Hello and welcome back! Before we get into today's chapter, I must sadly inform you that Hiraeth will be going on a hiatus for all of December. I hope to start updating again January 3. Happy Holidays and New Years! See you all next year ;) in the meantime, enjoy chapter 23!
As far as Leopara could see in any direction, a flat, barren landscape stretched onwards in opalescent colors. It was really quite lovely.
Unfortunately, Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living, was in here.
She could feel him now, although his presence resonated in the plane like light refracting through a clear gemstone. As an avatar of spirits, he was stronger in the Astral Plane much like she had been stringer in the enchanted Forest of Magi Oar.
Lion-O and Tygra didn't stand a chance against him if he caught them off-guard- or worse, turned their negative emotions against them.
She had to find and warn them about his presence.
Leopara closed her eyes and reached out with her sixth sense, searching for them. There should still be frustration and hostility between them which she could follow; she couldn't afford to pick a direction and wander aimlessly.
"You couldn't save me from Mumm-Ra," said a deep voice she had not heard in a long time, from behind her, "what makes you think you can save my sons?"
Whiskers.
The Astral Plane had reacted to her presence faster than she thought it would.
Could it be Mumm-Ra's sorcery?
Leopara turned with dread to face the imitation of Claudus. She expected to find him as he was in life- tall and stern, perhaps his arms crossed.
Instead, she found a very different Claudus behind her. The Claudus whose blood stained his armor and cloak, who had been picked at by scavenger birds with small pieces of flesh plucked and torn away.
Despite herself, she recoiled with fear and disgust.
"Hm?" Claudus prompted her.
"You're not real." she answered, whirling around to look away.
The area around her darkened like storm clouds. A flash of lightning startled her.
In that same flash, the dead king appeared in front of her, booming like thunder, "LOOK AT ME!"
She stumbled backwards, tripping over her own feet.
Leopara knew she had to calm down. In her defense, being shouted at by a corpse like it was a force of nature was rather terrifying when it was unexpected.
She fumbled for Jaga's staff and lashed out with a gust of wind. "Begone!"
The visage of Claudus rippled, disrupted.
Leopara took the opportunity to scramble to her feet and run.
In this world, the things seen were not inherently harmless. More often than not, they were physical and fully capable of touch. And if they could touch, they could kill.
Leopara did not want to know if her nightmarish Claudus was the touchy-feely kind.
She would not fail Lion-O and Tygra.
Broken pieces of Thundera rose slowly out of the opalescent ground, the broken gates appearing one half and then the other on either side of her. The temple they had cremated Claudus in, with the Thundercats insignia Lion-O emblazoned in the stone.
As she veered away from it, she stepped into shallow water and slipped, falling down to her knees. The water under her glowed a soft blue.
She whipped her head up to look at the coliseum tree. It loomed high above her, bigger than life. As she gazed at it, it seemed to grow even bigger.
She took a deep breath and stood. The water in the Astral Plane was not real, so her fur and skirt remained perfectly dry.
"Isn't this a little much?!" she yelled defiantly at the Astral Plane.
A shushing sound met her, coming from the base of the tree. Her heart sank, knowing the scene without having to look.
"No, Claudus, I can-" the visage cut off with a frantic sound that was dangerously close to a sob. "You're going to be okay! I can heal you!" it pleaded with the visage of Claudus's lifeless body.
Leopara didn't look at it and walked until she could no longer hear the water under her feet.
She had to stay calm and focused here. A single worry or reaction of fear could spiral out of control, as the plane had just shown. I should be a master at staying focused already, she berated herself. I have to do it so often.
She closed her eyes and reached out with her sixth sense again, trying to find Lion-O and Tygra.
There.
She opened her eyes and cast her gaze around. Far in the distance behind her, she could see the barren branches of the tree. Leopara looked ahead and followed their negative emotions.
For a while, the opalescent landscape stayed exactly as it was.
Empty, vast, and pretty like a painting.
