Follows the storyline of the new series with two OCs. I'll pretty much follow the plot of the show with a few extra things. This chapter is here to introduce my OCs. This is also my first fic, so any critics or compliments welcome.
Set after Journey to the Tower of Omens and Legacy but before The Duelist and the Drifter.
They should have expected this. Even though Jaga had scarified himself to force Mumm-Ra to flee, the lizards who had followed Mumm-Ra had not been driven away. They had surrounded both the Tower of Omens as well as the ThunderTank, making it impossible to escape with the Book of Omens without a fight.
TWACK! Panthro's nunchakus bashed another skull in as he fought his way through the twenty or so lizards surrounding him. He could hear the others battling not far from him. He let out a pained wince when the blade from one of the lizards rifles sliced his side just below his ribs. Panthro quickly disposed of him and continued on, grunting against the pain as each step he took and swing he made pulled at the torn flesh and muscle.
Eventually, the lizards that remained pulled a hasty retreat once they saw how outmatched they were against the cats.
The Wilytwins gave a short victory cry as the last of the lizards disappeared. The older members of the group still remained wary, unsure if the retreat was momentary.
A few tense minutes passed before the Thundercats dropped their guard.
"We should get moving, we shouldn't stay here for too long." Tygra stressed as they moved towards the ThunderTank.
Cheetara nodded her head in agreement. "If we remain, the lizards might return…Panthro, are you alright?"
At Cheetara's question, everyone looked to the largest member of the group kneeling on the ground, covering his wounded side with a massive arm. Cheetara knelt next to him and gasped, thick red blood was slowly flowing down the injured panther's side.
"I hate to admit it, but one of those reptiles got me." Panthro's usually gruff voice was strained as he tried to keep his breathing even.
Cheetara gently pulled his arm away from the injury and inspected it. She could easily tell the cut was deep and need to be treated immediately. She also noted a faint green color to the skin around the wound.
"Lion-O, go get some water, Tygra, get the supplies, we should have some bandages." She ordered.
The two brothers nodded and went to retrieve what was needed.
"Anything we can do?" Kit asked anxiously.
"Bring one of the blankets over."
The kittens quickly grabbed and laid out a blanket under the shade of a nearby tree, as Lion-O and Tygra returned with supplies.
The princes helped move Panthro over to the blanket. It was obvious from the expression on his face how much moving hurt.
Cheetara quickly set to work cleaning and bandaging the wound.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Lion-O asked.
Cheetara looked at the young prince with concerned eyes, "I don't know, I think the blade that cut him was laced with poison."
The cats tensed at Cheetara's words, none of them new a thing about treating a poisoned wound.
"We'd better make camp here then. We can't risk moving him in this state." Lion-O declared.
The others nodded. The Wilytwins retrieved more water while Tygra went to hunt and Lion-O started a small fire. Cheetara stayed close to Panthro's side, keeping him cool with a damp cloth as the poison had given him a fever.
A few hours had passed and it seemed Panthro's conditioned only worsened as the sky darkened. He had passed out a while ago but it wasn't a peaceful sleep. He was panting ad sweating, even as Cheetara gently wiped his face with a cool cloth.
The other were very troubled by the state of their friend. The Wilytwins weren't their usual playful selves, Lion-O stayed close to the injured panther's side, helping Cheetara as well as he could. Even Snarf was had remained silent.
Tygra sat nearby watching their surroundings closely, it would be dangerous if they were attacked. Not only that, the fur on the back of his neck was standing on end. He had the strangest feeling they were being watched. He didn't know for sure but what he did know was that more than likely, whatever, or whoever, was watching them was not friendly.
Some time passed and the events of the day caught up to them. From making their way through the obstacles of the Temple of Omens to fighting Mumm-Ra and retrieving the book, to fighting the lizards, each of them were well beyond exhausted.
Wilykit, Wilykat, and Snarf were the first to succumb to their exhaustion. Next was Lion-O and Cheetara who had curled up by Panthro. Tygra tried his hardest to stay awake, knowing that they were still in a dangerous position, but eventually the tiger lost to his exhaustion.
