Fleur D'Amour
by Fuuko no Miko
11/30/2011
Chapter 3
The Tension
Author notes:
I've been on a ThunderCat Marathon (much to my 5 year old's chagrin, he wanted to watch Tangled) to pick up more ideas for chapter 3.
This may take a little longer than the first two chapters. I was thinking this to be the last chapter but knowing me, it might extend to another one or two.
Bear with me, fellow shippers.
And the more I watch it, the more I *heart* Panthro! He is such a badass, lol!
Panthro: Hey you're not including me in this silly cotton candy story are you?
Me: I just might, but don't worry! I'll make sure you get all the nice dialogue!
FYI, this scenario was set during "The Duelist and The Drifter" episode as well as parts of "Berbils." And if I'm not too indecisive, maybe "The Forest of Magi Oar."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"Feminine wiles are nothing but trouble."
Tygra turned to his right. "Huh?"
"You heard me!" snapped Panthro. "Female cats are nothing but trouble. They mess with your head. They mess with your work. They mess with your judgment…"
A smidgen of dirt fell on Tygra's forehead when Panthro started banging on the Thundertank. He wiped it off with the back of his hand while shooting a confused look at his comrade who was hammering the bottom of the vehicle incessantly. "I'm not understanding." he yelled at the top of his voice, trying to speak over the loud clanging.
"Hand me that sharp looking silver thingamajig over there."
"The what?" Tygra was covering his ears now. Panthro's beating on the underbelly of the tank made it feel like he was inside a ringing bell instead of under the Thundertank.
"That danggung sharp, pointy, silver thing over to your left! I don't know what's freaking called! I just know what it does!"
With one hand covering his ear, Tygra reached from under the tank to Panthro's toolbox.
"That's my foot."
Tygra jerked his hand away and reflexively sat up, forgetting the tank bottom was just six inches from his head.
Baaaang!
The sound of his head hitting the metal underwork of the tank was louder than any mechanical sound Panthro was making, this followed by an even louder "Ooooooowww!"
The thundertank started chugging.
"Hey I guess that's all we needed!" the panther exclaimed. He turned to the still dazed tiger, patting him on the shoulder, "Good job!"
"You okay Tygra?" a small voice piped in.
"That's gonna leave a mark. Luckily, not on the tank."
Panthro let out a roar of laughter before sliding out from under his vehicle. He dragged Tygra out by one leg and dropped him like a bad habit on the ground. The older thundercat could all but take two steps before falling on his knees from laughing. He tried to wipe tears from eyes while making an effort not to choke.
Tygra was literally seeing stars.
"Not funny!" he barked while trying to sit up and regain his bearings. He put a hand on his forehead and tried to focus on restoring his vision. There was a lump the size of a breadfruit on his forehead and when he took his hand off he felt something wet.
Is that blood?
The kittens were no help. They were roaring louder than Panthro.
"I'm sorry." he heard her apologize. "I thought I heard Panthro asking for the sharp silver whatever-that-thing is." he then felt a warm hand on his forehead, trying to stop the bleeding with a ripped piece of cloth which he recognized was a sliver off her wardrobe. "It was out of reach so I tried to hand it to you."
Through his daze he could make out her figure kneeling next to his sorry behind, her hand pressed against his head. He felt her other hand supporting his back. A light breeze blew strands of her golden hair across his face.
Maybe I should do this more often.
This is so worth it.
His two minutes of bliss were rapidly replaced by chagrin when he heard her call WilyKit and requested her to hold on to the cloth while she looked for some herbs to dress his wound.
"Trouble I tell you." Panthro shook his head after getting over his laughing spell. He stood above Tygra and pushed his index finger on his bump as though to emphasize a point. "Especially clerics."
Cheetara didn't know how she made it trying to hold her breath throughout the half hour that followed. She's never been this close to him. She tried to focus on the inch-sized open wound oozing on his forehead instead of the proximity of his face to her chest.
She can feel his breath on her skin and couldn't help the goosebumps that rose.
Think disgusting thoughts. Think disgusting thoughts. Think disgusting thoughts.
Mumm-ra's morning breath. Katarah's attempts to bake anything. Washing soiled linen from the "punishment" laundry pile.
She felt him flinch when she rubbed the crushed leaves on his injury.
"Sorry." she muttered. "It'll heal in no time though." she stepped back to check her handiwork and to actually bring her feet back down to earth from a momentary walk in the clouds..
That was over too soon.
If only you knew how adorable you looked at attempting to be a gentleman.
Cheetara threw away the rest of the salve and a little too quickly walked away.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"I owe you one." he called after her as she disappeared in the thicket.
"Don't mention it." she called back, trying not to turn her head to hide the crimson in her cheeks.
Cleric ability to hide blushing. Fail!