Then, the head of Claudus's statue drew into view, followed by the blue bust of Cat's Lair. Other slanted pieces of the palace and city littered the area. Lion-O and Tygra must have been through here, and that she was headed in the right direction.
As she carefully wove her way through, she thought she heard a voice.
It was faint, like a voice carried down a canyon on the wind.
Leopara paused, swiveling her ears to listen. For several moments, she heard nothing. And then, coming from no direction and every direction, a whisper. "Set me free!"
She blinked, feeling puzzled.
The voice was unrecognisable to her. A man's voice, fairly deep and raspy, but without any doubt she knew it did not belong to Mumm-Ra.
Leopara shook her head.
It was just the Astral Plane playing tricks on her, and she didn't have time for it. She had to press on.
A forest slowly emerged from swirling white mists. Leaves and dirt crunched under feet as she entered it, glancing around. It looks familiar… I think Jaga and I came here when I was young.
Before she could start pursuing that thought, she shook her head.
Lion-O and Tygra were close.
But so was the looming presence of Mumm-Ra.
She jogged through the woods with a sense of urgency, emerging from the treeline to the… forbidden ruins? Lion-O and Tygra danced around the ancient grounds, steel clashing with steel. They exchanged three blows and several growls in the heartbeat it took her to realise what was happening.
"Stop it!" she shouted, running forward.
"You've undermined me my whole life! Blocked me at every turn." Tygra vented. With a grunt, he heaved Lion-O backwards and quickly closed in on him, catching his false Sword of Omens against the real one. "You took the crown. You took her!"
"Tygra!" Leopara shouted.
Tygra shoved his younger brother, sending him stumbling back. He wasn't about to let Lion-O recover his footing either, and pressed the advantage.
Seeing no choice, Leopara began to race towards them with a barrier-
A black bird swooped down, claws extended and with bright red eyes that streaked from the movement.
Leopara ducked so low she slid along the ground, and whirled around to find the bird glaring at her. Mumm-Ra, in his bird form, turned to face her. "You will not interfere!" he cried only in her mind.
Seeing no other choice, she drew Jaga's staff. "I'm not going to let them kill each other." she told Mumm-Ra firmly. There was no doubt in her mind he had nudged their emotions just past the tipping point, hoping to still let them do all the hard work finding the stone and then dealing with each other that he would be able to swoop in and steal his prize away without anyone ever realising it.
That didn't mean it was too late to save them yet.
Mumm-Ra chuckled. "You couldn't even save Claudus from me. Now that I have them in my clutches, what makes you think you can save them?"
The visage of Claudus had demanded this of her earlier.
She smiled. "Because they're brothers. Claudus was one cat, and you used the love he held for his friend to kill him."
The bird cawed and hopped into the air, swooping at her again.
Leopara thrust her staff forward with a barrier that encompassed both of them and quickly slipped out of it herself, leaving Mumm-Ra alone inside of it. Mumm-Ra considered his feathery position, now trapped.
"This," he concluded, "still will not save them. And when they are gone, it will just be you and I, Apprentice of Jaga."
"Sorry, but that's not going to happen." Leopara vowed.
She turned back around to find Lion-O at the edge of the pit.
Lion-O screamed as Tygra kicked him squarely in the abdomen, sending him falling down the pit. Mumm-Ra chuckled darkly, again a sound only she could hear.
Leopara ran forward, but not before Lion-O's voice echoed out of it faintly. "Tygra, help me." Tygra stared down into the darkness before turning away.
"Help me!" Lion-O called after him.
Tygra stopped, not even two steps away from the pit, so Leopara lingered out of both brothers' sight, waiting to see what they would do. If Tygra would abandon Lion-O, she would save him. If Tygra helped his brother, the three of them could turn on Mumm-Ra.
Mumm-Ra the Raven was growing increasingly uncomfortable as he realised his prodding may have been insufficient to end the brothers, or at least Lion-O.
He lifted his false Sword of Omens to inspect it with an impassive expression. His anger was slowly cooling down, although Leopara struggled to name the emotion.
