A/N: Happy Father's Day from the United Kingdom! This story is a giftfic for my beloved Father, and it contains my personal OC Lola, whom has not been introduced to you yet (READ MY PROFILE!) so, POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT FO WAKE UP!
This story is an AU of Wake Up (The 'Cats use modern-day tech such as mobile smartphones, 3DS' and tablets)
Either way, I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.
A Seaside Adventure
"Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad, wake up!"
I groan into my pillow and roll over as Katzeran and Lola violently jump all over me, trying to make me wake up. The pair of Litah cubs pull at my arms and mane, making me groan again. "I'm already awake, you two! Stop jumping all over me; it hurts!" I yawn, before involuntarily yelping in pain as Lola accidentally (well, I'd like to think that it was an accident) jumps on my abdomen, winding me and possibly squashing my intestines –even though it felt as if they'd just been completely crushed.
"Sorry Daddy..." Lola whispers sorrowfully, sounding awfully close to tears. I pull mine and Cheetara's three year old cub down and cuddle her, making her screech and begin to squirm and wriggle, her tail thrashing back and forth wildly. "Daddy! Daddy! No! No! No!" she squeals as I tickle her, making her laugh and kick out.
Cheetara yawns as she too wakes up, and Katzeran immediately cuddles into her arms, making my wife chuckle as our son starts to purr. "So, when are we going to go? You promised that we'd go to the beach today, Dad." Katz says as he looks at me, his eyes gleaming with youthful hope.
"I haven't forgotten if that's what you mean." I say as I sit up "We're still going, but it's just going to be me, you and Lola."
"Why? I thought Mum was coming too."
"I've got to go to the city to do some shopping with Bengali, Pumyra and Snarf." Cheetara says as she sits up too "But you'll have fun with just your Dad. Besides, I'll make sure to buy you both something nice when we're in the city."
Katzeran grins. "Anyway, we'd better get up. It's breakfast time and I bet Snarf's cooked something delicious." I say, so we get up and make our way down to the dining room and sit down at the table along with the others. Snarf places plates of breakfast in front of us and puts a plate of baked beans on toast in front of Lola. Before I eat mine, I cut Lola's up for her because she can't do it herself yet.
The young cub happily munches her food as me and the other Thundercats discuss the plan of action for the day.
"So, whilst me and the kids are at the beach, I know that Cheetara, Bengali, Pumyra and Snarf will be going shopping in the city, but what will everyone else be doing?"
"Well, me and Panthro, Tygra and Marcia will be keeping watch at the Lair, and Snarfer will be visiting the Valley of the Snarfs." Sebastian says, his ears twitching slightly as the Thundercat emblem on his chest catches the sun. I know that a Plun-darrian Wolfman being a member of New Thundera's strongest warriors is strange, but he'd proven himself worthy of becoming a Thunder'cat' after the countless years which he has spent living in the Cat's Lair, staying loyal to us all the time.
I nod before taking a sip from my mug of coffee. "Good. At least there'll be someone manning the Lair whilst we're out."
Once we've finished breakfast, we go to get dressed. Whilst me and Cheetara get changed, Snarf watches over Katzeran and Lola in the playroom, and once we're ready, we go to get them ready. But before we're in the room, I hear Lola start to cry. I run in, and see Katzeran struggling to hold Lola, who is sobbing forlornly, her tail twitching slightly.
"She...She tripped and fell...and fell over..." Katz gasps, struggling to cope with the weight of his little sister. I take Lola from him, and the youngster cries into my chest, her tears soaking into my top and fur.
"C'mon, you. We'd better go and get you dressed." I say, and I carry her to her room. I sit her down on her bed and say "So, what are you going to wear, then?" I look through her wardrobe and chest of draws and select a few t-shirts, skirts and shorts. I look through them before selecting a pair of denim shorts, a pink and white t-shirt and a pair of pink sandals. Perfect.
