TC is the property of WB and its affiliates. Any concepts not originating from the TC universe are the property of these creator(s) unless otherwise noted.

Characters will not completely resemble the 1985 rendition, nor the 2011 rendition. This is a reimagining of the Thundercats series as a whole and not entirely based on either series. Nor is it based on any other fan work. The creator(s) of this work reserve the right not to answer any questions or respond to any reviews. This is meant to mimic a professional work and will be conducted as such.

Episode 3

Muddy Problems, Part 1

The first night was the worst. Cheetara did not like to complain but her blanket was not thick enough to provide warmth and also protect her from the ground. The tank would have been hard to sleep in because there wasn't enough room for all of them to lay down and she refused to be the only one not to tolerate rocks under her. She already knew Panthro didn't want her or Tygra along – his expression when she took nearly twenty minutes to start a fire said enough – and she had already decided she wasn't going to ask his assistance on anything. Yeah, she was a city cat. That didn't mean she couldn't use her head. She'd show him.

She ran for about an hour before feeling winded enough to get in the Thundertank without feeling nervous. The scenery slowed when she did, and Cheetara found that conversation was quite impossible over the roar. Three hours passed before they finally stopped and Panthro told everyone to set up camp.

Maybe he'd been annoyed she'd been so much faster than his tank. Perhaps that was why he'd had her start the fire on her own. Lion-O and Tygra had protested, but in a way that only made her more inclined to do it alone. She was a girl but she was just as capable as they were. At least they wanted to help out of kindness, which made the bitter taste of embarrassment a little more tolerable. Panthro didn't want her along and he didn't pretend otherwise. It was a method of shaming her.

Tygra and Panthro were both asleep in minutes after their bedrolls hit the ground and Cheetara settled in as Lion-O took the first watch, wondering if rumors of brigands and thieves on the roads were accurate. His ears were round on the edges just like most breeds of bigger cats, and it was fun to watch them swivel and flick as he listened. She was hungry but didn't want to be the first to complain, particularly when none of the boys showed any sign of wanting to eat.

"We're not wasting rations when we ate five hours ago. The fire's to ward off animals and keep the cold at a livable level. We'll eat in the morning." Panthro's taciturn way was already annoying her as she punched herself in the stomach to keep it from growling.

Lion-O didn't take his hair out of his ponytail she noted, wondering at his posture. He sat very neatly, back straight, for hours at a time. Her back would have ached but he was unaffected, perfectly composed. Perhaps it came with being a page for royals; they were often trained from a young age to have absolute dignity and restraint for their noble masters.

Perhaps she should have run harder to wear herself out. Too bad the tank was so much slower than she was. Looking up the sides of the ravine made her feel like she was in the throat of a monster, seeing the sky between rocky lips and teeth. The fire was soothing and she took out her copy of the scriptures, reading it instead.

Lion-O glanced at her over his shoulder. "Homesick?"

Cheetara put her book down on her stomach. "Yeah." There was also a rock under her back that was just plain vindictive, and her stomach was shifting in hunger. She rolled onto her side to look at him more easily. "It's so weird. Every night I have a routine where Mama helps comb my hair and that's what I miss right now. It's kind of silly; I've only been gone a couple hours."

"Makes sense. Now that you've got to break the habit it feels weird." He scanned her blanket and added, "We'll get you a thicker bedroll when we pass a town. That should help. Rana Village isn't far according to my map."

She smiled at him, remembering something. "Did you come to Dera's Run to get maps? Or did you really also come because the Sword of Omens wanted you to find us?"

Lion-O chewed his lower lip. "I don't know exactly. There were other cities I could get maps from, but when we passed them I felt like…something wasn't there. Panthro recommended Dera's Run because it's small and doesn't tend to attract much crime. When we arrived, I felt like I was supposed to be there. And then I met you and Tygra. Not to mention Slithe showed up." He lifted the side of his cloak a little, looking at the silvery hilt of the Sword of Omens. "I think it knows what it wants. It just doesn't feel like spending any energy to tell me directly."

"How nice of it." Cheetara looked up at the sky, tracing what was visible of a constellation. "You said there were others in the vision."

"Hm? Oh. Yeah, there were." Lion-O looked up at the sky too. "I don't know who they were. They seemed blurry." His brows creased. "This is going to sound weird, but they were all small, one much tinier than the other two. You don't think the Sword wants us to bring kids do you? Or even a baby?"

Cheetara started rolling a lock of blond mane around her finger. "That would be pretty crazy. But who knows? Not like I'm an expert on the Sword of Omens," she added, letting her hair spring away from her claw.

"Neither am I. I just wondered what you thought." Looking a little embarrassed, Lion-O said, "It's nice to have someone along that's had visions. It makes me feel less crazy."

"You say there are priests and prophetesses in the Imperial City. Are visions so rare there?" Cheetara opened her pack and took out some bread, fed up. Panthro was snoring loud enough to wake a deaf man and he would never have to know. She offered Lion-O a piece, which he declined.

"They are. Those of the temples pray and fast often but they rarely receive any messages. I think the Sword only gives me visions because the king made me the steward of it until I return it to him. You though…you're different." He wrapped his cloak around him a little better. "The Creator gives you visions, and your senses are heightened. You might be a descendant of a prophetess."

Cheetara had not often wondered about her biological parents – she'd never known them and Sai and Yamese had given her all the love and adoration a girl could want – but now she felt the tug of curiosity. Not to mention homesickness; it was hard to believe she wouldn't see her parents again for months.

"I might've liked a little more warning," she admitted. Lion-O seemed to find this funny but his smile was a little sad.

"I appreciate your kindness. You were very selfless to offer to help us, and your parents were to let you come as well." He hesitated for a moment and Cheetara waited. "I have to admit, I didn't expect any help other than Panthro at first. I don't think he believed me when I thought more people would end up coming along."

"It makes me feel better to think that the Creator is on our side." Cheetara leaned on her arm. "He wouldn't have sent me along – and Tygra by extension – if he weren't."

Lion-O nodded and she found herself absurdly pleased by his plain acceptance. Tygra would have debated her endlessly, which, depending on mood and vitriol for the two, could end up a good-natured debate or a real argument. Lion-O seemed a little downcast though.

"It's frightening in a way. Whatever we're dealing with must be something powerful if it was decided that Panthro and I would need help." He looked at the Sword and his jaw set. "You should try to sleep. We'll have a full day of traveling tomorrow, and we can stop by Rana Village to get a few more supplies. It'll be a trek to make it."

Feeling the rock against her back Cheetara rolled over. "I'll try."

She didn't see him but she got the feeling Lion-O was smiling again. "Try counting back from two hundred."

Cheetara rolled her eyes before she shut them and obeyed. She conked out somewhere around seventy-four.

"And I thought Dera's Run was a little place. I've seen market centers bigger than this dump." Tygra examined the bottom of his foot. "Did I just…oh it's mud. Thank goodness."

Cheetara had to smooth her hair; sitting in the Thundertank had been as unnerving today as yesterday, and her tail was numb in spite of stopping several times across the plains to stretch. The wind had torn at her mane and turned it into a tangled mess. Panthro seemed to have no issue trucking on for hours and hours but she saw Lion-O repeatedly fiddling with his tail as if it were falling asleep.

Snaring her claws on a particularly sore tangle, she finally gave up. This town didn't seem as if it were used to refined people anyway. The roads were all earthy and muddy, and the houses were made of river clay and thatched-roofs, and she only spotted a few exceptions in the distance. Cheetara spotted a little boy, breeches spattered, being hauled off by what looked like his mother. She had him by one ear and was scolding him loudly.

Somebody gave her a sound pinch on the behind. She stiffened and turned around to see a very short, dusty cat smirk at her. Tygra raised an eyebrow but Lion-O – jaw dropping at the move – grabbed the fellow by his collar. "'Ey, 'ey! What's the big idea?!"

"You will apologize." Lion-O didn't release the greasy collar and the cat squirmed. The lion sounded quietly outraged. Tygra cracked his knuckles with a crooked tilt to his mouth, as if he found something very funny.

"Fine, fine! Sorry." Lion-O released him and he muttered, slouching away between the waists of other cats. "Ain't like I grabbed your girl's little tits."

Tygra had a coin pouch in his hand where he hadn't before. He gave this to a nearby lady, who seemed shocked. "He nicked that from you," he explained. She glowered after the other cat and gave Tygra a certain smile before moving on.

Lion-O blinked. "I had no idea he'd stolen anything." He looked up at Panthro. The dark cat had watched the exchange without a word.

"You have to be more aware of your surroundings in a town like this. Dera's Run had an honor system, but I don't think this place even has any guards. Criminals have free reign. Misdirection is their bread and butter. It's pretty sad; in the times of our ancestors it was a good, clean place that was grand for trade. But when scumbags moved in they polluted everything." Panthro's gray eyes rested on Tygra. "Quick fingers for a noble cat."

"What can I say?" Tygra shrugged and waggled his pale fingers in a debonair flick. "It's beneath me to use my sleight of hand to harm the innocent, but if someone's stealing they're fair game. Thievery is pretty common in the nastier places and this burg is no exception. I had a cousin who taught me to pickpocket. Of course, it was harder for him to teach me once he lost his hands for stealing…"

Lion-O seemed rather embarrassed. Cheetara patted his back, secretly pleased that he'd been so angered on her behalf. "Don't worry, I didn't notice either. Tygra's just used to dens of sin, aren't you?"

"May-be." The tiger scanned the road, continuing on through the gloomy houses. "You would have noticed if it had been in a bar scene though."

"That's different. The bar is where I worked, and I know the ins and outs of those people." Cheetara glanced down, chin to her collar bone. Lion-O noticed this and cocked his head. "I know they're tiny. But how rude was it for him to say that?"

Lion-O didn't seem to know what to say to this. "…Very. Cheetahs are leaner cats by nature aren't they? So they don't…well, their structure is slightly different. And…"

Cheetara lifted one eyebrow. He was trying to look and yet not look at the same time, which was very funny.

Cheetahs were lighter cats in many ways, and she'd never been the most voluptuous of girls in the torso. How by the spirit pride was she supposed to run fast if she had to worry about hitting herself in the face? It had been a subject of teasing when she was a pancake of a teen, but nobody dared to laugh at her once they saw how fast she was, and how fast her foot could wind up in their behind.

She elbowed Lion-O. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing."

"Oh come on, tell me. Tell 'your girl.'"

His face was warm. "It's silly, I don't-"

Panthro tapped the back of Lion-O's head. He paused and turned to look over his shoulder. "There's a market stall up there. If we need another bedroll we can get it there, and there are a few items that Dera's Run didn't have that I'd like to check for."

"All right. And I take it I go with you?" Panthro grunted and Lion-O looked around. "Cheetara, do you want to come with us? Tygra?"

"I'll go." Cheetara wanted to take a look at the wares. Even the toughest of women liked a shopping venture every now and again, even for something as mundane as a bedroll.

