First Friends

Chapter 12

I thumped my tail against Hiccup, waking him from his slumber. He smiled and swung out of bed. I growled playfully and we tussled for a bit before yawning.

"Today's the day, Tiger," he said as we bounded down the stairs. "Today Dad comes home from another search!" He hurried around cleaning the small home, then sat down and cooked both of us a small perch each. We wolfed them down hungrily and dashed outside. I crouched slightly and he got on my back, holding onto my harness, and we ran to the docks to see if there was any sign of the ships yet. Stoick had lead his twelfth search for the Dragon's Lair, which the humans called "the Nest," a week prior and was expected to return today.

Seeing nothing noteworthy, we trudged side-by-side back up to the village, where we split off to go to our separate duties. Hiccup had recently become Gobber's apprentice, and I headed into the trees, trying to savor the taste of the forest. I left my cart by the butcher's shop so I could return regularly, depending on my success, and check for ships. I brought down a small rabbit and my stomach rumbled loudly, so I settled down and tucked into the fresh meat. I buried the bones and fur under a rotten tree to disguise the smell, and resumed hunting. I killed a second, larger bunny and brought it back to the village just as a hron sounded to let everyone know that ships were coming. I dropped my quarry off at the butcher and ran to find Hiccup, who was coming out of Gobber's shop. I knelt and he got on my back again as we tore off for the docks. Stoick's shape was easy to identify, so if he wasn't there he wasn't coming back. Fortunately he was hard to miss in the throng of Viking warriors, who looked pretty badly beaten. I trotted along side him with Hiccup still on my back, but we both kept quiet and to ourselves as Stoick was clearly in a bad mood. From the aura of angry defeat, I guessed he didn't find the nest and lost at least one ship to the dragons' fiery maws. He barked a few orders and disappeared into the house, slamming the door behind him. I had to jump back to avoid having my paws and nose jammed. I glanced over my shoulder at Hiccup and we both slogged back to our duties. I dropped him off at Gobber's shop, where he shared the news, and decided to tour the town a bit more, see if there were any rats around the food bin. None were forthcoming, so I headed down to the docks to see if I could lure a fish to the surface and catch it. I had a particular method that involved patting the top of the water and waiting with my whiskers pressed to the icy waters.

Rats! Nothing, I growled in my mind. My eye caught a flicker of movement and I turned my head to see a young girl with long black hair staring out at the sea with forlorn, yet hopeful eyes. On her cheeks was a sheen of moisture I knew was tears, the human's way of expressing sadness. I nudged her hand and she absentmindedly stroked my head, never taking her eyes from the ocean. Stoick's heavy footsteps thundered down the wharf, as he came to check on both of us.

"Nina, I'm sorry. But your parents aren't coming home," he rumbled. Fresh tears fell heavier than any I'd seen, and she collapsed to her knees, sobs racking her thin frame to the point where I feared that something had broken inside her. Then it occurred to me what Stoick had said. Her parents were dead! That's why she was heartbroken! I recognized her as a fellow orphan, and licked her forehead. She pushed me away and ran up the docks, everyone getting out of her way quickly.

I heard a door slam and flicked my ears when a muffled, heart-wrenching moan reached my keen ears. I looked up at Stoick and purred softly. He sighed and patted my head with a limp wrist before trotting up the ramp and returning to his chiefing duties.