Well, yesterday, we explored, I got paint in lots of colors to paint my room in (it's going to look like a forest when I'm done), and we explored again.

The next day- wait, that's today? Oh yeah…- I was looking up reference pictures for trees and how to draw them. Yes I had trees outside. Do I want to use them? Well, I will, but I don't know how to draw a tree.

Well, anyway, Max was looking over my shoulder at where I was on Google. I had discovered the internet. I've rarely been near it before.

I like.

I was sketching a tree out like the computer guide said to, so I could practice them for my room. It was coming along nicely. Max said, "Wow. You're good at art."

I replied with, "Thank you. I'm the best in the flock."

Max snorted in amusement. "Your modesty amazes me."

"I know. It's one of my many amazing qualities."

Max did something known as a facepalm.

I didn't know why.

After recovering, Max turned to me and said what she apparently had wanted to say before seeing my tree. "How old are you, Spark?"

"Thirteen."

"How long have you been thirteen?"

"A while."

Max groaned and muttered something that sounded like "dumb twilight". I have no idea what she was talking about.

The she turned to me again. "I think I'm going to declare a birthday on Saturday. That's two days away. The entire flock, except Angel, have been their current ages for a long while."

I was confused. "Which are…?"

Max sighed. "Me, Fang, and Iggy are fourteen. Nudge is eleven. You know how old you are. The Gasman is eight. Angel was six, but she decided to spontaneously turn seven a couple weeks before you joined us."

"Ahem. And me?"

Total had joined us earlier yesterday, with Aikla tagging along behind him.

I shot a look at him. "You never told us your age."

Total looked affronted. "Well, it is rude to ask. But I'm… not going to say my age because that would be rude to answer that…"

Max and I exchanged a What the heck? look. Total had simply talked in circles.

Aikla as it turns out wasn't far behind. She stuck her head around the wall and barked, "Total?"

"Yes, my darling?" Total said back, reverting to his native language of dog. How did I know this? Max's face became confused.

"Oh. I was wondering where you were," the Malamute replied.

"Right here. Now, let's go see if Iggy has anything for us to eat, shall we?" Total trotted over to Aikla and guided her away.

Still a bit confused, Max turned to me. "What was that about?"

"It was fluff pretty much. They're going to mob Iggy for food."

"Ouch…"

"Yeah…"

We were silent for a moment, then I got up and headed out the back door. "I'm going out to explore, okay?" I called to Max.

"Fine. But remember, think about the presents for the flock's birthday."

"Okay…" I trailed off before jumping out the door. I only bothered to transform before taking off running. I was a mountain lion.

It felt so good to run. Not for your life, or for fun, but just for the purpose to run. Your legs pump, your heart beats fast, and the wind blows your fur and/or hair. It's as good as flying, I'll admit, at least in animal form. It's as good as flying, but in a different way. Both make you feel free.

I didn't go that far before I had to slow down. I'm mortal. I actually get tired. So that's why I stopped, next to a lightning struck tree in the clearing, gasping for air.

Then, after I was taking smaller breaths, I smelled something with my puma (that's another name for mountain lion, also cougar is another) senses. It was extremely familiar, even though I had only smelled it as a human… ish…

It was the scent of another mountain lion. Four, actually. Two were unfamiliar and had the scent on them of a kit. One of the two familiar smells had tinge to it like juniper berries. The other was softer, more pineish than the other.

I stopped in my tracks from where I was padding along. I scented these over and over. Oh. My. Gosh. I never thought I'd smell it again.

When I had first smelled this, it was about a month after I had escaped. I had gotten really far west, though I don't know how far.

That was Nuri and Nova's scents!

HOLY CRAP!!!!

I quickly transformed into human, where I could still scent but not as well. I followed the scent to find my wandering parents.

You see, some cougars have a set territory. Actually, most of them do. But some, like Nuri and Nova, wander and journey about. How else do you think they got in Florida!?

The thing is, humans don't see them doing this.

But what was the kit-scent about?

But, anyway, I was following the scent, which was fairly fresh, through the bushes, through the trees. And sure enough, after a few minutes of this, I heard, very faintly, voices.

There was a female's, high-pitched and little. I didn't know this one. "Nova," it said, "I hear something behind us."

"Me too," replied a little male's, also unfamiliar.

Then, a voice so familiar after seven months of listening to it lecture me and talk to me floated over. Nova. "Nuri, why don't you check it out? I don't hear anything, but the little ones think so."

"Fine."

After this short statement by Nuri, and I was walking all this time, there was a slight crunching of leaves.

Then silence.

"…Spark!?" Nuri's incredulous voice came over, and the male mountain lion step into my sight. He was exactly as I remember him, with tawny fur and an extremely dark tail-tip.

"That's me." I said, stepping forward to meet him. Nuri twisted around towards where Nova was.

"Nova! It's Spark!"

"Spark!?" Nova dashed forward into view. She was also how I remember her, with a few spots on her head that were barely noticeable. The pair of cougar kits stumbled after her.

"Oh my Freespirit and Queen Nature!" I never thought I'd see you again!" she yowled excitedly, moving forward to rub me with her muzzle.

I smiled back. "Neither did I," I whispered back, stroking her behind the ear. I looked towards the kits staring at us like we'd turned blue. "Who are they?"

Nuri answered for me. "Swift and Alant were abandoned by their mother. Actually, their mother died and left them. We decided to take care of them."

The tiny female, who must not have been over two months old, walked to meet me. "I'm Swift, and that's my brother, Alant. You must be Spark. Nova and Nuri talk about you sometimes."

"They say you have wings. You speak like us, but you're a Pinkskin! And you have a tail," Alant said, wide-eyed.

"I do have wings." I opened them to show him. He stared back, awestruck.

Nuri stared at me curiously. "Did you find the people you were looking for?"

"Yeah." I then made a split-second decision almost worthy of Max. "Do you want to meet them?"

Nova and Nuri stared at each other for a moment, before Nova replied, "Of course."

Max's face is going to be priceless when I show up on the doorstep with four mountain lions…