dragonmasterhiccup

[dragonmasterhiccup]

I'm sorry, dad.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

As he sank below the depths, the twins swam up to him. "Finally!" Ruffnut took his arm. "Oh. You probably shouldn't be wearing human clothes when we get back," she said, eyeing his tunic, "C'mon, let's go!"

Hiccup glanced back towards the shore, swallowing hard. "Right. Yeah." Removing the human fabric, he folded it, tucking it into his satchel, before trailing behind the twins.

🐟

Something was wrong.

The further he got from Berk, the more his chest ached. Was this normal? Was it solely from how much he missed Astrid and Toothless already?

Bringing a hand to his chest, he hoped it would lessen the ache, but did nothing. He faltered in the water, Ruffnut noticing and slowing down to join him. "Hey, you alright there? You look pretty awful."

"Yeah, Ruff, I feel pretty awful."

Her face fell, before punching him in the arm.

"Ow! Ruffnut, What in the depths are you doing?"

"Distracting you, barnacle brain!"

"Distracting me?!"

"Yeah! And it worked. You can't be all lovesick over a human, Hiccup. It's unheard of. They're supposed to be lovesick over us."

To his shock, it actually did work. The ache was still there, but lessened. "How'd you know it would work?'

"Dunno. Just thought it'd be fun."

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Oh, of course."

"Hiccup, I'm trying to help you. We both know your dad is going to flip when he finds out where you've been. If you actually want a shot to change his mind, you're going to need to be thinking straight."

She paused, searching his face. The merman's gaze was low, hand clutching the strap of his satchel, eyes rimmed with red.

"Wow. You really do love her, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes I do. More than I thought possible."

Looking away, she made a decision. "Okay. Then let's hope you're as persuasive as you think." She nudged him with her elbow. "It'll be nice to see you happy, you know."

Surprise was etched across his face before a small smile took its place. "Thanks, Ruff."

🐟

Stoick received word from the scouts that his son was nearing Svaelund, brought back by the twins. "Return all search teams! The prince has come home!" Up above, the storm receded, just as fast as it came.

"Sir?" The informant said, "There's something you should know."

----

Hiccup's head was low as they swam back to the caves, unsure of how to break it to his dad. He had some idea, though, he just had to be careful.

A yelp escaped him as strong arms wrapped around the merman, cutting off his breathing. When he was finally released, he pressed a hand to his sore ribs, exhaling in relief.

Stoick was floating in front of him, a cross between happy to see his son back, and angry that he was away for so long. His eyes were on Hiccup's prosthetic, knowing exactly where he's been.

"Hey, Dad..."

The king looked at the twins, "I need to speak with my son alone. You two can go."

"Awww! We can't watch?"

"Go!"

"Okay, okay!" Ruffnut gave Hiccup a look, silently wishing him luck, before dragging her brother away with her.

"In the cave. Now."

🐟

"Dad! It's really not as bad as it sounds!" Hiccup's voice rose as he was desperately trying to get his father to listen. That only made Stoick's rise even more.

"The humans did this to you, Hiccup! What more is there?!"

"They made me a prosthetic! They brought me to their healer immediately! It was an accident! I was never in any danger!"

"You were with humans!"

"I was with Gobber!"

That made Stoick freeze, his mouth ajar in shock. Where he was yelling before, his voice dropped low, "You met Gobber?"

"Yes! Who do you think built the prosthetic?"

"That doesn't change what they did. They took your fin, and took his too."

"No, they actually didn't."

"What?"

Taking a breath, Hiccup told Stoick everything. Starting with Gobber's message, then circling back to meeting Astrid. His father swam back and forth, fists clenched as Hiccup told him the events of the past month. The only parts he excluded was Toothless and the other dragons.

When he finished, he waited for his father to speak.

But Stoick's words were nothing like what he expected. "You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not to leave this cave, under any circumstances, understand?!"

Hiccup felt as if the world shattered around him. "You can't be serious!"

"After everything they did, you have the gall to ask me to make you into one of them?" The king's eyes flamed, full of hurt and betrayal.

"...You're the only one who can." Stoick suddenly averted his gaze, making Hiccup suspicious. "Wait...you're not, are you? I, I'm your son, I have that ability, don't I?"

Stoick just turned away.

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You know why, son. And you'll never find out how. You're staying here. I won't lose you too."

