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Visions of the Heart
Chapter 3
The lion watched the cheetah slip into her meditative state. He could feel her breaths slowing, deepening and he could see the tension in her strong thin frame disappear.
He wondered how many times Cheetara had sat with Jaga, attempting to meditate and gain control over her visions. Does she see a scene play out or does she see glimpses as I did? The red-haired king wondered to himself.
As he watched the young cleric concentrate with her eyes closed, now detached from the outside world, he wondered if she could sense his eyes on her. He didn't mean to stare, but she was so beautiful—and for the first time he was able to look at her without having to worry about giving her the wrong impression. Well, maybe not WRONG impression, but definitely not the COMPLETE impression. The young king couldn't help the half smile that dawned on his face. She was beautiful beyond a doubt; but she was so much more than that. She was brave and intelligent—young yet wise beyond her years. She didn't think his fascination with tech was crazy—she respected his opinion, unlike so many others.
The cheetah masked her emotions well, but she now let her guard down around him a little bit. She was sad—lost without her mentor and feeling uneasy because her talents were still a great mystery to her. Lion-O could sense that she was reluctant to tell the others about her visions and he completely understood that hesitation. After all, his own brother thought his interest in tech was 'hair-brained' and a 'waste of time'. Imagine what the tiger would have to say about visions of the future. No, for now, the meditation practices would remain their secret.
He thought he noticed some movement—the slightest flutter of her closed lashes against her cheek. Lion-O wondered if she was beginning to see something.
A dagger held high in the air, its target unknowing. As the king looked out onto the horizon, the arm holding the dagger lurched forward—as the blade pierced the skin of king, his blue eyes shot wide. Pain and shock were clearly evident in his expression. He fell slowly to the ground and hit it hard. The king lay on the ground with a bloody gash on his forehead and an oozing puncture wound on his throat.
The king's azure eyes looked forward, but there was no life behind them. He didn't close his lids to protect his eyes from the sun. He didn't move. Lion-O was dead.
Cheetara gasped in a breath as her eyes snapped open. She looked at the young king seated across from her and she tried to calm herself down.
"Cheetara, are you all right?" Lion-O was instantly by her side trying to reassure her, to calm her. She'd had a vision, of that he was positive, but he was unsure of what she could have seen that would cause her to react that way. She seemed confused—frightened.
"I'm… okay." She was still panting slightly as she leaned back and tried get a hold of herself. She uncurled her legs from her meditative pose and she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her forehead against them as she tried to process what she had just seen.
The lion didn't want to upset her further, but he didn't know how to help her through this if he didn't know what she had seen. "Cheetara, what did you see?" He asked tentatively. "I can tell that it really upset you."
"There you two are." The tiger's voice cause both Lion-O and Cheetara to jump in alarm. "Did I… interrupt something?" The tiger eyed each of them carefully as he waited for his answer.
"No!" Lion-O and Cheetara said in unison.
"We were just about to head back to camp," the lion quickly added.
"Really?" Sarcasm laced the tiger's voice. "I get the distinct impression that I walked in on something here."
"Actually, Tygra, I was thinking about Jaga after I cleaned up from dinner and I let my emotions get the better of me. Lion-O found me here and way trying to lift my spirits a bit."
The lion was shocked at how naturally she handled his brother's accusatory question. He could tell that Tygra was not convinced, but it was their word against his and, for now, it seemed a logical enough story.
"Well, you should get back to camp. It's late and we'll all be safer if we stick together."
"Agreed, brother. We're coming". The lion extended his hand down to help the cheetah up. After pulling her to her feet, she gave him a quick wink and followed the path back to their camp. As he trailed behind her, Lion-O couldn't help but smile.
Cheetara was so exhausted after their long day of travel that sleep came easier tonight. Snarf curled up with her once again and she was grateful for his presence. She didn't remember anything once she closed her eyes, but was awakened by pans around the campfire at the break of dawn.
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up, glancing around their small camp. The kittens sat side by side on a fallen log, huddled together against the early morning chill and looking eagerly towards whatever Tygra was fixing for breakfast. Snarf curled in her lap and she scratched absentmindedly between his ears as she searched for Lion-O's familiar thatch of red hair. Fear clutched her belly as she realized he was nowhere to be seen.
"Tygra, where's Lion-O?" she asked in alarm, her entire body tensing.
"He scouted ahead," the tiger answered without taking his eyes off whatever he was stirring in the pan over the fire.
Muttering under her breath, Cheetara bolted to her feet, dumping Snarf unceremoniously to the ground.
"Snaaaaarf," he protested, scurrying across the camp to bury himself in Kit's arms.
