"Why did you do that?!" Barry shouted when we finally found him. He was stuck in a tree.

Lizzie and I chuckled, "Do what?" I asked innocently.

Barry narrowed his eyes, "Just get me down." I shifted back and reached for Barry. He really wasn't that high up, just about my height; five foot six. Well now, I guessed that meant one foot five. I still did not understand heights here. I set him on the ground, and then shifted both him and Lizzie back.

Barry immediately picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like a rag doll. I pounded on his back, and nearly screamed, but I didn't want any more attention than I already had.

"Put me down!" I shouted.

"Not yet." He said gruffly. I huffed in exasperation.

"Bye Lizzie!" I shouted, as we headed back home.

✦✧✦✧

Barry's steady lope swayed me back and forth as we went along. We approached the doorstep, and he put me down. I grabbed his hand and have him a comforting squeeze. He looked down at me with warmth in his eyes. He dwarfed me by about four inches, but that didn't change the fact that I went up on my toes and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a deep crimson, and by the way my cheeks burned, I bet I was too.

We headed inside, and sat in the living room. I leaned against Barry, "What else is there to do around here?"

"Lots; there's gardening, gym, anything you want," Barry responded quietly.

That didn't quite seem interesting, but I had no ideas. Then a thought occurred to me - a water slide! I wasn't very fond of crazy ones, but this one would be just right for me.

I got up to go outside, ran a fair distance, and urged for the perfect slide in front of me. Of course, it didn't work. Barry walked out behind me, "Do you want me to give you that lesson now?"

I nodded my head embarrassingly, I should have paid more attention the first time, but he was making it the most boring thing in the world. He knew it too, so this time he put it as simply as he could.

"Well, you need to envision what everything will look like, the entire process of the thing appearing." I sighed at how simple it had been before, but I hadn't listened.

It took about eleven tries to get it to appear. But it was worth it. It rose out of the ground, I got on, and everything went how I wanted it to. Fast, but not quite sickening, sideways turns, and more. Barry seemed pretty impressed.

I added a spot for him to go beside me, and he climbed on, and I adjusted the water as we rode to surprise him and me. It  was amazing, perfect. I slowed the water flow down to hear what Barry was saying.

"I think I was wrong about your Gift. I think you're perfect," He said, not sure if he was complimenting me or stating a real fact.

I smiled, my cheeks heating up at his words. Then I decided that it was time to do something else. When we made it to the bottom, I got there right before him, and he landed on my back as I shifted into a horse.

We rode for a long time and he laughed. I don't think I had heard him laugh before that point, and it was the most delightful laugh I had ever heard. His joy made me go faster, and I got a great idea.

I brought up some earth, into a rough ramp shape. I could feel Barry holding onto my mane, knowing what was going to happen. I jumped off the ramp, and we were in the air. In the second of time when we were away from the earth, I shifted to a hawk, and to compensate for Barry's size, I made myself much larger as best I could. Barry's grip relaxed but was still firm as his hands tried to hold on to my feathers. He whooped into the setting sun, and I smiled.

I loved our silence. It was beautiful, and I didn't want it to end. After flying for another hour, I landed on a thick branch, as Barry slid off my back.

"That was..," Barry said, staring straight into my eyes.

I nodded. What was there to say?

I knelt down for Barry to get back on, but he shook his head, "I want to try," he whispered.

I shifted him to a hawk, and watched closely as he leapt off the branch. I followed close behind, and started to fly next to him. He was wobbly, but in control. I embraced the wind in my feathers as I pulled off a barrel roll.

"Show off," He screeched, and I watched as he tried to speed up. I matched his speed, and we soon perched on my balcony. I shifted us back, and we walked inside.

"Can you show me something of your Gift?" I asked, and I immediately looked at my feet. I could tell that Barry wasn't proud of his Gift, and it didn't help that mine was what it was.

He draped his arm over me, "Sure, although it's not as great as yours."

I looked into his eyes, "I'm sure it's better."

He smiled a little, which seemed to be a common occurrence. It was almost strange, the short amount of time we had bonded together. He started heading to his room, and I followed. He sat down at his desk, and I shivered, it was cold in there. I shifted to a fox for a warmer coat, which seemed to help, and I jumped onto a spare chair he had next to the desk.

Out of a drawer he procured a pen and paper. Once he started drawing, I had no time to register what was happening, the strokes of the pen on paper seeming to just appear on the page. When he was finished, I stared in awe. It was a piece of art.

It depicted a fox, one that was standing in a forest, being partially hidden behind a tree. I jumped down from my seat to jump into Barry's lap, and I rubbed up against him. When I stopped, he buried his face in my fur, and I laid my head against his neck.

He let me go and I reluctantly went to my room. I curled up under the covers, staying in the form I was in.

I stared outside as the thought ran through my head; I needed Barry.