Once the cats were asleep and the small fire was down to glowing embers did a feline shaped figure move down from its perch in a tree not far from the sleeping cats.
Moving quietly, the figure neared the group, being careful not to get to close to the sleeping bodies.
The unknown cat knelt next to the injured panther silently, keeping a watchful eye on the lion and cheetah. Small hands quickly and gently set to work removing the soiled bandages and inspected the injury in the dying light of the embers. The wound had the distinct smell of infection and was still bleeding.
The cat pulled some cloth from a small bag at it's side, dipped it in the water that had been brought by the kittens earlier and gently cleaned away the blood and dead skin. The cat froze every few minutes as Panthro would make a pained sounded every now and then but didn't wake.
Once the injury was cleaned, the cat pulled another cloth from it's bag and a small jar half filled with a green ointment. After opening it, the cat smeared some of the ointment onto the panther's side and placed the cloth over it. The cat the rewrapped the injury with clean bandages, put the jar and soiled bandages in it's bag and quickly moved back to it's hiding place in the thick branches of the nearby tree.
Tygra jerked awake. He thought he had heard leaves rustle close by but when he looked around, there was nothing but a dying fire and the sleeping bodies of his comrades. He strained his eyes and ears to try and find the source of what had awoken him, but still nothing. He shook his head and managed to stay awake and alert until the sun rose the next morning.
"Huh? His fever's gone and so is the infection?" Cheetara was confused. Last night the wound was still bleeding with the smell on infection floating from it, and now it was half healed.
"Not only that but the bandages you put on him last night are gone." Lion-O gestured to the clean wrappings around Panthro's torso, "These a new, and a different cloth then what we had."
"I knew I heard something." Tygra mumbled, his eyes darkened as he scanned the tree line.
"Well whoever helped me is not an enemy." Panthro stated. With the wound healing and his fever gone, his strength was returning quickly. "They were able to sneak over, fix me up and leave without anyone of us waking up."
"Nice job with the watch Tygra." Lion-O smirked.
Tygra glared at him, "I'm not the one who fell asleep first, O' Lord of the Thundercats."
"If it was a lizard, we would all be dead right now." Cheetara said, quickly ending the argument between the brothers.
"That still leaves the question of who helped us?" Tygra questioned, looking around. He could still feel something, but couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.
A noise coming from the bushes to their left answered Tygra's question.
"Whose there?" Lion-O demanded, drawing the Sword of Omens.
Everyone remained still as a figure emerged from the brushes. They were surprised to see it was another cat.
The cat was a female spotted jaguar, standing a little shorter than Cheetara. She looked to be about Lion-O's age, dark gold fur with a black and brown spot pattern covering her arms and calves. She had shoulder length hair that fell around her face and into her brown eyes. She wore a dark green scoop-neck shirt that showed the pale gold fur of her stomach just above her bellybutton, the sleeves stopped midway between her shoulder and elbow, and she wore brown fingerless gloves. Her brown pants were low on her hips with the legs reaching her knees and her feet were bare. Her belt held a short whip on her right hip, a sharp looking curved blade on the end.
The new cat had a nervous look on her face as she held out a bag, that looked to be holding some supplies. She motioned towards Wilykit, who was closet to her, to take it.
"Who are you?" Lion-O ordered.
The female jaguar just looked at him and motioned again towards the bag in her arms.
"I am Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats and I command that you tell me who you are!" Lion-O ordered again.
By now Tygra had drawn his gun while Cheetara stood in front of the recovering Panthro with her staff in hand.
The female still didn't respond but her expression changed. She bit her lip, her eyebrows bunched together and her shoulders hunched. She began to tremble but she remained where she stood.
"She can't answer you." A male voice called from the trees, causing everyone to tense even more.
"Show yourself!" Tygra ordered.