I get the young Litah cub dressed then look up as Cheetara and Katzeran walk in, our son dressed in khaki three-quarter lengths and a blue top with a pirate and shark motif. His golden mane has been brushed, and he's wearing his blue sandals.
"C'mon, Dad! We've been waiting for AGES!" Katz whines, so I say "I know, Katz, but Lola needs to have her mane brushed."
Katzeran grumbles and flops down onto the floor and starts messing around with Lola's dolls as Cheetara sits on Lola's bed and places the three year old on her lap and brushes her long red mane before plaiting it and tying a length of green ribbon in it. "Have you packed your swimming costumes?" the cheetah asks, so I reply with "I still have to pack those. But I have packed the kids' bags with their things."
It doesn't take five minutes to pack everything up and sort out our swimming costumes, and then we're ready to leave. I give Lola her rucksack, which has her colouring book, pencil crayons, her pink teddy rabbit and a few other things packed in it, and put her hat on her before giving her the pair of sunglasses on the table by the front door of the Lair.
"You don't have to walk to the train station; we'll drop you off because we're headed that way ourselves. After all, it is a fairly long distance to walk, especially for these two." Cheetara says as we walk down the steps of the Lair, holding Lola's hand as the young female Litah happily hops along.
We get into the Thundertank, and once we're all sat down, we head off. "So we're going on the train?" Katzeran asks, so I nod, and Lola looks at me, her eyes gleaming. "We're going on a train? Yay! I've never been on a train before!" she squeals gleefully, so I reply with "And if you're a good girl once we get to the train station, I might buy you a special treat, but only if you're a good girl, ok?" She nods happily and enthusiastically...
...
By the time we reach the train station, it's nearly 9a.m. "So, what train are you catching to come back? We can pick you up if you want." Cheetara says, but I say "You don't have to worry about picking us up. We'll be fine walking."
"Just make sure to text me when you get there and when you get back." the cheetah says, so I laugh before cheekily replying with "Ok, Mum. Don't you worry; I will."
She laughs too, so I kiss her goodbye, and so too do Katz and Lola, then we wave goodbye as the Thundertank speeds off towards the city centre.
"Right, you two," I say as I turn to look at my two young cubs "Stay close to me, ok? I don't want either of you wandering off and getting lost." I pick Lola up, and then we walk into the train station. A few of the many Thunderians in the building look at us as we walk past them, but I suppose that they aren't necessarily used to seeing their King and the young Prince and Princess outside of the Lair without the protection of the ThunderGuard.
I fish my mobile out of my pocket and check the time; 09:13a.m. Hopefully we won't have to wait long for our train.
We approach the ticket kiosk, and the Thunderians in front of us let us through to be served first. I buy the tickets for the train, which apparently departs at half-past nine. I check the time tables on the overhead boards, but I can't see the one we need.
"Dad, why aren't we on the train yet?"
"Because I don't know which one we need to catch." I say, desperately trying to keep hold of Lola, who is violently wriggling and squirming, trying to get me to put her down. Her tail thrashes back and forth wildly as she cries "Daddy! Let go!"
"Lola, stop it, ok? I'm going to end up dropping you in a minute!" I snap as the young Litah cub starts crying, but she manages to wriggle out of my grip and makes a break for the shop.
"Lola, stop it! Behave yourself and snap out of it this instant or we'll go home!" I hiss as I catch hold of her by her wrist, making her start to cry again and say "But...Daddy...I want sweeties!"
"You had breakfast less than an hour ago!" I say, but now that my daughter also has Katzeran's attention, I'm faced with no other option than to give in and buy them some sweets and a bottle of pop each. By now, our train is due to leave, so we have to run, and we only just manage to board it on time.
Once we've sat down in our seats, I get Lola's colouring book, rabbit teddy and crayons out of her bag and then find Katzeran's 3DS. Neither of them seem bothered about the fact that we have a journey ahead of us that is nearly 2 hours, which is probably a good thing, and with them both occupied, I sit back and begin to read the paper, only for Katzeran to tug at my t-shirt about 15 minutes later and say "Dad, can I play on your phone?"
