Secrets: The Truth is Slowly Revealed - 38. Chapter 38 S1

Chapter 38 – Time With the McCaskills

The time at the cabin was going very well, and Gramps, Pops, Faith, and Hope were going to join us for a cookout on the weekend. In order to prepare for it, on Friday we started getting ready for the cookout that would be held the following day. Devin and I went out fishing with Pa in the morning so we’d have plenty of fish to eat, while Ma was taking some venison steaks and other cuts of meat out of the freezer to thaw. This meat was all from various hunting trips that Gramps, Pops, or Pa had taken part in, and the best part was that this meat hadn’t been purchased at the grocery store, so it was saving them money as well. This will also be a new experience for me, because I’ve never eaten deer meat before, and I soon discovered it wasn’t the only new experience in store for me this weekend.

After we finished cleaning the fish, we ate breakfast with Ma, and then I was involved in a task that was new to me. Pa asked Devin and me to help him construct a fire pit where the cookout would take place, and in order to do this they took me out to the cement pad that was a short behind the cabin. It looked like I was finally about to learn why it was there. I’d always imagined the cement pad was so Pa could put up a portable backboard for Devin to use, even though the pad was small and wouldn’t give him very much room to shoot hoops. But now I was about to learn the truth – it was there for the cookouts.

It meant the three of us had to lug the pile of cinderblocks that were stacked next to the shed and arrange them around the cement pad. They’d end up forming a small enclosure that was three cinderblocks high and would serve as the grill. We had each just carried the first cinderblocks down to the cement pad when Ma stepped out of the backdoor and yelled to Pa.

“We’ve got company,” she announced.

“Who is it?”

“It’s your grandfather. He’s parking his car right now.”

“Then send him out here.”

When Pops joined us, he saw what we were doing and smiled before he spoke. “I thought I’d come out here to see if you could use a hand with anything.”

“I believe the boys would appreciate your help, because then they won’t have to do quite as much work.”

Not only did Pops help us carry the cinderblocks down to the cement pad, but he also helped Pa build the fire pit. Devin and I helped as much as we could, but we merely gave them the cinderblocks and then they arranged them on the cement pad.

As soon as that task had been completed, Devin and I walked through the woods with Pa and Pops and collected as many dead branches that we could find to use as firewood. As Devin, Pops, and I continued doing that task, Pa went to the cabin to get his chainsaw, and then he used it to cut up a dead tree. It had either blown over during a severe wind storm or collapsed under the weight of the snow that had accumulated on it over the winter. We’d use the wood from the tree for firewood as well, and we ended up making multiple trips back and forth as we carried all of the wood we found to the cement pad and stacked it near the fire pit.

As soon as Pa and Pops had determined that we had enough wood to make a decent fire to cook the food over, there was something else we had to take care of before the pit was completed. Pa had the rest of us help him carry down the four metal frames that were stored in the shed. The frames had wire screens attached to them, and these frames would eventually be placed on top of the cinderblocks in such a way that they hung over the fire. The meat would then be placed on the metal screens to cook, and the men would take care of that duty while the women worked on the other items in the kitchen.

Putting the fire pit together and collecting the wood had been quite an exhaustive effort, so I was glad that we had a chance to rest after we finished. The cookout wasn’t going to take place until the following day, so now that this task had been completed, Pa went into the cabin to chat with Ma.

Devin and I took it easy for the rest of the day and we even went to bed early that night. When we woke up the next morning, we were in much better shape and raring to go. After we went out fishing with Pa again, we went in to eat breakfast, and then we were able to take it easy for a couple of hours.

As it got closer to the time when the cookout would start, we helped Pa place some of the firewood in the fire pit, and then he lit and got the fire going, Devin and I were given the task of monitoring it to make sure the fire would be good and hot when it was time to start cooking the meat.

Pa and Pops did most of the grilling, although Gramps helped out a little too. The thing was, he and Faith arrived much later than Pops and Hope, so Pa and Pops had things pretty much under control by the time he arrived.

