Dragon Hunting

Night fell over the Lonely Mountain as the brave burglar Peregrin Took snuffed the candle out with his fingers.

"Pippin," hissed Frodo as he watched him from the corner of the cave. "Aunt Eglantine'll kill me if she sees you've burnt yourself again."

Peregrin ignored his cousin and continued to creep in careful silence towards the dragon and his hoard; he wasn't the one who had some great treasures to sneak out from under the nose of Smaug. Pippin's complaining fingers could be tended to later.

"Peregrin...." the dragon seemed to be calling him, as if it knew of his coming. But that was impossible, thought Pippin, after all, he did have Gollum's Ring. There was no way the dragon could see him. Yet as he crept closer, the voice called him again. It was not Frodo's, he was certain of that.

"Peregrin Took!" Pippin jolted back to reality and squinted through the dusty air at the figure in the entrance of the cave: it was his ma. "Peregrin Took, if you don't get out of your cousin's cellar this instant then you'll have none of Master Gamgee's best mushrooms at supper!"

Pippin took Frodo's waiting hand eagerly and scrambled up the dust coated steps of one of Bag End's cellars. Smaug could wait - some things were just more important.

Disclaimer - I claim no ownership over anything but the storyline. Don't sue me, I am but a poor student.

Pirates? Not in this Shire...

They had been travelling for what felt like days, although Pippin was certain that his ma had told him that it was not far to Hobbiton, and Pippin was bored. There was not much for a young hobbit to do when he was the only child amongst a group of elders, and Pippin was not a child who liked not having much to do. He needed to be kept busy. How else would he have the wit and charm to adventure as much as he did? Yet there was not much chance of any adventure today. Pippin adjusted his pack and half closed his eyes, as his pony plodded on without his guidance, and began to strongly wish he was already at cousin Frodo's. Frodo always knew how to have fun.

The young hobbit's eyes widened as his slow grey pony turned a corner and a group of hobbit travellers came into view on the horizon. Wait... they weren't travellers - they were pirates! Pirates of men who had raided the troves of elven kings and were now headed north to hide the treasure in their dark, corrupt village. Pippin gasped as he saw the trunks they were pulling on their heavily loaded cart. There must be thousands of coins there! thought Pippin, as the nine year old hobbit's thoughts turned to a plan. He would wait until cover of nightfall, and then sneak up on their camp, brandishing his sword. It would be a hard fight, but he was sure he could steal the treasure back. Then he would be famous, and known throughout the Shire as "Burglar Took - the bravestest hobbit in all Middle-earth!" And then perhaps his older sisters would stop teasing him so much.

Pippin squinted to reduce the glare of the sun, and took another glance at the pirates: they were fast approaching, and Pippin now saw that they had some younger hobbits with them. They had prisoners! That's it, thought Pippin, I can't wait until dark. Not if they have prisoners. Feeling a sudden onset of Tookishness rising in his small frame, Pippin decided to attack. He would not be able to beat these men in full daylight, but he may be able to distract them enough to free the prisoners and then slip away with hobbit-stealth himself. Yes. That was what he would do.

All the while, Pippin's pony had been trotting along contentedly, unaware of the danger that lay ahead, and the risk her master was about to take. So Pippin's sudden striking of her took her by surprise and she reared, throwing the youngest Took to the ground. Pippin did not land hard, but it was enough for him to utter a yelp of pain. Oh no, he thought, I will surely be captured now!

"Peregrin," Paladin Took ran to his son's side, "Peregrin, are you hurt?"

"No Pa," said Pippin, "But the Pirates......." he pointed to the cart that was now almost met with the group of Tooks, "they'll have seen me, and now I can't get to their prisoners, or the elvish treasure..."

"Pirates?" laughed Paladin softly, picking up and dusting off Pippin, who had begun to cry, "Pippin, they are not pirates! If my eyes see correctly, they are members of the Goodbody family, and the prisoners you speak of are their children! They are fine, see...."

Pippin wiped his tears with the sleeve of his jacket and followed his Pa's gaze. Indeed, it was as if the pirates had disappeared into thin air! Perhaps they possessed a magic ring like Bilbo's.... he would have to remember to ask when he arrived at Bag End.

Disclaimer - Sadly, I don't actually own any of the hobbits. I just like playing with them.

The Witches of Tuckborough

"Owww..... 'Vinca - help me!" cried Pippin Took, as he attempted to escape from the roving fingers of his eldest sister Pearl.

