered around with his magic invisibility ring.
"What do we do now?" Starflight meekly whispered.
From behind the NightWing's leg, Bilbo saw the peril on Tsunami's face. Her brow was uneasy and her mouth was hanging open. It seemed that almost her entire body was quivering, ready to buckle at any time. She was as scared as Starflight, maybe even more, considering how well she hid behind her aggression. And yet, he also saw a determination behind those fearful eyes, ready to fight to the death if it meant saving her friend.
The hobbit could have mistaken her stance had she not stepped protectively closer to Starflight. The loyalty they shared was unmistakable, just like the dwarves.
Over the roar of the crowd, a sudden noise caught his attention. Such a noise must have been great, because it silenced whatever order Scarlet was about to scream. It was far off in the distance, but it quickly enveloped the ring, blowing sand and debris in a storm of wind. He could hear the cracking of trees over the sky while the furious wind threatened to throw him into the sky. Once the roaring of the crowd finally died, a raging roar of a dragon echoed over the horizon, rattling the buildings like an earthquake.
"Was that an earthquake?" Tsunami shook.
"Couldn't have been," Starflight shakily replied. "We're high up on a mountain. They don't reach this far up."
The roar came again. This time, a large figure of a great beast flew right over the ring, its large wings enveloping the entire shape of the structure in the largest shadow the hobbit had ever seen. The dragons in the crowd became lost in their panicked scramble, stumbling over each other as they screamed their coming doom as they hastily took to the skies.
Scarlet and Burn snapped their heads in every direction looking for the source of the monstrous beast. Bilbo could have been seeing things, but they may have actually been afraid of whatever it was. The MudWing and the RainWing at the heels of the royal dragons could not hide their fear if they tried.
All of a sudden, as the beast came circling around for another flyby, there came a great crashing wave of hot and burning fire that incinerated any unlucky dragon to have been lingering in the grandstand for too long. The shrill and horrified screams of the dying dragons were unlike any sight or sound the hobbit had ever seen before, and the dragonets seemed to share his sentiment. The great beast swung its legs against the stone, smashing the burning inferno in the stand to burning smithereens before launching into the sky. This time it was much closer to get a better look at what it was.
It was a great dragon, the mightiest he had ever seen. Covered in burnt red scales all along its body, with white scales along the underbelly coated with gold coins and jewels, the largest wingspan of any dragon that existed, and piercing golden eyes that were glaring into his soul.
Wait a moment…
Underbelly coated with gems and gold, with piercing golden eyes…
…
…
…
…
It couldn't be. It was simply impossible! Unless…he had always known of and knew how to travel between worlds. He could have blended into the sea of SkyWings, but to the hobbit, there was no mistaking the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities himself.
Yet again, the moment his eyes made contact with those golden fires, his chest tightened as his stomach plummeted down a great drop. Cold water rained down from his brow as his breathing became staggered, the skin on his hands going completely dry. There was no doubt in his mind that he had been spotted, and why not? It was clear that no hobbits had ever existed in this world.
There was a legend he had heard that a dragon's vengeance was hotter than a volcano, and lived as long as the land it desolated. Every moment would not be at peace, for it would always be watching every move of its nemesis.
"Oh, no!"
"Wh-what is it?" Starflight must have heard Bilbo's little squeak, recognizing the fear on his face. But it was a fear that was different from his own.
"It can't be!"
"Can't be what?" Tsunami barked. "What are you talking about?"
The great dragon came around, diving down and back up higher into the sky. He then spreaded out his wings, coming in for a large drop. His back legs crushed the destroyed stone into grinded dust, violently shaking the entire building's structure with the sudden landing. The front claws on the large wings gripped against the stone around the viewing balcony, grinding the stone into powder as he lifted his head over the royals.
The hobbit wasted no time in slipping the ring over his finger. He ducked behind the NightWing's leg as the great fire-drake spoke, his slithering voice enveloping the ring like it was a great hall.
"Well met, my queen," he sneered, not bowing in Scarlet's presence. From behind Starflight's leg, the hobbit could see, to his horror, that Smaug would tower greatly over both Scarlet and Burn, were they on the same level. "As the storm flies, the oceans follow proudly."
While his great head loomed over, the SkyWing queen trembled at his gaze. How fitting that the bloodthirsty dragon queen, who found entertainment from others fighting to the death, would be face-to-face with Smaug: the terror of the dwarves, who stole a kingdom all on his own without an army, crushing one in the meanwhile beneath his mighty claws and fire.
Against such perilous odds, and being a queen of a vicious character, Scarlet's face contorted into a smoking snarl. "You must quite the gall to come stomping back into my kingdom, you witless wyrm!"
Smaug simply chuckled at the queen's remark. "Your armies may attempt to wound me, but your words are only the ash that is blown in the wind." He then turned his attention to the SandWing royal. "Ah, you must be one of the SandWing heirs: Burn, was it?"
"What's it to you, wyrm?" Burn sneered. Of the two royals, Burn retained her perpetual calculative snarl.
Even so, Smaug again chuckled another laugh. "Is this the best I get on my return? I had expected more from the Magnificent SkyWing Queen Scarlet, and the Mighty Undefeated Burn: heir to the SandWing throne."
Return? So Smaug had been to this world before? Or had he come from here? And yet he had been told that he had come from the North. Was that true? And yet the bigger question was still on how he managed to travel from Middle-Earth to this world of dragons?
"You are trespassing in my kingdom, wyrm," Scarlet roared, "and on my Hatching Day, no less!"
"Congratulations are in order, I suppose," Smaug smirked. "Not that I care."
Scarlet seethed but continued. "And, you interrupted a match with the Dragonets of Destiny! It was going to be glorious!"
This time, Smaug let out a loud roaring laughter that came from deep within the fires of his belly. It seemed that every little thing that he did scared the life out of Bilbo.
