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"There he is! No, stay away from that monster !"
The looks of disgust on the faces in the crowd were seared into Nightlight's mind, but one of them stung particularly hard: a shapeshifter with red fox ears on her head of brown hair and bright blue eyes.
"Glimmer-" Out of habit he reached out a hand, trying to approach her while calling her name, but she simply backed away further as her friends gathered around her with similar faces. He still remembered how Glimmer looked at him, her hateful eyes fixating on his wings limply hanging behind him.
"Get away from me, you hideous creature. I'm glad we're finally getting rid of you," She snarled, making Nightlight flinch as he felt the painful punch of the words in his chest. He knew that it was the moment the rest of the villagers were closing in with the intent to apprehend him, end his life for the dark magic running through his veins and put their source of misfortunes down...
The raven turned around and ran, attempting to reach his parents out of instinct and desperation for any sort of comfort - but as soon as he spotted them, their figures vanished without a trace, and so did everyone else around him despite the loud noises chorusing in his ears still. A bright flash of light was accompanied with every shapeshifter that disappeared, and the brightest white flares followed when he lost sight of the two loving ravens that had always cherished him for who he was.
Of course. It was his fault. They were gone - gone because of him. They were right - Glimmer was right to leave him, was right that he should have died long ago. Maybe then he wouldn't subject the only family he had to doom, and maybe he wouldn't have to go anywhere being known as nothing but a harbinger of pain and ill luck...
A violent crack of thunder shattered the vivid memories and pulled Nightlight back into the real world, where he opened his eyes only to be met with another white flash of lightning outside the window.
A storm was raging outside. The usual soft glow of moonlight was nowhere to be found, and the unforgiving sudden bursts of light that bathed the room in white sent waves of panic roiling through Nightlight's mind, causing him to shudder in fear.
He didn't necessarily dislike thunderstorms - most were terrified of the loud noises, or the prospect of danger that came with the lightning bolts, but that didn't bother the shapeshifter all too much.
What truly scared him was the light.
Perhaps the element he wielded had something to do with it, but Nightlight had always feared sudden flashes of bright lights, lightning being one obvious example. It was the same reason he had an aversion to cameras, something that he only knew existed once he entered a modern city for the first time. He had always found darkness to be comforting, despite the loneliness that sometimes came with it, and his brain grew to associate these blinking or flashing lights with unpleasant surprises.
This time was no exception.
The raven shrunk back under the covers and shielded himself with his black feathered wings, once again being painfully reminded of their existence - the reason why he was regarded as a freak, why he never deserved true love or affection. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to shut out the thunderstorm and the way it was lighting up the room every few seconds, but to no avail as the damage has already been done - he couldn't hide away from the pain that his dreams had brought back.
"Nightlight?" A familiar voice finally made itself known to his ears, as well as a few taps on his shoulder which was muffled by his wings. Hesitantly, the raven peeked through the edges of his feathers to see a pair of amber eyes waiting on the other side.
"It's okay, love. You're safe. Relax," The wolf's soothing words made Nightlight realize that he had - and was still curling into an uncomfortably tight ball, but the physical pain was no match for the heaviness of the fear and sadness clouding his mind.
He felt a pair of strong hands gently holding onto his own and lifting them from his eyes, and the raven found himself looking at Sylvester's worried face. The other shapeshifter frowned slightly as Nightlight whimpered at the next flash of lightning, attempting to bury his face in the pillow to hide away again.
"Hey, hey, take it easy, I'm here for you." He felt a fluffy tail softly brushing his legs and Sylvester moving his arms to wrap around Nightlight in a hug. "I'm here, love."
That's right. He wasn't alone, deep in the forest with no one to turn to in these moments - not anymore. He had not one, but two lovely partners that he totally didn't deserve by his side, always ready to reassure him and shower him in affection. Two partners who had never seen him in anything but a positive light, that regarded him as anything but an abomination.
Feeling a strange, almost foreign comfort grounding him once more, some of the tension escaped Nightlight's body as he allowed himself to unfurl his wings, letting the wolf hold him closer. The smaller shapeshifter pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, moving his fingers to brush a few locks of hair away from his face. The tender affection made the emotions in his heart burst free in the form of a fresh wave of tears, as the raven leaned into Sylvester's embrace while crying audibly.
"... oh dear, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Another charming, loving voice coming from Nightlight's other side made him open his misty periwinkle eyes once more. Sylvester loosened his grip on the shapeshifter, allowing a pair of brown, patterned wings to draw him into another set of warm arms. He turned around weakly to see two sparkling green eyes through his blurred vision, knowing that they belonged to the owl who had captured his heart as well.
