MECHANICAL PASSION

Chapter 1: A Dog, a Gauntlet, and a Prince

Now, Leppria didn't normally wake up in a pool of her own drool on her worktable, but she had stayed up all night again rearranging the wires of what she thought could have been a communicator of some kind. It was no bigger than her fist and there was even a hook-like piece for her to fit it in her ear, but the wires and pieces were so small and intricate that she stayed up until dawn working on making it work.

If she fixed it then she could rub it in Cougra's stupid face; who spends their time fixing garbage now, you old fuzzball?!

While the forge in the Thunderan royal palace was usually the peak of organization, Leppria's bedroom was a mess of scrap metal and unrecognizable junk. At least, it was junk to the untrained eye, to Leppria each piece was a work in progress or a completely finished piece of restored tech.

A particularly annoying sunbeam just would not leave her alone, so she was forced to wake up with light in her eyes and an ache in her back that she ignored as she stretched her arms over her head with a yawn.

Leppria rubbed at her tired green eyes as she assessed her surroundings, finding the sun outside her window to be higher than it usually was when she woke up.

If the sun was higher that meant she must have slept in…

Oh crap.

"Late!" she yowled, leaping from her worktable and tripping over her chair in the process. "Late, late… I'm so fuzzin late!"

She grabbed her bag and rushed out of her room, down the stairs, and into the forge where the infamous and very important Gauntlet of Omens was wrapped carefully in cloth and set aside on her side of the forge right where she left it, ready for her to deliver it to King Claudus later that day.

Today was the ceremony that would bond Prince Lion-O to not only the gauntlet but its sister weapon as well, the Sword of Omens, a sword so important that it could not be handled by conventional blacksmiths and was kept safe with the clerisy most of the time.

Cougra was the master blacksmith for the crown so he was trusted to fit the gauntlet to the prince's arm, but the fat old cougar had been thoroughly drunk since Leppria had met him when she was eleven, so like always she did the lion's share of the work. She was not worried though, her work was perfect and King Claudus was sure to see that when she presented him with the precious weapon.

That is if she made it there on time…

Don't get confused, she was not due to meet the king until the high sun hours later, but she wanted time to sneak out to her favorite dog and see what he had for her.

Leppria set the wrapped gauntlet into its ornate box and checked her reflection in the mirror by the door. Her honey-brown mane was as messy as always as she quickly tied it up high on her head, and she had a smudge of soot across her spotted cheeks.

Really, she did not look too different from all the other young leopard girls in Thundera, minus the layer of grease she could never seem to fully scrub from her body, but every ounce of energy that other girls her age put into their appearance she put into her work, making every blade and hunk of broken machinery perfect.

Without another look at her reflection she left the forge, keeping her eyes peeled for witnesses as she exited the palace and started making her way down to the dog slums.

The towering palace and lavish homes of nobility faded out into dusty streets and shantytown marketplaces, her eyes lighting up with familiarity as she spotted the dog she was looking for.

"Jorma!" she called, waving to him as she jogged up to his stand and watching him smile upon her arrival. "Anything new today?"

Her eyes scanned over the items on the table, spotting old Thunderan junk like pottery and grimy jewelry that once resembled gold, but her true prize was the many wires organizes by size and color, the hunks of metal warped by heat and rusted from abandonment, and if she was really lucky she would find a piece of archaic technology fully intact with minimal damage.

Jorma chuckled, "You're in luck Miss Leppria, you get the first pick of the inventory I collected on my last journey."

Leppria pumped a fist into the air excitedly, eyes sparkling as Jorma emptied a burlap sack onto the table. She picked through frayed threads of copper and scraps that were too rusted to work with, but stopped on a steel disk with glass grooves in the center.

It was discolored by time and scratched in some places, no doubt from the sand dancing in the wind on Jorma's frequent journeys across the desert, but Leppria's emerald eyes sparkled like stars as she realized what she was holding.

It was an explosive device activated by the timer panel in the center, fully intact, and seemingly fully functional on the surface.

"I take it you've found something?" Jorma hummed.

The leopard beamed as she held the bomb close to her chest as though it were a stuffed animal, purring wildly and rubbing her cheek against it.