Tygra glanced further up the road. "I think I'll look around up there a little. I won't go far, and I'll be back in an hour."

Lion-O nodded. "Okay. Stay within earshot. We don't want to get separated." He hesitated and checked his side for the Sword and the weird golden gauntlet, tucking it more carefully to his side and making sure it was securely covered. "I'll feel it if anyone tries to reach it," he murmured.

Even so, Cheetara walked right next to him so anyone going for the blade would have to get around her. Tygra disappeared into the crowd and she kept one ear tuned for his voice.

She found that the dark cloths slung overhead and the large mud huts and tents made her miss the market in Dera's Run. This place smelled weird, and nothing escaped the mark of dust and mire. It was a shock compared to the bright primary colors and soft, clean cloths of Dera's Run. Maybe home wasn't as dirty as she'd thought. Cheetara shifted in the dirt. "Why is this place so wet? The plains we crossed weren't this way."

"They were on an incline. It's a long, shallow basin from here to ten leagues east, so any rainwater travels downhill." That Panthro answered surprised her. "It collects in the ground, making it moist. The plains are dry because they're just a little too steep for much rain to be absorbed. Dera's Run is outside the incline so its rain stays in place and keeps it lush without stagnating. But that excess water has to go somewhere."

"Oh." So Rana Village was basically a big mud puddle. "Gee…are there any sinkholes or anything?"

"Several. Most of them are outside the village and marked with colored flags. If you see those, hightail it out of the area. They can suck down a tank in a minute." Panthro grinned unkindly when she paled. This was even more frightening than when he snarled. "One second you're standing, the next you're six feet under the mud."

Lion-O paused and turned, shooting Panthro the coldest look Cheetara had seen from him. The amiable blue eyes looked like chunks of ice, and his face sharpened. Panthro only scowled back and Lion-O finally turned away.

They stepped into a tent with a low-hanging entrance and Panthro had to bend over to make it without swiping the cloth. A wispy, pale cat and a wet-looking frog the color of algae smiled and welcomed them.

"Please view the Croaky Cat's wares at your leisure. If you have any questions, let us know." They spoke in unison and Cheetara wondered how they'd gotten the act down so well. Panthro stood off to the side, examining herbs and dried plants.

Lion-O went with her, wandering to the other side where there were folded blankets and sacks. He picked out a tan lump. "This one's thick, which will be good when we head north." He pinched the fabric and frowned. "I'm not familiar with this kind of cloth though."

"Ah, that's a special kind." The pale cat smiled. They'd followed the two and Cheetara fought to keep her tail down when the fellow's breath was on her neck. Poor manners it would be to hiss and screech with her fur on end.

The frog jumped in, "Yes indeed. It's made of giantor-hide."

Lion-O's fingers snapped back as if burnt. "Giantor…what?"

"Oh yes. When they die, giantor skin dries out into a lovely material, perfect for sturdy, thick cloth."

"Natural causes, of course," the frog said serenely. Neither of the pair blinked and Lion-O and Cheetara exchanged looks. "They don't bury their dead, they just leave them behind to rejoin nature when the tribe moves on. We find the bodies and snip-snip-snip."

Cheetara tugged at Lion-O's arm. "Ah, maybe something less…organic." They wandered to the corner and Cheetara resisted a shudder. "Okay, seriously creepy."

Lion-O glanced over the fabrics here and picked one out. "This one okay?"

"Sure. As long as it's not cat hide or something."

"No, it's just a kind of cotton." His tail was writhing. "Come on, let's pay and get out." He too was shaken, but he hid it better. Some giantors were friendly, hulking creatures though they were. None of them could speak Thunderan but they weren't as dumb as beasts. It made her feel a little queasy; they communicated with their own kind and one or two had traded in Dera's Run before, grunting and tapping to count out coins for what they wanted to receive for their goods and the prices they were willing to pay. Using that skin would be wrapping up in a person.

She managed to keep her cool as they got the other bedroll and Panthro got some herbs. Leaving the Croaky Cat, Cheetara exhaled. "Okay, please tell me we can leave now."

"Why? Not enjoying the rustic scenery?" Panthro asked sardonically. "You wanted to come with us…"

"Panthro," Lion-O said, tinging toward anger, "I don't like it here either. I saw some other things in there that would be illegal in the Imperial City. Why anyone would actually enjoy coming here is beyond me."

"Yeah, yeah…I know. But this is the kind of place we're going to have to go through, boys and girls. This is an ancient settlement, and laws here are very different. Neutral territory by declaration of all the surrounding governments. Makes trade cheap and easy." Panthro watched over the heads of the other cats and creatures for Tygra. "Well, whenever Tygra gets back here we'll head out. We can make it outside the town borders before night if we hurry, and if you don't like it here during the day, you really wouldn't like it at night. Ever seen a couple of brothel girls in a mud fight? It's more depressing than it sounds, and there are more than one when the sun goes down."

Cheetara waited beside Lion-O, arms crossing around the bedroll. It was warm and not very heavy and she rather liked the rough feel of the cloth. "Hey Lion-O?"

"Hm?"

"Remember how you said you can't tell us some things?"

"Yes." He offered to carry the object for her but she hugged it closer.

"What were you talking about?"

Lion-O's lips parted. "Well…if you ever ask something in particular I'll explain it a bit more. But it's nothing very important if you ask me."

Panthro snorted, the closest thing to laughter she'd heard from him. But when Lion-O sighed he looked appropriately sorry. Meaning his quirked mouth lowered again and he seemed surlier than ever.

Cheetara wanted to ask more but decided that his answer had been just vague enough to be annoying, not curiosity-inducing. She scanned the crowd for Tygra, wondering when he'd get back. He was pretty good at keeping quiet in strange places from what he'd told her about his ventures. And if nothing else he could turn invisible.

But darn it all, that boy could get in a pile of trouble and laugh like a maniac about it too. It all depended on his mood for the day.

Suddenly nervous, Cheetara's tail twitched and she sat down on a nearby barrel to wait. Catching sight of her, Lion-O read the worry on her face. "Don't worry. If he's not back in fifteen minutes we'll go find him."

Feeling a little better, she willed her tail to be still and tried to think of something to do while they waited.

There was a long pause. "Anyone want to play spot the spot?"

Lion-O seemed bewildered. "What?"

"Y'know, spot the spot. You describe something and the other person tries to guess what you're looking at?" Cheetara watched his blank expression grow blanker and felt something weirdly sad. Maybe noble children in the Imperial City played different games? "Here, I'll start. Sit down." He obeyed, leaning on the barrel with her. "Okay. See, you start off by saying, 'I spot, with my eye on a dot, something colored red…'"

Tygra did not mind the sight of a tiny, crummy village so much as the smell. It was dank and too similar to sweaty feet for his liking. Still, unexpected treasures could be found by examining the city and searching through what it had to offer. He wandered for several minutes, eyes skimming over the weird and interesting wares.

Well, all right, so most of it was actually kind of dirty and boring. There was plenty of weirdness at any rate.

He could not say he trusted Lion-O or Panthro completely, but he hadn't seen them do anything dishonorable, and Lion-O seemed to have it in his head that he wanted to look out for Cheetara. This nudged Tygra closer to liking him in spite of Lion-O aggravating tendency to clam up. Tygra and Cheetara fought plenty, but they were family. She was too sensible to care about a pinch from a stranger, but Lion-O had freaked out. It had been almost hilarious…if slightly chivalrous. That girl could outrun either of the two if they did try something.

Tygra shook his head. If Lion-O was getting a crush on Cheetara – Tygra knew that awkward, wide-eyed look – he'd need the help of any mythological Creator to get her to reciprocate. He'd often joked the girl would join a commune one day. Tygra had been friends with her for a few years, and yet the only thing he knew about her taste in dating was that she didn't do it. She was extremely picky when it came to men, and it didn't help that she had the reputation for being a prude in layman's terms – in her own words, "I'm not some alley cat. The Creator says you should be married." A beautiful woman that didn't put out was not popular in dating life in Dera's Run. Not when there were easier girls aplenty in the world.

People assumed they were an item because they were often together, but this wasn't so; they'd never dated and they'd never been inclined toward each other. They had too much fun bickering and snapping, and while it was a great practice for something like siblings, married couples that did it tended to divorce far too often. He would not think of his parents, shifting his thoughts away.

Besides, she wouldn't date an agnostic if her life depended on it. She was pretty tolerant of his nonbelief, their debates aside, but it was easier for a friend to be so than a partner. Cheetara made a grand sister and – sometimes – something close to a mother. Her family had been kind when Matrae left, and Tygra liked feeling like a son in a non-dysfunctional family. That, and she reminded him so much of his mother that it was frankly terrifying.

Not that he'd ever told her that.

So far the most interesting thing of the market was that they sold Candyfruit slices spiked with iceshine, liquor that originated from Luna distilleries. It was so potent it was known to knock a cat over with one good, hearty whiff. Its high alcohol content kept it from freezing and it was illegal in Thundera, but he didn't know the laws of Rana Village. While unusual, Tygra didn't like the hard stuff – particularly not the crap made by the Luna – and the smell from a stall away was enough to make his eyes water. He meant to pass it up but stood off to the side instead; watching people interact was a good way to spend one's time too.

One of the men noticed him after a minute or two and paused in his cutting of the fruit. "Tiger, the smell doesn't do the wares justice. It burns the nose, not the tongue, when it goes down with fruit. Are you new here?"

It was a wolf that spoke and Tygra wished it had been anything else save a lizard. The old spat between cats and dogs was as strong as ever, and he disliked the odor of dog fur. There wasn't enough difference between the dogs and wolves for him.

"Just passing through. Traveling is good for the soul." Tygra noticed that there was another wolf, dipping the slices into a pot of steaming alcohol to set. This one was missing an eye and ignored him.

"That it is. Not so good for the body in times like these though. Bandits roam everywhere."

"Ain't it the truth. Got anything less…potent?" The wolf smirked and offered him a piece of Candyfruit that only smelled slightly of punch. He tried it and found it pleasant, putting down a piece of silver. "I'll take a couple of this kind. I value my liver." The bark of laughter was a little loud.

"Thank you. This is good stuff from the north, made by the snow leopards. It's just not appreciated, even after all my brother went through to bring the shipment down." The wolf wrapped up the pieces and added in afterthought, "I kid you not, it's getting more and more dangerous all the time. 'Specially around the mountains." Tygra perked up.

"Yep. All after that crazy drug I guess. I… hear it's getting worse around Tropo and north toward Lune."

He was aware of two kittens burrowing through one of the nearby barrels of Candyfruit, probably wanting to buy a few before they were treated. They seemed to pause and whisper to each other. He kept an eye on the wolf who nodded, handing him the wrapped fruit slices.

