Hey everyone! I know that I haven't updated in like forever, and that is totally and completely my fault. I'm really sorry, terribly, horribly sorry! So anyways, I hope this satisfies, and I will try to update again...soon...maybe... SORRY! i'm just so lazy...

MPOV

I was covered in paint. No, I was drenched, soaked, and most likely bruised in paint. My clothes were tye dyed, my arms were rainbow, and the tips of my ponytail were stained purple.

I stood in a tree at the edge of the picnic clearing. It had been a good fifteen minutes since I had last seen anyone. A slight breeze rustled though the treetops, my eyes locking on anything that could move for miles around. My flock had learned from the best. They were nowhere to be found.

There was another quiver in the leaves behind me. I stiffened. What was that? The noise stopped, but I still felt a presence behind me.

Slowly I turned around, keeping my face concealed behind the leaves that separated us.

Blond hair. Blue paintball gun. A mischievous smile to complement mischievous eyes. I smiled. He didn't see me.

I raised my arm slowly, not making a sound.

I aimed.

My finger was on the trigger.

I started to push down and…

Suddenly Gazzy jerked his head around to face me, a big bright smile on his colorful face.

Then Iggy's voice came out of nowhere, right in my ear, "HI MAX!"

I flinched back, startled. I yelped as I lost my footing, dropping my paintball gun fifteen feet below.

I groped for a branch to steady me but felt nothing as I fell backwards out of the tree.

You see, fifteen feet is more than enough time to snap out your wings and grab a paintball gun and go in pursuit of an evil eight year old buy. But when an Angel jumps from right above you and lands on your chest as you fall, it's not quite that easy. Just saying.

I hit the ground hard, my breath wooshing out of me from Angel's weight.

I lay there, trying to catch my breath as she peered innocently down at me. I raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled back.

It was peaceful for a moment there, even though my back stung from hitting the dirt with so much force and Angel weighed a freaking ton and I was still gasping loudly and uncontrollably. Well, for a moment it was peaceful, anyway.

Suddenly Angel's eyes widened and she rolled off of me, to the left, narrowly avoiding kicking me in the mouth.

"Angel, what- oof."

Two painted bird kids fell from the trees, their weight all but crushing me. Iggy was right on top of me, Gazzy right on top of him. "Hey Max," Iggy chimed. His face was inches from mine, half blue, half yellow.

I didn't say anything. Partly because he would just laugh, partly because I couldn't, mostly because at that moment another shove of weight pressed down on me, extinguishing the last bit of air I had.

"Hi Max!" Nudge peered down at me, her copper skin covered with splatters of yellow.

That's funny. She was the one with the yellow gun…

I gasped noisily for air, glaring at Iggy, who was just as squished as I was now, but still laughing anyway. From next to me, Angel giggled then jumped on top of Nudge, completing the flock pile.

I had to laugh at Gazzy's expression with the added fifty pounds, and suddenly everyone was laughing and fighting for breath at all our colored faces and hair that made us look like clowns and just the perfectness of the afternoon despite the unpromising morning.

My smile dwindled at that thought and I glanced at Angel, alarmed she might have picked up on something. She met my eyes, curious. I would have let out a sight of relief if I had had any air in my lungs. I smiled at her and she rolled off onto the ground, landing without a sound.

Nudge did the same and Angel scooted over. Gazzy and Iggy roll-flopped off of me, too, letting me breathe easily again.

We all just laid there for a moment, listening to each others' calm breaths, just sort of looking up at nothing.

I sat up, realizing something, "Hey, where's Fang?"

Nudge sat up too, frowning, "Huh. You're right. I haven't seen him in like ten minutes or something. That's so weird. One minute I was running from him and the next he was all like, 'Hey, let's all get Max!' and then he disappeared and- "

Boom!

Or was it Pop!

But whatever it was, a rock exploded next to my hand.

"Eeahh!" I jumped up, immediately on the defensive.

More rocks and clumps of dirt blew up around us.

"Scatter!" Iggy cried.

We all ran to the edge of the clearing in different directions. My heart was on over drive, adrenaline quickly replacing my brief bout of calmness. Not now, I thought desperately. Not now. Was it the exploding arrow guy again? It hadn't been that long since the first encounter.

I jumped to the trees, crouching behind a clump of leaves, ready to face the attacker.

All at once the dust calmed down. The attack had stopped. Hopefully he (she, it?) had lost us. Or them, at least. As long as the rest of my flock had gotten away. That was all that mattered.

I squinted at the shredded field. The half where we were laying just seconds ago was an ugly mess of dirt and ripped up grass, stained with black…

Black.

Black…?

Aw crap.

I swiveled my head wildly around, careful not to make a sound. Not one sound, Max, not one tiny sound.

I bit my lip. I just needed a clue. I slowed my gaze, inspecting every nook and cranny, every leaf and stem.

