I know it's been awhile but I hope you enjoy it. :)

Mind of a Child

By 18lzytwner

Chapter 1

Sahara stood in the sunshine of the early New Thundera morning at the bottom of the steps to Cat's Lair after her morning run. She was now fifteen and her tall lanky body was much more mature. Her bright hair blew in the breeze and she brushed it away with her slender hands. Without turning, she could feel a presence behind her.

"Thought you could sneak up on me huh?" She asked, not surprised when the response came in the form of a bark.

"You're a crazy old dog aren't you?" The litah couldn't help but smile as her pet enjoyed the attention he was receiving.

"Come on Ma-Mutt, let's go see what Snarf is cooking up for breakfast." Sahara smiled and the two companions headed back inside.

Down in the kitchen, they were greeted by some of the other ThunderCats, some of whom were beginning to show their age.

"What did you say?" Tygra asked Panthro, who had to practically shout back at him,

"Pass the blasted syrup!" At this outburst the orange tiger did so with a comment on how the panther didn't need to shout. It looked as though Panthro was going to blow a gasket when Lea put her hand on his arm.

"Not in front of the little ones." She told him. The panther grumbled about Lea telling him what to do and her response was,

"You know you love it." This led to them kissing and their younger son, Rohon, pretending to throw up. Meanwhile Lion-O sat with Sahara's brother, Leo, trying to prepare him for when he became Lord of the ThunderCats. Despite the fact that Leo was younger than Sahara, he was the only male heir and would be the one with the Lordship thrust upon him when it came time for their father to step down. Cheetara saw her daughter and waved her over as Lea and Panthro's other two children raced around the room trying to tackle each other.

"Get a leash on those kids!" The Queen of Thundera teased.

"I'm seriously thinking of dousing their food with sedatives." Lea shook her head and grabbed her older son and their only daughter and sat them in their seats.

"You're going to eat breakfast and stop behaving like wild animals. After we're done here you're following your father to the shop." The lioness was strict when she had to be.

"Awww, I want to play." The older boy, Panthet, whined.

"Don't be such a baby. Going to the shop is cool." The oldest and only daughter, Mari, said.

"That's my girl." Panthro smiled and gave her a quick hug. This earned Panthet a stuck out tongue.

"Man, kids." Sahara shook her head with a smile.

"You're still one of them, you know." Her mother smiled back.

"I don't feel connected to them. My powers have aged me mentally beyond my fifteen years." The litah argued.

"Yes, I know but you must remember you won't be a kid forever. There may come a time when you have to step up and leave being a kid behind so have fun while you still can." Cheetara reminded her. Sahara nodded in agreement and grabbed a piece of toast off the plate in the middle of the table. She began to pick off the crust and feed it to Ma-Mutt.

"That dog has his own food. Besides crust grows more fur on your chest." The cheetah told her.

"Ewww. Anyway, what are Ben-Gali and Pumyra up to today?" Sahara wondered.

"Well I think they're taking Tyler and Maya out in the tank for the day. I can't remember the last time they had a day off together." Her mother answered.

"About the same time, you and dad did?" The fifteen year old asked with a hint of sarcasm. All Cheetara did was roll her eyes slightly and nod. Evil wise, there hadn't been much going on but running an ever-expanding kingdom had its dark side as well. Sahara was staring off into space when something happened. A picture flashed before her eyes and then just as it appeared, it vanished. Shaking her head, she turned to her mother.

"That was weird." The litah said.

"What?" The cheetah wondered.

"This image flashed before me but I don't know what it means. Did you ever have that happen?" Sahara asked.

"No, but then I've only had my powers for five years." Her mother replied.

"What? You had your powers before I was born, Mom." Sahara couldn't believe the answer she'd just received.

"Mom? I'm not your mom. I'm only ten." Cheetara insisted. Her daughter looked at her with shock. Was she playing around? Then she looked to the other adults in the room and found them experiencing the same thing.

"What's going on?" Mari asked. Her voice gave away that she was trying to be brave but she was obviously scared.

"I have no idea." Sahara replied.

To Be Continued...