This isn't wrong. It can't be.

Briarlight repeated the thought over and over as she dragged herself through the underbrush. Jayfeather had gone to the Moonpool to speak with Starclan last night, so he was sleeping in; Millie was on border patrol with Firestar and Bumblestripe, so this was the perfect chance for Briarlight to sneak out of camp and get some fresh air. She glanced at the sky again; if she was back before sunhigh, no one would notice that she had ever left.

Briarlight breathed in the sent of the lake, and focused on only that. She was almost close enough to see the blue through the trees. Had her back legs been functional, she would have already been there long before. The light-brown she-cat paused to glare at her back legs, sprawled out uselessly behind her. Then she sighed and continued to pull herself forward through the sun-dappled forest. She would make it to the lake, no matter what.

Her front legs were aching and her back legs were bleeding from brambles that Briarlight couldn't feel, but she was more determined than anything.

Not even Starclan could stop me.

But what did stop her was something she had never seen before.

When she caught the sent, she was so close to the lake she could feel the pebbles beneath her paws. It was such a strange and foreign smell, Briarlight thought she had imagined it. But the smell was still there. She dragged herself along the forest floor, always keeping the lake in sight, as quietly as possible while following the sent. Eventually she came to a large tree, about two fox-lengths long and one fox-length wide, by the Shadowclan border. But the smell was anything BUT Shadowclan, it smelled more... like catmint. No, it wasn't catmint. Clover maybe? No, no. Briarlight was getting frustrated trying to identify the stench when she saw what the sent was.

Is that... a Twoleg?

Of course, Briarlight knew that it wasn't. For one thing, it smelled nothing like a twoleg, and twolegs didn't sit down to look at the lake like this ...thing... was doing. But Briarlight didn't pay any attention to those details. The only thing she was looking at was the giant, smooth orange branches curving upward sticking out of this strange twolegs head.

What the...?

It's skin was also light gray, the color of Millie's fur. And it was just... staring. At the lake. Watching a bird dive to get a fish. Briarlight was too close for comfort. She slowly tried to push herself backwards, with was a surprisingly hard thing to accomplish. Her back legs would not cooperate with her. But she couldn't turn around, she had to watch the strange twoleg. So instead she took a step forward...

…and immediately stepped on a twig.

It was the loudest noise Briarlight had ever heard, but it was no more that a small crack. Of course, the strange twoleg heard it. He turned his head and scanned the bushes. It called out in a shaky twoleg voice.

Briarlight prayed to Starclan that she would get away. She was standing in a small clearing, the only thing separating her from the two-leg was a few Juniper-berry bushes.

Turn. Run away.

But Briarlight was rooted to the ground in fear.

Don't just stand there! RUN!

She couldn't do anything. Just stare through the bushes at the strange twoleg scanning the bushes for her. Eventually, she saw him raise his arms and-

drag himself.

was this twoleg like her?

Briarlight didn't have much time to think about it, because the strange twoleg parted the bushes and pulled his head through so that his big orange branches didn't get caught in the smaller branches. His eyes were bright yellow, exactly like hers.

Briarlight was no longer rooted to the ground. She turned around clumsily, frantically clawing the ground, dragging herself away.

"Wait!"

She was frozen once more. Did that twoleg- that thing just say something? Briarlight turned around. It was a very interesting picture, she thought. Her and the strange twoleg, front legs and arms straitened, back legs of each sprawled out uselessly behind.

"...h-hello." The strange twoleg talked again. He paused. When it was clear Briarlight wasn't going to respond, he cleared his thought and asked, "W-what happened to your back legs?"

Briarlight still didn't respond. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. The gray twoleg dragged hmself a little closer. Briarlight didn't move.

"I-I fell o-off a cliff- well, kinda." he stammered "T-Thats how I hurt mine." He edged a little closer. He was in the clearing now. A fox-length away for Briarlight. "Or are all earth cats like you?"

What the heck is he talking about?

"...y-you do understand me, right?" He dragged himself a little closer. Briarlight didn't move.

"A-a t-tree fell on m-me." Briarlight stammered, just as nervous as the gray human.

He slowly lowered himself, laying down, now only a cat-length away.

"I-I'm Tavros." He introduced himself. Briarlight didn't say anything.

This is crazy, she thought i here I am, by the Shadowclan border, talking to a gray twoleg, with red and orange branches sticking out of it's head. It was too much.

Blackness overwhelmed her.

This story does not belong to me. After much confusion, I have come to realize that 12 year old me had stolen this story from user Snow Kittie- the exact same idea and premise, just with different words. Pretty sure that I can't link anything in here, but I urge everyone to go read the original version of this! You can find Snow Kittie in the reviews, please check out the real story. (Dumb 12 year olds.)

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