I ran around in my dog form, chasing my fluffy black tail. The air had become chilly outside, but I still decided to go out to play.

"Why are you chasing your tail?" a voice called out. It was my little sister. Rocio. She gave me a deadpan look.

I giggled. "It's fun."

Rocio blinked. "Fun? What's so fun around running in circles?"

I sat down on the grass. "Ya need to try it to find out."

Rocio turned around and ran off. "I rather not."

I chuckled. "Alright, suit ya-self."

"Oh, Daddy," Rocio said, stopping as she noticed Dad making his way over to us. He had wheelbarrow with some pumpkins and other kinds of squash we had planted during the spring.

"How are my little girls doing?" Daddy asked, smiling.

Rocio transformed into a rat and jumped on top of his head in a single leap. "I'm doing well. Selena is chasing her tail again."

Daddy chuckled. "I see. Want to play catch, Puppy?"

I wagged my tail and barked happily.

Daddy squared beside me and patted my head. "I take that as a yes!"

I stuck out tongue and wagged my tail some more.

"Dogs look dumb," Rocio muttered.

I growled, which cause her to hug Daddy's head tightly.

"Selena, don't scare your little sister. Rocio, be nice to your big sis."

Rocio sighed. "Okay, daddy."

I growled a bit more. That rat stole Daddy from me. I used to ride on his head like that. Though, I was still the size of a puppy, I was not so small anymore. Would Daddy and Mommy still want to play with me when I grew bigger? I'd read that people would abandon big dog breeds once they were no longer puppies.

Not that I knew what kind of dog I was. I did have a large, fluffy tail which curled at the end, and a face similar to a wolf. They were traits often found in large dog breeds.

I whimpered a bit at the thought of being forgotten by Daddy and Mommy.

"You okay, Sel?" Daddy asked, staring into my eyes with his single golden eye.

"Will Daddy stop playing with me once I'm bigger?" I asked.

He picked me up and laughed. "Where's that question coming from? I would never abandon my puppy, even when she's a HUGE dog."

I barked happily and licked his face. Rocio moved over to the back of his head to avoid being slobbered on.

"Stop that, Sel," he said, laughing.

I used my tail to dry him up. "Better?"

He smiled. "A little."

I accidentally slapped his face with my tail out of joy. "S-sorry, Daddy."

He grinned. "It didn't hurt. Your fur is too soft."

I gave him a toothy smile.

"Regi!" Mommy called as she stepped out of the house. On her head was a sleeping chick. "Oh, ya did bring the pumpkins. Thought ya had lazied around."

He put a hand on his hip. "I'm not the lazy type. I just sometimes get distracted by the kids that I forget to do my tasks."

She smiled at us. "I can see that."

"Speaking of lazy, is the cat still asleep?" Rocio asked.

"No, he went fishing."

"By himself?" I asked. What if he accidentally fell into the river? My big brother couldn't swim!

"Yeah, he said that he was going to a stream, so I figured he would be fine alone."

"Mommy! Look what I caught!" a voice called out. It was Shi, he was running toward us with a small bucket.

"What did you find?" Rocio asked, curious.

Shi tipped his bucket, showing us the salmon he had caught.

"Oh, it's your favorite fish," Mommy said, smiling.

"Surprised that he didn't eat it on the way here," Rocio said, smiling.

Shi laughed nervously. "I was tempted to do so, but thought that Sel would want some too."

I wagged my tail. "Thanks, Shi." I loved Salmon too.

Mommy took the bucket from him. "What a nice big brother," she said, patting his head. "I'll be sure to cook it well for ya."

Salmon was one of the hardest fish to cook according to Mommy. One time, she accidentally made it crispier than she had intended. Shi still enjoyed it, though.

"Maybe we should poach it in red or white wine," Dad said, smiling. "Oh, and with some bit of lemon and salt."

"Reminds me of one of Dad's recipes," Mommy said, staring at the fish.

