When I woke up the next morning, I was greeted by unfamiliar sensations. There was pressure on my chest. As I raised my hand to rub my eyes, I almost jumped. What I saw was a dainty hand covered in orange fur. I started to panic. Feeling my chest, I found the lumps from my dream. I kept feeling my body, the fear taking over. What happened to my body.

“This isn’t my body,” I said, then jumped at the sound of my voice. So I hadn’t been dreaming. How was this possible? How could I be like this? It shouldn’t be possible. These things just don’t happen. Sitting up, I saw the familiar tarp that I had used as a tent. Climbing out of it, I noticed some fish lying near the tent. Where did they come from? Without any more thought on the fish, I headed to the water. It was calm, which meant I would be able to see my reflection.

As I edged to the water, part of me didn’t want to see what I was about to see. It would make it real if I saw myself, and I really didn’t need it to be real. I walked the rest of the way to the water’s edge with a sigh and peeked into it. I gasped when I saw myself. I had the face and ears of a fox. My body was slim and covered with fur, my hair was a lovely orange. My clothes didn’t fit. I had to hold my pants and boxers up as I moved. I decided that there wasn’t any point, I was covered in fur, and no one was around. Plus, the tails protruding from my backside made it difficult to keep them on. Not to mention it was very painful.

Discarding my clothes, I went back to the tent. I looked at the fish that was sitting by my tent. I wondered where the fish came from, but I didn’t see anyone around. Then I remembered that girl I saw. I wondered briefly if I had dreamed her up. I didn’t see any sign of her. The paw prints I saw yesterday were gone. I guess that if she was real, she didn’t want to be followed. Looking around, I found some deadwood. I needed to make a fire to cook the fish, but I didn’t see any around. I would have to look in the woods. A touch of fear ran down my spine as I thought about what might be in those woods.

Walking still felt awkward with these paws instead of human feet. I kept almost tripping over everything. I hope I can get over that soon, or I may just end up falling off a cliff. Not that that wouldn’t be a thought. After everything I endured before coming here, I felt like less than nothing. My parents only pretended to be happy for me. My sister was too busy in her life to make time for me.  I was the exact definition of a black sheep. I wanted to enjoy the fact that I was now in a body close to what I wanted, but everything that had been beaten into me kept surfacing. I couldn’t even make friends because of all of the issues I had.

I was gathering sticks and small branches in the woods when I heard the rustling of leaves. I stopped dead in my tracks. I didn’t have a way to defend myself. I was never taught how to defend myself from predators, and I didn’t have any real weapon. All in the ad was a few sticks. I guess I could try to beat whatever came after me with a stick, but if they had guns, I would be screwed. I felt my ears twitching as I looked around to find the source of the sound.

As I scanned the area, I saw a flash of fur. I turned to find what it was, but it was fast. I could smell something strange. It was weird. My senses were heightened-I could practically smell the dirt. Many smells were hitting me now that I noticed it, but I kept my mind on that weird smell. For some unknown reason, I decided to follow the smell. The farther I went, the stronger the smell became. Then I heard the rustling again and saw a flash of fur. Something in me kicked in, and the next thing I knew, I was chasing after it. I stumbled a few times, tripping on logs and sticks.

I had been chasing after whatever I was chasing for a few minutes before I got a good look at what it was. It looked like the girl from yesterday. This caused me to speed up, dropping the sticks I had been carrying. I needed to know the girl. She was the only means of civilization I had seen. If I really was the only survivor of the crash, I didn’t want to be alone. I closed in on her, but I needed to stop her. As if by instinct, I leaped forward, landing on her.

“Why are you running away for,” I asked through ragged breaths. The girl squirmed under me, managing to scratch my face, causing me to wince in pain. It was clear that she had claws. I did my best to hold her there as she struggled. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to talk to you.”

The girl slowed her struggling as she looked at me, fear still in her eyes. Her ears were laid back. I could hear her heart racing. I felt bad for her. I could only imagine the fright I had given her. Slowly I loosened my grip, hoping that I wouldn’t regret it. The girl watched me carefully

“I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to know who you are,” I said. Slowly I stood up. As soon as I did, the girl got to her feet and ran again. Sighing, I stood there and watched her. I wasn’t going to chase her. I didn’t want her frightened by me. When she was a good length away, she turned around and looked behind her. Realizing I wasn’t chasing her, she stopped and turned around. She tilted her head to the side as if thinking. Slowly she crept back in my direction. I guess she had decided that I was telling the truth, or maybe curiosity really did kill the cat.

“You are not from here, are you?” she asked. The sound of her rolling her r’s was sexy. I know I shouldn’t think like that, but I couldn’t help it. I shook my head no as I watched her. She came a little closer, keeping just enough distance that if something went wrong, she could escape.

