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What should've been a peaceful morning on Dragon's Edge started with bruised knees and stinging palms when Hiccup rolled out of bed and promptly fell to the ground. It was effective in shaking away any lingering sleepiness, but Hiccup preferred to wake at his own pace on days where he didn't have to be immediately battle ready.
Toothless, awoken by the sound of Hiccup's fall, uncurled himself from his sleeping position and stretched his paws out in front of himself with a satisfied rumble before he moseyed his way to Hiccup's side.
"Good morning to you too, bud," Hiccup mumbled as Toothless warbled a greeting. "At least your legs still work."
Hiccup went to stand, but paused once he'd propped himself up on his left knee. Moving his left leg had brought a notable lack of weight to his attention and, after a silent prayer to whichever god might hear him, he sat back on his butt as he swung both legs out in front of him.
His prosthetic was gone. He only ever took it off when it needed fixing or cleaning, never when he was just going to go to sleep, when he could be woken up at any moment and told that he needed to fend off Viggo and his dragon hunters.
Toothless's head dropped to the stump Hiccup's left leg ended in, sniffing it and tilting his head in a gesture that offered Hiccup the slightest bit of comfort—Toothless was also confused.
Hiccup anxiously fidgeted with one hand, lightly scratching his nails against his palm, but gestured toward his workspace with his second. "Could you get my spare?"
Toothless was at Hiccup's desk and using his mouth to open the top drawer before Hiccup had even finished his sentence, but when the dragon looked inside, he found nothing. Hiccup could tell by the way he paused. The prosthetic was supposed to be the only thing in that drawer, there was nothing to sift through. Then Toothless closed the drawer with his head and opened the next, repeating the process.
Hiccup knew his prosthetic wouldn't be in any other drawer, but he watched Toothless silently, his mouth dry and his heart starting to pound more aggressively in his chest. Eventually, Toothless growled, going back to the first drawer and yanking it out of the desk to throw across the room.
"Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed. "What are you—There's no need for that!"
The dragon didn't respond and only sniffed at the empty drawer, inhaling deeply in the way he did whenever he was picking up a scent, but Hiccup didn't think he'd be able to track down whatever smell of wood and metal his prosthetic carried when all of the buildings on the Edge were made of a similar or identical material.
With a determined look in his eyes, Toothless suddenly ran out the door.
"Wait!" Hiccup called out, hopelessly extending his hand. "Where are you going? Toothless?!"
Toothless didn't come back and Hiccup was left alone. On the floor. Without a leg.
He was going to be sick.
Fishlegs often talked about how his meditation helped him stay calm where he would usually panic. Hiccup thought back to the simple breathing exercise he often raved about, because he needed to do something to tame his anxiety and panic-induced nausea.
Breathe in, breathe out. Slowly, intentionally, and while he took note of three things he could see. The drawer Toothless had thrown was still on the floor, fortunately unbroken. His door was open after Toothless's exit. There was no Toothless. His foot was gone. His prosthetics were missing.
Hiccup internally cursed at himself, because he was supposed to be focused on what he could see, not what he couldn't, but the intentional breathing had helped, even if only a little. His hands still shook, his heart still raced, but he wasn't about to lose his dinner from the previous night.
As carefully as if he were made of glass, Hiccup braced his hands on the floor, intending to push himself up so he could at least be sitting on his bed instead of the floor. It'd be a little less pathetic, a little less vulnerable, but his body failed to give him even that. As soon as he tried to put weight on his right leg, he was overwhelmed by a crackling pain shooting up his left. Hiccup fell back to the floor with a whimper, reaching forward to try and clutch at a foot that wasn't there.
It was a pain that Hiccup was, unfortunately, familiar with. It'd become less of a problem over the years as he got adjusted to missing part of his leg, but it tended to come back whenever he had to take off his prosthetic. Like his body was convinced that it was his leg, so it reacted as if he'd amputated the real thing each time it came off. It burned like he was engulfed in the flames of the Red Death, and shocked him like he was being attacked by a Skrill.
Hiccup's vision blurred as tears filled his eyes, ones he tried desperately to keep from falling as he dug his nails into the wood where his leg should be. If Viggo had decided to launch an attack that morning, he'd be entirely useless and plenty easy to capture. The only positive he could find was that he'd decided to have his little episode on the Edge while Stoick was all the way back on Berk, where he couldn't see how weak of a son and future Chief he had.
He didn't register the sound of his name until two warm hands cupped each side of his face, gently pulling his gaze upwards until he was looking at a concerned Astrid who'd knelt in front of him.
"Hey," Astrid said softly. "What's going on?"
Hiccup sniffled, tried to swallow the lump in his throat, and gestured weakly to his stump. "It's gone. I don't—I don't know where it went."
"Did you take it off last night?"
