13

Truce

Lynx-O invited Lion-O, Wilykit, and Wilykat to stay at their abode for the night while they made their plans, and they readily agreed. Contacting Panthro to let him know, since he had gone back to the Lair once he realized how long they were taking to get there, and let him know what was doing on., He answered everyone's questions and told them to expect three guests in a couple of days' time.

Lion-O had made the twins tell them everything they had done, whether they were supposed to do it or not, and they did, through much fidgeting and mumbling. Lynx-O was smiling, as he'd raised Pumyra and Bengali and was well aware of such antics. Of course on the island they lived on it was difficult to get into as much mischief. But he'd seen, so to speak, his share of it. Passing the thread back and forth, often finishing the other's sentences, they related everything they had found

Lion-O was rather spooked, and even Lynx-O's group, who had lived there, were unnerved. Especially when they mentioned the mist and the forest taking back the village into itself, and the creature they'd encountered that they believed had once been Thunderian. And their theory of mutation caused by the meteorite, and what they saw when they went to see it.

"The forest was not like that around it when I went to see," Lynx-O said, remembering something that was getting more and more difficult to remember: sight. "It was burned, yes, because the meteorite was hot. But not mutated as you describe. I think you are right. It somehow reacted with the gasses in the forest and began to mutate everything, and to affect our village at an astonishing rate." It made sense, he realized sadly.

The twins nodded.

"Lynx-O," Lion-O said, "Please excuse us."

The lynx nodded. "Of course."

Lion-O gestured at the twins, and shoulders hunched, they followed him. Lion-O took them outside outside to tell them off for what they'd done saying that he would not punish them, but was very disappointed. The young lord spoke of trust, and lying, and the ThunderCat code of honor, the Code of Thundera. His lecture was far more effective than any punishment could have been. Being punished would have made them resentful, feeling further they were not treated as equals. But how Lion-O spoke to them, as friends who had betrayed his trust...

Shamed, they stared at the ground, shifting their feet as Lion-O spoke, and neither of them said anything until he was done. "We're sorry, Lion-O," Wilykit said, digging her toe into the ground. "We didn't do it just because we wanted to lie to you or anything, honest."

"Yeah," Wilykat said. "It's just that talking 'rationally' and "mature" like you guys always ram into our heads to do doesn't work! All it gets us is patronizing smiles and pats on the head, and someone saying, 'When you grow up you'll understand.' We do understand, a lot more than you guys think we do..."

'...and can take care of ourselves a lot better! But no one listens to us, and when we do something to prove it...no one watches," Wilykit finished, and both twins looked up at Lion-O at the same time.

To their surprise, he did not look angry. He looked thoughtful, like he was seriously considering what they had said. "You're right in many things, twins," he said to them. "And I should probably understand you more than the others do. It's difficult sometimes to get past appearances. It's hard to get past your small size, your youth. When an idea of a certain kind of person is lodged in someone's mind..." he shook his head ruefully. "That's one thing we adults could take a lesson from the children in. They are far more accepting. I accept your apology. I will speak with the others, and maybe we can come to an agreement. But for now, we have some things to take care of. okay?"

He smiled, and the relieved twins smiled back, and they went back inside.

***

Plans were made that night. lynx-O said that if they had someone among them who knew their way around machines that they could perhaps go back into the village and take one of the hover craft and repair it. They went on the water, he explained, and sighed. "I would feel badly, taking someone else's craft. But if what you say is accurate, they are in no state of being to be able to use them."

Lion-O nodded sympathetically. "I truly am sorry for your loss."

Lynx-O smiled. "Thank you. I only wish they'd listened to us." Then his expression hardened. "But with that Mumm-Ra creature, it would not have mattered, would it?"

"I wonder why he hasn't done the same to us," Wilykit said. "I mean, if he could..." her voice trailed off.

"We had no technology to protect ourselves with, Wilykit," Lynx-O said quietly. "I daresay your base and your weaponry has protected you."

"Yeah," Lion-O said heavily. "That miserable bag of bones. He wasn't ready for the leap in technology our kind had made by the time we got here, I guess."

"And the Sword of Omens," Wilykit put in.