“I was in my plane when it hit a storm and crashed,” I said. I saw the confused look on the girl’s face as I explained what happened. I wondered if she even knew what a plane was.

“You came from that huge bird?” the girl asked. So she didn’t know what a plane was. I wondered if she knew what any technology is.

“That’s called a plane. It carries people around,” I said. I watched her reaction. It was still cute, watching her look so confused.

“So, you came from the Goddess Eye?” she asked. It was my turn to be confused. I didn’t understand what she meant by the Goddess Eye. I looked in the sky. All I could see was the sun. I couldn’t find what she was talking about.

“Where is the Goddess Eye?” I asked as I tried to look for this eye again. I then looked back at her. She was looking up at the sky as well.

“It only comes once in a while. The elder says that things have come from it before. But it has been some time. We only saw it when that metal bird came through,” The girl said. Then she looked at me again. There was a curiosity to her. “Are there others like you?”

“No, not that I know of. I didn’t see any other people from the plane. I think I am the only one,” I said with a bit of pain in my throat. To think that all those people could be dead. There were almost two-hundred people on that plane. I could only imagine what their families must think. If what this girl says is true, they won’t even get to find their family’s bodies. I am sure that my family doesn’t care if I am gone. They are probably relieved that the stain on their family is gone. Perhaps my sister would, but I doubted it. She had her friends and our parents.

“You must come with me. I will take you to my Elder,” The girl said. I tried to remember what she said her name was, but it was coming up blank. I felt embarrassed that I couldn’t remember what she said when it was only yesterday. Sighing, I gave in to my ignorance.

“Excuse me, but what is your name again?” I asked, hiding my face. She looked at me and shook her head. Then she blushed.

“We are Amethyst,” she said before motioning for me to follow her. I followed her, curious as to what her elder looked like. I also wondered what else was in these woods. I was pretty sure that not all of it was safe. I wanted to ask Amethyst, but she seemed so timid, I worried that she would run away.

We had been walking for a few minutes. I was starting to worry if Amethyst was lost. All I saw was woods. Then she stopped in a clearing. I didn’t see anyone around. This was very confusing.

“Please, close your eyes,” Amethyst said. I didn’t know what was wrong, but I nodded and closed my eyes. I heard her whispering in a language that I couldn’t understand. There was a wooshing of the wind, then she took my hand. I could feel her leading me, the sound of chattering and murmuring. My tails moved wildly in anticipation. We stopped, and she tapped my shoulder.

“You can uncover your eyes,” Amethyst said. I opened my eyes and found myself standing in the middle of a treetop village. While there were buildings on the ground, most of the buildings were in the trees. It was something I could never have dreamed of. The houses looked like they were actually a part of the trees. Rather than just a building supported by the trees, they seemed to flow with the trees. I stood there in awe for a moment.

“You can climb, yes?” Amethyst asked. I gave her a confused look. I never really had to worry about climbing anywhere. Climbing stairs didn’t really count as climbing. I just didn’t understand why she was asking if I could climb. Was she expecting me to climb a tree or something?

“We do have other ways to get to the village, but most usually climb. It is much faster,” Amethyst said, pointing to a couple of other cat people climbing up the trees to the village.

“So, you’re the outsider Amethyst was talking about. You do look different,” someone said from behind me. As I turned around to see who it was, I was surprised. She didn’t look much older than Amethyst. Now that I got a good look at the others, none looked much older than Amethyst. They all looked to be about nineteen in human age.

“Who are you?” I asked, though by her stature, I probably already knew the answer. Although if I was right, how could she be the elder when she looked as young as us.

Brushing her tail to the side, she shook her head and looked at me. I could tell that my question had annoyed her. “I am the elder of this village, of course. My name is Talissa. Amethyst says she found you on the shores. I wonder, where did you come from?”Talissa asked. I knew she was the elder, but I still couldn’t get over the fact of how old she looked. I was fighting back the urge to ask her how old she was. I knew how most women felt when they were asked about their age back home. At least for guys. But then again, I wasn’t a guy anymore, was I? I still had a feeling that this was all a dream, but it felt too real to be. I could see that she was getting impatient with me.

“From what Amethyst said, I came from something called the Goddess Eye. I don’t really know what that means, but I came from another world, if I understand correctly. One that is made up of humans,” I said. I watched as she flinched. Her ears lay back as if I had offended her.

“You come from a world of humans? Do you mean to say that only humans live in this world?” Talissa asked. I nodded, now worried at what she would do. She turned to Amethyst and spoke in a language that I couldn’t understand. It sounded more like cats mowing than anything. I wondered what they were talking about but decided that it was best not to interrupt them. The elder didn’t seem to be someone to mess with.

