She walks in beauty, like the night. Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright. Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light. Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

-Lord Byron

Cutter's POV

The rest of the team and I were out on yet another vacation to get a brake from all the rescuing we had been doing lately. We had also invited Zeppla and her rescue team to join us, which they happily agreed too.

Aggro and I did out usual vacation routine of competitive napping, and this time, it was Aggro who was on top of me. Probably getting her sweet revenge from when I ended up laying on top of her the last time.

But for some reason beyond my comprehension, I just could bring myself to fall asleep. I tried multiple times to close my eyes and try to at least get a small rest, but nope. My mind just kept flashing images of Aggro right in my face.

With a soft sigh, I slowly yet careful wriggled out from under Aggro and slowly patted over to where Dak and Winger were playing a game of beach voleyrock.

They soon caught sight of me and Winger waved me over with one of his wings. "Hey Cutter! You wanna play beach volleyrock with us?" He asked me while Dak held up the rock they were using.

I shook my head and dug my claws into the sand, staring down at the ground as gathered my thoughts together.

"No thanks, Wing. But, uh, could I talk to you guys about something?" I asked instead, wanting to confide in someone about my conflict regarding Aggro.

They glanced at each other with a confused look before turning back to face me.

"Sure, what's up Cut?" Dak asked me, setting the rock down and walking over to sit beside me in the sand. "Is everything ok?"

I didn't answer for tight away, lost in thought as I mulled over what I wanted to say over and over in my head before I finally spoke.

"Well you see..." I trailed off, hesitating as I steeled my nerves and spit out what I needed to say. "The reason I'm over here talking to you guys is because... because I can't stop thinking about Aggro. And every time I close my eyes, Aggro's face keeps flashing in my mind and I don't know what's wrong with me."

It was silent for a few moments after I had finished speaking, and it felt like ages before either Dak or Winger finally said something.

"Well, Cut, it seems to me like you're feelings for Aggro are starting to change." Dak began in a slow tone as he gathered his thoughts together. "And from what you've just told us, I would guess that you're falling in love with her."

My eyes popped wide open in shock at his words. "Wait, what? No way! That can't be right!" I protested, shaking my head back and forth. But deep down, somewhere in my heart I knew it was right, I knew that my feelings for Aggro went much deeper than friendship.

I sighed and stared down at my feet as I tried to wrap my head around the fact that I was in love with Aggro. I mean, now that I thought about it, it made a lot of sense.

"Ok, so if that's the case, what do you think I should do?" I asked them, raising my head from the sand to stare into both of their eyes. "How do I tell her without making things awkward?"

"Just be yourself," Winger responded with a shrug. "And go for broke."

"Be honest with her and tell her how you really feel," Dak added in with an encouraging nod. "We'll be cheering you on buddy."

I felt my face heat up at their faith in me, they're support gave me hope that things would work out.

And with that, I gave them both one last thankful glance before spread my wings and took off, heading back to the rock that Aggro was sleeping on.

But when I got there, I noticed that she was awake and staring up at the clouds. She turned around upon hearing pawsteps approaching.

"Where'd you run off to?" She asked with a small tilt of her head. "When I woke up you were gone."

I felt the words get stuck in my throat, and I quickly thought up a lie. "I went to get a drink of water and to see what the others were doing." Well, that was not entirely a lie. I did go see what the others were doing, but it was for a different reason.

She hummed in thought, staring at me with a questioning look before she nodded and stretched, spreading her wings wide and yawning.

"Well, ok then, I'm gonna go fishing. Catch you latter." And with that she was gone, flying in the direction of the ocean.

A few days later we had packed up all of our supplies and were preparing to head back home.

Within those few days, I had tried multiple times to get Aggro alone so we could talk, but something or someone always intervened and it never worked out.

It seemed like we had only just left the island when storm clouds suddenly filled the sky. The rain began to pour and the wind through us around like rag-dolls, making it hard to fly or see straight.

The storm through us around for what felt like ages, and when it proved to be not letting up anytime soon, we decided to find an island to rest on until the storm passed.

But while searching for a place to get a break from the savage wind and pouring rain, Aggro and I were flung through the air, being pushed away from the others, who we had lost sight of just before getting swept away by the relentless windstorm.