Alrighty guys....I'm BACK!!!! Lol, for those of you who didn't know, i just spent the last three days in Vallejo, CA and Sonoma CA for three days of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and the Save Mart Toyota 350 NASCAR Race at Infineon Raceway. TOTAL relaxing blast, and it was needed!

ONTO THE STORY!!!

NOW it's the end...this is the last chapter to A Lion of a Man (As you can tell, its actually an epilogue...but oh well. FF doesn't have an epilogue option.) So enjoy, and keep an eye out for the Heart of Man! The best way to do that is to subscribe to my author page! then you'll get an update when i post it up! Have fun and thanks for reading!

----Leona----

My eyes wearily eased open, but instantly clamped shut. Intense sunlight was streaming onto my face, temporarily blinding me. I turned away quickly and raised my paw to block out the sun's bright rays. The moment I moved, an overwhelming sense of dizziness and disorientation overcame me. Feeling slightly queasy, I closed my eyes tighter, willing the dizziness to stop. A few moments passed, and it settled enough to where I could think straight. Dazed and confused, I slowly moved to get up. The dizziness struck again, and I was unwillingly forced to lie back down.

They tranquilized me again…

I racked my memories, trying to remember why I was here, lying dazed and confused, tranquilized once again. Finally, after a few moments of searching and sifting through my continually swaying and spinning mind, my thoughts landed on the memory I was searching for. Vague as it was, I still saw it fairly clear…

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It was feeding time at the reservation. The strange high pitched ringing called out, letting me know that the time to eat was now. Bidding goodbye to the few friends I had on the reservation, I happily rushed to my enclosure for the evening's meal. It had been a fairly relaxing and fun day, but the best part of it was still yet to come; the time I would get to spend with my Claire.

When I got there however, I could tell something was different.

The enclosure door was wide open like it always was, but Claire wasn't there. Usually, my Claire always stood by the door, eagerly waiting for me to come to her. And I was always excited to see her as well. I loved my Claire. She was the only mother I knew. True, she was human, but I never got the chance to meet my real mother. So to me, Claire was my mother. She had raised me ever since I was a little cub. When I grew too big to stay in her big home across the waters, she and I came to live on this reservation. Claire and I loved each other unconditionally.

However, she wasn't there today.

There was nobody at all.

It was eerily quiet.

Warily, I walked forward towards the enclosure. Maybe Claire was playing a game or something…maybe she'd come out and surprise me. She had done that on several occasions.

A twig snapped behind me, and I froze on the spot. A smile curled my lips. So she was trying to surprise me.

I whirled around, growling playfully, and my eyes rested on a human. Not my Claire though. It was one of the dark skinned males, Abasi, who worked at the reservation. In his hands, he held a bucket full of meat, and in the other, the lock to the enclosure.

My playful growling turned deadly. I crouched low, unsheathing my claws, staring at Abasi with utmost anger.

"Where is my Claire?" I growled. Abasi jumped, startled, when I did so, but he made no inclination to answer me. No human ever did whenever I spoke, but it never hurt to try. Especially now of all times, when my Claire was missing. Abasi was here in her place, so he must have known where she was.

…and I was going to make him tell me, one way or another.

"Where is she?!" I roared at him again.

Abasi began to speak. Three years living with humans on the reservation had taught me some of their dialect, but I wasn't fluent. Still, for the most part, I could catch what he was saying.

"Now, now Leona, you want food? ….cage…not…difficult." He said. As he spoke, he placed the bucket of my food down and reached for exploding stick in his belt. Those sticks never meant any good for me when they were brought out.

I reacted quickly. In a flash, I was on top of him, digging my claws into his flesh. Fire burned in my soul, and only one factor was driving me; finding the whereabouts of my Claire was at any cost.

Abasi screamed in terror, the exploding stick waving in his hand. I growled and swiped at his hand. Mere seconds before I swiped it out, he managed to make it explode twice. The noise rang in my ears, but I didn't care. Only one thing mattered now.

"WHERE IS SHE?!?!" I roared angrily. "WHERE IS CLAIRE?!?!"

"LEONA!" a voice cried out. "STOP!!!"

I turned and growled at the source of the voice, and suddenly froze.

Claire stood by my enclosure, a long exploding stick in her hands…pointed directly at me.

The stick exploded, and I felt a small prick on my hindquarters. The reaction was instant. All at once, my head felt woozy and my movements became sluggish. I looked dizzily over where I felt the prick, and saw a small cluster of red feathers protruding from my hide.

The dizziness overcame me, and I fell into blackness.

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Sighing, I opened my eyes up and allowed them to get used to the light. The memory continuously replayed in my mind in my temporary blindness. Though what had occurred was disturbing enough, I was completely unsure and slightly fearful of what was to come. I had been tranquilized several times before then, but never had it been done by Claire. Something was wrong…

When I could finally see, a strange sight swam into view and it only propelled my confusion further. A flatbed truck sat several feet in front of me. Surrounding me were five humans. Claire was squatted down next to me, looking into my eyes. Deep and unmistakable sadness was reflected in hers.

"Oh Leona…" she whispered. "I'm so sorry…"

"Claire…" I said.

A tear fell down Claire's face. Something was different. I had been tranquilized before, but I had always just been confined to my enclosure for a few days following those events. Never had I woken up surrounded by humans before. Never had Claire looked at me with such sadness in those eyes.

One of the humans bent down and spoke to Claire.

"We can't stay..." She said. "The tranquilizer…wear off…minutes. We have to leave."

Claire, tears streaming down her face, nodded. She knelt down to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Claire…" I whispered again, feeling utterly confused.

What is happening? Why is Claire so sad?

Claire finally let go, and stood up, wiping the tears from her eyes. Slowly, she turned her back and walked to the truck alone. She opened the door, gave one last devastatingly miserable look at me, then climbed in and slammed the door shut.

"Claire!" I managed to moan out.

The four humans who had come with Claire moved away from me and one by one, filed back into the truck.

No…Claire!

Every muscle in my body was trying so hard to move…I was forcing myself to get up, despite being completely dazed. My head spun faster and faster with each movement, but it wasn't enough to inhibit me. Claire was leaving without me. I couldn't let that happen!

The truck began to speed off, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.

I was on my feet, and slowly, I started walking towards the truck, furious at myself that I could not move faster.

"Claire!" I called out in desperation.

The truck moved further and further away, growing smaller and smaller. As it sped up, a square piece of paper flew out the window and landed lightly on the ground in the dust.

Having not worn off yet, the tranquilizer was still acting in my system, and it forced me to fall to my feet.

With nothing left but my confusion and misery, I lay on the ground, weeping. A horrible truth became present.

Claire was gone.

I was alone.

I did not know why.

All I knew was that now, my life had turned from wonderful and carefree, to miserable and alone.