This is where I belong ||httyd fanfic||

46. A promise to keep

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Hiccup just remained at the top of the dark stairway looking down even after Syn had descended with the rest of the Berkians in tow. His brow furrowed noticing the off-character behavior of his wife; she never once looked back to give a reassuring glance, not a single smile or word of encouragement.

In fact, the only looks back came from Snotlout who sent him a defiant glare, one he was more than happy to return, to which Snotlout only gave a bored dismissive scoff before turning around. It certainly made him angry that his bull-headed cousin and the rest were still underestimating him in the face of all they had seen. Yet he chose to focus more on the growing pit in his stomach over the safety of his wife alone with his ex-parent, the man who had threatened her and would do who knows what else given her defiant nature.

And based on the way Alvis gripped onto his sleeve, the sentiment was shared. "I don't like that man. Daddy, where's he going with mommy?"

The movement of the small child in his arms brought Hiccup back to focus and drew his attention right to his equally worried face. He gave a small smile and readjusted his hold to carry the young boy bridal-style. "Don't worry, Alvis. They're just going to talk for a little bit. At least, I hope so." He muttered looking back to the steps once more.

"You think something bad's gonna happen?"

"Well, like practically every other Viking ever, Stoick was never really one for conversation. He always preferred to let his fists or hammer do the talking for him." A deadpan comment like that might not have been the best thing to mutter to a son worried for his mother, he thought once he heard Alvis's sharp gasp. Hiccup bit his tongue and fought back both a wince and the need to slap himself in the head for his insensitivity. Fortunately, Toothless beat him to it with his tail, but made sure to keep it light lest he propel his rider and Alvis down the steps. "Hey, don't worry, this is mommy we're talking about. I'd be more worried about him than her." He mentioned while rubbing his head with a slightly pained look.

"You sure?" Alvis said rather torn looking at his father's face.

"Of course. Your mom's got a real knack for telling people off. Just ask Ruoy." Hiccup smiled.

Finally, Hiccup stepped away from the top of the staircase and returned to Alvis' room with Toothless close behind. The room of the young chief/dragon rider-to-be was mostly similar to Hiccup's old room back on Berk was, with a bed, a desk for drawing, drawers for keeping clothes and other basic necessities. However, it was also filled to the brim with books brought in from other countries obtained on their three-year long journey, mostly children's stories, picture books and basic materials for learning to read, write, and do arithmetic.

Hiccup had been eager to promote intellectual skills long before his promotion to chief believing it would help the people in the long run, remembering how education had never been in favor with the Hooligan Tribe, and considering their overall lack of intelligence to be a heavily contributing factor to the continued ruin of their tribe. And lucky for him, Alvis was already an avid reader, at his current age able to understand material read by most adults, although that wasn't really saying all that much. He mentioned how he wanted to study up as much as possible by the time he could enroll in the Dragon Academy and learn to be a rider, he could be the top student and make him proud.