Chapter 3: Aunt Priséa's Blessing

Lion-O woke sometime in the morning before his companions, feeling a strange twinge of guilt in his gut. The conversation the night before hadn't gone smoothly by any standards. When he thought back on it, he decided that should have been expected, but it didn't change the feeling of having let everyone down. In letting his companions down by not consulting them before the decision, he was also letting Priséa down, as he was sure the others would not agree to bringing the shaman's niece along. He got to his feet, stretching the sleep from his limbs, trying to clear his head.

"Snar?"

Snarf, curious and loyal as any pet owner could hope to have, had woken with him and lingered, hovering by his foot and watching him expectantly. His overlarge ears twitched and he mewled again, making Lion-O sigh.

"I don't know, Snarf. Sometimes I worry maybe I'm not fit to make these kinds of choices." he murmured quietly, raising his gauntlet and staring into the blood-hued surface of the Eye of Thundera. Nothing, no answer, no hint, stared back at him from within the crimson depths. He lowered the gauntlet again, his restless gaze wandering around the circle of the house-wagons, when he spotted Nyrris exiting one of them. She stretched a few times, similar to the way the clerics had warmed up in the palace courtyard, and glanced up to catch his eye. She grinned as cheekily as she had the previous evening, then took off, running a handful of yards before kicking off from the ground, curling herself into a ball as she rose into the air. At the zenith of her flip, she twisted and unfolded herself, landing nimbly and sliding back a few feet, facing the wagon she'd just left. She stood upright, then dipped into a motion that was somewhere between a curtsy and a fencer's bow.

"Ta-daaa!"

"You're impressive." he remarked, approaching her, and she threw back her head and laughed.

"Well, 'impressive' isn't something I'm used to hearing. Aunt Priséa prefers to label me a show-off." Nyrris gave a bit of a nervous chuckle, looking away.

"Well…maybe just a little bit." Lion-O offered gently. "But hey, you've got a lot of talent."

"Thank you," she said, looking up and offering a genuine smile. "I can't tell you what it means to me to hear the Lord of the Thundercats, of all people, paying me a compliment."

"So," Lion-O began carefully, starting to walk, "Your uncle, Garth…he says he was born in Thundera. What about you?"

"Me?" Nyrris laughed, "No, I wasn't born in Thundera."

"Oh. Well, have you ever been there?"

She shook her head. "Not that I can recall. I might have once, when I was very young, but I doubt it."

"Your cousin Leesil said your family hasn't performed for the royal family in roughly a decade."

"And until last night, they hadn't," she confirmed with a nod, "Leesil's been to Thundera before, when he was seven. But my parents sometimes journeyed apart from the rest of the family. I remember going once to city of monkeys, a huge place overrun by creeping plants and falling into a state of ruin. I was about ten or so, so I'm willing to bet that's where my parents and I were when my relatives were in Thundera."

"But you know of it." he said tensely, making it neither statement nor question.

"What cat hasn't?" she replied with a good-natured shrug. "The city is legendary across all of Third Earth. Uncle Garth tends to spout off a lot of his philosophy, and he believes that all cats instinctively know how to find Thundera. That it's something in the fire in our blood or what-have-you."

"Huh. I've never thought of it from that perspective." Lion-O murmured, looking again at the gauntlet over his left arm.

"Ahh, don't lose your hair over it," Nyrris waved a hand dismissively, "Nobody ever quite thinks of things from a gypsy's perspective. Nobody except scholars and other gypsies."

He watched her for a long moment, then took a deep breath. "What about traveling? Going on quests and long journeys?"

She blinked. "What, you're asking me personally?" she spluttered, shocked. A second later, a sly look came over her. "Or are you asking for a gypsy's perspective?"

"N-no, I mean you personally."

Nyrris shrugged heavily, sighing in resignation. "I wouldn't know. I've never done anything like that before. By Ocelotti tradition, anyone not of age isn't allowed to travel away from the caravan unless they're going with their parents. Strength in numbers, you know. I am of age now, but I've been so busy learning my trades from Aunt Priséa, I never thought to take up what my parents did so often."

"Do you know anything about what happened in Thundera recently?" Lion-O asked, looking her in the eye, receiving a shake of the head in return.

"Just a few rumors to go off of, but we've not heard anything solid. I'm guessing it must have been rather recently, otherwise we'd already know in full detail." she answered. Her blue eyes flicked up and searched him for a moment. "I suppose you might be willing to tell me?"

