Everett zipped around the forest looking for Caitlyn. He knew she was out here somewhere. How far could she have gone? She didn't have super speed.

After passing a creek for what he suspected was the fifth time, a quavering whistle sounded ahead of him. He headed for the sound cautiously. A tiny owl whistled at him again before flying into the underbrush. When the owl stopped 20 feet away and stared at him, he followed. The owl led him deeper in until he came to a small spring that fed one of the creeks. The scene that met him there was like something out of a fairytale.

A mountain lion lounged on the forest floor beside the spring—to all appearances asleep. Caitlyn leaned against the great cat's side with a chipmunk sitting on one knee and a crow on the other. On a tree branch above her perched a large hawk and the tiny owl he'd followed.

Everett suspected he'd see even more signs of life if he looked around, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the giant cat that was now studying him with a half-open eye. It lazily stretched and rolled onto its side with a sigh.

"Caitlyn," Everett said, voice cracking. "What is all this?" He about had a heart attack when he realized she had a timber rattlesnake draped around her neck like a scarf.

"Hey, Everett!" She greeted, waving cheerfully at him. "I'm just practicing with my powers." She gently scratched the rattlesnake's head with one finger. "These all have such different minds...They take some getting used to."

Seeming to sense Everett's mounting fear, Caitlyn held her arm out to the ground to make a ramp for the rattlesnake to descend. It slithered off into the underbrush without so much as a rattle or hiss. The crow and chipmunk followed suit. The birds of prey had vanished when he wasn't looking. Now it was only them and the cougar.

"I'm still working with her," Caitlyn said, nodding her head toward the lounging feline. "I'm helping her fight off an infection."

Everett looked a little closer and saw one of the cat's front paws was swollen. "She get bitten by something?"

"Nah, splinter between her toes."

"So...she your new pet? Pretty sure Aurora's not going to let you keep her," Everett joked, still rather uncomfortable. The fact he knew there was a rattlesnake about and couldn't see or hear it had him anxious.

"She's not a pet! I'm not taking her into the city. She's backup if anything. Maybe someday she'll get to claw up some villain that tries to escape into the forest. Otherwise, she'll hunt or chill on one of her favorite boulders, looking pretty.

The damn cougar purred as if knowing she was beautiful. She stretched again then sat up to lick Caitlyn's hair.

"So...a pet," Everett teased.

Caitlyn gave him such a deadpan look he couldn't help but laugh.

"You are so lucky you're my friend," Caitlyn said, scratching the mountain lion's neck before standing. She swayed a little before regaining her balance.

"Oh?" Everett asked, hovering in case she'd overdone it with her abilities. The kid had only had her powers a few months. Controlling multiple wild animals at once seemed like a bit of a stretch.

"Yeah," She said, casting him a tired grin. "There were a dozen snakes here before you arrived." She laughed at the choked sound that escaped him and the look of horror that crossed his face. "Why do you hate snakes so much anyway?"

"I'll tell you that story when we're not surrounded by them," Everett said, looking around the trees twitchily.