"Yes! I never thought I'd be able to see one of these in real life!" she quickly dug into her pockets and pulled out a gold coin. "I'll take it!"

Jorma chuckled at her enthusiasm as she placed the bomb delicately in her bag along with some wires for her worktable and iron ore for the forge. The leopard bid the dog a kind farewell as she started making her way back to the palace.

She'd almost made it out of the slums towards the gate to the inner city when someone grabbed her arm. Leppria whirled around clutching her bag protectively, staring into the ocean blue eyes of a particularly audacious lion.

He was breathing heavily as if he'd run to catch her, a dirty cloak wrapped tightly around him. The boy must have noticed the startled look on Leppria's face because he quickly let go of her,

"Sorry… I just had to catch you before you left." He explained, as if that was a fine explanation for why he was being such a creep. "I saw you buy that from Jorma, and I wanted to offer you a better price!"

He pointed to her bag, her precious bomb concealed inside. The leopard blinked, her emerald eyes wide as she stared at him as though he were a snarf that had learned to speak. When she finally realized what it was he was asking of her, she frowned, her brow furrowing on her spotted face.

"Not for sale." She mewed, holding her bag away from the lion to keep it away from his greedy eyes.

The creep seemed genuinely surprised, digging into the pocket of his cloak and pulling out a bag of coins. "But I'm willing to pay handsomely…" he held the coins out to Leppria, but she only gave them a glance before fixing the lion with an unamused quirk of her brow.

"No."

She tried to leave him there with his jaw on the ground, but an alley cat that was apparently in a hurry knocked into her and made her drop her bag, the explosive disk tumbling out to rest between her and the lion.

They both looked down at the disk before looking back at each other. When their eyes met they both seemingly had the same thought, a beat of silence passing between them before they both dived for the piece of tech.

Leppria barely scratched the surface of the device before she felt something hard smack into her forehead. She fell back on her butt in the dirt, holding her sore head as she looked up, seeing the lion boy in a similar position, his hood having fallen to reveal a head of scruffy crimson hair.

In their haste to grab the bomb they'd smashed their own skulls together.

The jerk in front of her gained his bearings back first because before she could react he'd already grabbed her explosive and hidden it under his cloak. Leppria growled, knowing she couldn't wrestle with him for it and risk drawing more attention to herself.

What would everyone say if they saw the royal blacksmith's apprentice mucking about in the slums over a piece of junk?

"Oh fuzz…" she hissed under her breath, giving the lion one final glare before grabbing her bag and running in the opposite direction.

The leopard did not know whether to scream in anger or cry at the loss of one of her best hauls yet. The hours she could have spent taking that bomb apart to figure out everything about it, not to mention the time it would take to put it back together, fix broken parts, and make it work even better than it did before… poof! Gone! All because of that creep!

What did he want with old tech anyway? Its not like tech was a valuable commodity in Thundera, in fact I was quite the opposite. As far as she knew, Leppria was the only cat interested in tech at all.

As she reached the palace forge again she knew she didn't have time to grieve, she had to get ready to present the Gauntlet of Omens to the king.

Shedding her work sleeves from her arms and legs she dawned a pair of simple gold bands around her wrists and fastened a white skirt over her shorts just beneath her crimson belt. Checking her reflection she spotted a grease stain on her top.

She licked her thumb and vigorously rubbed at the stain before the smudge of grease disappeared.

One more onceover and an adjustment of the studs in her ears later she decided she was ready. She picked up the ornate box with the gauntlet inside and stepped back out into the palace halls, making her way through the towering golden corridors to the throne room where King Claudus was waiting.

If she were the master blacksmith like Cougra then she could just walk right into the throne room, but since she was just the apprentice she had to wait outside for the king to welcome her in.

Leppria stood patiently, noticing a few hooded clerics standing nearby, probably also awaiting permission to enter. She made eye contact with one cleric, unable to see their face past their sharp scarlet eyes. The cat raised their hand to their face, tapping a finger against their mask while looking directly at her.

The leopard was slightly confused by the gesture, before she remembered the smudge of soot on her cheek from that morning. She must have forgotten about it!

She quickly rubbed her cheek, looking back at the cleric for confirmation that the smudge was gone.

They gave one nod and that was all she was given.

