The irony of the chapter title... I want to thank you all to be so patient. The reason for this is in summary some fucked up things that happened in my life (sorry for the swearing there). A was organizing a trip with friends and because of all the shit (again sorry for the swearing) I didn't tack along. Got fed up with one of the persons in the group and the whole situation just got me in no mood to write. Still feel like the ones that were coming along are now all ignoring me (except for one who also dropped out because of the fucked upness that was going on).
So ya... sorry about that rant.
Guest: I hope I didn't kill you waiting this long... Hiccstid will happen, but I'm not gonna let Hiccup just jump Astrid here, so be a little patient (somehow this word really seems ironic even now...)
lara5170: Dragon Hiccup can hurt Astrid, but not kill her.
Carl Solo: Well the end of this chapter should answer your question, or will it...
Anonymous Noob the 2nd: I'm afraid I cannot answer your question without spoiling the story. Sorry.
thedeathwidow: I loved writing that part. Had it in my notes for months actually. Glad you liked it too.
all my readers. Just a heads up. In November (yes yes far away I know) I plan to take part in the NaNoWriMo, but with a different story. Also I joined a group of writers that come together twice a month and every week in November (actually I joined them last year already) and I'm responsible for one of the exercises we're gonna do for to prepare for the NaNoWriMo. I might be rather slow in that month, but I'll try to work ahead, though not making any promises. Of course I will upload some chapters before then XP.
Enjoy!
p.s. I didn't check for spelling and grammar mistakes because I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. Will probably fix them later.
Chapter 14 Patience
The whispering didn't die down for a long time, in fact it turned into normal talking and soon even some Vikings starting shouting. Everyone was baffled by the display that just took place in the great hall. Not only because Hiccup had managed to knock out two guys who were known as one of the best, not even just because he had almost killed Snotlout, no what shocked people most of all was how in the end it was a dragon that stopped Hiccup from landing the final blow on his cousin. And it then marched off like nothing. It really was unheard of and people were left confused and making their own conclusions.
Thuggery and Camicazi looked at each other. Their task was going to be difficult, but the confusion would probably help them. They made their way back to their parents, through the mass of people as they listened to the madness.
"He's only protecting his beasts!"
"He gave directions, we should go now!"
"Are you stupid?! What if there really is such a big dragon there?!"
"It's a trap I tell ya!"
"Enough!" it suddenly sounded loudly, enough to echo around a few times.
Camicazi was surprised by the sudden outburst of Thuggery beside her and she wasn't the only one. People went silent and stared at him. She watched him as he took on a position he rarely took; the center of attention. He may be the son of a chief, he had never liked the idea of having everyone's attention drawn to him. Which really was a pity, since Thuggery was like Hiccup a smart guy with good ideas. During the years in which Hiccup had no longer joined them, it was Thuggery to come up with plans when something went terribly wrong. She couldn't help but feel proud on him at that moment.
"Whichever way you look at this, a trap or not, going to that nest seems unwise to me."
Some Vikings started calling him a whimp, but Thuggery ignored it and raised his voice more.
"If this is a trap, then why would Hiccup warn us with a giant dragon? If this is not a trap, he warned us about a giant dragon. I understand you're all thinking there is no giant dragon, but if there really isn't why would Hiccup give the means how to find the dragon's nest when he according to you sided with them?"
Camicazi looked around as nearby Vikings started whispering to each other that maybe it might indeed not be wise going there.
"I'm surprised he even warned us," someone said.
It was a female voice and people around her started walking away from her, making her suddenly stand in a center. The only one not walking away was still in a daze from his fight with Hiccup. Snotlout was trying very hard to not show he was crying and covered up half his face with his hands as he complained about his nose, which apparently had been broken.
Ruffnut, the one who had spoken, stood up and scowled as she looked at the crowd.
"Don't look stupid," she said as she folded her arms, "we pushed the guy away to the point he ran away. All because he wasn't what we wanted him to be. If I had been him I would personally love the sight of those who did me wrong to die in a most gruesome way. Yet he is kind enough to warn us. Or perhaps, being the clever guy he is, knows we're stubborn Vikings and wouldn't head his warning and go anyway. Perhaps he doesn't care if we die, heck I'm pretty certain he doesn't care."
