Javan's expression went from sternly weary to astonished faster than a blink. "Tygra," he said, his voice nearly not making it the length of the chamber, "is that you?"
"I can't believe it," Tygra said, equally soft. "All this time I thought I was alone, and here you are!"
"It's quite a surprise to see you," Javan said. Surprised he certainly sounded, but not pleased. He looked away and closed his eyes as if angry. Felline felt the rebuff as cruelly as if it had been Snow, come back from the dead, sitting there to reject her.
Hurt flashed across Tygra's face. He lowered his own gaze to the ground. Neither Lion-O nor Felline, whose heart was sinking on her friend's behalf, could think of anything to say. The seven seated tigers said nothing.
In the kingdom of Thundera, everyone knew that Tygra was not of the royal line, but it was never mentioned. Claudus had two sons. That was a fact. The people had loved Tygra enough that many had believed he should be the next king in spite of his questionable parentage. Since Felline had met the princes, she had ceased to see them as lion and tiger and only thought of them as Lion-O and Tygra, a pair of brothers constantly at loggerheads, yes, but brothers all the same. Meeting Lord Javan was something of a slap in the face.
"Forgive your father," Caspin said as though trying to repair the damage. "Your return is nothing short of miraculous."
Felline, following the conversation with her eyes, saw Lion-O look up at Tygra for a moment. When his brother didn't give him any cues, he decided to open negotiations and spoke to Javan. "We always suspected Tygra had to come from a lost clan, but where did you come from?"
Felline raised her eyebrows. That wasn't the question she had been expecting, but it was an excellent one nonetheless. Javan answered it, his voice hovering on the edge of grief.
"In ancient times, the Tiger Clan was the pride of Mumm-Ra's elite fighting force," he told them baldly. Not questioning their knowledge of Mumm-Ra or the cats' true origins. Assuming that the ancient past was as real and important to them as it apparently was to him and his people. It hadn't been, not until recently, but correcting him now would only shut down negotiations before they started. "During the Great Mutiny we stayed loyal, and because of it the tigers were treated as outcasts by the other cat clans."
At that, Lion-O also transferred his gaze to the floor, ashamed on his ancestors' behalf.
"Our people settled in these mountains," Javan went on without the slightest change in tone. "Even under such harsh conditions, we prospered for generations, until –"
"Enough of our banal history," Caspin interrupted with an embarrassed laugh, making Felline jump, for he'd said it directly in her ear. He straightened, smiling coyly, a direct contrast to Javan. "We wanna hear about you, Tygra. Tell us how you became a prince among lions."
Far from appearing flattered, Tygra answered quietly. "It wasn't until I was older that I was told the story of my arrival."
As sober as his brother, Lion-O had resorted to listening with his eyes, like Felline, and did not return Caspin's smile. Felline thought she might crumble under the awkwardness of being complete outsiders in not only a secret tiger conclave but smack dab in the middle of private family affairs.
Tygra's story had begun before Felline had been born. Queen Leona had waited years for a cub of her own, for an heir to give to King Claudus. Talk had circulated around the kingdom about the queen possibly being barren. Apparently, it had been quite the scandal, but not as big of one as the tiger cub that had descended from the sky in a basket hanging from a crude balloon with nothing but a name scrawled on a scrap of paper tucked in his blankets. The queen had claimed the cub as her own. Claudus, whether out of the goodness of his heart or the love he bore for her, agreed to name him heir to the throne.
From the way he spoke of her, Tygra had adored Leona. According to him, Leona had been a breathtakingly beautiful lioness and the most gentle of souls. He spent three happy years as the center of their family. Until Lion-O was born.
"That night, I lost the two things I cherished most," Tygra said dully. "My mother, and my kingdom."
Felline wondered how much of this story Lion-O already knew. From the look on his face, she guessed all of it. Talk could outlive a queen; she remembered the women of the village bringing up Leona's tragic childbed death every now and then when news reached Foret of an accomplishment of one or the other of her sons.
Caspin approached Tygra, passing in front of both Felline and Lion-O, to put a consoling hand on the prince's shoulder.
"But today," he said, with the flair of a man unwrapping a splendid present, "you become heir of a land of your own."
Tygra seized on this new bit of information at once. "If I am part of this royal line, then why did you give me away?" he asked Javan in a much stronger voice, not acknowledging Caspin.
"I did not give you away," Javan said unblinkingly. "It was for your protection. Now, look." He tilted his head back, staring up at a rectangular hole cut into the top of the mountain like a chimney, through which Felline could see two moons in the purpling sky: pearl-like Panthera swinging around the giant Leo. "Darkness is falling. You need to leave for your own safety."
"Not until I get an explanation," Tygra said.
In eerie silence, the seven watching tigers got to their feet and left, parting like the avalanche to go around Tygra, Lion-O, Caspin, and Felline. The room seemed colder with them gone.
Without a word, but at a glance from Javan, jovial Caspin also left.
Javan stood last. "This village has long been haunted by an unspeakable evil," he informed them. He strode down the length of the room, cape swishing. "I only wish to keep you safe from it, my son."
"I'm a ThunderCat," Tygra said forcefully. "I don't run from a fight. Something my father taught me. And am I supposed to believe you sent me away because of bogeymen?"
Once more stern, Javan stopped in front of them, as tall as Panthro. "If you cherish your life, you will go now," he said coldly. He left.
Felline gaped after him, dumbstruck. Surely, these tigers – so friendly, so welcoming, so glad to see their prince return – did not mean to send them back out onto the mountain at night. She would be fine, of course, and even Tygra could survive the sub-zero temperatures, but what about Lion-O? The snow and altitude were no places for a lion. Did they mean to kill him? And never mind shelter, what about food? By inviting them into their home, shouldn't the tigers at least provide the necessities for their guests?
