Dawn eventually came across the land and the forest. Sunlight pierced through the gaps in the green glossy foliage, awakening the forest animals from their slumber.

When Camilo awoke, he was half dazed as he stretched his tiny body, before realizing something suddenly.

He gaped, looking down to his pinky fuzzy hands, and let out a terrified scream so loud he woke every mouse in the nearby vicinity. He was huffing and puffing unsteadily till it dawned on him.

He was still a mouse... for a brief second in his half-dazed mind he thought he had dreamt it all – changing into animals to impress his family – but no, this was not a dream and he had awakened back to the reality that he was a small critter far away from home.

~x~

Mirabel was leaning against the cold stone cave wall, Antonio asleep with his head resting against her arm. Her eyes slowly flickered awake when she felt the first beam of sunlight run across her shut eyelids and as she opened them, she herself was confused as to where she was and what was going on.

She noticed the heat coming from beside her and turned her head down, seeing Antonio still in peaceful slumber.

"Hey," She said gently, shaking him just the littlest and he groaned tiredly before opening his dark eyes up and looking at her with a soft tired expression.

"We're..." He peeped, looking around him to the light that came from the cave's exit and to where it hit them both, "We're still here...?"

Mirabel nodded her head, before stretching her damp arms and stood up, her muscles tensing and easing as she woke her body up.

She gave a hand to Antonio and he took it easily, lifting to his own feet as he stood beside her and it was then they heard the most terrifying sound.

GRRRRR

The two froze, looking for who had said that and their eyes quickly peeked down to their stomachs that were growling in hunger.

"I guess we should go home and get something to eat," Mirabel suggested and Antonio pulled a reluctant expression, but hunger was killing his tiny child body so he sadly nodded his head in agreement.

"But," He had to ask as the two of them stepped out of the cave back to the dense wet forest, "What about Camilo?"

Mirabel looked into Antonio's scared worried eyes and she sighed heavily, uttering "Camilo wouldn't want us to starve."

Antonio knew that was true... it was sadly too true. The two of them began to head back the direction home when they bumped into some familiar happy faces.

"ANTONIO!" Pepa screamed with tears of joy as she spotted her son near the clearing and the sun pierced down more heat in response to her happy mood. Felix hurried behind her and the two embraced their son in a heavy warm hug. Antonio laughed gently, amazed at their relief but once he looked ahead to the dense trees and leaves around them, his happy smile turned somber and he closed his eyes in pain.

"Mirabel!" Julieta called, as she and her husband Agustin hugged their teenage daughter tightly.

"Mum, Dad," Mirabel peeped, getting breathless from the squeeze, "What are you doing out here?"

"WHAT ARE YOU?" The two yelled back. Mirabel chuckled weakly but it was a pained laugh. She sadly had to tell them the truth.

"We didn't find him..."

The whole family grew silent then, as the parents on both sides looked around the huge forest for a child, a son that had not been found.

"Camilo," Pepa whispered, her voice sounding breathless as the clouds started to dim again.

"Pepa, don't worry," Felix said to her quickly, running over and placing his black hands on her shoulders to calm her, "Just breathe... just breathe."

Her eyes were growing red with veins and she only shut them tight, dropping her head into Felix's chest and sobbing silently but with no tears as she didn't want the weather to get rocky again.

Mirabel and Antonio watched the scene play out but Mirabel suddenly bent over in pain and Julieta caught sight of this instantly.

"We must go home and eat," She said and looked at Abuela who silently nodded her head. Mirabel wanted to protest but she was just too weak to do it.

And what state would Camilo be in now? A dog needs to eat too!

She felt her mother hug her weakly and she watched her expression as Julieta said sadly, "We'll continue the search after lunch."

The family reluctantly all nodded in agreement. Pepa was trembling with near tears as Felix helped lead her carefully out of the forest to their home, Casita.

Before she turned to look at it, she stared at the trees that were left behind, Pepa's eyes just gazing ahead to the never-ending forest... afraid she might never see her son again.

And this was a very real dread.

~x~

"So, which way out of this place?"

Camilo was asking the lead mouse this question and the tiny critter grinned saying as he pointed his tiny finger to the exit, "Straight west from here, it should take you about three to four days to get out of here."

"Three to FOUR DAYS?!" Camilo shrieked, "Have you got your HEAD on BACKWARDS?"

"No." The mouse replied grumpily, jamming its pink paws to its side in annoyance, "You're just a tiny mouse! Remember!"

"That's right!" Camilo gasped, and he realized quickly what he had to do, "Thanks for everything!" He said in deep gratitude but the lead mouse only thought he was being sarcastic.

"No... problem?" He uttered back and Camilo raced through the tiny dirt tunnels till he was back in the open air of the forest. He peered around quickly, looking from side to side in case there were any predators about. It was then he saw it.

A capybara.

It was munching on some leaves lethargically, only giving small gazes around in case it was being watched. And it was being watched, observed by Camilo.