Panthro smacked him on the back a little too hard. "Kid, you're hopeless." he muttered and marched back to his machine. "My baby's making progress! Woohooo!"
Tygra exhaled. He tried so hard not to breathe on her chest while she tended to his wound that he almost passed out.
Maybe I should've, he realized, That'd make her attend to me longer.
On second thought, she might just leave him to the mercy of the twins and a panther that didn't care diddly squat.
I just can't win.
Cheetara took that time to walk by herself in the forest. They've had a long, intense journey and times for quiet self-reflection are few and far between.
She took seat on a big, flat rock that faced a small clearing where the uneven sized trees let through splinters of sunshine. She lay down, closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of the rays and a breeze that made its way through the leaves. The scene was so serene it almost made one forget.
Almost.
She was handed a first dose of tragedy when she lost her family before she even knew them. She had grown up in an orphanage among other parentless cubs. They were never deprived of love, however, as their foster mother treated them like her own. She had been a great woman, making them the best meals and telling them great legends of Thundera. She had been a cleric to King Claudus' court before she had become too ill to carry out her duties. She had left with Jaga's blessing and had decided to welcome to her home those unfortunate cubs with nowhere to go.
"I'm going to be a cleric too, Mama," Cheetara remembered telling her foster mother when she was barely 4 years of age. "So I can serve the kingdom just like you."
Her Mama would then ruffle her hair and always say, "You can be anything you put your mind to, my golden angel."
The day after her Mama's illness took its toll, was the day Cheetara found herself taking the road towards the clerics residence in the Thunderan palace.
And that's when she first crossed paths with him
Cheetara remembered that day well. He couldn't spew a word out of his mouth when she first approached him with a question. She had found him quite adorable then, with the admiration only a ten year old could understand. She had been watching him being ignored by passersby for a few minutes before she decided to talk to him. She sensed that he too, wanted to belong and be useful.
Little did she know that he belonged to the royal family. He didn't have the airs of a blueblood. He seemed like a very down-to-earth kind of cat.
Then there was the flower.
Still intact, although fragile, she kept it in her keep for as long as she could, as much as she could.
His act of kindness continues to warm her heart, even twelve years later.
However…
Since when did he become so…snarky?
And the nerve! Wink at her during a sacred passing of the gauntlet ceremony! Who on Thundera did he think he was?
Or who did he think she was? She was no easy prey! She was nothing like those other ladies of the court who fainted at the sight of him and had no qualms about confessing their attraction.
No sir, not me!
A smile crossed her lips.
I wonder what he would've done if I winked back at him?
The object of her thoughts, unbeknownst to her, had been observing her quietly amongst the trees. Her eyes were closed so couldn't see that he was sitting in a branch just about twenty feet from where she lay.
Tygra had decided against rendering himself invisible as he watched her. He thought that was a little creepy.
And stalkerish.
She looked so peaceful, laying there, her hair spread like a blanket of gold against the onyx-like blackness of the rock where she laid. Her features so serene and delicate, no one would think that under that gentle demeanor was a fierce, loyal warrior who defended her kingdom with the determination of a Thunderan general. She was a study in contrasts, a cat who looked like an angel yet who fought like the devil.
He sighed.
So near, and yet so far.
"Do you like Cheetara too, Tygra?"
The tiger prince almost fell off his perch. He caught himself just in time and regained his balance. He quickly covered WilyKat's mouth over before rapidly taking him down the tree with him and pulling him aside beyond earshot.
I heard that.
She felt a tiny flutter on her chest.
The prince doesn't realize sometimes how unintentionally cute he can be.
Cute and snarky.
And stalkerish.
Somehow that didn't sound right.
"What was that for?" WilyKat finally piped up after getting dragged halfway through the forest by Tygra who's ears looked a little too perky and pointy at this particular moment in time.
WilyKat thought he saw smoke coming out of his ears.
And nose.
"I was just asking." He smiled sheepishly. "Geez."
"And where on third earth did you ever get that idea?"
The young kitten kicked some imaginary dirt with his toes. "Panthro."
His jaw dropped open. "What?"
"Panthro said you look at Cheetara different." The little one grinned from ear to ear. "But he said women were nothing but trouble. Aaaand…." He paused thoughtfully before continuing, "He actually told me to get you because he needed help with the Thundertank."
Tygra turned around, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath and stomped back towards their camp site.
WilyKit somehow mysteriously appeared next to her brother. "I told you he'd get mad." she lectured. Her eyes then became dreamy, "When I grow up, I'm going to be as pretty as Cheetara and have all the kings and princes fight over me."
WilyKat crossed his arms, "I don't see that happening." He rubbed his chin, "Yep, that's pretty impossible if you ask me."
He scampered away before Kit had the chance to hit him on the head.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo
It was complete chaos.
The sounds of explosion, The deafening screams. The collapse of the once great walls of Thundera. The scampering of animals everywhere in the futile attempt to escape their inevitable fate.
