Chapter 6: Bad Blood

The Thundertank rolled into the Berbil village; its throaty roar filled the night before Robo-Bill switched the ignition off. Cats and bears, except Panthro, exited the rear and veered off in different directions. Lion-O jumped out ahead of Cheetara and Tygra, both of whom were upset. But Cheetara was more than upset; she was angry. The spotted cat was at Lion-O's side in an instant.

"What was that?" Her voice was sharp.

The lion rolled his eyes and kept walking, but the cleric wasn't having any of it. She grabbed his arm, bringing him up short, and got in his face. "I asked you a question. What was that little stunt you pulled out there?"

Lion-O pulled out of the cheetah's grasp. "Excuse me?"

Cheetara growled. "You put all of our lives in danger. Your brother had a blade at his back, all because you're having a hissy fit!"

Lion-O was shocked. Cheetara had never raised her voice to anyone, and he'd never seen her angry before. But now, her ears lay flat against her head, her eyes were aflame, and her expression was furious. She looked as if she might pounce. Tygra looked angry as well, but he didn't look as if he'd go ballistic at any minute like his girlfriend did.

Tygra was matter of fact. "We advised against attacking Slithe. You ignored that advice and walked into a trap."

"Why would you risk your brother's life?" Cheetara hissed. "We were clearly outmatched! Did you see how strong the jackal and monkey were? If Panthro hadn't shown up, we'd all be dead!" Her eyes filled with angry tears. "You are my king, but I love Tygra! Don't ever put me in the position of having to choose between you and him again." Cheetara's speed carried her off into the night.

Tygra frowned and shook his head. "And you had the nerve to think I would betray you." He turned on his heel and jogged after Cheetara.

The righteous indignation Lion-O felt didn't feel so righteous now.

– o –

Cheetara lay in her lover's arms; her fingers danced lightly over the firm muscles of his furred abdomen. As a rule, any time she spent alone with Tygra was blissful; soothed her soul and nurtured her spirit. She could always find peace and contentment in his embrace. But anger with Lion-O did not let her enjoy the sense of bliss she usually felt after they'd made love.

"I can't believe him," Cheetara said, resentment still colored her voice. "If he doesn't want anything to do with me as a cleric, he can deal with me as an angry girlfriend."

Tygra rubbed his nose in Cheetara's hair. She smelled of sweet spice and citrus grass with a hint of amber. He loved that she was outraged on his behalf, but she had to rise above it and remember her training, her vow.

"Not too angry, I hope." Cheetara heard the smile in Tygra's voice. "I think both of you need to cool off. You especially, my love. You're a cleric."

"It might take me a while to cool off," she admitted. At the moment, she couldn't bring herself to say Lion-O's name. "I'm fine with him being sulky and antagonistic toward me but putting your life in danger to hurt me, to hurt us? I'm not okay with that." Cheetara looked into his warm brown eyes. "Tygra, I couldn't breathe when the jackal had his blade at your neck. I was terrified at the thought of losing you."

"And I was terrified of leaving you," he kissed her forehead; his hand traveled down the curve of her back. "Lion-O's being an entitled brat right now, but we'll put this behind us. We're Thundercats." His hand slid lower to caress her bottom. "By the way, are we making sure there's no chance of little tiger-cheetahs?"

Cheetara felt the evidence of his arousal between her thighs and refocused her attention. "Yes, we are." Desire flared up in her eyes. "Bringing cubs into the mix would be too much to deal with now."

Tygra pulled her up against him, spread her legs, and entered her warmth. Cheetara gasped and raked her fangs along his throat as he penetrated her, then purred in pleasure as he moved within her, and in no time at all, her anger was forgotten.

– o –

Panthro saw Cheetara sitting alone on a gentle slope overlooking a candy fruit field and climbed the hill. She appeared to be praying or meditating, or whatever clerics did when they went off alone. He didn't want to disturb her and turned to leave.

"Do you need something, Panthro?"

He coughed. "I don't want to disturb your—"

Cheetara smiled. "My breathing exercises?" She turned toward him. "It's okay. What are we talking about?"

Panthro shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Tygra, me, and Lion-O?"

The panther sat down with a grunt. "I don't want to get in the middle of this, but you and me, we serve the crown. I don't know when or how this thing with you and Tygra started, but it can't interfere with your responsibilities to our king."

Cheetara's voice was calm. "This 'thing' between Tygra and me started years ago; we could never be together until now. I'll not give him up for the world." She looked at Panthro; her gaze was determined. "Being with Tygra and serving the crown are not mutually exclusive."

Panthro nodded. "I don't disagree."

"I'm a Guardian of the Crown. I intend to carry out my responsibilities to the king, but I can't make that king accept my support and advice. I can't make Lion-O behave like an adult and a sovereign instead of a spoiled child."

Panthro could not argue with any point Cheetara made. The boy had a temper, could be stubborn, and often let his emotions run away with him. The panther pushed to his feet with another grunt and said, "I'll talk to him."

Cheetara couldn't resist smirking. "Good luck with that."

Lion-O watched Tygra twirl his whip in the air before letting it snap against a tree. "You need to stop this."

"Stop what?"

"Acting out. Do you really think Cheetara led you on and meant to hurt you? Do you really think I stole her from you?" He coiled the whip around his arm. "Let me give you some advice. One, you can't steal a woman. She has a mind and will of her own. Two, ask her how she feels next time and don't assume."