"I learned it from him."

"Eh? He taught ya how to cook?"

Reginald nodded. "Yup. He's always seen me as a son, even though I'm far older than he is," Daddy said, laughing.

"How old are ya, Daddy?" Rocio asked.

"I'm not sure, I lost count."

"That's specific," Shi said, chuckling.

Daddy smiled. "Well, we better go prepare that fish while its still fresh."

"Think that ya can prepare it while I make the pumpkin pie?" Mommy asked.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Wait, what about playing catch?" I asked as I looked at Daddy with sad eyes.

"Sorry, Sel, but it's going to have to wait."

I puffed my cheeks. "Okay, but only because ya'll be making yummy food."

He laughed. "I'll do my best to make it worth waiting to play catch."

I jumped out of his arms and ran over to Shi.

"Oh, right, can ya take care of Skah?" Mommy asked, glancing up at the chick sleeping on her head.

"Of course," I said, wagging my tail.

"I better take care of him," Rocio said. "The dog and cat might eat him."

"I wouldn't eat him," Shi said.

"You chased me when I was little," Rocio said.

Shi laughed nervously. "I was playing around..."

"Alright, I leave him in ya care, Cio," Mommy said.

Rocio jumped down from Daddy's head and transformed into her humanoid form. Mommy handed Skah over to her.

"What a sleepy chick," Rocio remarked as she stared at our toddler brother.

"When he's older, he'll be waking you all up," Daddy said, laughing.

"That's hard to believe now," I said.

Skah opened his beady eyes and chirped.

"Oh, he woke up," Rocio said, putting him down.

The chick transformed into a toddler with a white blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"Wha going on?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Mommy and Daddy are going to start cooking," Shi said.

"Want to play a game?" I asked.

Skah jumped. "Yeah!"

I transformed into my humanoid form. "Alright! It's called hide-and-seek!"

Rocio grumbled. "No, you always win with that nose of yours."

I proudly rubbed my nose. "Ya got to pick spots that are far."

"How about tag instead?" Shi said.

"Only if I'm it. I hate being chased by you," Rocio said.

"Ya think Shi will try to eat ya when he does?" I asked.

"But we're not in our animal forms," Shi said, laughing nervously.

Wow, he didn't outright deny it...

"N-not that I would try such a thing if we were in our animal forms! Besides, you're too scrawny."

Rocio stomped over to him, causing Shi to back away. "Everyone, run!" he yelled, running off.

"Come back here!" Rocio yelled, chasing after him.

"Wha about us?" Skah asked, blinking.

I nodded. "Seems we were forgotten." I bit my lip.

My little brother tugged on my jeans. "Want me to chase ya?" he asked with a wide smile.

I laughed. "No offense, birdie, but I doubt ya'll be able to catch up to me!"

He pouted. "Me bet me can!"

"Alright, ya can try, but first, let's put away ya blanket. We don't want it to get dirty," I said.

"Okay," Skah said, removing his blanket from his shoulders. He quickly folded it into a perfect square. It was embarrassing that a toddler could fold better than me... I actually sucked at it. It was probably why Mommy had Shi and Cio help her fold clothes but not me. Instead, I usually helped plant seeds and water them. 

I could also make very deep holes, real quick. One time, I accidentally found an underground water source. Mommy made a well there.

***

I walked with Skah back home to put away his blanket in the room he shared with Shi. Mommy had already gotten to work on making her pumpkin pie.

Daddy meanwhile was getting all of the ingredients ready for the salmon.

"Me ready!" Skah said as he ran down. "Blankie is put away."

"Alright," I said, running out.

Skah ran after me. I quickly left him behind in the dust, literally as my running produced a large dust cloud. I could've gone easy on him, but he did say that he could catch up to me.

Skah screamed as he dusted the dust off of his white clothes. He was actually closing the gap!

