I tried no to smile at everyone crowding around me to congratulate me on joining the flock. Happiness welled up inside of me. I was finally accepted.

Iggy came over and touched my wing. I snatched it away. "What the heck are you doing?!"

Max explained, "Iggy's blind. He can feel colors, though, and he's figuring you out so her can identify you by your feathers. Like he can everyone else in the flock."

"Oh."

"Hm. Interesting. They feel black, but also gold at the same time."

I ignored him.

"Hey," The little blond boy called. I think his name was Gazzy or something. "Shouldn't we tell your mom about this, Max?"

She nodded. "Okay, gang, move out!"

We took off. It was my first time flying in a group, other than with a bunch of birds. I was super-extra-careful not to whap anyone with my wing. I had thirteen feet of muscle and feathers for a wingspan.

It wasn't the biggest one in the flock, though. Max's wings had to be fourteen feet across, and Fang and Iggy's wings were almost fifteen, sixteen feet wide.

I flew in the back, my wing-noise going to my ears as a pleasant thrumming. The rest of the flocks wing-noises beat against my ears, too.

The flight lasted only a few minutes. Fang started the descent into a patch of forest, carrying Aikla. I could see a house not far from where we landed.

As soon as we all touched down, Max turned and said, "Ok, we're a little way away from my mom's house. We'll figure out what to say to her, and we can get to know Spark more."

Yay. Twenty Question time.

"Do you have a last name? Do you have claws? Do you-" I placed my hand over Nudge's mouth to quiet her insistent and fast questioning.

"Well, I sorta have a last name. I use 'Felis' sometimes. I usually use 'Charge' more."

Gazzy's eyes lit up. "Oh, so you're called Spark Charge?"

"Hey, she could be a sister of Max," Iggy realized, "Maximum Charging Off Ride, Spark Charge, it makes sense."

Max growled and spun around. I was getting kinda mad, too, and I said, "I do not charge off!"

Gazzy shouted worriedly, "Watch out Iggy, she has fangs!"

Fang turned to Max. "She has a bunch of me?" he joked.

Huh. He actually speaks.

"In case you haven't noticed, Gaz, I can't watch out. I'm blind," Iggy commented dryly.

I added for good measure, "And I do NOT have fangs." Then I grinned as I tensed the muscles in my fingers that make my claws slide out, holding it up so they all could see. "But I have claws!"

Nudge and Gazzy let out a slight yip of surprise (I had no idea they could make that noise) and leaped away.

Oh. Right.

"Oops. Sorry, I forgot that most people don't have claws, much less two-inch ones."

Angel stared at me curiously. "They can get to two-inches?"

I nodded. "Yup. I prefer to keep them at one-inch if I have them extended, though. I could snag a claw more easily, otherwise, and that is called painful."

"It feels like pulling a fingernail off?"

I stared at Nudge. "I have those too, you know." I showed her my tiny fingernails. I didn't have much of them because I needed room for the claws. "It feels worse. Plus, claws take longer to grow back. Anyway, where have you lost a fingernail?!?"

She blushed and stared at the ground. "A, um, fight."

Ah. Figures.

My sensitive nose picked up the smells of the house we were approaching. Soil, human, a hint of chemicals, and something extremely tantalizing. It smelled a bit familiar.

Where had I smelled that before?

I could see the house from where I was, a white spot in the middle of the dark green and black forest. Someone seemed to be moving around in there.

Max strode confidently up and opened the door, the flock following her inside. I was the last one to go except for Angel. I took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

"Mom!" Max yelled to the house. I smelled two more humans, female. Did I mention I have a cat sense of smell?

"You can call her Dr. Martinez," whispered Angel to me.

A medium heighted, slightly Hispanic-looking woman turned a corner, and saw the flock standing there, waiting. I assumed she was "Mom" or Dr. Martinez.

"Hi Max. I thought you'd be out longer than you were. What-" She cut off as she saw me.

I realized my wings were visible, and my ears and tail were in full sight. Oops.

Max cleared her throat when Dr. Martinez continued to stare at my wings, ears, tail, the usual.

She shook her head, like she had water in her ears. "Right. Ok, Max, what's going on?"

I have to admit, she sounded mom-like.

Max waved her hand in my direction. "This is Spark. She's a… feline-avian-human hybrid."

"… I can see that."

"And she's going to join the flock."

I felt sorry for Dr. Martinez. She was getting so many shocks today. I think we gave her too much.

Once again she was frozen with surprise.

"Right. I'm going to introduce her to Ella now. See ya at dinner." Max simply came over to me and steered me down a hall. "Stay here. I'm going to give Ella a warning. I think we scared Mom too much…"

She opened the door quietly, calling, "Ella. I have someone I want you to meet."

"Really? Bring her in, then!"

I padded inside to see a girl, around mine or Max's age, looking at us eagerly. She stopped and blinked hard for a minute when she saw me.

"She's a… Flying cat-girl?!" Ella managed to sputter out.

I beamed at her. "That's exactly what I call myself! I didn't think anyone else would get that."

"Ok, then…"

She looked at the ground, then looked up at me again. Making up her mind, she walked hesitantly closer, 'til I could see her brown eyes staring at me in wonder.

She reached out, and what she did next made me hate the whitecoats more than ever for grafting a fuzzy, black cat's DNA into me.

Ella decided to pet my ears.

Here's a look into my mind; WHAT THE HECK SHE PET ME?!?!!?!??!

She mumbled, "They're so soft…"

I suppose I should take that as a compliment. I always keep my wings, tail, and ears in neat order.

But still. I. Am. Not. A. House. Pet.

I had to suppress a growl when Ella withdrew her hand and stepped back. Hopefully, she wouldn't pet my ears again.

Okay, that's it for chapter five! As you can see, Spark does not like her ears pet. Nor her tail pulled. Anyway, her profile is on my profile, so check it out!