A light breeze rustled through the leaves, drawing his attention to the gently swaying tree tops. ~These are just young trees, and yet they tower over all of us,~ he thought. 'Need some help, Squirt?' Pidge closed his eyes, momentarily blotting out his view of sunlight-dappled greenery. Today had been one of Nanny's extremely rare days off, so they had been left to fend for themselves for breakfast. ~Why does she insist on putting the cereal on the top shelf of the pantry?~ he thought exasperatedly. ~Apparently she doesn't realize the Space Mice can climb.~ As he had been about to do, when Lance wandered into the pantry and retrieved the cereal for him.

Squirt. Half-Pint. Short Stuff. Pidge sighed resignedly yet again. He knew Lance wasn't trying to be mean. Lance good-naturedly called him by nicknames a lot of the time, just like Hunk always called him Little Buddy. Usually it didn't bother him at all. ~I wonder if I'll ever be tall,~ he mused. ~That would be funny, if I grew to be taller than Lance.~ He opened his eyes again, blinking in the sunlight. He had no way to know. Everything about his past, including any adoption records, had been destroyed along with his beloved home world, Planet Balto. Pidge and his twin brother Chip staunchly believed, however, that their adoptive family had been evacuated safely. ~When we find them, I'll bring them all to Arus,~ he vowed, tightly grasping the medallion of honorary Arusian citizenship he wore on a ribbon around his neck. He lay like that for a while, adrift in his memories, until he absentmindedly noted the sun approaching its zenith and sat up with a start. ~I'll be late for lunch!~ he thought as he got to his feet and hurried inside.