Hiccup shook his head. "No, I—" His attempt at further explanation ended abruptly as another shock ran up his leg, making him curl in on himself with a pained grunt. Astrid tucked her fingers under what was left of his left leg and he managed to lift it off the floor, allowing her to bring it to her lap where she massaged the stump with gentle fingers. She didn't ask any more questions, didn't say anything, and Hiccup appreciated the moment to gather himself.
The pain started to ease, fading into a dull ache that ended where his leg did, as opposed to the burning pain that somehow went further. He would've thought he was insane had Gobber not once warned him that it could happen—that his brain might trick itself into thinking that a lost limb was still there and capable of experiencing pain. Astrid's touch acted like a reminder that it wasn't.
"I woke up and it was gone," Hiccup finally said, voice low but not as weak. "I asked Toothless to grab my spare, but that was also gone, and he.."
Hiccup trailed off as questions started to fill his mind, now that they weren't muffled by pain and panic, and Astrid picked up his train of thought. "He woke me up. He was upset and you weren't with him, so I thought he'd lead me to you, but he ran to the stables to find Stormfly instead. They flew off—Well, Stormfly did, Toothless ran—-and I came here. My guess is that he's looking for your leg."
Hiccup bit his lip. He'd had the same thought, of course, but why would he need Stormfly's help? Unless he was seeking out a threat. Toothless had picked up a scent earlier, and he could very well be tracking down a dragon hunter on the island. Without Hiccup, without anyone who could get him up in the air. A downed dragon is a dead dragon.
Astrid tapped him on the nose and Hiccup was startled out of his thoughts. "Get out of your head. You're freaking yourself out."
"I'm just thinking!"
"Of the absolute worst case scenario, I know," Astrid's hand returned to Hiccup's leg, but he pulled it back against himself and she allowed it. "Your legs are missing, and that sucks, but the island isn't going to explode and kill us and all our dragons."
"They didn't just disappear. Someone had to take them, and they might still be on the Edge—"
"I'm sure they are." Astrid interrupted, expression suddenly pinched. "But they're not dangerous, they're stupid, and they think they're funny."
Hiccup let that thought roll around in his head before it clicked into place. "They wouldn't.."
Distant yelling reached his ears.
"I think they would."
Astrid stood up and offered her hands to Hiccup, who allowed himself to be pulled up so he could sit on his bed instead of the floor. It was only moments later that Toothless appeared in the entrance to the hut, Stormfly right behind him, having managed to snatch up Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Snotlout in her claws. She dropped them onto the floor, and not very gently, before tucking her wings against her side and landing herself.
"The dragons are trying to kill us!" Tuffnut screeched, curling himself into a ball and guarding his head with his hands.
"Betrayal!" Ruffnut shouted in the same tone, shaking her fist at Stormfly.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way!" Snotlout repeatedly tried to rush past Toothless, who jumped in his way each time before he finally growled and whipped him in the chest with his tail, knocking Snotlout onto his butt.
"All of you, shut up!" Astrid yelled. The room fell silent, and even Toothless stopped growling and sat back on his haunches. Hiccup wasn't sure what to do, stuck on the edge of his bed and with no energy to raise his voice or be angry. "Give me the satchel."
Tuffnut scrambled to unsling said satchel from his neck, shuffling toward Astrid on his knees with his arms extended. "Okay, okay, but before you—Augh!"
Astrid had snatched the satchel out of his hands and he curled back in on himself as she opened it and fished out Hiccup's missing prosthetic. His heart sank. The foot plate was bent in the wrong direction, leaving it unusable.
He couldn't see Astrid's face, but her free hand clenched in a fist and she rolled her shoulders back. Ruffnut, with all the subtlety of a Gronckle in a smithy, scooted to the side to hide behind her brother.
Astrid exhaled, low and slow. "Where's his spare?"
There was a large pause before Tuffnut eventually caved. "…We don't know." Toothless jumped to his side and growled in his ear, to which both twins screamed, and Tuffnet desperately waved his empty hands in front of him. "I'm serious! We lost it! Please don't kill us!"
"It was their idea!" Snotlout yelled, getting to his feet and brushing off his front. "I tried to talk them out of it, told them it wasn't a funny joke, but they wouldn't listen!"
"Our idea?" Ruffnut exclaimed. "You little—"
Hiccup dropped his face into his hands and stopped listening. Everyone continued to yell and he only wanted it to stop. His prosthetic was broken, his spare was lost and likely just as broken if not even more so, and all he really needed was some quiet time so that he could work on a new one.
"Fishlegs!" Astrid's sharp voice broke through the chaos and Hiccup looked up just enough to see the last rider in the open doorway. Fishleg's hair was messy, he wasn't wearing his helmet or his boots, and his clothes were wrinkled. His mouth hung slightly open and he was breathing heavily, blinking owlishly, but he looked toward Astrid with expectance in his eyes. "These three fools decided stealing Hiccup's leg would make for a good practical joke. Take that into consideration when you decide what training exercises they should be focusing on."
