A/N: And after a good deal of pushing my nose to the grindstone, I finally managed to get this finished. Thanks yet again to everyone for the support and the tolerance of my OC use and OCxCanon support. Also, to my brother, RCN, who recently commented? Love you and all, but quit using my nickname in your reviews or you're going to get ruthlessly rick roll'd the next time you're on League of Legends! To everyone else, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 7: Rogues and Vagabonds
The Thundercats left Conscientia a few days later, with the entire village giving them a huge good-bye. As it turned out, the snow leopards weren't so cold after all, and each of Kuncia's students promised to make a mosaic in memory of their guests during their teacher's absence. Consilius gave Kuncia a journal to record all she learned in, and insisted that Lion-O take the few books with him that made mention of the mystic stones. There was a brief detour to meet Kuncia's parents, who were more than pleased to make the acquaintance of the Thundercats, and wished their blessings upon their daughter's journey. It was perhaps the most difficult to pry Panthro away, as the cubs were incredibly upset to see him go. Finally however, they all left and descended the mountain, feeling their spirits lifted, their search for the warstones renewed.
"And what the heck are those?" Tygra asked upon taking a glance at one of Panthro's arms and seeing jewelry clasped over one of the iron hoops in a joint.
"Charm bracelets," Panthro answered, glaring, his arm spinning full circle to show them off, "Rosetta and her friends made them for me as a thank-you-now-get-well-soon gift. Is that a problem?"
"No!" all the younger cats answered quickly.
The journey back down the mountain was easier than the ascent had been, and before long, the cats began to peel away the extra layers of clothing, growing too warm for comfort. Only Kuncia seemed a tad reluctant to do so, but even she finally succumbed to the need, and pulled off excess clothing.
"Is all the world this warm?" she asked, jotting down a quick note in her journal.
"You should try visiting the Sand Sea sometime." Lion-O chuckled.
At the base of the mountain, they spotted the train of goats returning, a sight that seemed to concern Kuncia.
"If the goats leave," she explained, "They're usually gone for at least a month."
"We couldn't have spent more than ten days up there, at the most." Tygra pointed out to the others, and they all exchanged looks of concern.
"Let's find out what's going on." Lion-O declared, flexing the fingers of his gauntlet. The others nodded, the only exception being Panthro, who insisted he had to double-check the Thundertank where they'd hidden it before their journey. The rest of the company ran to meet the approaching goats, who froze at the sight of them.
"Something's wrong…" Kuncia murmured, "Perhaps I should—"
"Already on it." Nyrris interrupted, bounding toward the leader of the traders.
"What the…wha…how…" the snow leopard stuttered.
"Sorry, Kuncia," Cheetara apologized, "But Nyrris means well."
They drew closer and heard the leader of the goats, Kiran, and the young ocelot conversing rapidly.
"—spied a town's worth of mal-eyed scale-tongues a stone's throw from the set-in. We had to dig in our heels and backtrot."
"What are they…" Kuncia murmured, furrowing her brow.
"Nyrris calls it Trader's cant." Lion-O explained. "That's how we traded with the goats when we first came to the mountain; she knows it by heart. Apparently all gypsies speak it, which is why they're always on good terms with traders and merchants."
Kuncia simply frowned and huffed, regaining her composure.
"What's going on?" Lion-O asked as they came level with Nyrris, who was nodding solemnly to the goat.
"Lizards," she explained quickly, "There's a garrison of them camped near the walls of the city where the goats were headed. They came back this way to avoid them."
"Our entire route has been thrown off-schedule," one of the goats spoke up, bouncing anxiously from hoof to hoof. "We're going to have head in the opposite direction, at least until we have news of the lizards moving on."
Lion-O's face became grim. "If my suspicions are right, then there's a good chance that city will be wiped from your schedule altogether."
The goats looked from one another worriedly, but Kiran immediately came to Lion-O, as though he had been waiting for the young prince to speak up.
"Prince Lion-O," he sighed with relief, "I realize your own company has—is growing, but I would ask a boon of you."
