The Elephant's Tusks

It started as a dull ache on his face, coming and going as it pleased. It didn't bother him enough to tell someone, as it didn't last very long, but as the days wore on, it became stronger, and more persistent. At first, he was only in some slight discomfort in the morning, that went away once the day got started.

But now, the dull ache followed him throughout the day, and on top of that, it felt like there was a pressure on his eyes, squeezing him from the inside. If he kept busy, he could block it out, and continue the day like nothing was wrong. Unfortunately, that ability was quickly fading. Lying in bed, the moonbeams shining through the cracks in his curtain, he tried to get some sleep, but found it impossible.

Oscar groaned, putting his hands on his tender cheeks and screwing his eyes shut. His heart skipped a beat. He felt two small bumps underneath the skin on his cheeks. He sat up in bed, waking Pajamas.

"Oscar?" his top said blearily, "Is it morning already? "

"No..." he moaned, softly rubbing his cheeks. "It feels like my face is trying to grow another one!" he grimaced. His complaints were lost on his sentient clothes, as he was back to sleep almost instantly. Oscar continued to moan, shimmying back beneath his blankets and trying to block out the pain.

Eventually, he fell asleep due to sheer exhaustion, catching at least a few hours of sleep before morning. He awoke to another morning of pain. He stumbled out of bed and over to his dresser, squinting through the pain and opened up his bottle of ibuprofen. It was all he could do to help dull the ache, and it really didn't last all that long. Oscar took a deep breath, swallowing the pills before removing pajamas, and putting on his clothes.

A knock at the door drew his attention, and for a reason he didn't understand, his anger. Oscar stormed towards the door, fists clenched, ready to flip out on whoever dared intrude on his cabin.

His fury simmered back down as he opened the door, revealing his best friend Hedgehog.

"Morning Oscar!" She said happily. "Ready for breakfast?"

His pain persisted, but he managed to smile. She was always able to bring one out in him, no matter how deep it was buried.

"Yeah, let's go."

The walk to the mess hall was unusually quiet. Normally, they'd talk about the plan for the day, any weird dreams they had, any trips to alien planets they were inexplicably sent on, or anything of that nature. This walk, however, was silent. He wanted to talk about something, but all he could think about was hurt he was feeling.The further they walked, the more the pain seemed to come in pulses, like a slow, methodical heartbeat. Each time it blurred his vision and made him grit his teeth, which only served to renew the ache. He had managed to hide it from Hedgehog and the other campers, but he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to if it kept getting worse.

The worst case scenario was for him to go to the counselors, since there was no nurse on staff. He could only imagine what kind of twisted remedy they would come up with.

"Oscar, are you okay?'" Hedgehog asked as they stopped in the clearing by the mess hall. It looked like he wasn't as inconspicuous as he thought.

"Yeah... I just got a headache... and not a lot of sleep last night." He swore to never to lie to Hedgehog after the basketball incident, but what he said was technically true.

She put a hand on his shoulder, her touch alone sending electricity through his body. All of the sudden, a flood of emotions for Hedgehog washed over him. In the course of a half second, he saw his entire future with her laid out before him. High school, college, marriage, kids, retirement, getting old together, everything contained in the touch of a friend on his shoulder.

This was especially concerning to him, because every single one of those thoughts had never entered his mind before that moment. He had never even thought of her romantically before. Or anyone, for that matter. It was as though he fell in love in one second.

"Oscar?" Hedgehog said, "Hellooooo?"

He blinked back into reality. Hedgehog was staring at him, concern in her eyes. He had no idea what had just happened, but thankfully it had ended just as soon as it began. "Sorry, still kinda tired," He assured her. His moods seemed to be getting more and more unstable as the pain intensified. When it began, he would just have flashes of anger, sadness, jealousy and the like, but now they seemed to burn out of control if he didn't make a conscious effort to rein them in.

Once he felt like he'd gotten himself back under control, they continued to the mess hall, where Max spotted them.

As he headed over, Oscar felt a fire rise inside him.

'What is going on with me?' He thought, his anger and jealousy flaring up. 'Max is my friend!'

Max and Hedgehog hugged, a normal greeting by all accounts between the two of them, one he had seen them do a thousand times, and not unlike the way he greeted some of the other female campers if he hadn't seen them in a day or so.

But today was different. Today, that embrace was not friendly, nor harmless.

That hug was a threat.

It was as though Oscar's body was acting on reflex alone. He was acutely aware of his fists clenching, as though someone else was controlling him and he was just along for the ride. The next few seconds seemed to pass at quarter speed. Max let go of Hedgehog and turned to him, his hand out, ready for the one-armed high five embrace most boys were familiar with.

At the moment Max fully faced him, another wave of pain crashed into Oscar. His teeth gritted to the point he was sure he was going to crack one, and though he always thought it was just a cartoon trope, he seemed to be seeing red. By now he was completely unable to control himself.

In his mind, Max was his friend, and an overall cool kid, maybe one of the coolest if not the coolest on the whole island. But to his body and his heart, Max was a rival male, and he had to be put in his place.

Oscar tackled Max around the waist. Thinking Oscar was just messing around, Max collapsed, a few laughs escaping as Oscar took him to the ground.

"Come on dude, isn't it a little early for wrestling?" Max laughed "I haven't even had breakfast yet!"

Oscar's full weight was on top of Max as the elephant sat up, nothing but white hot fury in his eyes. Max's playful laughs evaporated as he recognized an expression he'd never seen on his friends face before.

"Oscar, what the—"

Max had his words stuffed back into his mouth by Oscar's fist. The shock of the first hit only lasted a second as Max realized Oscar was cocking his fist back for another shot. Max was actually surprised how hard Oscar could hit. Realizing he was in a fight, Max caught his fist and wrestled Oscar off of him. A crowd had gathered around by the time Max managed to get Oscar off of him. Both of the boys stood up, squaring off with each.