"Tygra, whatever we are to each other, brothers or rivals, we called the same cat father. We're both sons of Claudus."
Tygra straightened with a bolt of surprise. "Father. He was there too." He looked back over his shoulder. "It's true, Lion-O," Tygra confessed passionately, "I thought about leaving you there but I instantly regretted it. I ran, but it was to find help." With no further hesitation, he lept down the pit- for a brief moment, catching sight of her and his eyes widening in shock. Then, he landed, and just in time to catch Lion-O.
"I would never betray you." Tygra reassured his brother. "Not then, not now."
Lion-O grunted as Tygra pulled him up.
"What are you doing here?" Tygra asked as he reached the top. Behind him, Lion-O felt a spark of confusion. Leopara waited until Tygra pulled his brother up.
"Leopara?" Lion-O gawked.
She nodded. "Mumm-Ra entered the portal after everyone else left, so I followed."
They looked around with unease. She glanced towards her barrier where he still sat in bird form. She was a little surprised he hadn't tried anything while she watched the brothers. In this place, he could have easily broken her barrier with a transformation.
What was he waiting for?
The thought made her incredibly nervous.
"You were right, Leopara." Lion-O said. "This place… it's making our worst memories and desires real."
"And Mumm-Ra is guiding this." Tygra bet.
"Such spirited sibling rivalry." Mumm-Ra remarked, again in that voice only she could hear.
They were looking up for any sign of Mumm-Ra when they should have been looking down. She cleared her throat and gestured. The brothers looked, with a rising sense of confusion.
"... what is he doing?" Lion-O asked.
"And how did you trap him in there?"
"I have no idea, and he swooped at me. I just made a barrier around us both and stepped out."
Tygra raised a brow, rife with skepticism. "That's all?"
"Somehow, yes."
Mumm-Ra was polite enough to let them have this conversation, but not polite enough to just stay put like a good little birdie. He beat his wings, rising into the air within the barrier, and cried out, "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living!" he cried out.
The effect was immediate.
Purple lightning crackled towards him, shattering the barrier that stood in their way. He transformed rapidly from bird form, to his withered form, into his herculean, empowered form. The Astral Planes roiled with purple storm clouds and fog which clung to Mumm-Ra's wings, rolling off in waves.
The storm of magic faded.
"Since I couldn't get you two to kill each other," two balls of madly crackling lightning formed in his hands, "-I'll just have to do it myself!"
The blasts were far stronger than anything her barrier could have protected them from. In the same heartbeat that it formed around them, it shattered and she was sent flying in one direction with Lion-O, Tygra in another.
Her vision swam.
Mumm-Ra was exactly as powerful in the Astral Planes as she had feared.
Lion-O gasped softly. Leopara opened her eyes, wincing, and then blinked. Where the ground had broken, a purple light glowed.
The stone! Lion-O had found it!
"With you three out of the way, there will be nothing to stop me from finding the Spirit Stone."
Lion-O managed to sit up on one knee. "You're too late. I already found it."
Mumm-Ra narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Lion-O and Tygra climbed to their feet while she struggled to sit up on her hip, bracing herself on one arm. Her ear flicked behind her at the sound of the whispered voice again. "Find me."
She hazarded a glance behind them. There was nothing but more forest.
The distraction almost caused her to miss Tygra's, "What?"
"It's been right under our noses the whole time." Lion-O said. As he did so, the ground began to slowly fade away, and so did the opalescent appearance of the plane until they were left on a long, pink jewel amidst an endless expanse of stars.
"Before your next Summer's Solstice, find me!" the voice pleaded with her, louder now. "Mumm-Ra must be stopped!"
This caught Leopara's attention.
While she looked around again, Lion-O punched into the jewel with his gauntlet. Literally, into the jewel.
Lightning crackled around the point of entry while pink mist spun inside and circled around the center of the Gauntlet of Omens, eventually forming a small jewel there as the stone dissolved.