Camicazi couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hiccup had been living that kind of live here on Berk? She glanced over to Thuggery who seemed surprised as well.
"He now has a clear conscious for he warned us," Ruffnut continued, "it doesn't matter if the dragon is as big as he said it is. Either way Hiccup wins. Go there, we die and dragons will live. Stay here, the dragons will live."
With those words, chaos returned as people started to sound a lot more concerned about the giant dragon at the dragon nest. More and more seemed to understand it was a suicide mission.
Toothless dropped Hiccup on the bed in the room he had been staying the last few days. Hiccup however was the least bit pleased with it and jumped to his feet right after. He stumbled a little as a sudden pain surged through his leg, but he managed to keep standing, balancing on his other leg as he ignored the pain. When he wanted to march to the door, he was blocked by his scaled partner, who used his nose to push him back towards the bed. No matter how hard Hiccup tried to get around or even over Toothless, he constantly landed on the bed. When landing on the bed once more he glared at Toothless, though remained seated having what it seemed a glaring contest with his dragon friend. Then he leaped right around Toothless and was just about to open the door, when it already opened itself. Or rather, it was opened by Astrid. Hiccup slipped to a stop and halted just a step away from her. She looked baffled, but was quick to act when he tried to go around her.
Astrid slammed the door close and pressed herself against it so he couldn't make his escape. Frustrated Hiccup let out a low growl as was trying to think of a new plan to get away from this place. But all that came to him at that moment was using brute force, so that's what he went with. For a moment he forget the strength Astrid had and got hold of her arm, pulling her away from the door. She however also had another thing to her advantage; knowing every single part of his body that was hurting. So the moment he let go of her arm, she grabbed hold on his wrist with a strong grip, pulled him closer, got hold on his other arm at a bandaged area and give his left leg a soft kick.
Hiccup grunted and tried pulling himself away from her, yet it was only a halfhearted attempt this time as he no longer could escape the pain. Before he could collapse, he felt Astrid grab him and let him sit down on the bed. He panted, tried to get up, but was gently pushed down again.
"I'm not your enemy, Hiccup. I understand you want to leave, but you're in no state to walk let alone fly. You'll pass out and die from blood loss, so please, for now stay here," she said and gently pushed him down on the sheets.
His head hit the cool pillow as he was mentally telling his limbs to move, but his body disagreed with him. He hated it when that happened. When she noticed he wasn't getting up, she walked over to the table with herbs and started mixing up new ointment. Hiccup managed to move his head and watched her work as he wondered why in the world she was being nice to him. It was still really confusing. He turned to look at the ceiling again before closing his eyes as he thought about any possible reason. The only one he could get up with was that Astrid was asked to watch him and make him remember who he was, she had told him. And Astrid being the loyal person she was, would do whatever it would take to fulfill that task. But it meant that her task was done, yet she was still nice to him, so it had to be something else. The question was what.
Hiccup continued to simply lay there on the bed, not doing a thing. He gave up thinking of Astrid her reasons for helping him, he couldn't really care about it. All he cared about was getting away from this forsaken island that wronged him in too many ways. In order to do so he needed a few things; his clothes, his belongings and Toothless saddle and tailfin. He doubted any of it would be given to him willingly. On top if, his body still was not listening to his will of getting up and walking out of that door. Of course Hiccup understood all too well he could not fly away even if he had all his things, but he at least wanted to be away from the village and its people. To so some place no-one would find him, perhaps the cove.
So he lay motionless as he let his body recover just enough for him to make a bolt for it, he just needed to explain Toothless that he wasn't out trying to get himself killed. Somehow the situation reminded him of what happened in Rome, though… he wasn't exactly being treated for his wounds back there. It was actually a miracle he survived that.
At last he managed to get himself in an upright position with pure willpower as he ignored the pain in his back. Just when he was about to get up the door opened and Camicazi and Thuggery entered the room. Seriously?! How much bad luck can someone have, he wondered as he scowled.
Astrid looked up from her work when the two heirs entered the room. It wasn't that she was bothered by their presence, but it worried her that they had come here so quickly after she had gotten here. It couldn't be much longer than half an hour ago that she left the great hall. Camicazi must have seen the worry, because she gave Astrid a reassuring smile.