After a long training session, all Astrid wanted to do was cool off on the beach. Maybe a tiny swim, even though the ocean was so cold at this time of year. She pushed through the brush and staggered down to the shore.

Only to find a boy lounging in the shallows.

“Oh!” She dropped her axe in the sand. From his bare torso, she assumed he was naked. “Sorry! I didn’t know someone else would be…here…” as the apologies flowed, she realized from the waist down, he had green scales and a pair of fins.

No wonder she hadn’t recognized him.

“No way…” she inched closer. “A real mermaid! In the flesh! Are the stories true?” She stamped down her overwhelming curiosity for a moment to give him a stern point. “Don’t try anything fishy, mermaid. I’m very capable of protecting myself, got it?”

((I saw the prompt and went feral, hope you don’t mind))

[X]

Hiccup started, the water around him splashing as he sat up straight in surprise, before he moved a little further back, his cheeks flushed.

"No, sorry, I, I shouldn't--" Ducking his head, the merman awkwardly held up a hand, "Usually no one comes here..."

But his movements only caused his tail to briefly break the surface, emerald scales glittering in the sun for a moment before dipping below the water again.

Firmly, he responded, "Merman. I am a merman. And no, don't worry, I, I wasn't going to try anything...I know you'd probably kill me if I did..."

Clearing his throat, he ran a hand through his hair, which had partially dried in his time sitting in the shallow water. "What, what stories are you referring to?"

He knew, or at least had a gut feeling about what she was asking, but he wanted to hear it from her. She appeared wary, but not fearful. Maybe these humans didn't have the same fears of his kind like the others?

[dragonmasterhiccup]

do y'all ever think about what happened after the third movie.

i dont, often, because i dont like the third movie. ive only watched it once, so i could be wrong about some things, but i was just thinking today about how things would've gone on in the days and weeks and years after.

mostly, about hiccup, because all i ever think about these days are hiccup and toothless. i was thinking about how, for a large part of his life, everything about hiccup has revolved around toothless and dragons. how it was, really, the first thing he'd ever done that got more than a glance from someone else. more than a "get back inside before you mess everything up more" from his father, from anyone.

we see two of hiccup's inventions in the first movie: first, the mangler, which was built, designed, and operated with the intent to help his village, to hunt dragons, to be like everyone else. it is dismissed outright, he is dismissed outright, and later, it is crushed under the foot of a monstrous nightmare that intends to kill him. we don't ever see it again, it is never thought of or acknowledged again, and i can just picture the wood rotting apart, the metal sinking into the earth until no trace remains.

then we see toothless's tailfin. everything it represents is contrary to what the mangler was; it does not help the village, it does not hunt dragons, it makes hiccup even more of an outlier than he already was. it is the only of hiccup's inventions thus far to have been taken seriously, the only thing anyone else has ever put value in. we see gobber, at the end of the first movie, with a tailfin he constructed for hiccup, for toothless, from hiccup's destroyed design and what must have been his notes, because it is the only invention that they have ever cared about, the only one they have bothered to take a closer look at. it comes, in turn, with the arrival and acceptance of dragons.

following that, we see so many, countless, of hiccup's creations. i wont even delve into the shows, because i could be here for hours.

in the second movie, we see his glide suit, his sword, his leg. even little things, like where he stores his map, his little compass, and the tailfin, which carries over from the first movie, with improvements—every single one of these once again revolves around toothless and dragons. every one is important when it comes to saving berk and the dragons from drago's clutches.

his glide suit, we later see, is furthered in the third movie, and by then, each of the "main gang" has their own flight suit. it's vital in defeating drago and outsmarting/outmaneuvering him. it is something hiccup so clearly adores, something he needs toothless to use and something that furthers the connection between them. he uses it to fly alongside him, he uses it to soar the skies, he uses it like a pair of prosthetic wings.

his leg, too, is so entangled in what has become him-and-toothless, that it is specifically designed to be different to the walking attachment when he's flying with toothless. there was no need to make it different, and yet, flying and dragons and toothless are so important to him that they have their own spot, their own design, their own piece of themselves in something hiccup cannot live without. it's like a key in the lock that is toothless's tailfin; they cannot fly without this specific, unique design of hiccup's prosthetic leg. this specific, unique design of hiccup's prosthetic leg that serves no purpose other than flying with toothless.

this brings me to my original thought: his sword. Inferno.

