Wilykit and Wilykat take a dare...and get themselves into major trouble.
1
"I am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!" Wilykat scowled and stuck his tongue out at his sister.
"You are too! You're not a ThunderCat, you're a scaredy-cat!"
Although the pair was soaring across the ground, side by side on their spaceboards, Wilykat turned around and actually slugged his sister in the arm. Most of the time, the quieter of them would argue for a while then leave or something, but today he'd had enough.
Wilykit made a surprised squawking sound, and tottered on one foot, trying to keep her balance, more desperate to save her pride than her hide. It didn't work, and the young ThunderCat fell from her board to sprawl somewhat painfully on the ground.
As her spaceboard crashed into a tree, Wilykit looked up, an expression of abject surprise on her face. It wasn't as if her brother had never hit her before, even in play they were rough, but the fact that he had caught her off guard and actually succeeded was the shock. "Hey!" she said, as Wilykat brought his own board aorund. "I can't believe you did that, Wilykat!"
Wilykat landed and stood next to his sister. he had been about to ask if she was all right, that he hadn't intended to actually hurt her or anything, but now he didn't. he scowled. "Well...what did you expect! You kept calling me a coward, and I'm not!" Near tears, Wilykat kicked his sister in the leg, and pretty hard too. "Just because I'm not as strong as you, or can't do things as well doesn't mean I don't want to, or I'm scared to!" Losing his battle, he wiped his eyes. "You make me feel like I can't DO anything! I'm a ThunderCat too you know. I fight just like you, and I do my best!" With that, he turned and stalked off, getting back on his spaceboard and flying away at top speed.
For a full five minutes, Wilykit only sat on the ground, looking after her angry twin brother. Now that he had never done before, kicked her deliberately when she was down. Wilykit rubbed her leg, which would probably have a bruise on it later. The pair had just come back from a call that was supposed to be a routine check of the area, as they all took turns doing, and had turned out to be a fight with Jackalman and Monkian, who had lain in wait for whoever would be patrolling that day. Seemed they had finally gotten wise enough to try it, and it had almost worked.
They had fought for a long time, neither of the Thunderkittens having had a chance to get to their communicators and call for backup form Cats' Lair. They had done it later, and gotten some very concerned replies...and some of ant admiration when they learned how they had fought well. But though Wilykat fought with as much of his heart as his sister, but his awkwardness had caused him to get clipped by Jackal man's weapon.
Wilykit had had to save his butt...but had it really been necessary to call him all those names? She had been in a bad mood afterwards but now she felt bad.
With a sigh, she got up and went after her brother, but he was long gone, and nowhere around when she got to Cats' Lair.
"Wilykit! Are you all right?" Lion-O had come out of the control room, where he had monitored hers and Wilykat's approach. He was looking at her concerned.
"Yeah, we're okay, Lion-O," she said, accustomed as they both were for speaking for both of them.
Lion-O frowned and looked her over. A few bruises and a couple of scrapes, and a half empty belt of capsules. "That's a big bruise on your leg," he said.
Wilykit scowled. "I-I got that when I fell off my board. After the attack."
Lion-O finally chuckled at her red face. "Did fine in battle but lost the fight with the ground, huh?"
"Yeah," Wilykit said with a shrug. "I don't need to go to the infirmary or anything. Where's Wilykat?"
Lion-O frowned again and sighed. "I don't know, Wilykit. he came home looking pretty upset, and only checked in before leaving again." He paused, "Against my direct order to stay and have his head checked. It was bleeding, Wilykit, what happened?"
Wilykit told Lion-O what had happened in the fight, and gave him a full report. There was another thing Wilykat had never done: refusing an order from the Lord of the ThunderCats. Wilykat had always been a little uncomfortable and awed by Lion-O, his power and strength, and his status as a full grown ThunderCat. She was too, actually, but she never showed it. She was very surprised he had ignored an order from him.
Lion-O looked hard at her. Though she didn't mean to, she averted his gaze and stared as her feet. "Wilykit...did you two have a fight?"
She scowled. She hated it when someone guessed what was wrong when she didn't want them to.. "Yeah," she mumbled.
The young lord sighed. "Go find him will you? I'm a little worried."
To his credit, he didn't tell her to apologize. he believed that if someone were MADE to apologize to someone, they did not mean it, and left that choice up to the other person. Even if that other person was a child.
"Okay," she mumbled again, and went to the hangar to retrieve her spaceboard.
"Wilykaaaat!" she hollered, looking around as she effortlessly rode the winds on her board. She looked left, right. She had already checked the Berbli Village, and the Wollo's city, and the Bolkin territory, and of Wilykat was at any of those places, she did not see him, and the denizens of those places did not either.
Discouraged, she dragged herself back hope at sundown, and strode into the lair. She was sweaty and tired, and not very happy to say the least.
"There you are Wilykit!" This time it was Panthro that greeted her.
