"Ah, shit, this is just what we need," Kenny groaned as the door of the truck banged open and Kasper burst out of it.

Gabi snorted derisively. "This one's all yours, Oaklynn. I'm just about done making your stalker my problem."

To his surprise, the Karkadda was alone, with no sign of Mercy or Rory. His movements were frantic as he came racing towards them, an expression of barely contained panic on his face. Luke exchanged a concerned look with Oaklynn and she gave him a small shake of the head. Steeling himself, he turned, facing square on as Kasper approached.

"Oaklynn!" he called. "I heard they called you in. I went to the station but Nalen said you'd left..." His voice trailed off as he came skidding to the halt a couple of meters away. His eyes narrowed and flickered from Luke to Oaklynn, then briefly flashed to the others.

His expression morphed from one of surprise to one of fury in an instant. "You."

"Kasper, wait!" Oaklynn blurted, stepping between them. "It's not what you think."

"You were told to stay away!"

"Hey, it wasn't my idea," Luke shot back. "Nalen called both of us in here. I had nothing to do with it."

"After everything, you still can't leave us alone?" Acid burned in Kasper's words. He took a step forward. Then another. "You selfish bastard. All you care about is getting what you want, isn't it? Well it ends today."

Luke felt his hackles rising as he met Kasper's stare. Every time something he managed to take a step forward with Oaklynn, every time he broke down a barrier the Karkadda seemed to be there to block their way. He couldn't take it anymore.

"So you're threatening me now?" he spat.

"Was I being too subtle?"

"Words are cheap, tough guy."

Kasper's face split into a bitter smile. "Oh, I can show you a lot more than words. Should have let those bastards gut you in the woods."

"Well, you didn't, and here I am."

Oaklynn shot him a warning look before placing herself into Kasper's path. "Kasper, stop this, please!"

In response, he pushed Oaklynn roughly out of the way with snarl.

"Woah, just take it down a few notches, big guy." Kenny lurched forward and placed a restraining hand against Kasper's shoulder.

The Karkadda reacted violently to the touch. Anger flashed across his face and he twisted away from Kenny's grip, shoving the other boy hard with both hands. Kenny squawked in surprise as he went flying backwards straight into Gabi. She yelped as she tried unsuccessfully to catch him, and they both crashed to the ground in a jumble of limbs.

Luke didn't really think about what he did next. All he saw was his friends fall, and he reacted. All the anger he felt towards the Karkadda came boiling over in a single violent rush, and he stepped forward.

And punched Kasper in the face.

The blow connected hard, and Kasper spun away with a snarl of pain. Luke's knuckles throbbed from the impact but he ignored it. He had finally had enough.

"Luke, stop!"

Ignoring Oaklynn's panicked yell he launched himself forward. As Kasper turned back to face him, Luke tackled him to the floor. Rising up astride the Karkadda, he reared back and laid another punch hard across Kasper's cheek.

The boy let out a grunt of pain and twisted himself aside as Luke tried to hit him again. Kasper bucked wildly, throwing Luke sideways. A kick smacked him in the thigh and a fist smacked into his ribs. Luke coughed and jammed a knee into Kasper's midriff in response. Then he pushed with that leg to shove himself clear, rolling and scrambling to his feet again.

"STOP!" Oaklynn shrieked, but neither of them were listening any more.

Kasper flew at him, swinging with both hands. Luke ducked one. The second clattered into his jaw and sent him spinning, pain ringing up and down the left side of his face. The Karkadda lunged forward but Luke dropped his head instinctively, avoiding a barnstorming swing that would have knocked out several teeth.

Blinking to clear his head he surged forward, getting close to stop Kasper using his greater reach. The two of them crashed together, wrestling to gain the upper hand, but things were more even than they appeared. Kasper was well built, but Luke was deceptively strong, his arm muscles honed from years of archery. He got a hold of Kasper by the front of his t-shirt, driving with his legs to push his opponent backwards.

Another punch sank into his side and Luke grunted in pain, trying to keep a hold of Kasper as a fresh jolt of pain rattled through his ribs. Swivelling, he stepped forward to place his right leg behind Kasper, then pushed with all his might.

The other boy went backwards, tripped over Luke's outstretched leg and went tumbling head over heels into the grit.

Something happened then. Something Luke realised he really should have thought about before picking this fight.