"No worries. It's utter chaos out there. Thuggery actually got in the center of attention for once, convincing people it wasn't a good idea to go to the nest."
"Sheesh, thanks for your praise," Thuggery scowled, at which Camicazi rolled her eyes and continued telling what had happened in the great hall.
"Ruffnut sealed it with her words. Most don't want to go there at all now."
"Ruffnut?" Hiccup said and it was now Astrid saw he was sitting, which made her wonder if he was attempting another escape, "what on Earth could she have said to actually convince people not to go to the nest?"
Astrid noticed the frown that appeared on Camicazi's face and wondered why, but now wasn't the right time to ask.
"That whatever choice they made, meant you won," Thuggery answered, he too was frowning as he looked at his friend sitting on the bed.
Astrid was baffled to see Camicazi march to the bed and jab Hiccup on the chest. He winched as he gave her a confused look.
"You have some explaining to do. What's with this 'we pushed him away' and why would Ruffnut think he wouldn't mind if any of us die?"
Ah, that was what the frowning was about. Astrid watched Hiccup face turn cold as the question was asked, but she now understood Camicazi's and Thuggery's feelings. Neither of them knew about what the real reasons were they weren't allowed to play with Hiccup, nor did they know what had happened on Berk. They had no knowledge of the bullying, beating and ignoring. They were probably worried and perhaps felt guilty for not knowing.
"Because I wouldn't care if any of the Hairy Hooligan were to die," Hiccup said with a cold voice matching his expression.
It stung Astrid even though she could very much understand his reasons. She couldn't say she was surprised, but the same couldn't be said about Camicazi and Thuggery. They both looked shocked and seemed to be at a loss of what to say. Astrid saw Hiccup's cold expression disappear and heard him let out a soft sigh as he looked away from the two.
"Things changed after grandpa left and not in a good way. It doesn't matter happened, nothing can fix that," he mumbled and Astrid saw him shove to the side of the bed.
Knowing what he was up to she dropped what she was doing and stepped in front of the door just in case. Of course he saw her moving and threw her a glare, but she didn't care.
"You're not leaving, Hiccup," Astrid stated, mostly hoping that Camicazi and Thuggery would catch on with the situation and luckily they did.
Both looked like they were over the shock of Hiccup's words and ready to make sure he wasn't about to go anywhere. Hiccup's glare at Astrid intensified because of it, yet he still stood up.
"I'm not staying here," he growled.
"How can you even stand?" Camicazi asked and got hold of his right arm.
Thuggery got hold of his left arm and together they pushed Hiccup back down. He struggled, but the stamina and determination he had in the great hall was gone.
"Do I need to sit on top of you again?!" Camicazi growled as she did her best to keep him seated. Astrid ran over to help the two, she couldn't believe that even though he seemed exhausted and must be in pain, Hiccup could still muster up this much strength. Of course she knew had grown stronger from her previous experiences, however she now really wondered how much she had been underestimating him.
"You sat on top of him?" Thuggery asked in such a serious tone that Astrid wondered why it matter so much to Thuggery.
He also loosened his grip on Hiccup, though unlike Astrid had expected to happen, Hiccup focused on Thuggery and lessened his struggle. Camicazi ignored Thuggery and pushed Hiccup down, which now was surprisingly easy. Astrid got confused when a smirk appeared on Hiccup's face as he looked from Camicazi to Thuggery.
"How long?" he asked, directing it to Camicazi and Thuggery.
The two simply stared at him, leaving Astrid in the dark of what was going on.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Thuggery eventually let out trying to sound clueless, but even Astrid wasn't convinced and she had no idea what the conversation was suddenly about.
"You know exactly what I'm on about, you sounded like a jealous man," Hiccup grinned at him.
The word jealous repeated in Astrid's mind as she started to understand where this was going, yet could not really believe it, not even how Hiccup caught the hints. As Astrid now gave the two a smirk with a questioning look as well, the two started to blush.
"Fine, almost five months," Camicazi mumbled as she glared at Hiccup.
"Cami," Thuggery hisses alerted, but got a hand placed on his mouth.
"It's fine, Hiccup can know," Camicazi said and looked over to Astrid, "and I don't think Astrid will tell anyone."
