First Friends

Chapter 39

After helping Biscuit drop off my kills and get out of the cart, we all went home. She lay down in a basket we had commissioned for all the Speedstingers, and I joined Hiccup and Toothless upstairs. I curled up next to Toothless, who happily made room for me. Hiccup decided to join us, so he came over and lay his blanket down so he wouldn't be sleeping on the bare rock. He lay his head on my side and lay a hand on Toothless' paw, draping his arm over my front paws. I sighed as he fell asleep, feeling content. I lay my head down and fell asleep, joining them in dream world.

((Time skip! Hiccup: 21. Tiger: 16.))

A year later, I knew my days were numbered, but I didn't know how many I had. I decided to write down everything I knew in a letter. I rummaged around in a pile of scrolls until I found an empty one, then snuck it back to my sleeping nook, which Hiccup had moved to the ground floor, trying to make life easier for me. He'd seen me fall down the stairs one too many times.

"What're you working on, Tiger?" Toothless asked me one day. I looked up at him in surprise. He was the only one awake in the house, so I didn't worry as much.

"Just working on a letter for Hiccup to open when I die," I said. He came over and I read it to him.

"This is just incredible, Tiger, but I don't think you're going to die any time soon. You've still got some moons left in you," he said to me. He nudged me gently and I set my writing utensil down before hiding the letter in the fur nest. I rubbed against him and headed out to use the bushes again.

"Well, I know from what my mother told me that most jaguars live only fifteen summers at most, but I've lasted sixteen. I promised the Goddess that I would look after Hiccup and protect him till my dying breath," I said to him when I returned. He closed the door behind me. "That means that my life could end at any moment. I just want to be ready, so that Hiccup will have some reminder of me aside from some memories, which could fade in a moment."

"Wow," he said. I lay down and moved over when he joined me in the nest. I lay my head on his paw and he put his nose in my ear. I flicked it when he breathed out. His breath tickled my ear. I yawned, then groomed him and we both fell asleep.