The rage surged over the Karkadda and this time there was no one to stop it. Crimson light boiled like a furnace beneath his skin as he rocketed upright with a bellow, and Luke took a step back. Real fear went searing through him when he saw the spurs of bone begin to rise across Kasper's jawline. His eyes raged into a white hot inferno and with frightening speed the wicked curve of his horn speared up out of his forehead.

He changed. In broad daylight. Right in front of Kenny and Gabi.

Gabi screamed. Kenny let out a high pitched yelp like a startled dog.

Luke barely noticed, his eyes fixed upon the berserk Karkadda now bearing down on him. He shuffled back on instinct, his arms up, but before he could think of what to do, Kasper charged. The memory of the man Oaklynn had impaled flashed through his mind in an instant and he dropped into a crouch, trying to twist aside to avoid that vicious horn.

He just about managed it. He reacted fast, but the inhuman speed of the Karkadda carried Kasper forward faster than anyone could have avoided completely. While he managed not to get speared straight through his chest, they crashed together and the horn cut into his upper arm. Luke yelled in pain and found himself tackled backwards hard.

He slammed to the concrete. His spine jolted and his elbows scraped. A warm, wetness spilled down his right bicep. The blazing, crimson, demon-like form of Kasper loomed over him, head rearing back as he prepared to ram the blade of his horn down through Luke's throat. The insanity of it hit him like a truck. Was he really about to die a few hundred yards from a police station, killed by some fairytale monster?

Another blossom of light suddenly seared across his vision, a white blue nova that blurred his focus. He could barely see, but he heard another scream. Then Kasper's head was falling towards him, that horn ready to rip him open.

An animal howl split the air and another form suddenly surged into his sight. Another Karkadda, blazing with light, dark hair billowing like curtains of pure night, slammed into Kasper, locking horns with him.

Oaklynn.

For a moment he stared in amazement at the clash unfolding above him as the two Karkadda strained for position, light boiling across their bodies and snarls of exertion ripping out across the air. A foot stamped down near his head, jolting him out of his amazement. In a frantic, scrambling motion he tried to roll out of the path of the battling creatures, twisting to his left and shielding his head with one hand. He managed to slither out from under them, shuffling awkwardly backwards.

Someone grabbed him under the arms and pulled him clear, helping him scramble to his feet. The grip released and he glanced back to find Gabi standing beside him. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging half open in shock as she stared at the two Karkadda. A flare of light wrenched Luke's attention back to them.

It looked like a mismatched fight. Kasper was taller and broader, but Luke had no idea how the physical attributes of the pair really matched up when they were transformed like this. Their neck muscles strained, the bone ridges flexing, their horns making a nails-on-chalkboard grinding sound.

What happened next was so fast he could barely follow it.

One minute they were pushing against each other, the next Oaklynn shifted her position and wrenched her head to one side with frightening force.

Luke thought Kasper's head would get twisted clean off by the sheer violence of the motion, but the reinforced bones running down the sides of the Karkadda's neck held firm. Instead, he was lifted bodily off the ground and send spinning horizontally through the air, flying several meters before slamming to the ground.

He rolled a few more feet before skidding to his knees. His head jerked up and he locked his blazing, crimson edged eyes onto Oaklynn. With all the lights, the spurs of bone and the horn it was difficult to actually make out his expression, but he seemed to be surprised by what had happened.

Then the change receded, revealing an expression of anguish. Luke blinked in surprise, seeing Kasper's face in a way he never had before. The boy looked devastated, his lips trembling, eyes wide and sad like a puppy. He stayed on his knees as though glued there, stunned. Oaklynn stood her ground, breathing heavily and with eldritch blue light still sloughing off her deceptively slender frame. Her knees were still bent, her whole posture tense, ready to charge.

Trying to quell the battering beat of his heart, Luke stepped tentatively forward.

"Luke," Gabi whispered, holding onto his wrist.

"It's okay," he told her, gently peeling her grip loose. She was too stunned by the chain of events to offer any real resistance and once free, he edged towards Oaklynn again. He reached out and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

He felt her tense sharply, and the electric crackle of her presence felt somehow different, more violent, stinging his palm a little. Luke ignored the sensation and kept contact.

"Oaklynn, it's okay," he told her softly. "I think he gets it."

She managed a nod. He felt the tension in her shoulder ease down and she straightened up. It took a few seconds but the glow subsided and he watched the horn slide back beneath her skin, the Karkadda part of her concealing itself once more. Oaklynn shuddered and he pulled his hand away, his attention drifting back to Kasper.