"Yes, Kiran?" the young lion said tentatively, "Just say it. If we can do anything to help you, we will."
"So long as it's within our power to do so." Cheetara added.
Kiran turned to those immediately behind him and they all spoke rapidly in Trader's cant, gesturing wildly. The other Thundercats glanced toward Nyrris, raising their eyebrows and she crinkled her nose.
"I only caught the word "cat" in there. Goats talk too fast to follow most of the time." she said apologetically.
But the mystery didn't last more than a few moments, as the goats brought forth from their number a grim-faced figure that had all of them looking at one another in surprise.
Yet another cat glared back at them, hanging close to a large, four-legged pack beast that had followed her up the line of goats. Her fur and hair alike were a startling mix of black and silver, and she was garbed in well-worn traveling clothes most of them didn't recognize.
"This is Jess'ica," Kiran said, gesturing toward the cat. "We encountered her when we fled from the lizard garrison."
"Jess'ica?" Cheetara prompted. "I've not heard a name like that before. Where did you come from?"
Jess'ica merely glared at her, the lines around her mouth tightening as she kept quiet. At this, Kiran cleared his throat and cast his eyes guiltily to the ground.
"When we met her, it was our hope that…well, that we would find news of you again, Prince Lion-O, so that we could send her to meet with you. Her own home is in danger of destruction from the lizards, and she is willing to join the Thundercats in an attempt to help stop Mumm-Ra."
"So you want to just shove her off onto us?" Tygra muttered, not nearly quiet enough. Jess'ica shot him a death look, and Cheetara whacked him up the backside of his head with her staff, hissing about manners.
"Our apologies," Kiran murmured. "We don't want to sound like a hobble of ungrateful scummers, but we stand less chance of being marked as a plague-strike if she's with you."
"Less chance of the lizards killing them for being cat-lovers." Nyrris translated automatically, drawing Jess'ica's attention. The silver-and-black cat arched an eyebrow at her, and several of them got the impression she was still unused to the Trader's cant.
"But if she comes with us," Tygra objected, "Then we're only going to increase in number and we'll have more chance of being spotted."
"There is strength in numbers, if you can recall your education, my young tiger." Kuncia pointed out sweetly, and Nyrris and Lion-O avoided looking at each other lest they fall into another fit of "sneezing" like before.
"Then…you don't object?" Kiran asked tentatively, his eyes going large and hopeful as he stared up at Lion-O. The young prince shifted his gaze from the goat to the silver-and-black cat, trying to offer her a hesitant smile.
"If she wants to. It's always good to have another ally on our side."
And though she didn't say anything, Jess'ica finally smiled.
"One big, happy family." Tygra grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
But a couple of days into their decision, it was the silent opinion of many that Tygra's irritation wasn't totally unfounded. Jess'ica kept largely to herself and her pack beast Tibaroan, speaking rarely, and the few times she did, her voice was rough and cold as jagged steel, displaying little concern for most of her traveling companions. She was undoubtedly a useful companion, the few times they encountered stragglers of the lizard army and she proved she could wield a sword as well as the men, but she continued to remain distant to them all. Occasionally she would respond to Nyrris's remarks, albeit in a chilly or bored manner, and she only truly took to Lion-O, obeying him without question, something that didn't go unnoticed by Tygra, who was all too pleased to make snide remarks on the matter.
Roughly four days passed before they found themselves pausing to rest, near the edge of the waste known as the Dead Plains. Panthro had brought the Thundertank to a halt, and the cats all gathered in a tight knot outside of it, staring ahead, looking out across the Dead Plains, passing around Panthro's tiny spyglass.
"Seems like there's some wooded areas spread out here and there." Lion-O said hopefully as he gently moved the spyglass, blinking to try to keep focus.
"It's mostly all blasted waste, though." Tygra pointed out grimly.
"Good place for an ambush." Panthro rumbled. "The lizards are probably better suited to that terrain when it comes to navigation and camouflage."
"Do we have much of a choice? I mean, our best clue for finding the next stone lies across the Dead Plains, right?" Nyrris asked, folding her arms.