I sigh. "It depends on exactly what you want to do."
"I just wanna play a game."
I sigh again and reluctantly hand him my phone as I say "Just don't go downloading anything dodgy, or downloading too many apps. I had to get a new phone after you did that the last time!"
"Don't worry Dad. I won't." he says, but I still watch over his shoulder as he goes onto the app store and looks through the games that I've already got "Hey, what's this game? It's called 'Crossy Road'..."
"You can play it if you want. It's pretty good." I say as I look back at the paper, but when I look back at him a few minutes later, I see that he's messaging someone...
"Oi! Who are you texting?" I say as I whip my phone out of his hands, making him look up at me with a startled expression on his face.
"I was just talking to Mum!" the young male Litah cubs says in a defensive tone, so I check my phone and see that he was talking to Cheetara, and sent her countless photos of me, Lola, and himself. "You cheeky little monster!" I say as I start to tickle him, making him start to squeal and laugh "We got you a 3DS and a few games for your 9th birthday, but you'd rather mess around with my phone! You are a funny one, Katz."
He grins cheekily, but goes back to his 3DS, plugging his headphones in as he plays a game, and by the time we eventually arrive at the seaside, it's nearly 11. Once we're off of the train, I hold both of my cubs' hands as we walk out of the train station. I can smell the salt in the air, and I can feel the breeze on my skin. It's such a bright and sunny day, and it's so warm. I quickly message Cheetara to let her know that we had just arrived, and then I turn to my two young Litah cubs.
"So, what do you two want to do first?" I ask, and I get the reply of "The fairground! The fairground!" from them both. So, we start to head in the direction of the seafront. The sun is warm on my back, and the streets are so busy, but people step aside to let us pass. Before five minutes is up, Lola begins to incessantly whine for me to carry her. At first, I refuse and try to encourage her to walk, but she throws herself down on the pavement and screams and cries like a spoiled little brat, creating such a scene that people start staring. Agonized and embarrassed, I swiftly pick the three year old Litah up and sit her on my shoulders to get her to shut up, which eventually works, but she keeps sniffling.
Once we reach the pier and the fairground, I sit Lola on a bench and say "Lola, don't you dare ever do that again! That's really naughty, ok?" If we weren't out in public, she'd probably get a smack across the back of her legs, even though I don't like having to do it. But then I see exactly why she started crying; her knee is slightly bloody, and her palms are grazed. She's still sobbing, so I hug her before cleaning the wound and putting a plaster on it.
"There. Better?" I say, so Lola nods "Right then, let's go!"
The pair hold onto my hands as we walk into the fairground. It's more of a sea-side theme park because there's so much there, and so the two cubs stare around in amazement and astonishment. "It's so big! Will we get lost?" Lola says fearfully, her ears lying back flat against her red mane.
"Of course we won't, stupid!" Katzeran says viciously, so I yank his arm and snap "Katzeran, don't be so rude to Lola! She's only little!"
He mumbles to himself, but eventually him and Lola start jumping up and down when we walk past a kiosk selling lollipops, ice creams, candyfloss, sugar dummies and other sweet treats. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! I want a lolly! I want a lolly!" Lola cries as she and Katzeran try to pull me back to the stall "I want a lolly please! No. I want a lolly and a sugar dummy!"
"It's either a sugar dummy, a lolly, or an ice cream. You're not having two." I say, and so they both decide that they'd prefer ice creams. And so, I pay for the three of us to get an ice cream each of us; a large white, swirly whippy ice cream doused in bubblegum syrup. We walk away, happily nibbling and licking the ice creams. I savour the sweet and cool milky taste on my tongue, reminded of my childhood. Whenever my father would take me and Leo out to theme parks, he'd always buy us ice creams.