Max's could feel his cheek beginning to swell, and coppery taste of blood inside his mouth. He was more confused than angry, but he had been in scraps before, and wasn't about to bow out of one now, especially after a sucker punch.

"Oi!"

The crowd parted as Susie raised her wand, flanked by Alice and Betsy.

"What are you babies doing over here?" Susie demanded.

"Oscar and Max were fighting!" Alexa answered.

Susie's eyes narrowed in disgust as she approached the two out of breath combatants.

"You two, come with me." Susie turned to the rest of the gathered campers. "The rest of you, breakfast closes in ten minutes!"

With a wave of her wand herself and the other counselors disappeared, leaving Hedgehog bewildered and confused. She truly had no idea what the heck had just happened.

Once Oscar found himself in Susie's cabin, the reality of what he'd done, and his current situation came crashing down around him. He was absolutely mortified with his actions. He wanted to shrink down to microscopic size and disappear forever. Something Alice could probably help him with, if that wasn't already slated to be his punishment.

Max stood right beside him, but he didn't dare glance at him. He almost wished Max would take a shot at him, just to assuage his guilt. Thankfully, the ache in his face seemed to recede a bit, only to be replaced by a mix of mortal terror and overwhelming remorse.

Susie turned around to face the two of them. Looking them both over before shaking her head. "I swear on my mum, I'll never understand boys," she remarked, looking to Betsy. "You take this one and get his side of the story," she said, pointing to Max. Susie glared down at Oscar. Her gaze alone making him feel as though he was about to climb the stairs to the gallows. "Alice and I will interrogate Oscah."

He swallowed the fear in his throat, his pain now a distant memory, replaced by a debilitating sense of dread.

Betsy and Max disappeared with a wave of her wand, while Susie snapped her fingers, a solid oak desk with two chairs behind it appeared in front of Oscar. Susie and Alice took a seat behind the desk.

"Sit," Alice said sternly, snapping her fingers. Oscar's butt slammed down in the chair that appeared behind him.

"Oscah, Oscah, Oscah." Susie rested her head on her chin, slowly shaking it from side to side. "I always pictured you as one of those emotional types, not a fighter."

"Please, Susie, you have to believe me, I would never want to hurt anyone!" Oscar pled. The waves of dull pain began lapping at the shores of his brain as he pled his case.

"Really? Well Max's face begs to differ," She countered, snapping her fingers. A book with the title 'Dumb Rules' appeared before her as she flipped through its pages. "Why don't we see what the Island rules say about fighting, shall we?"

Oscar's heart was in his throat, beating a mile a minute as Susie looked up his fate.

She finally stopped flipping pages, her eyes scanning back and forth across the page as she read his sentence. She smiled, glancing up at him. "Any campers found fighting anywhere on the island shall be EXPELLED from the island at the earliest opportunity."

Her words took the air right out of his lungs.

"E-expelled?" He parroted, now acutely aware of the desert in his mouth. His mind began racing with all sorts of horrible thoughts. What would his parents think? What would Hedgehog think? He was certain that she probably thought he was the worst person on the entire planet, and would never want to see or speak to him ever again. And then there was Max. He couldn't even begin to imagine how he must feel right now. To have someone who you thought was your friend just attack you for literally no reason? Maybe him being expelled from the island was for the best. After all, how could he show his face after what he'd done?

"That's right," Susie replied nonchalantly. "Alice will escort you back to your cabin to pack, and I'll have the ferry here in the morning—"

"Wait," Alice said, standing from the desk. She walked out from around it and approached the young elephant. He was absolutely terrified of what the most powerful witch on the island had in store for him. She stood in front of him, her discerning stare boring into his very soul.

She knelt down, coming face to face with him, as the tears began to well in his eyes. He winced as she put her hands softly on his cheeks, feeling the lumps he had felt the night before gently with her thumbs.

"You've been in a lot of pain lately, haven't you?" Alice asked softly.

Oscar couldn't articulate, so he simply nodded, the tears now spilling silently from his eyes.

"For how long?" she asked.

Oscar forced himself to find his voice. This may be his only chance to stay on the island. "A-a week and a half..." he said through shuddering breaths, trying desperately to maintain control of his emotions.

Alice stood up and turned to face Susie. "We shouldn't expel him."

"What?" Susie shouted. "Why not?"

"Do you remember why we make parents of elephant boys sign three extra waivers and require them to submit their medical records?" Alice asked.

Susie's eyes darted from the book to Alice. "...No..."

"This is why," Alice said, pointing to Oscar.

Susie raised an eyebrow. "So let me get this straight. Betsy wants me to follow these dumb rules," she said, holding up the book, "and you want me to break them?" she said, exasperated. "I can't believe you two."

"Just let me handle Oscar," Alice replied firmly. "You can still punish him, but I won't allow him to be expelled, and without a unanimous counselor vote, you can't."

Susie growled, slamming the book down on the table and folding her arms. "Fine. Oscah, one week of stable duty, kitchen cleaning duty, and trash pickup."

Alice nodded, before turning back to a thoroughly confused Oscar. He had gone from wallowing in a pit of despair, to almost wanting to thank Susie for making him shovel out the unicorn stables.

"You're coming with me," Alice said, snapping her fingers.

In the blink of an eye, he was in Alice's cabin.

"Uhm... Do you know what's going on with me?" Oscar asked gingerly, still not sure whether Alice was on his side or not.

"I do, but we'll get to that later," She said, taking a seat on her couch and grabbing the phone from her coffee table. "First thing we need to do is call your parents."

Oscar's anxiety returned tenfold. "D-do we have to?"

"Sorry Oscar, I can't ignore all the camp rules," she said, dialing his parents number.

'Please don't be home, please don't be home...' he thought.

"Hi, is this Mrs. Peltzer? This is Alice Fefferman, a counselor at Oscar's summer camp. Oh, everything's fine, it just that Oscar's tusks are starting to come in, and he got into a scrap with another camper. No, everything's okay, no one was hurt," she said, glancing sternly at Oscar before looking back down at the coffee table. "It's no trouble, all the counselor's here are trained in juvenile medicine, and I specialized in... cases like this. Oh no, nothing needs to be done on your end, it's just camp policy to notify the parents when a disciplinary action is taken. Okay, you have a nice day Mrs. Peltzer, goodbye."

