First Friends

Chapter 17

(This is a special Christmas chapter. Christmas is called Snoggletog in How to Train Your Dragon lore.)

The next few weeks were a whirlwind of activity. I'd become familiar with their traditions, even though I didn't understand them, and helped where I could. Hiccup insisted I rest and regain my strength, but I shook my head and rubbed against him before trotting off into the forest alongside one of the hunters. I knew I could at least flush out some game, possibly even bring some down, so I stuck close to him in case I got tired or had to come home. I chased a boar into his range, but the bumbling fool missed, forcing me to jump onto the creatures back and sink my teeth into its neck. I jerked my head from side to side, snapping the neck with a loud crack. I lay down on my kill, trying to catch my breath. I pushed myself to my feet and began to drag my quarry home. I stopped several times when my breath came in great heaving gasps, but I pushed on when they were no longer painful. It took me approximately half an hour to get back to the village. Hiccup was coming home for lunch when he spotted me.

"Tiger!" he shouted, running to me and throwing his arms around my neck again. I purred and nuzzled him, smearing a little blood from my muzzle onto his face. He looked at the boar I had brought down and his eyes widened. "I guess you can still hunt, huh?" I burbled an agreement. Then Stoick came up and knelt down to inspect me and my boar.

"Ha-ha! Tiger! You've still got it! You've earned the rest of the day off, furry friend. I'm glad Hiccup decided to keep you," he rumbled affectionately, scratching me under the chin. He picked up the boar in one hand and offered the other arm to me, scooping me up with very little effort. I dug my claws in slightly, and out of instinct, but then relaxed when he dropped the boar off at the butchers and took me home. "That boar will be the main course at the Snoggletog feast tomorrow. And we'll even give you a whole chicken to yourself, alright, Tiger?" He set me down and petted me for a bit before heading back out.

Before he left I gave a soft roar to get his attention. He paused and started when I ran up to him and rubbed against his legs. The happiness I felt amplified tenfold when he began scratching my back and side. I then trotted over to the nest of furs that was on the main floor in case I was too tired to climb the stairs, and flopped into it. Hiccup came in a few minutes later and knelt before me, using a bowl of water and a rag to clean my muzzle, chest, and paws from the boars blood. Then we both lay in content silence until bedtime, when we fell asleep.

Some time during the night Stoick must have spread a blanket over us because when I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and energized, Hiccup was using me as a pillow as well as a nightmare-companion, but he was draped in a blanket whereas he wasn't when we fell asleep. I stretched and he woke up.

"Morning, Tiger! Happy Snoggletog!" he chirped sleepily. I sneezed violently and Stoick woke up with a start. "Morning, Dad! Happy Snoggletog!"

"Morning, you two. Which one of you sneezed?" he asked. I shook my head, fighting a second sneeze. It wouldn't go away so I pointed my head between my front paws and waited for it to come.

PHhffftthbrbrbrbrbrbr! I sneezed, knocking myself off my feet. After they laughed, Stoick put me back on my feet and put a finger across my nose as my expression wrinkled again with another sneeze. It stopped mercifully, and Hiccup brushed me off then grabbed a comb, using it on my fur.

Soon it was glistening and softer than anything. We swapped paper-covered gifts from around the fireplace, and I got a new collar with a name tag, a perch (my absolute favorite), and a proper bed for my own personal use. Hiccup got a new vest, a new shirt, and a new pair of boots because he grew so much. Stoick got, from me, a piece of wood I had scratched into the rough shape of the village, as I knew how much it meant to him. Gobber had whittled tiny villagers and given them to him. From Hiccup he got several things, many of which I don't know if I could accurately describe, so I'll let you picture them yourself. But the one he reacted strongest to was a picture of me and him cuddled up together, sleeping. I was still a cub then, and he had picked me up in one of his tender moments and held me as I slept. He'd fallen asleep while holding me, so Hiccup had drawn us both.