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XII. Thieves

Worry filled Athena as she watched Smaug take off in the direction of the invisible Hobbit, ducking underneath his tail as he swam his way down to the smallest of the thieves. He was much faster than Bilbo was and there was no hope of outrunning him if it ever came to that. Smaug came to a stop and she realised that Bilbo had stopped moving, her eyes falling to the pillar beside him and figuring that he had hidden behind the one similar to hers.

She began to slowly make her way down towards them, both out of curiosity and also concern for Bilbo. That and the exit was that way as well. She was careful where she put her feet, not wanting to cause another avalanche of gold to direct the attention on herself as she used piles of gold along the way to take shelter in case he decided to suddenly turn back to her.

"Come now, don't be shy. Step into the light," he spoke as he wound his long neck around the pillar, Athena once again being forced to duck behind his tail, "hmm, there is something about you, something you carry, something made of gold, but far more... precious."

At the final word Bilbo took the ring off his finger and became visible once more. She had no idea why he had done it and it appeared that even he was shocked at his own actions. Why that word had elicited such a response from him she was not certain.

As soon as she saw that he was now revealed she rushed over towards him, stumbling in her path as she threatened to go sliding down the mound. She did not care for the danger, all she cared about was keeping Bilbo protected, or at least giving him enough time to escape if she were to act as his shield if Smaug decided he had had enough of them.

"There you are, thieves in the shadows," Smaug observed the both of them, his eye staring right through them. The eye itself was bigger than her head.

"I did not come to steal from you, O Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy. I merely wanted to gaze upon your magnificence, to see if you really were as great as the old tales say. I did not believe them."

At Bilbo's words Smaug moved away from them before turning to stand in a larger area where he could sufficiently spread himself out and show the Hobbit and woman his sheer size.

"And do you now?!" He bellowed, the sound reverberating through the ground and shaking it beneath their feet.

"That's a dragon," Athena whispered with wide eyes, unable to rack her brain for anything else that she could have said in the moment. She was too consumed by both awe and fright that she was unable to form anything as eloquent as Bilbo, who was desperately trying to use flattery to get them out of this mess.

"Truly, the tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, O Smaug the Stupendous."

"Do you think flattery will keep you alive?"

"No, no. No."

"No indeed. You seem familiar with my name, but I don't remember smelling your kind before. Who are you, and where do you come from, may I ask?" His question was directed towards the Hobbit, he was accustomed to the smell of Men due to his time spent in Dale, and how he had continued to take people from their homes even after he claimed Erebor.

Athena then glanced to the floor and widened her eyes at what she saw, lying beside them was none other than the Arkenstone, it's royal glow of blue and purple hues was what had initially caught her eye. She subtly nudged Bilbo and nodded her head over in the direction of the gem, Bilbo doing a double take when spotting it. It was so close to them, but a dragon still stood in their path.

"I come from under the hill."

"Underhill?"

They both glanced back over at the gem, silently judging the distance between it and them and also whether they'd be able to actually escape with it.