And then, the stone let out a blue static wave up Lion-O's arm that conjured what looked like a set of armor.
Where are you? she thought, trying desperately to reach that voice. Was it real? Was it a trick?
Mumm-Ra cried out with rage and sent another beam of lightning at them, this time concentrated on Lion-O. Leopara braced herself for the shock of pain- but it never came. With his left arm in front of him defensively, a pink barrier surrounded them. The lightning danced and raced across its surface, but couldn't damage it in the slightest.
"Find me!" the voice echoed softly again.
How?
With a smooth movement, Lion-O tossed the scattered remains of lightning to the side and declared to Mumm-Ra, "Now, let's see what the Spirit Stone can do." He swung the Sword of Omens, "Thunder. Thunder. Thunder. Thundercats, ho!"
A storm of blue lightning danced and spun around Lion-O, joined by the red of the Eye of Thundera and the pink of the Spirit Stone. Together, they shot up into the 'sky.' The Astral Plane rippled with a shockwave of red energy centered on Lion-O. It rushed past Leopara and Tygra harmlessly and rammed into Mumm-Ra like a bullet.
Mumm-Ra roared and resisted it, the Spirit Stone reigned supreme in the Astral Plane. It hurtled Mumm-Ra far from their sight in an arc of red light like a shooting star.
And then, the plane began to shatter like hot glass under cold starry landscape around them cracked with bright light flooding through.
"What's happening?" Tygra demanded.
"Your ancestors met me once." the voice answered her more clearly. "Follow their guidance."
"Without the stone to hold it together, the entire Astral Plane is collapsing."
"This one is!" Leopara added, frantically backing away from the edge.
"Then let's get out of here!" With no hesitation, Tygra turned and ran.
"I will slow its collapse. Flee!"
Now was not a good time to ask the voice how. She took his advice to heart and chased after Tygra as fast as she could, with Lion-O hard on her heels.
Time passed differently in the Astral Plane. Leopara knew this.
Still, she was shocked when they emerged into sunlight, and even more shocked that Panthro and Grune were fist-fighting in front of the hut with a circle of destroyed lizard mechas as their audience. Somehow, that just wasn't the scene she expected to emerge into.
"Take cover!" Lion-O called out behind her.
The brothers tucked and rolled forward in a somersault while Leopara took the easy way out and ducked around the corner and kept running without the forces of the collapsing portal pulling at her. The extra length of her skirt and her long hair made that issuous.
Grune, apparently, was still considered a Thundercat by the inscrutable laws of magic, because her wards did not get the memo about not allowing anyone but them and the elephants inside.
That, or the force of the portal outweighed the strength of her wards, which is what she felt inclined to believe while watching Grune and Panthro struggle in its clutches.
"Pull me free, Panthro! Pull me free or we both die!" Grune pleaded.
"The defeat of your enemy is worth any sacrifice!" Panthro replied vindictively.
She heard Grune's warbled screams, and then the hut exploded in a flash of bright white light and dust.
When the light faded, Panthro knelt alone amongst the wreckage. Where his arms would have continued into his bicep were stumps of blue energy.
"Panthro!" she cried, jumping out from behind her shelter to run towards him.
He groaned, sweaty and in pain. "Worth it." he murmured before collapsing.
Behind her, the others gasped. She knelt down, pushing him onto his back with all her strength. She rested a hand on him and felt his pulse, the labored heave of his lungs as he breathed through the immense pain. With a deep, calming breath, she healed his numerous bruises and numbed the pain.
"Is there anything you can do?" Lion-O asked.
Leopara looked up and shook her head. "No. There's no arms for me to heal."
"Let's at least get him bandaged up." Tygra suggested. "We can figure out what to do when he wakes up."
"Good idea," Lion-O agreed.
The elephants were in a festive mood that night, with a large bonfire. WilyKit played a lively and folksy tune on her flupe and Aburn played along, trumpeting with his trunk. They danced in place, while other elephants gathered around the fire with indistinct chatter and a bit of their own dancing.
