Silvertip Mountain after dark

Until now, Leader and Toothless had communicated on the most basic levels, exchanging glances and gestures. The look she gave it now said quite clearly, Show me. Licking its jowls, Toothless bobbed its head in a perhaps unprecedented display of comprehension. It then leaped from its perch and began to prowl up the mountain, quite evidently in its element there in the dark, craggy terrain.

It did feel strange, momentarily, to look back and see that Leader had begun to follow, yet Toothless was far too preoccupied to worry about it just now. It tuned its senses, transforming inwardly into a predatory machine. It knew the first step, of course: finding a scent trail. It knew exactly what type of prey it wanted to hunt, as there was only one kind it ever hunted...

For nearly half an hour, Toothless led Leader on a seemingly wild goose chase over the face of the mount. It took so much time because it didn't know the game trails here. Undeterred, it persisted until it found one, at which point it stifled an enthusiastic squeak. It very much wanted to make an instant dash for it, but instead it turned its lamp-like eyes upon Leader, pausing to seek her approval as the scent of mountain goat wafted around them.