“I’m sorry we were late, but Faith waited until this morning to make her pies to bring here and it took longer than she expected. I hope our tardiness didn’t create any problems.”

“No, it only takes two people to do this job,” Pa replied.

The cookout went really well and there were a lot of good things to eat. I learned that I liked venison, but I was told it was probably because of the way it had been prepared. Ma had marinated it overnight to remove some of the gamey taste that many people didn’t care for, so I still might not like venison if I were to eat it the way someone else prepared it.

We all stuffed ourselves, and after we finished eating we played horseshoes and Cornhole outdoors, alternating between the two games. As soon as it started to get dark, which happens earlier in the middle of the forest, we moved inside and then all of us played Monopoly and UNO in the cabin.

After we’d played those games, the women remained in the cabin and entertained each other while I joined Gramps, Pops, Pa, and Devin and went out for a run as dogs. As soon as we were satisfied that we’d done this long enough, we went back to the cabin to eat some of the leftovers and have dessert.

Shortly after we finished eating supper, Gramps and Pops left with their wives, but before they drove away we all agreed to have cookouts more often next summer, since everyone seemed to enjoy this one. I can’t wait for next summer now, because I also enjoy spending time like this with all of them.

After they’d gone, Pa, Devin, and I went out to make sure the wood that still remained in the fire pit was under control and nearly out. We also checked to make certain that no embers had blown out of the pit and started fires elsewhere, and when we were satisfied, we went inside and spent time with Ma until we went to bed.

Gramps and Pops came by a few times after that to see how the rest of my training was going, but Devin and Pa were taking care of most of it for me. During this time, Devin taught me how to improve a single bodily attribute to my advantage. He worked with me on giving myself more muscular arms, runner’s legs, better hearing, and better vision, just not all at the same time. I still have to do a great deal more practicing where those things are concerned, but I’m improving.

While Devin was helping me with those skills, Pa was spending his time working with me on changing into different people, even while on the move or while in a vehicle.

“There might be times when you’ll have to change your appearance without having a chance to stop first, such as when you’re moving through a crowd of people,” he stated. “For that reason, you’ll have to learn how to lower your head and use your hat to obscure what you’re doing so you won’t have to stop.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“It might also be necessary for you to do this while you’re operating a vehicle. The police may be attempting to stop you after a particular incident or they might have set up a roadblock to catch you. If you look like a totally different person when they do this, then they’ll have to let you go.”

“Yes, they are both really good skills to have in case one of those things happen,” I replied, and then I worked hard on them to earn his approval and be able to protect myself

“Let me offer you one additional warning,” Pa said. “You’ll have to be careful that you don’t change into someone who is much larger than yourself unless you are wearing clothes that will fit properly on the larger frame. Otherwise, you might rip all of your clothes apart and end up naked. If you remember, something similar happened to both Devin and me when we’d transitioned into bears, although those incidents occurred on separate occasions. Although Devin didn’t realize what was happening to him at the time, I felt it was important that I do it and didn’t worry about my clothes.”

Devin and Pa also started working with me on transitioning into birds. We started with a small bird that is fairly common in Colorado, the Gray Jay. While I was growing up, I would see them flying around whenever I went outside, so I was very familiar with them. The Grey Jay is a member of the same family as the Blue Jay, only it’s slightly smaller and a different color, and the first thing I had to do was to get its body correct.

“You’ll have to remember,” Pa explained, “that birds have hollow bones so they’re light enough to fly, but not all of their bones are hollow, so you’ll have to know which bones are hollow and which ones aren’t.”

He then had a diagram of the anatomy of a small bird and pointed out which bones were solid and which ones were hollow. He also explained that this varied with the different types of bird, although not drastically, but for now we’d only concentrate on the Gray Jay. As soon as I had that down, I had to learn about the feathers, and Devin took over this part of the training.