"'Dragonets of Destiny?' Don't tell me this world has gone back on their prophecy nonsense," he frowned, turning to look down on Tsunami and Starflight. They shrank at his gaze while the hobbit prayed he hadn't been spotted. "What is it they are prophesied to do: change the world?"
Burn huffed indignantly. "If you must know, they are destined to choose the successor to the SandWing throne, if they weren't such pathetic weaklings."
Smaug however, ignored Burn's remark. Instead he leaned his long neck over the two dragonets in the ring, sniffing the air around them. Starflight instinctively huddled next to Tsunami as Bilbo rushed to get underneath them, anything to avoid the sickening gaze of the Mighty Smaug.
"Why do you bother hiding from me?" the fiery dragon hissed. "I now recognize your scent, thief."
Bilbo gulped, fighting to keep his shaking body still as one of his great eyes peered over his hiding spot.
"Come into the light. It has been a while since we have…conversed."
Smaug let the last word hang over the air as the hissing voice slithered around through the head of the hobbit. It anchored on his memory of the first confrontation he had with the great dragon under the Lonely Mountain: arousing his sleep underneath the sea of gold, swimming his muzzle through the waves like a knife through butter. His head pounded like a hammer against stone, or like lightning in a storm, his legs like trees waiting to be uprooting and sent crashing down in the strong winds
The urge to tear out the ring was too great to ignore. He thrusted it off his finger, collapsing to his knees and hands against the sand. Quickly realizing the vulnerable situation, he rolled over his hide behind the cover of Starflight's star-dotted chain-folded wing.
He soon heard a dark chuckle, and he opened his eyes to see a grin contorted on Smaug's jaw, and the exposed shining teeth. "You are wise to remain hidden from me, thief-in-the-shadows. It is where you belong: hidden away from the light of the world. You should not have left it."
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Tsunami dared to speak up. Her stern steely face of courage almost melted away as his great eyes turned their attention to her.
For a few moments, there was nothing but silence. Bilbo waited with baited breath underneath his cover, his fists firmly gripping the little ring of gold. He could only hope that Tsunami would be able to hold her own against the fiery serpent, or that she would not make a great mistake either.
"You are a mighty one," Smaug slithered. "Such courage, and bravery. Your wit, however, is left to be desired. Why must you associate yourself with a prophecy of nonsense when you could be a queen? These weaklings…" He turned his eyes to shroud Starflight with his great magic, locking him in place. "…will only serve to drag you down the path of shadows, when you could be…great."
To Bilbo's surprise—and shock—Tsunami angrily shot back against the great dragon. "How dare you say that about my friends! I would never leave them behind for anything!"
That might have either been the bravest anyone had ever been standing up against the mighty Smuag, and yet at the same time the SeaWing may have made the greatest error of her life. Smaug was never one such a stand lying on his belly on his sea of treasure. He had heard of the legend of Glaurung and Turin, and the adversary that spanned both of their entire lives, ending with each of their respective ends. Elven legends were a favorite to hear from passing elf parties in the woods on his walking holidays.
Smaug however, continued, without a hint of his infamous rage in his voice. That never meant anything good for anyone or anything. "That is not to say of…the little burglar. What would stop him from killing your friends and…taking it all away for himself?"
Why that old fool! What would a simple hobbit ever need from golden treasure and the fame of being the chosen one? And yet, the language and word choice was very much like the old wyrm: playing on the fears of his victims, bending their minds to their wills.
"He…he won't do that," Starflight stammered. "He made a promise."
As Smaug stomped over the NightWing, Bilbo scrambled to get further out of the line of sight from those horrible eyes. Even still, he could feel the burning hot foul breath from above.
"And what did he promise you? A vow to let you live?" Smaug chuckled, his evil grin widening. "As if he would ever keep such a promise…to a dragon."
There must have been no other dragon like Smaug in this world, or perhaps Starflight had too been raised under a hill, or some place or other that shielded him from the evils of the outside world. Otherwise he would wisely not have spoken out against the mighty Wyrm of the North.
"His kind would run away at the mere sound of our kind, and hold their vengeance in their hearts, longing for the day they can enact it. They hide in their holes under hills, lusting over the little insignificant treasures they were so lucky to have found."
Your overconfident boasting will one day be your ultimate downfall, Bilbo angrily cursed.
"And they will kill anything and anyone that dares to stand in their way of them and their…precious."
The ring suddenly became much heavier in his grip while the word precious circled around his mind, in the shape of a cruel fish skulking within the depths of a lake. There was no doubt that Smaug knew where the hobbit was hiding, and therefore had chosen very meticulous wording, toying with his memories of the Company and their story of Erebor. Bilbo saw that Tsunami's face was contorting with growing anger, yet Starflight remained more confused than ever at Smaug's riddling.
Riddling…he's telling riddles, he realized. So he is using my skills against me? Well, it takes two to play that game.
Now it was the burgling hobbit's turn to give into his confidence…as a riddle-maker.
"Maybe so, oh mighty Smaug," he taunted, "as it was you who stole away their kingdom all those years ago, claiming their treasure and slaughtering all in your wake."
Now that had finally invoked the infamous rage of a dragon. Fortunately, the hobbit scrambled inside the star-dotted folds as the hot foulness became scorching, and the growling was like a collapsing mountain. Quite the marching beat of death if he ever heard such a thing before.
"Have you not learned from our last encounter, burglar?!" the dragon roared. "You are playing with the strings of your death!"
Only he must have gotten too close to crushing Starflight underneath his speared claws, as all of a sudden the world became a spinning spiral of nightmares, each one thumping his head harder than the last. The hobbit lost all knowledge and sense of the world, all the while he became lost in a sudden endless sea of swimming memories overlapping on the shorelines of his thoughts. He could no longer think rationally, at least not about anything besides the calamity and the chaos that was unfolding around him, and he had no way of knowing really what was happening. All he could hear were angered rageing roars of dragons, something else being smashed to smithereens, the gnashing of teeth, the slashing of claws against scales, and many large things scraping against the sand.