It is a blade, yes, but like everything else hiccup has made since the first movie: it is so entangled in everything that makes dragons dragons that it is almost inseparable. Zippleback gas and Nightmare gel are what make it Inferno and not a mere skeleton of a sword. except it's not infinite, and it's not forever, and with no dragons around after the third movie, he will run out of gel, and he will run out of gas, and inferno will become a skeleton of itself. something that no longer works like it should, like hiccup designed and built it to.

what do you think happens, when that day comes?

hiccup is so entangled in everything that makes dragons dragons that they are almost inseparable. what do you think became of him, in those days and weeks and months and years after? do you think he broke down every time he had to give up one of his creations? do you think he became numb, despondent, as he watched so much of his hard work become unusable? useless, once more, like he had been? do you think he fell back into the boy he once was, before dragons? do you think he felt worthless? Hiccup, the dragon master, without dragons? do you think he struggled?

I do. I think it was horrific, and excruciating, and enough to break a lesser man.

i think he used that blade until the day he ran out of gas and gel. i think he couldn't bear to use it after, strong as it still may be, because it didn't work right. it didn't work like he intended it to. i think he hides it away, because he can't bear to look at it, but he keeps it close, under his bed, maybe, or in a chest that's always closed, because he can't bear to be apart from it, either.

I think he used his scale armour until it broke apart, reached for shedded scales to grind to paste and fix it and instead scraped fingernails against the bottom of an empty bucket.

i think he ran his fingers over his glide suit, over every one of toothless's prosthetic tailfins over and over and over again until he realized they were wearing beneath his touch and the oil from his hands, and then i think he hid them away, so he'd never be tempted to touch them again. so he could never lose them, so he could never ruin them. so they'd last forever, even though they'd never be used again. i think he can picture them, perfectly, in his mind, every single detail and every single second he spent making them, but he's terrified that if he touches them, if he ruins them, he'll forget, and he'll have nothing left.

i think he did the same with his notebooks and designs, filled to the brim with sketches of not only his inventions, but of dragons, of toothless, of his tailfin, of every gear and mechanism he used, because he's terrified of losing them. he's terrified of forgetting how he made it, of just how long each metal boning had been, of how he fastened the leather, the angle of the curve it needed to be to fit perfectly against toothless's tail without chafing or being too loose. i think that it stays in him, in his hands and in his bones and in his mind, instinctively, that even five or ten or one-hundred years later he could still make that tailfin with his eyes closed and his hands behind his back and i think that it would be perfect, but i also think that he is more terrified than anything that he will forget how to. i think his breath stutters when he works with pulleys, and i think he has trouble wrapping leather around metal for the rest of his life.

i think that one day, with the wear, and the tear, and the strain of use, that his leg breaks. i think it shatters apart as he gets out of bed one morning, because his hands shake when he tries to check on it, when he tries to maintain it, and he hasn't been able to do more than oil it in quite a while. i think it breaks apart like glass, with metal strained and torn and weak, and i think that he falls apart when it does. i think he doesn't move, for a long, long time, fallen to the floor without anyone to catch him like there used to be, and he holds the pieces in his hands like they're more precious than gold, than anything else, because to him, they are. i think he tries to piece it back together, but the important parts are shattered, and it keeps falling apart and he doesn't have enough hands or fingers to keep it from doing so. i think that he stays there until someone finds him, and i think it takes hours even then, while someone holds his hands in their own to stop them from shaking, until they get gobber, and I think gobber makes his new leg for him, because hiccup can't.

i think gobber makes his new leg with a flight attachment, i think he makes it exactly the same as the previous one, because he can't imagine anything different. i think he does it because he's scared of what it'll do to hiccup if he doesn't.

i think that at the end of the third movie, so much has been taken from the village, from the people of berk, and from the dragons, but i think it takes and takes and takes even more from hiccup. how many things, do you think, he has made, that he holds and sees and touches after, that are rendered useless? how many things was he working on? how many designs are in his notebooks that will never become real? that he will never get to test and try and experiment with? how many ideas do you think he had, waiting for the right moment, that he now can't even bring himself to write down?

how many ideas does he have, after? how many times do you think he starts reaching for his notebook, for a piece of metal in the forge, for a hammer, before he realizes, what for? What's the point?

how many times do you think he realizes that so many of his ideas are useless once more?

pt 2 cuz im a loser

[dragonmasterhiccup]

I think about Dagur's "not that you aren't a fabulous dancer." Line WAYYYY too much, so much so that it's been throughly incorporated in my understanding of Hiccup.