She hung up the phone and sat back on her couch, arms folded and one leg across the other as she stared silently at Oscar. The talk with his mom seemed to go well, though he had no idea what him getting tusks had to do with any of this. Of all the witches, Alice was by far the hardest to read, and he still wasn't sure whether he was supposed to feel relieved or terrified that he was alone in her cabin.

 After what felt like ages, Alice patted the seat next to her. He readily obeyed and took a seat stiffly beside her, still not daring to relax.

"Oscar, fighting is one of the most un-cute things anyone can do," she began, her eyes closed, taking a steady breath as though to calm herself. "And you know how much un-cute things... sicken me," she finished threateningly. Oscar swallowed the lump in his throat, preparing for whatever sinister cute-ifying spell was sure to follow. "But, that being said," her grim expression seemed to soften as she went on. "Your parents never gave you 'the talk' did they?"

"The talk?" Oscar replied.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Alice snapped her fingers and a teapot and two cups appeared on the table. She poured a cup and offered it to him, then poured herself one as well, adding two lumps of sugar from thin air and stirring it. "Then we've got a lot to talk about."

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Max sat on the edge of the exam table, the weird waxy paper laying across it crinkling beneath his now dirty jeans.

"I don't know," he said, still thoroughly confused and still somewhat angry over what just happened. Betsy had her back to him as she prepared a cold compress for his cheek. "He just came at me. I thought he was playing around, but then he hit me!" Max's anger faded. "I thought he was my friend..."

Betsy turned back to him, pressing the cold pack gently to his cheek, causing him to flinch slightly. "I know it doesn't make sense, it doesn't add up to me either," Betsy replied. "But Susie and Alice are going to get to the bottom of this, and then we'll know for sure."

Max took the pack from Betsy and continued to hold it against his cheek. That answer didn't help. Everything up until now had been going so well. He fought his mom at every turn when she told him about sending him to camp, but it was a battle he knew he wasn't going to win. Surprisingly, once he opened up to the other kids, they weren't like his friends back home. They didn't roast each other for fun, or fight, or get into trouble. They just had a good time with each other.

'Maybe I'm cursed,' Max thought to himself.

"Open up," Betsy said, a tongue depressor and flashlight appearing in her hands. She looked at Max's teeth for a bit before the items disappeared in a puff of smoke. "No broken teeth, just a cut on the inside of your mouth." With a snap of her fingers, a small white pill appeared in the palm of her hand. "Here, this should help with the pain and swelling until tomorrow."

Max took the pill from her hand and examined it. "Is it magic?" He asked hopefully.

"No, it's Percocet. Now try to enjoy the rest of the day," Betsy replied flatly, sending him on his way.

Max took the pill, hoping it would dull the throbbing in his cheek as he kept the ice pack to his face. As he left the counselor's cabins, he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened only hours before. His mom had sent him here to get away from some of the trouble he got in to back home. How had it managed to follow him all the way here?

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Oscar glanced nervously at Alice before speaking. "Uh... so what do we have to talk about?"

Alice's gaze never left him as she slowly, almost menacingly sipped her tea. "For one, why you attacked another camper."

He frowned, rubbing his eyes with his palms, his constant pain still pulsing in his cheeks. "I didn't mean to, I just... I don't know what happened!" he cried, already exhausted by the whole ordeal.

"How about this," Alice began, setting her tea down on the table. "Tell me what you know about musth, and I'll try and fill in the blanks."

That seemed simple enough, because when it came down to it, Oscar really knew nothing.

"Okay..." he began. "I've heard the word before, but my parents always kinda whispered it, and never really talked to me about it."

"That's what I thought" Alice sighed. "Musth is male elephant puberty."

Oscar set his tea down as well, ready to absorb whatever Alice had in store for him. He hoped she could do something to help him get over this 'musth' thing as quickly as possible so he could go back to doing kid stuff.

"Essentially, it means you're on your way to becoming an adult," she explained casually.

That was not the answer he wanted to hear. He had only been a kid for a few years, tops! Was it already time to strip him of his youth? He didn't want a job yet, he didn't know how to file tax returns, he didn't even know how to drive! How was he all of the sudden becoming an adult?

"But I don't want to be an adult!" Oscar replied.

"Pfft, who does?" Alice replied. "But, you don't really have a choice."

Oscar flopped back against the couch, his face beginning to hurt once again. "So what am I supposed to do?"

Alice set her teacup down and produced her wand. "The first thing is to explain how the next week is likely to play out."

With a flick of her wand, an easel and chart appeared behind her. She stood up, assuming the role of professor for Oscar's class on himself. "This is you now." She said, a picture of himself appearing on the easel. "Cute, babyfaced, and innocent. With the onset of Musth, young bulls—that's you—can experience bouts of extreme jealousy, arousal, and most importantly in your case, aggression." Alice snapped her fingers, more graphics appearing on the otherwise blank easel paper. "During Musth, a young bulls testosterone can increase as much as six times it's normal level, changing you from this," She said pointing to the normal drawing of Oscar "Into this" A buff, angry looking Oscar with tusks the size of his father's appeared in its place. The drawing smashed everything around it and roared mightily before disappearing.

"Wait, so that's going to be me?" Oscar asked.

"Not necessarily, especially the way you eat," Alice answered. "But, like you experienced before, the flood of testosterone can overtake even the most cute and reasonable of elephant boys." The easel disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "That flood of hormones caused you to attack Max, even though he was your friend, and as your musth cycle continues, it won't be limited to just rival males."

Oscar was struggling to digest everything that Alice was throwing at him. "What does that mean?" he asked worriedly.

"It means that male and female alike are all targets when the hormone flood reaches its peak."