Many times, Starflight's body jolted in one direction and then the next, as if he was dodging oncoming attacks or falling rubble. At some point, the jostle of the wings shook the hobbit free from his hiding space, sending him rolling across the sand of the ring. He looked up just in time to be ensnared from the light of the sun, then he heard the crunching of teeth against flesh, followed by a flying object aiming for his general direction. As he covered his head, it landed right in front of him. He dared to peek up, only to be greeted with the snarling yellow scar-faced muzzle of Burn, with her forked tongue lying over her teeth and her upper jaw hanging over the side. Her eyes remained black as obsidian, but he could have sworn they were staring into his soul, even in death.
All of a sudden, there came another raging roar of a dragon, one he did not recognize, a sizzle of a frying pan, a cry of agony, and something large smacking against something smaller. Bilbo raced his little hobbit legs to the hope of being against the walls as he watched Smaug's giant claw smack a dragon from out of the air and onto the sand. It was the RainWing that was in the tree next to the balcony, and she was wincing horribly in pain.
"Glory!" he heard Starflight shriek.
But at that moment, there came another raging cry of anger, as Tsunami leapt onto the scales of Smaug, clawing and gnashing at his body almost in an uncontrolled rage. A great storm of blue against red in a blurred daze like a monstrous thunderstorm over the vast ocean.
The hobbit had no idea what happened next. All he saw was the form of Scarlet charging for Smaug, a large plume of fire enveloping the entire balcony, shrill cries of anger and despair, and the entire kill-ring being covered in a cloud of heavy smoke.
When the smoke cleared, the devastation was clear. The kill ring lay in crushed ruins, piles of rubble all over the scene, Starflight and the RainWing Glory clambering all over the crushed balcony to assist the MudWing, who was in a daze, and Tsunami was viciously seething over the headless corpse of Burn. He also noticed a distinct lack of red dragons: Smaug and Scarlet had somehow disappeared during the scuffle. The remaining dragons were in a little argument and Glory scales were turning red as her anger, not very happy with her friends.
But all the same, it wasn't like Smaug to run away. Did the Dragonets scare him off?
"What just happened?" he asked no one.
It seemed that he was ignored, because soon another dragon entered the fray. She looked like a SkyWing, except her scales were burning bright yellow and orange like the sun on a hot summer day, her eyes were apparent blue, and her single touch could burn right through metal. There was a huge argument between herself and the MudWing especially, and both Glory and Starflight were trying their damndest to keep Tsunami from making a greater mistake.
"Peril, I don't care if you save me. I want you to save my friends." the MudWing said, as calm as he could muster. "That's what's most important to me."
"I'm your friend!" the SkyWing, Peril, angrily shot back. "It's not fair!" She then charged right for the MudWing, and the both of them were in close proximity to the very exposed hobbit. "The others can have any other dragon! I only want you!"
In a mad dash, Bilbo ran around behind the tail of the giant mud-colored dragon, perhaps hoping to find shelter in the blackened wings of Starflight. He just barely managed to miss being smacked across the ring in the head by the tail, right as he threw a clawful of sand right into Peril's face, stopping her advance dead in its flight.
Instead of playing it safe, the MudWing decided to calmly advance to the downed Peril. She stayed on the ground as he spoke to her, instead of taking the advantage to claw out her throat, actually trying to get to her on an equal footing, rebuffing her aggressive stance that the both of them were born killers from their eggs.
"That's not who I want to be."
Those few words were small, but as Gandalf would probably have said, even the smallest and most insignificant can have far-reaching consequences beyond what is known. The hobbit lay up on his backside, palms in the sand, with nothing to say and caught up in his thoughts. Dragons could now choose to not kill others, even if they were in the right to strike back. They could now look after the best interests of their friends above their own, and did not always lay upon their treasure hoard of gold and gems, and chose to stand up to some very cruel and evil dragons wanting their blood.
But the very thought that struck him the most, the one that sent his entire worldview crashing down him yet again—as if that had not been done enough already, was that dragons were capable of sympathy; feeling pity for others. Be just like himself: Bilbo the burgling hobbit in dragon form.
Curse adventures and their always making me think so differently, he thought grimly.
After a tense few moments of silence, Peril reluctantly but admittedly very sweetly removed the chains from the remaining dragons, despite the venomous looks from them.
Of course, it was at this moment that the giant MudWing, definitely the largest of the group, but still smaller than Smaug or the other royal dragons, looked over his shoulder and noticed the little hobbit in the sand.
He also stumbled back and exclaimed, "You!"
Unfortunately, that was the correct word to set Peril right on the hobbit, snarling and lunging right over him past the lumbering MudWing. Bilbo managed to rush off while slipping the ring on right as Starflight shouted, "Wait! Stop! Don't kill him!"
He turned back to see the MudWing tightly gripping on Peril's sizzling scales. He could have been mistaken, but it did sound like her scales were burning against the touch of the muddy claws.
"Where'd it go?!" Peril screamed, thrashing in the MudWing's grip.
"Calm down, Peril!" her captor calmed. "It probably ran off."
"The 'It' is a he," Starflight affirmed.
"Ugh, we don't have time for this!" Tsunami snapped. "We need to save Sunny and escape!"
They had another friend that needed rescuing, and was probably somewhere locked away in the castle walls. But…so was Smaug. No doubt he was slinking through his newfound treasure hoard, so perhaps they had a chance…but what if he wasn't? What if he was slinking around waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike back against these dragonets?
In that moment, Bilbo made another decision that would alter the course of his life. He was about to call out when he remembered the ring. He tore it off his finger, and pocketed it before he spoke his position.
