September 24, Fall, year 20

I'm back from my impromptu trip, and I feel a lot better. Lauren was a really big help in figuring things out with how I should manage myself and this weird relationship I have with Skye.

In short, she told me to play it by ear, and if it comes up again—the thieving thing—follow my heart instead of my head. I hope she's right on this…

I should probably apologize for over-reacting, I'll do it in the morning… er, tomorrow.

Serri's in labor right now, so I don't want to leave her… the poor thing's so old that I'm really worried about her. I keep wondering if I shouldn't have asked for Barley to come along, but I've done this so much it's not like there's much he can tell me.

Uncle Tak was not happy with me when I got home this afternoon. I've been getting the silent treatment for a while now. I guess I'll have to take him out drinking to make up for it. Grand…. My head hurts just thinking about it.

Speaking of, Lauren took me out to some clubs I hadn't been before. There was a surprising lack of drugs and booze, which I'm actually rather grateful for. Not only would Uncle T be pissed at me, Pony would want to take strips out of my hide as well! And then Jack, since I know Pony would tell him.

And when my siblings gang up on me, there's not much I can do. Pony already treated me to a lecture on the importance of farming, though I managed to distract her by asking how she and Grey are doing.

I know she's hoping for a proposal, but goodness only knows what's going through that boy's head now. Still, he seems happier, a bit, when he comes out to the Dig on Thursdays, so who knows?

I feel a little bad about it now, but it was the quickest way out of a lecture. Which I didn't really deserve. Well… maybe I did. A little. I did up and bolt for three days to screw my head back on.

But hells bells, I came back, didn't I? I never meant to leave forever, just… for a couple of days, to catch my breath and talk to someone who would understand.

Lauren confirmed it, before I forget. The spell thing. It's apparently a wide-range paralysis spell, meant for easy escape. It affects male and female alike, so that explains why Marlin got caught up in it too.

She can use it herself, but only on small animals like cats or dogs. So I guess it affects anything that has a pulse? I'll have to ask Win, she's a half-blood, so she should know more.

Meep! The kittens are coming out!

The first one is… an orange tabby! So cute! Kitten number two! Mmmm… black!

…I think that's all of them. Just two this time! Oh well, at least now I can go to bed. Even if the clubs didn't have the drugs and alcohol, they certainly had a lot of dancing!