He raised the gauntlet for her to see, and began, "We were betrayed by someone I'd known all my life. He betrayed my father, my family, our home, for power, allying himself with Mumm-Ra. He sold us out to the lizards, and the entire city was attacked and laid to waste through their technology and treachery. That wasn't enough for them, though. Mumm-Ra came with them, and he murdered my father, and tried to take the Sword of Thundera as well. We don't know what became of all the other cats. It's my hope that many of them escaped, but I know a great number of our soldiers, clerics, and citizens were killed. I'm afraid a lot of them that survived were enslaved, though."

"Couldn't you help them?" Nyrris asked, furrowing her brow.

"Believe me, I want to. But I need to bring down the monster that murdered my father and city. And in order to do that, I need to fulfill this quest that's fallen to me. There are a total of four legendary warstones, the Eye of Thundera being one of them, that can defeat Mumm-Ra. And along with the stones, we have to unite all the animal people against him." Lion-O answered.

Nyrris frowned for a moment, her eyes flicking over the gauntlet and the sheathed Sword of Omens, crossing her arms.

"What's wrong?" Lion-O asked her, blinking.

"Nothing," she answered lightly, "It just sounds a bit difficult, and the road is long. But then, quests aren't ever supposed to be easy."

He frowned. "But that isn't all of it, is it? What you think."

"Of course not. But I don't like to be a rain cloud, so I don't see a whole lot of point in continuing beyond what I've already said."

"What if I told you I want you to tell me regardless?"

"Is that an order, Prince?" Nyrris said quietly, her smile sly and her eyes flashing.

"N-no…" he gulped, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. Her smile widened, and she jumped backward into a flip, landing gently on the edge of a wagon-house roof behind her.

"Gypsies are a free people, Lion-O," she chuckled, "No one orders us unless we let them."

He tightened his jaw, about to retort, when she pulled a cloth from her waistband and spun it. It expanded and billowed in the air, coming down to cover her completely. For a moment, he surged forward, ready to rip it off and ask her to come back down, but a soft breeze passed through the caravan ring, and blew the cloth off of the roof, revealing nothing underneath.

"Whiskers." he whispered to himself

"Snaaaarrrrrr!" came the mewl as his pet tugged at the hem of his pants, and he glanced about, seeing Cheetara and Tygra approaching with Panthro in their wake. He bit his lip to refrain from swearing a second time, and faced them.

"Listen, about last night—"

Panthro held up a hand to forestall him, sighing. "Look, we've been talking about this. And we think that you made the right choice. Nyrris should come with us. Doesn't mean we have to like it, but it's the right thing to do."
"Y-you did?" Lion-O stammered in surprise. "Why? What changed your minds?"

"Uniting the animals." Tygra answered gruffly.

"If we have Nyrris along, that means we might have an advantage when we try talking to other…nomads." Cheetara offered, looking him in the eye.

"It's a good argument." Panthro remarked, crossing his arms.

"What's a good argument?" Nyrris asked abruptly, reappearing from between two of the house-wagons and looking politely confused. The Thundercats all exchanged a quick glance before Tygra cleared his throat noisily, prompting his younger brother to get on with it. Lion-O turned to Nyrris and offered her a hesitant smile.

"Nyrris…would you like to join us on our quest?"

Her eyes went wide.

"It's going to be dangerous. We're not sure when you'll get to see the rest of your family again. But Priséa asked us if we would be willing to take you, and from what she said, Garth was going to ask as well. You don't have to come with us if you don't w—"

"Are you joking?" she gave a clipped, awestruck chuckle, her mouth opening into a huge smile. "I would kill for an opportunity like that! To travel with the legendary Thundercats? It would be an honor!"

"When can you be ready?" Tygra asked.

"In an hour or so." Nyrris replied. "But you'd better get to work waking everyone, if you want to leave that soon. Farewells among the Ocelotti family can take a while."

As it turned out, most of the Ocelotti family was already awake, and they took the announcement of Nyrris leaving with good grace. When she finished gathering a decent-sized pack of what she would need, all of the gypsies had assembled among the caravan ring and immediately proceeded to say their goodbyes, wishing her a safe journey. Some of them gave her small gifts, ranging from packets of her favorite type of tea to charms that were for good luck, health, vitality, and protection. Many of those giving away the latter also gave some to the Thundercats, insisting they would need them. Most of these disappeared into the twins' pouches, but no one said anything about it. Finally, when the hour was nearly up, Nyrris went to stand with them, ready to head to the Thundertank, when three last figures approached.

"You're really leaving." Leesil said sadly to his cousin, evidently trying not to cry. "I thought you would stay with us forever. Guess you have too much of Uncle Rhys in you, though."

Nyrris offered him a gentle, sad smile. "I'll be back one day, Lee. You keep practicing the routine until then. And don't worry; you'll be able to find a substitute for my part. Why not the one girl we met in that one village? You're heading back that way, anyhow, so you should ask." Her smile turned sly suddenly, and she waggled her eyebrows. "Besides, she was really cute, and kind of sweet on you."

