It was the morning of the giant birthday. But I don't even know if the time I was up could even be considered morning, or if it was still night.
It was dark, and stars were still bright. No sunlight existed in the time before dawn, and this is when I was up and running through the woods.
A pair of small birds sat on my shoulders. I was taking them to the house. What I was doing was bringing them to the house, if not for injuries, for food and water. It was a gift that animals accepted gratefully.
So, I had been doing this overnight, and yesterday. Last night, I had quite a lot of animals in my room. All of them actually, except for Fransisca, were uninjured and simply wanted a place to stay for the night.
As I went to open the door of the house I had just arrived at (it was mine, not some stranger's…), it opened by itself. I would've thought ghosts, but Max stood there, looking grumpy.
I bounded up the steps to greet her. "Ma-ax…." I started.
"No. You already have ten animals staying in your room. You don't need another."
I rolled my eyes. Silly Max, hadn't she paid attention to what I had said? "No, Max. These two make ten. This is Speckle and Fleck."
She glared at me. Max didn't like her orders to go challenged. "I don't care what they're called. You don't need them in your room."
I sighed. "All of them, including the pumas, are going to go away today." The knowledge that Nuri and Nova were going to leave made me sad. "Well, except for Fransisca. She's injured, so she needs to stay."
"I don't care. No."
Ignoring her, I went on. "Besides, these two make ten. I don't already have ten. There's the mountain lions, Nuri, Nova, Alant, and Swift, Fransisca the deer, the squirrels Hop, Step, and Jump, and this is Speckle and Fleck, like I said."
Max said a naughty word and rubbed her head in exasperation. She just waved me inside.
If this was how the rest of the day was going to go, this was going to be a long one.
After I fed and watered every one of my residents, some departed. Speckle and Fleck murmured thanks and leaped out the window.
The three squirrel triplets, Hop, Step, and Jump, followed suit, except with more energetic voices. It was very amusing. They were so enthusiastic, because that's what a squirrel is, they were practically falling over each other to say, "Thank you!!!!" I love squirrels.
After I finished laughing at my squirrely friends, I noticed that the mountain lions were missing. I rushed downstairs to see them waiting outside, by the door. Alant and Swift were wrestling (Swift was winning), and Nuri and Nova watched them. At my approach, Nuri looked up. The rest of the pumas did the same.
"Spark," Nuri said, coming over to me. I felt this would be good-bye. "We must go. I hope we meet again, before our time here is over. If not, hold us in your heart so we will never be lost."
I dipped my head respectfully to him. I crouched down and he placed his forehead against mine. This was how we said good-bye the last time we separated.
Nova padded up next. Alant and Swift had stopped playing, and were now watching me sadly. "Little one," Nova started, pressing her forehead against mine, "stay safe. Live life to its fullest. Never forget the ones you love. I know that you're sad that we have to go, but life goes on."
"I know," I whispered back. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I hated saying bye.
"Don't be sad," Nova said back, "We felt the need to go, to separate. I know that you felt that when you left us first." I nodded. She stepped back and looked me in the eye. "Remember, Spark, you're never alone. And you will always be one of our kits, even if you aren't one of my species or knowing how short of a time you stayed with us." Nova turned to go to where Nuri had gone to the side, when she looked back. "Oh, and remember not to eat frogs. You know what happened last time."
Stifling a giggle, I nodded again. Swift trotted up next. I simply bent down and stroked her. "Spark, I may have known you for only a short time, but I respect you already," she mewed, looking up, "Good luck on your journey of life, and may your prey be fat and slow, the sun bright, the wind gentle, and your path to the sky clear and strong."
The aura of confidence that radiated from her made me sure that she would be a great leader when she was older and bigger. She held herself gracefully, and observed the world around her in detail. Yet she still took the time to make friends and play. This was an odd little kit.
The final puma walked up. It was Alant. He nosed my hand before saying, "Stay strong, Spark. Don't be afraid of differences. And respect the Alpha sometimes." I pet him softly.
Bending down to whisper, I said quietly, "Stand up to your sister sometimes. Don't let Swift boss you around all the time, okay?" I had noticed that Swift sometimes bossed everyone around, acting like a queen of the world. Alant was meeker, quieter, and almost submissive at times to her.
Flashing a glance and me, he dipped his head to me. I smiled slightly, and watched him and the rest of his family run off into the forest. They were strong, smart, and every bit as diverse as humans.
I lowered my head sadly, and saw the flock, Ella, and Dr. Martinez standing in the doorway watching me.
Nudge broke rank and walked almost as softly as a cat up to me. "What was that about not eating frogs?"
I chuckled slightly and remembered that day…
Flashback
"Nuri, what are you eating?" I asked the male cougar. He had something small and green in his paws.
"It's a frog," Nova said, answering for him. "I personally don't like them, but he does. He'll eat them when he sees one and feels like catching it."
Nodding, I observed the little, half-eaten creature. I think I had seen some in the Institute, though no one had told me what they were. "Can I have some?" I asked Nuri curiously.
"You can catch your own," said he quickly, bending his head down to take another bite of the frog.
I tried and tried and tried to catch a frog. I had found one quickly, by a stream, but it was far from easy to catch one. Finally, muddy and tired, I pounced on one. I killed it swiftly, and brought it to where Nuri and Nova were watching and laughing their tails off.
"How do you eat it?"
Nuri shrugged. "I slice it open with a claw and then eat it, though you can do it different ways."
I did as he suggested and took a bite of frog. It was disgusting.
"And, I was up the entire night puking my guts out," I finished.
Nudge looked disgusted. "You ate a raw frog? Seriously?!"
Embarrassed, I scuffled my feet on the earth. "Well… I never did it again, and I certainly paid for it, didn't I?"
Dr. Martinez, having finished laughing, asked us, "Well, now that that's done, we have a birthday to celebrate, right? All of yours, remember?"
I perked up immediately. All of us headed inside. I heard Ella mutter, "This doesn't include my birthday…" Her mom just rolled her eyes and patted her head.
And that's a wrap! The farewell scene was very sad for me to write…
Oh well! Life goes on! The sun will still shine, the plot will continue, and this story still needs reviews!