Dedicated to my grey, tabby cat, Tiger, whom has gone missing....

This is Barlow. She is a wild tiger who lives in the jungle. She's tough, fast, and a good hunter. She's a loner, for the most part.

Barlow lives in a cave with her cub, Lydia. Lydia is a rambunctious and curious little girl. Barlow will protect her with her life.

One day, Barlow went hunting. She told Lydia to stay in the cave until she got back. Barlow had an unsuccessful day of hunting. Barlow started back to her cave, but smelled something. Wolves.

As fast as she could, Barlow ran back to her carve in an attempt to go protect her daughter. When she arrived, she saw quite the sight that made her heart stop...

The wolves were running away from her cave, looking pleased with themselves. Barlow ran in the cave and saw Lydia gone. She knew who did this. Barlow roared loudly, the mighty boom echoing through the jungle.

Barlow ran through the forest, roaring like a raging lion. She tried to find the wolves, but they had skipped forest, knowing that they'd get torn apart if they stayed. Barlow roared out in frustration. She had failed her mission. She had failed her daughter.

It has been years since the death of her cub. Barlow lounged around on a rock, one day, bored out of her mind. Then, Barlow saw something move in the tall grass. Feeling hungry, Barlow decided to hunt it.

Barlow stalked the creature. She was about to attack, but stopped when she saw what it was. What she saw was small, innocent, and she didn't have the heart to take it as lunch.

                     A baby panda.

Staring at the panda cub for a long minute, Barlow turned and walked away. The panda cub, being alone as it is, followed Barlow, crawling with unusual urgency.

All day, the panda followed Barlow. Barlow tried to leave it, but the baby just kept following her. Barlow soon just lied down near a river, tired and annoyed. The panda crawled up and sat right next to her, snuggling into her fur.

Eventually, Barlow decided to keep the cub and raise him as her own. The panda cub would follow Barlow everywhere. When she hunted? He's there. When she napped? He's there. When she went for a walk? He's there. Pretty soon, Barlow had the perfect name for her new son.

    Barlow called her new son Khan.

One day, Barlow took Khan with her to meet with the other tigers of the jungle. While she talked with the other tiger parents, Khan played with the other tiger cubs. Kuba, a tiger cub, sniffed Khan suspiciously. "You're not a tiger. You're not even one of us. You're a freak of nature." Kuba said. Barlow stood in front of Khan, glaring at Kuba. That was quite enough for Barlow.

Kuba's mother picked him up and left, not wanting her son to play with a misfit. The other tigers told her she should give him up. She can't have a panda for a son.

Barlow took Khan back to the cave. She looked down at Khan as they walked. He's so little and there's so many predators around. The wolves could come back and she probably couldn't protect him. Barlow growled lowly under her breath.