First Friends

Chapter 27

Whenever I was angry while my mother was still alive, she would always tell me to practice my pouncing until I couldn't remember why I was upset in the first place. I found a series of rocks and practiced until my paws were almost bleeding, but I still couldn't forget that Hiccup had been injured while under Toothless' protection. I stopped around nightfall and realized I didn't know where I was. I climbed up to a cave that I had seen before the darkness stole my vision. There was no moon tonight, so I was following my memory and instincts. A sound caught my ear and I turned my head to catch it, pausing my trek.

"Tiger!" a familiar voice called. It was Astrid! I roared and then she came out of the forest and joined me. She was alone, and had a torch with her. "Oh, it's good to see you too. Stoick's worried about you and he's looking for you. C'mon let's-" She cut herself off when she realized she couldn't find anything in the pitch black night. "Hm...We'll have to find somewhere to shelter for the night, and get our bearings in the morning." I tugged her skirt with my teeth and limped a short distance with her following me quickly. I lead her to the cave I'd seen and lay down near the mouth. I was far enough in that I was protected from the wind, but not so far that I'd be intruding on any occupants' personal space. Astrid sat down beside me, and leaned against my side. I nudged her until she was laying down, then purred to her until she fell asleep. I lay my head down and began to doze, soon finding I'd forgotten the reason for my anger, then joined Astrid in her slumber.

Sometime during the night her torch must have gone out, because I woke up to her shivering quite violently. I curled around her, and she tucked into me tighter, slowly beginning to warm up. Soon her shivering stopped altogether, and she settled into a deep sleep.

I started from my sleep, eyes staying closed, but ears pricked high in the air to catch the smallest sound. Something massive was moving around, a creature the likes of which I'd never seen before. I heard the beast stop near us, and tensed up slightly, prepared to attack at a moment's notice.

"Astrid?" I heard Stoick say. My head flew up and my eyes shot open. "Tiger. What a relief." I looked out of the cave mouth and saw dawn less than an hour away. I nudged Astrid half a dozen times before she woke up.

After a reunion between the chief and Astrid, I stood at the mouth of the cave and roared back to them, grabbing their attention. Side by side, we headed back to the village.