Italics= Character's thoughts/flashbacks
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POV: Cheetara
Once we got back to Cat's Lair Pumyra took me and Lion-O to the infirmary. She gave him an oxygen mask before coming to me with some medical supplies. She put something on a cloth, probably just water since I barely felt anything, and began cleaning my shoulder. Once the dirt was off she started cleaning out the wound. I bit my lip slightly from the stinging sensation but waited it out.
Pumyra put everything away and said "Ok so I'm going to tell you right now we don't have any kind of anesthetics so the stitches are probably going to hurt" I looked at her "Probably?" All she could do was shrug "Yea depending on your pain tolerance, besides you didn't feel yourself get cut in the first place so I'm sure you'll be fine"
"That's different though, you of all cats know what adrenaline can do to people" Lion-O said with a chuckle "My point exactly!" I told her but she only rolled her eyes and laughed "You've gone through much worse I'm sure you'll be fine" she joked
I sighed "Alright fine just get it over with." Pumyra and Lion-O just laughed a little the she began stitching the wound. The first time caught me by surprise making me bite my tongue to keep quiet, I'm assuming Lion-O noticed since he started to make small talk with me and soon enough it was over. I was surprised by how quick it was but didn't say anything, as I was about to get up Pumyra gave me an oxygen and sat me down
"I want you to wear this for at least 30 minutes, I know I can't make you 2 stay here all day but just wear them for a little bit then you can go clean yourselves up." We nodded then she left
It was quiet until Lion-O spoke up "You know I still haven't thanked you" and I couldn't help but smile "Of course, I couldn't just leave you there" he smiled back then looked down as if wondering what to say before his face shot up "Did Avalon find his son?"
"Avalon? Oh, The last worker? Yea his son practically tackled him as soon as he came out" I said with a chuckle as he let out a sigh of relief "Good, I promised that I'd get them back together. I just wanted to make sure" he said laying back down and looking at the ceiling, I could tell something was bothering him and I'm pretty sure I knew what.
"You miss him don't you?" He looked at me surprised "How did you-" I shook my head slightly "Trust me I know that look all too well." He sat up and took off the mask for a bit "Yea. Its weird to think that I was only 12, I didn't even have a chance to see or experience much of Thundera. What about you?"
"Yea. I wish I could've brought my family with me or spent more time with them but they're gone now and there's nothing we can do. We still have the memories and that's all that matters." I said with a small smile before taking my mask off and getting up "If anyone asks I'm going to shower then take a walk" he nodded before I left
3rd POV:
Cheetara gathered clean clothes and went to the bathroom to shower. After turning on the soothing hot water she washed the dirt off and stared at her hands. With a flick of the hand water droplets began to float at her fingertips, she sighed and let the water fall again.
"Its alright, as long as they never find out it'll be alright."
At least, that's what she told herself. After the shower she put on a clean uniform and went outside, not bothering to dry her hair. She walked around in the woods until she found a clearing with a pond, it was surprisingly clean and clear compared to other ponds, and even lakes, she's seen.
She walked to the edge and put her foot above the water in hesitation then took a step, the water forming around her foot to hold her weight. She smiled slightly then took another step, now completely standing on the water.
She walked to the middle of the pond then began different gestures, each one being a new command for the water to follow. She smiled and relaxed, maybe to much, as she continued memories started to flow through her mind as easily as the water itself.
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"Mom! Dad! Look!" She called as she and her sister practiced waterbending, everything was fine and they were having fun until-
*snap*
"Ow!" Her sister cried as she held onto her now bleeding arm. By that time her parents came out and saw the scene before rushing over to her sister "What happened?? Ryker go get some bandages!" Their mother ordered as their father came back with some gauze and held it against her arm.
"Cheetara! What happened??" He asked angrily"I-I didn't mean to! It was an accident!" She pleaded with tear filled eyes"It really was an accident dad! Honest!" Her sister confirmed. Ryker sighed as his expression softened"Go on inside and take care of her ok?" Her mother nodded and took cheetara's sister inside, leaving the 2 of them alone.
"Dad I-" she started but got cut off by her father kneeling in front of her and putting a hand on her shoulder "I know, but this is starting to get concerning. This is the 3rd time this week" he said with worry in his eyes, all she could do was look down"I know... I'm really trying I promise!" She said between sniffles as her dad hugged her close "I know, that's all we could ever ask for but... Maybe we should practice on other things ok?"