Oscar gasped. Was he destined to become some sort of jekyll and hyde? "But I don't want to hurt anyone! Please, Alice, you have to help me!"

She raised her hand to silence him. "That is precisely why I'm here. Unfortunately, it's going to get worse before it gets better."

Oscar grimaced. How could it possibly get any worse?

"Worse?" he stammered.

"I'm afraid so. It'll be for about two weeks or so, but once you come out of it, you'll be back to normal, albeit with the beginnings of a handsome set of tusks."

This was a lot to drop on someone his age all at once. "So... I'm just going to try and fight anyone near me when this happens?"

"Unfortunately, yes,"

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Isolation." Alice replied. "I'll have a cabin set up just for this purpose," she said, taking a sip of her tea. "You know, we don't usually accept elephant boys that haven't gone through their first musth. Your folks paid double to get you here."

Oscar wasn't sure what to think. A week ago he had just been his normal self; a kid having fun at camp with his friends, not a care in the world! And now he was being told that for about two weeks a year he would become a raging monster that would fight on sight anyone that came too close.

As this settled in, he began to notice his knuckles starting to swell. Another stark reminder of what he'd done. He rubbed them with his other hand, still trying to process everything. "Hey, so how did Susie know where we were fighting?" Oscar asked. "You guys usually don't even show up till noon."

"Young bulls often emit what is known as a 'musth rumble' when angry or agitated. It can be heard for miles, but only by our kind." Alice explained. "Ever since you arrived, I've been keeping an ear out for it. Once I heard it, I nearly dragged Susie and Betsy to the mess hall," she smiled.

"I don't remember doing any rumbling," He replied.

"You wouldn't, but trust me, it happened." she said, putting her hands together, magically producing a bottle of pills.

"These should help with the pain," She said, handing him the bottle. Oscar took them and looked at the label.

"Are you a doctor?" he asked.

"I'm a lot of things." Alice replied flatly. "When the pain starts to get to be too much, take one." She stood from the couch and motioned for him to do the same. "Part of your punishment is to come by here twice a day, once in the morning, and once at night."

"Why?" he asked genuinely.

"Eventually, the pills will no longer be effective, and we'll have to isolate you for your own safety," she explained. "I'm going to monitor you until then."

That was news Oscar certainly didn't want to hear. He was going through huge changes, far away from his parents and his home, and to top it off, those changes had now more than likely made him a pariah among the other campers. Even though  he was with Alice, he'd never felt more alone.

"For now, you're cleared to head back to camp and start on your punishment." she said, opening the door for him. As he headed out the door, he stopped, turning to his only fellow elephant counselor.

"So, what I felt earlier with Max... is that what it's going to be like?"

"What you felt today was a spark." Alice smirked.

"What's coming is a bonfire."

Max headed back down to camp, his cheek still sore as the pill took its time to work. Holding the compress to his face, he switched arms repeatedly on the way back. The moment he set foot back into the cabin area, the rest of the campers swarmed him, each one asking a variant of the same question.

"What happened between you and Oscar?"

Before he had time to answer, Hedgehog pushed her way to the front of the crowd and hugged Max. He was surprised at first, but returned the embrace all the same.

"Are you okay?" She asked, breaking the hug and looking at his bruised cheek. She went to gently touch it, causing him to wince and pull back.

"Yeah, I'm fine, he just got in a cheap shot," Max replied, replacing the compress to his cheek.

"What happened?" Alexa asked, a sentiment echoed by the other campers.

Max answered honestly. "I don't know. He just came at me,"

"That doesn't sound like Oscar," Oliver said from the crowd.

"Yeah, but you all saw it," Alexa replied. "He attacked Max for no reason!"

Max couldn't help but feel there had to be more to it than his elephant friend just snapping. But at the moment, the only theory he had was the one that made the least sense.

"So, are you gonna get him back?" Alexa asked.

The question gave him pause. He glanced at Hedgehog, concern shining in her eyes. Even though her friend had punched him, she was still his best friend. He knew what she wanted his answer to be.

"I... I don't know," He said, pushing his was out of the crowd and back to his cabin. He knew the answer the Max from back home would have given. Back home, no kid would have dared thrown hands with him and lived to smile about it with all their teeth. But that wasn't who he was here, and that wasn't who he wanted to be. He also knew Oscar, and his earlier actions were about the most out of character thing he could have possibly done.

Once back inside his cabin, he felt something he would have never been caught dead doing back home. Tears were clouding his vision as he slumped against his door, dropping the compress to the floor. He put his hands over his eyes and started crying. His old friends would have never let him hear the end of it if they caught wind of him crying while at summer camp.

It wasn't fair. All he wanted were friends like the ones he'd see on TV. The ones that were there for you, and nice to you, and helped you when you needed it. For a long time, he thought those kinds of people didn't exist. Or at least, not where he lived. All that changed when he met Oscar and Hedgehog. They were an impossibility he was sure he would never encounter. But here they were, two of the genuinely best kids he'd ever met. The old him would have written them off as soft, or lame, but in reality, that's what his old friends were. Just insecure kids putting up a tough front. Just like he used to be.

And now one of them had jumped him without any warning or reason.

All Max wanted were what Oscar and Hedgehog seemed to have, but the universe didn't care.

He continued to let his tears flow, pounding his fist onto the floor in frustration at his seemingly impossible task of making trustworthy friends.

Eventually, his tears began to dry as he felt a knock at his door. He quickly rubbed his eyes, trying desperately to dry them and make it appear that he wasn't just weeping like a schoolgirl.

"Yeah?" Max answered from beyond the door, still frantically wiping his eyes with his hoodie.

"Hey, its Hedgehog, do you have a second?"

Max took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Sure, what's up?" he asked, trying to stay casual.

"Well, I felt really bad about earlier, and... uh..." she began, trailing off nervously, when Max noticed a picnic basket in one hand, and also that she was wearing her bathing suit.

"But, that wasn't your fault," Max replied.

"I know... but I just felt bad, I can usually get a better read on Oscar..."