I turned around to shake him off. Had I made him mad? Birdie did dislike getting dirty...

"Me got ya!" he yelled, jumping into the air. He started to fly through the air even through he didn't have his wings spread out. Actually, he didn't know how to fly at all yet.

He screamed as he started to fall.

I jumped into the air and caught him. "Got ya!" I said.

Skah giggled. "That was fun." He pouted. "Though, me was to catch ya."

I picked up his hand and pressed it against my face. "Now ya did."

Birdie jumped off of my arms and ran off.

"Oh, no ya don't!" I yelled, running after him.

***

Hours went by fast. When the four of us returned home, we were all covered in mud.

"Uh, we can explain," I said as Mommy stared at us in amazement.

Daddy chuckled. "You look like pigs."

"Me going to bathe," Skah said, staring at his stained white clothes.

Mommy used the rag in her hands to clean his face. "Let's go clean you up. You three go up stairs and shower too."

Shi sighed. "Okay." He cleaned his shoes on the welcome mat and slowly walked toward his room.

I did the same and followed him in.

"Once you're done, we can start the party," Daddy said, smiling.

"Oh boy!" I said, running up stairs to my room.

"Wait, I call first dibs!" Rocio yelled, chasing after me.

***

After finishing, we all headed to the living room. Mom had place a simple chocolate cake, pumpkin pie, zuccinni, and roasted salmon on the coffee table.

Shi drooled at the scent of the salmon.

"Hey you go, Sel," Daddy said. In his hands was a small wrapped object.

"What's this?" I asked, taking it from. I rapidly tore the paper and took out a CD. It was from a band called Beyond the Scene.

"Your Daddy and I got it for ya," Mommy said, smiling. "One of my cousins suggested it."

"Well, his son is one of the members," Daddy muttered.

I smiled. "I'll give it a listen later."

"Me want to listen too," Skah said.

I patted his soft white-hair. "Sure, we can listen to it together upstairs."

"I got ya this," Rocio said, holding out a box with blue wrapping paper.

"Ya got me something?"

Rocio pouted. "Yeah! Mommy told me to."

"Me helped!" Skah said, grinning.

I sat down the box and removed the wrapping. The box was made of glass and housed a miniature diorama of our farm. There was even a small button which would cause the sun to move directions.

"If you plug it in, the sun will shine," Rocio said, averting eyes.

"Cool," Shi said.

I smiled and hugged my little sister and brother. "Thanks, ya two! This had to have taken days to make!"

"L-let go of me!" Rocio yelled.

I did as she said and giggled.

"Did you get anything for Sel, Shi?" Mommy asked.

Shi pointed at the fish. "It was my gift. I forgot to buy her something, so I caught it for her. I probably should've been the one who cooked it."

"Aww, thanks, Shi!" I said, hugging my big brother.

He smiled and patted my head. "Ya welcome, got to thank ya for the hammock ya got me for my birthday. Though, I'm not sure if a fish matches its price."

"It's the thought that counts, silly."

"I guess that's true."

"Well, now that gift time is over, let's chow down!" Daddy said. "We can start with the salmon Shi got."

"Yay!" I said.

Daddy gave each of one of us a fillet. I got the a piece from the center, but I traded it with Shi as he liked that part a lot."

"Thanks, Sel," Shi said, smiling before taking a bit of his fish. His smile widened. "So good!"

"Ya dad really did a great job, huh?" Mommy asked.

Daddy grinned. "What was that?"

Mommy huffed and stuffed his mouth with a piece of her fillet.

He smiled as he moved away from the fork. "Feed me some more," he said, opening his mouth.

Mommy looked away. "No."

Daddy chuckled. "I'm just teasing."

I sat down on the couch and stared at the fish, the diorama, and the CD. It might've been a simple birthday, but it was one I would remember for a long time.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this special ^_^. The next one will be Rocio's birthday special, in October. I will try to get some main story updates done before then, though.*