"Mm-hm. My brother traveled through Tropo on a trading venture and he was attacked twice. He and his caravan didn't dare stop at night and arrived exhausted. He's been strange ever since." The wolf sniffed a few fruits and deemed them acceptable, placing them on clean trays. "Ay, it's hard for a man to make a living anymore…"

He gestured toward the one-eyed wolf. The fellow kept dipping the slices, ears pockmarked and his nose dry. Tygra studied him for a minute, and the wet eye blinked, slow as paper over mud. "'Strange?'"

"He gets angry, sometimes violent. And he won't talk. It was all I could do to persuade him to tell me about the attacks by writing." The wolf's muzzle tightened and relaxed in rapid fits and Tygra stared harder. His breath was so tight it was like a faint whistle. The shop keeper smoothed back his brother's fur. "I've taken him to doctors and they say he has no disease. But nothing they do can help. He gets stranger all the time. I can't leave him at home alone…"

Tygra shook his head, eyes never leaving the stiff hound. The weird way he stared, the odor of tense sweat…

Casually, Tygra looked back to the speaker. "Did he say anything about seeing Mutation personally? It's one of the black market goods in Tropo last I heard."

The wolf paused. "I've heard about it, but my brother wouldn't take any of it." He seemed insulted, eyes narrowing.

"I didn't mean to insinuate he would. Just a bad thing making everyone nervous is all. Thought the bandits might have used some." He noticed uncomfortably that the other wolf had stopped dipping the slices of Candyfruit, staring at his hands.

"He didn't say. I'm not really sure if he can talk at all by now." Tygra heard more depression in the voice. The other wolf said nothing and a thread of spit connected his teeth in a daze.

He didn't know what else he could say if his hunch was right and this wolf had been injected with the same Mutation the other one had. Chances were high that they'd put the drug in more than one of each kind of species if it were some kind of test run. He wouldn't be able to get a chip out unless the wolf were free of the substance, for the smell of blood might very well send him over the edge. They were lucky he hadn't lost it yet. Tygra thought of the syringe of antimutagen Lion-O had used and debated the worth of trying to help this wolf.

Deciding that having another slobbering dog running around Thundera would have been more trouble than it was worth, he bade the shopkeeper farewell and wondered if Lion-O had any more of the antimutagen on him.

Tygra couldn't say he particularly cared about a strange wolf, but he was a fan of order and laws and people not turning into violent nutcases, so cutting down on that sort of thing was worth some extra effort. It did annoy him that he had been the one to discover this; he would have liked to discover a weapons shop or perhaps some kind of blueprint trader. His little "venture" had been cut short and he found it disappointing. Half the reason he liked wandering was seeing shops and watching the people.

He worked his way through the crowd, reasoning that perhaps the wolf would be able to tell them about the path to Lune. That was worth some annoyance. Besides, it wasn't as if he thought dogs and other nonfels were worthless. They just…weren't so civilized. Most of them seemed like rubes.

"Excuse me."

Tygra stopped and turned around, almost walking into the speaker. He jumped back and caught sight of a short crop of dark brown hair.

It was a little boy kitten, maybe ten or eleven. He was striped brown and white and tan, and unlike the bigger cats he had small, pointed ears set at an angle on his head, higher than Tygra's. He was a wildcat; they tended to live in smaller villages, growing crops and working farms, and occasionally hunting small animals. Their families were generally large – the mothers had litters, two kittens at a time on average – and Tygra noticed a little girl kitten behind the boy. A sister, perhaps. The same angled stripes on the boy were present on her face, but her hair was longer and in a partial braid with wavy locks loose under it, more reddish than brown. Their ears and clever little faces made them look impish, and their eyes were round and green. Both wore what looked like tunics made of brown sackcloth, sewn poorly.

They were cute, and Tygra felt his ire lessen. "You need something?"

"You were talking about Tropo. What do you know about it?" The little girl said this, poking her head around her brother's shoulder. Their tails were long and thin, whipping with interest.

"Ah. Well. It's a warm city, and there are a lot of lizards and jackals…" he began.

"No, the crime. And what's happening to travelers. And what about that Mutation stuff?" The boy spoke now, as if the two were of one mind. Neither of them blinked and Tygra frowned.

"That's not exactly proper stuff to tell kids."

The boy's mouth puckered. "It's important. We need to know."

"Yeah. It's really important." The girl blinked, not quite batting her stubby lashes and Tygra realized they were trying to work him over. Their cute little faces were composed, quiet, and he crossed his arms as if to protect his heart from their…cute-powers.

"Why don't you ask your parents?"

Their pouty faces disappeared as if stricken and Tygra was alarmed to see the girl's brows wobble. "We can't. They're…they're not around." The boy's tail lashed and his cheeks reddened as if he were angry.

Gauging the honesty of this by the way the girl kept his eyes, Tygra felt a little guilty. "Oh. Uh, sorry." He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Look, Tropo's dangerous. Traders get attacked sometimes and Mutation is going around a lot. It's bad stuff, and that's about all I know about Tropo. Maybe that wolf will know more."

"Why would anyone attack the traders?" The boy stepped aside without looking, moving for a lizard traipsing across the road. "More traders mean the city gets richer because of more goods and gold, right?"

"Beats me." Reflecting on this question and the surprising wisdom of it, Tygra added, "Maybe they don't all want to trade in some goods and the ones who do are mad at them." It was the only theory he had at the moment, although his mind was working furiously.

The girl cocked her head, braided locks bobbing. "So the Mutation pushers are trying to get rid of those who hate the stuff to make sure no one reports them? Is that it? Or is there more?"

Stunned at how she'd seen through his blather, Tygra turned around. "I don't know. I have to go, okay? Quite poking into things that don't concern you, kids. Someone won't react well someday." He started walking, shaken by the clear, deep eyes.

"But it does concern us. Are you going to Tropo? Why else would you ask about it?" The boy scurried at his heels and Tygra sped up until he had to start threading his way through the crowd. The kittens wound between waists and hips, and he saw the boy stoop and duck between a tall person's legs to keep following. The girl was a little daintier, pardoning herself as she ducked in front of people.

"That's not your business. Quit following me. Surely you have someone looking after you, don't you?"

"We're trying to change that." The girl brazenly hopped up to his side and held his hand like a daughter might and Tygra's tail twitched. "Can we go with you? We need to go to Tropo."

Tygra stopped in the middle of the crowd, jaw dropping. "Say what?"

The boy had caught up and didn't hold his hand, but he stood within three inches of his side. "We'll tell you why if you promise not to tell anyone." He glanced around and Tygra scratched his head, confused. "See, our parents-"

"Sh!" The girl tugged the boy's sleeve and both of them stared in the same direction, noses twitching. They reminded him of small animals that had scented a hunter. Then they whirled around and released him, slipping away into the crowd.

Tygra stared after them. "O-kay…"

Someone brushed past him and cursed. "I thought I heard them! Those little maggots…"

Tygra's brows raised at the cat's cursing. She was several years older than himself and might have been pretty if not for her venomous glare. She was white with brown spots on her face and arms, and her fur made her look thicker. "You wouldn't happen to have seen two kittens would you?" she asked, rounding on him suddenly. "A boy and girl, probably running around like little heathens?"

Tygra examined the tight way her claws were bared. Then he raised his eyes to meet her gaze.

"Nope. Sorry."

She cursed again and whirled around once more, stalking into the crowd. Tygra wondered at her fury and tried to remember where the others had wanted to meet.

"It's going to sting a little. Just hold him tight."

Dyre held his brother's arms behind his back uneasily, listening to the rasp of frothy breath. Panthro had the sick wolf's ankles and Tygra and Cheetara stood on either side of the seated figure, ready to jump. Lion-O brushed the thick fur aside, looking for a good place on the wolf's arm.

He pushed the needle in and the plunger pressed down. The wolf yipped and Dyre snarled at Lion-O mistrustfully. Lion-O withdrew the empty syringe and capped it, slipping it into the same pouch as before.

A few seconds passed and the sick wolf raised his head, blinking rapidly over his one eye. The cloud that had covered it was clearing. "Dyre…? Where…?"

"Brother." The word was hard, hot, and the cats stepped away so the wolves could embrace. "Little Timbyr. I've not heard your voice in a month."

Lion-O waited while Timbyr gathered himself and then said, gently, "He'll need food and water. Slowly."

Dyre seemed unable to tear himself away from the other wolf – smaller, Lion-O noticed, definitely Dyre's younger brother by several years – and Cheetara drifted to one of the barrels of untreated Candyfruits. They were hidden in the back of the tent, shop closed down, and she took a whole fruit and sliced it into pieces with her claws, gouging the pit out. She brought these to Timbyr, who accepted them eagerly.

"You've eaten so little for days," Dyre marveled. "If you were hungry you should have eaten!"

"Couldn't. Hazy. I wanted to rip everything apart, and then I didn't. Like two of me in my head." Timbyr was scarfing down the pieces in a mess, picking his teeth for every scrap of pulp he could get. Tygra made a slight face but Lion-O simply looked at Dyre.

"With Mutation, heart rate increases, appetite decreases like when the body is wired for a fight. Normally this state would only last a while, and men are hungry after it because of the energy expended. The Mutation made it keep going and going, and there was no point where his appetite could really return. The fully transformed tend to eat, but it's usually prey. He had a very bad reaction…his body couldn't process it." Dyre listened to this with narrow eyes.

"It seems you know much of this foul thing. Who harmed my brother this way? I would like very much to meet them."

His teeth were a little too visible as he said this. Timbyr paused in his devouring for a second, panting for breath. "I didn't see him. I don't think I got a full dose either…the needle didn't go all the way in. I ran before they got ahold of me."

"So that's why there's no chip on you," Tygra observed. "The other guy was transforming off and on and had been chipped. Guess he got the full dose."

Timbyr shuddered. "I kept my mind enough to find my way home. It was like poison."

"Well, you don't have to worry anymore. This dose will fight the Mutation and it'll work its way out of your system." Lion-O brought him another piece of fruit and Timbyr had the self-control to take big, slow bites of it and chew properly. "Do you remember anything about the person that stuck you? We're heading up north after Tropo and any information about what's going on might help."

"Mm-hm. Some kind of dog I think, or maybe a jackal." He ate for a while, eyelid flopping over the gap in his skull as he attacked the food. Lion-O had to keep nudging him to make him pause and swallow. "He sent his boys after me when I ran off. That's where I lost my eye."

Panthro mulled this over and Lion-O frowned. "A jackal maybe? Do you remember his color?"

"A kind of orange-red. He didn't chase me himself. He had a high voice. Used knives, and a club. I remember because he broke my tail with it." He shook his tail with distaste. "Still aches."

"I'm afraid I think I know of this one. He's been a member of the Alliance almost as long as Slithe." Panthro snorted. "He's harmless on his own but not with Slithe running the show. Wasn't worth the air he sucked until the Alliance started looking into Mutation. All of a sudden he's a clever little general. He doesn't give his name. They just call him Red."