“Learning how to form the quills on a porcupine will help you when you’re forming the feathers,” he began. “The shaft of the feather is hollow, like the quill, but instead of being a hair, the shaft of a feather is made of keratin. Our fingernails are also made up of hardened keratin, as are the hooves, claws, and horns of other animals.”

“That’s good to know,” I agreed.

“Yes, it is, and the portion of the shaft of the feather that attaches to the body and sticks into the skin is called the quill, and the remainder of the shaft is called the rachis. There are pairs of stiff branches that run along the rachis, called barbs, which jut off in both directions and form the feathers.”

“I see what you mean now. The porcupine’s quills were hollow and each one had a barb, and the shaft of a feather is also hollow, but it has a lot more barbs.”

As soon as I’d learned how to form the feathers correctly and firmly attached them to the body, I actually looked like a Gray Jay. I was proud of myself, but now I had to learn how to fly.

The first thing I had to work on was the liftoff, which is similar to jumping into the air and flapping your arms at the same time. This may sound fairly easy, but since I’m used to relying on my legs to get around, I found that suddenly having to use my arms, or wings, to do it was more difficult than you might imagine. I quickly grew tired at first and my longest attempt was 33 feet (10 m), so I knew I’d have to build up my stamina before I could fly farther.

“Mac, you need to increase your upper body strength,” Pa advised me, “so I suggest that you start working out with the weights we have here at the cabin. You’ll also need to increase your endurance, so I suggest that you begin jogging as well.”

“Can I do it with Devin?”

“Yes, I’m sure he’ll go with you and you can jog along the various trails in the forest.”

“Can we do it as dogs as well?”

“I’m sure that will be all right once in a while, but I suggest you do it mostly as yourselves.”

After doing those things for a couple of days, Pa thought I should make another attempt. This time I was able to fly for about 150 feet (46 m) before I became too tired to go on, and although I would have to do better, it was farther than the Wright Brothers did on their first flight.

“That’s great!” Pa said. “But you’ll have to keep working on building up your strength and endurance.”

“Ok, I will.”

Devin and I went out for a run later that afternoon, and while we were out on one of the back trails we heard some people shouting. They seemed to be calling for someone or something named Jack and we thought they had possibly lost their dog, but we weren’t sure. We were curious and wanted to find out what they were looking for, so we veered off the trail and made our way in the direction of where the voices seemed to be coming from. A short time later we came upon two couples that were probably in their late twenties or early thirties.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

“Yes, my son wandered away from our RV and we’re trying to find him,” one of the women answered.

“You brought an RV up here?” Devin asked confused and losing sight of the current emergency. “How in the hell did you possibly get an RV up here, because the road doesn’t come this far into the woods?”

“We found an old dirt road that appeared to be in fairly good shape and followed it for a couple of miles until we located a spot where the road widened,” her husband answered. “We thought it looked like a good place to park and make camp.”

“Oh, you must be referring to the old logging road,” Devin mused. “My Grandpa told me that a group of loggers made that road quite a few years ago so they could get to the older and larger trees, but I thought it would be overgrown by now.”

“No, it’s actually in pretty good shape and it was easy to follow.”

“Then the rangers must be keeping it in good shape for emergencies, such as reaching someone injured in a hunting accident or for fighting fires,” Devin reasoned.

“How old is your son and how long has he been missing?” I asked because they had gone waaay off topic and I was trying to get back to the emergency at hand. I could tell the mother was becoming extremely impatient with them as well.

“He’s only four and we’re not sure how long he’s been gone,” the mother answered.

“That’s not good, because there are things out here in the woods that kids his age, or even older, wouldn’t be able to deal with.”

“We know and that’s why we’re trying to find him.”

“How did he just wander away from you?” Devin followed.

