I kept on through the snow, hoping to find some place to rest. I saw something bright in the distance. I wasn't sure what it was but it might lead me to shelter! I bounded through the snow. As I approached I saw that it was the light from a two-leg nest.
That wouldn't have been my first choice for shelter but it was all I had. I found a hole in the bottom of the nest and squeezed through. I panicked for a second when I got stuck half way through.
"Help!" I squeaked but managed to pull my way through. I shivered. At least it was warmer in here than it was in the snow.
I curled up in the driest corner and tucked my nose in my tail. I hadn't been asleep long when I was awoken by a deep growling. I snapped my eyes open. A few fox lengths away from me was a huge, snarling dog. It slowly approached me, it's eyes glinted with excitement.
I backed up as far as possible. "Back off, dog-breath!" I spat, my fur bristling.
"Hey, back off!" a voice yowled from behind the dog. The dog whipped around. It stopped growling. The cat swiped at the dog's nose and the dog retreated into the shadows.
"Sorry about that," the cat meowed. "That was my human's dog. I'm Katie!"
"I'm Squirrelflight. You live here?"I said, taking a quick look around.
"Yeah, but I usually sleep up there!" She pointed to a set of stones leading up to an opening. "I could hear you from my humans' room. Are you alright?"
"You mean like two-legs? Yeah, I'm fine," I mewed.
"So what are you doing here?" Katie asked me, tipping her head to one side.
"I kind of got lost. I've been traveling all day trying to get back to the forest but all I can see is snow!"
"You can stay here with me!" Katie offered, obviously excited by the idea. "Just until the snow starts to melts, if you want," she added.
"Well, just until the snow melts a little..." I replied. I didn't like the idea of living like a kittypet but I didn't want to get back in that snow.
"You can have my bed. I never use it." She led me to a pink thing full of someone soft. I curled up on it and fell asleep almost instantly.
0000
When I woke up there was a male adult two-leg standing over me. "GAH!" I wailed and jumped to my feet.
"It's okay, this is one of my humans!" Katie explained.
"Oh.." The two-leg reached out and stroke me slowly. I pulled away at first but it was actually soothing.
"Come on, I bet you're hungry!" Katie led me into a big room where a female two-leg was dumping some slop into a bowl. She set it on the ground in front of us.
"Go ahead, there's enough for both of us," Katie urged. I sniffed the wet gooey stuff nervously before taking a small bite. I spat it on the ground.
"How do you eat this stuff?" Katie twitched her whiskers.
"I'm used to it," she replied, trying not to laugh. She took a few bites.
"Maybe there'll be something to hunt in the yard. My humans shoveled a lot of the snow away," Katie suggested. She stood beside a door and meowed loudly until one of the two-legs let us out. She pranced through the doorway. The yard was covered in a very thin layer of snow. I hoped there might be some prey hiding under some of the bushes.
I carefully crept through the snow, making no sound at all. I followed the scent of a mouse to a small bush. I scented the air. The scent was fresh. When I got close enough I pounced, emerging from the bush with a scrawny mouse in my jaws and leaves in my fur.
I shook the leaves and snow out of my fur. "Wanna share?" I asked. I wanted her to try something other than the slop the two-legs gave her.
I set the mouse down. "You take the first bite, you look hungry." I dipped my head and took a bite of the mouse, then pushed it toward Katie with my paw. She sniffed it carefully then bit into it. "Wow! That's better than anything I've ever tasted!"
I thought it was a bit of an exageration because it was just a tough, scrawny mouse, but she had grown up on two-leg food.
"I could teach you to hunt if you want," I offered.
"Really? You would do that?" I was amused by her shock and eagerness.
"Of course I would! If you hadn't found me I'd be dog food." Katie chuckled.
"Bruce only looks mean, but he couldn't hurt a flea!"
