Chapter 6
"Great Jaga's ghost," Leo shook his head as he paced in the control room. The Sword had been removed from the med bay and given to him after it had been cleaned off. Tygra didn't want it anywhere near his patients and he refused to let it anywhere near the med bay.
"That's about the size of it," Panthro nodded from his seat at the screen. They were both assigned to watch duty following Tygra kicking everyone out.
"Can I ask you something?" The young litah wanted to know.
"Of course, my Prince. Anything," the panther smiled.
"Do you think I'm ready?" He asked.
"Ready for what? Are you ready to follow in your father's footsteps or ready for whatever heads our way?" Panthro answered with his own question.
"Both," the litah looked distraught. It was a lot to absorb in the past few hours and the fear in his voice was evident.
"Some are born to lead and others to follow but sometimes those who follow, lead," the panther told him. Leo shook his head and looked at him,
"You want to run that by me again?"
"Lions were born to lead Thundera since the very beginning. The rest, including cheetahs, were meant to follow. No matter what your heritage, lion blood runs through your veins. You will lead us when the time comes, of that I have no doubt. It is a shame you never met Lynx-O. He was a wise old cat who always seemed to have the answers," Panthro explained.
"Would you follow me into battle?" The litah asked.
"I follow the Sword. I trust its judgment. If it has chosen you, then I will follow," he paused, Leo looked depressed.
"But I also trust you. You've been trained well. Never forget your training and you'll know what to do. Your father has led us through some of the worst scrapes we've ever dealt with and we're all still here," the panther smirked.
"Except Lynx-O and even now both he and my sister are fighting to stay alive," Leo shook his head.
"Lynx-O knew the risks of going into battle. He died a hero. Despite his age and his blindness, he fought beside your father until his dying breath. You should be so lucky to have loyal troops like that. Remember that. Stop your whining. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps. I know your mother and father raised you better," the panther's stern tone made the young cat snap out of it.
"You're right. I guess I just…" Leo plopped himself into the chair next to Panthro.
"The road ahead will be full of obstacles but you are not alone. We will be beside you," the panther clapped a hand on his shoulder, "but if I catch you whining again," he reached over and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Thanks I needed that. Rohon and Panthet have a good role model when they get to be my age I hope they recognize it," Leo smiled.
"Rohon is head strong like his mother. I imagine I'll end up corralling him in one of these days. Panthet is young for his age, despite being thirteen. I worry where he gets it from," Panthro chuckled.
"Now Mari is a whole different matter. She beautiful, talented, smart, a great athlete," Leo sighed wistfully and stared off into space a little.
"You keep your paws off her. I don't care who you are. My baby isn't dating until she's thirty-five," the panther gave him a stern glare.
"Who says?" Mari asked as she walked into the control room. She was tall like her father but her curves were distinctly her mother's. Her coloring was unique as her chest and abdomen were tan but her back and shoulders showed off her panther lineage.
"I say and I'm your father," Panthro gave her a look.
"So I'm guessing you didn't get to the part where I'm twenty-two and I can make my own decisions. Or the fact that I could be a Princess," Mari smiled as she came over and sat in Leo's lap. He pulled her close and kissed her cheek.
"Holy somoflanges of Thundera! How long has this been going on?" The panther wanted to know. Mari looked at Leo and he looked at her.
"Well almost a year," the prince said.
"You kept it a secret?" Panthro asked.
"Well not exactly. Mom knows, Queen Cheetara knows, Sahara knows along with Tyler, and of course King Lion-O," Mari told him.
"Oooohhh you're all in big trouble!" it was at this point the panther looked like he was going to rip someone a new one when Lea walked in.
"Calm down you old pussycat," she shook her head.
"You and I need to have a serious discussion," he walked over to her, pulled her into his arms, and planted one on her.
"If we started all our conversations like that I don't think we'd get much done," Lea smirked.
"We'll talk about your punishment later," he waggled his eyebrows.
"Oh I look forward to it but now Lion-O needs us," she said. He nodded and watched as Leo and Mari stood up. The litah switched it automated control until someone would take over. He held Mari back until her parents had left the room before planting one on her.
"I've missed being able to do that. No more hiding," he smiled.
"As long as you promise not to tell him what we've been up to," she laughed.
"My duty as your boyfriend, I'd never tell him that unless I wanted to have them cut off," Leo said as they headed out into the hallway. Mari laughed again before he asked her,
"Have you ever caught your folks, you know, doing it?"
"Who hasn't?" She laughed some more.
"I thought I was the only one," Leo shook his head.
"Let us hope we are that frisky at that age," Mari teased.
To Be Continued…