The Pits.
Chapter One: One Way Ticket.
There is only one species of were that is rarer then a weretiger, and that is a wereleopard. They are thought to be extinct for one hundred years due to the excessive hunting of them on reserves owned and managed by sadistic vampires. They were hunted for sport and fun. Why? Well, the thing was the wereleopard was the strongest of the weres, they were independant with no need for a pride like their animal counterparts, and even the werewolves feared them. The werewolves and wereleopards never got along. It was a deep seated rivarly, which considering cats and dogs have always been at each others throats, is not suprising. It tended to take a whole pack of wolves however to take down one leopard, so when the vampires constructed unescapable reserves where they forced captured wereleopards into, the werewolves were delighted to help. It was a bloody thousand years, until one hundred years ago it was thought the last wereleopard had been killed. The hides can still be found around the world, along with other souvenirs their murderers kept.
The vampires and wolves were slightly disappointed that there were no more wereleopards to slaughter, but the pride of bringing the once most powerful species to extinction overwhelmed that.
It was the last time vampires and wolves worked together in harmony. In the following years the only time weres would work with vampires was when blackmailed, extremely highly paid, or given vampire blood in exchange.
Its the year 2012, Eric Northman still owns Fangtasia, and last month took over the throne of Louisana, killing Bill Compton in the process - he never liked him anyway. ( Who did? ) Sookie Stackhouse along with her friends of Bon Temps have settled down into normal life there, for once with nothing evil or untoward happening. Sookie has ended up settling down with Alcide who is now Alpha of his pack with Sookie as his mate. Jason has settled down with Tara, and Sam is just happy to have a normal single life whilst Arlene is still with Terry and Jessica with Hoyt. Pam is still making her way through the female population.
One suprising thing however did happen in the last year. Whatever higher power there is in the Summerlands decided Godric - Eric's maker - has unfinished business and took him back to earth. He spends his time between checking on Fangtasia - which Pam runs - and Eric's headquarters in New Orleans where he spends the rest of his time bonding with his child.
The full round moon flooded the night with light, highlighting bits and pieces of the thick dense forest below. The light breeze whistled through the trees and grass, the forest floor busy with a variety of wildlife that was native to Lakeview Park which was not far from Shreveport. There was the sound of crunching leaves beneath heavy paws as a solitary figure moved within the shadows.
Her tail twitched as she lifted her head back, parting her massive feline jaws with her tongue out as she scented the air. As soon as the scent of a racoon hit her sensitive sense of smell. Her whiskers twitched as she licked her lips before changing course through the dense underbrush. She jogged lazily, almost bouncing on her paws as she moved silently. It had taken her a while to learn how to move without making a sound, now it was as natural as breathing. Well, it was in leopard form. Human form, not so much although she can't remember the last time she was in her human form.
It must have been when she was sixteen, because that was when for the first time in a moment of heated emotion that she turned into a leopard for the first time. Not only had it been her sixteenth birthday on the 10th September, but she had only just started puberty a week before so her hormones were everywhere. Her parents had quickly explained that both of them came from a long line of purebred wereleopards, but the last one of their family that could change form was a hundred years ago. They thought the gene lost. Until now. They explained the history of the wereleopard, especially the interaction of them between vampires and werewolves. She learned how it was thought they were extinct. She had been fine for a week or so, but then people started sniffing around - some of them literally. Her parents decided it was best they leave town, Arizona to be precise, and move around. Unfortunately the night they were meant to leave her parents were slaughtered by two vampires. She wanted to help but it was so quick and sudden she couldn't do a thing. She ran. They must not have noticed her.
Now she was in Louisana, and has been in her leopard form ever since. She was safer that way. She had heightened senses in this form, as well as claws and sharp teeth to protect herself. She didn't have that as a human. Besides, she had never been all that comfortable in her human form. In her own opinion she had never been a pretty, beautiful, or sexy person, and the bullies in her school life definately agreed. In leopard form she didn't have to worry about any of that.
She paused as she got close enough to see the racoon. She scented the air again and concluded it smelled normal. She shifted her weight, slightly adjusting her body to be in the optimum position. She was already downwind, so she knew the racoon had no idea she was here. The feline lowered her body so her belly was pressed against the ground, her bottom up in the air wiggling as she waited for just the right moment. The split second the racoon turned its head away to the opposite direction she was in was when she leapt. It took one leap to get from where she was to being on top of the racoon. Her front right paw had landed on its back, pressing the tiny squirming body against the ground. Well, the racoon was tiny compared to her at least. The leopard lowered its jaw, putting the racoon's head in its mouth before jerking the head causing the neck to snap which killed the racoon. She laid down on her belly beside the racoon as she began stripping the fur from the racoon's body. It didn't take long for the fur to be stripped - that would cause a few hairballs at some point - and then began devouring the racoon. She didn't need a big meal despite her own large body. In the forests she had wandered she had always been able to find prey, and when she didn't there was always enough in whatever bins the towns and villages for her to eat from. Thus far she had never been starving, despite moving around every day.
Honestly, she didn't know why she was near Shreveport. She just picked a random direction and off she went.
A fine mist began to descend as the night hour grew later. Once her meal was eaten, a few bones the only parts that were left, she took it upon herself to clean up her fur before she trotted off to find a den for the rest of the night.
Unfortunately there was something she didn't see...
A single camera with night vision recorded the night's events from where it was attatched to a tree. It was only when the forest was flooded with light that its owner came by to pick it up. Excitement flitted through the fourty year old man as he noticed the bones from a predator's prey right in the spot the camera had recorded. He just knew he would have some excellent footage to watch from last night. With a spring in his step he left for home to process the footage, rubbing the grey hairs of his beard.
An hour later animal control and the Shreveport Zoo - the closest zoo to this point - was called about a rogue leopard found in Lakeview Park.
Two hours later both teams were scouring the forest for the leopard, with trucks, tranquiliser darts, a cage, and other devices ready to capture the wild leopard.
After all, since when has a large predator like a leopard been native or ever seen in the state of Lousiana? Never. The only conclusion the officials could come to was that the leopard either escaped a private zoo owned by a rich benefactor, or a public zoo that was not Shreveport Zoo. Either way, it was too dangerous for the leopard to be left in the wilds of Shreveport. It had to be captured.
"There! Three o'clock!"
One man said, his trained piercing green eyes finding the leopard with expert ease. He lifted his tranquiliser gun, aiming with all the training animal control had given him and with one silent shot the dart flew. Within seconds it slid through the leopard's spotted skin, injecting the tranquiliser into its feline body. Triumph flooded the man's expression.
She was furious. She had been basking on a rock near the den she had slept in last night. She had been half dozing and now was mentally berating herself for being so stupid. She hadn't heard the humans coming until the man spoke. She had jumped onto all fours at the voice but it had been too late. The dart was in her body, in her rump, and she knew she didn't have long before she was unconcious. Without a second thought she leapt from the large boulder and darted through the trees. She knew she should have just moved on to somewhere else today as soon as she woke, but it had been so long since she just lazed in the sun and the feline in her so loved it. That was the last time she ever indulged. Growling in annoyance and fustration, she weaved in and out of the trees for about a minute before her paws began faulting. It was seconds later her body collapsed and she fell into unconciousness.
She didn't feel her legs being tied together, a muzzle put on, a blindfold put on, nor did she feel being carried to her new cage, or the cage being lifted into one of the trucks.
The next time she'd wake up would be in a small 'stable' of sorts in the quarantine section of Shreveport Zoo, and she would not be pleased.