“Go ahead and walk normally. You can just walk like a normal person…”

“No, I can’t,” Ash hissed. “I’m not normal. I’m not even a person!”

“Come on! It’s easy.” Sunny turned and waited for Ash, energy practically radiating from her body.

“It is not.” Ash protested. “How do you even balance on these things?” He glared down at his feet, willing them to move as confidently as his sister’s. Sunny just chuckled and then skipped out of reach when he tried to smack her.

“There’s still no sign of her. We need to move faster,” Sunny commented, scanning the area.

“I know, I’m trying.” Ash grumbled. As much as he wobbled, he continued to move forward, spurred on by the idea of his owner in danger.

“Wait! I think I can smell something,” Sunny exclaimed, bouncing up and down. “Come on!” She grabbed Ash’s hand and pulled him into a crowded square, nearly sending him onto the ground. A few dozen people roamed the cobblestone streets, mostly tourists taking in the scenic views of the historic city. Ash glanced around warily for potential dangers, but didn’t look right under his own nose. Some sort of cloth grabbed his feet and he went sprawling on the ground with a yelp of surprise.

He scoffed in annoyance and shook the cloth off his leg, sending it flying towards Sunny. She grabbed it deftly and buried her nose in it. Ash cringed at a deep, audible sniff and the weird looks a few of the people around them shot their way.

“This is definitely her scarf. We must be getting close!” Sunny told him, oblivious to her surroundings.

“Can you keep a low profile?” Ash complained. “You’re sticking out like a sore thumb. People don’t just sniff clothing in public.”

“That’s weird.” Sunny remarked with a grin. “Let’s go, come on!”

Ash picked himself up with another grumble, but felt a thrill of excitement in his chest at the thought of completing their quest. After this he deserved some head pats and a long nap in the sun.

Sunny chatted excitedly as they walked further into the town. “Ya know, I kind of like this. I’m pretty cute as a human. And I’m so tall! It’s so much easier to see things this way. But I kinda miss…”

A wet droplet fell from the sky and hit Ash square on the top of his head.

He stopped in his tracks and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up. It was an unpleasant feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He was getting wet.

“Hey, watch it!” Someone yelled and beeped loudly as they whizzed by in a car. Sunny grabbed his arm and pulled him off the street. Apparently he had stopped in the middle of the road.

“Are you okay? Cars are really dangerous.” Sunny told him, letting go of him when he aggressively shook his whole body, as if to rid himself of the sensation. Another drop, then two, then three, smacked into Ash’s skin, causing him to shudder in disgust.

“We need to get out of here. I think the sky is falling,” Ash said worriedly, glancing above him cautiously.

“The sky isn’t falling.” Sunny laughed. “It’s just raining!”

“It’s what.”

“Raining is just when water falls from the sky.”

“That’s horrible.” Ash stated. “We need to get inside.” The rain began falling harder, splashing onto the stone at his feet and dribbling through small cracks to form puddles.

Sunny wasn’t paying attention, rather she had become distracted by the droplets and stuck her tongue out to catch them. Ash grabbed her and pulled her into the nearest building, a small shop that appeared to sell all kinds of strange objects. A bell on the door jingled merrily to announce their arrival.

“Eeeeke eee,” the shop owner greeted them in a squeaky gibberish.

“What did he say?” Sunny asked, throwing a concerned glance at Ash. Ash just shrugged back and shook himself violently, spraying water everywhere.

“Eeee ek eeke ekkke?” The shop owner said, staring directly at them as if they were the strange ones for not being able to understand the strange noises.

Suddenly, Sunny’s ear perked up and she tilted her head.

“What now?” Ash lamented.

“I think I heard her,” Sunny said with a grin. If she still had a tail, it would be wagging 100 miles per hour. Ash perked up and followed Sunny as she began to make her way to the back of the store, ignoring the looks the fuzzy blue shop owner was sending th–

Why was the shop owner fuzzy and blue? Ash squinted and the shop owner began pulsing with an unnatural light.

Ash felt his hair stick up and he skidded on the floor, suddenly a slippery tile that felt designed to trap him here forever. Sunny jumped at his panic and tried to bolt for the exit, but she too couldn’t get any traction. Ash fell on all fours and felt his hands begin to melt back into paws, ears poking out of the top of his head, a tail poofed behind him. Their disguises had worn off and Sunny and Ash were exposed as housepets.

“Whoa! Calm down.” He heard a familiar voice say. His owner. He closed his eyes and when he reopened them, he was back in his own house. The kitchen floor, which was soaked from an overturned water dish. A mouse toy blinked blue and squeaked loudly at his right. Sunny was back on her hind legs, jumping on the owner enthusiastically.

Ash meowed a greeting and swished his tail. He didn’t know if he would ever see his owner again!

“Calm down,” the owner said again. “I was only five minutes late getting your dinner.”

Ash sneezed and shook his head, beginning to clean the spilled catnip from his fur.