Requested by @we-are-not-the-losechesters. I hope this is what you had in mind. :)) Enjoy!
Astrid could always tell when Hiccup was hiding something.
And it was difficult to see at times. I mean, there were situations where Hiccup was so obviously hiding something, even the twins realized it. But that was usually for silly things, like heâd accidentally set Snotloutâs undies thatâd been drying by the Forge on fire, or something equally as ridiculous.Â
Then, there were times that were severe. When something was hurting him- badly- and he refused to tell. She knew he hated being put on the spot, hated being the center of attention- especially the center of pity- and over the years heâd gotten all too good at hiding it.
But, she found a way to tell. Toothless. The dragon always trailed behind Hiccup when he was in turmoil, physical or not. Toothless could sense it better then anyone else, so Astrid observed.
Once, after a patrol on a rainy night, Hiccup came back acting completely normal. At first witness, youâd think he was fine. But with Toothlessâs constant crooning, or soft nudges at Hiccupâs arm, Astrid knew something wasnât quite right. She asked, and heâd laughed it off, saying he was fine and why did she ask? Turns out heâd contracted a raging fever.
She had crossed her arms and frowned. It was almost scary how good heâd gotten at lying. Once upon a time, heâd have stuttered out the fib, giving away that there was indeed something wrong, and he was poorly hiding it.
But never had Astrid actually seen Hiccup admit when something was wrong. Someone would always have to ask, and even then, he wouldnât always admit it. It was one of those things that he was so gosh darned stubborn about. Like his Dad. Astrid had never seen Stoick say something hurt. Even that one time his arm had been burnt from the tip of his fingers clear up to his shoulder, he hadnât uttered a single complaint.Â
Astrid wondered if Hiccup was conscious of that fact, and hence he wanted to prove his father that he was just as strong. Astrid had thought heâd gotten over the whole âprove-Iâm-a-true-Vikingâ thing, but maybe she was wrong.Â
Either that, or it was just him being stupidly stubborn. Could be a bad combination of both.
Either way, sheâd learned that no amount of telling Hiccup to actually tell people when something was wrong would get him to do it, so, she adopted to other ways of finding out.
Hence: Toothless. A dead giveaway.
And thatâs exactly how she found out that Hiccup had phantom pains.
The first time it happened, Hiccup had walked into the club house, unusually quiet. None of the otherâs noticed, chatting amiably over the table as they ate their breakfast. But Astrid noticed how Hiccupâs steps were short, how he boar a little falter when he placed his metal foot on the floor. She saw the shine of sweat beneath his hair, and how pale his face had become.
But what was the dead give away was how close Toothless was to Hiccupâs side. Youâd think they were glued together. The dragonâs nose was pressed at Hiccupâs left hip, and an occasional whine would rumble in the back of his throat.Â
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