The other Karkadda hadn't moved, but to Luke's shock he could see the shine of welling tears in Kasper's eyes. He looked from Luke to Oaklynn in disbelief; swallowed down a lump in his throat.

Then he shot upright and sprinted back to his truck. Before any of them could react the door thumped shut, the engine revved and soon all that remained was a cloud of dust kicked up by the churning wheels. The truck growled away out of sight, leaving them alone once more.

Somewhere a bird chirped innocently. Luke glanced around, but it didn't seem like anyone else was around to witness the altercation, thankfully. No-one except his friends.

"You're hurt," Oaklynn said hoarsely. She turned to face him, reaching hesitantly out towards his arm.

"Oh." The pain came back, almost as if it had been called by her attention. He sucked a breath through gritted teeth and clamped a hand down over the shallow gouge in his arm. He felt warm blood and squeezed tighter.

Oaklynn placed a hand over his and a faint blossom of light pulsed into the wound. At first the pain swelled and he took in a sharp breath, opening his mouth to yell. Then like a falling curtain the sensation disappeared, leaving his arm feeling oddly numb.

"That should stop the pain," she murmured. "But get it wrapped properly when we get home."

We.

"I will, thanks. And... you know, thanks. For stepping in like that."

"You would have done it for me," Oaklynn replied. "You kind of did."

"Not that smart, huh?"

"No, but it's the thought that counts." She managed a faint smirk. "I told you I'd do the dragon-slaying for both of us, didn't I?"

"Yeah, remind me of that next time I'm feeling chivalrous." Luke winced, probing a loose tooth with his tongue. Dusting himself off, he looked back at his friends apologetically.

"Do you believe me now?"

"What the hell," Kenny blurted in response. Then louder; shriller. "I mean what the hell!"

"Kenny-," Gabi put a hand on his arm but he flapped it away.

"No, I mean seriously, what the hell was that? What just happened?!"

"Kenny!" She yelled, grabbing him by the shoulder and giving him a light slap across the face. "Get a hold of yourself!"

"But... but... did you see-,"

"Yes, yes, yes, I saw it too!" She released her hold on him and stepped back, sweeping both hands back through her hair, digging her fingers deep into her black tresses as she turned to face them again. "Shit." Gabi took a deep breath. Then another. Beside her, Kenny shook his head and blinked, still unwilling to believe the evidence of his own eyes.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Alright?" Gabi's mouth opened and closed twice but she couldn't get the words out.

"It's all real," Kenny babbled. "Everything you told us?"

"You saw it."

"God, I wish I did drugs." He pressed two fists against his eyes, blowing out his cheeks in a sigh. "Then I could just say I hallucinated it and get on with my life."

"You said you wanted the truth."

Gabi smiled weakly and nudged Kenny. "We did ask."

"So... so what now?" Kenny asked, still looking more than a little shell-shocked.

Luke turned back to Oaklynn. She was looking at the forest, the breeze dancing with her dark locks of hair. A hollow feeling setting in his gut. The fight had changed nothing – not really. Kasper would go back, tell Gallie everything. Then there would be consequences. They could at least explain themselves, he hoped, make it clear that were it not for Sheriff Nalen and Simon DeVergne they probably could have kept avoiding each other. It was all an accident.

An accident better than any of our plans.

"I guess you need to go back to the herd," he said, feeling a lump rising in his throat. "Does that mean we need to say goodbye again?"

"No," she said.

Something in Oaklynn's posture changed. Her back straightened and she raised her head, staring out into the treeline. For the first time in a long time when he looked at her, she looked assured – confident – in what she was about to do. Her shoulders rose and fell as she breathed deep before turning to face him.

The defiant, beautiful smile on her face made Luke's heart leap and his skin tingle. She walked up to him in three powerful, determined strides. One hand slipped around behind his neck, gently tipping his head forward as she rose up to meet him. Their lips locked together, sealing the unspoken decision she had just made. His eyes closed and his hands clasped her waist. Light shimmered around them and he felt the bruises and scrapes from his brawl suddenly subsiding, as though someone had just applied a soothing balm. The world stopped. All his worries evaporated in that instant.

He could have stayed there forever, but eventually, reluctantly, Oaklynn pulled away. Her fingers traced gentle patterns on the back of his neck and a shimmer of rose light passed across the storm of her eyes.

Oaklynn smiled again.

"No more goodbyes," she told him. "I'm right where I want to be."