“Each couple has their own RV and we told the kids to stay inside while we went out to gather up some firewood so we could have a campfire later. It probably took us an hour or more to collect enough wood for that purpose, and when we finished we assumed the kids were still in the RVs, so we sat down to rest and chat for a short time. When I eventually went into our RV, I saw that Jack wasn’t there, but I thought he was probably with the other two kids in their RV. Later, I learned he wasn’t there either, so he must have gone off trying to find us and got lost.”

“How old are the other kids?”

“They’re six and eight,” the other woman answered.

I was thinking, ‘Man, I can’t believe you left kids that young alone out here’, but I said, “We’ll try to help you find your son, because we’re pretty familiar with this area. I take it you think he must have gone in this direction?”

“We’re not sure which way he went, but this was our best guess. We thought he might have seen us heading off in this direction when we first went to look for firewood, but we changed directions a few times before we returned.”

“Alright, then why don’t three of you continue looking around in this area, but I suggest one of the women should go back to the RV to make sure the other two kids don’t wander off. Once you’re certain they’re inside the RV, I suggest you sit outside just in case Jack comes back. If he does, then honk the horn so we’ll know he’s safe.”

“Ok, I’ll go back and check on my kids,” the other woman agreed.

“By the way, I’m Devin and this is Mac, and we will head off in this direction to see if we can find him.”

“Thanks, we appreciate your help,” the boy’s father stated.

Devin and I walked in the woods for about a half mile (0.8 km), until we were sure we were out of sight of the others, and then Devin stopped.

“I’m going to undress and transition into a dog, because I can travel faster that way. A dog’s hearing and sense of smell are also far better than ours, so it will probably help me locate the boy quicker. I’ll put my clothes in my backpack, and if I don’t return in a little while, then go back to the cabin and explain the situation to my dad, but before you go inside I want you to leave my backpack under the porch.”

“You mean you’re going to be naked in front of the cabin when you return? What if someone else sees you?”

“No, I’m not going to be naked there. I’ll be able to pick up the backpack with my mouth while I’m a dog, and then I’ll carry it to a place where I’m certain I won’t be seen. Then, I’ll transition and get dressed before I return to the cabin.”

“Ok, but did you forget that I can transition into a dog and help you.”

“No, I haven’t forgotten, but my dad has more experience looking for animals or other things as a dog and he’ll be able help me find the boy faster. You can stay with my mom for a while, because I know she’ll be upset that we’re doing this and you can help to keep her calm. When you return later, you will be able to help reassure the parents, since you’re already familiar with them. It will be better if you deal with them and keep everyone calm while my dad and I are looking for the boy.”

“Damn, I was hoping I could look for the boy too, but I’ll do what you suggest. I’ll let Pa know what’s going on and stay with Ma for a while, and then I’ll come back out here to see how the parents are doing and if they’ve found Jack. Do you think it might get dark before you find him?”

“Yes, it gets dark earlier up here since the mountains and trees block the sunlight, and I’m not going to stop until I find the boy. The temperature can get close to freezing out here at night, even in the summer, and the boy isn’t going to last long when it gets that cold.”

“Ok, I understand, but what if you run into something else?”

“Then I’ll transition into something that will protect me from it.”

“Ok, just be careful.”

Devin then undressed and placed his clothes in his backpack before handing it to me. Once that was taken care of, he transitioned into a black Lab and it looked at me quickly before it barked its goodbye and took off, leaving me behind.

I continued looking for the boy on my own for a brief time, but when I noticed the sun was starting to fade I went to see if I could find the others. When I did, I made a suggestion.

“I know it will be difficult, but I suggest you go back to your RVs for the night and then you can start again in the morning. It’s hard enough to find your way around the woods in the daylight, but it’s almost impossible after dark. There are plenty of places you could fall and get seriously injured, and there are other animals out here that can see far better at night than we can.”

“But what about my son?” the woman nearly screamed.

“We won’t do him or ourselves any good trying to search in the dark, so get as much rest as you can and we’ll start looking for him again at daybreak.”

“Where is your friend and why do you have two backpacks?” the other man asked.