“We have never seen anyone like you before. I don’t understand how you got here, but I hope you are nothing like the humans around here. They are savages, killing our kind for sport, taking our kind for labor and sexual purposes. Living in trees protected by magic barriers is all we could do to protect ourselves. They use weapons made of metal, wear things made of metal to cover their bodies. Our claws can not penetrate them,” Talissa said. It sounded like the people of medieval times. I had always been fascinated with knights and stuff. The thought of living in a castle, being a knight, was one of the few dreams I had. I know I am a nerd, but I never thought I would come to a world where they existed.

“It sounds like these humans are equal to a time long ago in my world. We had to learn about it as children,” I said, letting my excitement show. This brought a look of curiosity and intrigue to Talissa’s face. I wondered what was going on in her mind. I imagined it couldn’t be good.

“So, you know how these humans work?” Talissa asked. I nodded. Though I wasn’t in these times, there were so many stories and LARPs that it was hard not to know what medieval times were like. I had watched a few youtube videos on LARPing when I was in high school. A few of the students had talked about it so much that I had gotten curious. Of course, I was never allowed to participate in things like that because my parents believe it to be barbaric and a complete waste of time and energy.

“Very well, you shall stay in the village and tell us everything that you know. While you are here, you will stay with Amethyst. Since she was the one who brought you here, she will be responsible for you,” Talissa said.

“I am not a pet,” I said, irritated. I wasn’t someone who needed to be watched. I wasn’t going to do anything that would cause these people harm.

“On the contrary. You are Amethysts guest, so you will stay with her until you prove that you can be of use to the village. You see, because of the constant threat to our village, you can only stay if you can contribute. If you can’t, you are cast out. It isn’t out of cruelty, but because our survival depends on it. And do not think that humans are our only concerns. Other creatures live in these woods that would seek us out, whether for breeding purposes or other reasons, including food,” Talissa said. I listened to her words wholeheartedly. So I was right. There were other creatures out there. And if what they said about humans were true, I definitely wanted to avoid them as well.

“My lady. I do not understand. Why must I watch over her? She is not like us. She could be a danger to us all,” Amethyst protested. I sighed. It was nice to have someone talking about you as if you weren’t there. Especially when they were acting like I was a burden.

“That is quite enough, Amethyst. Though you do well watching over the young, you are still expected to pull your weight around here. And since you brought her here, she is your responsibility.” Talissa scolded Amethyst. I watched as Amethyst lowered her head and grabbed her tail, hugging it to her. I could see the defeat in her eyes. Poor girl, all I wanted to do was give her a huge hug.

“If me being here can help you protect yourselves from the humans, then I gladly accept your proposal,” I said. I watched as Amethyst flinched in defense. I felt bad for her, but for some reason, I wanted to help them. I know I had just met them and had no reason to trust them, I felt that I could.

“Amethyst, please show her to your home, then take her to the falls to clean up. As she is a new arrival, we will give her a nice welcome meal, then you will teach her how to hunt in the woods,” Talissa said. Slowly, Amethyst nodded, grabbing me by the hand and dragging me. I could tell that she really didn’t want to deal with me. I wondered if I had done something to upset her.

As we passed others, they stopped and stared. Some even pointed as they whispered to whoever they were standing by. It was really uncomfortable. After a few houses, Amethyst stopped at one that was kind of small. It looked like it was a walnut tree. The exterior was amazing, It reminded me of something out of a Carpenter magazine.

“This is our home. Please come in,” she said, though I could tell she didn’t really mean it. Not that I really had a choice, I didn’t think that their elder was going to let me leave. Something told me that I was going to be there at least until my usefulness was done. Then I didn’t know what Talissa would have me do. She didn’t seem the murdering type, but then again, how could you really tell.

“You can stay here until I come and get you. The elder has things she wishes to discuss with me,” Amethyst said before turning around and walking away, her tail weaving back and forth behind her. I wondered what the elder wanted to talk about, but I wasn’t going to follow her to find out. Instead, I walked inside and was surprised. The interior was amazing as well. Carved trimmings were beautifully crafted. I toured the rest of the little house, amazed at the craftsmanship.

After a while, I decided to lie down and take a nap. There wasn’t much else I could do, so instead, I laid down on the floor, holding one of my tails in my hand. As I laid there, I thought about my parents and my sister again. I wondered if they had finally realized that I was missing or if they cared. I shook my head to clear that thought. There was no point in thinking about thoughts. I wasn’t going home. Sighing, I allowed myself to drift off until everything went black.