"Look, what he did is on him, you aren't a mind reader... well, not anymore."

"I just... do you want to come to the beach with me?" She asked. "I made sandwiches,"

Max managed a smile, even through the bit of pain in his face. "Yeah, just let me get changed."


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With that ominous warning, Oscar left her cabin. His head was spinning with all the facts Alice had laid out for him. It appeared Hedgehog wasn't the only camper that had a problem with becoming a monster. He was paralyzed by indecision. What was he supposed to do? Did he apologize to Max first? Hedgehog? Both at the same time? How was he supposed to explain to them that in nearly a week he'd become a ball full of hate and anger?

On top of that, he had no guarantee that the first thing Max did when he saw him would be to return his punch. Oscar certainly wouldn't blame him if he did. It might even make him feel a little less guilty about hitting him first.

He took a deep breath, and took the medicine Alice had given him. It dulled the pain, allowing him to put it in the back of his mind for the time being. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his frayed nerves. He knew what he had to do, but was scared to death of doing it. Max's potential reaction could be anything from understanding to a full on round two. When he was blinded by rage, he felt no pain, but now that he was normal again, just one shot from Max terrified the young elephant.

He clenched his fists as hard as he could in frustration before letting out a heavy sigh. He started down the trail to camp. Nearly everyone on the island saw his scuffle with Max, so there was no telling how they'd react either. He walked slowly through the camp, his head hanging in shame. All camp activity stopped as he approached, as though it was high noon at the O.K. Corral and he was looking for a fight. Before he had been spotted, the sounds of an ordinary day on the island floated on the breeze. Other kids laughing, playing, the aliens doing whatever it is they do all day, and the rhythmic thud of a monster out for a jog. The moment he appeared, everything came to a screeching halt. Their eyes didn't bother him nearly as much as the oppressive silence. He felt his anger beginning to bubble up from within him. He wanted to shout at them, he wanted them to feel the pain he'd been feeling. Then maybe they would know what this was like. Then maybe they wouldn't be so quick to judge.

The other campers simply stared, their eyes following him as he walked towards Hedgehog's cabin. He had never felt more isolated in his life. He managed to wrestle his anger back under control, and after what felt like the longest walk of his short time on this earth, he reached her door. He knocked gently, his emotions swinging from one extreme to another as he felt tears well in the corners of his eyes. Simply imagining what Hedgehog was going to say was enough to strike fear into his heart. Surely she'd declare their friendship over and stop talking to him for the rest of his life.

His heart raced as he waited for her to answer the door. He was sure if she didn't kill him, his heart leaping out of his chest would. He knocked a little louder, steeling himself for the door to swing open to a torrent of angry words.

Still, there was nothing. He tried the knob, finding it unlocked. "H-hedgehog?" He said, cracking the door. Hearing no reply, he opened it fully. She was nowhere to be found.

"Dang," He muttered to himself.

"If you're looking for Hedgehog, she went with the bat kid to the beach." The monster under her bed said, thumbing through her diary. "Looks like you were quite the pugilist today!"

Oscar ignored him and left the cabin. Upon leaving her cabin, he found Alexa confronting  him, her arms crossed, a scowl on her face.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" she asked firmly.

"Alexa, I know what it looked like, but I promise I didn't want to hurt Max," he explained.

"Could've fooled me," she spat. "What did he do to you?"

Oscar sighed. At least he could get some practice explaining his predicament before he faced Max and Hedgehog. "Look, he didn't do anything, he... he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,"

Alexa raised her eyebrow. "So you were just on a mission to punch someone, and it happened to be Max?"

"No, it's... more complicated, I just," Oscar sighed, his frustration increasing with her tone and lack of understanding. He was quick to rein in his emotions.  "I just need to apologize to Max,"

"Pftt, no kidding. He and Hedgehog are at the beach." She tossed her braid to one side, and cracked her knuckles. "If you're lucky, maybe Max won't try to repay you." With that, she walked off. Oscar had his work cut out for him as he made his way down the path to the shoreline. His thoughts were consumed with Max's potential reaction to seeing him for the first time since the fight. What if Max did try to hit him back? What if that unleashed his anger all over again? Then he'd be back to square one, and most certainly universally loathed among the campers.

As the dense forest began to thin out, he could hear the sounds of the waves against the shore. His heart rate soared and his pulse pounded in his ears. His breaths became quicker and more shallow. If he wasn't careful, he was going to hyperventilate. He glimpsed Hedgehog and Max eating on a beach towel beneath an umbrella, and his anxiety shot up ten fold. He stopped in the woodline to gather his thoughts and try to calm himself down.

"Okay, just try to relax. You know you can't get worked up or... something terrible could happen," he said to himself, pacing just within the forest. "Max will understand, just tell him what Alice told you!" He assured himself. He faced the shore and tried to take a few deep breaths, shaking his hands to try and relieve the anxiety. The knuckles on his right hand were still sore and swollen, an acute reminder of his transgressions.

"Okay... time to go," Oscar gathered his courage and stepped out of the woods. He began towards them, still unsure of what he was going to say, but figuring he'd thought well on his feet this summer so far. Maybe he could just wing it.

His footsteps on the sand drew Hedgehog and Max's attention, causing both of them to stand from the beach towel, Hedgehog closing the distance, a glare Oscar had never witnessed before directed solely at him.

"What on earth is the matter with you?!" Hedgehog screamed, tears of either fury or frustration welling in her eyes. "How could you do that to him?" she said, pointing back towards Max, still standing on the beach towel.

"Please, Hedgehog, I didn't mean to—"

"You expect me to believe you didn't mean to tackle, and then punch someone?" she asked incredulously. He had never seen Hedgehog this angry before.

"I can explain it's just—"

"I... I can't be here right now." Hedgehog cut him off, storming off down the beach. He wisely decided to let her go. If he knew Hedgehog, all she needed was some time to cool off.

'Well, at least she didn't punch me,' He thought before turning his attention to the one camper who actually might.

