Wishing she could run, run away from everything she felt. From everything she'd lost.

He caught up with her, and she slowed down as they cut to the path back to her cabin. The sun seemed to come at a different angle than a few weeks before. There was a fall feel in the air and it seemed to say that life was changing.

Change was hard.

He cleared his throat and spoke into the fragile silence. "Then you just find a way around that."

She looked at him, unsure exactly what he meant. "Around what?"

"Around him losing everything."

"I don't think that's possible," she said.

"Anything is possible. You're Kylie Galen." He offered her a sincere smile.

She shook her head. "You know, people give me way more credit than I deserve."

He grinned. "You just don't see yourself like we do."

She let go of a frustrated puff of air and the earlier issues rose in her chest. "I'm not cut out to be a warrior, Derek."

"You are going to do fine," he said. "Besides, remember what you told me about accepting my gifts when we first got here?"

"It was probably bad advice," she said.

"No it wasn't. You told me I needed to embrace the gifts. You were right. I can't imagine not using my powers now. They are a part of me. And this whole sword thing and being a warrior is part of who you are."

She shook her head. "I have so much on my plate, I don't need something else."

"What's on your plate?" he asked.

"My resident ghost. I need to get her crossed over before she makes me crazy. And my quests," she said.

"But don't you think the whole sword thing is part of your quests? I'd think it glowing when you touch it is a sign that it has to do with you."

"Well, it's not the part of my quest I would choose to work on right now," she snapped.

After a second, he asked, "Can I help you in any way?"

She actually considered it. "I don't think so."

"Tell me about your ghost," he said.

She told him about the spirit. About the head and the sword."Shit, that would be freaky," Derek said. "They have to be connected somehow. She's got a sword and then a sword shows up." He paused. "I know that Lucas is going to bring those books from his grandmother's but I'm still going to do some research on the Internet. Maybe I'll find something."

"Thanks," she said, and then glanced at him. "For everything, too."

"Everything?" he asked.

"I don't deserve your friendship."

"Oh yes you do." They walked a few minutes in silence. The sound of their footfalls on the rocky path joined in the melody of nature. A few bird calls, insects buzzing.

"You want to know something?" he said.

"What?" she asked.

"You did the right thing ... with us. I needed you to tell me that. As crazy as it sounds, I actually feel better."

"Are you just trying to make sure I don't feel guilty?" she asked.

"No. I'm serious. This is right."

She looked at him and sensed he was being completely honest. "We'll be okay, won't we?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think we will. But I'm also serious about being your friend."

"Me too," she said.

They walked a little way in silence again.

"What are your other quests?" he asked.

She didn't want to explain everything about coming out of the closet to Derek, so she explained the other half. "I want to help the other chameleon teens. The elders keep them secluded from everything. It's no way to grow up."

"Like that girl Jenny?" he asked. "She seemed ... pretty normal."

"Yeah, like her, and she's normal, she's just ... very secluded from the world." She told him about them not having cell phones or friends outside the compound.

"That's sad. Jenny seemed ... nice."

"Yeah, she is," Kylie said, and remembered seeing Jenny clinging to Derek's back as he ran around in circles trying to buck her off. Kylie almost smiled.

"I know what you're thinking about," he said.

"It was funny," she admitted.

"It was not. I could have hurt her."

"You wouldn't have," Kylie said.

"Not on purpose, but she lunged at me from nowhere. I had no idea it was a hot chick latched on to me."

"So." Kylie pointed a finger at him. "You thought she was hot. I knew you did. I saw the way you two looked at each other there."

He shrugged. "I didn't look at her any way."

"Yes, you did. You were checking her out. And she was checking you out."

He arched a brow. "Was she really?"

Kylie laughed. "Yes, she was."

"Then I'll have to look her up, I seem to have a thing for chameleon chicks.""Good luck with that," Kylie said. "I hear her kind can be difficult."

"That's true," he said, and chuckled. They walked a few feet in silence.

"How bad is it really for them, for the teen chameleons?" Derek asked.

"They basically aren't allowed to go in public until they can change their patterns. And that doesn't happen until like their late teens or twenties."

"You can change yours."

"Yeah, I'm different for some reason." She frowned. "It seems to be the story of my life."