This is my first ever fanfiction so be nice!

"Please tell me where we're going!" Connie tried one last time in an attempt to make Col enlighten her.

"Wait and see" was all he said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Connie sighed. This had to have something to do with her birthday. She wasn't looking forward to whatever Col had planned for her. She tried again to get him to talk.

"Col, I told you I didn't want anything. I made you promise!"

"And I've kept that promise. Now stop talking; we're here now."

Walking along the moors, Connie hadn't being paying much attention to where Col was taking her. She looked up and saw a blue blanket laid out on the grass, with a picnic basket and an annoyed looking boy sprawled across the blanket.

"Rat? What are you doing here?"

"Thanks, Rat, you can go now." Col pulled Rat to his feet.

"It's about time! You were ages! What took you so long?"

"Bye, Rat." Col hinted. Rat huffed and walked off in the direction of his house. Col turned to Connie.

"Happy birthday," he said and kissed her on the cheek.

Connie lay on her back, looking up at the stars. This had been the best birthday of her life. She'd spent the whole afternoon with Col, eating Doritos and chocolate buttons- and they were still here now, laying next to each other and picking out patterns in the stars. Connie sighed- Col knew her too well. He knew that this was what she wanted for her birthday- not an expensive gift, just an afternoon with her favourite person. But something was bothering Connie. Col knew her inside out- or so it seemed. But Connie knew that there was something he needed to know.

"Col, I don't want to ruin the moment or anything, but I…"

"What?" Col immediately sat up, hearing the tone of Connie's voice. Something was wrong.

"We never talked about…" Connie couldn't finish the sentence. She felt like she had an apple-sized lump in her throat.

"What?" Col repeated, gently.

"Kullervo." Connie whispered his name. Just saying it stirred up the sleeping shape shifter inside her.

"Connie, it was half a year ago. He's gone. Isn't it time to let it go? You killed him. That's all I need to know."

Connie couldn't help herself. The words she had wanted to say for so long burst out from her mouth.

"He's not dead!"

"He's not dead?" Col repeated. "But I thought…"

"He's not dead because he's here. In me." Connie hesitated, and then said the words she wished could be a lie. "I am Kullervo."

Col choked on his chocolate button.

"You… you…" he spluttered, trying to regain control over his words.

"The only way to defeat him was to become him. To take over him. So I went to the mark and I dived in."

Col looked like he was going to faint. "Connie, what were you thinking? You could have killed yourself! You should have killed yourself. Why aren't you dead?"

"When I got into him, I tried to make him see our way by making him shift into a human, by squeezing his waters into my shape. But he rejected it. So I tried to think of a time when we understood each other, and I remembered my dance in the air with him."

Col nodded. She had told him about that a million times. It was the one time she had felt at one with her companion. Col couldn't imagine what it must be like to be your companion's enemy. He couldn't bare it if Skylark turned from him- it'd be almost as bad as having Connie turn from him.

"But then he started reliving it and changing into all the creatures he had before, making me change with him, 'cos I was inside him. Then I realized that this was his way of torturing me, like he tortured and killed all the other Universals before me. I couldn't make him stop. It was agony."

They were both silent for a moment. Col was lost for words. He knew these memories must be painful for her, but he didn't know what to say to comfort her.

"I couldn't even remember what I looked like, or how it felt to be human. But then he shifted to a Pegasus and I remembered."

"You remembered yourself?" Col questioned, wondering how a Pegasus could remind her of herself. She'd bonded with many creatures in her life.

"No, I remembered you." She looked into his miss-matched green and brown eyes and smiled. "I remembered what it was like to love."

Again, Col was speechless. Had he really helped save her life?

"The love I felt reminded me of all the people I loved; my family; my friends; the creatures I bonded with. And the love I felt completely took over him and forced him to make a decision- to become like me and be my equal, or be taken over by me. And, naturally, he refused to be my equal. So I took him.

"He's inside me. His personality is mixed with mine, and I have to control it. I nearly lost it once. I think you remember. The day you asked me out…"

"Mr. Coddrington." He finished for her, remembering the day he had been frozen to the spot for an hour by one of Connie's arrows.