Come on. Come on. Just a little twitch. A tiny movement. That was all I needed.

I scanned the trees for the fourth time, my eyes locking on everything that moved, tracking every bit of the wind.

…

…

…

…

…

There!

I grinned in satisfaction. A black shirt had ruffled in the breeze, a small edge of fabric showing behind a branch on the other side of the field.

Perfect.

Now how to do this without being seen…

I could sneak through the trees around the clearing and get behind him...

Of course, that would take too much time and make to much noise.

Hmm…

The best way to do this would be to just jump right over and across. He'd see though and move.

I'd need a distraction. Just something to get his attention away from the trees for like two seconds. What to do, what to do…

I could scream.

"Gah!" I jerked my head around. "My god, Angel! Where the heck are you!" I yell whispered.

I'm on the edge of the clearing about twenty feet away. I could scream and distract him.

I switched to communicating to Angel through thoughts.

Yeah, okay, that could work. Can you see me?

Uh… sort of. I can see your hair through the leaves, but that's all.

Um, okay, how about this? How far away is Gazzy?

Iggy and him flew off about a hundred feet. They're making their way back in on foot.

I nodded my head, biting my lip in consideration.

Can you reach him?

mmm…yeah, yeah, I can. You want him to do something?

See if he can through his voice. Some sort of really strange sound and will make Fang turn around.

I waited as Angel communicated the message.

Okay, Gazzy's right across from me. He's all ready.

I smiled and got into position.

I leaned back into the trees and snapped a branch in my hands.

That was his cue.

For a second, all was silent, then suddenly the trumpet of a hungry African elephant ripped through the forest.

I crunched myself into a tiny ball then bounded straight out the top of the tree and record breaking speed. I shot over the clearing, wings out, flipping head over heels then aiming straight towards Fangs tree.

He didn't know what hit him.

I landed right on his back, narrowly avoiding being crushed by a tree.

"Ahhh!" Fang fell forward and we tumbled down the hill behind the trees that I hadn't known was there.

We landed hard at the bottom, letting out a little 'oof,' at that last bump.

I was on top of him, my face inches from his. I positioned myself so that as much of my weight as possible was right on him then made a cheeky smile.

He opened his eyes, alert for an assault.

Then he cocked an eyebrow, "Cute."

I laughed and stood up, offering him my hand. I started walking back to the trees, where the rest of the flock was laughing as well.

"Oh my gosh, Fang, you should have seen your FACE!"

"Was that a squeal I heard out of Mr. Macho?"

"Ha, nice one, Max."

"I'm hungry."

MPOV

We all sat around the picnic blanket, everyone quiet and not meeting my eyes.

It was a very sudden change of atmosphere, as if all that fun in the park was just to subdue what we all knew was coming.

I pretended not to notice and served myself some cake to make myself busy.

"So… I thought you guys already had lunch," I stated awkwardly.

"Yeah, we did, we just wanted to…" Nudge trailed off, not sure what do say for once.

I almost sighed. I knew what they were trying to do and it hurt my heart.

"Max, we just wanted to… remind you that- that you can tell us anything," Iggy said, looking straight into my eyes with his muddled blue ones.

"Yeah, Max," Gazzy looked up from his blueberries, "If something's wrong, well, we're your family. We're the ones that you can trust." His big blue eyes filled with a soft sadness that just tugged at my heart.

Angel took my hand from where she sat next to me, tracing the creases and scars. "And when everyone else becomes a memory, like you say they always do, we'll be the ones you won't have to remember because we'll always be there for you. For ever and ever."

But I won't always be there for you.

Angel didn't seem to hear, she just fingered my hand slowly, a heavy sadness on her shoulders. I guess some thoughts were just so numbing to me that I unconsciously blocked them from her.

I looked back down at my untouched cake, the tears stinging at my eyes. I blinked hard, hoping no one would notice.

Nudge regained some confidence and finished, "So, whatever happened today that made you so sad and-" she took a deep breath "-and hurt, we want to make you feel better and… you need to talk to us Max."

Because when it really comes down to it, we're all we left, just the six of us. Because we're a family. Because when it matters, these five faces are the only ones that I can trust.

My words, all my words.

But this was different. I was so desperate to believe that.

I was protecting them, I told myself, but deep down, in the part of my heart that only they can touch, I knew that I was just protecting myself.

I looked up at all the pure, trusting faces, the faces that, even though they had lived through the worst, seen so much more, experienced so much loss and misery… they were still so innocent in a way.

Then Angel's soft voice flowed into my mind.

We're here, Max.

The tears were slow at first, so fine I didn't even realize I was crying until my hands came away from my face wet.

I stood up and looked away, embarrassed. Ashamed, guilty, hurt… lost.

"I'm sorry," was all that I could say. But really, it was all that I needed to.

And with that, I ran. Just like I always did.