It happened on the day of the big fight. For some reason, Claire kicked Owen out of the house. He didn't even remember why. All he knew was that she wanted him outside for the afternoon so that she could be alone. He left, as he was told to do, and started chopping wood in the yard. With each swing of his axe, he felt his anger building. He loved Claire with all of his heart, but sometimes, she could be a real pain. It was like walking on eggshells whenever he talked to her. One slip up, and she was back in self-pity mode.

Owen was so busy chopping wood that he didn't notice the light gray clouds swirling above him. He only started to pay attention to the weather once his hair began to stand on end. Lowering his axe, he saw that the metal was glowing blue. He immediately dropped to the ground.

BANG!

Owen had never felt anything like it. It was the worst pain of his life, and he had been through a lot of injuries. He convulsed on the ground, utterly shocked (in more ways than one). His mind wasn't functioning properly. Everything seemed fuzzy, as if memory and fantasy had become one and the same. His thoughts were colliding and getting muddled and burning through his skull like falling fire.

BANG!

Twice. He had been struck by lightning twice. He couldn't fathom the odds of this occurrence. He couldn't fathom much of anything. Looking back, he wouldn't remember what happened next. He would have a vague idea that he crawled towards the house, and that he didn't make it.

***TSJWFEW***

Owen heard Claire calling his name. That was the first thing he became aware of when he woke up. As his senses kicked in, he realized that something was wrong. He felt different somehow. Not only that, but something must have been wrong with Claire too, because he was lying right beside the back door, and she was in the middle of the field. Hadn't she seen him when she came out? She hadn't. In fact, Owen couldn't see himself. He craned his neck to get a better look at his waist and legs, but they simply weren't there. Actually, they were there. Owen kicked, and the ground seemed to have a funny pattern. He looked like the grass. He was camouflaged.

Owen groaned and rolled over. Somehow, his mind clued in to the fact that he wasn't supposed to be grass-colored. When the saturation faded from his scales, he became a familiar shade of white.

Before he could ponder what this meant, exactly, Claire appeared from behind the house. She was still calling out to him, but he didn't hear her words. She could be spouting gibberish, for all he cared. He was starting to see her in a new light.

Creeping forward slowly, Owen unlatched his jaw. Claire was looking around helplessly. He felt himself drooling at the sight of her, and not for the usual reasons. She hadn't seen him yet. It was a perfect opportunity for a sneak-attack. But then she spoiled everything by turning around.

When she caught sight of him, her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped in an expression of sheer terror. She turned to run, but he was already upon her. He clamped his jaws around her front leg. He had been aiming for her neck. He tugged and tugged and tugged, hoping to break her limb and prevent an escape. She was too strong for him, however, and yanked herself out of his grasp, limping away as quickly as she could. He didn't know why she was even bothering to run. He had tasted blood, and he wasn't about to let his meal get away.

He pursued his prey across the meadow. She was fast, but not fast enough. Owen snapped at her heels, causing her to trumpet in fear. She tried to run faster, but Owen reached out for her thighs, hooking his claws through her flesh, and dragged her back. She bashed his face with her tail. Owen shrieked and clamped down on it. He had a hold of her tail spike, but suddenly, she slipped out of his mouth. She ran away at full force, her rump wiggling like a duck's hindquarters.

Owen stepped forward to continue his pursuit, but something made him freeze in his tracks. There was a cold, solid hoop in his mouth. He spat it out and turned it over in the grass. It was Claire's ring.

When he looked up and saw her disappear into the forest, Owen realized what he had done. With a horrified cry, he stumbled backwards, holding his hands over his mouth. He had hurt her. He had drawn blood. He had tried to eat her.

With a feeble whimper, Owen picked up the ring and held it between his claws. He turned it over slowly. The diamond shimmered like a star. He felt tears trickling down his cheeks. He was a monster.

Determined to make things right, Owen placed the ring around his tail for safekeeping. Claire had left a trail of blood behind. He sniffed it, making sure that he could track her, then followed her scent. As he entered the forest, he felt his movement being inhibited by the trees. An animal of his size wasn't meant to travel in thick foliage.

Then again, no animal like him would ever go after Claire.

***TSJWFEW***

The trail of blood led him deep into the forest, well beyond the area he was familiar with. Even if the path had been known to him, it wouldn't have mattered. Everything looked different when he was taller than most trees. As he crossed a thick stream, Owen caught a glimpse of his reflection. Just as he suspected, he was an Indominus Rex. He didn't know how it had happened or why, but he didn't really care. All that mattered now was making sure that Claire was safe.