The four remained silent for a while in which Hiccup sat up again. Astrid kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn't going to bolt again. So far he remained seated and finally broke the silence.
"No-one knows?"
"You know how my mother is Hiccup, 'don't tie yourself down to a man'," Camicazi let out highly irritated and threw her arms in the air as she walked around the room only to eventually lean against the doorpost, "she had so many men she doesn't even know who my father is. It's downright frustrating."
Astrid looked from Camicazi to Thuggery, they both had a somber look covering their face. Astrid saw Camicazi's gaze shift to Hiccup's leg, which seriously needed treatment. Astrid walked back to the table where she was almost finished with the new ointment. Just one last ingredient was missing. She picked up the bowl and walked to Toothless.
"May I have some more of that drool of yours, Toothless?"
Toothless replied by letting a blob of drool drop in the bowl, which gained some faces of disgust from Camicazi and Thuggery. Hiccup explained Thuggery how it had healing properties as Astrid mixed the last ingredient with the rest.
The commotion in the great hall was still there. Old Wrinkly was frowning as he thought about the events that had just happened. He couldn't help but feel disappointed in his own son, Stoick, as well as his daughter in law. The man had done absolutely nothing. He hadn't even said a word, not since the moment Hiccup had set the map on fire. What disappointed him the most was that Stoick hadn't even tried to stop the fight between Hiccup and Dogsbreath and Wartihog. They may be Vikings, but there was something like honor and what does two boys did was far from honorable.
Perhaps he should have done something instead, the old man wondered as he looked around the hall. Yet… Wrinkly wasn't chief and the one attacked wasn't his son. Though, Hiccup was his grandson, so yes he should have done something. It wasn't that he didn't want to stop that fight, it was that it felt like he had to clean up the mess of his son. That and Hiccup, even in the state he had been in, seemed to be doing pretty well. Wrinkly had heard the stories of the poor boy being bullied when he was younger, that is why he had made sure to stay close to Hiccup as much as possible when he was very young. But the boy had to learn that he couldn't always be protected by his grandfather and Stoick had to learn it was in fact his job to look after Hiccup. Hiccup learned to protect himself, Stoick… never seemed to have learned his job as a father.
With a deep sigh the old Viking got up from his seat. Hiccup running away was as much his fault. Even back then Wrinkly knew he was one of the few his grandson could count on, yet he left the boy. How could he have been so stupid, he wondered. The answer was simple, Stoick had promised him to look after Hiccup more back then. He swore on it. He broke that promise.
As Wrinkly walked towards the giant doors he passed his son and gave the grown man a look of disappointment. Stoick didn't reply, simply remained speechless as Wrinkly continued his walk. Near the two attackers of Hiccup he stopped, as they seemed to be coming too. He looked down at them as they rolled around and sat up, not looking the least bit impressed by his anger filled look. Some of the Vikings close by, stopped their discussions of how Hiccup betrayed them or not and watched the scene.
"What honor is there in attacking a wounded, unarmed man from behind?" Wrinkly asked the two boys on the floor, his voice loud and filled with spite.
In that moment he knew it didn't matter if Hiccup was his grandson or not, it was the deed in itself that disgusted him. He would have said the same thing if it had happened to any other person. More Vikings started watching the scene and while the loud talking was gone, they now started whispering. The topic had changed from trusting Hiccup words and dragons to a dishonorable act. With that, Wrinkly left people to their thoughts and punish these two. He had more important things to do; talking to his grandson.
Hiccup panted as he dropped his head in the pillows. Astrid tried to get the knots out of the bandage she was holding, thank Hiccup's struggling for that, and Thuggery and Camicazi did their best keeping Hiccup down. Since the moment Astrid had bandaged his leg, which needed the most attention, Hiccup had tried to leave again. He didn't seem to care about his other wounds, even though it was often clear from his face he was in pain.
Finally having the bandages untwined she looked at the boy in bed. He had stopped struggling, but that was probably temporarily. She couldn't help to be amazed how strong he actually was, since both Camicazi and Thuggery had to keep him down. It made her wonder if had always had this strength.
"Let go of me," Hiccup then snarled, fighting for his freedom once more.
