The Forest of Mists

(In this one I rewrite a few thigns and change the geography around a littl bit. But I hope that I may be forgiven on the basis that it makes a good story.)

1

The Forest of Mists

It was the only place that they had not yet fully explored, whose mysterious depths had not been mentally mapped and filed. The only place within the distance that Tygra allowed them to explore alone (and a few places they weren't allowed to explore) that remained an enigma.

Part of the problem was that the other ThunderCats seemed to think it foolishly dangerous to do so, and never let them try. True, it was close to the forbidden territory, Darkside, and the mists had a dampening effect on their sensors, but that made it all the more tempting! And besides, if they could use it to get into the Darkside without having to pass the Thundranium of Fire Rock Mountain, they could find out what was in there!

Wilykit and Wilykat lay in their bedroom on the floor, a home-drawn map spread out between them. "We're gonna have to go this weekend, when the others are on their scouting mission," Wilykit said. Wilykat nodded, the comforting sunshine beating down on his back from the open window. A fresh breeze warmed the room.

"Yeah...then all that we have to worry about is Snarf and Tygra...and we don't have any chores to do, either."

"And here...that's where it starts." Wilykit frowned. "The Forest of Mists sure is big." During their explorations, the twins had mapped out the whole area from the Cats' lair to the Forest of Mists. No one had much of an accurate map to the Darkside that lay beyond the forest, or the woods themselves, as both places held a bad place among local lore. Although not superstitious, the ThunderCats knew that most such legends had a root in truth. They had a vague idea of how big it was, but that was it. And it was big. Bigger than the unicorn forest or the forest of silence.

"It's too bad we can't get into the forbidden territory...maybe the forest's easier to get into from there."

Wilykit shook her head., "Yeah, but unless you wanna get Thundranium poisoning we can't. Fire Rock Mountain - "

"I know that."

The twins sighed, looking at the map as if a solution would present itself. "Well," Wilykit said, pointing to the west side of the forest's borders. That was all they had mapped, as it was at the edge of the boundary that they were allowed to explore in. "Let's see if it ends over here or not; maybe there's some kind of path."

"I guess so," Wilykat said, standing up. "But we haven't found one yet, what makes you think that there's one over there?"

Wilykit shrugged. "Well, if anything we can add to the map! The other ThunderCats don't even have anything over there mapped." Wilykit spoke as they both headed down to the hangar to get their spaceboards, stopping first to tell Tygra they were going exploring. He admonished them to take some sandwiches and their communicators, and be back before dark.

"Well, we know the Berbil Village is over that way," Wilykat said, flying on her board towards their destination. "But I guess it's more south than anything."

"And a LOT farther away. I think the forest messes with the sensors, so no one wanted to risk getting too close yet. I mean they' re still trying to convince the Warrior Maidens that live in the south that we can be allies! That Willa is convinced, I think, but I heard Lion-O saying that she's got a stubborn people."

"Talk about sexist," Wilykat grumbled. The Warrior maidens had rubbed him the wrong way, with their highly female-oriented attitudes. He'd had to practically shout for any of them to even look at him the last time they'd visited.

Wilykit shot her brother a grin. "Nothing wrong with that,' she said. Wilykat only glared at her, and they flew on.

Eventually the pair reached the edge of the forest and slowed down near the edge. "Okay..." Wilykit said, pointing. "That's as far as we got..." She glanced behind her as if Tygra might be spying on them to see if they kept their word, and she woudln't put it past him to be watching them on the sensors! "Let's go."

The forest continued as the twins did, and for a while they both wondered if the forest went on forever. It was darker here, a strange dimness emanated form the forest itself, engulfing the air beyond it with gloom for at least fifty feet. The mist itself only extended a yard or two beyond the trees. Wilykit and Wilykat skimmed the edge of this gloom, as the unnatural darkness gave both of them the willies. "It is really creepy," Wilykat said as he always did when they came down this way.

"Yeah...I still wanna know why it's always so dark. Almost like it's a different dimension or something like that." She shivered. "And that mist... Is it water-mist, like before a rain, or is it like a chemical or something? And how come it's just in the forest...how can it stay that way all the time with hot sun all around it?" Wilykit mused over the questions that the ThunderCats had all asked about this odd forest They'd found many places on Third Earth that puzzled them, almost as if they were entirely different ecosystems within the one they lived. So unnatural and different from their own Thundera.

After flying more or less in silence for about forty-five minutes, Wilykat suddenly pointed. "Wilykit!' he said, nearly startling her enough to fall off her board. "Look at that!" had they somehow stumbled into the Berbil Village? but no, the forest had bent more towards the east, away from the odd little bears.

Wilykit looked. What Wilykat had seen was the edge of a building, something that almost looked like an archaic tool shed like she'd seen in books, except it had windows in it. It was sticking out, barely, from the gloom, and as she looked, it seemed the forest was thinning! Wilykit's eyes widened with excitement. "Wilykat! This is it, it's the end of the forest! And look, it's not so dense here..."

Wilykat looked uneasy, but he too was eager to see what was there. He did not remember there being a village here, but as he and Wilykit dismounted next to the little shack, they could both make out the outlines of other buildings, disappearing into the gloom. "Um," Wilykit said. "Uh, let's go a little farther out, where the forest isn't so dense..." She apparently was also a little unnerved by the village being so far into the woods.

The buildings did eventually get easier to see, and it had been a town at one point. If the houses were any indication it was a town of creatures far larger than the Berbils. Maybe even bigger than Thunderians! Maybe. As they walked, the trees and undergrowth between the buildings thinned, and the mist began to lift. Wilykit was right. They had found where the forest ended.

When they reached what could only be the outskirts, the first of the trees was several yards away, and the buildings stood in broad daylight. Both twins were squinting as they looked around the seemingly deserted town. From what they could see only bout a tenth of the village was outside the forest, but why would anyone want to build their village half into a forest where you couldn't even see anything?

"Maybe they like the mist," Wilykat said. "They might be some kind of creature that doesn't like bright lights."

"Well, then why is this part out in the light?' Wilykit countered.

Well, that was a good question, wasn't it? And one Wilykat had no answer to. "Well,' he said, peered at a run-down two-story house with a deeply sloped roof. The building all seemed to have a circular shape somewhere on it, there were none that were square like the Warrior Maidens' homes, but of course they were not round huts like the Berbils made. He walked up to one and touched it, and a flake pfd paint fell from the walls. "Let's go in...maybe there's pictures or something inside..."

"What, just walk in without knocking?" Wilykit said. "What if people still live here?' She gave her brother a look that said "What are you, a moron?" and walked up to the door. Raising a fist that shook only slightly, she rapped smartly on the wood. She frowned as a splinter stuck in her knuckle and she pulled it from her skin while she waited.

"No one's coming..." Wilykat said. He dashed over to another house to do the same thing.

Wilykit nearly cried out for him to come back, for some odd reason suddenly not wanting to split up at all, but held herself back. She was being silly; he was just next door, and she could see him just fine. But apparently no one was home there, either. "There's no one here, Wilykit...look at the place!" Wilykat called, and winced a bit. Shouting in this forgotten town seemed like telling crude jokes at a death ceremony. "I'm going in."

"Oh...fine. but wait for me!" Wilykit called back, and ran over. This house was not painted, but its natural colored wooden sides were warped and splintering, long since having lost whatever protective coating the wood might have had. Wilykat tried the door, which was unlocked. Looking at his sister, who looked back with nervous, excited eyes, Wilykat opened the door.

Part 2: Forgotten

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