Bond Between

Chapter 7

A few days later, they had a pyre in memory of those lost. Nina stood numb, watching the ship burn. She'd been asked if there was anything that her parents used in their day-to-day life, and she had silently pointed to the left of the door, where a tall longbow stood. There was also a massive quiver of arrows. After the last of the boat sank beneath the sea, she headed for the forest, taking very little with her. Hiccup accompanied her.

"If it's all the same to you, Hiccup," she said as they sat in the clearing, "I'd rather be alone for a bit. I appreciate the company, but I just need to be alone for now."

"Are you sure?" he asked, concerned. He hugged her tightly. "I'm not leaving until I know you're going to be okay."

She sighed and stayed in his embrace for a while. Then she returned his hug and squeezed tightly. "I'll be okay," she said. "I won't do anything stupid, I promise. I'm just gonna stay out in the forest for a bit, a week at most. I just need to recover without being surrounded by things that make it almost impossible."

Hiccup tilted his head slightly, confused for a moment. Then it clued in. Oh! Things that constantly remind her of her parents. She needs time to find her footing again before facing the house and everything it represents, he thought to himself. He pressed his cheek against her hair, giving her another squeeze. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask, okay?"

"Okay," she said. They released each other and felt the distance instantly. Then Hiccup left. When he was gone, Nina took out a small hatchet she had with her and began cutting her way through the thick foliage, creating a thin path. Then she found an animal trail and decided to set up a snare. She did so, using the natural funnel created by the brier patches on either side. She went about thirty feet beyond and found a small clearing with two large pine trees. She cut down some branches and made a brush shelter. Then she sparked up a fire and fed it until it had sturdy coals. She set up a couple spit posts for when her snare worked.

After that, she used a trowel she had with her and dug around until she found some worms. She hooked these on her fishing rod and went down to a stream she could hear gurgling merrily not far away. Within an hour she had caught a fish. She cleaned it and scaled it, cutting the head and tail off when she reached her camp again. The sun was going down by the time she was ready to put the fish on. As she ate, she spotted several pairs of eyes, glowing in the light of the fire as they watched her. She tossed the head and tail toward the bushes. A Terrible Terror slinked out, sniffing curiously, but was still tense. It began nibbling on the tail and was soon joined by several others. Nina pulled out a journal and made a quick sketch of what she saw. She was reaching out to pick some more fish off the bones when something dropped down with a terrifying bleat. All the Terrors fled into the bush again.

"ACK!" she cried, flapping her hands wildly. Nothing stopped the thing, and she reached out and grabbed the handle of something, swinging above her head. A sickening squelch reached her ears followed by something about the size of a large rock hitting the tree behind her. She dropped her weapon and whipped around, shaking uncontrollably. The bloodied corpse of a Terrible Terror lay before her, a nasty mark made by the back of her ax indented in the skull. She backed up and wound up in her bush shelter. She pulled her knees into her chest and let her head drop into them, arms hung loosely at her sides. How long she sat like that, she had no idea, but suddenly something sniffed her limp hands. She looked up and gasped. The first Terrible Terror that had nibbled on the tail of the fish she'd thrown shrank in on itself, making it as small as possible.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. There was some blood on the little dragon's nose. "You-I killed a member of your flock. Someone you cared about." Tears choked her and then fell from her eyes like rivers as she thought of her parents.

The Terrible Terror climbed up her knees, freezing when she lifted her face and came nose to nose with it. A small tongue came out and caught her cheek. "Please make it quick," she whispered. "If you're going to kill me, make it fast. My parents won't miss me. They're gone too." The Terror licked her again, clearing one of her cheeks of the tears racing down her face. "Y-You're not going to hurt me?"

It seemed to shake its head, as if understanding her question.

"Why?" It looked back over at the dead Terror and growled deep in its throat. "It was mean to you?" The growling stopped and she saw one eye turn to look at her. The face soon followed and it bobbed its head. It wrapped its long tail around her knees and sat patiently watching her. She slowly reached out and pet the scaly creature. "You guys aren't as scary as I thought. Everything I was taught about you...it's all wrong!" She picked it up gently and crossed her legs. The other Terrors came over when the Terror in her lap cooed to them. She lay down after they sniffed her, and they piled on her, covering her shoulder to toe in a living blanket. Nestled in her arms was the brave little dragon that had first come over to her.