“We split up to cover more ground and he thought he could travel faster without his backpack, so I offered to carry it for him. He’s still looking for Jack, but he’s going to meet me back at the cabin.”

The woman still wasn’t certain if this was the right thing to do, but her husband convinced her that I was right. As they headed off in the direction of the RVs, I took off for the cabin.

When I reached it, I placed Devin’s backpack under the porch as he’d instructed me to do, and then I went inside. I wasn’t looking forward to explaining this to his mom, but I knew his dad would understand. Almost as soon as I walked through the door and closed it behind me, Ma started asking questions.

“Where’s Devin?”

“We’ve been looking for a lost four-year-old and he said he’s going to stay out there until he finds him.”

“Then why didn’t you stay with him?”

“He didn’t want me to. He transitioned into a dog because he said he could move faster that way and he’d be able to hear better as well. He also thought he might be able to sniff out the boy’s trail.”

“You can do that too, can’t you? So, why didn’t you do the same thing?”

“He wanted me to come back and tell Pa so he could go out and help him instead. He said he’s had more experience doing these things and I should go back and stay with you, and when I go back there I can deal with the parents, since they already know who I am.”

“What did you do with Devin’s backpack and other things?”

“I left them where he told me to leave them.”

“Aaron, you’ve got to change into a dog and go out there to help your son.”

“Ok, I will,” he agreed.

I guess that even though his wife wasn’t happy with their ability, when it came to protecting her son she was willing to make an exception. Pa went to his bedroom to undress and transition, and when he came out again he was a German shepherd. He walked over to the cabin door and whined, letting us know that he needed help to go outside, so I opened the door for him. Once I’d shut it again, Ma spoke.

“We might as well sit down and eat, since I’ve already made supper and there’s no sense in letting it go to waste. I’ll put the leftovers in the refrigerator and Aaron and Devin can have it when they return.”

I merely nodded my head, and washed up before I sat down at the table with her, and then we ate in total silence. She obviously wasn’t in the mood for any idle chitchat, and I wasn’t about to speak first, but I constantly kept glancing over at her while she merely stared at her plate.

When the meal ended, I helped to clear the table and washed the dishes we’d used, and then we sat down in the living area. Once again, we did this in total silence, but after a while she finally spoke.

“You might as well go to bed and get some sleep. You’ll need to be well rested if you’re going to head out again in the morning to look for the boy.”

“Ok and thank you for dinner. I’ll shower first, and then I’ll try to get some sleep.”

A short time later, as I was lying in bed, I imagined that Devin’s mom was going to have a difficult time sleeping tonight, since both her son and husband were running around in the woods looking for the boy. I wasn’t quite as bad, though, because I realized Devin and Pa were totally capable of handling any situation they might encounter. In fact, I imagined that Pa had probably followed my scent back to where Devin and I had split up, and then he most likely followed Devin’s scent from that point on. They might even be together right now as they protect the boy from any threats to his safety, and I continued thinking about this until I finally drifted off to sleep.

I automatically woke up at the same time I would have in order to go fishing with Devin and Pa, and that was just as the sun was about to come up. After getting dressed and leaving the bedroom, I saw that Ma had awakened before me, if she had even slept at all.

“Sit down at the table, because I heard you moving around upstairs and made you some breakfast before you leave. You’re going to need all of your strength if you’re going to go tramping around in the woods, so sit down and I’ll prepare your plate.”

“Thanks,” I replied, and then I took a seat and scarfed down the food she’d prepared for me.

As soon as I finished eating, I thanked Ma for her thoughtfulness in preparing a meal for me and assured her that we’d all be back soon before I headed out the door. I walked quickly to get back to the point where I could hear the others yelling Jack’s name, and I thought I’d check in with them first, before I headed out to look for Devin.

“I hope you got some sleep last night,” I said in greeting.

“A little,” they all replied.