Tygra looked up in surprise. "What's wrong?"
"He shouldn't be going off alone." She pulled out her staff and hefted its weight in her right hand.
"Lion-O can take care of himself," Tygra protested.
Cheetara shook her head. "Which way did he go? I have to find him."
Wordlessly, Tygra pointed north. Without waiting for further directions, Cheetara darted into the forest.
Lion-O traipsed down the overgrown path, hacking at the vines and bushes in his way with the Sword of Omens. The trail would be hard-going today, so they would have to plan for frequent stops to rest. Suddenly, the path narrowed and dipped down through a dark ravine. The fur on the back of Lion-O's neck prickled and he clasped the hilt of the Sword tightly, his blue-eyed gaze darting rapidly around the area.
Something moved in the shadows and he crept forward cautiously. He knew the best move would be to return to camp. There was safety in numbers. However, he didn't want to lead whoever or whatever this was back to the other ThunderCats. Placing one foot in front of the other, he inched forward, his body tensed and ready to spring.
A dark figure sprang from up above, tackling him and sending him sprawling to the ground. All of the breath rushed out of him in a whoosh, and the Sword clattered across the ground. Two dusty boots appeared in front of him and his eyes traveled upwards to see a bedraggled jackal and a mixed-breed dog of some sort. Both smelled as if they hadn't bathed in days and neither had seen a hair brush in quite a while.
"What do you want?" Lion-O ground out, his chest aching. He winced as the animal on his back, perhaps another dog, ground his knee between his shoulder blades.
"All of your money and that fancy sword," the jackal laughed, bending over to pick up the Sword of Omens.
Lion-O growled deep in his throat and struggled to get up, but was silenced by a kick in his stomach and then one to his face. He groaned, but fought to stay alert. He had to keep his eyes on the Sword.
A sudden flash of yellow and the Sword was gone from the jackal's very fingertips. "What?" he questioned, stumbling backwards in surprise. Another flash and the dog pressing Lion-O into the dirt suddenly found himself flat on the ground.
The cheetah came to a stop across the camp, barely out of breath. The Sword of Omens was clutched tightly in her hand. "Is that how you treat the Lord of the ThunderCats?" she sneered, tossing the Sword to Lion-O as he slowly got to his feet. She twirled her staff before her as Lion-O wielded the Sword.
In one swift swing, she had the jackal and the mixed-breed dog on the ground. Lion-O turned toward his attacker and the dog stumbled backwards, falling over his own feet in his haste to get away. The other two, dazed and injured, scrambled after him.
Cheetara waited until they disappeared from sight before turning to Lion-O, ruby eyes flashing. "Just what were you thinking?" She placed her hands on her hips and stared her king down angrily.
Lion-O's mouth gaped open in surprise.
"You could have been killed!" The lion stood speechless, shocked at the sharp tone from his cleric.
"I only went to scout ahead. I didn't think—"
"No, you didn't think!" She didn't even attempt to hide the anger she felt. "You are the King, Lion-O and we cannot afford to lose you. You can't just go running off by yourself."
He didn't know what to say to calm her down. She was trembling as she stood staring at him, a look of fury on her face. He had never seen the cleric so upset before. Cheetara had always been so even tempered, but she stood before him with fire in her eyes. Lion-O's mind began to wander as he realized how pretty she looked when she was angry. "I…well… I'm uh… I'm sorry, Cheetara."
"From now on, I will accompany you on all scouting expeditions." Her tone left no room for argument.
"Fine."
She took a deep breath and exhaled, visibly relaxing before him. "All right. Let's head back to camp and discuss our plans."
She turned and began walking before he could answer. He quickened his step and caught up with her, not really sure what to say.
"Do you still want to meditate tonight?"
Cheetara stopped so suddenly that Lion-O managed to walk several feet past her before he noticed and turned around to look at her.
She looked at him for a long moment before finally responding. "Yes. Why would that change?" She couldn't hide the tinge of hurt in her voice. "I thought we agreed to help one another."
"Um, well, we did agree to help one another, but…"
"But?" she questioned.
"But you seem so angry at me right now I thought you may have changed your mind." The lion instinctively held his breath as he waited for her answer.
Her eyes met his and her tension seemed to visibly melt away. "Lion-O, I'm not angry with you."
"Really, because you could have fooled me."
The cheetah took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Lion-O, I was angry that you put yourself at risk, but I'm not angry with you. I'm your cleric and it is my duty to protect you."
"I'm not totally helpless you know," he challenged her with a bit of annoyance in his tone.