"Wait!," he shouted. "Wait! It's too risky!"
"There it is!" Peril screamed.
Again, Bilbo thanked his luck that the MudWing's strength held the crazed SkyWing back, though Glory's piercing glare was doing any favors. He paused to compose himself, swallowing a painful lump in his throat.
"What do you want? Here to gloat?" Tsunami spat.
"Good dragons," he said. "I want no quarrel with any of you. Rather I commend you on your loyalty to your friends rather than bloodshed, that is something we both share. I can help you rescue your friend."
He said nothing more, going silent in wait for a reply. The RainWing approached him, craning her long neck over his small form. Her eyes were in focus, but were a warmer kind of calculative.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Bilbo Baggins, at your service," Bilbo replied, bowing in respect. He immediately realized just what he did, and that the dwarves would most likely shun him forever more for his actions. Bowing was a sign of respect from one to another, and he had displayed his respect towards dragons of all creatures, but there were no more honorable creatures he would bow to more than these friends.
He looked up, seeing that Glory had not taken her eyes off him. Just behind her, he saw the MudWing dragon give Peril a look as he slowly let go of his grip. He then approached from behind Glory, also looking over him.
"You can talk," he stated.
Bilbo hid a snicker, desperate to appear as polite as possible for a hobbit.
Glory was not so polite, rolling her eyes at her friend. "That's already been established, Clay."
Clay thankfully ignored her remark. Turning back to Bilbo, he said, "What do you want from us?"
"I am simply a victim of circumstance, and it was by circumstance that we happened upon each other in this very ring," Bilbo carefully replied. One wrong word or statement could end badly for himself, and every dragon present.
"You killed that SeaWing," Clay said.
A piercing blade shot through Bilbo's chest as his feet shifted in place through the grains of sand. The memory of gushing blood like a waterfall and the dead eyes of the monster still haunted him, because he could see something past a monster in those eyes.
"I admit…I did not want that to happen," he replied, stammering. "It all happened so suddenly, I couldn't think straight. Except about needing to hide." He then looked up at Tsunami and Starflight. "And when I saw how you both refused to fight one another, I made a decision: I would honor your friendship. And I mean to keep my word."
This was it. He left his fate in the claws and jaws of a dragon. Was it fitting that his adventure had led him to this moment? To escape one dragon into the flames of another? He was no dragon slayer, and he meant to keep it that way. That was not his purpose. He could only guess what the MudWing, Clay, was thinking, and he could feel the burning heat from Peril just behind him.
When it seemed that he would not speak, he finally said, "He can come with us."
Was it gratitude that coursed through his body? It might have been, or at least whatever was the closest. As expected, the others shared mixed feelings: Glory was the most confused as to what to make of him, Tsunami was close to yelling, and Starflight was more surprised than anything. Strangely enough, it was Peril who objected the most.
"Are you kidding?!" she screamed. "He's a scavenger! He will kill you whenever he gets the chance!"
"I object to the term 'scavenger' as I prefer 'burglar'," Bilbo calmly pointed out. "Or you could say 'expert treasure hunter'."
He jumped back when the flaming SkyWing charged at him. "What did you just say to me, you little—!"
"Peril, that's enough!" Clay's firm but calm voice shouted. Thankfully, it stopped her advance as she shrank in shame from his gaze. He saw this, and to Bilbo's further surprise, gave her a soothing smile. "If it will make you feel better, I'll hold onto him. That way I'll know if he does something that I don't like."
The large MudWing turned his head to the little hobbit. "That is, if you don't mind?" he sheepishly added.
I have already been given so much of the unexpected, I need to expect what is, Bilbo shook his head. "I accept the terms, Master MudWing," he respectfully bowed again.
Though to his amusement, the big dragon actually blushed with embarrassment, earning a humorous chuckle from the RainWing.
"Well, well, well, Clay," Glory chuckled. "Looks like you got yourself a…burglar for a butler."
"I hate to rain on this parade, but we gotta rescue Sunny and get outta here!" Tsunami rudely interrupted.
"Right," Clay nodded.
As he consented, Bilbo allowed the large MudWing to grab him by the giant claw. Thankfully, it was not like the SkyWing brothers where he was grabbed in the sense that he would slip out and run away, though it was a little too tight for his liking.
"Could you loosen your grip, please?" he politely asked.
"Sorry," Clay apologized, calming his firm grip. "That better?"
"Much better. Thank you."
"You're welcome," the dragon smiled.
It was still quite strange to be given and to give gratitude to a dragon, and for kindness in general to be associated with the idea.
Clay then turned to Peril, his face firm but determined. "Take us to Sunny."
The SkyWing nodded, leading the way up the ruined rubble of the balcony for the others to follow. Tsunami and Starflight took the rear while Glory followed Clay, who was the only one of the company who had no quarrel with the scorching heat of Peril's scales.
The halls of the SkyWing palace were in ruins, but the ruins were of a familiar memory. There were piles of rubble, broken pillars, cracked pieces fallen from the ceiling, burn marks lining the walls in rising seas and falling valleys, scatterings of objects pertaining to weaponry and other assortments of pottery, scraps of burnt papers and tapestries…all of which he expected to see.
Not so much the bodies of groaning or still SkyWing guards. Scars in the scales, bite and claw marks on the wings and neck, and pools of blood seeping through the openings of wounds or the weak gates of their fangs. He could only remember the terrible tragedy that Thorin had regaled him and the Company back in his home, and for a moment he thought he was back in the empty hallowed halls of Erebor. He knew Smaug was cruel and evil, but now he saw just what malice he could bring to creatures of his own kind.
He heard the stomps of Clay and Glory slowing down, taking in the destruction and violence as he did. Peril maintained her pace ahead, but stopped when noticed the widening gap between herself and the group.
"I…I've never seen anything like this," Clay paled, swallowing a large lump.