First off, there's no reason for Dagur to compliment him in that way, so it has to be true, right? Anyways that's what I'm going with.

How does he know this? Inter tribe relations, weddings, or events? I'm DYING to know. Hiccup, in all his hiccupyness, was a great dancer and a very bad Viking all before becoming a good Viking, the best dragon rider.

I'm kinda unwell at the thought that he can dance his pants off and is just an awkward little boy with a talent that isn't seen as useful in his community.

Anyways, Hiccup is 'fabulous' dancer it's canon! I think we should do more with that please and thank you.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

The couple nodded, as they were fine, technically. Just really surprised.

Hiccup, in response to Howell's flap, did an experimental flap of his own wings, blowing Astrid's hair back. She cut him a glare, to which he gave a weak smile. "Sorry!"

Smoothing her blonde tresses, she shook her head. "Fluffy followed me in here last night. He must have overheard our conversation."

The chief squeezed his eyes shut, leaning his head back as he remembered. "That's got to be it? But, is this permanent? Temporary?" Would he be able to tuck them away? He was almost afraid to try, for fear that they'd disappear before he got the chance to use them.

"One way to find out," Astrid got up, retrieving Hiccup's prosthetic as he got to his feet. "You'll need this."

"Well, at least without that leg I can still be somewhat mobile..." Folding them against his back to not knock anything over, he strapped on his prosthetic leg. "And this time I got to keep my tunic..."

"What?"

"Oh. Uh...last time, my tunic sort of... ripped apart as the wings came. It was pretty painful too. But not this time..." Looking around the room, he noticed Fluffy's absence. "Did either of you see where he went?"

Kiara hung the bloodvine in the kitchen for it to dry. Four long strands were all she was able to find in the snowy mountains. The rich dark red vine was easy to find once she was on the right area. But that wasn’t the only thing she found.

The fae returned to the living area. On the chair a bundle of blankets warmed by the fire. And amongst those blankets was the ice fae’s newest problem. She had no idea what to do with it. Kiara had no clue about these things!

…But Hiccup did. Realizing the chief would be the best to deal with this, Kiara picked the bundle up and headed out into Berk. Finding Hiccup was much easier now. Reaching out with her magic she could sense his signature. Luck was on her side, instead of the forge it seemed Hiccup was at his home. Knocking on his door, she adjusted the heavy bundle.

“Hiccup? I need your assistance with something.” The blankets shifted in her arms and the fae struggled to hold them.

~ @dragonmasterhiccup

[dragonmasterhiccup]

Hello chief

What was the time Astrid scared you the most ?

Have you ever lost patience (wow) towards your family? (I don't mean anything about violence of course)

"Well, there have been a, a few times over the years, but one that I remember the most is when she had the Scourge of Odin. This was Astrid. I mean, nothing stopped her. But that did. I had never seen her look so pale, or weak...and I never wanted to again. Thank Thor she's still with me, I don't know what would have happened if I had lost her..."

His eyes widened before rubbing the back of his neck. "Kids do have the tendency to test their parents limits, my own included. Unfortunately, I have lost my patience once or twice, but violence has never become of it."

"Being a parent, it's not easy. You can't just be your kids friend, no matter how much you want to. You need to be there, teach them right from wrong, do what's needed to help them grow up and be successful in, in whatever they choose to pursue. Keep them safe. And sometimes, you need to be hard on them. Astrid, she's great at being firm. I have my moments of giving in, but I've gotten better at being firm as well."

"So...yes, I have. But, it's pretty rare."

[dragonmasterhiccup]

I give you....this cool rock I found. It's very cool. I mean, just look at it.

Give my muse an item and see how they react!

Hiccup squinted slightly, observing the rock. "Huh. That is cool, actually! It has a bit of a, a shine to it, too! Thanks!"

[dragonmasterhiccup]

[500px] ©

[dragonmasterhiccup]

Hiccup, how would you react if I threw a sentient rock at you

He blinked. "Uh, I don't think that either of us would be too fond of that...are, are you sure the rock is actually sentient?"

