Blue Reflections

Creative Doe adjusted her light blue cape as she stepped through the sliding glass doors of CD Tower. The lobby buzzed with morning activity—deer in business suits chatted with human coworkers near the elevators, while a human security guard waved hello to a deer wearing a doctor's coat.

"Good morning, Creative!" called Marcus, a tall human with curly brown hair who worked on the fifteenth floor. He carried a steaming coffee cup and wore a green tie.

"Morning, Marcus!" she replied, her glowing blue eyes brightening behind her black mask. She loved how everyone got along so well in Cervine Super City.

Creative headed toward the elevator bank, but something caught her attention. She paused near the enormous windows that stretched floor to ceiling along the tower's east wall.

The reflection in the dark glass looked... wrong.

Where she expected to see herself—a deer in a blue supersuit—the reflection showed a human girl with tan skin wearing the same outfit. Behind the girl, deer and humans moved through the lobby, but their positions were completely reversed.

Creative blinked hard. The strange reflection remained.

The Sparrow's Warning

Creative stepped closer to the window, pressing her gloved hand against the cool glass. The reflection didn't change—she still appeared as a human girl with tan skin.

"That's impossible," she whispered.

A small sparrow suddenly tapped its beak against the window from outside. Creative jumped back, startled. The bird seemed to be trying to get her attention, pecking in a rhythmic pattern.

Marcus walked up behind her, coffee still steaming. "What's got you so focused, Creative?"

"Look at this reflection, Marcus. Do you see anything strange?"

Marcus squinted at the glass. "I see you, me, the lobby. Looks normal to me."

Creative's heart sank. "You don't see me as a human in the reflection?"

"What? No, you're clearly a deer." Marcus chuckled. "Maybe you need more sleep."

The sparrow outside grew more frantic, now flying in small circles near the window. Other people in the lobby began pointing at the unusual bird behavior.

Creative's phone buzzed with an emergency news alert: "Strange Animal Behavior Reported Citywide - Birds Acting Erratically."

Her glowing blue eyes widened. Something bigger was happening.