The next morning Amethyst woke me up just as the sun was rising. I guess that they lived their lives much like farmers. We all sat down and had breakfast. It was a strange breakfast. There were a lot of plant variants as well as a slice of meat I had never tasted before. It was delicious. After breakfast, Amethyst did her best to clean up Kiena. It was amazing just how willing she was to take care of her niece. I was in awe of the bond that they shared. As far as Kiena was concerned, Amethyst was her mother.

            It wasn’t too long after we had had breakfast that a young boy came to fetch me. Amethyst had to go round up the kids, and I was heading to my first job. Well, it was more like an orientation. It was ironic, I couldn’t find a job in my world, but here I was, pretty much being given a job. I just hoped that I would do good at it. I didn’t want to be thrown back out on my own because I couldn’t do my job.

            “So, you came from the Goddess Eye?” the boy asked. He was cute for a catperson; his fur was almost pure white, except for around his eyes. His tail ended with a black tip. For a race that wasn’t a cat, they had many catlike features.

            “That’s what Amethyst says. I don’t know, really. I was asleep for most of it. I just woke up and found myself in the middle of the ocean. Then I passed out and found myself on land. That’s as much as I know,” I said. I watched the kid’s tail swing back and forth with excitement as I explained how I got here.

            “The elder says that sometimes things fall through the Goddess Eye. She says that the goddess provides things that the world needs that way. So I guess she thought that you needed to be here,” the boy rambled. I was curious who this goddess was, and if she did decide that I needed to be in this world, I wanted to know why. What could my purpose be to come here to this world? I wasn’t exactly skilled in anything. I mean, I guess if you count knowing humans, then yeah, I guess I got that. But that really isn’t a skill. At least not where I come from.

            “The elder said I was to take you to Keba. He is my mentor. I am hoping that one day I can be as good as he. The way he makes houses, it’s almost as if he is communicating with the trees, and they do as he asks,” The boy said as we continued across one of the many bridges. I wondered how many of the houses here that this Keba had made. The craftsmanship was amazing. It rivaled most famous carpenters back home.

            As we came to the ladder that leads down to the ground, a few of the denizens stopped to look at me. I was something new in their village, and they were all curious about me. I could only imagine what they were thinking of me. After all, from what I gathered, I was pretty much one of a kind. That was the last thing I wanted to be. It meant that I was different. I don’t mean like we are all different, like back at home. In this world, I was more different than anyone. I was something that, before my arrival, apparently didn’t exist. Or perhaps the elder thinks that more like me don’t exist because they never leave these woods.

            We stopped in a clearing. There wasn’t much here except for some sawhorses and a house. The boy motioned for me to stay while he approached the house. He opened the door and announced my arrival. As he moved out of the doorway, another cat person walked out of the house. He was much older, looking like he was in his twenties. He was wearing glasses, which I was surprised to see. I didn’t think that a society like this one would know about making glasses. Perhaps these people were more sophisticated than I first thought.

            “Ah, so you are the one the elder told me about,” Keba said as he looked me up and down. There was a flicker of interest in his eyes.

            “Amethyst said that I would be working with you as I tried to find my place in the village. I don’t know a lot about building houses, but I am willing and able to learn,” I said as I pulled one of my tails to me, holding it tight against me. I didn’t know why, but for some reason, this act comforted me.

            “Don’t worry, my girl, I am sure that you will do fine. Plus, little Garth here is still learning the ropes as well, so don’t worry if it takes you a bit,” Keba said. I nodded at him as I looked at the boy, who was beaming the biggest toothy smile I’d seen since I first arrived. It was good to know that I wasn’t the only inexperienced here, but I was sure that the boy knew what he was doing more than I did.

            “Now, today, I am going to have Garth here take you into the woods to search for some wood. There are some things that the elder has asked me to make, and I don’t have the supplies I need here. I think that this should be an easy enough task for you. Then, when you get back, we can see what you are made of,” Keba said. I felt a little sick as he brought up going into the woods. I mean, technically, we were already in the woods, but he wanted us to leave the village. After what the elder had said about other creatures, I didn’t know if I wanted to go out there, but I didn’t really have a choice. I needed to make sure that I contributed to the tribe.