Oscar took the few remaining steps towards Max, still sensing the tension in the air between them.

"Max, I want to start by saying I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, but I can do my best to explain it." The young bat stayed quiet as Oscar glanced up at him. "With that being said, I want to show you I'm sorry, by letting you hit me."

That came as quite the surprise as Max arched an eyebrow. "You WANT me to hit you?" Max asked curiously.

"I took a cheap shot at you, it's only right," Oscar said, stepping forward and presenting his cheek and looking nervously at Max. He cracked his knuckles, clenched his fist and cocked it back, more than ready to take revenge. As he raised his fist, Oscar flinched. Max held it in the air, before letting out a sigh. This wasn't who he was, and this wasn't the person he wanted to be.

"I can't hit you, man," Max said, beginning to relax. "It wouldn't be right. Besides," he began, managing a smirk through his swollen cheek. "I wouldn't want to hurt you," he teased.

A wave of relief washed over Oscar as he exhaled the breath he had been holding for almost three minutes.

"But, I would like to know what the heck got into you," Max replied, taking his seat back on the blanket. Oscar sat next to him and stared out over the ocean.

"It's kind of a long explanation," Oscar admitted.

"No worries, I've got time," Max replied. "You know you hit pretty hard for a kid who isn't good at sports."

"Heh, thanks, I wish you didn't know that first hand."

"Alright, so did you just get up on the wrong side of the bed or what?" Max asked, getting to the meat of the conversation.

"Well..." Oscar sighed. "So boy elephants go through this thing called 'musth'..."

It took more than a few minutes, but by the time Oscar had laid out everything he remembered Alice had told him, Max was more than a little surprised. The bat boy sat on the blanket next to Oscar, staring out over the ocean as he contemplated everything he'd just heard.

"So, wait, you're telling me part of elephant puberty turns you into the Incredible Hulk?"

Oscar had never thought of it that way before, but it did make sense. "Yeah, I guess it kinda does,"

"Dude, that's awesome!" Max turned to him. "All my kind gets beside the usual stuff is our fangs grow in," He grinned to show off an impressive set of kanines.

Oscar sighed, facing back towards the ocean. "Sure, it sounds cool on paper, but it made me attack you for no reason! What if it had been someone else? What if it was Hedgehog, or Pepper, or Alexa?"

"Well, now that you actually know why it happened, can't you control it, or at least realize when it's about to happen?" Max asked.

"Well, since it's only happened once... not really." Oscar admitted. "Alice gave me some medicine to help the pain and the... well, mood swings, but she said it'll stop working eventually..."

Max scratched his head worryingly. "Uh... so what happens when they stop working?"

"I have to be isolated in a special cabin Alice is getting ready for me,"

"Huh," Max replied, looking back towards the sea. "for how long?"

"A week, maybe more,"

"Wow... bummer," Max replied. "So are you just gonna like, rage for a whole week or what?"

Oscar shrugged. "I don't know, I have to go back to Alice twice a day, not to mention Susie's punishment for our... fight."

Max chuckled. "What'd she give you?"

"Stable duty, kitchen duty, trash detail... unless she decides to add more,"

"Harsh," Max said, "I don't think Hedgehog is gonna come back, you want this extra sandwich?" He asked, holding out a tuna melt.

Oscar nodded "Yeah, I'm gonna need it with all the extra work I just got,"

"Speaking of Hedgehog," Max began, taking a bite of his sandwich. "How are you gonna smooth that one over?"

Oscar sighed. "Hopefully I'll give her enough time to chill out, then just tell her what I told you."

"She's one of those sciencey types, I'm sure she'll get it," Max replied as Oscar rose from the blanket.

"Well, I better head towards the stables," he groaned, resigning himself to his fate.

As Max watched him leave, the happiness he had thought he lost along with his friendship with Oscar had returned. He couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Oscar,"

The young elephant turned around.

"Give me a few minutes, and I'll be over there to help you out."

Oscar returned a smile as he set off. "Thanks Max."

'I'll help him out,' Max thought, laying out on the blanket, pulling his hat over his eyes. 'Right after this nap...'

It was a far walk from the beach to the stables, but once he arrived, his least favorite counselor was waiting for him, stable cleaning supplies beside her.

"About time you showed up, I was about ready to track you down," Susie spat.

"Isn't me doing this punishment enough?" Oscar asked, exasperated. "Do you HAVE to be here?"

The head counselor simply smirked. "I read up on this little 'musth' thing you're going through."

A weight fell into Oscar's stomach. "S-so?"

"Wittle Oscah is turning into a big boy," Susie mocked.

He could feel his anger bubbling up inside him, his pulse in his ears, his fists beginning to clench.

"It's about bloody time, but oh! I shouldn't make wittle Oscah angry, I wouldn't like him when he's angry." Susie teased, flicking his trunk with her finger.

'Breathe, just concentrate on breathing, she's doing this on purpose, don't let her win!' He thought to himself, struggling to pull back his emotions as his jaw clenched. As he chanted his 'just breathe' mantra, another extremely alarming thought popped into his head, but only briefly before he was able to smother it.

'Break. Her. Face.'

The unmitigated violence of the mere suggestion shocked and scared him. Thankfully, Susie's short attention span helped him escape the situation.

"The unicorns have eaten nothing but bran muffins for two days, get to work," She said flatly, vanishing with a flick of her wand.

Now that she was gone, Oscar could release his fury.

"Stupid Susie!" He turned and threw a haymaker into the nearest tree with all his anger channeled into his fist. The tree actually shook, removing the outer layer of bark and actually leaving a dent. Impressive as it was, it was the same hand he had hit Max with, and now it was even more sore than ever.

"Ow ow ow, that was so stupid!" Oscar admonished himself. The pain in his hand fueled the anger in his heart, a vicious cycle that he had to break before he lost it completely and attacked the unicorns or something. He struggled into his pocket with his left hand and found the medecine Alice had given him. He fumbled with the cap, and managed to take one.