He tried to feel as it felt. Its bravery, its calmness in the face of the danger of the wilderness.

His tiny molecules began to jiggle then, vibrate as he suddenly took on another form.

He landed to his all fours once more like when he was a dog and he turned his head down to see himself in a puddle.

He had become one, he had become a capybara.

"Ahhhh!"

He turned around, seeing the mouse at the entrance of the tunnel hole peering up at him in huge shock and amazement, "You... you shapeshifted!"

"That's what I'm known for doing, duh," He said and began to think to himself that maybe he could now take back on his own human form.

He closed his eyes, focusing on the image of him in his brown human body with his curly hair and slightly big nose.

But the longer he thought of his original self in his mind, the more he noticed that nothing was happening.

But why? Why was NOTHING HAPPENING?!"

He felt his capybara stomach start to growl for food and he looked around for something to chew on. He saw that the capybara before him was munching down on some leaves from a fallen branch and he looked across the flooring too, noticing there was some pretty tasty looking grass ready to be snatched up.

He began to eat it slowly, a bit wary at first but once the taste satisfied his tongue, is when he started to calm down and began to eat the plentiful leaves and grass that surrounded him.

When he looked up back to the capybara before him, he stiffened in fear when he saw its expression. Its mouth was hanging open in terror, its body getting ready to jolt it.

"What's wrong..?" Camilo asked quietly, and the capybara began to say the shaky words.

"Ja-ja-ja-"

"Ja-?"

"JAGUAR!"

In that instant, it bolted away quickly into the woods and Camilo twisted around to see what the capybara had witnessed to.

It was then he saw it... he saw her eyes looking at him between the gaps of leaves from a large fallen branch that had been dislodged and broken from the storm last night.

Her pupils expanded and then contracted a little, as her large paws kneaded the wet ground in anticipation for her next meal.

"STOP!" Camilo suddenly cried at her and her expression became puzzled as she recognized that voice.

"Camilo...?" She asked in a hushed whisper and he nodded his heavy head quickly. Her claws retracted and she began to slowly approach him, but all Camilo's instincts told him to do was RUN AWAY!

He did just that. He bolted and slammed his furry paws to the wet ground, rushing away from her leering presence and deeper into the forest once more. He didn't turn back to see if she was following, he hoped to high heaven that she hadn't decided to chase him. As his energy began to slowly deplete he slowed down his fleeing and took a few deep breaths in and out.

While he took those deep inhales and exhales he felt that he was being watched by many eyes, from above...

He slowly looked upwards and saw a flock of toucans gazing at him from high up in the trees.

"Do you think he noticed us-?" One whispered to another, but he understood them perfectly.

"No, don't worry," Another responded, "He's just a dumb capybara..."

"I AM NOT."

The flock all gasped at his response, and Camilo suddenly could hear the sound of animal footsteps coming in from the distance.

"The jaguar is nearing!" One of the toucans hissed to the others, "He is dead meat."

Camilo began to panic. This couldn't be the way he was to die! He quickly closed his eyes, focusing on the birds and their form and how they felt superior in their flight ability.

It happened just as fast as the other transformations. His molecules jiggled and his body shrunk into that of a bird, a toucan.

The birds all gasped when he stretched out his wings and flew quickly to the same high-up branches as them.

He didn't bother to look at their stunned expressions, as he peered down and saw the jaguar patrol the area in its long slinky steps. He could see all the toucans' eyes weren't on the large cat however... no, they were on him. He thought he had petrified them into a frozen shocked position but when there was another crack of branches from the jaguar's steps below, they all seemed to knock out of it.

They all, Camilo included, watched in silence as the jaguar looked around the area quietly, and growled to itself in disappointment when it had failed again to find Camilo.

"Why is the cat chasing you?" One of the toucans asked him seriously, "What did you do? Poop on her?"

"No!" Camilo barked back and glared with his new bird eyes back at the flock, "She wants me for HER dinner!"

"She loves the hunt..." another Toucan said simply, "That's why she's still stalking you... you weird transforming creature."

"Hey!" Camilo said back bitterly, "I'm a human! A Madrigal! And I'm not some creature, I'm a shapeshifter! It's my gift!"

"Well, gift or no gift," The bird replied and looked him over, remarking, "You do not belong here..."

Camilo only clenched his beak in anger but decided not to fight this bird or this flock. He had to get up high in the sky and look around, try to find a way back home. It occurred to him then – THE CLIFF!

OF COURSE!

THE CLIFF would give him a good eye view as to where he was. He knew he'd be able to see Casita from that vantage point. He nodded his bird head quickly in glee and spread out his wings as he took off to the sky. The flock all gasped in amazement at his fast graceful flight, and they watched him for as long as they could till he was out of their sight.

Camilo soared high on the warm thermals that pushed up from the heat below and made flying a lot less strenuous. He saw the cliff approaching quickly in the distance and he smiled as best he could with his hard bird beak.

He was nearly there, nearly about to find his way home.

There was only one problem... and it was about to occur.