"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
A familiar voice roused Twist from a dreamless sleep, and she cracked open her eyes. Dart stared at her, her tail swishing back and forth. She looked excited. Twist raised her head, eyes fully open.
"What?" She meowed. "Is something happening?" Dart laughed.
"Nope!" She responded. "But it is time for you to meet everyone." Dart gave Twist a gentle nudge.
"C'mon!" She said. Twist smiled, and started to stand. She quickly fell back to the ground, however.
"Ah..." she said. "I forgot.." Twist looked at her missing front paw, which she had tried to put weight on. Dart frowned, and crouched down.
"Lean on me." She mewed. Twist's eyes widened. Dart's eyes softened, glittering with sisterly love.
"Come on. We need to hurry." She said, urging Twist on. Twist nodded, and leaned on Dart. Together they rose off the ground and started to walk. They left the small space under the boiler, and Twist had to squint her eyes to adjust to the sudden light. When she could finally focus, she was able to look around. Leaves of dazzling colours coated the ground, none left on the trees that surrounded the area. Twist looked up at their bare branches, taking in the twisted and knotted forms they took.
"Twist, look ahead of you." Dart whispered in Twist's ear. Twist snapped her head forwards, seeing a large group of cats all sitting together. They had their eyes on her, and Twist felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She had gotten distracted, and everyone had seen. A ginger tom seemed to notice Twist's shame, as he stepped towards her, offering a reassuring smile.
"Hi." He said. "It's nice to meet you." Twist smiled at the tom, unsure of what to say. Everyone's eyes were on her, and it was starting to feel overwhelming. She met the tom's eyes, and everything felt more manageable. He looked so considerate, so understanding.
"Hi." Twist said at last. The tom laughed a little.
"I'm Benny, by the way. Nice to meet you." He meowed. Twist smiled wider.
"I'm Twist." She replied. "Nice to meet you too." At her words, Benny padded back to the group. He whispered a couple things to the others, which made Twist a little nervous, but then turned around and smiled. A black and white she-cat ran up to Twist, beaming.
"I'm Mitten!" She brushed her tail against Twist's cheek, which startled her.
"H-hi." She stuttered. Mitten didn't seem to notice, as she walked back to the group without another word. Twist noticed her whispering to a grey speckled she cat, who smiled at her words. Twist's face grew hot. Were they talking about her? The speckled she stepped forwards, smiling at Twist. Twist smiled back.
"My name's Petal." The she-cat said. She stepped back, sitting beside Mitten. Another cat padded forwards, this one a sandy tom.
"I'm Luke." He said, though Twist thought he looked distracted.
"Hi." Twist meowed. Luke moved away though, and Twist concluded that he wasn't paying attention to her at all. A fluffy white she-cat padded up to Twist, beaming.
"I'm Puff." She said, and smiled wider before going back to the group. A brown she took her place.
"I'm Puck." She meowed, then turned to sit back down beside Petal. Lastly, a grey mottled tom slowly moved up to Twist. He fixed his amber eyes on her and said one word.
"Rusty." Twist blinked, confused.
"What?" She sputtered. Dart leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"That's his name." Twist's eyes shone with sudden understanding.
"Hi, Rusty." She responded. The old tom turned away, ignoring her. He shuffled back to the group. Twist frowned. He seemed distant. Now that everyone had introduced themselves, there was an awkward silence. It was cut off when Benny stepped forwards again.
"Your name is Tip, right?" He meowed. Twist shook her head.
"Um, it's actually Twist." She said. Benny frowned at himself.
"Sorry, I'm bad with names. Nice to meet you, Twist!" He smiled at her, his amber eyes shimmering. Twist smiled back, holding his gaze. They stared at each other for a moment, then Benny turned back to the group. Dart whispered in Twist's ear again.
"Quirky, isn't he?" She said. Twist nodded.

...

Dart and Twist sat together on a picnic bench, enjoying their shared company. Twist was looking down at the leaves on the ground, but Dart was looking forward.
Mitten sat alone, eyes closed. She seemed very relaxed. Suddenly, a sound behind her attracted Dart's attention. Pale green eyes were looking at Mitten from a bush. Dart squinted, trying to determine who they belonged to. She didn't have to think for long though, because a grey paw stuck out of the bush that Dart recognized as Petal's. Petal creeped out of the bush, stalking carefully Mitten. Dart nudged Twist, getting her attention.
"Look." She whispered, and Twist turned her eyes to the scene. The sisters watched as Petal sprang at Mitten, knocking her over. Mitten yowled in surprise as two tumbled on the ground. They scuffled for a moment, scattering leaves everywhere. Petal eventually pinned Mitten to the ground, laughing.
"Hey!" Mitten meowed, batting Petal's nose with her paw. Petal stuck out her tongue at her, and Mitten laughed. Petal leaned her face close to Mitten's, whispering in her ear. Mitten smiled, but her smile faded as her eyes flitted over to where Twist and Dart sat. Mitten whispered in Petal's ear, her eyes on the two. Petal frowned and leapt off of Mitten, who stood up right away. The two left quickly. Dart frowned.
"I think we intruded on a private moment." She said. Twist nodded.
"Should we say sorry?" she asked. Dart pondered the idea.
"Maybe. Let's see how they seem later." She said. Twist nodded again.
"Okay."

...

As it turns out, the two were perfectly fine later. They seemed content when the group had dinner, which the humans had so graciously left out for them. Twist assumed that they were fine, and nothing had happened. If something had, wouldn't they say something? Twist and Dart sat close to each other as they ate, talking about nothing in particular. Twist got so absorbed in her conversation with Dart that she didn't notice when everyone else stopped talking. She didn't notice everyone watching her until Dart gave her a gentle nudge.
"Twist, they're looking.." she muttered. Twist turned her gaze to the others, who were looking. Twist felt the blood rush to her cheeks.
"Um, do you want anything?" She asked uncomfortably. Benny laughed.
"No, we're fine. I just have a question for you two." He said.
"Okay, what?" Dart meowed.
"Are you sisters?" He said. Dart laughed, and soon Twist joined in.
"Yes, we're sisters!" She meowed.
"What did you think?" Dart chimed in. Benny smiled awkwardly.
"I dunno. You can't assume." He said. Twist smiled back at him.
"Yeah, I guess not." She said. The group eventually settled into an easygoing conversation, everyone learning about each other. As Twist listened to Rusty talk about what this place was like "back in the day", she felt she had finally found a home.