            “No problem. I will do what I need to to make sure that I get to stay here,” I said, releasing my tail and putting on a half-smile. Keba nodded, then proceeded to tell Garth what he needed. I listened the best that I could, but I didn’t understand half of the names he mentioned. With a nod, Garth walked over and offered his hand. I took it, feeling him wrap his hand around mine.

            Just as we were about to head out of the village, Amethyst stopped us. There was a group of kids following behind her. They were all cute, and I wanted to just take them all home with me. I didn’t know if it was because of the change in my body or if I had always had maternal instincts. I mean, I did babysit before, but that was different. Or was it? I tried to remember back to those days, but it all seemed a blur now. It had been a long time ago, and they had moved away long about 5 months after I started babysitting.

            “Are you leaving the village?” Amethyst asked. I could see the worry in her eyes. I wondered if she was worried about me or if she was afraid that I was going to run away. No one exactly came out and said that I couldn’t leave the village, but you could feel it in the way that the elder had placed me in Amethysts care. Not like I would run away. There was nowhere for me to go. I was an alien on this planet, and I didn’t know what creatures lied in the woods that the elder had talked about.

            “When you get home, we will make you dinner,” Amethyst said. She gave a light smile before ushering the children off to where ever they were going. Garth gave me a look, then shook his head. I wondered why he was shaking his head.

            “It seems she has taken a liking to you. I would be honored. It seemed like there wasn’t a male in the village that she was interested in, but it seems she likes you,” Garth said. I just stared at him for a moment.

            “That isn’t possible. Amethyst just has to watch over me. It is what the elder ordered,” I said in denial. There was no way that Amethyst liked me. At least not like that. She said it herself last night that she knew that I was either raised by humans or I was one, which is why she acted the way she did when Talissa told her that she would be responsible for me.

            “Trust me in this, I know I am young, but I know when someone likes someone. Amethyst may seem difficult, but that is just because of who her mom is…” Garth said, then stopped. I guess he realized that he was just about to talk bad about his elder. He looked at the ground as we walked and didn’t say anything else while still in the village.

            Once we were out of the village, I became uneased. I knew that there were dangers in the woods, and I didn’t want to come across them if I could help it. The last thing I needed was something coming to eat on my fleshy bits. Garth didn’t seem phased at all, but I guess that comes with growing up around here.

            “So, are these woods protected by the barrier?” I asked, hoping that there would be some comfort in that. He nodded then turned to face me.

            “We have a few more feet before we reach the edge of the barrier, so I will have to ask you to close your eyes and take my hand. I was given instructions not to let you see how we open the barrier for now,” Garth said, offering his hand. Reluctantly I placed my hand in his. I was tired of this feeling of being trapped here. I already told them that I wasn’t going to run, but they didn’t believe me, apparently. No, that’s not it, the elder was the one who didn’t trust me. I had information that she wanted, so she wanted to make sure that I couldn’t leave before telling her what I knew.

            Once we were past the barrier and in the true area of danger, Garth looked like he was about to pounce. I guess that this was the time to worry. I hunched down and followed him watching and listening to the sounds in the woods. It was quite quiet for the time being. There was the occasional squirrel or bird; otherwise, it didn’t feel like any danger.

            “Alright, the wood that Keba needs looks pure white. There should be a lot of it in the Ash Grove. That’s where some of the oldest trees are. Sometimes they drop branches and sticks. There is magic in the sticks, which helps Keba build. I can’t wait until I am as skilled as him,” Garth said excitedly. I could tell that he really admired Keba. It was almost like the way a child would admire their father or mother. Something I didn’t have the privilege of. They were so uptight and worried about their status that my issues were a problem for them. They just couldn’t accept me for who I was.

            As we reached the place that Garth was talking about, I was in awe. The trees here were massive. I think they even rivaled the dogwood trees back where I am from. I couldn’t help but stand there for a moment admiring their beauty. The trees were white as snow, and their leave was a bright blue. I had never seen anything like it in my life.

            “Excuse me, miss, but as beautiful as these trees are, we really don’t want to just stand around out here. There are trappers around here,” Garth said. I was curious and terrified by what he meant.

