Nova and her friends can only gape as an orange lioness slowly drops to the forest floor. Her entire body is surrounded by flame, but the lioness inside doesn't show any signs of distress. The four of them step back as the lioness flexes her paws before landing softly on the grass. Nova expects to see the greenery around her erupt into a blaze of fire, but nothing happens. Although the flames lick the tender stems, there is no sign of harm to them either.
What is this?
Nova tries to open her mouth to speak but nothing comes out. She takes a step back as the smell of ash fills her nostrils and steps on a twig.
Snap.
The lioness' head swings towards them. All four of them gasp and push her forward.
"What the hell-"
"You pissed it off!" One of her friends, Alesha, snaps.
"I stepped on a twig-"
The lioness steps towards her and all four of them jump back in shock. Nova feels Alesha's hand slip into hers. They press their backs against the closest tree, ignoring the scratchy bark and the hair that gets caught in it.
Every time the lioness moves a charred pawprint is left in the grass. But a second later the burned patch grows over with fresh grass that looked healthier than it did before.
"Please, don't be afraid."
The lioness' voice is silky and warm. Her yellow eyes blink up at them gently and she dips her head.
"It's an alien!" One of her other friends, Sofia, shrieks.
"Why would an alien come here?" Her last friend, Robyn, hisses.
The lioness cocks her head to one side, eyeing them all curiously. Nova stands up straighter and tries to control the nervous shake in her hands.
"Who are you?" The words come out as barely a whisper.
The lioness blinks at her kindly. "To be honest, I'm not sure. I have only just woken up from a deep slumber."
Robyn nudges her back. "Ask it what it wants."
"What I want, child," The lioness replies, making them all jump. "Is to find out what is going on with this formerly beautiful planet. It was a lush paradise when I left it. Now..." She looks around, her nose wrinkling. "It smells strange. Of something I can't identify."
Nova swallows back her fear. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. The planet has been the same from before we were born."
The lioness peers at her carefully. "You have known no different? From this?"
She shrugs. "It's not that bad. Is it?"
The lioness opens her mouth to reply when the sounds of sirens fill the forest. Nova and her friends all huddle together.