A second figure emerged from the bushes, this one being a male. He was the same height as Tygra and looked to be the same age. He also had the same fur coloration as the female except his hair was brown and his eyes gold. His clothes were similar to Lion-O's except no armor and a mix of green and brown in color with a sword at his hip. Like the female he also wore fingerless gloves but he had on a pair of worm foot coverings.
"Who are you?" Lion-O ordered, pointing the Sword of Omens at the male.
The male stood next to the female. "My name is Agar, and this is my younger sister Era."
"What do you want?" Lion-O and the others didn't lower their weapons.
Agar looked at Era, still trembling, raising the bag in her arms. He nodded and turned back to Lion-O.
"My sister wanted to give you some medicine to help treat your friend's wound. Since he was poisoned, the medicine will help him heal faster."
Era nodded and handed the bag to Kit, who carefully took it from her and moved to Cheetara, who inspected it.
Lion-O watched at Cheetara emptied the contents of the bag. The bag held two jars of green ointment, a few rolls of bandages and some pieces cloth.
The brothers put their weapons away upon seeing the medical supplies.
Panthro looked at Era, who stopped shaking, "So you're the one who helped me?"
Era nodded, giving him a small smile.
"Thank you." Panthro said bowing his head to her.
"You're welcome." Agar answered, as they walked closer.
"My name is Lion-O. This is Cheetara, Tygra, Wilykit and Wilykat, Snarf, and Panthro. Are you Thunderians?" Lion-O asked.
Agar nodded, "Yes. We live in a cave near here."
Era tugged at her brother's arm, pointed in the direction they had come from, then back to the group. Agar nodded.
"It isn't very far from here and it's much safer than out here in the open. You're all welcome to stay there until your friend is better."
Lion-O looked to the others, each of them nodded their approval.
"Alright."
A few minutes later, they were making their way through the forest, being led by the jaguar siblings. Lion-O and Tygra helped support Panthro while Cheetara and the Wilytwins carried the supplies.
The Wilytwins, Lion-O or Cheetara would ask a question here or there and Agar would answer them.
"How did you know how to treat Panthro?" Cheetara asked.
"Era studied as a healer in Thundera. I myself was training to become a member of the guard."
"How long have you been outside the city?" Kat asked, him and Kit walking behind the jaguar siblings.
"Since a few months before the lizard attack."
"Why did you leave?" Kit questioned.
"Reasons." Agar looked to Era who walked silently next him.
"Thank you for helping us." Lion-O stated.
"It's no problem at all. It's nice to finally see some fellow cats." Agar smiled.
As they continued, Tygra kept most of his attention on Era. She had yet to say anything to anyone. When someone spoke to her, Agar answered for her, or she would respond with a physical gesture: a nod or shake of her head.
"Ah here we are." Agar walked over to what looked to be the side of the mountain covered in moss. He pulled the moss aside to reveal the entrance to a large cavern.
"Wow!" The Wilytwins exclaimed, running inside.
The cavern was wide and open. A hole in the ceiling revealed the morning sky with a small fire pit directly underneath. They could hear the faint sound of water running off to the far side. Two small cots rested near the fire and a small mat covered in different plants and jars was on one side. On the other side was a small, naturally made cubby where food was stored. The temperature within the cavern was comfortably cool.
"You can set him in one of the cots." Agar said, pointing towards the fire pit.
"It seems you've been living here quiet comfortably." Cheetara noted.
The siblings smiled and nodded.
Once everyone settled, Era changed Panthro's bandages and had him drink some tea she had made from the petals of a large purple flower and brown herb. Agar said something about how it helps heal the muscles and flush the poison from his system.
"Tastes like stale juice." Panthro mumbled once he had downed the whole cup.
Era gave him a laughing smile then moved to check the others.
The Wilytwins had only a few scraps and bruises that needed to be cleaned. Same with Cheetara. Lion-O and Tygra however had some burn injuries from the attacks they took from Mumm-Ra. Lion-O was treated first, even with his armor, the blast to his back had been powerful, but Era had it take care of in no time.