[dragonmasterhiccup]

❝Fae: invaluable in a fight—and raging pains in the ass at all other times.❞

-Lyra the sweet and kind girl.-

-Kiara the ice bitch.-

-Rose the trouble maker.-

BIO // RULES

(Made by @gophckyourself )

[dragonmasterhiccup]

His brows raised. "That's a good point. I didn't even think of that... Yeah, I'll be sure to let you know. If anything, that pendant will really help Lyra. Although...once she finishes those antidotes for herself, maybe her magic won't drain quite so easily?"

Giving her a lopsided smile, he replied, "I enjoy your company. Astrid, too. I can safely say that I am quite happy to have you here. So, I believe you have a bit of a misperception of yourself, Kia."

"I'm positive he'll be happy."

---

Astrid came home that evening with Zephyr in her arms, Fluffy trailing behind them. "He was with us all day," she'd said. "The kids archery class adored him, actually."

That night, as Hiccup and Astrid were getting ready for bed, the púca curled up beside Zephyr's crib. The magical creature was silent as he overheard the couple speak.

"You know something, Astrid? I...I only had wings for what, a day or two? But, I miss them. I wanted to fly beside Toothless. Not just glide, but fly. I mean, the circumstances needed us to act quickly, and I wouldn't change a thing about it, because I didn't want Lyra to suffer, but..."

"But you wish you could experience having wings again?"

"Yeah. I do."

The púca perked up. A wish? He could grant it, another way to make up for the pain he inflicted on the human. There would be limitations, of course, but he could certainly grant this human chief's wish...

----

The next morning, Astrid could feel leathery wings around her, in addition to Hiccup's arms. She groaned, eyes still closed. "Hiccup."

"Mm?"

"I told you Toothless couldn't share the bed with us."

"He's not." Hiccup sounded groggy, still half asleep at best.

Astrid eyes popped open. Toothless was asleep in his usual spot. So what in Thor's name was around her?

She slapped the wings surrounding her, and they immediately let go, Hiccup protesting, "Ow! What was that for?!"

The Chieftess rolled over, eyes wide, and gasped as what she saw. "Hiccup!"

That made him get up real quick, looking around at what caused his wife to react the way she did. His wings reacted as well, stretching out and hitting the ceiling. "What the---ACK!" Hiccup fell out of bed, hitting the wood floor with a thunk.

"Hiccup!" Astrid said, pointing to his returned appendages. "Look!"

But she didn't have to say it. He could feel the weight on his back, the way they stretched and folded. "Oh my gods," he said, shocked. "I...I have wings again?!"

The púca simply smiled to himself, running out of the couples room to curl up on the wooden couch.

Kiara hung the bloodvine in the kitchen for it to dry. Four long strands were all she was able to find in the snowy mountains. The rich dark red vine was easy to find once she was on the right area. But that wasn’t the only thing she found.

The fae returned to the living area. On the chair a bundle of blankets warmed by the fire. And amongst those blankets was the ice fae’s newest problem. She had no idea what to do with it. Kiara had no clue about these things!

…But Hiccup did. Realizing the chief would be the best to deal with this, Kiara picked the bundle up and headed out into Berk. Finding Hiccup was much easier now. Reaching out with her magic she could sense his signature. Luck was on her side, instead of the forge it seemed Hiccup was at his home. Knocking on his door, she adjusted the heavy bundle.

“Hiccup? I need your assistance with something.” The blankets shifted in her arms and the fae struggled to hold them.

~ @dragonmasterhiccup

[dragonmasterhiccup]

*The dragon slightly tilts their head to the side when Toothless approaches them. They seem very intrigued by Toothless for some reason… they follow him and Hiccup into the stables while Fishlegs goes off to get some food.*

*The dragon looks around the stable with a sort of surprised look before their eyes landed on the unmarked stable. They walk over to it and sniff around again.*

*They settle pretty fast, making themself comfortable curled up in the furthest corner from the door. As cooperative as they’ve been they still seem to have some sort of skepticism, and underlying anxiety. This place is still extremely unfamiliar after all. Always stay sharp.*

*When Hiccup comes back with his supplies and approaches the dragon, they slowly approach as well and extend their wing as if it understood what he was doing without any signal or coaxing.*

*Upon much closer examination, whatever happened to this wing, whether it be arrows, a tree branch, or some other dragon attack, it wasn’t exactly a tear, more like a hole if anything, missing the skin needed to sew it properly. The other, smaller tears around it however could still be sewn back up, just not… the biggest problem in the middle.*

Hiccup turned, arms full of supplies to help the new dragon. "Oh! You already found your temporary home, huh? Well, I hope it's to your liking."