It was a sight of pure terror.
Camouflaged among the first walls that had collapsed were the clerics. They sat motionless, awaiting for the signal for them to commence battle.
Beneath her hood, Cheetara couldn't help but feel an unspeakable horror. She had never seen this much destruction. And though her intense training as a cleric prevented her from showing emotions, inside she felt her heart being ripped to pieces as her once called home had become a smoking debris.
"This is it."
She turned to Katarah, who was crouched a few feet away. Through the darkness, she can see the sadness in her feline friend's eyes.
And tears streaming down her face. The veil covering her facial features was stained.
In the twelve years she had trained with her fellow cleric, Cheetara had never seen Katarah shed a tear. Not when anyone died, not when she got punished, not when she had been put through trials that would break even the mightiest of Thundercats.
Yet today….
Her friend seemed to have read her mind.
"This is our home, Cheetara. Our life." she responded to the unspoken question. "Thundera is all I have lived for." she paused before continuing, "I'm not going to let any creature desecrate it."
The cheetah nodded in agreement.
And as they prepared for battle, her friend removed the veil from her face and looked at her intently. "You are the sister I never had, Cheetara." she said, "One I will always cherish to the afterlife."
Cheetara swallowed, trying to hold back her own emotions. "You're my sister too, Katarah." was all she could muster at that moment.
The lioness replaced her veil, "Cheetara, if I don't make it through this, can you promise me something?"
She shot her a querying look.
"That if you make it…" she spoke as though making a prophecy, "That you will keep an eye on my cousins?"
The puzzled expression on her face drew an answer from the other cleric. "King Claudus is my uncle. Lion-O and Tygra are my cousins. I relinquished my royal position to become a cleric when they were but babies, so they don't know me, but I know them. I would rather serve the crown than wear one."
"They're going to be great leaders someday." Katarah continued before winking at Cheetara, "As long as they don't kill each other first."
The signal was given.
"Farewell, my sister."
Cheetara jolted from her sleep, a silent scream on her lips. The last vision she had before the rude awakening was her friend meeting her death in the hands of Mumm-Ra.
"No!" she gasped.
Across the campfire, a figure was crouched over, feeding the flame with the logs he just retrieved. It was his turn to be the night watch when he observed her moving restlessly in her sleep. When she snapped awake breathing heavily and with an expression of terror on her face, he knew she was having a nightmare.
Again.
He was beside her in a heartbeat.
"Are you okay?"
His hand was on her upper back, gently touching. It seemed to take a while for her to realize it had all just been a very bad dream.
She looked at him, confused at first. Her eyes had an expression of fear that he had never witnessed before. There were beads of sweat on her forehead and what appeared to be the beginning of tears in her eyes.
"It's not real. You're alright." he gently reassured her as he rubbed her back. "I'm here."
It took ungodly restraint for him not to take her in his arms and hold her tightly until her fears faded away.
Once realizing it wasn't real, Cheetara covered her mouth, stifling a cry of anguish. She buried her face in her hands and shook her head, as though trying to shake the terrible visions away.
The next thing she knew he had put an arm around her shoulders and had slowly pulled her against his comforting chest. She felt his claws gently stroking her hair.
"It's okay, Cheetara. I'm here for you."
She closed her eyes, resigning to the warmth of his gentle embrace. She allowed him to ease her pain with quiet resignation.
It was this vision of his brother holding her that greeted Lion-O when he stirred. He had heard the minor turmoil and had slowly opened one eye to see what it was all about.
No.
Must you challenge me on everything, brother?
The duel he had earlier had taken a great physical toll on him and he was unable to keep awake for a second longer. The last thing he saw before he drifted back to sleep was the cleric in his brother's arms.
A cat can get used to this, Tygra thought, still maintaining his light hold on her. He felt her hand on his open chest. He had discarded some parts of his armor earlier to clean them up, rendering his upper chest bare. Under her hand his heart was beating erratically, betraying the calm, cool, exterior he presented.
I love you so much.
Too much.
But I don't have the courage to tell you.
I've been rejected by the sword of Omens already.
If you rejected me too then that will be the end of me.
He bit his lower lip in restraint, lest he voice out what his heart had been telling him all along, all this time.
She lifted her head and looked at him. There was an intense fire in his gentle brown eyes that burned.
"Are you okay?" she blinked as she pulled away from his embrace. It was extremely tempting to stay in the warmth of his comforting arms, but there was something about it that she couldn't put her finger on that made her pull away.
"I should be asking you that." somehow, snarky Tygra reappeared, the trademark smirk registering on his features. "You're the one waking up in a tizzy."
She didn't know whether she wanted to thank him for calming her down or slap him upside the head for that last comment.
Their gazes locked for a second or two.