"Sh-shut up!" Leesil muttered, giving his cousin a light punch on the arm before sweeping her into a hug. "I'm gonna miss you, cous. Be safe."

"You too, Lee." she replied.

"And that 'be safe' rule applies to you all!" Garth suddenly grunted, stepping forward, and before any of them could object, he proceeded to grab them all one by one in crushing bear hugs, save for Panthro, who stepped away quickly, protesting.

"Oh, uncle!" Nyrris sighed.

"I mean it!" he said sternly. His eyes passed over them all before he smiled brightly. "You don't look like anything could take you on, but it pays to be safe, rather than sorry."

"Thank you, Garth." Cheetara replied swiftly, offering the older cat a smile.

"For everything." Lion-O added.

"Thank you, uncle." Nyrris said softly, and Garth smiled sadly, taking a step back to stand with his son. There was a tense pause, and then Priséa stepped forward, her expression as grim as Lion-O had seen it the night before. She held a small, wooden bowl in her left hand, full of a strange, glittering powder, and an unsettling air seemed to emanate from her.

"I've said it once already, and I shall say my mind again," she intoned harshly, "I do not like this in the least. But it is a situation beyond my control."

"Auntie?" Nyrris asked hesitantly, and the older woman's feverish green eyes flicked about to bore into her.

"I have scryed the possibility of you joining these Thundercats in every manner known to me. The future is not set in stone, my Nyrris, and there are a great many things that could happen on your journey. But know this: there are some things that are meant to happen, and they will happen, regardless of whether or not you stay with us or go on this quest. But the best outcome, in any circumstance, relies solely on you traveling with the Princes and their friends. I have seen this, and I will yield to it."

At this, Garth shifted uncomfortably, his skeptical gaze flicking constantly between his sister and niece, and Leesil furrowed his brow in confusion, whispering softly to his dad. Nyrris turned her head slightly, her mouth curving into a wry smile as she whispered over her shoulder.

"Did I mention my aunt has a flair for the melodramatic?"

"Nyrris!" Priséa snapped, and the younger gypsy looked back at her as Priséa hefted the bowl of powder. Dipping her middle and index fingers into the powder, she proceeded to brush her niece's bangs aside and sketch a symbol with the powder on Nyrris's forehead. Instinct caused the Thundercats to lean forward, but none of them recognized the pattern Priséa made. She finished as abruptly as she'd begun, then fluffed Nyrris's bangs back into place.

"To guard you against that which I cannot." she huffed, clearly pleased with herself. Nyrris gave her an indulgent smile.

"Thank you, Aunt Priséa." she said, before pulling the older woman into a hug. For an instant, Priséa looked startled, but then her expression went grave once more, and her gaze moved to Lion-O as she answered, not to her niece, but all of them.

"Don't thank me just yet."

A handful of days had passed since Nyrris left with the Thundercats, and the Ocelotti family was handling the loss of their most promising young acrobat with good grace. A death or disappearance in the family tended to be the most unsettling, but the notion that the Lord of the Thundercats had asked one of their own to join him on a quest was something they would talk about for years to come. It was an honor most of them dreamed of, being able to simply perform for royalty, and it was awe-inspiring to think that royalty in turn, would consider any one of them a valuable companion.

It had been assumed that Garth and his son Leesil would take Nyrris leaving the hardest. After all, Garth was foremost among Nyrris's guardians, and Leesil had practically been raised with her as an older sister more than a cousin. But the Ocelottis were always an optimistic lot, and despite however much the family cook and his son missed her on the inside, they certainly did their best to lift everyone's spirits and look on the bright side.

Priséa, however, hadn't been seen outside her own house-wagon since Nyrris left.

Whispers began to start up around the caravan again. They knew Priséa had to be leaving her home from time to time, but none of them had actually seen her. Normally she tended to be unsettling when she was seen, but this was something different. The shaman was reclusive most of the time, but never to a degree such as this. Though none of the gypsies would say it out loud for fear of an unknown retribution, they started to believe that Priséa would never recover from the loss of Nyrris.

Within her house-wagon, the fortune-teller spent her time in a fast-moving haze. She had indeed, left the solitude of her tiny home now and again, but refused to help anyone, lest they come to her. She still did what she was needed for, but her mind was elsewhere. The visions surrounding Nyrris that she'd found in her scrying were still somewhat blurry and distorted in places, which troubled her.

Finally, sometime after sunset, Priséa rose and approached her modest table, selecting the largest of her bowls, setting it in the middle of the surface before turning to her shelves to select what she needed. A small pitcher of water was emptied into the earthenware bowl before she added the contents of a stoppered flask labeled "Essence of Silver." She was preparing the second ingredient when a rapid knock rattled the door. Her eyes flicked up in annoyance. Only her brother knocked like that.

