First Friends

Chapter 33

Hiccup shook me awake the next day. I had been having a nightmare of being left behind in a storm, so him shaking me intensified the dream. I woke up and screamed in fear, hair standing on end.

Toothless barked a laugh. "Scaredy cat!" he teased. I cut him a glare. I was trembling still recovering from the terrifying images. Hiccup held out a hand, letting me smell him and calm down. I rubbed against him and lay down, heart still racing.

"Sh...Easy, Tiger. It was just a nightmare," he soothed. I purred, helping myself calm down as he brushed me. He put his arms around me as best he could...and then we both fell off the bed because he leaned too far over. He knew it was his fault. "Oops. Sorry."

I licked his cheek so he knew I was alright. I stretched and prepared for a day of hunting. I trotted into the forest and got ready to start hunting. I jumped into a brook to wake up and caught a fish for breakfast.

I was just finishing when I turned and realized I had a shadow. I sniffed as the wind changed direction. I stalked forward and pounced through a bush that was obscuring my vision.

"Hiccup?" I said. I'd been about to rip his throat out.

"Hey, Tiger. Good to see you. I told you I'd spend some time with you today," he said. I got off him, a little nervous now. I crouched slightly so he could get on my back. I tried to carry him, but his legs were getting too long and his feet dragged. He sighed and dismounted me. "I guess I'm getting too big for you, huh?" His words echoed in my mind. I looked at him in horror, my stomach lurching sickeningly at the thought of losing my first friend.

No. Please don't leave me! The words I screamed in my dream came back to me. My ears went down and so did my tail. Hiccup pulled me in for a hug, but I struggled free. I pelted into the woods before he could get to his feet.

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Stoick and Hiccup found me three hours later.

"TIger! Where are you?!" I heard him call. I curled even tighter into a ball. The cave I had chosen was well off the beaten path. The only way to get to it was by dragon or climbing a treacherous cliff.

They landed their dragons at the mouth of my cave. I sneezed when the wind from their wings blew some dust up my nose.

"Tiger!" Hiccup cried running up to me. I shied away from his hand. "What's the matter, buddy? It's me, Hiccup. Remember?"

"A dragon told him you were outgrowing him. He's not very happy about that," Stoick said.

Hiccup looked back at him in shock. "How do you know that, Dad?" he asked.

"He wrote it for me," he replied.

"Oh, Tiger," Hiccup said, trying once again to pet me. "I could never outgrow you. You're my cuddle buddy! My fuzzy companion. My fluffy protector." I peeked out at him. "C'mere, Tiger. I'm sorry for spending so much time with Toothless. Is that why you ran away from me?" I nodded slightly. I felt him put a hand on my back leg, the only part he could reach. I licked his hand, then set my chin back down on my front paws. Toothless curled up and created a circle with his body before coming over and nudging Hiccup over to where he was. I squeezed my eyes closed, knowing that if I'd been born human I would be crying so hard it would drown the world in my tears.

Ten minutes later, he snuck away from Toothless, who was fast asleep. He came over to the corner I was in. I heard him shivering, his teeth chattering. I crawled out of my hole and nuzzled around him, warming him with my body. He hugged me closely, and I heard him give a small sniff. I pulled back slightly to look at him properly. In the moonlight that was filtering through the cave opening I could see the telltale shine of tears on his cheeks. I licked them away and purred comfortingly. I dashed out and grabbed some rocks that had baked in the sun all day. I brought them back to him, arranging them so that the heat would keep him alive throughout the night. He lay down, putting his head on my side. I felt better knowing that no matter what Hiccup loved me. I set my chin on his side and we both fell asleep to the sound of the wind whistling through the trees not far below.