"Yup. I nearly shifted and…killed him." She whispered the last words.

"What? What do you mean, you shifted?"

"He's mine now. I have his powers." This is what Connie had been dreading. Would Col think she was a monster? That was her biggest fear. Taking a deep breath, she shifted into a silver mist and reappeared in the shape of a silver Pegasus, about the same size of Skylark.

Connie watched in dismay as Col sprang to his feet and stumbled backwards in alarm. This is what she was afraid of. If Col turned on her, she didn't know what she would do.

What would he do next? Faint? Run away? Call for help?

What he did do next wasn't what she had been expecting. He took a step forwards, then another, until he was close enough to touch her. Reaching out a trembling hand, he slowly stroked her mane. As soon as he made contact, Connie could hear his thoughts. She could feel his fear, but also his wonder at her powers.

Col pulled his hand back and gasped. Connie returned to her original shape.

"You… you bonded with me!" Connie couldn't tell if he was alarmed or… or something else.

"Yes, I can bond with anyone if I shift into their companion species." They were silent for a moment.

"Well?" Connie finally asked, impatient.

"Well, what?" Asked Col, puzzled.

"I'm still waiting for you to react to my news."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I dunno, I thought maybe you'd faint, or run away in screaming terror, or something along those lines."

"You really think I'd leave you? I thought you knew me better than that, Connie."

"You mean you're not bothered that I'm… not human?"

"Of course not!" Col looked hurt that she had expected that. "I'm shocked, obviously. It'll take some getting used to…"

"You think?" She asked sarcastically. "It's a whole lot harder for me to control than you to get used to it!"

"Ok… I just meant… Sorry…"

Connie sighed and looked down at the ground.

"No, I'm sorry. I know it's hard for you too. I should've just trusted you in the first place as well. I knew I had to tell you at some point. But there was never a right time. I guess there never really was going to be a right time to tell you I wasn't human."

Col laughed. He lifted her face to look at his. "What are you talking about? Of course you're human!" He put his arm round her shoulders. "I don't care what you are. I'll still love you." He tried a different tactic, trying to change the subject. "Anyway, I got you something."

He sat back down, pulling her with him.

"Col, I told you…" He put his finger to her lips.
"No protests. Just accept my present. You'll want it when you see it." Col pulled a tiny black box from the picnic basket. Connie groaned.

"Not jewellery! I told you I didn't want you to spend money on me!"

"Close your eyes." He ordered her firmly. Sighing, Connie did as she was told.

"And… open." She opened her eyes and gasped. In Col's hand was the open box, and inside, a silver chain with a big letter C hanging from it.

"Oh my gosh! It's beautiful! That must have cost you a fortune!"

Col blushed. "Turn around and I'll put it on you."

Connie faced away and lifted her hair off her neck. Col's fingers lightly brushed her neck, sending tingles down her spine.

"There." Col turned her to face him. "It looks lovely on you."

Now it was Connie's turn to blush. She fingered the silver C.

"C for Col?" she wondered out loud.

"Or Connie, or whatever you want it to stand for." He replied, smiling. "Happy birthday" he said again, pulling her to him. He kissed her gently, one hand around her waist and another on her face, stroking her cheek. Connie wrapped her arms around his neck. They stayed like this for a few minutes.

Col finally broke away and glanced at his watch. "I think we'd better get back," he sighed reluctantly.

Connie folded up the blanket and placed it in the basket.

"By the way, why was Rat here?"

"I needed someone to look after the stuff whilst I fetched you."

"Oh."

Connie couldn't help it. She grabbed Col and pulled him to her, pressing her lips against his. He was still for a moment, surprised, but then he kissed her back just as urgently. His hands wrapped around her waist and she tangled her hands into his soft, brown hair. Connie wished they could stay like this forever. She didn't want to let go. But she was beginning to feel light headed and dizzy. Col must have felt the same, as he let go pulled away.

"What was that for?" He gasped.

Connie shrugged embarrassed. She looked at the ground.

Col laughed and took her hand. "Come on, let's go."

The couple walked home together, hand in hand.

AN: was that last kiss too much? btw, I can't do kissing scenes, in case you haven't noticed!