Big Winnah!

Thanks to *ahem* ...all who participated in this round of Finish This. Much fun was had by all contestants, I'm sure. ;)

The lead-in was this:
I had seen its like before, though rarely, and never quite like this. It was black...

Congrats to Lynn, who wins 75 cool points with this entry:

but not quite black, more of a dark brown, so dark that you had to really study it to see that it was black. It was vinyl, but looked so close to leather that it was hard to believe it was really vinyl. It defied decor, as nothing matched this hand-me-down loveseat, but my husband loved it so we kept it.

And my continuation is this:

It was black, and fuzzy, with a line of bright green spots running down its length. It crawled ever-so-slowly down the length of the leaf, consuming bits out of the middle, leaving the foliage riddled with holes. It was a fascinating specimen, and I reached for my camera. With these pictures, with this caterpillar, I could finally write an article that would mean something in the world of science. As I held up my camera to take the pictures that would make my name known, the caterpillar raised its little head, as if to pose. At that moment, a small bird swooped down, plucked up the rare creature, and downed it in one gulp. I almost shouted. With that one bite, two months of searching through mosquito infested, humid, putrid jungle had been wasted. In abject despair, I snapped a picture of the offending bird and started my journey back down the slender tree in which I was perched. Someday, perhaps, when I'd gotten over my tears, this would make a good story. Someday.