Comet

The stars shone abnormally that night.

Kondraki gazed at the stars with a content smile on his muzzle. He had never seen such a sight. The stars, instead of shining silver and distant, were on this night an abstract sea of color. Countless multicolored stars dotted the sky, so diverse and numerous that it was as if a distant and otherworldly king himself had blessed them.

And, Kondraki soon learned, that was exactly what had happened.

For as he admired the stars, he whispered compliments to their beauty. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but just as the words left his lips, a comet streaked across the sky. He watched in awe as it fell from the heavens, landing much closer than he anticipated. As he approached, a young lioness sat in a swath of dust, a small crater beneath her. She coughed out the dirt from her lungs, sneezing as he approached.

"Hello?" Kondraki investigated with caution. The lioness looked up at him and blinked, a plain but pleasant expression on her face.

"Hi," she responded quietly. She didn't act like many other lionesses of Kondraki's pride, but he didn't mind.

After some small talk and mild confusion from both parties, Kondraki offered her the chance to join his pride. She accepted graciously, but as naturally as if this had been her destiny all along. All questions Kondraki asked her regarding her past or where she came from were met with uncertainty and amnesia.

One response, however, made Kondraki purr with amusement. "What's wrong with your tail?"

"Well, it must have burned up in the fall, I suppose."

Kondraki looked to the heavens once more, sending a silent thanks to the stars for their gift. This kind little lioness would be well-loved within his pride.