The two dragons were growling and tackling each other left and right. Eragon had had the same reaction Kenna had when he touched the smaller light blue dragon with the silver and white spikes. There was a silver mark on his left palm. They sat on the bed, staring in shock at the tiny dragons that were fighting and rolling around on the floor.

"I really hope they don't know how to breathe fire yet." Kenna said gravely.

Eragon pinched the bridge of his nose. "How are we going to hide two cat-sized dragons? And these marks?"

She shrugged and asked, "Gloves?"

"All the time?" He asks seriously.

She shrugs again. "At least we'd have an excuse. It is wintertime." She lifts her legs to sit cross-legged on the bed and Eragon flopped back on the mattress with a heavy sigh.

The light blue dragon, whom they guessed was female because of how much thinner she was and the lighter coloring, jumped up onto Eragon's lap and he flinched at the tiny claws digging into his legs. She then flapped her wings once or twinge, then settled comfortably on his stomach.

He reached up to scratch under her chin and she made that humming noise.

Kenna's dragon leapt up with a flap of his little wings, leapt from her lap and settled on her shoulder.

"What are we gonna name them?" Eragon asked suddenly. He paused and looked at the dragon. "She keeps saying my name in my head."

"Yeah. He does the same. They are babies it's probably all they know for now." She said and her dragon moved to lay across her shoulders, tail curling around her neck.

"That's adorable." Eragon said seriously. His dragon had fallen asleep on top of his stomach.

They were silent for a moment, then Kenna asked, "Eragon? What are we going to do with them when they get bigger? How are we going to hide two dragons who will no doubt be bigger come spring time?"

The dragon on Eragon's stomach was sleeping now and he was quiet for a long time. When he spoke, he said, "Let's just take it as we go. We'll decide something final when spring does come. Four months. Then we will make a decision."

She nodded. "Alright. Four months."

******

The first month went by quickly. Especially because the two dragons were now standing with their shoulders at Kenna's hips, a little larger than the wolfhounds a few villagers had.

Kenna and Eragon went out every day to see them and bring them food. They had to convince them both to stay hidden in the shelter they built into the ground for them. It was about five feet deep and sloped. The roof was two feet off the ground and was sheltered against the wind. Old cloth bags, leaves, and grass cushioned the floor and they would often find them curled up with each other sleeping when they returned.

One day, Kenna was writing in a book when Eragon came into the room quickly and said, "My dragon. Her name is Saphira."

She looked up and smiled. "You chose a name for her? It's beautiful! I love it. Reminds me of sapphires. Like her scales. That's really creative."

"Actually, I got the name idea from Brom."

"That old storyteller?"

"Yeah. I went to talk to him and he gave me a whole list of names. I don't know if you'd like anything for him on this list but figured I'd bring it to you anyways." He handed her a piece of paper with the names written out and she looked over them.

"Well, lets go see if he likes any of them." She said and stood. They made their way out into the woods where they had hidden their dragons. There was fresh snow blanketing the ground and she shivered in the cold wind.

They stopped at the makeshift hut and moved aside the canvas flap at the entrance to see them cuddled up together. It was surprisingly warm in the hut.

Her dragon lifted his head and his voice said in her mind, Kenna.

"Yes. I'm here. I found a few names I think you might like." He seemed to perk up a bit and Saphira seemed just as pleased.

She read the names off of the list to him and he seemed to dislike every single one of them. He expressed his displeasure by snorting a puff of hot air into her face.

"So you really don't like any of these?" She asks finally and sits on the edge of the hole. "They're all so cool, though."

He reaches out his nose to nudge her leg. Kenna.

"You can't have my name. And that's a girl's name, anyways." She said with a huff and looked at him closely. His scales were coming in a more midnight color- almost indigo instead of the dark blue. The gold spikes on his face, neck, and down his back and tail looked like fireflies. She was immediately reminded of hot summer nights hunting with Eragon. Fireflies would dance above their heads like little yellow and gold stars against the nighttime sky...

"What about...Orion?"

The dragon lifted his head and flared his wings, a feeling of pleasure seemed to go down the bond that connected their minds. She smiled. "Orion it is, then."

******

It was nearing spring, and Kenna was readying herself to leave. Orion was nearly the size of a full grown carriage horse now, and so was Saphira. She knew Eragon wouldn't be able to keep her hidden for much longer.

She was packing a few of her belongings when Eragon returned and entered the room and closed the door, brown eyes wide in fear.

"Eragon? What happened?" Kenna asked, standing up quickly, surprised when he grabbed her hands and said,

"We have to go. Soon."

"I'm already planning on that, but why the rush?"

"There were strangers in cloaks asking about blue Stones. And...they're not human. They're hunched. And they were talking to Sloan and he gave them our names because we hunt regularly in the Spine."

Kenna felt a cold dread seep into her bones and she slowly sat down. "Well, Roran's already gone. He left to work for that man's mill, right? But Garrow. He won't leave. He hasn't once for as long as he's lived here."

"Then we will leave." Eragon said. "And we won't tell him, so if the strangers do come knocking on our door, they won't learn anything."

"Or they'll just kill Garrow." Kenna says and Eragon's face went pale and he slowly sat down on the side of the bed next to her, dropping his head in his hands.

Kenna wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. "Hey. Everything is gonna be ok. Let's go see Brom. See what he thinks."

"Brom? Why him?"

"Well, you've been talking to him an awful lot about dragons and...before I ran from home, my mother told me to seek him out. That he could help me. I'm willing to risk running into my father if it means we can get him to help us escape."

Eragon looked at her and she slowly released him, rubbing the silvery mark on her wrist. "Alright. Let's go see Brom."

When they arrived at the home of the old storyteller, as soon as the door was open, they rushed inside. The old man cursed a few times and turned to them,

"Now now, what is it- oh. Kenna. Eragon. Your mother told me you would come to me, but I didn't think it would take nearly six months."

Six months? That's how long ago that night at the well was? It felt like a lifetime. Kenna thought with a bit of surprise. She nodded and said, "I was a bit busy. And didn't want to attract attention to myself."

Brom merely grunted, "Yes. It has worked. I'm surprised he hasn't come here or to Eragon's home yet." He glanced at them suspiciously. "Why are you here?"

Kenna glances at Eragon, then pulled off her gloves and showed Brom the symbols. Brom's eyes widened in shock. "My mother told me once you'd be able to help me." Kenna said and lifted her chin. "There are strangers here asking about Stones. They're obviously not Stones and you know that by the look on your face. We need to escape Carvahall. Will you help us?"

Brom stared at her over his nose, a look of amusement crosses his face. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible." Eragon says with a definitive nod.