I don't own Httyd. But I do own this story :)
"Hiccup, don't... overreact, okay. Just, brace yourself for a shock." Hiccup sent hear a confused look before walking over and turning towards the cage. Instantly, he froze as the tension in the air became so thick, one could cut it with a knife. Hiccup was still as a statue as he stared at the Night Fury, who was glaring at him. Toothless shifted and a shaft of light fell over his eyes, revealing how cloudy it was, as well as the scar that sliced through it. Astrid noticed that Hiccup had started to tremble. In a quiet voice, almost too quiet to hear, he whispered one word.
"Toothless?"
Hiccup was frozen, a hundred different emotions and thoughts going through his head. His best friend was curled up in a cage on a dragon hunter ship and covered in scars. A loud, guttural growl was emitting from the tense Night Fury. Hiccup whimpered and began to slowly walk forward. Toothless curled up even tighter, his growling getting louder. Startled, the gang jumped back, except Hiccup. Hiccup kept moving forwards, despite the snarling from inside the cage.
Sighing, Hiccup placed a hand on door, prompting Toothless to scurry backwards. A beam of sunlight fell across Toothless' muzzle, revealing a bunch of leather straps. The main one around his muzzle had three others attached: one around the front of his muzzle and the other two on either side. The last two were attached two a metal collar around his neck. Hiccup whimpered and pulled the door open, yelping as Toothless' tail swung at him.
"Toothless, buddy." Toothless snarled and curled tighter, his eyes narrowed in distrust. Hiccup knew that his friend was still in there, even if buried deep. He sat down and held up a hand, his friend wincing at the motion. Depending solely on his trust of Toothless, Hiccup took a deep breath and turned away. Toothless stared at the boy in front of him, feeling a sense of familiarity. He slowly uncurled and stretched forwards. The Night Fury was only a little ways away when he spooked. Hiccup yelped as Toothless let out a loud hiss and bowled him over.
"No! Toothless, come back bud!"
"Hiccup!" Astrid watched as her friend chased his dragon. The gang looked at each other before chasing him. Hiccup was trying to calm Toothless down as he raced around the ship deck in a blind panic. The other dragons were hovering above the ship, watching the scene before them.
"TOOTHLESS!" Toothless skidded to a stop, shivering as he stared, wide-eyed at Hiccup. Hiccup slowly approached, taking care to keep eye contact. He lifted a hand towards Toothless, using the other to draw and discard his dagger. As soon as the knife was gone, Toothless relaxed slightly. Soon, they were only slightly apart.
"Calm down bud. It's me. Hiccup." Toothless' ears pricked and he went rigid. Hiccup gently placed his hand on Toothless' nose and his other hand on the dragon's jaw. A coarse purring began to flow from the dragon's throat, making Hiccup smile. Astrid ran over, not noticing the look of fear and distrust in Toothless' eyes. Hiccup gently scratched his chin, making Toothless relax slightly. However, Astrid soon got too close.
"Woah, bud! Calm down!" Toothless had spooked again, rearing back and roaring, his wings spread wide as he tried to lunge at Astrid. Hiccup grabbed at Toothless, panic flaring in his chest. However, Stormfly beat him to it. A blue and yellow spike hit the wood in front of Toothless, making him jump back. Hiccup ran too his dragon and placed a hand on his snout. Toothless tensed at the contact, his eyes mere slits. However, his agitation lasted for only a few seconds as Hiccup began to scratch his chin. A loud, scratchy purring filled the air as Hiccup scratched his way to the Night Fury's sweet spot.
"Hiccup, we need to get him out of here. Let's get a net around him and get out of here." Hiccup nodded and gently stroked Toothless' inky black scales, an occasional whimper escaping him. Everything was getting overwhelming for him. A pulsing headache suddenly hit him, making him titer. He placed a hand to his head, moaning, as the world seemed to tilt. There was a sharp pain on the side of his head as he registered Astrid calling him.
Astrid sighed as she tied a bunch of heavy nets together, trying to create a net big enough to allow Toothless to move. After this was finished, they would be able to get back to the Edge. Suddenly, Snotlout began to shout, his voice panicked. Astrid dropped her net and raced back, stopping upon seeing Hiccup lying next to Toothless. She gasped and shot towards her friend, hearing Stormfly race over. The finished rope net landed beside Astrid, making her reach up and scratch Stormfly's neck. Astrid pulled Hiccup away, resting him against the boat's edge. After, Hookfang grabbed a still unconscious Toothless and placed him on the net.
The five conscious riders lifted the edges to Hookfang's, B&B's* and Stormfly's talons. Astrid grabbed Hiccup and held him as they flew. Halfway there, Toothless woke up but, due to the muzzle, was unable to do anything.
"Hey Astrid, what if Hiccup can't get through to Toothless? What if he's completely wild now?" Astrid sighed and turned towards Fishlegs, not noticing a stirring Hiccup. Hiccup's eyes fluttered open and he winced at the stabbing pain in his head. He shifted, feeling a roughness beneath his exposed lower back. Astrid looked down as Hiccup moved, his eyes fluttering open.
"Hey. We're just about at Dragon's Edge. Don't worry, we have Toothless." Hiccup nodded, wincing at his headache. Soon the island came into view. They landed and dragged a still netted Toothless into one of the stalls, struggling with the wild dragon.
"Hiccup, how are we going to do this? I mean..."
"No, Astrid. This is something I'm doing by myself. I don't want to risk you or Toothless getting hurt." Hiccup sat down and stared at the stall and the struggling dragon within. Astrid sighed and left, muttering something along the lines of "Your funeral." Hiccup just shook his head and turned towards his friend, tears pricking his eyes. He froze when he saw Toothless straining to open his mouth, the muzzle even cutting into the scales. Shocked, he stood and entered the stall, pausing as Toothless whipped his head around and snarled. Focusing on his throat, Hiccup began to vibrate his throat and warble. Soon, his warbles were forming a song of sorts**. Toothless slowly relaxed as the song filled his ears, the flaps on the sides of his head trembling. Slowly, step by step, Hiccup approached the dragon, still warbling to his friend.
Hiccup reached out towards the muzzle, flinching when Toothless snarled. After a few more tries, he managed to get a hand on the leather straps. The warbling abruptly cut off when he noticed how tight the straps were. Toothless wasn't able to open his mouth or even try without hurting himself. Moving a hand slowly over the straps to the buckle holding it in place, he stopped as Toothless wriggled. Hiccup gently placed a hand on Toothless' muzzle and scratched his chin, moving slowly towards the collar. As soon as he touched the metal, Toothless went rigid and stared at him, fear in his eyes.
"Shh, it's okay, bud. I won't hurt you." Slowly, the buckles came undone and the muzzle came off. Toothless opened his muzzle and yawned before turning towards Hiccup. Hiccup stared at his old friend, concerned when he didn't move. Suddenly, with the speed of lightning, Toothless lunged at Hiccup, pinning him down and snarling. Hiccup stared at his friend, feeling fear freeze his heart. Last time this happened, he'd saved Toothless from certain death, a far cry from removing a muzzle. The wild Night Fury leaned back and opened his mouth, a faint purple glow forming at the back of his throat. Hiccup went rigid, frozen with fear and horror. His own best friend was about to kill him.