Lion-O nodded. "Well we had better get some rest," he said, looking out of the little windows to see that it was dark out. The flickering torches were all they had now for light. "We've got a big move ahead of us."

In the morning, they used Wilykit and Wilykat's spaceboards to begin the trip back to the mainland, where Panthro would be waiting with the ThunderTank. Lion-O offered to take two of the adults first, as the twins were quite happy to stay behind for a while so that they could see the island. Bengali, in an effort to make peace, had also offered to stay behind and show them around.

Lion-O was only a little bit wary of this, but remembering his vow to try and trust the twins on their own a bit more, he had agreed. Lynx-O seemed to be going through a similar debate, but in the end he and Pumyra had sat together on one of the boards.

Lion-O had insisted that they practice a bit on land first, as they were a bit difficult to get used to if one has never used such a thing before. Lynx-O surprised him after a bit of practice by flying flawlessly around the island alone, with no one to guide him. Amazed, Lion-O asked him how he did it and hoped he did not take offense.

Lynx-O chuckled, both at Lion-O's question and at Pumyra's teasing accusation of being a showoff. "It has been twenty years since I lost my eyes, young lord," he said kindly, putting a hand on Lion-O's shoulder. "I have had many years to learn this island, front to back. And many years to use all of my other senses to the best of their possible ability to compensate."

"Well I am impressed, my friend,' Lion-O said with a grin. "I daresay you might even insist that you guide, while Pumyra sits behind you." He smiled at the young woman to let her know he was kidding.

"And she is a lady, and thus might be apt to guide us right into the water," Lynx-O said, teasing.

Pumyra made an indignant sound and smacked him, right on the arm. And then she laughed. "Just for that, Lynx-O, you can stand in the back."

But eventually, they were ready to go, and stocked up on supplies. Lion-O left the twins his communicator, taking the one they'd brought for that purpose. "You make sure and call if anything happens," he warned them. "We probably won't be back until the morning, or even the afternoon."

"We'll be fine, Lion-O," Wilykat said, laughing. No matter how hard they tried, adults couldn't manage to leave anyone young alone anywhere without a million instructions.

"Yes," Bengali said dryly. "It's only my home, after all. Why should I know it well enough to be safe?" But he smiled a bit to let Lion-O know he wasn't angry.

"All right all right, I get the hint." Lion-O waved to the three and he set off, leading the way.

The three youths spend the day roaming the island, and running around in the woods. They stayed up rather later than they should have, admittedly, but they were still up early in the morning, waiting for Lion-O. By the time he arrived, Bengali and the twins were fast friends. "All right," he said to the trio. "You've got the supplies ready?"

Bengali pointed to two neat bundles on the shore, and Lion-O looked pleased. Even more please he was when he saw how they were acting with each other, almost as if they'd known each other all their lives. "All right," he said. "One adult, one kit on each board, to even the weight out. These poor boards have been protesting now for the past hour."

"I'll ride with Bengali," Wilykit said with a grin. "I've got to teach him a thing or two about riding spaceboards."

Bengali shoved her lightly, but he laughed. "All right, hotshot. Let's see your stuff."

At this challenge, Kit hopped onto her board and did a quick spin-about before stopping so that Bengali could get on.

The trip was tiring, but mostly uneventful. The exception to this was Wilykit smacking Bengali for a smart-ass comment he made, and him shoving her back. It was good natured enough, but it knocked the light kitten off balance and she fell into the water with a splash. This in turn tipped the spaceboard and Bengali too tumbled off.

Lion-O got rather cross, and Wilykat laughed until tears came form his eyes, but there were no more incidents after that.

That night they were all at the Lair, dry, clean, and warm. Lynx-O said it had been a long time since he'd had a hot shower, and Bengali had never had one. Red-faced, he admitted he'd been fascinated by the hot and cold water controls and had spent time playing with them, turning them down and up, which would account for the time it took him to bathe.

The twins told everyone where the village was, and answered some questions that Lion-O had not been able to. They showed them the journals and books they'd found, and Lynx-O held his journal in his hands for a very long time, his expression unreadable. It must be strange, holding something you'd made when you could see, and now not being able to see it.

They would go to the village in the morning.

Part 14: Village of Mist

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