He fell into step beside her. "Sounds good."

They walked a few minutes in silence. Kylie noticed the sky was painted with clouds, the big white fluffy kind, and tried not to think about the elderly couple Perry had followed or exactly what it meant when they went poof.

"Do you think they're dead?" she asked.

"Who's dead?"

"The elderly couple."

His features tightened. "I really don't know. I've never seen humans disappear like that."

They both got quiet again. The morning temperature hadn't risen to the uncomfortable level yet, but she could feel it climbing.

Perry tossed his own question next. "Do you think Miranda is ever going to accept my apology?"

Kylie looked at him. "Did you apologize?"

He looked honestly perplexed. "I spoke to her. That's the same thing."

Kylie shook her head. "Oh no, it's not. Speaking to someone is not an apology, Perry. What you did-kissing her like that, then blowing her off-that was mean."

He frowned and kicked a rock. "She kissed Kevin. I was mad."

"I get that," Kylie said, and remembered seeing the picture of Derek kissing Ellie. "And I know it hurts, but it was really Kevin who kissed her. But even still, two wrongs don't make a right."

She caught him checking out her brain pattern, and she frowned. He continued walking but shifted his gaze to the ground. They didn't talk for a bit, and then Kylie just blurted it out. "Everyone says my pattern moves around like a shape-shifter now. Is it true?"

"Yeah," he said. "But ours only move when we're shifting."

She stopped walking and faced him. "Is there anything else about my pattern that looks like a shape-shifter? I mean, do you see any sign that I might be one?"

He smiled. "You want to be a shape-shifter?"

"No." Hell, no! "I mean, not necessarily. I just want to figure out what I am." She bit down on her lip and decided to plunge right into the subject. "How old were you when you started shifting?"

"Oh, I was really young, too young. Five years younger than most shifters. Like barely two years old. Try handling a terrible two tantrum with a shape-shifter. Blew my parents' minds. And their marriage."

Kylie heard the tiniest bit of hurt in his voice. "They split up?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Hey ... it wasn't my problem."

Oh, yeah, it was. Even his eyes had grown a lonely shade of muted brown. "Who did you live with, your mom or your dad?"

He didn't answer for a minute. "Neither."

She hesitated to ask, but somehow she almost sensed he wanted her to. "Why?"

"Supposedly, I was that hard to handle."

"Where did you go?"

"The FRU has a foster care program. You know, for unwanted strays. I stayed here for a while, and then there for a while."

Kylie felt she understood Perry better than she ever had. And she almost forgave him for being the smartass that he was sometimes.

"Was it terrible?" she asked, and suddenly she knew that she'd lost all her whining rights about how bad her own life had been.

"Nah," he said. "I'm a shape-shifter, I learned to fit in ... at most places. Of course, I wasn't invited back to some of them." He laughed, but as Kylie had already suspected, Perry hid a lot of pain behind his humor.

She also got a feeling there was a lot he wasn't saying. Not that she blamed him. But damn, she couldn't imagine how it must have been being passed from home to home.

"You know," he said as if he suddenly wanted to change the subject, "some shifters don't start until they're in their teens. Maybe you're one of them."

"Maybe," she said. "But I'd only be half. Do half-breed shifters ever have different gifts? Like healing and stuff?"

"Not that I've heard. I have some cousins who are half-breeds and they're limited on what they can shift into. One can only shift into a bird. I used to turn into a cat and chase him around, and one time-"

"Please don't tell me you ate him," Kylie said.

"I just tortured him a little," he said with a grin. "Hey, when he shifted back, he was fine." He inhaled and almost seemed to get lost in a memory. "You know, I should probably try to find some of my cousins."

Kylie wondered if he ever thought about finding his parents, but not wanting to pry too much, she didn't ask. "Oh yeah," she said, grinning, trying to keep it light. "I'll bet they would love to see you coming."

A few minutes later, they'd reached the end of the path where the cabins that housed the office and the dining hall were located. She glanced around to see if she could spot Helen, the shy half-fae who had checked Kylie for a brain tumor, but Kylie didn't see her.

Because Helen was also a healer, Kylie figured she would be the person to ask about the gift. Questions like "Have you ever brought something back to life?" But Helen wasn't one of the teens hanging out front of the dining hall. However, Kylie did see Burnett walk into the office and she remembered she had things to talk to him about, too.

She turned to Perry. "I need to chat with Burnett for a bit. I'll see you in few-"

"No, you won't," Perry said. "Where you go, I go. It's questionable if you can pee today." He grinned. "And I've got Burnett's permission to morph into a giant anteater and kick ass and ask questions later if anyone tries to take over my job."