This is where I belong ||httyd fanfic||

31. A romantic flight

"Come on, slowpoke, hurry up!" Syn called out into the distance, continuing to jog through the thick forest beyond the village. A few seconds passed before Hiccup finally came up walking, or rather limping, alongside Toothless, holding on tight to the dragon's head for needed support, with Alvis babbling and holding on to Toothless' back where the saddle was. Hiccup was still getting used to the prosthetic leg  Asmund had made for him, a wooden block tied to a metal spring that acted as his foot.

When he first woke up with it attached, he was horrified but somehow had managed to hold it all in; really, it surprised him at how calmly he reacted to the overwhelming change. Having this limb would mean he would have to learn how to do basic things like walk, run, jump and swim all over again, and the first time was none too pleasant. He'd recalled times when his father had tried to drown him in the ocean to teach him how to swim, or threaten to club his head in to teach him how to run. He supposed what made him calm was the fact that now he and Toothless were truly one in the same now, both missing a piece of themselves, taken by the other, along with the fact that he'd decided he'd make a few tweaks to the leg to better suit his preferences.

"You know, walking with a metal foot isn't as easy as I'm sure I make it look! Where are we going, anyway?" Hiccup questioned as Syn suddenly rushed up to him and dragged him through the woods to a large clearing in the tall pine trees. Toothless appeared right behind him soon after, moving as fast as he could without disturbing Alvis.

Hiccup was heavily panting, his hands on his jelly-like knees continuously failing to catch his breath. His stamina had been significantly reduced since he hadn't spent much time awake and his body was still recovering, and the added weight of the metal limb only made him more tired. Syn had been warned by the elders and her father not to push Hiccup too much, but she was so excited she had forgotten completely, and now was just crossing her arms and tapping her foot waiting for Hiccup to get his bearings.

"This can be counted as cruel and unusual punishment, I'll have you know! What is this all about?" Hiccup managed to loudly complain in between breaths.

"I wanna ride Toothless!" She exclaimed suddenly when he finally calmed himself and looked up and saw her jumping up and down like a hyperactive 5 year old.

Hiccup gave her an obvious 'what the hell' look with his mouth still hanging wide open. "Seriously? You've already flown on a dragon – you told me you flew Storm and that timberjack all the way to the nest. Why drag me all the way out here to ride some other dragon, namely Toothless?"

Syn was still bouncing as she answered. "I want the full dragon-riding experience, why else?"

"But that doesn't explain what makes Toothless so special." Hiccup said, earning him a slap from the dragon's tail. Hiccup rubbed his cheek to ease the pain of the fresh mark and glared daggers at Toothless. "Ow!! You know what I mean, you stupid overgrown lizard!" Toothless just rolled his eyes and smirked – obviously his doting, overprotective phase of waiting by his bedside expecting him to wake up was over.

"You're the best dragon rider around, and no dragon matches up to a Night Fury like Toothless." Syn said, finally calm and placing her hands on her hips. Clearly she wasn't satisfied with just flying from one place to another. Like she said, she wanted the full experience, and that came with all the daredevil, haphazard tricks Toothless was known to do.

"Okay then," Hiccup said with a sigh, automatically climbing on top of Toothless, locking his metal foot into the new stirrup that Asmund had constructed with a click. The new tail fin that Asmund constructed with the help of Hiccup's blueprints opened up all the way – it was a red leather fin with the a skull and two bone crossed on its mouth, the symbol of the Silent Wolf. "Just be careful with Alvis, alright? You may be ready to risk your life, but I don't think I'm ready to have my kid do the same." He picked Alvis up off the front of the saddle and handed her to Syn, her hands taking both of his sides and holding the infant against her.