"He obviously has something to do with Mutation," Cheetara said absently. She picked up her bedroll and she rested her chin atop it. "If he's in charge there and we find him when we pass through Tropo, maybe we could deal a blow to the supply chain. Figure out what cities they're getting it from. Might make it safer on the roads to Lune."

Panthro's eyebrows shot up. "That's…a good idea."

Timbyr looked between the two. "If you can stop these thugs, all of Thundera will owe you a debt. I already do."

"As do I," Dyre said, ruffling his brother's hair. "You've given me my brother back. If there's any favor I can do you, please let me know."

Lion-O smiled. "We were glad to help. It would be a great help if you keep your ears to the ground for news about Mutation. Just stay informed and…please don't tell anyone about what we did."

Dyre nodded and Timbyr looked at him. "I don't suppose I could get some bread and meat, could I?" When the larger wolf laughed the younger inclined his head in a weary bow. "We'll do as you ask. Thank you for your kindness and aid."

Lion-O pulled his hood up but Tygra cleared his throat. "I have a question actually."

Timbyr blinked his one eye. "Of course. You brought my deliverance, friend tiger."

Lion-O saw Tygra shift in discomfort. "I saw a couple of kittens outside and they were running from a woman. They were striped wildcats and they looked like twins. Would you happen to know anything about them?"

Dyre grunted as he went into the next room, a tent flap forming a sort of door. "Children running around? Most of them are from the local orphanage. Plenty of them run away every other week. Most of them come back."

Tygra stared at the curtain and Lion-O knelt to be at Timbyr's eye level. The wolf was slowly recovering his breath and his face fell at this, throat whining. "It's a sad state of affairs. There's one orphanage in the area meant for the children of merchants who die. They can remain in the area and take up their parents' trade when they get old enough. Or at least, that's what the caretaker says." His lip curled. "What really happens is sometimes travelers with too many mouths to feed drop off bundles of kittens and pups and hatchlings. The place is overcrowded and the caretaker cares very little; she's given an allowance by the merchants because the shop owners believe they're helping the children and the future market. I don't see it, perhaps I'm wrong. But nobody is welcome there, ever. It's been that way for three years, and it's considered private property. Trespassers can be attacked with impunity. It's not as if we have police to report to."

"It wasn't always that way. It used to be a good, clean place. Then the old owners died," Dyre called.

Tygra's face darkened. Lion-O waited for Timbyr to get a loaf of bread with a few slabs of nearly raw meat in his hands before asking, "There are so many orphans in a little place like Rana Village?"

"You've no idea. There's an orphan for every five merchants. Many have their suspicions that the children are beaten. And they live in squalor."

Cheetara straightened at this and Lion-O's eyes narrowed. "And no one does anything?"

"Who else can take them all in? They're not quite starving there and at least they have beds." Timbyr looked miserable and ravenous, tearing out great hunks of bread and meat. "Nobody likes it but there are no laws for such situations in Rana Village. It's a neutral territory within Thundera. The orphanage is the only option most of them have when their relatives live far away."

Tygra crossed his arms. "So that's why they were running from that woman. They said they wanted to go to Tropo?"

Dyre shrugged. "Perhaps their parents dumped them there and told them they'd come back from Tropo. It's sad to see children watch for their parents to come back when you know they aren't."

"Don't they ever return?" Cheetara asked. Her voice was soft and Lion-O thought of her adoptive parents, and the love they had for her. It had been heavy in the air of the tavern, golden and rich, and it had made being near them a pleasure. To think of being abandoned to a cold, miserable place like this must be sobering. It could have happened to her.

"Not a one ever has. There are a few adoptions, but nowhere near enough to keep space in the place, maybe two a year. The kids are probably looking for a way to get out so they can look for their parents. That's usually why kids run off. They'll end up back at the orphanage if they get hungry enough." Timbyr licked his chops. "I'm sorry the news wasn't better."

"Just wanted to know. Thanks for the info." Tygra sighed. "I guess there's nothing we can do? Those kids seemed scared."

Lion-O looked to Panthro who took on the demeanor of a brick wall. "If it's within the laws of these people then there's nothing we can do short of trying to change the law. That would take months. We have other things to worry about. Perhaps on the way back we could try to get someone to protest the ownership of the orphanage, assuming these allegations are true."

Tygra muttered something and Lion-O slowly bowed in the Imperial fashion at the wolves. "Thank you for telling us about it."

"Not at all. We could try to protest the owner…the orphanage would still exist and the children would have somewhere to go. Of course, if we find anything about the place to dethrone this caretaker, we'll act on it at once." Dyre went to hold back the tent flap for them. "I owe you a favor yet, cats. If ever you need my help, call on me."

Once they were outside Panthro said, "All right, time to go. We've spent enough time here, and we're not sleeping in this city. We'll get a little more distance under us and then we'll make camp."

He started for the entrance to the village and Tygra made a displeased sound. "Gee, loves kids doesn't he?"

Lion-O gazed off in the direction of the darker tents and huts. "He's right though. Not much good to help them now if the world's in trouble." He lowered his eyelids, ashamed at this helplessness. "We'll see what we can do when the mission is over, Tygra. If they live here the kids are tough. It's hard to live in a place like this, but it's possible. Panthro would know."

Cheetara's left ear perked. "Why? Did he grow up in an orphanage?"

"No. Worse." Lion-O did not elaborate and followed Panthro, Cheetara and Tygra trailing after him after a few seconds.

Lion-O became aware of the atmosphere of the village changing around them. Instead of food he smelled perfume, and the odor of burning incense made him feel heady and sleepy. Confused, he turned his head and spotted a woman in one of the tent doorways and blinked, not quite realizing that she wasn't wearing a dress for a few seconds. It was just so strange that he didn't believe his eyes for a moment.

Panthro hadn't been kidding about brothels opening at night. He immediately looked away, eyes fixing straight ahead. "If I'm not mistaken, Rana Village is one of a few towns where there's a curfew for children. It's because businesses like these open up everywhere at night. With all the traveling traders, the women have no shortage of clientele. Nor do their business owners that run the places." He seemed sardonic, and a poisonous dislike built in his eyes before he forged ahead, ignoring everyone around him. Knowing where the venom came from, Lion-O nearly reached for his shoulder and decided not to after a long, indecisive moment.

Cheetara, being a woman, was looking around the few lit tents without qualm. "It's like Red Alley in Dera's Run," she observed. Tygra shook his head.

"Nah, Red Alley is cleaner. What?" She had rolled her eyes. "Oh, good grief…Dad used to have meetings with the merchants down there. Business."

"What kind of business would be my next question. I wouldn't insult traders by comparing them to these." Lion-O heard something bitter in her voice and slowed enough to walk beside her. Her eyes were hard and her tail lashed when they passed another tent opening up. A woman inside looked tired and was waving something in. Her clothes were also off and Lion-O felt uncomfortable when she winked at him, crooking a finger. Tygra just waved and shook his head. Lion-O presumed this was a polite refusal for she didn't seem offended. That Tygra knew it surprised him, and made him wonder.

Noticing him, Cheetara averted her eyes and her venom eased. "I know it's hard to make a living in some places. But I can't believe that this…this is what some people feel like they can do as a job. It's just so sad."

Lion-O walked with her in silence for a while, smelling candles and hearing the clink of coins and metallic laughter. A required, ladylike chuckle and a downed drink. "Perhaps it's all they know."

"Maybe. I knew a woman you see…she was like this. She used to come by the bar to talk with mother. They'd been friends as kittens. Her husband left her when they were young and she had to eat, and she didn't want to rely on charity. No one would hire a woman without education." Cheetara paused. "I was little and she used to give me hair ribbons or pictures when she came by. Cheap things, but they were pretty. She said she had wanted a daughter before her husband left. She always smiled on the outside, but something about her just seemed sad to me."

Lion-O felt her shoulders tighten. The air was taut around her. "What happened to her?"

"She died. Five years ago. Some disease she'd caught from one of a hundred strangers. She didn't have the money to buy a gravestone before she passed, and they tossed her body in a pauper's grave." Cheetara's eyes flared as she looked up. "It's not that I think they're horrible people or that I look down on them for doing this. I just…want better for them."

Lion-O looked at her for a long while. Then he said, "I think you'd make a very good priestess or prophetess. They're called to care for everyone, and that comes naturally to you."

Cheetara blinked. He felt a little warm and pointed forward toward the end of the tents and huts. "There's the exit. Come on, let's get out of this place."

She followed, noticing that Panthro did not look at her. Did he disagree with her? Think she was naïve? Whatever; Cheetara put her bedroll in the trunk with the others when they reached the Thundertank. She was beginning to care less and less what he thought. "I'm glad Timbyr's okay at any rate."

"Yeah. I guess we have one more person on our lists to keep an eye out for." Tygra held up a finger, then another, counting off. "Slithe and ginger-jackal guy."

Lion-O got into the Thundertank and examined the sky. "We can make it five leagues before breaking camp. That'll leave us time to make something for dinner before we settle in for the night." Cheetara sat beside him, glad the distance would be short and nursing her arms. The bedroll hadn't been very heavy but she'd carried it in her arms upwards of two hours. Even a light weight got tiresome after a while. Tygra sat in the passenger seat, looking fidgety.

"No you can't drive." Panthro read the tiger's movements and he scowled. "Everyone in?"

"Yeah. Wait," Lion-O said suddenly. He'd turned in his seat and was looking toward the back of the vehicle. "Cheetara, didn't you close the trunk?"

The lid was open and Cheetara's forehead wrinkled in thought. "I was sure I did. Maybe it didn't lock right?"

Panthro muttered something about weak arms and she bared her teeth in silence. Lion-O reached over the back and pressed the lid down with a satisfying thud. It didn't come back up. "Sounds okay. Probably just bounced the first time." He sat down again. "What's going to be next on the map?"

"Forests after the plains. There's a river that feeds toward the Fel Sea and Tropo, so we head straight through the forest until we hit it, and then we continue southeast along it until the city. Then we head north through the lands between the mountains. Providing we don't hit any mud holes and get sucked down, anyway." Panthro started the Tank and it purred, eager to go.

"A forest…wow, that'll be neat. I've never actually seen one." Cheetara could see nothing in the distance that resembled a tree but imagined many of them clustered together like plants in her mother's tossed salad.

"The river feeds it water and keeps the ground rich for the trees and plants. It'll be nicer than this dump," Tygra said. "Wet grass beneath your feet…nothing like it."

And then the tank zoomed forward and Cheetara held on to the door grimly. Lion-O tried not to laugh; she looked as if she felt she was in a deathtrap. He patted her arm. "It's really safe, honestly. If we get attacked the defensive systems come on automatically."

She looked at him out of the corner of one eye, still clinging to the metal. "It's not that. It's Panthro. Can we say aggressive driver?"