He sniffed the ground, but Claire's scent was getting fainter. It was impossible; her blood was still visible on the ground. When the trail ended abruptly, Owen looked up in fear. Claire hadn't climbed a tree. She was in no state to do such a thing. What she had really done was double back on her trail and move in another direction. Owen wondered if she'd made a separate path or simply snuck past him on the same one.

Without warning, Owen felt something stabbing the back of his knee. He shrieked and wheeled around. Claire was attacking him. She brayed furiously, slamming into his leg in pure, unfiltered rage. Owen backed up quickly, attempting to communicate with his fiancée. Try as he might, he couldn't produce a single word. Claire came at him again, this time sticking him in the thigh. Owen roared in pain. He made up his mind to run, but before he had the chance, Claire drove her horn through his chest. Owen fell to the ground, mortally wounded. He tried to reach out for Claire, but she snorted viciously and circled him. He felt her tugging on his tail. When she pulled back, he realized why she had set the trap for him. She wanted her ring back.

Overcome with grief and guilt, Owen laid his head down in the moist undergrowth and let out a quiet whine. Claire, who had been sliding the ring onto her tail again, looked up, as if suddenly aware that he was still present. Slowly, she made her way to the front half of his body. Owen thought she might have recognized him, but was proven wrong when she lifted her tail and drove her spikes into his neck. Owen didn't even scream. He simply stared forward, shaking a little bit. He deserved this. He had hurt her.

As she lifted her tail for the final strike, time went still. Owen relaxed slightly. A glowing figure started walking towards him.

"Hello, Owen."

"Hi, Ellie."

He was grateful that he had found his voice again, but on the other hand, he was still bleeding profusely.

"I heard you were in trouble. Claire kicked you out of the house yesterday. Do you remember what you were fighting about?" Ellie asked.

Owen shook his head.

"You said Claire was pudgy," Ellie explained.

"Is that all?"

"No. That may have started the argument, but it's an indicator that something else is wrong."

Owen bit his lip, feeling his sharp teeth piercing his scales.

"I'm worried about the wedding. Claire is really stressed out about it. She asked me if she should walk down the aisle on four legs or two, and I have no answer. I want her to be comfortable, but she has her heart set on being as human as possible."

Ellie gave a half smile.

"You have to fix these problems on your own."

Owen looked at Claire, who was still frozen in time. Her tail was only a few feet away from his neck.

"I don't think I'll get the chance."

Ellie nodded.

"I'll fix this. I'm going to bring you back to yesterday. Before that, I want to tell you a story."

Owen lay down calmly and listened.

"We have a special lab, as you know, for designing stegoceratops devices. My grandmother is the station head, but sometimes, she doesn't listen. For the longest time, she's been trying to design high heels for Claire. I made a pair that worked just fine, but she rejected them because they didn't have a thin heel. She worked for hours on end, refusing to believe that it was physically impossible to create exactly what she wanted."

"But the shoes you gave us have thin heels . . ."

"Well, we used magic to cheat, but the moral is: you can't always have your way. Sometimes, you need to compromise."

Owen sniffled.

"I feel really shitty about this."

Ellie shrugged.

"By yesterday, it will have never happened. But do you understand what I'm saying?"

Owen nodded vigorously.

"I have to compromise."

"Good. See you twelve hours ago . . ."

***TSJWFEW***

"-completely unrealistic! I don't know where you get off saying-"

Owen leapt forward and kissed Claire in the middle of her sentence. Her eyes went wide in surprise, and she choked a little. Owen paid no mind to her shock. He planted kisses all along her frill and down her side, ending at the tip of her front foot.

"Owen, why are you kissing me?"

"Because I love you."

Claire didn't move as he continued to smooch her arm. Finally, she rolled her eyes and nudged him with her beak.

"I love you, too. Weirdo."

Owen smiled and hugged her neck. He ran his hand down the space between her plates.

"I love you, Claire. I love you so much. You're not pudgy . . ."

Claire snorted.

"Well, I kind of am. I guess I overreacted. You didn't mean it in a bad way."

"Of course not. I love the fact that you're . . ."

"Fat?"

"Huggable."

He slid beneath her and pulled her beak towards his face. Claire yanked her head back.

"Wait. Before we kiss, I want an answer to my leg question."

"Leg question?"

"Should I walk down the aisle on two legs or four?"

Owen rubbed his chin.

"Why don't you walk down the aisle on four legs, but dance on two?"

Claire thought about it.

"Yeah, that seems reasonable. Do you think I'll be able to balance?"

Owen smiled.

"Why don't we practice?"

He jumped to his feet, prompting Claire to do the same. When they were both standing, he put his hands on her waist and spun her across the room. Claire smiled.

"I'm glad we could-"

"Compromise?"

She smiled.

"I was going to say 'resolve our differences'."

"I like my word better."

"Well, I guess we'll have to compromise on that too."