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Setsuko shrugged. "I've seen worse," She stated nonchalantly. "Did I tell you about the time I found Jaci?"

"No," Rue said, her brown eyes shfting from the storm looming outside to Setsuko's face. "But I'm all ears."

"Well," Setsuko began, "It was eight years ago, when I was only five. I was having a snowball fight with Kuilak...and totally winning! But then my mom told me to come inside, so I did. 'There's a storm coming. I don't want you out there,' She told me. 'But why? We get storms all the time." I reminded. Mother looked me in the eye and said, 'This is a really bad storm, Setsuko...' and began to tell me about the last time such a storm struck, when I was just a baby. But then good for me, Father came in and told Mother to let me play until it starts snowing. So I got to go outside again! The only problem was, while out there, I kinda forgot about the snowing thing and...well, I wandered out of camp. Heh." Setsuko blushed slightly at her mistake, but that disappeared as she continued the story. "I was lost. The blizzard came. Sure enough, it was worse than any I could remember. I pulled up my hood, but it didn't help much in the blizzard. I was cold and young and very scared. I gathered my strength, which the cold had begun taking from me, and wandered around, looking for something familiar to help me get home." She shivered at the memory, eyes wide with terror. "But while I was walking, I tripped over something. I turned at reached for it. It was a tiny Blue Lion cub, hungry and cold, almost dead. He looked up at me with tiny, terrified eyes. He was very weak and tired. I hugged him, trying to either save him, or...make...h..his last...f..f..few moment..s..s...enjoyable..." Setsuko was crying. Just thinking of what pitiful state Jaci was in when they first met always made her so sad. She grabbed Jaci and embraced him. Jaci purred comfortingly. Setsuko smiled and finished up the story. "I was beginning to feel that neither of us would make it. But then I saw...fire. Right behind me. It was Father. He and Mother had found me...I was so relived! Father led the way and Mother carried me home. They didn't even notice the little cub I was holding. When we got home, I showed him to them. Luckily, my father loves animals and my mother just felt sorry for the cub, so we kept him. And that's how I got Jaci...in a nasty storm, even worse than this." The faint traces of a smile coated her lips.

"How old was Jaci when you found him?" she asked.

Setsuko thought a moment. "I'm not sure. Very young, though. Probably only a year or two. But anyways, he's at least eight now. Still has a long life ahead of him."

Rue was confused. Wasn't eight really old for an animal? Maybe the animals she knew about were different, in terms of life spanj. "How long will helive to be?" she asked, wondering how much longer the blue lion's life could be.

"You can never be for sure. But probably to at least 50, providing he isn't killed or gets any bad sickness." Setsuko shrugged simply.

"50?!" Rue asked, amazed. Now that was old for an animal. "Dogs and cats usually only live to be around Jaci's age right now!"

Setsuko laughed. "Well, Jaci's not a simple cat or dog! He's a Blue Lion, they grow at nearly the same rate as people. Just a little faster." Jaci lifted his head satisfactorily, his expression as close to smiling as an animal's could be.

"I can see that!" Rue said, letting out a small laugh, joining in with Setsuko.

Setsuko smiled widely, but a sudden booming noise, accompanied my a flash of lightning, jolted her out of her happy thoughts. "What was that??" She exclaimed.

Rue jumped, the storm also startling her. SHe peered outside. "I'm guessing that it was thunder and lightening," she said, the dark clouds swirling above her, blocking out any sign of a clear,blue sky.

"So that's what thunder is," Setsuko muttered, shivering. "Not pleasant."

"Haven't you heard thunder before?" Rue asked. The way she said that sentence, it sounded liek she hadn't. BUt surely she knew what thunder sounded like.

"I've heard of it, but never actually heard it. It doesn't exactly thunder during snowstorms, you know, and I live in the South Pole, remember?" Setsuko replied flatly.