At that he had to laugh. Panthro didn't hear; he was too busy pushing on the pedal and speeding across the plains toward the road. Five leagues was not very far and Rana Village was still within sight on the flat horizon when Panthro stopped and ordered them out. Cheetara again got tasked with starting the fire. This time she did it in a minute thanks to the dry grass, much to Lion-O and Tygra's delight.

"Not bad, little lady. We'll make a camper out of you yet," Tygra said. He saw to heating some dinner and Lion-O cleared the area of brush, debris, and logs. Panthro scouted the area, watching the horizon and sky. Cheetara gathered enough sticks and dry grass to last the night –some of which from the woodpile Lion-O had cleared out of the area – and dropped it at Panthro's feet before sitting down by the fire. The panther grunted but did not comment and Cheetara let the heat relax her arms. It felt good and soaked into her fur like a hot bath.

"I'll get the bedrolls," Lion-O said, just as Tygra finished dishing out what looked like dumplings filled with meat and spices. "What are those?"

"Meat pie dumplings. The recipe comes from one the Imperials use to make meat pies, but the guards I learned it from developed a way to make it go around a camp. Just wrap some dough around meat and boil it with the right herbs for a little while." Tygra doled out generous helpings to everyone into small bowls – Panthro had picked up a few more in Rana Village along with the rest of the supplies they'd needed – and Lion-O sniffed the air. Even Panthro appeared interested in the odor.

"That smells so good," Lion-O said.

Tygra batted his eyes. "You're going to make me blush."

Lion-O opened the trunk and his grin faded. "Guys?"

"Yeah?"

"There are kids in here."

This statement was so strange that nobody moved for a second. Then, one of the kittens – the one crammed under a blanket and on top of her brother – said calmly, "Could you help us out? We're stuck."

Lion-O immediately hoisted the girl out and then the boy, shifting things aside so he could pull them out. "Man, I'm glad you guys stopped so soon. My butt fell asleep. Oh, dumplings!" The boy scurried to the pot and his tail whisked happily back and forth. "I'm starved. Do you have any extra, huh?"

"You two! What are you doing here?" Lion-O assumed from Tygra's recognition that these were the same kittens he'd met in Rana Village. The girl smiled up at him, one cheek dimpling a little more than the other, and he watched her slip in beside her brother, cocking her head. They were both quite cute and Lion-O felt the beginnings of irritation in him ebb.

"We're going to Tropo with you guys. Sorry we stowed away, but we didn't have time to ask before." The girl jumped up. "Oh, manners! I'm Wilykit, and this is my brother Wilykat."

"I don't care what your names are." Panthro's expression was deadpan, as if kittens popped out of the back of his tank every day. "What I want to know is what is wrong with you two, stowing away with strangers."

"We're not strangers. We talked to him." Wilykat pointed at Tygra, who held up his hands.

"Don't rope me into this, I talked to you once!"

The girl – Wilykit – edged toward Cheetara, sitting right by her. "You're pretty. Are you a leopard?"

"Cheetah," Cheetara said bemusedly, fingering the girl's thick, striped hair, smoothing the messiest part. Some of it had been gathered from the front and pulled to the back of her head as a sort of partial ponytail, leaving the rest a wavy whirl down to her shoulders. The ponytail was braided, and she had thick, brownish-red bangs. It looked as if it hadn't been brushed in days.

Lion-O brought the bedrolls and sat them on the ground. "Okay, let's start over. You guys are from the orphanage in Rana Village?"

Both little faces fell. The boy spoke first. "Yeah. We've been there a whole year, and we've needed to go to Tropo all this time. That's why we snuck into your tank thing. We heard him-" here he pointed at Tygra "-talking about it to Dyre and Timbyr. So we tried to ask him if we could come. Then we had to run 'cuz the orphanage lady Miss Hiss was about to find us, and then we'd get no dinner and she'd lock us in a room for days."

Lion-O straightened. "Lock you up?"

"Uh huh. Miss Hiss doesn't hit anyone, but she talks so mean and awful that she's scarier than if she did. Once she locked us in a room in the dark for a whole day and night."

Lion-O winced. Kit jumped in at this point. "So we ran away from her and doubled back to find Tygra, only to see the rest of you guys come and help Timbyr. So we figured you must be nice people. You even asked about helping the kids at the orphanage and trying to stop Miss Hiss on your way back through! But when you guys left we had to be sneaky to follow you because it was the opening hour for the brothels and we could've gotten taken back to the orphanage by anyone for breaking curfew. You guys were ready to go and we wanted to get the heck out of that place, so we opened the trunk and climbed in. We couldn't close it from the inside, and then one of you shut it. And that's how we're here." She looked into the pot and sniffed, meowing. "Can we have some, puh-leeeeze? Miss Hiss only lets us have one dumpling each when she makes them and they're sooo yucky!"

Lion-O sighed, plucked one of his dumplings out of his bowl and held it between his teeth. Then he filled his bowl up to the brim again with broth and dumplings – Tygra helped him with the ladle – and gave it to them. Both kittens squealed and chorused, "Thank you!" They began to eat as if starved, and Lion-O nibbled the dumpling he'd taken out. Cheetara shifted so she was sitting beside him so he could share her bowl.

"Sounds like the orphanage is as bad as we've heard," Tygra said at last. "Panthro?"

Panthro eyed the kittens. "If they're not being physically harmed I don't know if there's anything we can do in this kind of situation. Legally. Assuming we can believe these kids, anyway."

"Hey!" Wilykat swallowed one mouthful before continuing, "Our Dad always told us to never, ever lie! Lying is bad! You should tell the truth, even when it's hard."

"Yeah," Wilykit added. She was a little more refined in shoveling dumplings into her mouth. "If something is secret, you don't say it. But you don't fib to people. We wouldn't lie about how mean Miss Hiss is. Ask anyone at the orphanage, they'll tell you the same."

Lion-O glanced at Cheetara. She was nodding. "We believe you guys." They didn't break eye contact and their relief at her words made it plain they were telling the truth.

"Why is it so important you get to Tropo?" Tygra asked. The kids exchanged knowing looks and put down the empty bowl.

"Because we might not be orphans. Our parents might be alive."

The fire cracked and even Panthro looked curious in the silence. "See, our parents are traders. They travel and sell cloth and jewelry and pretty stuff. And sometimes Dad and Kat would play the lyre and Mom would dance to the music. I'd dance too, and we just traveled around for a long time, ever since we were babies. A whole group of wildcats traveled with us, and they were all really nice and fun." Wilykit's eyes grew dreamy with the memory.

"Then bad stuff started happening in cities. People were talking about a drug called Mutation, and we saw them transform and start fighting and smashing stalls. Mom and Dad got worried, and sometimes they left us with relatives that lived in Rana Village instead of bringing us to the worst places. Mutation is, like, super-duper illegal here," Kat explained. "It's pretty much the only thing that is."

"We didn't like them leaving us but we knew they just wanted us to be safe. Last time they left us they said they were going to Tropo for a trader's convention they went to every year, but that they'd be back in a couple months tops." Kit's eyes fell and her ears lowered. "That was a year ago."

Lion-O was listening intently, chin on his fist. "So how did you end up at the orphanage?"

"Well, for a while we stayed with our aunt and uncle and their three kids who lived in Rana Village. They were nice and took care of us, and we got along with our cousins. Even though part of the town is yucky, most of the people are still really nice, and we didn't want to go anywhere else in case our parents came back here. All traders pass through Rana Village at some point, no matter how important they are, even if it's just once in their life. But…something happened."

Both kittens were quiet now and Kit curled her arms around her knees. "Sometimes bandits come through town and steal stuff. They're usually killed before they can do much damage, but…our aunt and uncle were in the market trading when the bandits came through."

Cheetara reached over and stroked both kittens' heads. Kit shyly snuggled in and Kat just looked at the fire. Lion-O, Panthro and Tygra were silent; no one needed to ask what had happened.

"We didn't have anyone else and neither did our cousins. So we were put in the orphanage, to wait until we're sixteen. Then we can have our own trade group and leave forever." Kat made a little fist, thumping it against the ground.

"But that's five whole years away," Kit said plaintively.

"Five-and-a-half, actually."

"And that's forever. Our cousins were all adopted because they were little, but nobody's wanted to adopt us. They think we're too old."

"What makes you think your parents are still alive?" Tygra asked after a moment. "Wouldn't they have come back to find you after all this time if they could?"

"That's just it," Kat said suddenly. Kit nodded. "They would if they could. What if they can't? See, you were talking today about the traders in Tropo being pressured and attacked. But what if they're not killed? If a bunch of dead bodies showed up, wouldn't the authorities be all over Tropo?"

"Like bugs on rotten Candyfruit," Kit observed, sneaking another dumpling. "And there's been rumors about people being turned into monsters with Mutation, like what was happening to Timbyr. What if our parents are alive out there but they're stuck because of Mutation? Or they've been captured? They could be alive because we never got a letter confirming their deaths, and we sent bunches and bunches asking."

All of this seemed to be a bit of a stretch but Lion-O had to admit it was possible. More than anything though, he could sense it had been said so many times – from brother to sister and sister to brother on dirty, ragged cots in a cold, dark room while empty stomachs growled and eyes stung with a salty crust – that they'd obviously ingrained it in their minds as the truth. And he couldn't blame them. It was better than thinking their parents had been robbed and killed. It was what they had to hope for. Perhaps all the children at the orphanage felt this way.

Cheetara frowned. "But why go to Tropo then? They might be anywhere."

"It's the last place they were. Besides, we've been listening to traveler's rumors, and our parents weren't the only merchants to go missing a year ago. Apparently lots of people that went to the meeting haven't been in their markets for months. I think the meeting was a market convention. Tropo has a big one every year. It's coming up really soon." Kat leaned into her hand, letting her scratch between his ears with a blissful look. "So if we can go there, especially before the next trader's meeting, maybe we can catch the people that took our parents. Or at least find out what happened and what they did with them."

This plan was fairly elaborate for two kittens. Lion-O's ears lowered when Panthro said, bluntly, "You can't come."

Both kittens stared at him, as if he'd poured ice water on them. "W-Why not?" Kit asked.

"Because it's dangerous and I'm not going to have us slowed down any more than we already are." He didn't look at Tygra or Cheetara but both of them bristled. "This isn't a mission for kids.

"But…but how are we going to get to Tropo then?" Kat said.

"Not our problem. We'll turn around in the morning to take you back to Rana Village; at least you're fed there. Find some other family to take you in or something. Complain to the merchants. Where we're going is a lot more dangerous than 'Miss Hiss' in a bad mood." Panthro put more wood on the fire and the kittens stared at him in disbelief. "You can travel to Tropo when you get older."

"But that'll be too late! We might be too late now!" Kit wailed. She got up as he did, running to his side. "Please, we've gotta go! We won't make trouble or anything! Don't take us back to Rana Village! You're our only hope!"

Panthro looked down at the tears and furry, sweet face and said without flinching, "It's safer there. I'm not bringing you along. I draw the line at kids. I already gotta put up with her." He gestured to Cheetara, who got up with a face like lightning.

