CHAPTER 5 | ANINTH AND RYVNISS

THE Company arrived at an old, abandoned farmhouse that is in ruins by the time nightfall crept up on them. The was was beginning to sink in the sky, leaving it a mix of oranges, yellows and pinks; colours Ygritte adored.

"We'll camp here for the night," Thorin announced.

Ygritte jumped down from Evie's back and gently patted her white coat. Once she reached Evie's nose, the horse nudged her hand, making Ygritte smiled. Evie loved when her coat was stroked all the way to her nose, for some reason.

"Fili, Kili, look after the ponies," Thorin ordered. "Make sure you stay with them."

Kili was suddenly standing before Ygritte, his handsome face wearing a flirtatious smile that made Ygritte smirk. He reached forward and grasped Evie's reins with a wink, his fingers purposely brushing against Ygritte's, which only amused her even more. "I'll take her for you."

"Thank you, Kili," she said with a light nod of her head before she brushed past him and toward her father, whom stood glancing around at the area.

As she passed by the dark haired dwarf, she could hear Fili utter to his brother, "That was very smooth, brother." It made her smirk.

"A farmer and his family used to live here," Gandalf said.

"Oin, Gloin," Thorin called.

"Aye?"

"Get a fire going," he ordered.

"Right you are," nodded Gloin, who began to move about and build a fire.

"I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley," Gandalf suggested.

"I have told you already," Thorin scowled, "I will not go near that place."

"Why not?" Gandalf questioned with a raised brow. His eyes rested solely on Thorin Oakinshield. "The elves could help us. We could get food, rest, advice."

All very good points, Ygritte thought.

"I do not need their advice." The bitterness laced within Thorin's voice made Ygritte roll her eyes yet again. He was a hot-heated, grudge-holding, arrogant dwarf, that is for sure.

"We have a map that we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us," Gandalf said.

Thorin stared at Gandalf with an incredulous expression on his face. "Help? A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing. You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather and betrayed my father."

"You are neither of them. I did not give you that map and key for you to hold on to the past."

"I did not know that they were yours to keep," Thorin snarled with a dagger-like glare toward the elder wizard. Ygritte wanted nothing more than to send the dwarf to the grass with a bleeding nose or a broken jaw.

Hopefully the broken jaw, at least that'll get him to stop his talking, Ygritte thought.

Gandalf angrily stomped off with a shake of his head, leaving the Company with his staff in hand. Ygritte glared at Thorin before heading after her father.

"Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?" Bilbo asked, jogging to catch up to Gandalf.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense."

"Who's that?" Bilbo asked, curiosity swimming in his eyes.

"Myself, Mr. Baggins!" Gandalf said with heavy annoyance for the dwarf still flowing through his veins. "I've had enough of dwarves for one day."

"Come on, Bombur, we're hungry," Thorin grumbled after Gandalf had stomped away once again. This time the wizard had disappeared beyond some trees.

Ygritte jogged after her father, shouting his name to gain his attention. "Father!" He came to a halt and turned on his heel to face her. She had to stop so quick that she almost bumped into him. She sighed and took a step back. "Where are you going? On foot, nonetheless."

"I shouldn't be long," Gandalf said. "I am going to seek help from the Elves. Lord Elrond, I know, will gladly lend a hand to the Company."

Ygritte folded her arms over her chest. "Thorin won't be ecstatic."

"I need no blessing from the dwarf, I shall do as I please!" Gandalf said.

Ygritte grinned. "So you shall. Care if I tag along?"

"I'd much rather you stay here, keep things calm amongst the camp."

"Are you sure?"

Gandalf placed a hand on her shoulder, a gentle smile on his face. "I am sure. I shouldn't be too long."

When Ygritte had returned to camp, she was confronted by Bilbo Baggins, who looked concerned by Gandalf's sudden departure.

"Is Gandalf returning?"

"My father will be back soon, most likely at night. Thorin, and his ego, is just too much to handle at the moment," Ygritte said as she folded her arms over her chest.

Aninth snorted. "That is an understatement."

Ygritte tore her gaze away from Bilbo and rested her eyes on the angry looking Aninth. Given how angry she looked and by her snort, Ygritte could only assume Thorin had something to do with it.

She sighed. "I take it Thorin and you have spoken?" Aninth nodded. "What did he say?"

"Oh you know, some lovely remarks about Ryvniss and my kin," Aninth said with bitterness.

Ygritte ran a hand over her face. "If my father hadn't requested I stay here, I would have gone with him. Thorin Oakinshield holds many grudges that will get him killed one day. The Elves can help."

Aninth hummed in agreement.

Ygritte nudged the fellow blonde with her elbow, a smirk pulling onto her face. "And, for the record, I think Ryvniss is a great and much needed addition to the Company. I, for one, would love to get to know more about him. That is, if you are willing to share?"