"We've been trying to reach you, Cheetara and I were just about to go out looking for you...what happened?"
Frowning, Wilykit looked blankly at Panthro for a minute, the frowned and looked hastily at her communicator She sighed. "I forgot to turn it back on," she mumbled, embarrassed for the second time that day.
Panthro tried to give her a reproachful look, then laughed. "Well glad you're all right at any rate. Wilykat came back a couple of hours ago." He clapped Wilykit on the shoulder. "If it makes you feel better we were thinking about going out in the ThunderTank to look for him too." He snickered good naturedly and winked at her. "But his radio was off purposefully."
Panthro left her, oblivious to her glare as he opened the door to his quarters and went in. normally, Wilykit would have responded to such a good- natured jibe with a punch to the arm--if Panthro let her anyway. She knew that he could easily avoid an attack from most people let alone a cub, but today she wasn't in the mood, and was sick of being taken lightly by the adults. This had not been Panthro's intention this time, but the way she was feeling, she took it as such.
She stalked into the room she and Wilykat shared to see him lying on his bed reading a book. He was still dressed in his tunic, which was dirty and torn, and she could see the blood dried on his head. "You didn't even let Tygra look at you did you?" she asked, sounding more accusatory than she had intended.
Wilykat looked up, glared at her, then went back to reading his book. "It doesn't hurt," her finally growled.
"It doesn't?"
"No!" It came back sharply, and Wilykit didn't think he had meant it to sound like that.
Suddenly she understood. He was proving that he was tough, that he could take it. but as she got closer and actually looked at the wound, she surmised it probably hurt like hell. She felt worse than she had before, but before she could say anything, she heard Lion-O calling her. With a sigh, she went from the room.
"Yeah?" she asked, a little apprehensively.
"Wilykit." Lion-O sat down. "Have a seat. Wilykat was hurt in the fight you two were in, but refuses to let anyone look at him, not even Tygra could convince him. That gash needs to be looked at. And I think you can convince him to allow it. It's not bad enough for me to force him, as despite what you think we don't like treating you like small cubs. At least we try not to."
Wilykit was a little surprised that Lion-O had sad that, but nodded. "Well...okay, Lion-O. I'll try."
"Thank you. But first, go see Tygra please, just for him to check you out."
Wilykit grumbled, but did as she'd been asked, and getting a clean bill of heath and an admonition to get some sleep.
"Wilykat?"
Silence. Then, "What?" He was still reading his book.
Wilykit sighed and sat on her bed. "Wilykat...I'm sorry okay? I didn't really mean what I said...I just...I guess I was mad." She shrugged. "I don't know why. I thought Jackalman was gonna kill you, and I guess I got scared, and i don't like being scared, and like admitting it even less." This was very true, but said partly to make Wilykat be a little less stubborn. She walked over and touched his head, noting that he had to work very hard not to wince. "Why don't you have Tygra look at it...I mean what if you have a concussion? Next time you fight you could get killed."
Wilykat looked at his sister with a small degree of wonder. Though the two of them usually were not shy about acting afraid in each other's presence, it was unlike Wilykit to come right out and say it. he lowered his head. "Okay," he said, and stood from the bed. "Sorry for kicking you...I was mad, too."
"It's okay..." The young ThunderCat watched her brother leave.
"Well good to see you," Tygra said, as Wilykat walked in looking pretty sullen. "Hop up here and let me take a look." Tygra checked the boy over, looking into his eyes and cleaning the gash thoroughly. He put a disinfectant/healing salve on it before putting a glaring white bandage on the injury and telling him he had no concussion, but was to take it easy for a couple of days.
"Thanks, Tygra." Wilykat hopped down, admitting to himself that he felt better.
As he left, he heard something with his keen hearing that he was sure he wasn't supposed to overhear. "Well he came in," Tygra said.
"Yeah, I knew that Wilykit would figure out a way to get him to cooperate a little bit. i was kind of worried about that injury."
"The kid's tougher than we give him credit for."
At this point the two ThunderCats moved too far to be heard, and though
Wilykat was pleased at their saying he was tough...he was also angry all over again at Wilykit. he stormed into the room.
"What's wrong?"
"Shut up!" he screamed at her, crying once again. He hated crying; it was a curse that his sister did not as often have. "You just said all that to trick me into going to the infirmary!" He flopped on his bed and covered himself with the blanket.
"What?? I did not!"
"I heard Tygra and Lion-O say so!" came the voice from under the heavy blanket, muffled.
Wilykit looked at him, wounded. She HADN'T said them just for that! She touched his covered form, and jumped back when he kicked out at her.
"Leave me alone!"
Biting her lip, Wilykit went to her own side of the room and lay down. "I didn't say it for that..." she said, sounding as if she were pouting. She sighed and turned out the light and closed her eyes. but the troubled young warrior was not quick to sleep.
Part Two
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