"He killed them without remorse," Glory blanked. "Why did so many dragons have to die?"
"I don't…I don't know," Bilbo admitted. "Truly, his rage and malice is one unlike any other." He sighed, melancholic, looking over the destruction with a heavy heart. "This is not the first kingdom he ravaged. He left hundreds, maybe thousands in his wake…all for the vast treasure of gold and jewels, caring nothing for the creatures he crushed."
He swore he saw something wet soaking Peril's eye, before it sizzled into steam.
"Venom?" It was a word that was unknown to the hobbit.
"Yeah," Clay nodded. "She spat venom from her fangs right onto…whatever his name is. I didn't know you could do that, Glory."
"I didn't either," the RainWing shrugged.
"How much further?" Clay asked Peril.
"We're almost there," she replied, standing next to a large set of doors. "She's just behind these doors and—"
"THERE YOU ARE!"
From behind them, a frightening roar sounded through the corridor, sending freezing chills with its burning rage. Bilbo knew the voice before he saw the source, and the collective gasps from the other dragons only built up the burning fire, the inferno coursing from the golden gaze of those eyes of anger. They were only focused on the hobbit, and his only on the shimmering bloodied fangs snarling in his wake dripping across the stone floor as he crushed the skull of a groaning SkyWing guard crying for mercy.
"YOU WILL BURN!"
"Run away!" Bilbo screamed.
He caught only a glimpse of the building fire in Smaug's stomach, before the chaos enveloped the situation. He knew not what truly happened, only that somehow the grip of Clay's massive claw was lost on his body, and the terrified looks of his new companions as the storm of fire surged ahead towards them. In an instant, Bilbo ran for his life away from the flames, missing how Peril charged ahead right over him, and ducking through the crack in the massive doors.
The ominous stomping drove a stake into his chest as his breathing became erratic. He rushed over to the leg underneath the large table central in the room, hiding his form in the shadow of the wooden frame. Yet again, the mighty Smaug was on the prowl specifically for the little burglar, no doubt to settle a score for outwitting him back in the bowls of Erebor. His distinct growling was just beyond the walls, and the hobbit dared not look back, for fear of coming in contact with those terrible piercing eyes, should they burn his soul alive.
He then noticed that the table was void of any seating, chairs or benches or otherwise, which made sense if the dining room was built for dragons to be used by dragons. From a crack in his vision, from the corner of his eye, he saw something flat and metallic hanging from the ceiling at the head of the table. He carefully crept under the shelter of the table until it was revealed to be a large golden cage, hanging right next to the head seat, which was a throne of shining gems. Inside the cage was yet another dragon, though was much smaller in stature than of the others he had seen before, had sandy-yellow scales and bright emerald eyes, with brown tufts upon the head and down the spine towards the tail, which was as smooth as a blanket.
Was this the dragon that the others were looking for? Was this Sunny? The captive dragon appeared to be female, at least from the narrow snout. Her eyes were wide with both wonder and peril, no doubt from the excitement from beyond the doors of her prison. She looked sweet and full of spirit, like a light of hope and innocence in the cruel darkness that dwelled such horrible monsters. Hopefully she was not a witness to the devastation, full of fire and bloodied stones.
"What's happening?!" she said, shaking fearfully. "Are the others alright? They can't be dead! We need to fulfill the prophecy together!"
The poor dragon was worried sick for the well-being of her friends, hoping that they could have survived the sudden onslaught of Smaug. As did Bilbo, but he knew that she missed them most, as good friends do for those whom they care for. He knew the look all too well, for there had been many moments where he had feared the dwarves or Gandalf had been lost, or how he had seen them react to the news of himself being lost.
But yet again, there was the mention of the prophecy that the other dragonets, now including Sunny, were directly a part of. He knew nothing of prophecies, only that they were only ever written in riddles, but what could Sunny and her friends be prophesied to achieve? He realized that she appeared slightly similar to Burn, but contrasted in everything else. Why was Burn killed? Was it because she had a miscalculated assault against Smaug, and what had happened to Scarlet? Why was Sunny imprisoned?
So many unanswered questions swam through muck in his mind, clinging for something tangible. They were suddenly interrupted by a crash, and splintering wood causing Sunny to scream. Bilbo himself shrieked as he dove for cover, and then all became silent. Aside from the dreaded growling of a familiar and angry beast, stomping his way through the opening he created. The hobbit cowered underneath the shadows of the table legs from the sunlight while the great Fire-Wyrm strolled across the room.
Instantly, he remembered the ring in his pocket, and slipped it on.
"I know you are here," Smaug taunted. "You cannot remain hidden for long. Your scent is unlike any other, and I know what it is now. You have no Company of Dwarves, nor foolish dragonets to hide behind."
"Who are you, and who are you talking to?" Sunny asked innocently.
Smaug snarled angrily at that. "Foolish dragonet. Do you not know whom you are in the presence of?"
"Uh…no, I don't know who you are."
Bilbo peeped out from a gap in the table leg right as he saw the Mighty Smaug rise to his fullest height, massively towering over the caged Sunny. She stared in terrified awe at his sight, shrinking further into the perceived safety of her prison like a puppy being back into a corner.
"I am the fire that brings death! I kill wherever I go! I seek what I desire for no one else but to be my own! I have brought kingdoms to their knees! All that hear my name tremble at the word and do well to run at my sight!"
Sunny was shaking with absolute terror from the monstrous dragon. "M-M-My friends will rescue me!" she stammered, attempting to sound brave. "T-They wouldn't leave me behind! We're all needed to complete the prophecy!"
"Even a weakling like yourself?" Smaug curly countered. He chuckled, finding her misery very hilarious. "You are only a hindrance to their progress, an anchor weighing them down. You are useless to them; an unwanted burden. But they keep you around because they pity you, protecting you from the vicious truth that they wish you were gone!"