Almost instantly, his anger faded, the pain in his hand went from sharp to dull, and his emotions began to level out.

In moments, he was himself again, and ready to begin his punishment. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed the shovel and bucket and entered the stables.

With Max's eventual aid, the stables were shoveled out in relatively short order. Coming out of the stables, they put away their tools.

"Thanks for the help, Max," Oscar said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"No problem man," He replied, leaning against the stable wall. There was silence between them as the obvious question would soon be asked. "So, think Hedgehog has had enough cooldown time?"

Oscar sighed. This would certainly be the longest and possibly most upset Hedgehog had ever been at him. "I'm not sure, but I guess I'm going to find out."

Max smiled at him, his cheek still a bit swollen and bruised. "Good luck, see ya at dinner." Max's bruised cheek only served to remind him what could happen if he wasn't careful. He was extremely fortunate that Max was so easy-going. Any other camper might have held the grudge until the end of the summer, or worse, tried to get even.

Trash detail would have to wait, he needed to find Hedgehog. Whether or not she wanted to see him was an entirely other story. The walk to her cabin was quite a daunting one, but by the time he found himself on her porch, he wasn't sure if he was ready. He loved Hedgehog, and if there was one thing he hated more than anything else, was her being upset with him.

He held his breath, and knocked on her door.

Within moments, Hedgehog answered the door. His first instinct was to recoil, and brace for the shouting, and perhaps once she was done, he could try to explain. Instead, she threw him a curveball.

"C'mon in, Oscar," she said, as if she were happy to see him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh... okay," he said, still unsure what happened between the beach and here. Once inside, they sat on the couch, where Hedgehog threw him for another loop.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier at the beach," she said.

"Wait... you're sorry?"

"Yes, I had no idea what you were going through," she said, pain clear in her voice. "Why wouldn't you tell me you were hurting?"

"I... wait how—" then it hit him. "Alice came by, didn't she?"

"Yes, she explained everything, but I just... why didn't you say anything?"

That was a great question. Even he wasn't one hundred percent sure. "I don't know... I thought maybe it would just get better, like maybe it was just a toothache or something." Oscar rubbed his eyes, exasperated. "I was going to speak up eventually, but before I could, well... you know."

Hedgehog pulled him into a hug that he eagerly returned.

"Oscar, there's nothing you can't tell me." Hedgehog whispered to him. He felt himself tearing up as he drew a shuddering breath.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just... all of this is happening so fast, I don't want to be an adult, I was just barely a kid!"

Hedgehog released him and looked into his rapidly moistening eyes. "I know it's scary, but we all have to do it."

His feelings of sadness were amplified tenfold by his already raging musth hormones, and Oscar was well tired of this emotional rollercoaster. "It just doesn't seem fair, I'm not ready for this!"

Hedgehog put her hands in her lap, fidgeting with her fingers. "I know, I didn't feel ready either, but it's part of life." She glanced up at him. "Besides, don't you think you'd look good with tusks?"

Ordinarily Oscar would see the appeal, and maybe the humor, but not this time. "Hedgehog, these bones have to grow out of MY FACE!" He said, motioning towards his cheeks. "It hurts!" Oscar sighed, dialing back his anger and wiping the tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell,"

"It's okay," Hedgehog assured him. "Why don't we get something to eat? It's almost lunch time."

Oscar felt entirely more at ease while he walked beside Hedgehog. He had come prepared to do a lot of explaining, and ended up being apologized to. Much like the conversation with Max, it wasn't quite how he imagined the talk to go. He certainly wasn't complaining, and he was just glad to have Hedgehog back in his corner.

"So, I did have a question about this morning," Hedgehog began. Oscar still wasn't very well versed in his own body, or the processes occurring within it, but he would give it his best shot. "You said you hitting Max just kind of happened. Didn't you feel it coming?"

Oscar shrugged. "Not really, the only thing I felt before it was pain, and then before I knew it, it was over."

"Wow... so it could happen like... anytime?" She asked nervously.

"No!" he answered quickly. "Well, I mean maybe, but I don't think it'll happen again. Alice gave me medicine to help keep it from happening again."

Hedgehog fell silent as they continued to walk, before her curiosity got the better of her. "So, Betsy mentioned something about her medicine wearing off eventually... what happens then?"

Oscar stopped in his tracks, a fresh emotional wave crashing over him, despite his medicinal aid. "I... I'm gonna have to go away for awhile," he admitted, wiping his eye.

Hedgehog stepped back to his side. "Wha—why?"

Oscar took a deep breath, trying to pull himself together. "Because... I'd be..." he bagan. He could hardly imagine himself even muttering these words, let alone meaning them. "Too dangerous to be around."

Hedgehog was just as confused. How could Oscar be dangerous? He'd never hurt a fly! Well... except for what had happened this morning. Even after seeing his outburst, she still had trouble believing what she was hearing.

"You aren't leaving the island are you?"

The worry in her voice actually calmed his nerves. It was good to be reminded that his best friend would be there for him no matter what. "No... Alice is setting up a cabin for me to be, well alone in until it passes." He looked into her eyes and smiled. "I don't know if I'll get to have visitors, but if I do, will you come see me?"

Hedgehog pulled him into hug he eagerly returned. "Of course I will, not even the witches could keep me away."

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"What are you doing out here, Alice?" Susie asked, the pachy witch summoning powerful magic to construct a sturdy wood and stone cabin.

"I have to build somewhere for Oscar to ride out his musth," Alice replied. "How thick should the walls be? One foot? Maybe two just to be safe."

Susie scoffed. "Alice, are you serious?"

"I absolutely am," she replied sternly.

"This is Oscah we're talking about here!" Susie laughed. "Alexa could easily take him! One sucker punch is no reason to build  a fallout shelter."

