Tundra stalked through the dry brush, stomach growling for a bite to eat. What is there to eat around here... she thought.

Having been stranded at least five hundred miles away from the nearest animal park or zoo had not been a kind twist of fate to her. Being a rare breed hybrid of snowy leopard and white panther, and being of peculiar markings, aqua green and sky blue spots on snowy white fur, made her all the more rare. A coat to be covetted, to say the least. The animal park she was born in saw this rarity and pampered the tamed cat, making extra sure of it's long life. But there had been problems with the animal park with an outbreak of a dangerous disease among the animals, and better care and environment were in call. So, this animal park saw it best to fly her to another well known animal park for Tundra to live in. Unfortunately, accidents happen. The plane carrying the precious cargo hit a terrible storm pocket, and made an emergency landing on the African plains to wait the storm out and avoid further turbulences. They landed roughly, and the plane bucked, knocking open one of the cargo doors, and the animal crate Tundra was in, slid out of the cargo bay. The plane kept boucing along until far enough away for the pilots not to be able to see the stray crate through the rain. They got out, checked the cargo and didn't notice one was amiss. So the climbed back into the cockpit and waited until the storm blew itself out, and took off once more.

Tundra, having been knocked unconcious in her crate by the bucking of the plane, didn't awake until hours later. The crate damaged from the roll, she could pry the board away and squeeze out of it.

Now, in the present time, it had been a few days since Tundra's first steps into her new surroundings which she found dizzying to say the least. No humans, no fences, no plastic anywhere in site, no idea what to do. Now she roamed a seemingly barren plain with not much more than tall dry grass for her company. Her stomach never having gone this long without a decent feast, she forced her senses to pick up the smallest signs of other life or scents of something edible.

She came upon a heard of creatures with horns, lean and grazing, very much unaware of her yet. She, not knowing anythign about hunting, watched for a while, prowling around at a distance. How do I do this... she pondered a minute. Okay, okay. She lowered her body, as if ready to jump, and dove forward hoping to catch a certain particularly slow beast of the heard. Given her distance, the creatures had enough time to look up and dash away, leaving her in their dust.

"No!!!" She cried. "But I'm... so..." she huffed, out of breath as she slowed down. "hungry..."

Heart sinking she ran, as the heard thundered in a curve, she made to intercept one. Running hard, she charged forward, but the creatures zigged out of her path with speed she couldn't match. She stopped, giving up and laying down in the grass in surrender, pouting to herself. Just then, she heard a sound, like a roar, from inside the stampede, and she looked up to the sound, ears perking in the direction.

From behind the heard, a large cat, not unlike herself, beat paws into the plains floor. With a mighty leap, he secured his jaw around the throat of a smaller one of the beasts. Tundra's heart jumped. Another cat! Perhaps lost as she was. She aproached at a happy trot. "Hey!" she called. "H-hey! Who are you? Can-can you help me?"

As she drew closer, the cat stood up, a dark creature, such as she had never seen. "You're the one that spooked the heard," he declared in a menacing tone. "You're that who almost cost me lunch." His flaming red eyes burned through her for a sencond. Then those eyes swept up and down her length, studying her in detail.

"You're... not from around here, are you?" A puzzled look came over his face, no longer the threatening visage it was a minute ago.

"N-no.." Tundra whimpered, taken aback and a little afraid of this stranger. The apperance of this creature frightened her too. He was a balck panther. A meanacing looking one. He was probably wice her size, and his coat was a midnight black with flames of red swirling all over his body, and something very odd for a panther to have, he had a thick main of violet black. "Please sir. I ah... I think, I think I'm lost," she pleaded.

The bright red eyes of the dark one roamed over her for a second more. "My name's Fasomu," he introduced in a more friendly manner. "Come on, you look hungry." And he indicated the kill he had just made.

Tundra almost cried with happiness and releive. "Oh, thank you!" And with that, she fell to the meal and ate her fill and Fasomu joined her.

When both had eaten their fill, Tundra turned to her host. "Oh, how rude of me, not introducing myself. Um, my name is Tundra. Now, can you tell me how to get to the nearest zoo?"

Fasomu looked at her, a bit perplexed. "A what?"

"A zoo, you know? Where animals live and there are people and... you have no idea what that is..." She sighed deeply. She didn't know axactly how far away from home she was, but to her it just got a lot farther.

"What are you anyway? I've never seen a lioness the likes of you."

Tundra couldn't supress a giggle. "A lion? I'm no lion! I'm a panthard! Lions live in Africa!" Then it hit her. She was nowhere near anyone who could help her.

The dark lion gazed at her in curiosity as she stared blankly at the sky. "Are you okay?"

"Do you know what a 'human' is?"

"Should I?"

Tundra lay down and whimpered to herself, not knowing what to say or do. "I don't know where I am... And I don't know how to get home..."

"Um... I'll help you. Just tell me, who's pride are you from?"

"I don't have a 'pride.' I have a zoo..."

"Well I don't know what that is!"

"I know!" Tundra curled up into a confused ball of fur. "You're a lion..."

"Yeah. What'd you think I was? A gazelle?"

"I don't know...," she whimpered as the lion laughed to himself. "I just wanna go home..."

The lion stopped laughing, taking notice of the discomfort of his new friend. "Uh... Say, why don't you came with me to my pride and spend the night or something, so you can, you know, take a rest and tomorrow we can figure out what to do with you."

"Ya mean it?" Tundra whimpered. And Fasomu nodded. "Thank you... Thank you!" she said.

And the two stalked off into the sunset towards Fasomu's family's den.

~Sa Ind!!!