Her only answer was darkness and silence. Beyond the council chamber, with its large, rectangular pit in which the fire was still merrily burning, no light shone out of the communal area. She didn't even know where their cloaks had been taken.
"I wish I'd never found this place!" Tygra exclaimed in anguish.
"Tygra!" Lion-O hissed. "He's your father."
"Claudus was my father," Tygra snarled through his fangs. "He's just a cat who abandoned his child."
"Give him a chance," Lion-O urged. He'd been so understanding through the whole ordeal, obviously wanting to protect and support his older brother, that Felline felt a flare of approval that warmed her to her toes. Unaware of her feelings, however, Lion-O tried to catch Tygra's eye. "Don't let your pride get in the way of forgiveness," he said.
Interrupting him, a strange squeal echoed through the caverns, sounding both near and far, simultaneously organic and mechanical.
"What was that?" Tygra, already on edge and spoiling for a fight, furiously demanded of the empty tunnel.
Except it wasn't empty. Felline's tail swelled. The squeal sounded again, multiplied by two, by four, by ten, by twenty. Pairs of large, yellow orbs glowed through the darkness that congealed into a misty purple shimmer, bringing with them a stench of rotten meat that almost bowled her over. Clicking, squealing, the owners of the yellow eyes crawled forward. Their stink rose off them in waves. Saliva hung in ropes from their curved, chitinous teeth. Felline got the impression of long, skeletal, insect-like legs, three-taloned feet, and creatures the size of cats, but the rotten-meat smell burned her watering eyes and blurred further details.
"I think it's the bogeymen," Lion-O said. He drew the Sword of Omens, which immediately lengthened with a star-like shine.
Stone-faced, Tygra pulled out his whip. Felline brought the gunblade to her shoulder. If the Sword was that eager for blood, then these creatures were pure evil. Twisted and deformed, they broke into a shambling gallop.
With the council chamber at their backs and a chasm in front of them, the only way out was through. Tygra and Lion-O charged headlong into the tunnel to meet the rush of death. From behind, Felline centered one of the creatures between her sights and fired. The first one she shot crumpled in its tracks to lay in a blackened heap. She caught a second one mid-leap, spinning its body around and hurling it back. She got a good look at it then. It seemed to be a cross between a lizard and an insect, with a curved spine, backward-jointed legs, a whip-like, spiked tail, and flaps of skin that stretched from knee to elbow. Many of the creatures were taking advantage of their ability to glide for short distances, squealing. Lion-O cut a few out of the air. Tygra beat the rest back with his whip.
When all lay bleeding on the ground, Felline jogged to meet Lion-O and Tygra in the vast living area. The brothers stood back to back but parted to let her in. The fire burning in the circular communal pit drew her eyes; she could have sworn it hadn't been lit a few minutes ago.
"Where is everyone?" she asked. Despite the fire, the cave seemed deserted. Nowhere could she see doors or shelters behind which the tigers must be safe from these creatures.
"No idea," Lion-O said shortly.
The smell abruptly worsened, and Felline hissed. The odd, purple-black mist rose from the creatures' bodies. The purple-black bodies rose from the ground, all thorny hide, taut sinew, and stringy muscle. The creatures resumed their hungry, high-pitched squealing.
"What are they?" Lion-O asked, unnerved.
"Whatever they are, they're not going down," Tygra answered unnecessarily.
"But we will if we don't get to safety fast," Lion-O said.
Tygra and Felline nodded. When Lion-O dashed for the nearest exit, they followed. So did the creatures.
They hadn't been down this tunnel yet. It seemed to be made entirely of ice, sheet-smooth along the floor and jagged with crystals across the ceiling. To her horror, Felline lagged behind. Her legs weren't long enough to keep up with both a lion and a tiger in a flat-out sprint. She kept running, feeling the fetid breath of their pursuers on her heels.
"Guess your father was telling the truth," Lion-O panted grimly. He looked back, his eyes raking the cave for something, anything, that would save them.
"Tygra – I can't –" Felline broke off with a terrified scream. A talon had snagged her tunic.
"I've got you!" He reached back and took her outstretched hand, yanking her forward so that she was skimming the icy ground more than running along it.
"Thank you!" she gasped, too frightened for tears. With Tygra's help, she was able to keep pace. She dug in with her toes and ran for their lives.
Lion-O, meanwhile, leaped toward a cluster of thick, long icicles clinging to the ceiling. The Sword cut through them, singing its otherworldly song. When he landed, the icicles crashed down to form a barrier.
As though unable to comprehend failure, the creatures slammed headlong into the icicles. They stuck their skeletal limbs between the cracks, wedged their squealing faces in, and wriggled as if to chew their way through.
Felline and the brothers didn't wait to see how long it would take them to do it. They ran blindly into the dark.
A/N: Hello, Dear Readers! I have to say that Queen Leona was one of my favorite characters visually. So freaking gorgeous! I don't know that I thought much of her personality-wise, but I realize she had about thirty seconds of screen time and my inner feminist needs to lighten up. LOL.
Reviewer Thanks! Mooncloudpanther, CaptainCommanderLucy, Heart of the Demons, KelseyAlicia, Momochan77, The Night Whisperer, and Ashleyjenko. You guys deserve every one of these shout-outs. Anything to show my appreciation of your time in not only reading, but leaving me these wonderful reviews that I can come back and smile over whenever I'm feeling down. :3 Thank you!
Ever Yours,
Anne