"Excuse me? What is your problem with me? Is it that I'm a woman and you think I can't do anything?" she snapped.

"You being a girl has nothing to do with it. You just ain't cut out for this. The tiger's barely a rookie; you've never even been ten leagues outside Dera's Run until now. Not to mention your attitude is working my last nerve." Panthro firmly nudged Kit away, ignoring the fact that she was starting to sob.

"Wait a minute Panthro." Lion-O saw fury in Cheetara's eyes and sensed a fight coming. "She's already learning, and I'm pretty new at all this too. I'm sure you didn't know everything when you first started journeys like this."

"I also didn't pester people into bringing me along when they'd be better off without me," Panthro retorted.

Tygra stood up now, leaving Lion-O the only one on the ground. "Hey, Lion-O asked us to come because of that Sword of Omens thing. We didn't want anything to do with this. And what kind of tail-sucker knowingly leaves kids in an abusive home?" The term "tail-sucker" struck the battle lines and Lion-O felt the ire crackling in the air. Their little group was experiencing friction.

"Well, the Sword's on the fritz, ain't it? How do we know it wanted you lot along anyway? You two are more likely to get killed than anyone, being untrained. Now you want to bring kids along? I don't think so! I got enough to worry about! It's not like I want them to be miserable, but if I've gotta be the bad guy to protect the whole planet, then so be it! There are worse things than a nasty caretaker, believe you me!"

Panthro's voice was getting louder and Lion-O looked helplessly from cat to cat. He gestured for Kit to come to him. She did so, still sobbing – big tears, runny nose and all – and he patted her face dry with a cleaner edge of his cloak. "It's okay."

"No it's not. We've gotta go to Tropo. I want to see Mommy and Daddy again," she said, chest heaving. Kat looked near tears too, but his eyes were so bright they had to be tears of anger more than sorrow. His teeth were gritted, lips jerking in fits. There was rage there, rage at being made to hope and then being dropped back down.

Lion-O listened to the arguing wearily and held his head, staring dully at the Sword of Omens. "I don't suppose you can do anything to make everyone calm down, can you?" he asked.

As if in reply, the stone began to glow, pulsing red. Lion-O lifted it and raised his head. "Everyone be quiet. Something's wrong."

As if they'd been struck dumb kids and adults alike stopped talking. Ears buzzing in the sudden quiet, Lion-O perked them forward, listening intently. "Is someone there?"

All of them could hear it now; the slow trudging of the flat feet of a heavy body. Panthro sniffed the air and bared his teeth. Lion-O stood up and said, "Come out. You're outnumbered."

"Outnumbered, yesss. Overpowered, not so much." The kittens looked up at Lion-O doubtfully and hid behind him. He put his arm in the golden gauntlet and drew his sword. The voice was very familiar and soft, and after a moment its speaker approached the fire and was visible in the flickering light.

"General Slithe. I didn't expect to see you here." Lion-O didn't move and neither did the lizard who, he noticed, was naked and unarmed. "I expected you to head back to Tropo after abandoning your men in Dera's Run."

"Trainees. Quite replaceable." Slithe blinked with one eye at a time in the firelight to keep the other trained on them at all times. It looked like he was winking at them. "And you are heading to Tropo as well…why? To cut me down? Or to destroy the Mutation trade? Which is it?"

Lion-O's expression was serene. "All of the above and more, General. Why don't you make this easy and leave? We'll let you go if you don't attack." With children around it would be too dangerous to engage a seasoned warrior like Slithe, and he kept one ear tuned to them, aware of the bright green eyes watching the exchange.

"Mm. No. I want an answer first. You wish to go to Lune after Tropo because of the damage centered there…do you intend to repair a planet somehow? Why were you sent?" Slithe's eyes narrowed and Lion-O twitched. "You don't know what's wrong at the heart of your world, but I do. I do indeed…the same thing has happened before, and it always ends the same."

Tygra was crouched calmly by the fire, fingers white beside the blaze. "Really? Mind telling us?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

Lion-O shook his head. "This is your last chance to leave."

"On the contrary." Slithe opened his dark, dirty claws and Cheetara's hand flew to her staff. A canister was in his palm, needle already plunged deep into the scaly wrist. The scales on his hands and the softer part of his arm were paler, finer, and Cheetara looked at Lion-O, whose expression had twisted into alarm.

"Kids, get in the tank and stay there! Go!" He whipped his tail, nudging them with it while he took out the Sword of Omens. The two obeyed, scrambling for the vehicle. Tygra took out his whip and Panthro took out a strange weapon; two club-like metal ends were chained together, and holding one he began to swing the other. It whirled loud and heavy, and Lion-O alone knew the kind of damage it could do. Panthro called it a set of nunchuks. The Imperial name for his weapon was the Brawler of Feline Fists, a title well earned by the number of bones it had broken.

Slithe smirked. And from his back two great, bony structures exploded like green trees, smaller ones sprouting off like branches. Filmy skin clung to them like the membrane of a bat's wing and Slithe fell to all fours.

Tygra followed these motions with his eyes. "What the Ghen…?"

Slithe was starting to look like something from the underworld, scales thornier and face stretching wider and more serpentine every minute, so that Tygra called on the Thunderan hells was not so shocking.

Lion-O darted in. "Don't let him finish! Stop him!" But the odor of steel filled the air, and something like reptilian body.

He swung the blade and Cheetara charged after him, circling around the creature's back. Slithe lifted an arm and brushed Lion-O back like a bird; the limb had ballooned with muscle and the claws had extended to the length of daggers. His tail shot out, rolling like a tree down a cliff. Cheetara jumped back, transfixed by the lengthening of Slithe's neck and the spines sprouting from his backbone.

Slithe opened the wings, turning his fat, scaly head toward Lion-O. The cat had gotten up and held his side, but the lizard peeled back his lips in a grin, breath a permanent hiss through his uneven, broken teeth.

"…So you got even bigger. Whatever." Tygra shot in alongside Lion-O, snapping the whip in Slithe's face. He snarled at the noise and Lion-O dragged the blade over his front leg.

Instead of cutting through, the blade clattered over thick, stony scales. The thin cracks between each scale glowed bright green and Slithe grunted several times in a slow laugh. Lion-O dodged another swipe and Panthro came in swinging.

Even a much larger Slithe gave pause before someone the size of Panthro. He beat his wings about Panthro's head as the metal fists came swinging in, loud against the hard body. Cheetara sprinted around the back of the beast, staff crackling, and tried to release the charge into Slithe's side.

Slithe snarled again and flapped his wings, sending a swift gust over the ground and lifting him ten feet off the ground. Cheetara fell back, neck aching as she looked straight up and Slithe bore upward. "I can't get close! How much Mutation did he take!?"

"Some just have natural affinity for Mutation," Lion-O said, eyes following the great shape as it whirled around in the air with a slow drag, black as a demon against the moon. "I have an idea. Tygra, you, me and Panthro will keep him distracted by peppering him with little attacks. He'll have to land to strike at us. Stay away from his sides, attack from the front when the opportunity rises. Cheetara, use the time to charge your staff. A lot. Strike his back when you've got it." His voice was clear, and these orders shot out in rapid succession.

The three others nodded. Slithe was bearing down on them, claws slicing at their heads. Tygra snapped the whip at Slithe's tail – a clear challenge and insult – and Slithe roared, folding his wings to drop down. Their attacks weren't long range, but he had no such options either, and damage would have to be done at close quarters. His weight made the ground shiver and Panthro stormed in, plowing away at Slithe's face. The lizard tried to bite him but Panthro grabbed two of the longest fangs in his jaw and used his grip to wrestle with the massive head. Slithe's jaw came out of joint and Panthro twisted it, pushing back just before the beast shoved his face into the ground. He'd been trying to bite down on Panthro's torso, but he'd failed by hairs.

Tygra reappeared – he'd faded out of sight, wrapped in his whip – and grabbing hold of one of Slithe's legs with his whip, pulling with all his strength. It wasn't much to the great weight but it was enough to make Slithe waver, trying to gain his feet. Lion-O was there to prick the bottoms of his flailing feet with his sword, and the softer scales turned red.

Slithe screamed in hatred and righted himself, favoring his forelegs. The snarl was cut off as he corrected his jaw, popping it back into place. Lion-O caught sight of a flash of yellow behind the creature and one side of his mouth crooked in a smile.

And then Cheetara was aloft, staff streaming sparks, and she stabbed downwards into Slithe's back. The force of her swing and her little weight combined to be just enough; the blades drove deeper than the scales to pierce the thick hide.

Slithe froze, body twitching and eyes rolling back. Lion-O smelled something burnt then and he heard Tygra mutter about Ghen once more. Cheetara pulled her staff clear and leaped away, readying herself for more.

The lizard shook his head drunkenly, blinking. The place where the staff had been was burnt black but the electricity obviously hadn't permeated every part of the fat body. Slithe hissed like a kettle and opened his wings.

"Not…over." The voice was deep and guttural but clear enough.

Lion-O jumped forward but was too late; Slithe rose into the air and – wings slow, barely keeping him aloft – flew away, mass hurtling through the air with a roar. Cheetara made to run after him but Lion-O put out an arm.

"He's still too dangerous to take on alone. You'd be too fast for us to keep up with, even in the tank." Cheetara nodded, watching the thing fly away and Lion-O realized he'd grabbed her hand. Releasing her, Lion-O turned around and saw Tygra putting his whip away.

"Okay. What in the name of all things caffeinated and steeped was that?" Tygra opened his arms and gestured fruitlessly after the shrinking lizard. "Mutant dog-wolf thing I understand. Getting big and strong, sure. But he…he was huge. And he grew wings. Wings! And he could talk and reason! How in the heck does that happen?"

Panthro put his weapon away, tucking it against his belt. Cheetara's staff shrank and she slipped it into the holster on her belt as well. The Sword of Omens quieted and Lion-O slipped it into the gauntlet. "That's one thing we're not sure of. He might be genetically gifted for the stuff, or he might have a slightly different substance," Panthro said. "We read reports of a few Alliance figures becoming far more powerful than others…the codename for them was Mutants. Their bodies synthesize the drug and their minds continue functioning at normal levels. We didn't suppose we'd meet any in a place like this."

"Oh, is this one of those things you were going to mention whenever we asked about it?" Tygra said, irritated hands on his hips.

"One of them." Panthro crossed his arms and looked sullen. "You two did okay. For the five minutes we were fighting, anyway. Nice weapon, that staff."

Cheetara raised an eyebrow. Before she could comment, the kittens jumped out of the Thundertank and sprinted up to the group.

"You guys can scare off a big monster like that and you don't think we'll be safe if we go with you?" Wilykat asked with incredulous flatness in his voice. Panthro growled and Wilykit bumped against Cheetara in excitement.

"You were so cool! You were running so fast I couldn't even see you and then you used that electric move…awesome! Will you teach me how to do that?"