"Thank you." she decided at last, crawling back into her sleeping bag. "I owe you one."
"That makes us even." he replied, indicating the healing laceration on his forehead.
He could've kicked himself repeatedly for the last exchange.
You blew it, you idiot. Big time.
He growled in frustration. Why does this have to be so hard?
You know Tygra, sometimes it's the one you like the most that's the most difficult to express your feelings to, Urdu used to tell him.
Why is that? He couldn't believe they were talking about women in the middle of an arm wrestling match.
Because you're so emotionally involved that you're afraid of messing it up. Then you end up saying something really dumb!
Are you talking from experience?
You're going to be in those shoes someday, just you wait.
Not in this lifetime my friend. Felines are putty in Prince Tygra's hands!
Oh you'll find your match, you will. Someday some sly kitten is going to make putty out of you.
It's too bad he perished early in battle, Urdu did. He would've loved to hear Tygra admit that he was right.
xoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxox
"Hey kid, mind if I borrow that noggin of yours again?" Panthro bellowed through the rain as he started hammering on the Thundertank, yet again.
"It's only single use, thank you very much." Tygra replied as he sat against a giant mushroom, rubbing the linear scar on his forehead. It's barely perceptible now. "You can ask Lion-O though, I'm sure his skull's thicker than mine."
"Oooh, no wonder the Thunder tank's broken. It got hit by something more dense." the Thunderian lord remarked.
"Would you like to feel something that's even denser?"
"Forget I even asked." the panther rubbed his rain soaked head.
"Cheetara said you had a bump the size of my fist."
"Well then it wasn't such a big bump was it?"
It took all of Panthro's self-control not to want to pick up the brothers and use both their heads on the Thundertank, just for a laugh if nothing else.
"Good night." Cheetara spoke aloud to signal the brothers that it was time to hit the sack.
"Sweet dreams."
He wasn't sure if he or his brother who had replied to her, as Tygra could no longer keep his eyelids open. He leaned against the giant mushroom and fell into slumber. They've all had a long day of travel with no food, no supplies and now, no shelter. The downpour was like a punchline to this joke nobody was laughing at.
He stirred about a few hours later, his back hurting from his bad position. He was awakened by the symphony of snores of Panthro and Lion-O. He was about to throw whatever was within arm's reach at his brother when he felt something soft brushing against his left hand.
Spider?
Rodent?
Snarf?
He moved his hand an inch when he felt something nuzzle his left shoulder.
Whoa.
He almost snapped into full consciousness when he saw the waves of golden hair resting on this shoulder.
Am I dreaming?
She shifted very slightly, turning her head towards him. She pressed her face a little closer to his upper chest. If he hadn't been wearing thick armor, he swore he would feel her gentle breath on his fur.
He doesn't recall her even being remotely near him when he fell asleep. If he remembered correctly she was standing up and scanning the surroundings before telling him and Lion-O to clam up and go to bed.
Times like this he wished he had his blue royal garments on, it would have allowed her to sleep closer to him.
Despite his back and neck muscles threatening to cramp on him, he didn't budge an inch as he didn't want to wake her up by moving.
He also didn't want to take the chance that she change her mind and move to the mushroom tree right across him where his brother was doing his best impression of their late father.
He looked at her with want in his eyes. The small of her back was resting so close to his wrist that he resisted the temptation to put his arm around her waist and pull her closer to keep her warm from this torrent.
He could sit like this all night and just watch her sleep, muscle cramps notwithstanding.
Alas the fatigue set in rather too quickly for his liking as his lids fell heavy once more. He tilted his head towards the top of hers, getting the scent of her hair in his nostrils. His impulse control nil, he had planted but the lightest of kisses on the top of her sleeping head.
"I love you." he whispered almost inaudibly.
Her ears twitched, but he had already gone back to sleep.
"I love you too." she replied softly, barely hearing herself that she wasn't sure she actually said it or if it was her subconscious that was talking.
In the background, the pelting of the rain lulled them all back to slumber. And for once, since the invasion of her homeland, Cheetara did not have a single nightmare.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Me: Coming up, Chapter 4 and The Forest of Magi Oar! And maybe even the last chapter!
Tygra: About time. I need to get me some action!
Me; Hey! This is a kid-friendly story!
Cheetara: Pervert.
Tygra: Hey I wasn't the one who put their arms up my shirt.
Cheetara: That was on top of your armor. The angle just made it look like I had my arms in your shirt. Those animators are just as demented as you are.
Tygra: How did we end up with this conversation? I wasn't referring to anything perverted at all!
Me: If you're looking for an action story, then you're in the wrong fanfiction. I don't do combat.
Cheetara: You guys are giving me a headache.
Tygra: I give good head massages.
Panthro: Line me up for one. Fixing that tank is giving me a migraine of epic proportions.
Tygra: On second thought…read and review please :-)!