Barry had to carry me back home. I couldn't react to anything, my thoughts were shooting through my head at speeds that were hard to comprehend.

I had a plan.

I would first need to find the right time.

Then who to go with me.

Then what would happen?

I couldn't think, everything was a blur.

I did not have a plan.

Barry set me on my bed, taking care to take off my shoes. To me they were of little importance.

My mind was flooding with small ideas that weren't easy to put together. Until I found peace surround me and I faded away from reality.

I blinked, trying to bring my eyes into focus. The room was empty and I took a deep breath in to remember what happened.

Oh, right.

I formulated what I knew into a rough idea. It would take some experimenting, but it would hopefully work. I began to think into the specifics of said plan when I noticed a note taped to my forehead.

Don't judge me.

Start at the front door. Head five paces left. Take a right turn and head twenty paces.

What in the world was this?

I slowly got up and changed into a new outfit for the day - an orange top with slightly ripped jeans and converse - my typical outfit.

Before I left, I went and peered into Barry's room to see if he wanted to come with, but the room was vacant.

I grabbed a small snack from the kitchen and headed out the door. I looked back down at the note in my hand, and began to follow the directions.

The walking led me to a small stump. I looked around and tried to see why there was anything interesting about it.

There was nothing. What kind of ruse was this? What did I need to do?

"Hey Lizzie?" I called out to her, but I could sense something blocking my message.

Was I supposed to use my Gift in some way? Because I had my arm in a sling.

I sat on the stump and peered at my feet. I was just embarrassing myself. Off to the side I heard a rustling sound and I turned my head to see something in the distance.

I walked up to it to find a poster heavily taped to a tree.

It read 'Turn right, walk forty steps, turn left and walk ten step, then turn right.'

Ok, so I was doing a scavenger hunt of sorts. Interesting. I followed the directions to find myself at the bank of a small river or wide stream.

I peered downstream and upstream to see nothing. I also looked across the river/stream with the same results.

I went to the side and sat on a large boulder that was nearby. I began to drape myself across it when my hand touched something sharp.

I looked down at where my hand had touched to find that I had earned a small paper cut. But before I could better look at the cut, it faded into nothing.

I picked up the piece of paper I had brushed, which was tied together with a ribbon.

It contained more directions, which lead to more directions, and big surprise - more directions!

But I was having a good time, I had to admit, and it grew entertaining to find the next set of directions.

This had been direction number eleven or so, and I was walking through the dense forest to make a left turn and stop dead in my tracks.

It was a giant obstacle course.

In front of it stood Barry, Lizzie, but most of all; Nicole.

She had the widest smile possible on her face, and was lightly bouncing up and down, her curls springing around her face.

"Surprise!" Nicole shouted as I walked up to them.

"Wow," Was all I could say in response. It was massive.

Barry shrugged shyly, "Nicole made it as a welcoming gift."

I had been here for a few months now, but it would make sense as to why I was only getting it now - it must have taken a lot of time to build.

Nicole sprinted over and closed the short distance between us, enveloping me in a tight hug.

I had to push her off so she didn't crush my arm, but I gave her a wide smile.

"You know, your arm should be better now," Barry commented.

"What do you mean? It's only been a couple days. There is no way that it could have healed that fast."

Barry twiddled his thumbs, "You have been asleep for a week. Your arm heals faster than when you were human, and sleep helps."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE BEEN ASLEEP FOR A WEEK?!" I shouted.

"Don't give him a hard time about it. I mean, he did ask me to get you to sleep. Again. You do know that he cares about you - right? He would do anything for you, and the fact that you are bonded only heightens that." Lizzie soothed.

"Wait. Bonded?"

"Um... I didn't say anything!" Lizzie dashed behind Barry and I could tell she was telling him something.

Barry's eyes widened, "Uhhhh," He nervously chuckled, "Look at this!"

He pointed towards the obstacle course and smiled awkwardly as I came towards him.

I began to take the sling off, and Barry helped me unravel the bandages that were wrapped rather tightly around my arm.

I flexed my arm which was now a very pale shade, but in a matter of seconds it changed back to its original tan.

"Thank you Nicole!" I now gave her a return hug that she need to shove me off to breathe.

"Let me show you what it has!" She squealed.

She began to show me the main obstacles along with the control panel that can change its difficulty with the moving parts.

What was even better, there were portions where I needed to shift into a certain animal.

This was an obstacle for my animal skills rather than just physical. This included long leaps, vertical climbs without handholds, each with an animal icon above the area. Nicole had gone all out. I hadn't even realize just how big it all was. It seemed endless, a forest of rope, wood, and other materials I couldn't determine.

With it set at the easiest mode, and an odd look at Barry, I started the course.

It was difficult.

"Oof," I grunted as I hit the ground with my hands burning, "How can people climb ropes so easily?"

"Well, they usually have more knots in them. Either Nicole wanted to make it harder, or she got lazy."

I huffed and got to my feet. I got a bit of a running start and jumped up the rope. I grabbed on as well as I could and began to try and climb the evil rope again.

May I mention that this was the first obstacle.

But, I managed to hold on to the ledge at the top, pull myself up, and continue the course.

But first, I looked down and guessed that the rope had to be at least seven meters long.

Now, I considered myself a pretty fit person, but my climbing rope skills were never up to par.

I continued the course with a much better success rate, although it was still challenging. I had only made it halfway when I declared that I was done.

"Come on. It's not that bad. Keep going!" Nicole whined with a pout.

"It's fine. She just is a little hyped about it, and hasn't necessarily tried it out completely." Lizzie whispered.

"Hey! You don't know that! I've done a lot when you weren't around!" Nicole huffed at Lizzie.

Lizzie just rolled her eyes and turned away from Nicole.

Eventually conversation continued with everyone, but it was nearing dusk, and I realized I had woken up at around noon.

✦✧✦✧

I woke to steady breathing beside me. I turned my head to look at Barry, who was sleeping beside me his pajamas, slightly shivering in the cold air.

I draped the blanket over him before shifting and curling up on him as a Bengal cat. I continued my sleep in a light daze, slowly rising up and down with Barry's breathing.

"Hi there," He whispered.

I purred, trying to get him back to sleep. It worked, and I felt him loosen up underneath me, even though he wasn't very tense in the first place.

He rested his hand on my back, and I stretched out across him comfortably, making sure that my claws were retracted.

My focus diminished, and I purred lightly in Barry's arms.