            “What do you mean by trappers?” I asked, not really wanting to know the answer but needing to know, so I knew what to look out for. Garth pointed to a large spot in the ground. It was covered with dead leaves and what looked like spiderwebs. A chill ran down my spine as I saw the webs. I had always been afraid of spiders. I didn’t know if it was their eight legs or the fact that they could hide anywhere, waiting for an unexpecting passerby.

            “They are eight-legged creatures with an upper-body that looks like a human. They may look beautiful, but they are quite dangerous. They lie in wait for prey to walk by their traps, then they jump out and snatch their prey,” Garth said. I tried to imagine what they looked like, but what I imagined was a horrible looking creature. I shook my head at the thought and continued following Garth.

            By the time it was midday, we had collected a bunch of branches and were heading back towards the village. I was too busy thinking about everything that had happened to me to notice that we were being followed until I heard the sound of a twig snapping. Quickly I turned around, almost dropping what I was carrying, to see what looked like a girl with a spider’s body. I was petrified with fear but also in awe. She really was beautiful. If it weren’t for the spider’s body and fangs, I would say that she was very attractive.

            “Forui. It followed us. We are going to have to run,” Garth said as he started running. I was surprised by his speed, but I didn’t have long to admire him, because the creature started running towards me. Turning around, I began running, doing everything I could to hold on to the branches I was carrying and keep up with Garth. I was surprised at just how fast I was. I was even faster than I was in my human body. I could hear the breaking of twigs and the rustling of leaves behind me.

            We were just about to the village when I saw something running towards us. I couldn’t tell what it was at first. As it got closer, I realized that it was Amethyst. I watched in awe as she ran. I thought for a moment that she was coming to drag me back to the village, but instead, she ran past me. Just as I turned around to watch her, she had launched herself at the spider girl, claws extended, as she mounted her. Blood and flesh went flying. The spider girl was able to get ahold of her, and I feared that she would bite Amethyst, but instead, Amethyst dug her claws into one of the girl’s arms, ripping it off. The spider girl howled in pain. Before she could do anything else, Amethyst slashed her claws into the girl’s throat, killing her. I stood there with my mouth ajar. I had just watched her kill another creature.

            Cleaning herself, she walked back towards me, blood covering most of her fur. It was a sight I knew I would never forget. For the first time, I was frightened of Amethyst. I knew that she was responsible for me, but I never thought she would kill another creature for me. I would probably have felt differently if it had been something like a bear or a mountain lion. Hell, even if it had been a spider. But that creature looked so much like a human from the upper body that it made me tremble with fear how she killed her.

            “Arre you okay?” Amethyst asked with worry in her voice. I stood there for a moment, unable to answer her. I was too scared. She reached for my shoulder, and I pulled away. She looked hurt as she asked, “what’s wrong?”

            “You killed her,” was all I managed to say while pointing at the girl. Amethyst looked back at the creature and nodded triumphantly.

            “She would have killed you if she had caught you. The elder did tell you that there were creatures out there that would try to kill you,” Amethyst said, defending her actions. I just stared at her.

            “What are you going to do with her?” I asked. I hoped that they would find a way to lay her body to rest. I wasn’t ready for the answer she would give me.         

            “Our gatherers will come and cut her up, and we shall have dinner tonight,” Amethyst said. I almost gagged at the thought of eating the girl. One because part of her was a spider, and the other because she looked so much like a human. How could they eat someone like that? But then again, if this was what most creatures in this world looked like, I guess there wasn’t much of choice. I would have to get used to it or become a vegetarian. I just didn’t know if I could eat this one because I saw what she looked like. It is one thing to eat something that you have never seen, much like eating steak. You don’t see the cow that becomes your dinner, so you don’t feel guilty.

            Once I delivered the wood to Keba, I asked that he understand me going home. I promised him to be back early the next morning, but I needed to go home and rest. The scare of being attacked and then the sight of Amethyst killing that spider girl was a little much for me to handle. I understood that she was just protecting me, but I felt guilty. It felt unnatural to kill something that looked so human. It was just another thing that I would have to learn about and get over because I didn’t expect people to starve due to my feelings. As I entered Amethyst’s home, I was greeted by Kiena.