Welcome back, gang. As much as Gard is supposed to be the main character, I keep finding that in this story it is Balor who the story focuses on most of the time. I don't know, I guess a writer's characters have a way of doing that. Anyway I hope you enjoy as Procyon appears in this chapter, despite his death in the previous story.
I Must Defend The Bridge!
One morning, Balor walked onto the shore of the lake with Andvari by his side. He looked up at the clouds and the sun. The look in his eyes was what Gard felt. To be the last of his family, it was painful. In Gard's view, Thomeheb was no longer his cousin. Procyon had redeemed himself but Thomeheb… there was no chance of redemption for him.
They both looked so much alike, Gard and Balor. The evabon child and the old savage, Gard had thought about it but Balor had no idea. Balor was only thinking of two things.
"Do you miss them?" Balor turned his head as WilyKit walked up to him. Balor knew whom she was talking about. They were both the same age, different species… why was he able to relate with her so much easier than with any of the other ThunderCats?
"Don't you miss yours?" Kit was caught off guard by this question. She had expected Balor to answer her question but instead he asked one.
"I barely got to know my father, my mother is the one I remember best." Balor looked down at his reflection in the water. He felt the same way. What he remembered of his father was what little he knew of him. He had been so young and only remembered a few things of him, like what he said about cats. His mother had always been there to protect him, like his father had. He missed them. "My brother says that when we find the lost city of El-Dara we'll be home but the last place that felt like home to me was the elephant village do you ever feel like that?" Balor thought about that question.
"I don't know." Balor looked at Kit, his eyes filled with nothing but confusion. "I really don't…" Balor trailed off as from the corner of his eye he saw a tall red-skinned evabon standing upon a boulder beneath a tree. Balor turned around to look at the red-skinned stranger Kit followed his gaze and was equally surprised.
"A kitten and someone who is made in the image of one I know." The red evabon was holding a sword in both hands. His hands were to his chest with the blade pointing downward. Balor and Kit both walked up to the stranger, Andvari followed them. The stranger didn't even look down at them. He merely looked out across the lake.
"Who are you?" Balor looked at the sword in the stranger's hands. It was gigantic!
"Procyon." The stranger still didn't look down at the two children.
"Gard's brother?" The stranger nodded at Kit's question. "But he said you died so all of third earth could live!"
"I died and now I live again at the floating mountain as guard of the rainbow bridge." Balor and Kit both looked at each other. Balor understood evabon lore well. Kit did not. "I must defend the bridge! I must defend the bridge! I must defend the bridge!" As the red-skinned evabon started to chant those words, Balor and Kit watched with wide eyes as Procyon began to fade away before their very eyes. By the time Procyon had vanished completely, they heard a sound. Balor, Kit and Andvari turned around as they saw the giant!