Tygra tensed when Era knelt next to him. He had taken a hit to the face and stomach. Era smiled gently as she looked at his face. Tygra felt slightly nervous, remaining as still as possible as Era gently cleaned the tiny burn marks on his cheeks. She nodded when she noted they didn't need anymore treatment then motioned towards his armor.
"She needs you to take your armor off. Even if you didn't get burned, you might have same muscle injuries." Agar said from the side when Tygra looked confused.
Era nodded and tapped a finger against the metal.
Tygra slowly removed his armor, feeling surprisingly self-conscious once it was removed. He jumped then hissed slightly when Era put some pressure with her hand over his abdomen. She shook her head, the moved to make some tea from the purple flower petals.
Tygra watched as she crushed the petals with a small stone, poured the leaves into a cup, added some hot water, and handed it to him. Motioning with her hand for him to drink. She also gave another cup to Lion-O.
When both brothers finished their drinks, Era moved to sit on the mat covered in plants and pulled out a small worn book. She began sorting through the plants, checking a new page with each plant she picked up.
Kit sat next to her and picked up one of the jars. "Did you make all of these?"
Era looked at her and nodded.
"What does this one do?" Kit pointed to the pale blue liquid in the jar she held.
Era looked like she was thinking for a minute, then smiled. She pointed her finger and tapped Kit's forehead.
Kit looked confused for a second then asked, "It's for headaches?"
Era nodded and picked up a jar with crushed red leaves. She then tapped Kit's stomach, then pointed at her mouth. She then performed a rather interesting gesture of eating then looking sick.
"For…food poisoning?" Kit asked, smiling.
Era nodded again.
They continued on until Kit had figured out what the contents of each jar did.
Green paste helped heal infection. Pink soothed burns. Yellow numbed pain. Orange leaves for fevers. Purple petals for healing. White helped you sleep. Black induced vomiting. And brown herbs to get rid of poison.
Era then let the twins look through her book as she worked to jar the plants she had sorted.
After a few hours of rest and everyone had eaten. Cheetara looked at Era.
"Is it alright if I take a bath?" She asked, Wilykit nodded enthusiastically.
Era nodded and stood. Waving her hand, she led Cheetara and Kit towards the back of the cavern away from the boys. The cavern turned into a smaller tunnel where the temperature was a little higher. At the end of the tunnel, a small natural hot spring waited. The girls quickly undressed and stepped into the water.
"Ah, this is amazing!" Kit exclaimed.
Cheetara smiled as the warm water soothed her.
The girls spent about half an hour or so relaxing and bathing. Before getting outing, redressing and returning to the front of the cavern.
"Kat! There's a hot spring at the end of that tunnel!" Kit explained excitedly.
"Really? Let's go." Kat all but ordered.
So then the boys took a turn in the hot spring.
The rest of the day went by rather calmly, save for the twins playing around with Snarf and the brothers arguing over what they should do next.
It was obvious to everyone that Agar and Era were enjoying the company of the mix-matched group, so they weren't too concerned with leaving.
Around sunset, Tygra looked over at Era sitting next to him. She was currently smiling, enjoying a game between the kittens, Lion-O and Agar. Tygra gently tapped her arm to get her attention. She turned and looked at him, tilting her head in a questioning way.
Tygra cleared his throat, "So, why haven't you said anything?"
It was like the air had been sucked out of the cavern. Everyone had gone silent and was staring at him. Era had a shocked look on her face, then she quickly looked away from him. Tygra looked at the others confused. But when his eyes locked with Agar's, he backed away slightly.
Agar's glare could have sent Mumm-Ra and the entire lizard army running.
"Wh-what?" Tygra stuttered, completely taken back by the change in everyone's mood.
"You didn't figure it out?" Lion-O's question surprised him.
"Figure what out?" Tygra asked back.
Tygra then looked back at Agar who had moved to hold his sister. His glare seemed to glow and his voice came out as a growl.
"She hasn't said anything because my sister is mute."