A dragon's biggest strength was his words: acting on the weakness that they see in their prey and building up on it so that it drags down their victims. Bilbo had never seen it be used against another dragon, showing that Smaug was unlike anything this world had ever seen. Why did it have to be poor Sunny at the forefront of his cruelty? What had she done to deserve his wrath: being caged like a trophy? Did Scarlet put her in there because of Sunny's uniqueness?
"N-n-n-no, no that's…that's not true! They're my friends, they would never—t-they care about me! I'm not a burden! They do want me! I am important! I must be!"
She was breaking up in tears from his vile words. The sight made the hobbit ill all over. She was full of hope, wanting to become a part of something far greater than her own. All he wanted to do was return home and smoke his pipeweed. He was only a little person in a larger world, which had grown tenfold in the past few hours. Sunny was the last creature ever to deserve this much cruelty just for being herself, but what could Bilbo Baggins do? Smaug was the only one to have ever outsmarted his riddling.
"What do you have that can match with the strength of the others? What can the weak little dragonet put forward…to change the world?"
"I…I…I don't…"
"You are only but a small dragon, in a larger world that does not want her in it."
"But my friends! They wouldn't…t-they couldn't…!"
The poor dragonet collapsed to the floor of her cage, sobbing into her talons and wrapping her tail around like a comfort object.
"I'm not useless…I'm important…my friends need me…my friends care about me…don't they? They must! Th-they do! I can't be useless."
What right did Smaug have to make this poor dragonet suffer? Because she was caged? Bilbo did not put it past the great Fire Drake for such an act; it was just like Smaug to make every creature suffer under his power and might. It was like his personal hobby beside ferociously guarding his vast treasure hoard by sleeping his giant body over it all.
It must have given him great pleasure to see the sobbing crumpled form of Sunny. It was an evil that the hobbit had never seen in his life, and had hoped would not be possible. But as he knew before, and most certainly in the moment: Smaug was a monster. The truest form of a monster that ever was. He that rains fire from the skies onto those that he sought revenge upon, to make them suffer, and to remember and fear his wrath, remember him as death incarnate.
The truest form though, were his words slithering around, spreading fear and doubt in the minds of his chosen victims. Even indirectly so. Bilbo remembered just how devastating the power of words can be. In fact, it was by his overconfidence that he slipped up his riddling, causing Smaug to fly off to exact his rage against the Men of Laketown.
Those large golden eyes leering over the sobbing dragonet were gut-wrenching. He did not want her to suffer under his wrath, and yet standing idly by would do just that.
I have got to do something, he thought. I just wish I knew what! Come on, Bilbo! Your luck has carried you this far! There has to be some kind of—
"WHERE IS SCARLET?!"
There came a sudden roaring from the entrance, yet again from a voice he recognized, though only faintly so. However, the room did seem to get a bit hotter, and from under his shelter of the wooden table he saw the sizzling orange scales of Peril the SkyWing.
He held a shriek when he heard her feet jump onto the table, and the wood began to blacken and smell of smoke.
"WHAT…HAVE YOU DONE…WITH SCARLET?! ANSWER ME, OR I'LL MELT YOUR FACE RIGHT OFF YOUR HEAD!"
Was she actually challenging Smaug? Was she angry enough to do such a foolish thing? By the sound of her roar, most definitely and foolishly so.
In an instant, Smaug's focus was shifted from one to the other like a cascading waterfall. "Ah, you must be the Champion of the ring: Scarlet's monstrous plaything."
"TELL ME WHERE SCARLET IS NOW!"
"I assure you, your queen and slavedriver is unharmed and indisposed. She is doing much better for herself without you."
"LIAR!" Peril screamed. "SHE NEEDS ME AS I NEED HER!"
"You lie only to yourself, and only you can know as well. You are but only a monster, a reflection of what a dragon truly is: the mightiest creature that kills and takes whatever it pleases. It cares nothing for love, for it is but a weakness, so easily exploited."
As he continued to slither his voice, he saw the fire-drake's great serpent body stomp and slither all over and around the dining table. Despite Bilbo knowing that he was safe from Smaug's vision, that did not provide comfort at being so near the and having the sight of his bloodied scales of fiery red just at a walking distance.
"What can you hope to achieve from all this? Being accepted as something else besides a cold blooded…murderer?"
Of course he would let that one singular word linger around the echoes of the hall. It was in his nature of being Smaug the Terrible.
"Is it possible for a monster to find love?" The drake darkly chuckled, freezing the room cold despite the heat. "Would he even care?"
Yet again, the hobbit could see the peril on Peril's face, contorting with agony at the d=planted seed of doubt. Truthfully, he had not seen her reputation as a blood-thirsty dragon, but what he had seen was a thinking and emotionally complex creature who was desperate for love and affection.
Strange how a hobbit would concern himself with complex emotions. Yet another byproduct of so much adventuring.
But what could he do to help Peril? He dared not tangle with Smaug directly, and the both of them had the power and will to kill him if they wanted. Was there a lesser of two evils in this situation?
But Tsunami did as well…and she spared him. He had seen Clay give Peril positive affection, trying to be friendly to her despite her rage. Was she worth it?
What have you gotten yourself into, Bilbo Baggins? he thought to himself. Helping a dragon that would not care if she killed you?
Something occurred inside the hobbit named Bilbo Baggins at that very moment, something drastic. He remembered the peacefully quiet rivers and hillsides of the Shire, and how everything was calm and nothing unexpected ever happened. Then he was thrust into a great journey to reclaim a stolen kingdom from a dragon, which ended with him being thrown into this world of dragons, flipping his entire world on its head. He also met dragons who were just like the friends he made along the way, and wanted nothing but the best for their friends.