Any form of defense he had prior to this crumbled instantly as more sobs escaped the raven. He could hear Viridian made a noise of worry as he buried his face into the other avian shapeshifter's chest. The owl was gently patting him on his back in an attempt to calm him down, while Sylvester was carefully smoothing out some of his disheveled black feathers, all while keeping his tail around his waist.
"You're safe, Nightlight, dear. Don't cry," Viridian said softly, but the sweet gestures of comfort only made him feel more vulnerable and helpless, causing his cries to increase in intensity, as he was unable to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks, shaking from all the fear and pain taking over his body.
The owl made a sympathetic cooing noise before planting a kiss on the distressed raven's forehead. Nightlight felt the shapeshifter's hold on him tighten a bit, the protective action putting some of his nerves at ease and ceasing the shivering a little. He could feel Sylvester moving closer to his other side before cuddling up to him, surrounding Nightlight with warmth that finally managed to calm the raging storm of emotions in his mind slightly.
The three laid together for a while, with Viridian and Sylvester both being quick to whisper in the raven's ears and shield his eyes from the bright light every time they heard a whimper that accompanied a lightning strike. Their voices were music to his ears - the owl's gentle, affectionate and understanding tone loosening the knots of stress in his heart, while the wolf's reassuring, steadying words chased away the loneliness that would have once overtook him at this hour.
Nightlight's sobs slowly died down as he allowed the comforting feeling from his lovers' embrace to fill his whole heart, their touch radiating a warming feeling that he felt down to the bone, offering him some shelter from the violent flashes in the dark night sky.
"Feeling better?" The owl asked as he wiped away some of Nightlight's tears gently with a few fingers. The shapeshifter nodded, still tightly holding on to Viridian, deathly afraid that he'll let go and never feel the comfort that came with his hugs. His winged partner smiled lovingly before leaning in and kissing the raven on the lips, and the feeling of fear faded as quickly as it came.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Nightlight shifted slightly so he could look into Sylvester's amber eyes, with Viridian's feathered wings still wrapped around him from behind. The wolf's words were non-judgmental, filled with nothing but genuine worry and care. He looked down slightly before nodding again, trying to keep the painful memories at bay. He could feel the wolf reaching out and holding his hands, giving them a comforting squeeze.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?"
The raven shook his head frantically before closing his eyes, hot tears once again obscuring his vision. The lupine shapeshifter noticed this immediately and leaned in for a kiss, and he could feel Viridian brushing away the liquid falling down his face again as Sylvester intertwined their fingers and gave them a squeeze once more.
"That's okay, love. All that matters is how you feel. We're here for you - whether you decide to bring it up or not."
"Silver's right, sweetheart. We just want you to relax and get some rest." The loving words touched the raven so much that he felt himself crying again - not out of pain or fear this time, but rather as a reminder of how much he loved his owl and wolf partners.
"... storms. I... don't like them," Nightlight managed to say in a weak voice when he found the strength to speak again. "Bright lights... the flashing... painful memories," the raven finished with a choked sob. He felt stupid - not being able to form proper words and admitting something that he shouldn't have been scared of at his age.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Viridian brushed his side with a wing, the action immediately soothing the shapeshifter once more. "We understand that, sweetheart. We'll help you feel better through it, alright?"
"And whenever you feel scared or hurt, just reach out for us. We'll always be here for you, you know that?" Sylvester added before leaning closer so he could whisper into Nightlight's ear. "I love you, Nightlight."
"I love you too." The raven could feel Viridian speaking softly into his other ear. "We'll stay with you and give you cuddles until you feel better, okay?"
In the face of such pure, unconditional love, Nightlight could only nod, a small smile finally creeping on his face as he allowed himself to melt in the arms of his lovers, who finally managed to tune out the violent flashes of lightning that plagued his mind. He would have responded verbally, would have told them both that he loved them too, but his voice failed him and he could only make a few sleepy noises that both of his partners thought to be extremely adorable. They seem to understand the raven's unspoken reply clearly, something that he appreciated to no end.
Within a few minutes, the tired shapeshifter found himself falling asleep once more, comfortably nestled up with a wing wrapped around Sylvester who was also asleep with his tail resting over Nightlight's legs, while Viridian kept his wings firmly wrapped around the raven as he smiled in adoration, giving him one final kiss on the forehead before closing his own eyes and letting sleep claim him as well.
The storm might have continued on for the entire night, but the violent whirlpool of bad emotions in Nightlight's mind had finally quelled, leaving nothing but room for affection that his partners were, and would continue to shower him with when they would finally wake up again.
The raven might not like bright, flashing lights, but Viridian and Sylvester were the only ones who could brighten his days so much that he didn't mind the way they both shone brighter than all the stars in the sky combined.