The loud roar of the exhaust on the enduro motorcycle droned against the tumultuous backdrop of Kira’s thoughts. She was bundled up tight in a warm purple parka, snow pants, and gloves. A scarf and warm beanie that protected her ears rounded out the ensemble of clothes.

Charles had bought them for her from the store, so they would not only stand up against the elements, but they also matched. He had wanted to do something for her, and despite her having the ability to buy and pay for them just as easily had gotten her these clothes.

Kira twisted the accelerator as thoughts of him intruded into her mind. She was out here to clear her psyche and settle her own turbulent emotions. She couldn’t do that when thoughts of him and Alli kept making their way to the forefront of her brain.

The cracked and broken highway stretched out in front of her, as she pushed the bike past the speeds that would be considered safe. Drifts of snow and slick ice were everywhere, not that they caused her to slow in the slightest.

She trusted in the durability of her body, an accident going sixty or better would have been life-threatening before. Now, it might only tear her coat and scratch her skin a little. Besides, her reflexes had gotten far better as well. Staying safe on the road was not a daunting prospect by any measure.

Every breath she took caused a burst of mist and fog to erupt, only to be swept away by the wind a heartbeat later. The sun was fully over the horizon to her left. When she had left the town earlier, it was just beginning to appear for the day.

In the distance, she could hear the sounds of violence as unseen monsters fought amongst themselves. The roar of the bike’s engine kept the fine details from entering her ears as she sped past where they were fighting, hidden amongst the trees to the side of the road.

She was barely paying attention to where she was going, the intense introspection of her feelings was more important. The sun continued to rise, dispelling some of the cold as the bike sped along.

At some point, she had turned off the main highway and was instead following the battered remains of a road beside the river. The dirty brown water gushed past, while ice clung to the edges of the bank where it slowed.

A horde of mixed monsters had set up camp near the rushing water. Filthy lean-to and A-frame-like shelters stood next to a roaring fire. A row of large, whole fish was being roasted across the top of it. Nothing had been done to the fish to prepare them for cooking, they had simply been taken from the water and then speared with a stick, so they didn’t fall into the fire.

A troll was gazing out across the water, its toes making the dirty water even worse. Downstream from it, dead fish were floating to the surface where they were then grabbed by the waiting goblins.

Behind them, and watching the fire closely, was a goblin shaman with its staff clutched tightly in its hands.

They all looked up as Kira came roaring towards them, the tires slipping across the slick road as she hit the brakes. A maniacal grin spread across her face as she flicked down the kickstand and hopped off the machine. This was exactly what she needed, a nice squishy way to work out her frustrations. What more could she ask for than some monsters who were willing to become her punching bags?

Her silver bracelet glowed and slithered down her wrist, forming the shaft of the hammer first and then making its way to the top. It was a monstrous weapon, with two flat, blunt heads meant for dealing out intense pain and little else.

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Since they were obviously waiting for her, she wasn’t going to be polite. Hauling back her arm, she threw the warhammer with all her might, sending it crashing through the shaman’s chest. Within seconds of the fight having started, she had already eliminated the monster who would have posed the most difficulty for her.

Kira excelled at bashing things, she understood that and was alright with it. Frankly, if she was being honest, then she wouldn’t have it any other way. The constant feel of flesh giving way under her hammer or fists never failed to soothe her boiling emotions.

She doubted she would ever be fully in control of her anger issues, but she no longer wanted to hit every single person she met. That would have been considered a major win in her old therapist’s book. Or it would have been at least if the crotchety old bat were still alive, which she highly doubted.

The dead shaman was thrown back into the roaring flames, sending the cooking fish everywhere. A moment later, the hammer reappeared in Kira’s hand. The smell of burning goblin flesh wafted over the area as the rest of the goblins ran away in terror. The troll on the other hand jumped fully into the river.

Kira stomped helplessly at the ground as she was left abruptly alone. She was not in the mood to run after the goblins, using the troll as target practice however was still on the menu.

That was her new plan until she saw it flailing about in the bloody water. Sharp toothed fish that did not belong in the Missouri River were in the process of tearing the flesh from its body. The troll’s inherent regeneration factor kept healing the damage they caused, making its death a slow and painful one.

Undoubtedly, they were getting revenge on it after its toes had killed so many of their weaker brethren.

Despondent at the lack of promising violence, Kira trudged back to the dirt bike and used the kick-start to get it going again. Spinning the rear-wheel, she flipped the bike around and headed back the way she had come. The long and thick tentacle that had spread out from the middle of the river going unnoticed as she sped away.

With her heart beating faster from the thought of fighting something, her goal changed from just riding around aimlessly, to looking for something to beat on instead. With that thought in mind, she drove back to where she had heard the monsters fighting earlier.

The knobby bike tires made going off-road a breeze, despite the drifts of snow she forcefully plowed through. The towering trees provided a measure of protection from the white powder once she was close enough.

The area was silent as the bike roared to a stop and she hopped off for a closer look, retrieving the key at the same time. The ground was covered in cooling puddles of different colored blood, signifying the difference in species that had been fighting. Unfortunately, the monsters themselves had already left the area.

Kira suddenly felt like screaming as she looked at the ruined landscape. She just wanted to punch something. Was it too much to ask for her to find a monster nearby? Normally they were everywhere, now when she wanted one the most they were nowhere to be found!

The fight left her as suddenly as it had come on earlier, and she sank to the ground with her back against the smooth bark of a leafless tree. Tears came unbidden to her eyes as she remembered why she had left the town earlier. Her heart was at war with her mind and what she believed to be proper.

Her heart told her it was fine with sharing Charles if the other person was Alli. After all, Alli had been there with him first, and their souls were linked for all time. Which meant that she would always be there.

Her mind on the other hand refused to accept that premise, it was convinced that Alli was merely an intelligent animal and nothing more. Besides that, she and Charles had been dating under the premise that the relationship consisted of just the two of them. Now that was no longer the case. Her mind wanted her to feel betrayed, while her heart kept reminding her that Alli was the other party in this matter. She was her friend, a companion, and more than all of those things. Alli was an innocent spirit who just wanted the people she cared for to be happy and safe.

Could she really take away the thing that would possibly make Alli the happiest?

The answer was obviously no! With that decision made, a weight lifted off her chest. She knew there would be problems moving forward, and that she hadn’t fully settled her own issues on the matter. Those didn’t concern her at the moment, for she had resolved the largest worry she had.

Yes, she could share Charles, but only with Alli and no one else.