It was the first day of Yule, and Pippin and his sisters sat in one of the many rooms in the maze of Brandy Hall, awaiting their parent's call to supper. Pimpernel and Pearl Took had decided that the upcoming supper with the Brandybucks, one of the most influential and prestigious families in all of the Shire, was the ideal opportunity to clean their beloved younger brother up from the mess he seemed to get in from his constant adventures. Unfortunately, Pippin was not amused, and was beginning to feel rather sore from the comb that Pearl was dragging through his unruly locks as she attempted to remove a clump of tangles. Pervinca Took, who had something of a soft spot for her baby brother, sat on the bed, watching with amusement at the whole ordeal.

"Ouch! Stop it! Pearl, you're hurting me!"

"That's enough for now girls," said Pervinca, stepping in to save Pippin from certain death. He was, after all, closest to her age and would stand more chance of exacting his revenge on her than Pimpernel or Pearl. "It is pointless brushing this one's hair, and you know it! Besides, no one will recognise him smartened up, and you wouldn't want to lose him the attention he is bound to get from his many aunts - do you?"

Pimpernel and Pearl covered their mouths and laughed softly. It was well known amongst the siblings that Pippin was the pride of both the Took and Brandybuck families, being the youngest child and also future thain, and so received special attention at family gatherings such as this. Pippin was not amused by this attention, as it always seemed to him to consist of much cooing, ruffling of his curls and comments along the line of, "Why how much have you grown, Master Peregrin?"

"No, we wouldn't!" sniggered Pearl, "Would we Pimpernel?" She looked questioningly at her sister, who shook her head. Pippin scowled; this was possibly going to be even worse than having his sisters brush his hair.

~~::~~

"Merry," Pippin smiled sweetly at his favourite Brandybuck cousin, "Have you ever seen a witch?"

"A witch? You don't see many of those in the Shire, Pippin! Why, I think that the only one seen in recent years was the one cousin Frodo saw when he last visited the Sackville Bagginses with Bilbo..."

"I saw one," interrupted Pippin. "In fact, I saw two!"

Merry's eyes widened, and he focused his gaze on Pippin, his mushroom soup laden spoon missing his mouth and hitting his cheek as he turned to look at the young hobbit sat next to him.

"Really Pippin? Where did you find two witches in Tuckborough?"

"I didn't see them at home, silly, although they might have been there..... I saw them in Brandy Hall - in my bed chamber!"

"And you're still alive? You are one brave hobbit, cousin Pippin! Where are they now?"

Pippin scanned the great dining room and pointed in the vague direction of his two oldest sisters.

"Oh..." the twenty year old hobbit said as he followed his cousin's shaking finger. "What are we going to do then?"

~~::~~

"Are you ready?" whispered Pippin to Merry as they stood, quiet as only hobbits can be, outside the door to the room Pippin's sisters were sharing during their sojourn in Buckland. They carried no candles, but Pippin fancied that they had small night lights, which illuminated the stony walls of the witches' cave they currently inhabited. This was the ultimate burgling adventure that he and Merry were partaking in! Perhaps it would even match up to that of Bilbo and his company of dwarves!

Merry pushed open the heavy wooden door, constructed of a portion of dead tree that looked to have been struck by lightning, and snuck carefully into the cave. The witches and their captive, the hobbit maiden, lay sleeping, much as Brave Burglar Pippin had said they would be. Pippin followed his cousin into the cave, which was dimly lit by a small shaft of moonlight that had crept in through a crack in the rock, and spied the treasure they sought on a roughly hewed table by the far wall.

Pippin held his breath as the largest and ugliest witch stirred in her sleep, but relaxed as she simply rolled over in her bed. The treasure would soon be his! He crept, mindful of the echoes made by his footsteps on the rock floor, over to the table and reached for his prize. He had succeeded in his quest.

In his excitement, Pippin forgot his caution, and spun around, knocking into Merry and emitting a squeak. The smaller witch cracked open an eye.

"Peregrin Took! Meriadoc Brandybuck! What are you doing in here? Get-"

She looked to where the two hobbits had stood, only moments ago, to see that they had vanished. Merry and Pippin had left the witches' cave and re-entered the safety of Brandy Hall's many panelled corridors, running as quietly as they could towards their room, clutching the prize - the Took sisters' hairbrush and comb set.

Never again would Pippin suffer his sister's grooming attention.