A sigh of relief left her as the grand throne room doors opened, revealing the king of the Thundercats in all his gargantuan glory.

To say King Claudus was intimidating was an understatement. The massive lion stood taller than anyone else in the room including Prince Tygra, his long crimson mane and the scar across his nose from his time in the Lizard Civil War both supporting the pure authority in his stance and in his eyes.

He was a force to be reconned with.

Claudus glanced at Leppria and she won't deny she stood up a bit straighter as he approached her. "Ah, Cougra's apprentice, here to deliver the Gauntlet of Omens in his stead?"

She gulped, bowing. "Yes, your majesty, he was busy so he asked me to do it." Yeah, busy being drunk, as usual, she thought bitterly, remembering all the times he took credit for her work in the forge.

The king nodded, opening the box in her arms and finding the golden gauntlet inside, polished and sharpened per request.

While remaining silent was best, Lep just couldn't help bragging about her work. "You'll find it's a better fit for your arm sire, so it will be perfectly balanced even without additional armor."

Claudus slipped the gauntlet onto his massive arm, flexing the golden claws as he held it up to the light. Leppria gently reached for the sword at his belt, one she remembered making ages ago. While the king took the Sword of Omens into battle, he still carried a blade with him at all times.

"If I may?" she asked, becoming excited when the king nodded as she unsheathed the sword and held it out for him.

King Claudus then swiped his armored claws across the sword, the metal shattering into three distinct pieces and clattering to the floor. The Gauntlet's cut through the steel was smooth and even throughout, perfectly sharpened.

A rumbling laugh came from the king, "Impressive, very impressive." He praised, shedding the gauntlet and placing it on his belt in place of his now useless sword.

Leppria bowed again, using all her strength to keep her prideful purr from escaping.

"Give my compliments to your master."

As good as it felt to have her work complimented by the king, she instantly deflated as Cougra once again took all the credit, not even having to be there to do so.

She didn't bother to correct him, what with being the king and all, so she bit her tongue and smiled through the sting of unappreciation.

"Yes sir, craftsmen always like to know their work is appreciated."

King Claudus gave her a polite nod goodbye, the smaller cat bowing once more in reply before turning to leave, a frown settling on her face as she furrowed her brow in frustration. It would be nice if once in a while people didn't assume her flawless work was that of that old drunk Cougra. Maybe one day she'd work up the courage to kick the fat cougar to the curb and make her own name as the royal blacksmith, she basically already was anyway.

She was making plans to wallow in self-pity for the rest of the day when someone running down the corridor wailed into her, knocking the air from her as they both tumbled to the floor.

What is it with cats running into me today?!

Leppria tried to sit up but her path was blocked by a very solid chest, her roadblock busy shaking his familiar red head free of dizziness. When he did open his eyes he took one look at the leopard girl beneath him and jumped back.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" he asked, those ocean blue eyes continuing to haunt her and spark annoyance in her gut.

It was the jerk from the slums who stole her bomb!

He seemed to recognize her as well, his extended hand of aid retracting back as he realized where he'd seen her familiar verdant eyes before.

"Hey…" he said, "You're that cat from the marketplace!"

Leppria was fully prepared to get to her feet and give this idiot a piece of her mind, remembering every curse word she knew and having them immediately ready for distribution, when she noticed what the lion was wearing.

Armor and fine clothing all in Thunderan royal blue, a color reserved only for the king and his family…

And he was a lion… about her age…

Fuzz.

The creepy idiot jerk who robbed her in the slums was the future king and second prince of Thundera, Prince Lion-O!

She practically leapt off the floor, her entire face stained scarlet with embarrassment as she hurriedly backed away from the prince.

He blinked, taken aback by her reaction, but thankfully did not try to approach her.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" to save herself from further humiliating herself in front of the future king, she ran right past him and high-tailed it back to the forge, skidding to a stop in the middle of the corridor to turn back and quickly bow to the prince. "Excuse me your highness!"

She didn't bother to look back or hear his reply.

Maybe starting another fanfic is not a great idea with the number of other fanfics I have to work on... but I honestly don't care. Thundercats has consumed me and here we find ourselves, I hope you enjoy Leppria and I hope you leave a comment and some favs and follows for me! Ciao!