Alice lowered her wand and turned her head towards Susie. "Susie, I know that making fun of the campers is your thing." She turned around fully, folding her arms, but keeping a smile. "Making things cute is my thing, and doing... whatever it is Betsy does all day is her thing." Her smile faded, slowly morphing into a serious stare as she continued. "But please, I'm begging you. Begging. You." She said, with as much sincerity as she could muster, taking a step closer to Susie. "Do not, antagonize Oscar while he is in this cabin."

Susie was unfazed, if not a little put off by Alice's tone. "Alice. We're witches, what on earth could he possibly do that magic couldn't stop?"

Alice's eyebrow twitched at her head counselors lack of understanding. "Let me tell you something about my kind. In ancient times, they would pitt young male elephants against anything and everything in the gladitorium. Every single time, the young bull won, and it's challengers could be sent home in an Altoids tin! The only time they didn't win, was when they faced another male in musth. Much has changed in our culture since then, but that violent spirit, that primal anger, that carnal lust... it lies dormant in every young male elephant, no matter how kind, or gentle, or soft spoken. It only emerges during musth, and it takes many forms," she explained. "Please, for the sake of this camp, and this entire island, just leave him alone while he's here with me."

Susie had never heard Alice describe such violence before, and knew she meant what she was saying. "O-okay Alice, bloody hell, I'll leave him be."

"Thank you." Alice replied, satisfied. She turned back to the cabin to continue her fortifications.

A smile played at the corner of Susie's lips.

She had her fingers crossed.

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Before Oscar knew it, lunch was over, and it was time to resume his punishment. He met the lunch monsters and began cleaning the various pots and pans in the back. He put on a hairnet, rubber gloves and an apron. A veritable mountain of dirty cookware loomed over him. With a reluctant sigh, he got to work.

As he kept himself busy with work, it kept his mind off his troubles. Sometimes a tedious, repetitive task was the perfect thing to forget about the bones that will eventually grow out of his face. Caked on grease and food, while disgusting, allowed his mind to wander. What kind of cabin was Alice building for him? What exactly did she think he was going to do? Sure, going into a blind rage at the drop of a hat was pretty inconvenient, but he wasn't the Incredible Hulk, unlike what Max seemed to believe.

And then there was Susie, the eternal wild card. His scrubbing began to intensify as memories of her bullying him leapt to the forefront of his mind, his jaw clenching unconsciously. Ever since his first day on the island, she was there to pick on him. Sure, everyone got the business from her, but she seemed to go out of her way to make his life harder, even when it would require vastly less effort for her to just leave him alone.

"Oscar."

The young elephant jumped, bumping his head against the incredibly deep pot he was scrubbing.

"Ow, what the–" He snapped, turning around and rubbing the back of his head.

Alice stood behind him, arms folded.

His anger subsided as his thoughts of Susie evaporated. "Hey Alice,"

"I just wanted to check on how your punishment was coming along," she said, looking around and the almost hundreds of dirty dishes still piled in the sinks.

"I'll be here all night at this rate..." Oscar moaned, wiping his brow.

"Well, you're right about that," she remarked, putting her finger on her chin. She removed it, and snapped her fingers. In an instant, the dishes were completely cleaned and put away. "But I also thought I heard something."

"What did you... oh..." he replied.

"Any strong feelings lately?" she asked accusingly.

"Uh..." he began, trailing off. "Yeah..."

"Have you been taking what I gave you?"

"Yeah, but I'm worried about what you said," he replied. "About how it would eventually stop working,"

"It will eventually, yes," She began, "But it shouldn't be for a while. At any rate, I finished your isolation cabin."

The word 'isolation' stung him deeply. Even though Alice assured him what was happening was completely normal, he felt like an outsider, and even though his friends seemed to understand, it was hard for him to believe that they truly did.

With a wave of her wand, they were deep in the forest, standing outside what appeared to be a concrete military bunker.

"It's more welcoming on the inside," Alice said as they approached the heavy steel door. The more fortifications Oscar noticed, the more worried he became.

They stepped onto the porch, Alice tapped the door in a pattern with her wand. Slowly, it creaked open, its hinges squeaking and whining. For something that was allegedly built today, it seemed like it had been there for centuries. Inside, there was a main room, complete with a bed, a kitchen, and the essentials for a few weeks of living. Although, he seemed to notice there was only living accomodations for one.

"It's not so bad," Oscar said, taking in the living space. "It seems kinda small."

"This is where I'll be living," Alice answered.

Oscar raised an eyebrow, "Then... where am I going to..."

Alice motioned to a rather large window on the far side of the room. Alice and Oscar walked slowly towards it. The glass was  extremely thick, and the room beyond it looked remarkably similar to his cabin, with the inclusion of what seemed like gym equipment.

"Huh... I'm not really much of a muscle head, Alice," Oscar said, noticing the weights.

"I know, but trust me, you'll want them later on."

"Where's the door?" he asked.

"There isn't one," Alice replied flatly. "The only way in is to teleport. It's the safest way to make sure you, uh..."

"Can't escape?" he completed, folding his arms.

"Right." Alice replied. "I know all of this can seem overwhelming right now, but I promise you this is for the best."

All the platitudes in the world didn't make him feel any better. After all, it wasn't Alice or Hedgehog or Max that had to go through this. He had never known this kind of isolation, save for a few occasions.

"Now, I'm sure you've had time to think on everything I told you about musth," Alice said, taking a seat on the couch in the observation room, motioning for Oscar to join her.

"Will I be able to have visitors while I'm here?" he asked. He truly didn't care about the physical changes he was sure to go through, all that mattered to him was making sure his friends could still come see him.

"Well..." Alice hesitated. "Technically, I can't see an issue with you having visitors, but..."

"But what?" Oscar continued. "Musth is... a pretty radical transformation, and there will be times when you may not exactly be in your right mind. If you don't mind the possibility of them seeing you... out of sorts, I suppose something could be worked out."

He knew Hedgehog would want to see him no matter what state he was in. A fact that he reminded himself of when he was feeling down about his situation, or life in general.

"But, I would caution you, too many visitors can stress you out, and aggravate your symptoms," Alice warned.