“Then I hope you’re rested enough for another day in the woods. Why don’t you look in that direction this time,” I said as I pointed toward a location that we hadn’t searched the previous day. “I’ll go this way, and whoever finds Jack should return to the RV and honk the horn to let the rest of us know that Jack is safe.”

They agreed and we all took off. I chose this direction to go because I thought it might be where I’d find Devin. I wandered around for a couple of hours without much success, but then I noticed two dogs walking in my direction with a small boy between them. The boy had ahold of the fur on each dog’s back, almost as if he was afraid that if he let go he’d get lost again.

“Hi, are you Jack?” I asked in greeting. I could see the boy looked upset and mildly exhausted.

“Uh huh.”

“Well, I’m Mickey and I agreed to help your parents look for you. Why don’t you let me carry you, because you look pretty tired?”

“K,” he said as he reached out his arms so I could lift him off the ground.

I carried him as the two dogs walked beside me. I couldn’t get over the change in Devin’s appearance. He’d been so beautiful when he first transitioned, but now his fur was not only dirty, but it was also tangled and disheveled, and his dad didn’t look much better.

We walked for about another twenty minutes and had nearly reached the RVs when we ran across the others. Their faces broke into broad grins when they saw I was carrying Jack, and when I set him down I smiled as he raced toward his parents. After a couple of minutes of hugging and kissing each other, they looked oddly at the two dogs walking beside me.

“Where did they come from?” Jack’s father asked.

“They apparently live around here, because I’ve seen them in the woods quite a few times before. In fact, they were actually the ones that found Jack. When I first saw him, he was walking between the two dogs and had a hand holding onto each one’s fur.”

“Yeah, the doggies found me and slept next to me last night,” Jack confirmed. “I was gettin’ cold and one of them slept on this side and the other one slept on this side,” he added while pointing toward the side of his body that he was referring to. “They helped keep me warm.”

The adults then looked at the two dogs differently, and this time I could see the amazement and gratitude in their eyes.

“How did you get lost in the first place?” his dad asked.

“And couldn’t you hear us calling for you?” his mom quickly followed.

“I went lookin’ for you, but I wasn’t able to find you, and as I was walkin’ out there, I slipped and rolled down a hill, and when I tried to climb up it, it was too slip’ry and I kept fallin’ down it again.”

“So, how did you get out of there?” his father asked.

“The doggies showed me another way and I didn’t have to climb the hill.”

“I think you should head back to your RVs and let the other woman know that you’ve found Jack,” I suggested. “She’s probably worried too.”

“Yes, and we’re going to pack up and head home,” the other man said. “We’re not going to try camping again until the kids are older.”

“Hey, where did the dogs go?” Jack’s mother asked.

“They obviously figured their job was done and took off. Like I said, they wander around out here all the time.”

“That’s too bad, because I was going to coax them to follow us back to the RVs so I could give them the leftover hamburgers and hot dogs from last night. The kids ate theirs, but the rest of us weren’t very hungry.”

“I’m sure they probably would have enjoyed those things, but just leave that stuff on a rock near where you’re parked and they might come back and get it later.”

“Ok, we’ll do that, and thanks for your help.”

“I’m just glad we found Jack and he was ok.”

“Yes, we are too.”

They then headed in one direction while I took off in another. By the time I got back to the cabin, Devin and Pa had already transitioned into their human forms again, cleaned up, and got dressed. Now, they were sitting on the porch waiting for me.

“Ok, you have to tell me all about how you found Jack,” I began.

“I picked up the boy’s scent shortly after I left you, and then I followed it until I found him,” Devin answered. “The sun had already set by then and he was quite tired and scared, but not of me, and I knew it would be difficult to get him to walk out of there in the dark. I just lay down on the ground instead, hoping he would do the same thing, and when he did I got as close to him as I could so I could keep him warm. Thanks for sending my dad out, cuz he was a big help.”

“Your mother suggested it, not me.”

“Really? She doesn’t usually like it when we transition like that.”

“She does when it means keeping her boy safe.”

