This chapter is a bit slower and shorter as not much happens this episode that doesn't happen within the Book of Omens. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it~
The Book of Omens was blank.
How could it be blank? It didn't make sense. She didn't understand- none of them did.
In the moments after Lion-O said those words, "It says… nothing. It's blank," shock and disbelief reigned. Tygra had snatched the book from Lion-O, unable to believe it; but its pages were blank. Somehow, horribly, they were blank.
"Maybe it's another thing requiring magic?" Tygra had suggested.
It had been as good an idea as any. But… it didn't react to her touch.
Getting nowhere quick, they began to settle into the tower and explore their surroundings, to find things to occupy themselves with in the meantime, while Lion-O continued figuring it out, up at the top of the Tower of Omens.
Leopara paused once again to look around and admire the temple. In the absence of Mumm-Ra, it was… peaceful and beautiful.
The jungle had begun to reclaim it, vines growing up many of the outer columns and all along the tower itself. Sunlight dappled the interior, cast in shadows by the grand archway. Small, shimmering glances of rainbows danced outside, kept safe in the mist of the waterfall that fell on either side of the temple- like pulled curtains framing a window.
She sighed softly, allowing herself to just feel content for a moment.
In the quiet, Panthro's snores caught her attention, a quiet but distinct sound amidst the white noise of rushing water.
Surprised, Leopara approached the panther where he slept, sitting up against one of the pillars holding up the entrance. Tygra, sitting a short distance from him, glanced up at her, before silently turning his attention back to his blaster with a dour expression.
Outside proper, Cheetara trained WilyKit and WilyKat, carefully evading their haphazard strikes and using her staff to block or misdirect them. The twins growled. It seemed more so from determination than frustration.
She looked back at Tygra and stepped towards him, turning and sitting beside him.
Tygra cast her a wary look.
Leopara pulled her knees close and draped her arms over them.
"...can I help you?" he finally asked her.
Leopara hesitated, watching Cheetara move. She was graceful, effortlessly. Oh, how smoothly she had approached Lion-O and how easily she had reached out to touch him, taking his hand, resting hers on his shoulder and pressing so close to murmur in his ear- the feeling of unhappiness pressed down on Leopara at the thought.
And she didn't know why.
Was it really different from when Leopara had reached out to touch him? Why did it twist her up inside when Cheetara did the same…?
Quietly, she finally said, "I thought you two were…" mates, she thought. She finished, instead, with, "-close…?"
Tygra was quiet for a moment. She felt a dark knot of emotions stir, slowly rising to the surface- he looked back at his blaster. "I thought so too." he said curtly.
"... she told me stories about how she came to be a cleric." Tygra glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "Jaga rejected her because she had no patience, but she waited outside the Clerics' Hall for eight days… sustained and inspired by the Day Astrid left by… you, right?"
He was quiet again, only nodding with a shrug after a moment.
Once more, she hesitated. Cheetara had always talked about the cat- Prince Tygra- with such fondness and affection. She thought she had seen Cheetara treat Tygra with such warmth.
"Nothing, I was just curious." Leopara said at last.
"Right… while you're here, let's talk about something else." he said, sounding rather irked; she knew instantly that he didn't take kindly to this topic. He put down his blaster. "Your magic."
Leopara blinked at him a couple of times, leaning away from the piercing look in his eyes. "Um…"
"What's the deal with it? One day, you're struggling to use it, the next you're not."
"Um…" she repeated. "I… was really mad at Mumm-Ra?" she offered quickly.
"You were… 'mad at Mumm-Ra?'" he repeated back, a bit scathingly. It felt like his amber eyes were burning holes into her.
Leopara looked away, coincidentally back at Cheetara. She watched her for a moment, dancing away from the twins while giving them suggestions and correcting their stances.
She had been angry with Mumm-Ra, enraged even, but… it was focused. It was all focused on him, and she turned those emotions into intent. Intent to protect others from him, to try and tear him from the air- buy Lion-O more time.
It was completely unlike when they fought the ramlak. Back then, she'd been angry, and frustrated, but it wasn't focused. Her feelings had been everywhere; she'd been furious with Lion-O, at the situation he got them into, frustrated with Tygra, with the fishmen, with the ramlak itself.
Just like she had been learning to focus on other's emotions and ignore them when she wasn't, perhaps… maybe she was learning to do the same for herself. Maybe she could use those feelings.
Then, she sighed. "Jaga… tried to teach me to use magic like him, but even he admitted my magic was unique, and I would have to learn for myself how to better use it. I'm… starting to understand what he meant, I think." she said, still watching the three spar.
"...well… good. You can stop moping around now." Tygra said, at first seemingly disarmed.
"Sorry…"
He climbed to his feet, holstering his blaster. "I'm going to check the perimeter."
Leopara stood as well. "You don't think Mumm-Ra might still be lurking around, do you?"
Tygra shrugged. "Mumm-Ra, lizards… does it make a difference who might be lurking around?"
No, she supposed not. "I think I'll go check in on Lion-O."
Tygra grunted in response, but didn't say anything else as he walked away.
A deep rumble from Panthro startled her. "That barrier earlier was impressive."
"Oh… thanks, Panthro."
