“Mrow?” meowed Brightnose inquisitively, staring at the small city cat in front of her. “Come on! Do you really need to talk like you’re wild?” said Darktail. “I mean, I may be classified as a wildcat with the other humans, but I still have a family of four humans. Their names are Lauren and Markus, which are the young ones, and Delilah and Jonathan, the older ones. What are your family’s names? Of course, you might not have-”As the siamese talked, Brightnose’s eyes got bigger and bigger in surprise. “...and I lo-” “Uh, are you going to help me or not?” interrupted Brightnose, still staring at the cat. (Cats weren’t supposed to talk in the twenty-first century. It said so in the Ultimate History Textbook.)

 “If you are, you should hurry up and do it.” “And why should I?” challenged Darktail. “Because my paw is a gun.” lied Brightnose. “And I am from the future and could kill you by unsheathing my claws. My time machine left me stranded here, but I am not defenseless. Want to see?” This time it was Darktail’s eyes that got bigger and bigger. “Wha-, but tha-, th-that’s impossible!” she stammered. “Not where I come from, pet.” said Brightnose. “Now help me get home!” As Darktail rose to her feet, stumbling and almost falling from terror, and she looked like a dog was chasing after her.

Brightnose felt bad and said “I’m not going to hurt you. I lied about my paw, but I really am from the future, and I really do need your help. I just want to be your friend. I’m sorry.” As Darktail turned around, Brightnose was expecting to see her face looking scared and doubtful, but instead was surprised to see her looking as happy as a dog who got a rawhide bone for Christmas. “Really? You mean it? The only friends I have are my humans. All the other stray cats think I am disgraced for befriending humans. They say I’m lucky that they haven’t broken my heart or claws yet. They say-” Brightnose looked sternly at her and said “No getting off topic, though. We need to stay focused. Got it?” “Got it!” said Darktail.