"Ok... Is Kendra ok?" He hesitated before saying "Well you cut her pretty deep so she might need stitches but she'll be fine." he said trying to comfort her "Oh... Ok" she said still upset but not wanting to keep talking about it anymore.
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She snapped out of it as she felt herself fall into the cold water, she resurfaced as she gasped from shock and swam back. Once she got out she warmed her body temperature to dry herself.
After the water evaporated a shiver went down her spine, though not from the cold. She sat down by the edge and raked her fingers through her hair with a sigh.
"I hate this..." She said as someone walks out of the tree line "Hate what?" Tygra asked, making her jump. She looked at him and relaxed "By Jaga you scared me, how long have you even been there?"
He chuckled and sat next to her "Sorry. I wanted a break after today so I came out for a walk then I heard a splash and saw you sitting here. Everything ok?"
She nodded then looked back to the pond before answering "Yeah I just... Have some things on my mind that's all." He was a little concerned for her but didn't want to push any boundaries "Do you want to talk about it? I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me to" he offered
She shook her head "It's difficult..." At this point Tygra really was worried for his friend, he'd never seen her upset like this before. "Well I won't make you tell me but if you need someone to talk to you know we would all be happy to listen." He offered
She smiled at him and nodded "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind" soon after she stood up and dusted herself off "I should be heading back for my shift on the scanners"
He only nodded then turned back to the pond as he started skipping a few rocks while she walked away.
Cheetara's heart was racing, she felt like she just ran a whole marathon at full speed. Was all this really worth it? Going through all the trouble to keep her abilities a secret? The art had been lost for generations, what would they say if they found out a Thundercat and her family were the first in years to be magically born with the power of the elements?
The last known bender died after the clans united and made peace on thundera, that is until her mother and father. She and her siblings would be told stories of how they'd dream about each other long before actually meeting. Her mom was born with the ability to control air, she was always the fastest growing up, so much so that the wind would change as she ran by.
Everyone thought it was due to her speed since the change was never dramatic, that is until she was attacked on her way walking home. Someone became aggravated at her for some reason and one thing lead to another, the stranger tried to attack her. Out of reflex she held her hands out to protect herself as a spiral of wind came out and knocked them out.
Shocked and terrified she ran home and never told anybody, it wasn't until later when she spilt a drink she discovered her water bending. Cheetara's father on the other hand, boy was he something. Her dad was a proud man though still knew when to pick his battles. One day his words got him into some trouble and caused a fight.
He wasn't afraid to lose but if he went down he took his opponents with him. Well when he was outside by a camp fire some cats started throwing out a few choice words, in doing this it caused a fist fight. They fought for what seemed like hours until he was shoved into the campfire and while it was hot he didn't get burned, it was as if the fire moved around him as some sort of shield.
It wasn't long before he was able to control it enough to scare them off. As time went on he discovered his earthbending abilities and soon the dreams started to make more sense. They both would find themselves bending 2 or more elements with each other. It was strange though because they had never met each other, yet they clearly saw the other's face in full detail.
Years later they finally met and what seemed like deja vu at first became obvious. Their 6th senses led them to each other, they discovered that they had similar gifts and began training and teaching each other forms as they documented them until they became fully realized avatars.
They eventually told their parents about their gifts but still kept it secret from the public. Once they got married they swore that if they had kids with their gift they would teach them as much as possible, that is until they realized how difficult it'd be.
It all started out fine, they taught the 3 kids the basics of whatever element they first discovered and grew from there. It wasn't until they were more advanced when things began to be more difficult.
Cheetara's sister, Kendra, picked up the forms rather quickly while her brother struggled more. Cheetara on the other hand, she struggled the most because how well she performed. One minute she would be finishing a lesson then out of nowhere her bending would do something she hadn't even seen before and in result would break or hurt someone.
Eventually it got so out of hand that she stopped bending entirely and kept it a secret from everyone outside her family. Especially the Thundercats. If they knew they'd either be scared or ask her to use her abilities during missions and she didn't want to take any chances.
She snapped out of her daze when she realized she was already at the door to the lair. She took a deep breath to calm herself and went inside to the scanners.