The Moon's Light ➶ Rise of the Brave Tangled Frozen Dragons [ON HOLD!!]

Chapter 40

Sooooooooo..... at least, I got another chapter out sooner than 6 months.... Am I right?

I'm not helping myself... Anyways, sorry about the delay. A lot of personal stuff came up and I had to take a little break to deal with it all, but I'm back and I'm ready to work!!! In fact, I'm already working on the next chapter as we speak and I'll have it out next weekend, so stay tune. (Believe me, it's going to be a real shocker!!!)

Without further ado, hope you enjoy this chapter.

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~Merida's POV~

With one hand, I open the gate to another reindeer's stall. I pull open the door and use my foot to hold it open. Then, while I held onto a ball of loose hay, I enter the reindeer's stall. The 6-by-10 foot stall was quite spacious for a typical reindeer, but that also meant that there was a lot of up keep to it. So, after sweeping the stall clean, I came in to put new hay onto the ground. I walk into the stall with the final batch of hay needed to cushion the floor and plopped it at the end of the stall, making sure to spread it evenly onto the floor.

I sigh and dust off the stray hay that may've been left on the sleeves of my green long-sleeve top. Then, I push open the door behind me and exit the stall.

I look over to the reindeer, who was standing beside the stall, and say, "There you go, Comet. A nice clean stall."

The animal grunts before walking around me, as I held the door open for him, and enters his respected stall.

"Maybe next time, you won't push the hay to Dasher's stall and you can actually get a good night's rest."

Once the reindeer is inside his stall, I shut the door and move onto the next stall that needed to be cleaned out. I groan at the thought of another messy stall that needed my attention.

However, I wasn't the only person who was solely responsible to tending the reindeers' stalls. In fact, it was Hiccup's idea that we should work together on the job. He thought it'd be a great distraction from all of the mayhem to feed the animals and tend to their stalls. I hate to admit it, but he was more than right. The hard work gave me something else to focus on rather than the war we're facing.

So, we split the work 50/50. I took on five stalls, which meant five reindeers, and Hiccup took on the other four. Along with his workload, Hiccup also had to care for Toothless, who was cramped at the front of the large barn watching us do all the work, and with the Nightfury, it's like taking care of an entire flock of reindeer so Hiccup was making up for one less stall than I.

But, for the time that we spent working, not once did either one of us say one word to each other. The only words that were spoken were only towards the animals. All the other times, it's been quiet. I guess both of us are avoiding the inevitable conversation at hand. We don't want to talk about this battle, which is the reason why we've been working on the stalls. (Plus, we've been letting out some stress.)

With work like this, it reminds me of all the times I'd work in my backyard tending to Angus. Every time I was frustrated, upset, stressed, or all three I'd always calm myself by taking care of Angus. I mean, I can handle the stress (I lived with my mother all my life), but sometimes I just need to find a getaway from all of my troubles. Thus, I'd have to find a distraction. The work with Angus would make me too tired to have to worry about my troubles, and I'd always have Angus to listen to me while I blabbed on about my drama (whether it had to do with my mom, school, or friends). It's just something about animals that really calms down a girl. At least, that's better than punching a tree.