It's been way too long, and I'm sorry. Truly.

Special thanks to my beautiful little sister, who reads all my fanfictions like they're the newest Percy Jackson book.

Chapter 3: Toothless

"It's just you and me now, bud." Hiccup opened up the door to the cage. The dragon shrunk back, still wailing, but this time, there was an egde of a warning in it's growls. Hiccup stepped away from the cage, and headed back up the stairs. One thing his mother had taught him was not to push them, they would come in their own time. He made sure all door were locked except the one to arena.

He considered letting the Night Fury roam around in the small pen where he washed the dragons, but Hiccup thought it would be too small. The arena would give the dragon comfrotable distance between the two of them.

The boy pulled a large barrel of fish into the middle of the arena, than sat down and leaned agaisnt it. He pulled out his sketch book and charcol to pass the time. It wasn't long before the Night Fury stepped out into the sunlight.

Hiccup followed the dragon's movement with his eyes, keeping his head still and lowered. The Night Fury crawled around the arena, sniffing, and clawing at the walls. Hiccup took in all the injuies with practiced eyes. There were many, some serious, but none he hadn't seen before.

Then the dragon focused on him. "Hey bud." Hiccup calls softly. "I've got some fish over here, and if you come, I'll take off that muzzle so you can eat." He knew logically that the dragon couldn't understand him. And yet those green eyes that were fixed on him, calculating it's options, seemed full of intelligence.

After almost two days without food, the Night Fury was too hungry to resist. He glided slowly over to Hiccup, cautious for any kind of trap the human had set. "That's right." Hiccup encouraged, taking a fish and holding it out in front of him. Toothless sniffed at the fish, and Hiccup carefully moved his hands under the dragons jaw. He undid the buckles slowly, and slid the muzzle off the Night Fury.

The dragon opened a toothless mouth, and the Viking blinked, confused. "Toothless? Why would dad put a muzzle on a dragon with no-" Pearly white razors jutted through pink gums, snatching the fish and downing it in an instant. "-teeth."

Hiccup smiled. As long as the dragon was eating, he would recover quickly. Hiccup moved the basket in front of the Night Fury, and the dragon dug in, happily.

The Viking opened up his bag and took out some bandages, and disinfectants. He hoped nothing was infected yet, that would make his job much harder.

As soon as Hiccup reached out to the dragon, the Night Fury shied away. Hiccup sighed. "Come on, bud. We need to get you all patched up, and then I'll take a look at your tail." The Night Fury paid him no mind, not deeming him a threat, and walked away.

The boy finally got close to the Night Fury once more, but the dragon's eyes narrowed, and he growled softly. Hiccup stretched out a hand. "It's okay. I just need to clean all that gunk up. Trust me." The dragon allowed Hiccup's palm to rest on his nose, before shaking his head and darting off.

Hiccup shrugged. It was a start.

"So how's Hiccup doing with the beast?"

The Meade Hall was filled with merrymaking, even long after the sun had set. Berk had made a good trade in the dragons they had caught this year.

The Chief of the Hooligans was sitting at a table with Gobber and Spitelout, and a few other of his best men.

At the mention of his son, Stoick sighed. "He hasn't been home since the auction. He'd rather be with that wild creature then his own father." He turned to look at Gobber sadly. "I just don't know what to do with him."

Gobber smiled grimly and nodded.

"He argues with me over everything. He treats me like I'm the source of all his problems. Is it too much to ask for a little respect?"

Gobber shrugged. "He's a boy, Stoick. And every bit like his mother."

"I say a good beating will fix 'em right up." Spitelout chimed in. "Worked like a charm on my boys."

Stoick wondered at that. He had never laid a finger on his son- he was scared he would break. However, his brother's advice made him think.

"I'm sure Hiccup just needs some time. Ya know how he is around auction day."

Gobber's words were truth, and Stoick nodded. "You're proabably right, Gobber."

Hiccup gave Toothless a ginger pat on the nose. "See? That's better, isn't it?"

It was truly amazing what a little one-on-one with Toothless had one. It had taken all day yesterday and the whole night, and almost all day today.

Hiccup had dubbed the Night Fury Toothless, for his unique ability to retract his teeth, something that Hiccup could only compare to the way a cat sheathed their claws.

Toothless sniffed at his tail, now wrapped in a thick gauze. It had taken Hiccup hours to clean it, and get rid of what remained of the left fin. It was damaged beyond repair, and Hiccup feared would get infected if he left it there. Toothless looked back at the human, who gave him another fish. "I wish I could free you, Toothless. You deserve to be free. No wonder you evaded capture for so long."

Hiccup pulled a few bandages out of his bag, and a jar of what looked like wax. Still only using slow movements, the boy inspected a large, jagged cut under the scales where a spear or ax had penetrated. He dipped two fingers in the balm, and speaking softly to the dragon, slid them along the cut. He froze when Toothless snarled.

However, the black dragon didn't move, so Hiccup continued to apply the disinfectant. When the boy was satisfied with his work, he patched it up with a handwoven bandage. It was the only kind that dragons had ever allowed to stay on their injuries for longer then, well, a minute. Dragonnip was woven into it, and they would sniff at it happily ever so often. That was what he and Mom had found out when they-

No.

No thoughts of her.

Toothless inhaled the strong scent of dragonnip, pupils dilating. Hiccup grinned, pushing all previous thoughts aside. "Smells good, huh?" He dug around in his bag. Hiccup presented a loose blade of dragonnip for him. Toothless joyfully snuffled at it while Hiccup stitched up large tears in his wings. It had to have hurt, but the dragonnip was completely preoccupying Toothless.

Yawning, Hiccup finished his task and packed up his bag. "I'll check up on you tomorrow, okay bud?" Hiccup turned to meet the gaze of the Night Fury, who appeared to be saddened by this statement. "As much as I hate to put you back in a cage, I need sleep."

Hiccup could have sworn that the dragon had understood his statement, when Toothless nudged his hand gently, and walked with him back towards the dungeons. Toothless' eyes narrowed as they entered the darkness, but Hiccup didn't take him down the stairs. Instead, he got a cage right next to the door. A bowel full of water and fresh fish was in it. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it was the best Hiccup could do.

"I'll leave the door open." Hiccup said, locking the cage door behind Toothless.

He was true to his word and didn't shut the door, allowing the Night Fury a view of the stars as they began to pop out in the darkening sky.

Hiccup stumbled home, exhausted, and collasped into bed without even a word to his father.

If anyone has any ideas for this story, please share! I don't remember the original plot, so I'm open for anything!

Thanks to my reviewers, favoriters, and followers, and readers. I love you all.