"Enter." she said gruffly.

The door swung open to admit Garth, his belly proceeding the rest of him, with Leesil in his wake.

"Pris, we need to talk," the cook said gently.

"I'm busy." she snapped before glaring at Leesil, "And shut that door, boy!"

He jumped, dirty blonde locks bouncing, and hastened to obey, while his father pulled up two chairs with a sigh and sat in one of them.

"Pris, you're taking Nyrris leaving a bit too hard."

"You presume much of me without actually trying to ask."

"You're not the only one who misses her, Auntie." Leesil muttered, taking one of the chairs. The shaman shot him another glare before turning back to her shelves and starting to rummage among their contents.

"You can't hole yourself up in here forever, sister." Garth said gently. "You're going to have to face reality before long. Even you yourself said that the best course of action would be to let Nyrris go with the Thundercats."

She pulled one of the flasks from the shelf, and turned back to them, her green eyes flicking over them dully.

"My visions were still clouded, and this continues to worry me." she declared.

Garth raised an eyebrow before looking at the bowl on the table. "Going to try again with your future-scrying?"

"Yes. And you know I prefer to work this part of my abilities alone." she replied sharply, to which he threw his hands up with a smile.

"We'll be quiet."

She glowered, a muscle in her jaw twitching warningly, but she merely unstoppered the flask and poured the powder inside into the bowl. Light began to emanate from the surface of the water, and she set the flask down to gently rotate the bowl with her hands. Leesil and Garth leaned in, eager to see, and Priséa's eyes became more fever-bright than ever as images began to dance on water.

A village, half-hidden in snow…strange cats with blue-white coloring and rosetta markings…the same village under attack, noxious green clouds exploding here and there…the Thundertank rumbling across the Dead Plains…a wall of lizards, rushing forward, faces split into grins of bloodlust…more vagabond cats joining them and doting on Nyrris like a younger sister…Nyrris in a cave, her face growing pale at a message given to her by her own set of runestones…More lizards ambushing the cats…Nyrris and Lion-O fending off the attack, back to back…the Thundercats falling under the attack, driven to their knees…a cruel smile looming over them from the face of a saber-toothed cat, one that seemed to drive Panthro into a terrifying rage…and a figure robed in the color of freshly spilled blood, eyes glowing from within his cowl and shining with hate—

They all pulled away with a gasp, and the images in the water faded with the light emanating from it. Garth was breathing hard, and the color had left Leesil's face, while Priséa only scowled ever darker, as though her bowl had done her some great personal wrong. Finally, Garth found his voice.

"Why—why—why didn't you tell me that's what you saw?"

"Not all of it was clear to me," she answered, the image of the hooded figure lingering ominously in her mind's eye, "But I did tell you our niece would be facing incredible danger."

"You never said anything about—"

"I didn't see him in my visions until now."

"S-so now what…?" Leesil asked, "Can't we do anything to protect her?"

Priséa spun about, blinking at him. "Actually, there is something I can do." She took the bowl from the table, cradling it in an arm, and opened the door, stepping outside. Ignoring the gasps from her relatives, the shaman marched to the nearest fire pit and poured out the contents of the bowl. Smoke billowed upward and the flames flickered a blue-orange, and the Ocelotti family stepped back, wary.

Silver light flickered among the smoke, and something descended, floating in place. The light that had been flickering was part of its body, silver pulsing and glowing like veins within a creature the color of obsidian. Its body danced at the edges like the flames in the fire pit, distorting the top of its head like a semblance of hair. The thing was slender in shape, with a head that might have belonged to any cat, with ears that distinctly formed in its flickering image. Leesil gulped audibly, and several of the gypsies stretched their hands over themselves, forming the gesture to ward away ill fortune.

Priséa had summoned a spirit.

The spirit looked at them all briefly, the silver orbs that formed its eyes passing over them without emotion, before it drew close to the shaman, its long, spindly arms pulling into view, forming hands with long talons that gestured quietly to Priséa.

"Spindlefire," she said affectionately, smiling at the spirit like a long-lost friend. It tilted its head in a slight inclination, then gestured again with its hands.

"I would ask that you find my niece, Nyrris, daughter of my brother Rhys, and his wife, Mara," she said quietly, "Find her and keep watch on her. Guard her, Spindlefire, and act as my eyes where I cannot go."

Spindlefire inclined its head once again, floating lower, sprouting long legs, then took off running in the direction the Thundertank had gone, faster than a galeforce wind.

A/N: Yeah, not much to say about this chapter other than Priséa is crazy, in my opinion. Please R&R!