This time he couldn't keep up for too long though. Despite the pain he was going through, despite the lack of energy he had left, he was still fighting. Just how desperately did he want to leave Berk, Astrid wondered as feelings of guilt and sadness took over. After reading that journal of his, she understood to some extend why he wanted to leave, but to leave while still injured... She couldn't let that happen. Toothless also didn't seem to like the idea of letting Hiccup go in the state he was. It seemed he had been trying to get Hiccup to calm down and stay in bed, but even that was ignored.
Fortunately for all of them, except perhaps Hiccup, the struggling lessened until Hiccup simply passed out from exhaustion.
Camicazi and Thuggery looked at their injured friend, both with worry. Camicazi looked over to Astrid, who had that same worry covering her face.
"What happened here that he wants to leave this badly?" the Bog girl asked.
Astrid sat down on the side of the bed and grabbed one of Hiccup's arms.
"I don't know precisely, but what I do know isn't any good," she started as she unwrapped the remainder of the bandage from Hiccup's arm. "He was bullied a lot. I never really saw it myself though… I was too focused on other things. By the time we actually did talk I… well let's say I was also not the nicest person."
Astrid applied the ointment to his injured arm and continued on with the other wounds. Thuggery and Camicazi helped her treating his back. Just when she was done there was a knock on the door. Toothless jumped into immediate action, not willing to simply let anyone in, however when the door opened and the face of Old Wrinkly appeared he calmed down.
"I'm afraid he passed out a couple of minutes ago," Astrid told the man.
"I see," Wrinkly said and looked at Hicucp's sleeping form.
Astrid couldn't help but notice the guilt on the man's face and wondered why. He of all people never wronged Hiccup.
"Will he be alright?"
"If he stays in bed for a while and stops trying to run away, then yes," Astrid answered and looked at Hiccup, his breathing finally evened out.
Wrinkly nodded and left.
A few hours later, Camicazi and Thuggery had already left, Astrid gave Toothless a scratch behind his ear. The dragon purred content, but Astrid had her eyes fixated on Hiccup sleeping form. She was afraid to leave him alone here, afraid he would try to leave when she wasn't there. That would only worsen his condition. Also, she still wanted to tell him she was sorry for what happened all those years ago. Thing was, she was terrified of how he would respond to it. Yes, terrified. It wasn't the kind of terrified she had been before when he tried killing her. It was more the kind where she felt like she had let him down. Let herself down.
Eventually she tore her eyes away from him and kneeled down in front of Toothless. He gave her a questioning look. How had they never noticed these emotions in dragons before?
She gave the night fury a soft smile and whispered, "please make sure he doesn't leave the room."
Toothless purred and licked her hand as a reply, then she stood up and left the room as well. After giving Gothi an update of Hiccup state of being she left the building and welcomed the fresh cool air of the evening sky. The sun was already setting, in fact it was so far down Astrid just knew she missed out on supper. She wasn't going home yet though. Since the moment Old Wrinkly had left she had wanted to talk to him. And, after some asking around, she found the old Viking in the great hall sitting by the fire.
"Sir?"
The man looked around surprised.
"Could I talk to you for a moment?" she asked carefully, not even sure herself what she really wanted to say, but she was just really confused.
The man nodded and she took place on the bench he sat on.
"How is he?"
"Asleep… still, which is probably for the best. He would keep on trying to leave if he were awake."
Again Old Wrinkly nodded and they were both quiet for a while. Astrid stared into the flames.
"When you came over… you looked like it was your fault he was there, why?" she eventually asked, not looking at the man though.
She hoped she wasn't being rude by asking the question.
"Because partly I am, lass."
These words confused her and made her look at the man. He didn't look back but she could see the same expressions of guilt on his face he had earlier.
"How? I don't understand."
"I should have known Stoick wouldn't keep his promise. I should not have left," Old Wrinkly sighed and looked at her for a moment before looking at the fire again, "you want to hear the entire story?"
Curious and really wanting to understand Hiccup now, she nodded. Then she heard a story about the boy she had never heard before, told in a way she had never heard anyone talk about him. Old Wrinkly chuckled at points like when he told about his grandson trying to lift an adult axe or how he clumsily would fall over his own feet and throw food in Stoick's face. Stoick hadn't been pleased about it though.