"You wouldn't be so smug if you were in my place."

Tygra didn't try to hold his temper. "By the ghost of Jaga! It's not all about you, Lion-O. Yeah! I would've hated it if she didn't return my feelings, but I would have sucked it up and moved on. I was going to do that when I thought she'd chosen you."

Lion-O glared at his brother; Tygra ignored him and continued to speak his mind. "She's a cleric. Cheetara was doing her job, and she didn't lie to you. She will help you and support you and guide you when you need it—if you let her. If you're honest with yourself, Lion-O, you'd admit you don't love Cheetara. You're just infatuated with a pretty face, and you're angry because you think you lost. But it was never a competition, and you can't lose what you never had."

Deep down, Lion-O knew there was some truth in his brother's words, but he couldn't let go of his hurt and anger, and he couldn't listen to one more thing Tygra had to say on the subject. Lion-O took a swing at him. Tygra blocked the blow and punched the lion square in the face.

"Stop!" he growled. "And just so you know, I'm still ticked that you threw me over to that jackal."

Kit and Kat watched the argument unfold from a candy fruit tree, but when things got physical, Kit ran for Panthro.

"Come quick! They're fighting!"

When Panthro arrived, Lion-O and Tygra were on the ground. The lion was on top, raining blows on the tiger. Their positions switched before Panthro was able to separate them. Tygra punched Lion-O in the face, once—twice, and was going for a third when Panthro grabbed his arm and pulled him off Lion-O.

"Enough!" he bellowed. "What's wrong with you two?"

Tygra yanked free of Panthro's hold. "The king needs to grow up."

Tygra stomped off. Panthro offered a hand to Lion-O and hauled him to his feet. His lip was bloody, and a bruise was rising beneath his eye.

"We don't have enough trouble with Mumm-Ra and the lizards? We're going to turn on each other now?"

Lion-O was livid, his expression dark and stormy. Panthro walked him to the tank, and Kit handed Lion-O a wet cloth to soothe his battered face.

"Kid, you've got to stop this," the general said, echoing Tygra. "Talk to Cheetara and accept the relationship between her and Tygra. If you can't put this in the wind, the bad blood will destroy us."

– o –

Cheetara followed Tygra's advice. After her talk with Panthro, she'd taken a walk in the woods and revisited the methods she'd been taught for calming herself and reclaiming her sense of control, peace, and tranquility. So, when the tiger appeared after his scuffle with Lion-O, she had the cooler head. Cheetara dabbed at Tygra's cheek with a cloth soaked in rosemary.

"What happened?"

"His Majesty took a swing at me, and you know I wasn't going to let that stand."

She sighed. "This has gone far enough. Where is he?"

Tygra winced; the cut on his cheek stung. "I left him on the ground, but you can try the tank."

Cheetara entered the tank's cabin and found Lion-O alone. He sat on a bench, looking stiff and sullen. Lion-O's right eye was swollen, and his lip was split. However, he still managed to frown when he saw her.

"Are you okay?"

"Don't tell me your boyfriend sent you to ask."

"No, my boyfriend, your brother, did not. I don't imagine he cares very much right now."

Lion-O could tell from her tone that whatever Tygra was feeling, she didn't hold it against him, and this didn't improve his mood.

"Why do you?"

"Because you are my king, and I am in service to the crown. How many times do we need to go over this?"

"So, you all think I'm immature. Stubborn, spoiled, petty even," the young king grumbled. Cheetara did not respond. "How am I supposed to feel? I thought you cared about me! I thought you believed in me!"

By the gods, not this again. Cheetara sat down beside him but was careful to keep her hands to herself. "I do care about you, and I believe in you, but that never meant I had romantic feelings for you. And in all fairness, did I ever say that I did?"

"No," he whispered.

"I'm sorry you misunderstood my actions. I was only trying to be supportive and nurturing in a way I thought you'd be receptive to. Perhaps, my approach was wrong, but I never meant to hurt you or imply I had feelings for you that went beyond friendship and duty."

Cheetara thought the rigid posture he'd been holding from the minute she arrived began to relax.

"Lion-O, you're entitled to feel however you feel. But you're not entitled to make everyone around you miserable or put our lives at risk because you're upset or angry or hurt. That is unforgivable behavior in anyone, but especially a king."

"But you and Tygra, it's so sudden—"

"You are wrong. There's a bond between us that you know nothing about. My relationship with your brother is separate and different from my relationship with you."

"What is our relationship, Cheetara?"

"I'm your friend and subject, Lion-O, but I'm also a cleric and guardian. You say our relationship has changed. But it hasn't, at least not for me. And I'm sorry, but whatever relationship you think we had, existed only in your mind."

She stared at his profile, stiff-lipped and unrelenting once more.

"If and when you're ready to move past this, I will be waiting to serve you, my king." Cheetara gave Lion-O one last look, rose, and left him alone.

Tygra waited outside the tank. He held his hand out to her. "You okay?"

Cheetara took his hand and nodded. "Are you?"

"Yeah." Tygra released her hand, draped his arm over her shoulder, and drew her close. "Did you get through to him?" he asked as they walked.

"I may have put a chink in his armor." Cheetara slipped her arm around Tygra and squeezed him affectionately. "We'll have to wait and see."