Fishlegs nodded and quickly straightened his posture. "Yes, ma'am! You three, follow me." He spun on his heel and began to march away. Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Snotlout started to complain, but went running after Fishlegs after Toothless whipped the back of their legs with his tail.
As the four of them left, Hiccup sighed and relaxed, having not even realized how much he'd tensed up during all the yelling. Astrid sat next to him and Toothless walked over to place his chin on Hiccup's knee, offering a soft rumble. Stormfly settled herself at Astrid's side. The four of them sat there until Hiccup spoke up.
"…You know that Fishlegs isn't going to make them go through some intense boot camp, right? He's probably going to make them meditate and think about what they've done."
"Good, It's what they need, and they'll hate it."
There was another period of silence, but right as Hiccup was ready to break it, Astrid beat him to it.
"I'm sorry. I didn't handle that like I should have."
Hiccup blinked and turned toward her, but her gaze was fixed on the prosthetic leg in one hand, though her other hand was raised to scratch Stormfly under the chin.
"I think our dragons were a lot harder on them than you were," Hiccup tried to joke. "They're tough, they've handled worse scoldings."
Astrid shook her head. "No, Hiccup, I'm apologizing to you. They stole your leg, not mine, and I just yelled at them. I should've asked you how you wanted to deal with them, or better yet, let you speak for yourself. "
"I mean, I just… I just wanted them to leave so I could think. I can talk to them later."
"And you should've been able to tell them that yourself. I shouldn't have thrown them at Fishlegs the second he showed up."
"Well—"
"Hiccup." Astrid turned to meet his eyes. "Please just let me apologize."
"Alright." Hiccup relented, paused, then added, "I forgive you."
"Of course you do," Astrid sighed, but her lips had quirked upwards, and she held out Hiccup's bent prosthetic. "So, any chance that this could be saved?"
As it turned out, the damage hadn't been as bad Hiccup originally assumed and, with Stormfly heating up the metal to make it moldable, had been able to bend the foot plate back into a usable shape.
Toothless was particularly interested in his handiwork, head low to the ground so he could observe how Hiccup put it on, even having to be gently pushed away by Hiccup a few times so that he had the space to attach the prosthetic leg to his stump.
Hiccup leaned back onto his seat when he was done, pressing the newly-bent metal against the ground experimentally. "It'll hold for now," He decided with a little shrug. "There's a few weak points now, but as long as I'm not running around all day, I've got time to make a few new legs before this one gives out."
"Any chance I can get you into the sky before you start fixating on how to build your most advanced leg yet?" Astrid asked, nodding her head toward Stormfly in the doorway and Toothless at Hiccup's side. "I think these two are getting restless. It'll be three if I let you sit in the same spot inside all day."
"I was going to stick with the same model, for your inf—" Hiccup stopped talking when Toothless excitedly bumped his snout against his arm, then mimicked Astrid's gesture, jerking his head toward where Stormfly sat staring out at the horizon through the open door. Hiccup grinned and scratched him behind the ear. "But yeah, I wouldn't mind going for a flight."
"Great! Let's get going."
That was Hiccup's cue to stand. He couldn't get onto Toothless's back while on his stool, after all, but he glanced down at his prosthetic one last time and something inside him seized up. Instead of the much more practical, comfortable leg that he'd handcrafted, he saw Gobber's very first attempt at replacing what he'd lost to the Red Death. The uncomfortable, ill-fitting contraption that pushed on wounds that hadn't yet healed.
The painful pressure crawled up his leg, into his chest, wrapping itself around Hiccup's heart and blocking off his airways until—
"Hiccup?" Astrid's voice broke through like it always did, but Hiccup could only shake his head.
"I can't do it. I can't."
Couldn't get out of bed, couldn't take a step without Toothless having to break his fall, couldn't keep up with everyone else his age—not that he'd ever been able to in the first place.
Astrid crouched into his line of sight and took one of his hands into her own, gently prying his nails out of his palm and softly massaging the indents he'd left with her thumbs. "I won't let you fall. Toothless won't let you fall."
Toothless trilled in what could only be agreement.
"Just try to stand, alright? If you think you're going to fall, you can sit right back down."
Slowly, after several seconds of consideration, Hiccup nodded. Astrid straightened up and took a step back, giving Hiccup the space he needed to stand. It took him another moment, but he did, allowing Astrid to help pull him up. Toothless was right by his side, and even Stormfly was observing carefully from a few feet away.
And then it was fine. He was standing, and there was nothing unfamiliar or strange about it.
Astrid smiled at him as she let go of his hand. "Still up for that flight?"
"Yeah." Hiccup returned the smile with a much smaller one. "I think I am."