But what surprised Astrid were the few moment that Stoick had acted like a father. He had played with the boy, made toys for him, but when Old Wrinkly told her that even then he was rather distant towards Hiccup, she couldn't help but feel bad for the boy.
"It wasn't that he didn't love him, lass. Far from it. I knew he did. He loved Hiccup since the day he was born," Old Wrinkly said with a soft smile, "But then Valka was taken by a dragon and Stoick never got over that. One would think he would cherish the last thing he had of his wife, but all he could see in his son was his wife. As Hiccup grew older it was all the more clear the lad was taking after his mother and Stoick didn't know what to do with that. The only thing he did was being overprotective. Hiccup wasn't allowed near weapons."
"But… I saw him walk around with an adult's axe plenty of times… trying to lift it," Astrid commented as she once again thought back of the scene where he had managed to lift it with the help of his friends.
"True, Hiccup tried to be just like every other kid around. He saw other children walking with swords, axes, bows even, so he wanted to do the same. Stoick wouldn't have it though, said he was too young and would lecture him when he saw it happen."
Astrid shook her head in confusion, "but later he expected Hiccup to be able to would any of those weapons. How would he be able to do that?"
Old Wrinkly nodded agreeing and sighed.
"Stoick's been sending mixed messages to Hiccup. On top of that he has always acted as a chief first and a father last. This is why I wasn't too surprised Hiccup had left, though I still wish I had just taken him along myself. I should not have left him here that day."
The old man let out another sigh.
"I don't think Hiccup blames you for leaving, sir," Astrid told him as she stood up.
He gave her a smile, "I hope so."
Astrid slowly made her way home as she let the new knowledge sink in. She wasn't sure if she had more questions before she talked to Old Wrinkly or now. She didn't even know what to think of Stoick anymore. He always seemed a simply man, but apparently she had been wrong about that.
When she entered her home, her mother immediately jumped up from her chair and made her a quick meal.
"You're late sweety, something happened?"
Astrid sat down at the table and dropped her head on the wood.
"I talked with Old Wrinkly after looking after Hiccup," she mumbled.
A plate of food was placed before her and it wasn't until she had her first bite, she found out how hungry she had actually been. After pretty much devouring it she gathered some fish, which she put in a shoulder bag.
"Going to Stormfly?" he mother asked.
"Ya, it would be nice if I could finally get her out of there. She doesn't like being locked up like that, which I can understand. I'll be back in a bit," Astrid said and left.
Not much later she was being licked all over by her blue scaled friend. She laughed at the way Stormfly was acting and pet her nose.
"Calm down now, I got you some fish."
She fed he dragon friend as he mind wandered. Still terrified Hiccup would leave without them knowing, she thought she had to do something about that. The question was what. Nothing really came to mind until her eyes landed on the doors with dragons behind them. Absentmindedly petting Stormfly she stared at one door in particular. Perhaps…
Without another thought she walked over to the door behind which there was a terrible terror. It was small, she had fish, perhaps she could train it so that it would stay hidden and come warn her. She opened the small door at the bottom and instantly the small terror rushed out as if it had expected the door to open. It ran around a bit and stopped staring at Stormfly for a second before turning back to Astrid. Already getting ready to fire one of the tiny fire balls at her, Astrid threw it a fish. It halted, stared at the fish for a second, ate it and then came closer begging for more. When no new fish came its way it jumped on the shoulder bag trying to get it itself. Without even thinking about what could happen, Astrid simply grabbed the terrible terror and placed it back on the floor, kneeling down in front of it.
"You have to wait, little impatient one," she laughed and reached in her bag for another fish.
She held it before the terror which took it gladly. It surprised her how easy the terror was with this. With Stormfly it had taken quite some time to gain some trust, but now this terror jumped on her knees and licked her in her face.
"Maybe this will work," she laughed as tickled the terror under its chin.
He had been patient. Very patient. Well, not that he had much of a choice when his body doesn't want to move when he wants it too. Really, lying in bed all day is still the most boring thing according to Hiccup. His luck was that he could now understand Toothless, so they talked when he was awake. Side effect of being stuck in bed with a body unwilling to move was that you would easily fall asleep. Numerous times he found himself being waking up to clean bandages and a plate of food and a cup of water waiting for him. He had lost complete track of time due to his unusual sleeping pattern.