"Much better than the one you made in the mines." She blinked at him. "If you could conjure a barrier like that every time… and hold it?" he trailed off into a chuckle, shaking his head.
Uncomfortable with the unexpected… praise? Was it praise? Uncomfortable, she shifted from foot to foot, gently grabbing her arm. "Well, it wasn't entirely me… it was only so strong because of Jaga's staff."
Panthro shook his head. "Weapons, tools… they're only as good as the person wielding them. You could have the strongest weapon, the strongest tool, and still fail." He stood, resting one of his hands on her shoulder. It dwarfed her shoulder, easily the size of her head. "It's all about how you use it."
Leopara was quiet for a moment, thinking about his words; something else for her to keep in mind. "Thank you. I think I understand what you mean."
"Good. Don't forget it." He turned and strode away.
Panthro approached Cheetara and the Wilytwins, gesturing with his hands. They paused, gathering close to him and listening. And then, Panthro strode away with the two in tail, making their way down the path leading from the temple.
Cheetara turned towards her, smiling, and then followed the three.
What were they doing?
With a shake of her head, she turned away to finally make her way to the tower.
The view climbing the wooden pegs that acted as steps was lovely- she could see out through the entryway at an angle, catching a glimpse of the brilliant water below.
How she longed to swim in that river.
But, she had something more important to do, first.
She had to check on Lion-O.
Leopara heard Snarf before she saw him; there breeze weaving through the lattice-like "roof" of the tower, which she was about to remark upon to Lion-O when she reached the top-
Snarf let out a distressed "snya!" that cut her off before she could say anything.
She chuckled, glancing towards him as her head crested the top- and her blood turned cold.
It was Lion-O.
He was limp, collapsed to the floor. The book was-
She looked around wildly as she frantically leapt the rest of the way onto the tower.
The book was on the ground a few feet away, closed.
Leopara slid to her knees beside Lion-O, immediately cradling his head. "Lion-O?" His head lulled back in her hands. "Lion-O!"
In the following minutes, Leopara ascertained two things:
First, Lion-O was not dead. That was the good news- he breathed, his heart beat as it should, and he wasn't even cold to the touch.
Secondly, he was not injured.
That was the bad news.
She couldn't rouse him from his sleep-like state in spite of his apparent lack of harm. She… she couldn't even feel his presence, not a bit of emotion- there was just nothing.
Horrible, horrible nothingness.
Leopara never even realised that someone could feel like that.
It unsettled her, made her hackles raise in alarm; something was wrong.
She squeezed his hand before setting it back down on the stone, looking over her shoulder at the book.
What happened?
She stood and approached the book, bending down to pick it up. It felt… oddly like Jaga's presence in her hand, as she turned it over and inspected it; she hadn't noticed that before. "Jaga…?" she murmured, before shaking her head hard.
Jaga was gone; he had sacrificed himself for them again.
And… this time, she had to accept that.
"I don't suppose you know what happened to Lion-O?" she asked the book. The red gem set in its center seemed to gleam at her, but it didn't help her glean any knowledge about the situation. She opened it; its pages were still blank. She sighed. "Of course not." She turned her attention towards Snarf, who stared up at her with big, scared eyes. "I guess we'll just have to wait for him to wake up…" If he wakes up.
"Snya…" he mewled sadly, approaching his master's body and curling up beside him.
Leopara sat down, pulling her knees in close and resting her jaw on them, and waited.
The sun was still high in the sky when the others finally returned. Leopara heard their voices down below, but her own did not join them.
They steadily drew closer, no doubt each curious if anything had happened while they were gone. If there was any success with the Book of Omens, if Lion-O had figured it out somehow. Or maybe they were curious why she was still up in the tower.
They paused at the top, each of them taking a turn at silently taking in the sight of Lion-O, unconscious and sprawled on the floor.
"...what happened?" Tygra finally asked.
Leopara looked at them. "I'm not sure… he was like this when I came to check on him. He's alive, but I can't wake him up."
Just as they began to creep closer, Lion-O gasped, sucking a deep breath of air. His eyes opened to the world, staring straight up.
Then he noticed them, crowded around him with expressions of concern.
Without saying a word, he sat up, then stood. Leopara matched him, standing as well.
He stared up at the sky, a fierce look of determination spreading across his features. "I know what we have to do." They waited for him to elaborate, and elaborate he did.
He told them of how their ancient ancestors, the ancestors of all of the Animals of Third Earth, had once been slaves to Mumm-Ra, how cats had served him loyally. How the Eye of Thundera was The War Stone, and how his ancestor, Leo, had stolen out from under Mumm-Ra's nose and used it with the Sword of Omens to defeat Mumm-Ra.
How there were other stones- the Soul Stone, the Spirit Stone, and the Tech Stone- each one possessing unique abilities and powers; all of which Mumm-Ra would stop at nothing to recover. They had to recover these stones before Mumm-Ra did, and the Book of Omens, not just magic but a blend of magic and technology, would guide them to the stones.
Leopara was almost in disbelief by his story. That his soul had been brought into the book, that he had spoken to Jaga…
But it made some sense. She had felt Jaga's presence in the book, and Lion-O's presence had seemed… missing from his body.
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
Thank you for reading! Again, special thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter, The Night Whisperer, Heart of the Demons, and Frankenstein.