As per usual, Lola gets her ice cream all around her mouth and all over her hands, so I have to take her into the toilets to get her cleaned up. I put another load of sunscreen onto my cubs, covering their thin summer coats of fur in order to prevent them from getting sunburn, then I coat myself.
"So, what do you want to go on first?" I ask.
They seem indecisive, so I decide for them- the old carousel. We queue for a few minutes before getting on. Katzeran eagerly climbs on the horse beside us, but Lola seems unsure about it, wriggling slightly as she sits in front of me. She grabs onto the horse's head and holds onto it like grim death as the music starts up and the ride starts to move. She screams at first, but she starts to enjoy it and begins to laugh and squeal joyfully.
I look at Katzeran, and I see that he too is laughing, obviously enjoying himself. "Daddy, I'm getting really, really dizzy!" Lola shouts, and she tightens her grip on the horse. I laugh then say "Lola, it's ok; you're not going to fall off or anything. I've got you."
Once it stops, she is off it like a shot. We spend about two hours in the park, and then at one in the afternoon, my two cubs start whining for lunch. And so, we trudge along the promenade until we come to the restaurants and shops.
I take them into one of the restaurants, and the staff members bow to me and we are immediately taken to a table. We're given the menus and both Katzeran and Lola are given colouring sheets and crayons. I place the orders for the drinks, and they are brought to us in less than three minutes. As I sip at my pint of Pepsi, I look around and notice that quite a few people are staring at us, and thanks to my sensitive hearing, I can hear a few whispers of "It's the King!" and "Holy Thundera! It's King Lion-O! What is he doing out without the ThunderGuard? Don't they usually travel out with him?"
I chuckle slightly and turn my attention back to my two cubs; the pair are happily colouring the sheets, and Lola is snuffling into the stomach of her teddy rabbit. I take my mobile out of one of the pockets on my shorts and message Cheetara:
Sat in a restaurant having lunch. Hope you have a nice time in the city. See you later. Love you. xxx
Once we've ate our lunch, we walk back out, and both of my cubs pester me to go to the arcades and the shops. And so I take them to the arcades. Keeping two little cubs entertained is difficult; there have been a few times in which I have gone into their rooms to find scribbles of paint and drawings on their walls, and the pair of mischievous youngsters plastered in the evidence. I would always end up laughing too much to tell them off, so Cheetara always tells me that I am far too soft on them.
However, they seem more than happy to be playing in the arcade. I give them ten pounds each so that they can convert it into coins. They go nuts, running around, and screeching at the tops of their voices. I manage to catch hold of Lola, who was making the most noise and tell her to be quiet, which does work, but she starts begging me to help her get tickets from the games. I help her, and then of course Katzeran starts asking for help too. In the end, we end up with well over 2,000 tickets, which are more than enough to get two giant teddies. Lola gets a pink seahorse, which is larger than she is, and Katzeran gets a dark blue octopus with derpy eyes.
We walk down the streets, Lola grumbling slightly because she is starting to get tired. Katzeran stops us to look in the shops selling buckets, spades, and nets. I buy two large buckets and spades for them, and two nets. When we eventually get out of the shop, there are so many that they want to go in.
"Dad, come on! Hurry up!"
I groan slightly as my son shouts at me from a few shops up. He is so impatient. Plus, Lola is clinging to my hand and dawdling. "Lola, come on!" I say as I gently pull her arm slightly "You need to walk quicker."
She hops along in her sandals, her long tail flicking back and forth. "If you're a good girl for the rest of the day, I'll buy you a lollipop or a sugar dummy for the way home." I say as I look back at her, and her ears prick up upon hearing the last few words. "YAY! Sweets! Sweets!" she sings happily, dancing up and down "Daddy, will you carry me?"
I sigh as Lola clamours to be picked up and carried, but I eventually give in, sitting my youngest cub on my shoulders. Her tail flicks against my back before sneaking over my shoulder and resting on my chest. I still can't believe how long her tail actually is; it's nearly as long as she is tall.