However, his body was willing to move again and every vibe of him was ready to leave this forsaken island. He was sitting in bed checking himself to make sure nothing was bleeding when the door to his room opened and Astrid entered.
"Ah, you're awake this time," she said and walked to the night table where she placed a plate a food, "how do you feel?"
He just shrugged, not in the mood to reply. He wanted her to leave, knowing that if he were to try to escape now, she would most definitely stop him. Though… the food seemed inviting, he could definitely use something to eat. When she saw him stare she simply placed the plate on his lap.
"Eat," she told him and turned to the table with herbs and ointments.
He ate, not because he was told to, but because he was hungry. While he did so, his eyes wandered around the room. He found Toothless knock out at the end of his bed and hoped he would be able to wake him. He almost choked on his food when he felt a hand on his forehead, which had to belong to Astrid since she was the only other person in the room.
"You still have a slight fever," she said with a frown and he saw her eyes wander to his left leg, "I'll let Gothi check it tomorrow."
No you won't, Hiccup thought, I'll be gone by then.
"Do you need anything?" she asked and checked the water jug, which was still half filled.
He shook his head and put another bite in his mouth.
"You need to drink more," she then stated and offered him a cub with water.
He ignored it and chewed on his foot.
"Stop acting like a toddler who doesn't want to drink his jak milk and drink your water," she sounded more demanding and a little annoyed now.
Still Hiccup had to admit he was impressed by her patience with him. Every time he had been awake and she was here, he had given her the silent treatment, fully knowing it would only be a matter of time before she would snap and slap or kick him. He still ignore her and grabbed a next bite of food.
"Do you want me to force you to drink it?"
He held the spoon not far above his plate. Astrid's threats were never empty, he knew that all too well. Not willing to go through whatever struggle she was planning for him if he wasn't going to drink some water, he dropped the spoon and got the cub. The victorious smug on her face annoyed him though as he down the water. He gave the cub back and continued his food. Once done he placed the empty plate on the night table and then lay down pretending to go back to sleep. Annoyingly enough it took a while before she left, but he was not going to ruin his plan by being impatient. Once she was finally gone, after saying a goodnight to him, he still waited, just in case. Apparently it was night, the best time to get the heck out of here, but he had to be sure people were asleep or at least it had to be dark enough. The less people out on the streets the easier he could make his getaway.
Astrid dropped her head on the table out of frustration, then lifted it and dropped it again. Something rather common the last few days.
"I take it he is still giving you the silent treatment?" her father asked as he sat down at the table.
"Urgh, yes," she answered and sat back up as her supper was placed in front of her, "and I really want to slap him. Why won't he say a single word since well since the day he woke up. He didn't even talk when Camicazi and Thuggery said goodbye. It's been a week already."
Frustrated Astrid planted her fork in her food, only to splash it around because of the force she had been using. Sighing she rubbed the food of her cheek as she ignored her father snort and continued eating but without the splashing it around part. The rest of dinner went as any other dinner and Astrid helped her mother with the dishes and then played a board game with her father.
Then, when it was close to the time Astrid would go to bed, the family was surprised by scratching noises on the front door. Her father stood up and opened the door as they all wondered what it could be. However there was nothing there it seemed as Astrid saw her father look around with a confused face. When something crawled up her leg it startled her and she quickly shove her chair away from the table.
"Sneaky!" she let out as she looked down at her lap seeing the little terrible terror she had trained to be stealthy.
Her parents both looked at her in confusion.
"You trained another dragon?" her mother asked as Astrid kept on staring at the terror.
"Ya… I trained it to be stealthy and watch Hiccup to make sure he…"
She jumped up from her chair as she suddenly realized why Stealthy was there. Sneaky squeaked startled as he fell of her lap, but followed her as she dashed outside.
"Astrid, where are you going!" her father shouted after her, but she didn't reply.
She didn't have time. Hiccup may not have his own clothes there, nor Toothless tailfin, but she knew he would found one way or another to overcome that problem. He was smart enough for that. She just hoped she would find him in time.