The Ghost and His Shadow

It was late the forge was cold when Ghost traveled back to the village, but the apprentice got to work in the low light. He cut an oblong shape that was flat on one end twice out of leather pieces and straps as well. He pierced them both with holes at regular intervals and stitched them together. He also stitched strips into the top piece for extra padding and nicked some spare shield straps to stitch to the flat front edge to help him hang on. It took him a few nights, and another session excelling in the arena, but he connected the straps and added buckles so they could be tightened or loosened comfortably.

He brandished the completed saddle smugly, and Shadow peered at it curiously before he lowered himself to run playfully away. The black blur was making low chuckling gurgles as he ran, and Ghost chased after him holding the saddle above his head, so the straps didn't drag and get caught under his feet. It had the unfortunate side effect of looking extremely comical.

"Hey!" Ghost complained, pursuing the cackling Night Fury around the cove, avoiding water he scooped at him with his tail fins.

Eventually he caught the scaly menace, but only because Shadow was laughing so hard, he didn't watch where he was going and slammed his nose into a tree. The pine tree groaned and shook under the assault, swinging wildly and dumping an obscene number of needles on Shadow's head. The dragon turned cross eyed to see the hurt and ran a thick tongue over the scales there to clean away any sap. Then he shook like a dog to remove the stray needles peppering his scales.

Ghost explained what the saddle was and how it would keep him from falling when Shadow was turning fast or wanted to do tricks. He showed him the loops for his arms and the straps to hold his legs in place that could be unbuckled quickly. The straps were designed so that Ghost could sit with his legs hanging just before Shadow's wing joints, or he could lay his torso flat upon the Night Fury's back with his legs streaming behind him.

Shadow seemed as eager as Ghost was to try the saddle on. The large thin piece went between his wings, and one strap looped around his thick neck, while the other circled both of his front legs and connected lower on his chest. Ghost had tried his best to make it light and comfortable, and it was short enough that the saddle itself ended before his dorsal ridges began tracing his spine down to his tail fins.

"How does it feel, bud?" he asked.

Shadow rumbled and bounced around, turning in circles so he could admire his new accessory. His pupils were wide, and he was smiling widely, displaying toothless gums. He gave a pleased rumble and rubbed against Ghost's side like a large cat.

Ghost asked, "Care to try it out?"

The matching conspiratorial grins and mischievous eyes would have sent shivers down many spines, Gobber's included.