“Mac’s right about that,” Pa added. “Your mom will put up with just about anything if it helps you.”

“Dang, I didn’t think she would ever do that.”

“So, what happened when you found Devin and the boy?” I asked Pa.

“When I got there, the boy was shivering badly, so I lay down on his other side so he’d benefit from our combined body heat. It seemed to work, because he stopped shivering and then slept quite peacefully after that.”

“Did you have to deal with any other creatures out there?” I asked.

“I heard something moving around not far from us, but it was downwind and I couldn’t see what it was. I changed into a bear without moving away from the boy and growled at whatever was out there, and that seemed to do the trick. Whatever it was took off and didn’t bother us after that.”

“I’m glad to hear it, and Ma saved your dinner from last night.”

“Yes, she told us already. She’s warming it up for us now, so we’ll go in to eat as soon as it’s ready.”

“Ok, it sounds good to me, because I’m starved.”

When Ma called us to the table, she was all smiles this time, and she also wanted her son and husband to tell her all about everything that had happened. After they’d filled her in about finding the boy and keeping him safe, she made a comment.

“I’m glad I insisted that you go out there too, since it seemed to have helped the boy,” she told her husband.

“Yes, I agree. I’m not sure Devin would have been able to keep the boy warm enough to get through the night by himself.”

Devin was staring at his mom, completely amazed as she was saying these things. Later, he told me her current attitude wasn’t at all like his mom would have acted under similar circumstances. He said she usually didn’t want to hear about when they transitioned or what they did, but like I said earlier, it’s different when it comes to her baby boy.

After a light dinner, we all played board games again, and everyone was in a pretty good mood as we headed to bed. Devin and I made love before turning in, and when we finished I made a comment.

“That’s for being such a good and thoughtful guy. Jack probably wouldn’t have survived without you and your dad.”

“You’re probably right about that. I also think that I’m going to be really good from now on, because I like the way you reward me.”

“It was just as good for me, so I’m happy to do it for you.”

We now got out of bed and went to perform our nightly ritual, and then we crawled back into bed and cuddled as we fell asleep.

Over the next few days, I continued to improve as Devin helped me with my training as a bird. I improved on each successive attempt at flying, but I never got higher than several yards (a half dozen meters) off the ground, but I was eager to do more. Regrettably, it was now time for us to leave the cabin and head to my house before we could do more, but I knew we’d be able to continue there while my parents were at work. Now, we packed up our things and prepared to spend a couple of weeks with my parents.

The night before we left, I went over a few items with him. The first was how we were going to answer the questions I knew my parents were going to ask, seeing we would be returning earlier than they expected. Not only would we have to explain why our trip had ended sooner than we anticipated, but we would also have to come up with a few events we could tell them about what we’d done during the trip.

I knew my parents would be curious about the things we experienced while we were away and I wanted to have something we could tell them. It turned out to be a good thing that Devin and I had been on canoeing trips before and had experiences we could draw from. Since we were familiar with some of the things we might have done, I used my phone to look up a few additional details we could use as we drove to my house. We then combined our memories with the new information to make up the stories we were going to tell my parents, and that’s when I thought of something else I needed to discuss with Devin.

“You know, if you want we can go to the dog park once in a while to get some exercise. One of us can go as ourselves while the other one transitions into a dog.”

“Yeah, we could do that, but we should probably try to think of a way we can both get some exercise at the same time.”

“We can continue thinking about how we can do that, but at least it will give us a chance to take turns in the meantime.”

“Yeah, and since my grandfathers are familiar with that area, maybe they’ll be able to give us some ideas about how we can do it together. Remind me to call them one day while your parents are at work.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea!”

“And when we’re not doing that, we can always fly together and you can help me get better doing that, along with helping me learn how to transition into other birds. That should give us even more exercise, and I think we’ll be able to get away with flying around the backyard at Fort Collins as well. The neighbors will only see birds that they’d seen around there previously, so no one will think anything about it.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”