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It was weird.
Everything was weird.
It didn’t feel right, it wasnt natural.
Or well, it was, but she wasnt used to it. Something was definitely different, something in Hiccup.
She didn’t want to assume anything but with all the behaviours she’s seen him exhibit recently? It just felt off.
Everyday, she watched, she watched as he mumbled his words, blurring them as he talked. The way his eyes weren’t full of life and drooped, unnerving red veins taking place of the one many glimmers in his pupils, even replacing them.
Leaning on walls to support himself, messing up everyone else’s names.
The riders even made a small joke out of it, calling Tuffnut Snotlout, chalking it up to a honest mistake, but she knew better than that. She knew he would have known them too well to make such a small mistake, and with the much more frequent messing up of plans or falling asleep at the dinner table and even standing up was much too odd for Hiccup.
She knew better, Astrid knew him better.
She had known them as with the other riders ever since they were youngins, this wasnt their usual Hiccup, so what happened to him?
The random bouts of easy irritation, fast replies of being awake to small interactions, stumbling as he walked.
Was he always like this? Surely not.
The night breeze sweeps through the island, the chilly air and shimmering stars lighting up the path as her footsteps made the old wood creak and compress while she moved over it.
Her feet one infront of another as she made her way to his room, she was going to confront him, she wanted to know what happened to him, needed to understand him.
Astrid looked at him, sat in quietly by him, they didn’t need words to communicate, the silence spoke volumes.
Hiccup looked back at her, his eyes exhausted and puffy, his lips tremble behind as it follows the short intake of breath he did.
His voice cracks as he speaks up, his teary eyes looking at her,
“I’m just… just so tired.”