He approached carefully, kneeling down by the torn wing and setting the items down. Again, the dragon surprised him by offering their wing. "Oh, thanks! That was easy..."

Leaning forward, he placed a hand on his chin. "Huh. Well...let's see what can be done about that..."

First, each tear needed a good clean. Taking a cloth, he dipped it in a bowl of water and set work, cleaning each wound thoroughly. "...what happened...?" He murmured as he worked.

Getting the salve, he began to carefully apply it to each tear, "This might sting a little, but it's going to help..."

Once it was applied, he then worked to sew the smaller ones. Toothless came by to help keep the new dragon calm, knowing it would hurt.

The stitches were as few as possible, to prevent hurting the dragon further, but still enough to close the holes.

As he finished, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, placing his hands on his hips. "Well, that should take care of that... I'll have to see what sort of way I can patch that hole up, that will enable flight for you again."

Getting to his feet, he brushed his hands together. "It'll take some time, though. A bit of testing."

Moving to the dragon's snout, he reached to press a hand to its nose. "Fishlegs should be back any minute with fish for you... In the meantime, what do you think? Those stitches will come out in a few days, once your wing heals back up."

[dragonmasterhiccup]

“Nuffink, do you want to be a dessert for a dragon?”

[dragonmasterhiccup]

Hiccup was happy to see that trusting Meatlug gave Howell so much progress. Granted, there was still quite a ways to go, but they were headed in the right direction!

He was grateful for the help. Astrid had Zephyr with her all today, so Hiccup tried to do as much around the house as he could to help lighten the load. She did the same when he had Zephyr, and it was a pretty good system.

"Yeah, it'll be alright. Altair has been great with Zephyr too, so Howell won't be too different."

Laughing, he shrugged, "It's the end of summer, it might help balance the temperature. Besides, since getting magic from the púca, I don't get that constant chill as much."

He watched in awe as she formed the ice. Hiccup will never tire of seeing their powers at work, he still thought it was so incredibly cool. He did however, lean away as she went to press it against him.

But, Howell came to the rescue! Hiccup laughed, petting the dragon. "Thanks, little guy!"

He chuckled as Howell chased the ice, Toothless just watching from his self-designated spot. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure it'll be fine."

Looking at his sister, he said, "You know...I see how fond you've gotten of him. Staying here, with you? I think it's the best thing for Howell right now. He'll be happy here, even more so with you."

Kiara hung the bloodvine in the kitchen for it to dry. Four long strands were all she was able to find in the snowy mountains. The rich dark red vine was easy to find once she was on the right area. But that wasn’t the only thing she found.

The fae returned to the living area. On the chair a bundle of blankets warmed by the fire. And amongst those blankets was the ice fae’s newest problem. She had no idea what to do with it. Kiara had no clue about these things!

…But Hiccup did. Realizing the chief would be the best to deal with this, Kiara picked the bundle up and headed out into Berk. Finding Hiccup was much easier now. Reaching out with her magic she could sense his signature. Luck was on her side, instead of the forge it seemed Hiccup was at his home. Knocking on his door, she adjusted the heavy bundle.

“Hiccup? I need your assistance with something.” The blankets shifted in her arms and the fae struggled to hold them.

~ @dragonmasterhiccup

[dragonmasterhiccup]

Nodding, he met her eyes, "Yeah. It'll work out, somehow." The heartbreak in her blue eyes pained him. In that moment, he just wanted to see her smile, but he knew the circumstances wouldn't allow it, for either of them.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed at the sudden storm, his jaw clenched. "No, that didn't come from nowhere," he said gravely, "that's my dad."

Letting out a groan of frustration, he ran a hand through his hair. "Why can't he just--trust me?"

"Uh, Hiccup? I can name several reasons why."

"Not helping, Ruff."

"Hey, I'm just saying, you have a tendency to run off, but not for this long. Your dad is worried about you, Hiccup. That storm is only going to get worse if you don't show your face back home. Uh...I mean, we should leave now before the storm gets worse?"