It reminded her of the festivities the night before Thundera fell. Specifically, it reminded her how Lion-O had asked her to dance with him twice.
She wished she had accepted, even though she didn't know how.
Most of the cats weren't in a celebratory mood. Panthro lost his arms, Tygra was downcast, and Cheetara had an uncomfortable conversation ahead of her. Leopara knew it would leave Lion-O in a downcast mood later, so she kept her senses open for him.
She approached Panthro. Snarf was trying to spoon-feed him a green soup.
"I don't need a blasted nursemaid!" he shouted.
Startled, Snarf exclaimed and darted away, bounding onto Snowmeow's sleeping form. Snowmeow raised his head, noticing her approach. He let out a yawn and stretched. "Are they treating you well?" Leopara teased him gently, petting Snowmeow with long strokes.
He huffed. "As if! Blasted kitty-pet won't leave me alone."
"He was a nanny, or so the rumor goes." Leopara reminded him. "Are you going to be okay?"
Mournful expression claimed his features. "You know what I'll miss the most?" Sensing this was a rhetorical question, she didn't interrupt. "The scars. A lot of history on those arms."
"Maybe you could tell me about them, sometime." Leopara reassured him. "Until then, just try to take it easy. Get some rest."
Snarf crept back up beside him with the spoon, grinning mischievously.
Panthro looked at him unamused.
Leopara chuckled and walked away. Snowmeow laid back down near the general and quickly fell back asleep.
Lion-O still hadn't shown up for the festivities. With a bit more concern, she picked her way through the village towards the overlook to find him. She sensed him magically before she saw him, a strong sense of sadness and hurt clinging to him. Heartache.
She took a deep breath and released it quietly before approaching him.
"Hey." she said softly once she was close to him. Lion-O startled, whipping his head up to look at her.
"Oh, hey, Leopara." he returned her greeting glumly.
"Sorry." she apologised. She tucked her skirt against the back of her legs and sat next to him. The ledge, as suggested, overlooked the rainforest below. It was still quite beautiful in the moonlight. "I didn't mean to startle you. Are you… okay?"
Lion-O shrugged. "What's the point of asking? You already know the answer."
"I can sense what you're feeling, but not what you're thinking, Lion-O." Leopara responded.
Why was it such a big deal to them? It was just another sense, like sight or touch. And just like the other senses, it was limited to what was there in that moment, and she still had to discern for herself what it was.
People could read body language and guess their emotional state in much the same way.
Lion-O growled in frustration. "I just don't get it. What did I miss?" he asked her. "This whole time, I thought Cheetara liked me. Liked liked me. But she's been in love with Tygra? Why did she-" he cut off with another growl. "I just don't understand."
Leopara swallowed nervously and reached out to take one of his hands in a gesture of comfort. He looked down, his heartache interrupted by a little drop of surprise and comfort.
And then, he turned an accusing gaze towards her. "Did you know the entire time?" he asked her bluntly.
"No." she shook her head. "I sensed some hints here and there, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. I already felt like I was intruding enough."
He deflated. "Oh." After a moment, he squeezed her hand gently and allowed himself to hold onto her with a loose grip. "It must be pretty weird, huh?" he supposed. "Is it… hard to feel your own emotions?"
"It can be." she agreed. "I don't mistake other's feelings for my own, if that's what you mean. It's just like it might be hard to hear yourself speak or think if someone is yelling next to you."
Lion-O digested that for a couple more seconds. "Sounds exhausting."
"It was when I was little. Everyone had so many emotions and I never could understand what they all were. And adults would lie about them a lot." Like her sister. Leoparis had tried to hide her frustration and stress, but that was hard when her little sister knew anyway. "I had a lot of temper tantrums, if you could believe it." she chuckled.
He chuckled a little as well. "That doesn't sound anything like you." He paused. "Actually, that does kinda sound like you when you're really mad at me."
Leopara gasped. "I never had one with you."