"After a much-needed meditative session, I am proud to say that these three have successfully managed to see the errors of their ways and are determined to apologize and right their wrongs."
Fishlegs, now properly dressed and with tamed hair, held his hands behind his back and proudly puffed out his chest as he spoke. Snotlout and the twins stood in a line behind him, Tuffnut taking on the same stance as Fishlegs.
"That's great, really," Hiccup said honestly, though Toothless still looked prepared to pounce, like someone was going to snatch his leg out from right under him. He'd been plenty happy on their flight, but he clearly wasn't very forgiving. "But can I say something to them first?"
Fishlegs gestured to the riders behind him with an inviting hand, bowing as he stepped out of the way. Snotlout refused to meet Hiccup's eyes, Ruffnut was wrapping her braids around themselves, but Tuffnut still stood tall.
"Look, guys.." Hiccup started, sounding far more exasperated than authoritative. Astrid had that covered, arms crossed and wearing a distinct frown as she stood by him. "I don't know exactly what joke you guys wanted to make, I also don't care to know, and it doesn't matter who's idea it was."
Snotlout, who'd opened his mouth, abruptly closed it once more at the last statement.
"What you guys did wasn't funny and, even worse, it was dangerous. What if dragon hunters had attacked and I didn't have my leg? Toothless and I both would have been stuck on the ground." Toothless growled, and Hiccup placated him with an ear scratch. "We're all worse off against Viggo and his men when one of us goes down. Let's not make it easier for him to get the upper hand."
Hiccup's lecture continued for just a few minutes, and he'd received multiple apologies by the end which, surprisingly, weren't littered with excuses. He'd been about to let everyone disband and go off to do their own thing, but Tuffnut picked up on it and threw out one hand.
"Wait! We know words aren't enough, so we've very lovingly made you a replacement foot."
"Uh," Hiccup, a bit awkwardly, held out his metal leg. "Thanks, but I've managed to fix this one for now."
"No, no, this one is superior, trust me." Tuffnut finally took his hands out from behind his back and proudly presented… something. It was a branch that happened to be in the shape of an 'L.'
"Oh, wow, uh…" Hiccup took the offered object, turning it around in his hands. "Thanks, this is—Is this an 'S?'"
The dark wood had clearly been carved into, but it was a small mark on what Hiccup was pretty sure was meant to be the bottom of the foot.
Snotlout sheepishly kicked the dirt below him. "Yeah. That leg supports you, right? I'm lifting you up, not knocking you down, that's what we do."
That was definitely something Fishlegs had said, but Hiccup smiled anyway. "Snotlout, that's actually really nice—"
"And because I'm awesome!" Snotlout cut in with a much more familiar shout. "You should be proud to represent a Jorgenson, don't forget that!"
Astrid huffed a small laugh while Snotlout crossed his arms and turned sharply to the side, and Tuffnut took over. "You'll notice that it's made out of the same wood that Macey's handle is made of."
Hiccup hadn't noticed that.
"It took hours to find the right tree, but it'll provide you support for many years to come, physically and emotionally."
Ruffnut elbowed him in the side to get in front of Hiccup, ignoring Tuffnut's very loud cry of pain. "And, I'll have you know, that I personally hand-picked that branch from the very best tree we could find. Climbed almost to the top of the tree for it!"
Now that she was right in front of him, Hiccup could see a collection of leaves and tiny twigs throughout her braids.
"Wow, thanks. Seriously, guys, I appreciate it."
Ruffnut wore a prideful smile, Tuffnut managed to regain his serious composure after being hit, and Snotlout was staring between Hiccup's metal leg and the wooden one in his hands like he was seeing them both for the very first time.
"..That thing is never going to hold you up."
Hiccup shook his head, lips pursed. "It is not."
"Oh, come on!"
Another argument broke out between the three pranksters but, unlike that morning, it was humorous instead of stressful and overstimulating. Though Fishlegs quickly started trying to do damage control, yelling over them about deep breaths and happy thoughts.
Astrid leaned in to press her shoulder to Hiccup's. "Well, they tried."
"They did," Hiccup nodded. "I'm happy about that."
"You're a lot easier to get gifts for than I thought," Astrid teased. "I'll keep that in mind when Snoggletog rolls around." She let out a small whistle and Stormfly came bounding over from where she'd been sniffing a patch of Fishlegs' flowers. "I'm getting my girl a snack while these guys tire themselves out."
"I'll meet you at the stables," Hiccup said quickly. "If you'll give me a second to put this new leg of mine away."
Astrid stuck around long enough to press a light kiss to Hiccup's cheek and then they both went their separate ways on the backs of their dragons. The wooden leg ended up safely tucked away in a box under his bed.
It'd never be used. Never could be used, lacking any mechanism that'd allow him to attach it to his stump, but it had sentimental value. An unconventional token of friendship.