Hiccup felt torn. If he left now, it would stop the storm, but he only had one day with legs a month. He didn't want to waste it. On the other hand, if things went well, he'd return as a human.

Turning to the twins, he said, "I'll meet you at the beach. I...I need to take care of something first."

Ruffnut looked between him and Astrid. "Alright. No funny business, got that? C'mon, bro. Let's go."

Once the twins stumbled away, Hiccup turned to Gobber. "I'll keep my promise. I don't know what dad will say, but...I'll make sure he knows what you said."

"Astrid..." He took her hands in his own. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm going to do everything I can to get back to you." Hiccup then lifted her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it.

Pressing his forehead against hers, he said, "Save that dance for me, will you?"

🐟

Toothless and Astrid had joined him at the beach. The twins were already waiting below the turbulent waters, the storm continuing to rage. Removing his new prosthetic leg, he placed it in the satchel he'd brought with him when he came to shore. His prosthetic fin was lying in the sand beside his foot.

"With luck, I'll be back tomorrow. Svaelund isn't far, just an hour's swim away. Will you look after Toothless for me, until I get back? If Dad sees him..." He shook his head.

The dragon nuzzled the merman, who embraced his friend. "I'm sorry, bud. I'll be back, okay? I promise." Toothless whined, wrapping his paws around Hiccup in a hug.

Turning to Astrid, he pulled her in a warm embrace, "When the storm stops," he told her, "you'll know I made it to dad. Keep that shell on you, and I'll be back before you know it." Even as he said it, he had a sinking feeling that wouldn't be the case. But he had to hope. A future without Astrid wasn't one he wanted to come to fruition. He needed her, and he knew it.

The wind howled, and he was soaked to the bone from the pouring rain. Once he touched the ocean, he'd only have a few seconds before his tail returned.

He didn't know what to say. So he kissed her, pouring all the love he felt for her into it.

Just in case he couldn't get back, she'd know he truly loved her.

Thunder clapped, almost forcing him to pull away. "I can't wait any longer...this will only get worse." Was it supposed to hurt this much? He could practically feel an ache in his chest as he moved away.

Toothless moved beside him, giving him privacy until his tail returned. His trousers he folded, tucking into his satchel before securing the prosthetic fin.

The Night Fury, head low, sat on his haunches beside Astrid. Hiccup could hardly look at their faces. "This isn't goodbye," he mustered a sad smile. "It'll be fine. Promise."

Unable to hold himself together any longer, he turned and dove in the ocean.

After a long training session, all Astrid wanted to do was cool off on the beach. Maybe a tiny swim, even though the ocean was so cold at this time of year. She pushed through the brush and staggered down to the shore.

Only to find a boy lounging in the shallows.

“Oh!” She dropped her axe in the sand. From his bare torso, she assumed he was naked. “Sorry! I didn’t know someone else would be…here…” as the apologies flowed, she realized from the waist down, he had green scales and a pair of fins.

No wonder she hadn’t recognized him.

“No way…” she inched closer. “A real mermaid! In the flesh! Are the stories true?” She stamped down her overwhelming curiosity for a moment to give him a stern point. “Don’t try anything fishy, mermaid. I’m very capable of protecting myself, got it?”

((I saw the prompt and went feral, hope you don’t mind))

[X]

Hiccup started, the water around him splashing as he sat up straight in surprise, before he moved a little further back, his cheeks flushed.

"No, sorry, I, I shouldn't--" Ducking his head, the merman awkwardly held up a hand, "Usually no one comes here..."

But his movements only caused his tail to briefly break the surface, emerald scales glittering in the sun for a moment before dipping below the water again.

Firmly, he responded, "Merman. I am a merman. And no, don't worry, I, I wasn't going to try anything...I know you'd probably kill me if I did..."

Clearing his throat, he ran a hand through his hair, which had partially dried in his time sitting in the shallow water. "What, what stories are you referring to?"

He knew, or at least had a gut feeling about what she was asking, but he wanted to hear it from her. She appeared wary, but not fearful. Maybe these humans didn't have the same fears of his kind like the others?

[dragonmasterhiccup]

♥

[dragonmasterhiccup]

thinking about the Toothless Found storyboards too much and oughouguh I am unwell