"Oh yeah?" He waggled his pronged eyebrows at her. "Not even when I got us into that mess in the Sand Sea?"
"Wellll…"
He laughed.
Leopara grinned at him. "You know, I came to find you because I was thinking… do you still want that dance?"
Lion-O stopped laughing, instead blinking at her like she grew a second head. "What?"
"The elephants are celebrating back there and it reminded me of the festivities." She picked at her sleeve a little. "And how you asked me to dance a couple times. I was just… wishing I had." Her throat became unreasonably tight with regret and sadness as she tried to say the rest, and her eyes burned.
She stopped picking at her sleeve to wipe at them, frustrated with herself.
She was supposed to be comforting Lion-O, blast it!
"Whoa… hey, it's okay." Lion-O said, completely off-guard. "You're going to be okay." he reassured her. He stood, still holding her hand, and offered her his other. "I can teach you how to dance~" he teased her lightly.
She smiled a little weakly at him and took his other hand.
Like she weighed nothing to him, he smoothly pulled her to her feet and into his chest. "See?" he grinned at her. "I got you~"
Her cheeks burned as she nodded. "You certainly do." she agreed. He had no way of knowing her deeper meaning, instead beginning to explain how to dance. She did her best to focus on his words and not how close they were or the feeling of his hand on her waist.
Soon enough, Lion-O was leading her in a simple dance. She kept glancing down, terrified she would move too fast or too slow.
And each time she did, he beckoned her to look up at him, into his handsome blue eyes. It was easy to feel like she was going to get lost in his gaze with how deeply he seemed to look into her own golden eyes, so she always ended up glancing away with another unseen blush hidden by her fur.
Then, while they still held eye contact, he gave her a lopsided grin and reassured her, "Trust me, you're doing great. You're a natural."
Until, finally, the evening bell tolled. Lion-O chuckled. "Thanks, Leopara."
"Hm?"
"For coming to check on me. And for the dance." he smiled at her.
Leopara desperately wanted him to lean in and kiss her at that moment, but instead, he stepped back. "Come on, let's go join the celebrations." he said, tilting his head.
"Right." Leopara said, hoping he didn't hear her disappointment. She wanted to smack her forehead. What was she thinking? He was heartbroken when she found him. He wasn't going to kiss her. She gave him a wide smile and followed him back to the bonfire, where WilyKit was still playing her flupe, Aburn was still trumpeting along, and WilyKat had begun to pluck at his flink. Panthro reluctantly allowed Snarf to feed him a spoonful of soup and she pretended not to notice. Snowmeow growled in his sleep, hind leg twitching.
And Cheetara and Tygra were nowhere to be seen.
Another feeling of hurt washed over Lion-O like the tide, coming and going.
Leopara smiled sadly, wondering for the first time why it had to be Cheetara. What had she done that Leopara hadn't at one point or another? They both supported and helped Lion-O equally, she thought. Was it because Cheetara was a little older and a little more mature?
Was it because a sorceress seemed intimidating?
Or did he just find Cheetara more likable? Cheetara had never challenged him like she did, after all.
Maybe he simply found Cheetara prettier?
All three thoughts made her wilt and want to cry, at least a little.
As a cub thinking about what her life as an adult would be, a mate or family never factored into it. Little Leopara had imagined a leopardess who was striking and wise. Someone valued as a spellcaster and advisor.
But never someone with a mate or cubs of her own. In Little Leopara's mind, she would be devoted solely to advising the king and studying magic.
While Lion-O mingled with the elephants, Leopara raised both hands and slapped her cheeks.
It was silly of her to be upset by such things.
With a soft sigh to herself, Leopara followed her king in making pleasantries with the elephants.
It was hard to brood when Lion-O pulled her into another dance. She grinned and chuckled with him as they danced to WilyKit's tune.
Thank you for reading and I really hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know how that last scene made you feel~ (if you review as Anon, I'll respond in the foot notes of next chapter!) A special thanks to The Night Whisperer, Heart of the Demons, and Frankannestein!