He could have gone home whenever he pleased, but his hobbit-nature told him to continue forward despite the danger, because it was not fair that he had a home to return to when the dwarves had none to begin with, nor the Dragonets of Destiny.
All they had was their friends to keep them going in the big wide dangerous world that wanted them dead.
It was in this moment that the Took and Baggins in his blood collided to form a partnership, a harmonious relationship of himself. If he could save the dwarves and keep them going, then what was to stop him from helping the Dragonets of Destiny all the same?
In his heart, he knew he could do it. And in his head, he knew just how.
From underneath his shelter of the wooden dining table, he cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, "In all my life, I have never seen such a creature filled with hate and unlove as the Mighty Smaug."
As he predicted, that got the drake's attention away from Peril. Except he could have done without the snarling and the stomping around.
"Where are you hiding, thief?!" he cursed. "You cannot be serious in helping these pitiful creatures who dare call themselves dragons?!"
"I was serious in helping the Company of Oakenshield however I could," Bilbo countered, "as did I for the Dragonets of Destiny."
"What are these riddles of nonsense that you are spouting?!"
All the while, the hobbit prayed and hoped that Peril would be listening to the banter between the two nemeses.
"I mean only that you Smaug: Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities kills wherever you go, not giving them a chance to fight back or flee to live. I spared the lives of the Dragonets when I could have killed them, while you instead attacked poor Clay while he was still chained up: at your mercy and no way to stand up against you."
"How dare you presume—!"
"YOU TRIED TO KILL CLAY?! I'LL BURN YOU ALIVE!"
In hindsight, it might not have been the greatest idea to anger an already bad-tempered dragon with scales that could set things on fire at the touch. Why would he make such a decision? There was hardly any logic behind it, only that he believed that the latter fire-scales dragon was less dangerous than Smaug. Would Gandalf have believed him? More likely he would become philosophical, impressed, and angered at the same time.
In the moment however, the only thing that Bilbo concerned himself with more was trying to get to a more useful hiding spot from the brawling dragons. If not from the giant claws sharp as swords or the tails as heavy as bricks, then the crushing splinters of wood and falling stone blocks.
Suddenly, there was a crash of metal against stone, and he looked in time to see Sunny's cage break from its ceiling, smashing to the ground and rolling back into the corner furthest from the fight. Bilbo felt that corner was his safest chance of shelter, and once again blessing the luck of his magic ring, made a mad rush across the long dining room. At the same time, he saw Peril's angered maw crush her jaws against Smaug's chest, causing the great fire-drake to roar in agony, followed by his massive form crashing through the walls of the dining room disappearing into the noonday sky.
Were his eyes playing tricks on his mind, or had the mighty Smaug actually ran away from a fight? It had seemed such an inconceivable concept and yet had seen it all happen right before him.
To his right, there was Peril: panting out of breath, wings drooped at her sides. Her tail was slumped down behind her, drained of energy. It was not fair that she was never shown love in all her life, only pain and anger. It was shameful to have used her love for Clay to attack Smaug, even if she managed to scare him off for the moment.
Suddenly, she whipped her head around the destruction, causing Bilbo to crouch down just in case, when her eyes landed on the cage off in the corner. "I've got to find Clay," she said, right before she quickly ran out the door and out of earshot.
The room was empty and soundless, save for the still mountain wind, and the anguishing sobs of poor Sunny. Bilbo looked upon a sad creature, and for a moment she became the face of a little hobbit child he would occasionally find in the market, or at a party. To her, being a dragon made no difference in her feelings.
He realized that he was alone with her, no else besides the hobbit to come to her aid or to comfort her hurting. He would be damned if he let Smaug win over him once again.
He approached the caged dragon, making sure to remove the ring, though he kept a distance from the grieving dragon, just in case. He knew better than to willingly approach a dragon, regardless of their state of mind. The cage had been knocked onto its side, and now he truly saw just how small of a dragon she was, though he had yet to directly compare her to the other dragonets.
"Sunny?" he calmly asked. "Can you hear me?"
He watched her face stir from his voice, slowly rising up to eye him. She looked confused to see his form, which he now understood. He was more focused on how red and puffy her eyes were from all the crying tears of agonizing doubt than to be concerned with him being her first meeting with a "scavenger".
He slowly approached her bars, keeping eye contact so that she would not return to crying.
"You need not fear anymore," he softly continued. "That monster has fled and will no longer continue to torment you."
His heart ached from how her claws wrapped around the bars as she lifted her starry eyes. It was like getting lost in the night sky. In that instant, he stopped fearing her altogether, and approached right before her muzzle, close enough to touch her snout.
"You…you can talk. A scavenger is talking to me."
Her smile was like the rising sun, spreading warmth over the soft grassy hillside of growing green sprouts of delicious garden food. There was so much boundless energy behind her wonderful smile, one of the truest cruelties of the world to keep her caged like a monster or a prisoner.
It was infectious. He could not help himself from sharing her smile.
"Yes, you have met the first ever two-legged creature alive that can speak a common tongue with dragons," he replied.
"This is so amazing!" In her excitement, she banged her head against the bars. "I'm actually talking with a scavenger! Oh, Starflight would love this!"
For a moment, her features drooped sadly.
Bilbo acted quickly. "You needn't feel down. I am here with your friends to rescue you."
That got her immediately shining bright again. "You are?! They're here?! They're not dead?! They remembered me?!"`
He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yes, they are here to rescue you. Though I do not know where they are now."
He got up and quickly turned to run.
"Where are you going?"
He feared she would say something along those lines.
"Wait awhile," he calmly replied. "I will return with your friends. I am going to find them."
"B-but…but…what if…he comes back?"
Those were the very words that flooded his soul. Whether he dared to admit it or not, Smaug would not be gone forever. He was not one to sit lazily around, if given the chance he would enact his vengeance against those that stood against him.
