He woke with a start and groaned as he tried to sit up. He took in his unfamiliar surroundings. In the distance there was a forest, but as far as his eye could see were the singed remains of fallen trees and burnt shrubs and grasses. His own thin layer of fur was nearly burnt black. His hands and feet were covered in cuts and he wondered how he had survived the event that had taken down all the trees in this valley and likely beyond.

How in the world had he gotten here? Where was he? Now that he thought about it, he didn’t remember anything. Panic started to set in. He had a faint knowledge of what he was and how to hunt and gather food and the like, but he had no idea how he knew any of it. He didn’t remember anything about himself, not even his name. He started to hyperventilate. Who was he? What was his name? 

Suddenly, his head hurt and he heard the faint call of a woman, Leo. The voice came with an upwelling of emotion. He almost cried at the sound, and he tried desperately to grasp the emotions whirling around in his head, hoping that he could remember something, anything more than just his name and the woman’s voice, but in the next moment it was gone, leaving only the memory of the voice and the name she had spoken. At least he had a name.

Leo was stuck in his own head, trying to reason with his situation, when he head a noise. He turned towards the sound, ignoring the pain as his whole body protested the movement. The first thing he saw was the tawny fur of the female felidae. She looked to be a young adult, wearing a loose top and pants. It seemed as if she noticed him immediately as she turned away from him and called out to someone else. As many more felidae appeared over the hill he started to taste fear in his mouth. All of these people were on edge, many of the men and some of the women were carrying sharpened weapons.

Leo swallowed compulsively as an imposing man glared upon approach. The man had the same tawny fur as the first woman he saw. “Who are you?” the man growled.

“Um, I’m Leo,” he stumbled over his words. The group started whispering among themselves. Something about the action made Leo uncomfortable.

The man’s glare grew darker. “I don’t trust you. Maybe this question will change that.” His voice was sharp as he added, “Do you know anything about the fires in the forest that started a couple days ago?”

Leo shuddered at the thought. He didn’t know anything about the fires other than the fact that he had been in one of them. That much was obvious thanks to his singed fur. He had seen the destruction a fire could bring, it surrounded him even now. “No,” he managed.

“I don’t believe you,” the man replied with a growl. “How stupid do you think I am. You are almost at the center of where the first fire started. How could you possibly know nothing?”

“I said I didn’t know anything about the fires. I don’t know anything but my name!” Leo snapped back, only moments later realizing that he knew nothing about anything. Could the fire be the reason he couldn’t remember anything? Had he been involved in some way? No, that couldn’t be it. If he had started the fires there wouldn’t have been more considering the man had said this was where the first of the fires started. There had been more, Leo’s mouth went dry. These felidae were about on edge as a rabbit that had narrowly escaped a lyxin.

The man narrowed his eyes. “That’s a lie,” his voice rose in anger.

“Brother, stop it,” the first woman he saw since waking snapped at the visibly angry felidae. “I think he is telling the truth,” she said that part softer.

The man looked frustrated, but his anger seemed too cool somewhat, but not enough to stop his next statement. “Then we will need to take a vote on how to deal with him. Who trusts this felidae enough to let him stay?” the male felidae said with ice in his voice.

Great, Leo grumbled in his head wishing he could just disappear. He had a feeling if these strangers didn’t trust him, then he wouldn’t be leaving this valley alive. Four of the eight felidae rose their hands. Leo swallowed. An even split wouldn’t solve anything and could change at any time. It seemed the man glaring at him realized the same thing. He assumed the felidae was their leader considering his take-charge attitude in the face of this situation, but he must be a good leader if he allowed a vote. His vote, though, would likely be weighed more heavily. “I don’t trust him,” the man growled again. “We will allow him to come with us on a probationary period so we can keep an eye on his behavior. If he steps a toe out of line, we will deal with it then.” With another glare in his direction, “If you hurt any of us, I’ll kill you.”

Leo managed to nod. He didn’t want to cause any problems. He just wanted to remember something, anything. He wanted to know why the hell he was out here in the midst of a forest fire. He wanted to know who had called him Leo and why her voice made him so sad that he thought he might cry. He wanted to live, but more than that, he wanted to understand the situation he was in now.

The tawny furred woman approached and extended a hand, ignoring her brother’s angry glare. “My name is Laria. I’ll introduce you to everyone,” her voice was gentle as she made the offer.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he replied honestly taking her hand. “And thanks for sticking up for me. I’m sorry if I’ve caused you guys any trouble.”

“Not trouble exactly,” Laria sighed, “it's the fires you see. They started without warning, and they aren’t normal. Even when we had wildfires in the past, none would start this close to the stream, and none ever came so close to our little settlement. Usually, with forest fires there is more left behind, but it’s like this everywhere the fire has touched. Everything is gone. We’ve almost lost a few of our own to the fires during our hunt the other day.”

Sharp pain pierced his side as Laria helped him to his feet but he ignored it. Perhaps if he could help these people solve the mystery of what was going on with these fires he would remember who he was and where he came from. These fires were connected to his past, at least somehow. He might at the very least be a witness. “My brother’s name is Ari.” She continued on to gesture to a felidae with silver fur with black stripes on his arms and legs. The tips of his ears were black and his tail had rings of black and silver. “He is Sean. Blake is standing next to him.” Blake’s fur was almost black, but had a midnight blue hue when the sunlight hit him at an angle. She gestured to a small framed felidae with short white fur. “Her name is Hada. It means fairy. It suits her, don’t you think.” Laria said with a smile.

She looked so small and delicate that he couldn’t help but agree, “I think you might be right.” With the exception of Ari, all of the felidae Laria had introduced him to had voted for him to stay. He wasn’t all too keen to aggravate the remaining felidae with his continued presence, but he had no idea where else he could go but wherever Laria told him to go.

Laria gestured to a harsh looking felidae. All of his fur was black except for the pure white patch between his collar bones. “His name is Arthur. He has a short temper, but is very protective of all of us.” She gestured towards another felidae glaring in his direction. His fur was ginger in color, almost completely red. “He is Stephan.” Laria glanced quickly at a girl in the back with jet black fur, even darker than Blake’s. She had a terrible scar on her back. Laria quickly looked away.

“Who is she?” Leo asked Laria, wondering why Liona was hesitant to tell him the younger felidae’s name.

“She is,” Laria hesitated, “Lexi. She hasn’t been the same since the day she got that scar.”

Leo could tell Laria was uncomfortable with the topic so asked the first thing that popped into his mind. “Is there a specific reason why your brother and half of your group don’t trust me?”

Laria looked startled but then relieved. “Well, it’s connected to the fires. There is a legend. It mentions someone named Leo bringing the Forest Burner to us. You could see how that might make anyone uneasy, running into someone with your name right after these fires started.”

“I guess,” Leo frowned in thought. Why had he been in these woods before the fire? Where was he in relation to where he must have come from?

“We should really head back. Your fur is singed and I’ve noticed you’ve been gripping your side. Let me look,” Laria pulled his hands away from his right side. The movement sent agony through his side. Leo’s vision swam. Laria yelled something before his world went black.