"And you with the whip! I didn't know you could do all that with a whip! You were like a ninja or something!" Kat was running around Tygra at this point, pausing every so often to run around Lion-O once and shoot Panthro a dirty look. "You used that sword on Slithe like a knight! Is it really the Sword of Omens? Are you one of the king's knights? Do you know the Fangs of the West? Dad said he's a swordsman who can take down anyone with two swords!"

Lion-O's heart softened when both of them cuddled against his sides. They were just children after all, and they were snuggly warm. They had this act down pat. "Please can't we go with you, please?"

"Don't look directly at them. They'll suck you in," Tygra chimed in. Panthro shook his head and Lion-O gazed thoughtfully down at the two.

"Guys, where we're going there are going to be even more enemies. None of us could ever forgive ourselves if anything happened to kids. Panthro may act like a jerk, but he really does care about what happens to you."

"Hey," Panthro muttered.

The kittens' tails were drooping slowly and even WIlykat's short crop of dark hair seemed to wilt. Lion-O bit his lip and looked at Cheetara for help.

She stepped forward and stroked Wilykit's hair. "Maybe we can at least complain about Miss Hiss to somebody. And…you guys could tell us what your parents look like so we could keep an eye out for them when we reach Tropo."

Panthro's eyes were chunks of granite but the kittens perked up slightly. "You mean it?" It seemed that they would take what they could get.

Cheetara's brown eyes resembled nothing so much as volcanic glass returning Panthro's glare. "Of course. It's the very least we could do."

Wilykit immediately shut her eyes and crinkled her nose, delving deep into memory. "Mommy has hair the same color as mine only with a little more purple in it. It's also curly and not wavy, and it goes past her shoulders. She has six spots on her nose that are kind of like freckles and her mouth moves more toward the right when she smiles than the left. She also snorts when she laughs, and her eyes are the color of biscuits just before they burn when they're crispy-"

Cheetara held up her hands. "Slow down." She looked to Lion-O. "We have to take them back. And…stick around for a little while, maybe. Have a chat with Miss Hiss."

"Does my concern about time hold no meaning to you?" Panthro said.

"Well, considering we already have Slithe in the area, I daresay we'll be finding it difficult to leave without being attacked anyway," Tygra said. "Think he'll attack Rana Village if he sees us going in?"

Lion-O bit his lip. "That's a possibility. But we have to go back to return the kittens before he attacks us again."

"Yes we do. He'll have his guard up next time." Panthro searched the sky above and continued, "We run back to town, drop off the kids, you lot talk to the woman if you've convinced yourselves it'll do any good, and then we hightail it back here before Slithe figures out where we've gone. That way he'll end up following us instead of hanging around the village. We don't want him setting down in a populated area if it can't fight."

Panthro began gathering the bedrolls and the cooking utensils. "Come on, the sooner we pack up the sooner we get back. We don't have time to waste."

"We're going back right now?" Tygra asked, starting to pick up a few items, looking dolefully at the pot. "Sheesh, let me grab the dumplings that are left."

"Everybody pile in," Cheetara said, patting both kittens on the back. Wilykit danced to her side, holding her hand.

"Why didn't you try using antimutagen on Slithe, Lion-O?" Tygra asked, wrapping up the food in a little bag and giving it to Lion-O. He looked at it thoughtfully and tucked it into his belt after tying it. "We have more canisters, I saw them."

Lion-O dipped into the Thundertank before Panthro locked it down – the door slid shut and a steel canopy roved over the top, hard as diamond with just as fierce a gleam - and it started on the path toward Rana Village, pulling up his hood as the bigger cat glanced back to make sure everyone was inside. The threat of being attacked from the sky was a very real one, and Lion-O was almost grateful for being pinned in a dark little box. "Slithe would have had more Mutation on him and would have just pumped more into himself. And I'd rather save it for those who don't want to be turned into monsters." He paused and added in undertone, "It was also in the tank, and I didn't want to lead him toward the kids. I don't always carry it with me; I'm afraid the glass will break if I carry the antimutagen around all the time. Our supply isn't unlimited."

"Oh. I guess those are good reasons." Tygra seemed mildly impressed. "How'd you know to attack him from the front?"

Lion-O was squinting toward the dash, through the pane of glass. It was refined diamond treated with Thundrillium, one of the hardest substances known to Third Earth, but he could still see the muzzy light of Rana Village. "When his body changed his eyes shifted to the sides of his skull. His vision was better in either direction, but he'd have to turn his head to see someone standing directly in front of him. And he was too fat to swipe out very far with his arms to the front. His wings were a bigger concern, and their range of motion was only the sides."

Realizing that Tygra was listening a little too intently, Lion-O glanced back over his shoulder. Tygra was watching him from the opposite seat, Kit next to him, Cheetara in the middle and Kat between her and Lion-O. "So you've been educated in combat strategy?" Tygra asked. "I know some basics from the soldiers I've met, but I didn't know they taught pageboys that kind of thing."

"You'd be surprised what the royals want their servants to learn," Lion-O replied.

He answered no more questions, focusing on the path and the quiet, eerily still plain.

By the time they arrived dawn was starting to warm the mud and the brothels and ladies of the night had all disappeared. Other than the occasional cat with a hangover, there wasn't much sign that they'd ever been. Panthro ignored everyone except for the cats behind him and anything in the sky that might have been a bird or a faraway Mutant.

It had nearly killed him to admit Cheetara and Tygra had been useful. Bringing them along had been all Lion-O's idea, him and that blade. Panthro didn't put much stock by the words of the priests or the scientists, nor an ancient sword wreathed in mysterious power. He only knew what his orders were, and they came from a very real person. A very real king for a very real kingdom.

The king had never been inclined toward such things either. That he offered such strange orders was…unnerving.

He still didn't have to like being followed by a couple of untrained cats scarcely out of their juvenile fur. Lion-O would have been part of that group if he weren't relatively trained and clever. And now kittens? Panthro didn't like kids. He'd never been around them and nobody had ever shown him how to treat them. He'd been treated like an adult his entire life. And he'd spoken truly; there were worse things than a nasty caretaker. Far worse.

His fingers traced the white tattoo and he finally deigned to look at the kittens. "Okay, so where is this orphanage?"

"It's up ahead." The girl tried to take his hand but he crossed his arms and she shrugged, skipping over the muddiest parts of the street with a practiced jump. "Miss Hiss is gonna be mad, but she'll talk less nasty to you guys because you're grownups."

Cheetara was walking beside him now and he cursed her long-legged speed. She was light and had the lope all cheetahs did, and in spite of his being taller, his greater weight made him sink more so he fell a few paces behind.

"There it is." Kat made a face and his tail curled. Panthro looked over the top of Cheetara's head and slowly uncrossed his arms.

It was a wood-and-dried-mud house, bigger than all the other huts but about as rickety. Instead of doors there were gaping holes and the roof looked like thin slabs of tree bark that had been pulled off and placed on the structure. It smelled of dirty cat-stink, like fur that hadn't been washed and the stomach juices of hairballs. Only children coughed up hairballs, and it was something parents were supposed to teach them not to do.

Apparently these didn't see any reason to tell the children otherwise. Panthro felt a modicum of disgust as he scanned the area and the rickety fence surrounding it. There was barbed wire – no, burrs attached to dry vines – wound around the fence.

"…I know Rana Village is a trash hole, but if this counts as an orphanage maybe we could get complaints raised faster than I thought." Cheetara looked up at him in surprise. Panthro growled. "What?"

Lion-O drifted up to him, examining the shack. The blue eyes roved across the ground. "Guys, can you tell us anything about this place?"

Kit and Kat exchanged glances. "Not really. We run off a lot, but when we're stuck here we're always helping traders that come by get crates and bags of stuff in their wagons. That's all we do all day, morning 'til night."

"They make you load carts?" he asked. "Of what?"

"Stuff. Everyone in this town trades, even Miss Hiss. She gets paid pretty good for it. She bribes people not to mess around here, and some traders she works with are really scary. That's one way she hasn't gotten in trouble yet." Kat wiped his face and straightened his fur. "The carts come every hour or so, and everybody has to know how to calculate weights so we know what to charge if she's not here. It's always the same things, but the bags are tied tight so we can't see inside."

"Does she pay any of you anything at all? Are they like chores?"

"Uh-uh. We don't get any allowance. She says she gives us food and beds and that's enough." Kit grimaced. "Everybody works all day. And she barely gives us any food, so I think she's just a meanie."

"…You guys are basically unpaid labor," Lion-O observed, eyes sharpening.

Panthro was beginning to feel more and more uneasy. It would have been one thing if the children were fed and cared for, even if the area was rough. This…this was slavery at its most insidious. The injustice made his lip curl.

"Okay. I guess we can poke around a little and see if we can dig anything up on the woman. This is worse than I imagined." Cheetara turned around and looked at him, mouth quirking.

"Lion-O was right. You're not as heartless as you act."

His ears laid back and he hissed. "We have a day. We gotta do what we can in that amount of time. We have priorities."

"Fine, whatever." She took the kittens' hands and said, "Where can we find Miss Hiss then?"

Panthro looked back at Lion-O and Tygra. "You two want to look around for anything this woman can be arrested for? Because I get the feeling princess over here won't be able to make her see the error of her ways."

Lion-O nodded. "I'll speak to the children."

Tygra took out his whip. "I prefer to go inside the enemy's territory. Everybody's got skeletons in their closet." He suddenly vanished, silent as a phantom. His whip was a pretty good weapon; when it cracked, along with disturbing the atoms in the air to make a snap, it distorted the very light around him to make him invisible. Very impressive design. He'd have to ask the tiger where he got that.

Lion-O made sure his hood was up and said, "You stay with Cheetara. You two could be a pretty convincing force." Panthro bit back a protest and followed the woman, aware that Lion-O was heading quietly around to the back. If there were kids loading carts it would be back there. A small bag was in his paw and Panthro cocked his head. The bag of dumplings the kittens had gotten?

He sighed. This was impractical, but it was hard to reason against getting food into a hungry child's belly. He followed Cheetara into the door, where the smell of dirty cat intensified. "She stays in her office. Come on, I'll show you," Kit said. The "lobby" was a big dirty room with the barest wood floor and a hall led back from it. There were a few lamps, flickering on oil. Cheetara's face set as a door came into view. The first door in the place was to the office.

Kit knocked softly. "Um…Miss Hiss?"

"Who's there? Is that you, Wilykit? Have you and your brother come crawling back?" Kit shrank back and Cheetara tugged at her so she was standing right beside the taller woman's side, one hand on her hip. The door opened and a white and brown cat was scowling on the other side. Her clothes were dark and somewhat neater than the ragged cloths the kittens wore. "If you think you're going to get away with running off, you…"

Her eyes were at about Cheetara's stomach level, expecting children. They rose to meet her eyes and then jumped to Panthro's. She was a little woman, and yet both kittens looked at her as if she were some great demon. "Can I help you with something?" The voice had been injected with some kind of chemical sweetness.

