Tears fell from his pale eyes, a steady stream pouring onto the stone. His tears and the rain mixed, making it difficult to distinguish the dark dragon from the ledge and mountain. The hybrid, Nightfall.

Despite not being able to see, he could feel the sharp rock in his talon. He had sharpened it himself with quite a lot of struggling. Now, he brought the fine edge to his scales.

Through what he saw was darkness, he raked the stone blade up his left arm towards his shoulder. He sobbed, but it was caught and dragged with the wind. More tears slipped down his cheeks as blood quickly poured from the cut.

Shakily, he did this repeatedly with much shorter slices. Each drag of the stone brought more tears, the salty liquid falling into a crimson puddle.
Despite the pain, he continued. He continued to slice at his scales, moving onto his other arm. He didn't need sight to know how badly mutilated his arms were. The sting of rain against fresh wounds was enough.

But cutting just his arms weren't enough. Slowly, he moved his tail in front of him. He felt around with his free talon for it, clutching it once he felt his scales. Except... the tail was cold. His scales weren't cold.

Nighfall screamed, trying to scramble away from the unknown dragon. But the dragon grabbed Nightfall's wrists, and the cold talons sent not only fear through him, but brought more pain.

Nightfall sobbed more, giving up on trying to pull away. Instead, the dragon pulled Nightfall close. Cold wings enveloped the hybrid, shielding him from the rain. The voice that filled Nightfall's ears was familiar and comforting.

"Hey, I'm here. I'm here." Nightfall cried more, burying his face into the IceWing's chest. His lover, Novo, cradled him, ignoring the blood that smeared onto his pale scales.

"Let's head inside," Novo whispered, and if Nighfall didn't have excellent hearing, the words would have been lost in the wind.

Nightfall nodded silently, breathing ragged. He coughed and hiccupped between his sobs. Novo stood up, guiding Nightfall with his wing across the slippery ledge and towards a warm area, more than likely a cave.

When Novo removed his wing, Nightfall was sitting near heat. He assumed it was fire, and that Novo had used his enchanted bracelet to make it. Nightfall listened as Novo walked around, claws clicking against stone softly, mixing with the sound of the rain and dripping water in the cave.

Nightfall felt a cold presence beside him once again, contrasting against the warmth. He felt Novo take his talons, wrapping what he assumed were bandages over each cut. Nightfall just hiccupped, his tears coming to an end.

It was silent between the two dragons. Novo concentrated on bandaging Nighfall, and the latter was lost in thought. Novo didn't say anything until he was done, and it shook Nightfall back into reality.

"Why did you resort to cutting, again?" Novo's voice was gentle, one that you would use to calm an upset child. Except Nightfall was no child, and his emotions were far more complicated than just being upset.

Nightfall was silent for a few moments, thinking the best way he could answer. He opened his jaw and closed it right after repeatedly, coming up with no excuse. He hung his head, curling his tail in a ball beside him.

"Love, you need to answer. Please." Novo pleaded softly, moving to sit closer to his boyfriend. Nightfall didn't answer again, and Novo sighed. Whether from frustration or sadness, Nightfall was unsure. But he heard the sigh nonetheless.

Novo gently wrapped his wing around Nightfall, pulling him close. He gently kissed Nightfall's forehead before nuzzling the other comfortingly. "Alright... I won't pressure you to answer. Just... just know that I'm always willing to listen."

Novo stood after his statement, walking across the cave. Nightfall listened as Novo curled up, scales running across the stone floor. Nightfall shuffled closer to the fire, and it was silent once again.

"I'm sorry," Nightfall said quietly, voice cracking. He coughed, trying to clear his throat. "I just... The thing is... I don't know." He continued, seeing that he was about to start rambling. His throat would be sore tomorrow, no doubt.

He heard Novo move. "Don't know what?" Novo's tone wasn't harsh, quite the opposite, actually. It was comforting, welcoming, making Nightfall want to open up but he wasn't sure he knew how.

Another minute of silence. "I... I'm trying, okay? I'm trying. I don't, ah, how do I phrase it? I don't... know... how to explain." When Novo didn't answer, Nightfall sighed and lied down. He attempted to form an explanation, speaking as he thought.

"I just... can't. I can't describe it. I'm sorry." Nightfall moved his tail to curl around himself, resting his head on it. He listened to Novo sigh, stand up, and walk over to him.

Novo lied down beside Nightfall, wrapping his own tail around himself as well. But he gently rested his head near Nightfall's.

"Alright, Love. Take your time in telling me. But please... don't cut anymore." Nightfall could feel Novo's awaiting stare, and Nightfall felt himself nod.

"Alright. I'll... I'll try."

"Thank you," Novo nuzzled Nightfall gently.

The two lied there, Nightfall falling asleep after an hour. Novo turned the fire to a small one, enough to keep Nightfall warm but not to make himself uncomfortable before drifting into a dreamless sleep himself.