Aninth smiled, happy to hear that at least someone appreciated the presence of her and her dragon companion.

Once away from the Company and
behind a rock outcropping that blocked them from the view of the others, Ygritte sat down with Aninth and started talking while Ryvniss hunted for field mice among the grass. Ygritte was intrigued by every single word that slipped off Aninth's tongue.

"Before my people were the Dragonkin, we were actually Hobbits," Aninth explained, "but one day a single farmer, his best friend and their families ventured out into the Wild. They came upon a cave that went deep underground. Thinking it would be a nice, dry place to set up camp, they ventured inside. They discovered how deep the cave really went, following it to it's end, and that's when they found it."

"Found what?" Ygritte asked.

"The Pygmy Dragons, of course. When the farmer reached out, surprised that they had stumbled upon all these baby dragons, the leader spoke to him and together, the two families bonded with the Pygmy Dragons, even giving them the name, and becoming the Dragonkin themselves, before they split into two factions, one that went to live with the Dwarves and one that returned to live among Hobbits."

Aninth paused, and Ygritte followed her gaze to where the fellow blonde was watching her Dragon climb up a small rock so he could see out across the grass for movement.

"But the Dragons had secrets of their own. While they accepted and took the name of Pygmy Dragons, they knew this not to be true. For the ancient magic that had allowed the Dragonkin to bond with them had given them an ability as well."

When Aninth gave a sharp whistle, Ryvniss was suddenly launching himself off his rock, twisting in the air as he grew to three times his size. Then, with another whistle, he shrunk down again as he began his descent.

"They change size!" Ygritte exclaimed, her eyes lit up in amazement.

"Aye," Aninth said, "and he can get bigger than that. He can get big enough to ride on. They agreed to the name Pygmy Dragons knowing that it would lead to everyone assuming they are always the same small size. This gave them the upper hand in fights."

"You can ride on him?" Ygritte asked. She was partially jealous, wishing she could ride a dragon whenever she wished. It must be amazing, to be so high up and to feel the air blow through your hair. And the clouds, she knew, must look even better from up there.

"I was a day and a half's ride away from the Shire when your father came to me and invited me on this quest. How do you think I was able to beat him there after he left before me?" Aninth questioned.

"That is amazing, truly," Ygritte said, a smile pulling onto her face.

"The exhilaration of flying is...indescribable," Aninth said. Ygritte watched as she closed her eyes and smiled, as if she were imagining the feeling of flight. "The first time my mother took me flying on the back of her dragon when I was a girl was better than words can describe. The wind in my hair and the view of everything below, so small and tiny. It's...addictive."

"I can imagine. Well, I can't imagine how it feels, but I can imagine it would be addictive," Ygritte agreed.

"Maybe I'll get to take you for a ride at some point," Aninth offered, "right now the Company is moving mostly on foot so I'd feel bad flying when everyone else cannot."

"Would you really do that?" Ygritte asked, her eyes lighting up even more. She was now having troubles containing the wide grin that was threatening to pull onto her face.

"Of course! If everyone I met was as eager and open about what I am, I'd give them rides as well. But not everyone wants to get that close to a Dragon, regardless of its temperament. When my people were more widespread and were a regular part of this world, people did not flinch away at the sight of a Dragon wrapped around someone's neck. But now... well, it is too uncommon a sight. There are more terrible Dragons in this world then there are good," Aninth finished with a sigh.

"Is Ryvniss the last of the Pygmy Dragons?" Ygritte asked, her eyes swimming with curiosity as she stared at the dragon.

"I do not know," Aninth admitted, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked down, "my father used to tell me stories of how when the Pygmy Dragons first left their cave behind with the two families, some remained. But as generations moved on and the population grew, the location of the cave was lost."

Ryvniss crawled into Aninth's lap and curled around her arm as she held it out for him. Ygritte watched, still fascinated by him.

"If the story is true, it could mean different things. Those Dragons that remained would not have bonded with a person, and thus not died when their companion did, so they could have survived. But if their population was low enough, they could have been unable to repopulate and died out that way. Or they could have thrived and still be living. But the only way to know for sure..."

"Would be to find that cave," Ygritte guessed.

"Yes, my mother and father had begun to try and find the cave, believing that if they could find the ancient magic again, they could save our people. But they never got the chance..."

Before either of them could say anything more, they heard the sounds of one of the Dwarves shouting in the distance. Looking at each other in concern, they raced back to the camp, Aninth giving a sharp whistle and holding her arm out for Ryvniss once more. Panic spread through Ygritte's veins. She had made a promise to keep Bilbo safe; what if something happened to him?

They got to the camp just in time to hear Fili explaining the situation at hand. "Trolls," he said, panting slightly, "and they've got Bilbo."

Ygritte's eyes widened, and she felt her heart begin race wildly with a variety of possibilities of Bilbo being harmed by trolls.