"I never said that you were helpless, and I certainly don't see you that way. However, you are the King of Thundera and you must understand that along with your crown comes enemies—people who would seek to harm you simply because of your title."
"I never really thought about that. My father was the King of Thundera. I suppose it still seems so unreal."
"Lion-O, I know that the crown and all that it entails was placed upon you in a way that no king should have to endure. I do believe that you are quite capable of ruling Thundera. I simply want to make sure that you don't put yourself at unnecessary risk."
"So, you are a cleric who is angry at her King for wandering off without protection?" he asked her tentatively.
She thought for a moment before finally responding. "I am the last cleric who will do everything in my power to make sure that no harm comes to my king, but I am also your friend who cares about you. Other than Jaga, you are the only person who I've ever talked to about my visions. I trust you, Lion-O; I don't want to lose you."
"I don't want to lose you either." The lion stepped closer and pulled her into an embrace. "I'm sorry I went off on my own. I promise I won't do it again."
She melted into his arms and hugged him back fiercely. "I'm sorry that I was so harsh. I just don't want to lose you."
"You won't lose me, Cheetara." Lion-O pulled her tighter and hoped she didn't realize that his heart was pounding in his chest at having her so close.
"No, you don't understand. I…I saw…something, Lion-O. I saw a vision of you when we were meditating. Actually that was the second time I had seen it, but the image is so fleeting that I can't get a clear picture." She felt the hot tears begin to silently make their way down her cheeks and she sniffled and tried to regain her composure.
Lion-O felt her tears against his shoulder and he realized that she was trembling again, like she had before. He pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes. "Tell me."
"I saw you fall—you were hurt, badly hurt. I couldn't see how it happened or who was responsible." She felt like a weight had been lifted from her heart by finally telling him of her vision. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier. I meant to and then Tygra found us and I didn't want to say anything in front of him. I'm so sorry."
"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about. Now that we know there is a danger somewhere we'll take precautions to make sure that the vision doesn't come to pass," he reassured her and pulled her close again, embracing her tightly and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
She sniffled and looked up into his blue eyes. Before he could think it through, he leaned down and placed his lips on hers.
Cheetara stiffened at first, but then opened her mouth and responded to his kiss. Lion-O's large, warm hands splayed over the bare fur of her back as her arms wound around his neck and her fingers tangled in this thick, red hair.
Lion-O sighed into her mouth and tasted her sweetness. He tugged her body closer and she fit snuggly against him just as if she had been made for Thundera's new king. Lion-O moaned into her mouth and the sound seemed to bring her back to reality.
Cheetara pushed her hands flat against his chest and backed away from him, her hair mussed and her lips swollen from his kisses. "We can't," she panted. "We can't do this."
Lion-O, breathing heavily, ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Why? What's wrong?"
"I just—we just—," Cheetara hugged herself and began walking back towards the camp.
"Cheetara?" Lion-O called, hurrying after her and grabbing her arm with a gentle hand. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head, tugged her arm away carefully, and kept walking. "I've been wondering if we should tell Tygra and the kittens about my vision. That way they can keep help me keep an eye on you."
Lion-O stepped in front of her and she nearly ran into him before she could stop. He gripped her upper arms gently. "Cheetara, I trust you," he said softly, "and I have the Sword of Omens. We'll be vigilant and I'll be fine."
She shook her head. "I know what I saw, Lion-O. We have to be careful."
"And we will be," he replied as she pulled away and hurried toward the camp.
They found Tygra waiting for them with his pack on his back and the kittens at his side. "Took you two long enough," he growled.
"We ran into a problem," Lion-O muttered as he watched Cheetara sling her pack onto her back.
"What kind of trouble?" the tiger asked.
"Dogs," Cheetara answered flatly.
Kit and Kat looked at one another before Kat spoke up. "Dogs aren't so bad."
"These aren't the kind of dogs we see in Thundera," she answered. "These were spoiling for a fight."
"Then let's get out of here," Tygra told them, gazing between his brother and the beautiful cheetah curiously. Something didn't seem right between them.
Cheetara felt Tygra's eyes on her and ran a quick hand through her blonde hair. She hoped she didn't have a "just kissed" expression on her face. She caught Lion-O's gaze and felt a blush spread over her cheeks. Memories of his kiss lingered fresh in her mind and she was startled to find that she was tracing her lips with her fingertips as she remembered his insistent yet gentle lips on her own. Quickly, she dropped her hand to her side and followed Tygra and Lion-O.
Kit and Kat looked at one another, shrugged, and scampered down the road after the older cats.
