The next morning, Nina awoke to a soft purring. She was surrounded in an almost uncomfortable warmth that was moving. She lifted her head and looked over her shoulder down her back where she could see three distinct sets of Terrible Terror horns sticking up and shifting. She sat up and they flopped into a pile just off the stool she was seated on.
A few alarmed croaks arose from the pile and she smiled. They were very attached to her, though it'd only been a few weeks since they first bonded. Herby sneezed and lifted his head groggily. He blinked his eyes out of sync and seemed to smile. He squeaked then coughed and gave a friendly, more awake growl. He rose on his toes and stretched, sighing out a cloud of morning breath.
"Good morning to you too, stinky breath," Nina said to him, her voice still muzzy from sleep. He nuzzled her and curled back up around her hands, ready to sleep again. She gave him a squeeze and stood, preparing to go hunting again. "Stay here, guys. I'm going to go hunting again. I want to keep providing for the village, and for us too. I'll be back with breakfast for you guys." She turned toward the door again. "Oh." She half-turned again back to them. "And if someone comes down here, hide. You guys can keep working on the ship if you want, just stay out of sight." She left the underground and went down to the stream and washed up for a moment. She gasped as some ice water trickled down into her shirt. She shivered; rising she turned and headed deeper into the forest. She strung her bow and gave it a few test draws. Her arms were sore from her hunting the day before.
Slipping into town, she retrieved her cart from the butchers where it had been left by Stoick the day before. It was empty of all quarry and light by comparison.