1
"You idiots!" S-S-Slithe was standing up at the conference table, pounding his scaly fist onto it. The sturdy wood refused to break, or even move, which angered the Reptillian even more. "You three Mutants couldn't take on two cubs and a Snarf?!"
The assorted Mutants in the conference room mostly shrugged and looked down. Some glared at the Mutant leader. Jackalman sniveled: "It wasn't our fault S-S-Slithe!"
"Yeah!" Monkian agreed. "Besides, the other one was just a kid, and he's incompetent!"
"I am not!" came a somewhat high, indignant voice. He was young, but everyone had to start somewhere, didn't they? The teenage Reptillian crossed his arms. His scales were a brilliant green, much brighter than S-S-Slithe's own dark forest color. "It's not my fault you guys didn't tell me that the red button collapsed the wings of the Skycutter..."
S-S-Slithe sighed and sat down. "Sit down and shut up, Lizardon. Yes, you're an incompetent fool, but that's to be expected from a wet-behind-the-ears, skinny kid!" His words were anything but kind, but his tone was not quite angry, at least not until he looked to the other two. "In fact it's nothing compared to that of these two fools! You were supposed to be training him, idiots! How do you expect him to know something you never told him? He's never beenon a Skycutter before!"
"Well..." Jackalman whined. "Well still he should've known you never touch a big red button!"
S-S-Slithe was getting a headache. Finally he stood up, addressing the ten or so Mutants in the room. "Get out of here! Tomorrow you two take him out again, and no screw-ups! Vultureman, I want you with them; maybe you can keep them from doing something totally suicidal, even if you can't fight worth a crap." With that, he stalked out.
Vultureman, wondering if he should take that as a compliment or not, only shrugged and followed.
"Jeez, where's your Christmas spirit?" Monkian grumbled as he too, left. "Miserable scalebag."
As the rest of the Mutants filed out, they were watched by a young jackal cub that had watched this entire display quietly, sitting on a stack of crates. He was not often allowed in the conference room so he had been very quiet so that he did not get thrown out. He had wanted to listen in...not that anything out of the ordinary had happened. S-S-Slithe was always yelling at the others. Or the big mummy creature came and yelled at S-S-lithe, or someone yelled at someone.
Yelling seemed to be a way of Mutant life.
Kringer jumped down from the crates and ran after the others. He was a refugee, an orphan who scarcely remembered his parents. He had no one here that he could really call a parent, or even a guardian, he was kind of just treated as one of the other Mutants, though there were a few that took care of him more than the others. One was a simian Mutant with more brains than most of his fellows. He had been at the meeting. "Simi?"
The monkian turned around to look at the child at his side. "Hoo, what is it, kid?" he asked.
One thing Monkian had said at the meeting had stuck in the curious young jackal's mind. "What's a Christmas Spirit?"
Simi made a disdainful face and ruffled the fur on Kringer's head. "It's nothing a Mutant needs to worry abut, kid. Forget you heard it. Hey, why don't you go see if there's anything outside you can hunt? I got duty at the sensors today."
"Nah, I don't like hunting. Can I go exploring?"
"Sure, kid. Don't get lost, though. S-S-Slithe'll be pissed if he has to send someone to find you, hoo hoo."
"I won't." Kringer stopped walking and watched Simi go to his post. He thought.
S-S-Slithe was head of the castle, and leader of all the Mutants. Kringer was just a cub, the lowest of the low. He had never spoken to him. But today he intended to. "Um, S-S-Slithe, Sir?" he asked timidly, poking his head into the reptile's open door.
S-S-Slithe looked disdainfully down at him. "What are you doing in my quarters, scavenger?"
Cowed, but determined to get an answer to his question, Kringer said, "Can-can I ask you a question, Sir?"
The irate reptile had been about to shove the kid out of his room and lock the door, but he was showing him more respect than the others ever did, "Make it quick, kid."
"Well...I heard Monkian say it, and I don't know what it is...what's a Christmas spirit?"
S-S-Slithe scowled darkly at him. "I don't ever want to hear that word in this castle again, yeees?" he shouted. Why the hell had Monkian said something like that anyway? He would have to ask him later. "No goody-goody holiday like that is allowed at Castle Plundaar, you got that?!"
Kringer winced and scuttled backwards. "Yes, s-sir!" Then he turned and ran.
"Damn Mutant," S-S-Slithe muttered. Why did cubs have to hear everything then ask a million questions about it? He slammed the door.
Well that hadn't been any fun. Once he was sure the door was safely closed, and no one was watching him, Kringer stuck his tongue out.
He did learn something though, he thought, as he walked out into the cold air. He wore only a short brown loincloth, as most of his species did, but his fur was thick, and he hardly felt the bite of the wind. "It's a holiday..." S-S-Slithe had said it was a "goody-goody" one. So maybe he could ask the ThunderCats...
As the child took a small ground-skimmer, a scooter type device that Simi had fashioned for him a few months ago, out of the Castle and over the drawbridge, he considered this option. He'd be in big trouble, probably get a good thrashing and be grounded to his room for a month if they ever found out...but who said they had to find out?
Mind made up, Kringer started towards Cats' Lair.
Part 2
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