"Maybe." Cheetara patted each kitten on the head. "Guys, why don't you wait out here? We need to talk to the owner of this establishment."

They obeyed, scrambling away from the door and down the hall. Miss Hiss's eyes followed them like ticks and she said, suddenly more cordial, "Please, come in. Thank you for bringing them. I hope they weren't too much trouble. They're a difficult case…"

Cheetara entered first but Panthro took a moment to examine the room before he stepped through. The room was nicer than the lobby in that the floor was cleaner and there were a few shelves with books and items on them like minerals and crystals. It smelled a little better in here too, but it was still dirty. In this sort of place it would be impossible to keep clean.

"Really. That's funny. They were lovely children to me." Cheetara sat down, taking in sweeping glances of the room. There was a tiny, rickety chair in the corner but Panthro elected to stand; no way would it hold him. "They seemed afraid to come back."

"Really? I can't imagine why." The fake smile positively reeked of dislike. "You're newcomers to Rana Village, I see. I know all of this must seem very strange to you. Allow me to introduce myself; Hissteria is the name, or Miss Hiss as the children call me." She smiled as if she'd like to throttle the parents that had named her such. He couldn't blame her.

"I'm Chera," Cheetara fibbed. "And this is-"

"Pantero," he said flatly. It was probably not necessary to lie, but their real names spreading around gave him an uneasy feeling. "We've been hearing complaints about this establishment, and not from the kids."

The woman's eyes narrowed but her brows made a sharp, sad angle that was almost believable. "People don't understand how difficult it is to raise all these children. Some of the things I do must seem unkind, but there are over fifty children here and so few adoptions…"

"Of course. Actually, I can see how difficult it must be. That's why I came here; I'm looking for a job you see. I'd like to work as your assistant." Cheetara had softened her voice and Panthro bit his tongue, realizing that she had decided to take a sweetheart's approach. She was pretty and had a feminine way that might get the lady talking. But why? They wanted evidence of this place being horrible enough to get the merchants to take it over and change things, didn't they? The woman wouldn't tell them anything useful. Certainly Cheetara wouldn't be hired if anything illegal was going on. Why didn't she confront Hiss instead?

Time. She was buying time for Tygra and Lion-O to look around. Their only chance to get her was by unearthing some dirty laundry. Panthro assumed an interested look as Hiss began talking, wondering if there really was any way to nail this establishment as crooked in such an impossibly short amount of time. If not they'd have to leave…but the feeling of something unwholesome and hollow ate at his back, and Panthro kept one ear tuned toward the door, listening for anything.

Lion-O found that he was being watched the moment he entered the back yard, seeing several wagons already rolling away from the fence. The cats driving them stared at him, their wares covered with blankets, and he watched them leave without a word.

He could count at least eight children in the area, some standing still against the dark ground and others obviously hiding under pieces of scrap and piles of wood. One bird, three wolves, some kind of reptile, and several breeds of cat. Their eyes all looked the same; wary, mistrusting. They looked like grownup eyes shifting with fear and he felt a little sick.

He stopped near a little girl. She seemed about five, and he could see her easily because her scales were iridescent, and even though she was dirty she gleamed like oil in the dank sunlight. She stared at him, wearing the same sackcloth as all the children. "Hello," he said gently. Her hands tightened – they were fisted in the fabric of a bulky sack of mud probably used for patching holes in the building – and Lion-O took out the bag. He would have preferred giving her water to wash with but he had none and she looked too hungry to care about dirt anyway. Taking out one of the dumplings he offered it to her, chest aching when her eyes riveted on the promise of good food. "It's all right. It's for you. I'm only sorry I don't have many with me."

Her claws whisked out and snatched up the dumpling. She had half-swallowed her second mouthful before managing, "Thank you." Turning slightly, Lion-O saw three of the children coming out, sniffing.

"Come on out. I just want to talk. I have a few more you can all share."

At this they scurried toward him like bugs exposed in the sunlight from under a rock. Lion-O calmly split up the dumplings so all of them had a good-sized bite at least. "You're all orphans here?"

"Mm-hm. Are you gonna adopt us?" The bird looked like some breed of swallow and was smaller than the others, asking this hopefully. Lion-O brushed back his head feathers and sighed.

"I can't, buddy. But we are trying to get someone other than Miss Hiss to be in charge around here. Wilykit and Wilykat told us about how bad this place was."

At this the children grew excited. "Miss Hiss is a witch! She's the meanest lady ever! Can you fire her? Kick her tail!"

Questions like this flowed from every mouth and beak and he held up a hand. "Wait a minute. Tell me about this place. What were you all just doing with those wagons?"

A wolf still working on her dumpling seemed to be the oldest. She wiped her mouth and said, "We were loading it up. There are two types of traders that come through. Some bring stuff and Miss Hiss pays them for it. We unload it for them and take it inside so Miss Hiss can do whatever she does, counts it I think. Then the other traders come later and we load their wagons with the stuff inside. And we keep lookout for strangers. Miss Hiss gets money then." She had a dark, weary face and Lion-O noticed she was thinner than the others. Two little boy wolves – perhaps four years old – peeped out from behind her and he realized they were her brothers. They looked slightly healthier, and he knew where part of her food went. Something like pained pride welled up inside him; even in a place like this, family was strong. "We can't talk to anyone."

"No one in town has ever done anything about this?"

"Some have tried. But it's never enough. And Miss Hiss…she has a name in Rana Village." The group murmured and Lion-O searched through a satchel on his belt. Panthro would have killed him, but he'd brought a few rations along – hard biscuits and dried meat, nothing very tasty but at least sustaining – and he passed these around as well. To see the gaunt faces light up made his heart break. Such scraps shouldn't look like a feast to children.

When he got back to the Imperial City, things were going to have to change here. How they'd gotten so bad he couldn't understand. Even a neutral territory could not do such things.

"So she keeps out of trouble because of these friends? Who are they?"

He gave the wolf girl a little extra, and the children gazed at him with appreciation. She looked about thirteen, and reasoned that she was likely the mother figure for most of them since she seemed to be the oldest of all of the children here. She gnawed a slab of dried meat and shrugged. "Different traders. Usually with the guys that drop off stuff or collect stuff. I guess they like trading with her."

Lion-O nodded. "What sort of stuff?"

"She always ties the bags up tight so we can't look inside. If anyone tries to peek she threatens us. Nobody cares to look; it feels like rocks when we're carrying them for her. Ballast for the Fel Sea ships maybe. They head that way I think."

Considering this, Lion-O straightened. "Where does she make you put these bags?"

"In the orphanage. There's a room she takes them to, but we're not allowed in. It's always locked." The girl looked around. "We'll be in trouble if she sees us talking to an outsider. Are you really trying to stop her?"

"Not by myself." Lion-O made sure to scan the windows of the building before continuing, "This may be a weird question, but what kind of people bring the stuff? Are they birds? Or cats?"

She gave him a look. "They're usually snow leopards or those weird cold people. Luna. They come to get the stuff in winter and snow leopards come in summer because it's too hot for the Luna when it's warm. Any kind of person drops it off."

Lion-O slowly looked toward the building again. Tygra finding something was their best chance, and he listened intently for the sound of invisible footsteps.

Tygra didn't like to think of himself as nosy, but it was fun to creep around invisible and spy on people. People acted completely different when they didn't think anyone was watching them. They picked their noses, scratched unseemly places, made bizarre comments, and Tygra sometimes had to punch himself to keep from howling with laughter.

Today things were serious though. He'd spirited after Panthro on silent feet and examined the hallway. He didn't bother following Miss Hiss, instead deviating off into another corridor, one after the other. She wouldn't have anything incriminating in her office that he could get to while she was in there. Some dark, hidden room would turn up better results. His sharp eyes scanned the rooms, checking for anything.

This place would have been shut down in five minutes in Dera's Run. Shabby beds and blankets littered most of the rooms, some of them inhabited by tiny children and he cursed Miss Hiss. If Panthro still wanted to leave by tomorrow and they hadn't done anything, he'd tell Lion-O they had to stay. They would be the most dishonorable scum if they left these children like this. The world might need saving but these kids definitely did, and he got the feeling Lion-O would side with him. It would serve Panthro right to have his protectorate call him out for being a jerk…not to mention Lion-O was definitely the one in charge. Which seemed strange; Panthro didn't seem like the type to be bossed around, and being at the beck and call of a page boy was unusual.

Perhaps it came with being page boy to the king himself.

Tygra darted across another hall and then backed up slightly. At the end of this corridor was a latched doorframe on the ground leading down into the floor; a cellar perhaps? Cellars were good places for hiding anything. He'd been present for raids in Dera's Run – Xiame had overseen a few and he'd tagged along – and cellars always hid something. Adulterous love letters, smuggled goods, illegal items…his fingers itched with curiosity and he felt himself flickering back into visibility. He cracked the whip once more, renewing its energy, and hurried to the door in case anyone had heard. It wasn't good to wear it out by repeated use without reprieve, but this was important.

It was locked. Oh darn. He smirked and felt for his hair, pulling out a thin metal clip. One of his braids fell loose but he ignored it, using the wire to pick the lock. It came open easily enough and the hinges didn't creak as he opened the door. It was maintained well and used often.

Stairs led down into the dark and Tygra replaced the pin in his hair. Maybe those tribal tigers had known more than just how to look fabulous. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he scanned the room. He saw what had to be a lamp and fumbled for the switch to light the oil. It flared up and a burning smell hit his nose.

Sacks were piled against one wall. All of the mouths were slightly open, wrinkled as if they'd been recently untied, but he didn't immediately go to examine them or see what was inside. There was a desk by the lamp and folded pages sat atop it. He picked up one and scanned it.

'Three loads, six satches. Order from Lune for five loads, send these save two satches. Standard rates apply, five extra gold for shipping costs, three for travel documents. Prices supposed to increase in a month, plan accordingly. Charge eight gold more per satch to compensate. Send two extra to forest facility for processing.'

"'Order from Lune?'" he murmured aloud. Turning to the sacks and opening one, he continued, "What would they want from here…?"

Rocks. He picked up a couple and sniffed them, scraping at the rough exterior with his thumb claw. Dirt fell away and Tygra stared. And then he stared some more.

He looked at the letter again, thinking quickly and scanning them more carefully, picking out names and lists of items. Not all the ingredients were located solely in the north. Perhaps demand was so great that even Lune's reserves could not satisfy the want for it, and they were pulling substances in from all over the planet. Combine it with the rest of the ingredients and stretch the market further…

Tygra picked up some of the stones again and put them in his pocket beside several of the letters and order sheets, turning himself invisible and whisking up the stairs, fleeing the building as fast as he could to find Lion-O.

Because if the main mineral used to create Mutation could be found hidden in a cellar in Rana Village, there was no telling where the stuff could be going now.

End of Episode 3