It was a cloudy, dark day of travel and by early afternoon it began to rain. They were all soaked through to the skin, even Snarf who huddled in Lion-O's arms under the young king's cloak. After slogging through mud up to their ankles for the better part of the afternoon, they decided to stop and make an early camp for the night under a rocky overhang.
"I'll go look for firewood," Lion-O volunteered. He felt Cheetara's steely gaze on him. "Would you like to come with me?" he asked her cautiously.
She nodded and followed him silently back out into the light rain that continued to fall.
They walked a far enough distance from their camp to ensure they wouldn't be heard. They doubted that anyone would follow them with the insistent drizzle falling. On their walk they picked up any pieces of wood that had been kept dry by leaning trees, bushes and underbrush so they could use their time alone to meditate rather than look for firewood.
They found a spot that was heavily sheltered by the thick trees and managed to stay relatively dry once they sat down. The lion looked at the beautiful cleric and noticed that she was avoiding his eyes.
"Cheetara—I'm sorry if I upset you earlier. I would never do that on purpose."
The cheetah visibly relaxed and let out a soft sigh, considering her words carefully. "Lion-O, you didn't upset me and you didn't do anything wrong." She looked up and met his azure eyes. "I'm afraid of becoming distracted and letting my guard slip. My visions are a warning and if I let something happen to because I was preoccupied and distracted I would never forgive myself. "
"So that's what this is all about?" Lion-O's sense of relief was tangible and he couldn't hide the smile on his face. "You're just worried about protecting me?"
"JUST?" Cheetara sounded defensive—and annoyed. "A cleric's worry of failing to protect the life of the king is hardly a small thought. "
Lion-O began to chuckle and Cheetara felt her cheeks flush with anger. "What's so funny?" Yes, she was definitely annoyed.
"I was afraid that you were angry at me for kissing you—afraid that you didn't want me to kiss you."
"Lion-O, you are the Lord of the ThunderCats and I am the only remaining cleric charged with the honor of protecting you. I have to keep my wits about me and I can't allow myself to fall prey to… distractions."
Lion-O smirked. "So, I'm… distracting?"
"Yes, very distracting. Well, what I meant to say… um…"
"What you meant to say was that you wouldn't mind if I kissed you again?"
"Lion-O!" The cheetah sounded exasperated. "This isn't—" Cheetara's words were cut short when the king quickly leaned in and kissed her. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her deeply. Much to his surprise instead of pulling away she wrapped her arms around him and passionately returned his kiss.
They parted breathlessly, Lion-O nuzzling the cheetah's neck. "If we don't get back, Tygra is going to come looking for us."
Cheetara agreed. "I think we should pass on our meditation session just for tonight."
Lion-O stood and offered her his hand, tugging her gently to her feet. "I'd much rather stay out here with you."
Cheetara didn't answer; her brow was furrowed in thought.
"What are you thinking?" Lion-O asked her quietly.
"I think-" she began and then paused for a moment. "I think we should tell the others about our visions. Then they would be more observant to the events unfolding around us."
Lion-O thought for a moment. "If you're sure," he told her, "then that's what we'll do."
She turned to smile up at him, the rain striking her pretty face. Blushing shyly, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips before resuming her trek back to their campsite. They were both wet and shivering when they returned with armloads of wood.
"What took you so long?" Tygra grouched. "I was getting ready to come find you. It seems like every time the two of you go off together you stay a long time." He quirked an eyebrow and studied Cheetara carefully. Her blonde hair was a bit mussed, whether from the rain or Lion-O running his fingers through it he couldn't tell. The cheetah's lips were swollen though, as if she'd been thoroughly kissed. The tiger's gaze slid to Lion-O. The lion's cheeks were slightly flushed and his gaze remained glued to the pretty cheetah.
"We need to talk to you, all of you," Cheetara clarified as she knelt to start a fire.
The kittens huddled together under Tygra's cloak as they eagerly waited for the fire's warmth.
"What is it?" Tygra queried as he held his hands out toward the growing flames.
Lion-O settled himself on the opposite side of the fire and Snarf climbed into his lap. He stroked the little creature between the ears and looked at Cheetara to begin the conversation.
She glanced around the fire from one cat to another watching as the firelight flickered across their faces. It was so difficult to know where to start. Nerves fluttered in the pit of her stomach as she rolled her bottom lip between her teeth anxiously.
"Well?" Tygra asked, a bit impatiently this time.
"I have visions," she said softly. "It's not something I can control, and often it's just flashes or bits and pieces."
"Visions of what?" the tiger asked, his interest piqued.
She sighed and continued. "The day Thundera fell, I had a vision of the fall."
To Be Continued…