Fern and Sprig

I got home from school to an empty house. My mom and brother were both busy at work, so I had the place to myself. I looked under my bed and grabbed my mask and paws. My mask was painted to resemble a calico cat, with paws to match. I wish I had paws for my feet, but just covering my hands would have to do.

I looked in the mirror. I wore a black and white striped shirt with a jean jacket covered in pins. I also wore Tripp pants that were too big for me. My brother says I dress like a loser, and I honestly couldn't deny that. Regardless, I was ready to go out and do some quadrobics.

I went pretty deep into the woods. I passed by some boys smoking cigarettes. I made sure to stay far away from them. I wasn't about to deal with their harassment.

I found my spot; A small clearing with a pond. I got down on all fours and looked for a tree to climb. I settled on a tall one with decently thick branches. I climbed, still on all fours, until I was far enough off the ground to where falling would break a bone. I stood, admiring the forest from below. I felt the tree shake from below me, as if someone else was climbing up too. I quickly hopped down the tree, afraid.

I heard someone following behind me, howling. Wait...howling?

I touched the ground, landing on all fours. Suddenly, someone fell from the tree, crashing on top of me. They rolled away from me, grunting. Now I was able to get a good look at them. They wore a swamp green sweater with leggings, and their hair was a messy brown wolf cut. Most noticeable though was their mask. It was clearly a dog or wolf mask, but it wasn't painted. Just a bunch of cardboard and glue shaped like a wolf's head.

"Are you...a therian?" I asked them.

They nodded.

"Me too! I'm a calico cat! And I assume you are-"

"A wolf. A dangerous one at that." They growled. "In a past life, I was the leader of a pack, and the primary hunter."

"That's super cool! I personally don't believe in past lives and all that. I just think there's something different with my brain that causes shifts and whatnot."

"Interesting...never seen a therian like that before," They stood up on two legs, holding out their hand. "I'm Fern. What's your name?"

"I'm Sprig. Nice to meet ya!" I stood up and shook their hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Sprig. Would you like to go on a walk with me?"

"Sure!"

Fern continued to hold my hand as we walked through the forest.

"I never thought I would befriend a cat. In a past life I would've fed you to my pack."

"That's weirdly threatening." I said with a chuckle.

"I have a threatening aura." Fern chuckled too.

We walked for a couple hours and we even did some quadrobics together. Eventually it got dark and we said goodbye with a nose boop.

Before I got home, I put my mask and paws in my backpack. I wasn't ready for my family to find out I'm a therian. My mom was always my biggest supporter, but I worried that she would judge me for being a therian. I mean, it's pretty weird stuff to an outsider.

I knocked on the door to my house and my brother answered.

"Where have you been, loser?" He asked.

"In the woods, going on a walk. I made a friend. Their name's Fern."

"Wow, so you're actually touching grass. Good job." I wasn't fully certain if he was being genuine or not. Regardless, I went inside and crashed on the couch. I put on a commentary YouTuber and listened to them until I fell asleep.