Hiccup woke up in his room, around midday. Attempting to sit up, the chief let out a yelp as the whole of his back swelled with pain. Burns; he recognized the feeling. After checking his remaining limbs, as per habit whenever he woke to any injuries since the Red Death, he looked around. Everything looked straightened up; his mom, still not used to his somewhat unorganized ways, had most likely tried to clean up for him again. But what concerned him most was the layer of dust on everything, excluding his bed and some chairs he kept by the desk.
The groggy chief looked about some more and scratched at his chin. What greeted his hand made his skin turn pale and his blood turn cold. A thin beard (or at least, one definitely in the making) had grown into his face. Last he remembered, he only had a barely-noticeable stubble. That meant he had been asleep a long time. He got up, rather painfully, and made his way toward the door. Someone, presumably Gobber, had made a wooden cane for him to use, because his badly burned back would make it difficult to get down the stairs with his prosthetic already hard enough to walk in (even five years of practice hadn't made it completely easy).
After hobbling down the stairs, Hiccup found his way to the table where he had left a shard of mirror. He used the piece to examine the damage done. Bags under his green eyes showed he hadn't been having an easy sleep, no matter how long he'd been out. But how long had he been out? Sudden realisation set in as he understood how much trouble he was in; he was a chief now, he couldn't just sleep for what he assumed to be a week. And with that, he hurried (as much as his back allowed) to fulfill his duties. What could possibly have made him this hurt, or even crazy enough to sleep while Berk needed him?
Immediately after leaving, the utterly confused and somewhat irritated Hiccup ran into Astrid. She had been on her way to the Academy; she was trusted to be in charge of Berk in her boyfriend's absence.
"What's the hurry, milady?" Hiccup's voice was coarse and yet somehow soft from the time left unused. Astrid wheeled around angrily, and cornered the boy into the wall of his house.
"Who do you think you are to call me th-...Hiccup?!" she lost herself when she understood who she was manhandling. There was no mistaking those emerald eyes. She reached up sadly and stroked the foreign beard on his bewildered face.
"Has it really been so long?" She seemed to age a thousand years in one moment as she looked into his face with concern. So preoccupied with keeping the order, she hadn't had a chance in the time he was bedridden to visit.
"Valka didn't mention..." She tried to explain herself to him, knowing how confusing it must've been to him. "I guess I should've guessed, you've been out for over a month."