"Right you two. We're going to the beach for a few hours, and then we're going home." I say as I check the time; it's quarter past 3.
She gently purrs as we head back towards the seafront. It is supposed to be Lola's bedtime in an hour and 45 minutes, but our train isn't due until five, and it won't get back until seven.
We reach the beach at half three, and both Katzeran run around wildly, kicking up sand and running into the sea, splashing water everywhere. "Hey, you two! You need to get your swimming costumes on before you go into the sea. You don't want to go home in wet clothes now, do you?" I shout as they soak their shorts.
"Dad, c'mon and join us!" I hear Katzeran shout, but I drive them out of the water as I say "I will once you're in your swimming costumes."
It doesn't take fifteen minutes to find somewhere to get changed, then we trail back to the beach, my young son and daughter squeal and splash water everywhere. Lola is wearing a little float jacket, and Katzeran is wearing armbands, which he hates. They are both wearing hats and are happily swimming in the shallows.
The water is warm, which is lovely. Lola clings to me as I swim out into deeper waters, and Katzeran tries to keep up with me. "Daddy, I don't like it! It's too deep!" Lola wails "The water keeps going in my ears." Her ears are pressed flat against her head, and I can feel her tail tapping against my leg. A wave bumps up against us and she screams, her claws digging into my skin.
We spend another 10 minutes in the sea, then we trail back onto the sand, Lola still clinging to me. I take the towels and dry them off, then we lounge on the sand. I lie back and try to rest, only for my pair of mischievous cubs to bury me in sand. Lola giggles as she sits on my chest, drawing patterns in the sand with her claws as her tail curls around her, the fluffy tip tickling my nose.
She gets up, allowing me to sit up, lift her up into the air, and spin her round until she squeals. Then, she drags me further down the beach where Katzeran is digging a massive hole.
"You make sure that you fill that back in before we leave," I say as they rapidly dig into the wet sand. "We're making a castle on an island! Dad, can you help us?" Katzeran asks, so I say "Ok then, but you need another coat of sunscreen first."
They both groan impatiently as I smother them in the light green lotion, and Lola presses her tail between her legs when it comes to me having to cover her. She eventually gives in, and we dig the hole, Katz running back and forth from the sea to provide us with water for the moat, then when we've filled in the hole again, we retreat further up the beach as the tide begins to close in. And as the time gets closer to 4:20, we begin to make our way back to the promenade after getting changed and grabbing some food from one of the fish and chip shops. We sit on the wall overlooking the harbour as we eat our dinner, then I buy sugar dummies for them both, and after we're done, we head back to the train station.
We make it back in time to catch our train, and once we're sat down, it becomes evident of how tired Katzeran and Lola are. Katz plays on his 3DS, but Lola nuzzles into my chest as she sucks her thumb, clinging to her pink rabbit and holding the bag containing her pink seahorse. I know that she's going to have no trouble falling asleep tonight
"Daddy, I've had the best day of my life!"...
...
We arrive back in the capital city at twenty-five to seven due to the fact that there were barely any stops. Somehow, both Katzeran and Lola are both still awake, but once we get home, I sit on the sofa in the library with the pair either side of me, so I read a story to them.
- (BORDER) -
"Hey Cheetara, come and look at this."
I look up as Pumyra walks into the kitchen. I can see that she's giggling slightly, so I follow her into the library, where Lion-O, Katzeran and Lola are all sparked out on the sofa.
"Should we wake them?" Pumyra asks as she looks at the sleeping lion and Litah cubs.
I chuckle slightly. "Let them sleep, Pumyra. It's past Lola and Katzeran's bedtimes."
I smile slightly at my family. I've only ever seen them like this after the two youngsters were born. I look at the clock. It's nearly 8:30p.m, and I can tell that they've obviously had such a seaside adventure.
The End