Sunny had no way of standing up for herself, caged or otherwise. He could see that, and it was unfair for such a wonderful and innocent creature as herself to carry such lofty burdens all on her own. She was fair and just, and she was as bright as the stars on a moonless night.
…precious.
Yes. She was a precious creature, one of the most purest to have ever been born into the world, his own or this new one.
And he vowed to protect her with his life.
Upon my life or by pain of death, I stake my soul to protect the dragon that is Sunny.
"Should he return, I will do all in my power to protect you from harm," he promised.
It had appeared to have calmed her, even if it was slight and the fear flooded all over her form. He could not blame her, because he knew that the Fire Drake was still around, most likely sitting atop his newfound hoard of gold.
He quickly ran up to the entrance—barring the lack of doors, considering they had been smashed in and burned from a pair of rageful dragons. He hid against the wall of the doorway, carefully peering around to see if there were any trusted dragons within view, and hoping that any untrusting dragons were nowhere to be found.
Presently, there came some stomping claws against stone from around the corner just down the hall. Emerging was a large dragon with blood-red scales and a large wingspan, indicating that she was a SkyWing—and her narrow snout telling that she was female. Though her hardened expression caused him to duck back, fearing that she was another Smaug, he heard a gavel of more familiar voices.
"How much further must we go?" he heard her growl.
"It's just up ahead," another voice replied.
"Still as bitter as ever," a different voice grumbled.
He dared to peek around, and behind the scowling new dragon, to his relieved joy, was Peril and the other dragonets. It had appeared that they had rescued another dragon after they had been runned off by Smaug.
"Clay! Tsunami! Glory! Starflight! Peril!" he cried, running out into the hall, waving his arms and jumping up like a young hobbit-child at the sight of Gandalf's cart of fireworks. "Over here!"
"There's Bilbo!" Clay exclaimed. "He's alive!"
"I'm surprised he's not dead," Glory added.
"How did he manage to get to safety?" Tsunami questioned.
"But if he's alive, then that means Sunny's alive too," Starflight ascertained. He turned to Peril. "You said she was caged in the dining room, right?"
"Yes! I said that!" the flame-scales SkyWing snapped.
The newcomer grumbled, placing a claw over her muzzle. "Why are you all getting excited over a scavenger?"
Thankfully, it was fortunate that neither the hobbit and the dragonets paid any attention to the female SkyWing as they all ran into the dining room, careful not to accidentally crush little Bilbo underneath their claws or tails. When they all gathered around Sunny's cage, the dragonet exploded like one of Gandalf's fireworks on the Old Took's Midsummer parties, maybe even more so.
Just seeing her smile at the sight of her friends brought a feeling of warmth to the hobbit, it made all the dangers and troubles of his adventuring all the more worth it to see such happiness from what he had accomplished.
"I knew you guys would come back for me!" she cried. "I just…knew you wouldn't leave me behind!"
"You know that we would never leave you behind, Sunny," Clay assured her, kindly smiling. "You're our friend, and we care about you."
The reunion brought up another memory for the hobbit. It was after he had escaped the goblin tunnels and managed to reunite with the Company, and he remembered how almost all of the Company had given up on him returning. And for a moment, Bilbo did feel like leaving the Company to return to the Shire, to his home. Despite that, he revealed himself to be alive and a part of the Company.
Why did he choose to remain? Because it wasn't fair that the dwarves had no home when he had his own to return to. He wanted to prove his loyalty to helping them take back their home, because it was the right thing to do. When he could have taken the easier choice and turned tail he vowed to stick to the very end of the journey.
Watching the dragon friends embrace brought a heaviness to his heart. It was clear that the bonds of friendship they held were all they had in this cruel world, and even then they were as lost as he was; less maybe, considering he was an unexpected newcomer. Yet again, he got back to thinking of his warm food, pleasant garden and his favorite bench and armchair in Bag End. He felt his Tookishness fading away again, and wondering just how he could return home this time.
"If you're done with the sweet reunion," the unfamiliar dragon snarled, "we should take this opportunity to escape!"
"As much as I hate to agree," Glory grumbled, "Kestrel's right. We need to leave while we have the chance."
Without a second to spare, Clay scooped up Bilbo in his claw and took off into the sky through the smashed opening in the roof, with the others closely following behind him—though they all kept their reasonable distance from Peril. Being up in the air was reminiscent of being carried on the backs of the Great Eagles, only instead of clinging to poor Dori's legs for dear life he was benign comfortably and respectfully carried by friendly Clay.
Presently, he noticed a lone human trying desperately to climb over a ledge and failing on his own. It seemed that Clay had also noticed this.
"We should help him," Bilbo said.
"Right," Clay nodded.
The giant MudWing flew over underneath the human, and using his snout gently lifted the human over the ledge. The human looked back in surprise at the dragon that had just helped him, even more so at the little hobbit in his claws.
Bilbo thought nothing of it. "Good speed and farewell!" he waved.
Clay turned around and flapped his giant wings after the other dragons out into the cloudless bright midday sunny sky, and within no time the Kingdom on the Mountain was shrinking far behind in view. Bilbo looked back and saw nothing but ruin and chaos in their wake, as was to be expected of Smaug the Terrible. Though he saw no SkyWing guards flying around in a panic nor citizens fleeing in caravans and trains of bleeding injuries; perhaps they managed to escape in the panic while he was in the palace. Hopefully all the other prisoners had been freed or escaped on their own.
Smaug. Yet again, that cruel malicious fire drake seeped its way back into the forefront of his thinking. It was mind-numbing to figure out just how Smaug had traveled between worlds as he did, and there was no way it was accidental. But what he meant in relation to the Dragonets, he knew nothing either.
Likewise what he, a hobbit burglar named Bilbo Baggins with a magic ring, an Elven dagger, and a Mithril shirt, would do to help whatever it was they needed to accomplish.
Just how much larger has this world grown? He feared.