Caden's POV
When we got back into the cottage, Fluttershy and I were bombarded by animals. Birds alighted on our shoulders and squirrels and chipmunks crawled up my legs. The only animal that I didn't see was Bolt. "Bolt, come here boy!" I called out. I heard something rustling in the kitchen. It was a few minutes before anything appeared, but then out came Bolt just as happy as ever. His tail was wagging a mile a minute. It was as if everything he'd been through today had never happened. I noticed his bandages and the dressing on his minor scratches. I knew Fluttershy had done it and for that I was grateful. I turned to look at the mare and little tears streamed down my face. I wasn't sad but quite the opposite.
"Thank you. It means a lot to me that you would help Bolt like that when I couldn't. He's more than just a pet to me, he's my best friend. Is there some way I can repay you?"
"Yes, actually there is." she replied with a grin. I looked at her confused and she said, "You can sit down and let me take care of your injuries. I don't just help animals." I sat down on the couch while she went upstairs and brought everything she needed, sat down, and went to work. She started by cleaning up the worst looking scratches. She then moved on to the bite on my ankle. The water stung for a while and the pressure she was applying was a little too much, but I didn't want to say anything that would hurt her feelings. Besides, she's the one that knows how to keep me from bleeding to death.
When she was finished, she stood up and told me to lay down for a bit. I was thankful for the chance to lay down and shut my eyes. I tried to squeeze them as tight as they could go. I hadn't planned on dreaming any, but that didn't stop it from happening.
In my dreams, Fluttershy was in the clutches of a timber wolf ten times the size of the one I fought today. I charged in the help, but I ran right through it. I could hear Fluttershy's shrieks of despair. It was horrible. I was watching the timid girl who saved my life twice being attacked and I couldn't help her. I watched as she went limp in his paws. When I saw her like that, I didn't know what to think. I didn't know if she was dead or fainted. I let out an earsplitting yell, trying to wake her up. And that's when I woke up.
Fluttershy's POV
After I got Caden home, I set him down on the couch and dressed all his wounds. I told him to lay down and rest while I went to the kitchen to make dinner. I led Bolt back into the kitchen with me so he wouldn't disturb Caden while he slept. He followed me over to his bed and laid down. Before I went to the stove to begin, I filled his food and water bowls.
With Bolt in his bed with fresh water and a full bowl of food, I went to work making dinner. I was going to make some soup to try and shake of the chill from outside. I hoped that it would also help make Caden as comfortable as possible. The water was boiling and I was cutting up the vegetables and putting them in the pot when I heard a scream come from the living room.
I dropped the carrot I was peeling and ran to the doorway, knocking into everything as I went. My dress got snagged on the cabinet door which slowed me down a bit. I fumbled with it for a while before freeing myself and continuing to rush to the door. I had finally made it to the door way. I found Caden sitting up screaming, so I rushed over to him in a panic.
"CADEN!!!! Are you ok? I heard you screaming all the way in the kitchen." He looked at me. Without warning he pulled me in for an aggressive hug. "What's wrong!?" I asked with a mixture of alarm and confusion.
"I.....I had a dream that you either were killed by a timber wolf or fainted. Either way, the thought of that happening to you just scared me." he said shaken up.
"Hey, that won't happen. Not as long as you're here. You are too good a friend to let that happen." That really wasn't the whole truth. I thought that if I told Caden the real truth, that it would ruin our friendship.
We sat for at least 5 minutes, and I could tell that Caden was holding in his tears, trying to make sure that I wouldn't see.
"Well......I think I'll try to get some sleep." he said finally, and I took that as a hint. It had been a long day and he needed his rest. I slowly backed out of the living room and turned towards the kitchen.
Then I heard a loud, high pitched sound. It was the smoke alarm, and I remembered the soup I had been making. The sound caused Caden's eye to pop open and him to sit up straight.
"It's ok. It's just dinner burning." He closed his eyes and laid back down while I rushed into the kitchen and turned the stove off. Smoke filled the entire kitchen. Bolt's ears were perked and his head cocked.
"It's ok, Bolt." I said through coughs. I opened a window and used my wings to air out the kitchen as best I could. Apparently, the soup started to boil over into the scorching hot eye and it started to burn. I turned the dial to the eye I was using off and poured the soup down the drain. What little flame there was, I put out with a few cups of water.
With dinner destroyed and smoke in the kitchen, it was all I could do to make myself look presentable again. I had thorns all over me with cobwebs in my hair and twigs sticking out of weird places. I went up to the shower, ran the hot water, climbed in, and washed my hair. When I got out, the mirror was clouded with fog. I didn't know how long I'd been in, but I really didn't care. I put my night gown on and combed my hair.
When I went back downstairs towards the kitchen, I didn't see Caden laying on the couch. Terror struck me. I spent 10 minutes looking all over the house looking for him. With every room turning out negative, I stepped out the front door. Surely he couldn't have gotten far. Right?