"That's right," Cheetara said softly, "We really have no other choice."
Kuncia remained silent, giving the Wily twins a reassuring smile, and anyone who looked close enough at her large blue eyes could tell she was already deep in thought. Jess'ica, as usual, said nothing and her face remained devoid of expression. The only one who openly expressed his distress was Snarf, who wound around Lion-O's legs, yowling in protest at the idea of crossing the plains.
"Then we're just going to have to grit our teeth and get this over with." Lion-O sighed, handing the spyglass back to Panthro. "The Dead Plains don't go on forever, do they?"
"No," Panthro answered hesitantly, "But I know this blasted waste isn't easy to navigate, and we're going to have to cross it quick. It's the best we can hope for."
"We shouldn't lose heart," Kuncia spoke up, "After all, we're all together in this, for the greater good. I'm sure this won't take as long as it seems."
Her words seemed to cheer a number of them, and Panthro gave her a soft smile that vanished the second Lion-O and Tygra tried to focus on it.
"Once we finish resting, we'll get moving." Lion-O murmured, and the others nodded, settling down to rest for a time. Everyone that is, except the twins.
"Kuncia, can you teach us some magic?" Kat asked, turning to the snow leopard with a hopeful look in his eye.
"Yeah, we want to be able to help, and use magic, like you do." Kit chimed in.
"How can I say no?" she chuckled, smiling at them both.
The next half hour proceeded to unfold with a general quiet, as everyone set to small, relaxing tasks and watched Kuncia's lessons with the twins. She didn't have to explain much in the way of meditating, as both Thunderkittens had more than gotten a good grasp of it from the elephants (though Kit remained better at it still than her brother,) and it wasn't until she began to explain the formal kinds of gestures when using magic that anyone spoke up.
"The important thing, you see," Kuncia was saying, "Is that you remember to form any required gestures when working a spell."
"No, it isn't."
The words ripped through the clearing like a strange thundercrack, and Kuncia looked up sharply, a mix of shock and irritation on her features.
"I'm sorry?" she said coolly, eyes narrowing.
"You don't have to form gestures when working a spell, and they're rarely actually required." Nyrris rose from her seat, brow furrowing. The Wily twins exchanged a confused look, then glanced back at Kuncia, who slowly crossed her arms.
"Your aunt is a shaman, isn't she?" Kuncia responded, "I should expect even a gypsy magic-user would use basic protocol and safety measures when working a spell."
At that, Nyrris bristled, her face darkening as she planted her fists on her hips. "You have a problem with gypsy magic because we don't wiggle our fingers every single time we use it?" she hissed.
"I look upon wild and unprotected use of magic with a good degree of caution, as it shows a flagrant disregard for the most basic of rules." the older cat replied coolly. Now it wasn't just the twins watching the sharp exchange; everyone was following the growing argument, even the reclusive Jess'ica. A look of worry passed between Lion-O, Tygra and Cheetara, but none of them made a move yet to step in.
"So what, everything has to be by the book or it's not right?" Nyrris challenged.
"Better to follow proper guidelines than to take a devil-may-care attitude toward everything, especially something as dangerous as magic!" Kuncia shot back.
"And here I was hoping that all snow leopards weren't ridiculously close-minded!"
"Ha. I am close-minded? Perhaps if you weren't raised to act like such a haphazard wild-child, you would have better respect for wisdom in magic protocol."
"Okay, stop it right there!" Lion-O spoke up, nearly shouting the words as he stepped between the two women. "Arguing isn't going to get either of you anywhere, and you may as well tear us all apart from the inside. We're all working together, for the same goal, and we can't act like this. Not when we're about to head right into danger."
"Lion-O's right," Cheetara jumped in, "You both have to stop before you end up saying something you'll regret."
"I think they already have." Jess'ica murmured loud enough for them all to hear. Nyrris and Kuncia both flushed bright red at that and broke eye contact, looking away. There was a long pause before Nyrris finally huffed a sigh.
"Whatever," she grumbled, "If no one's going to throw a fit, I'm off to go clear my head."
"Nyrris—" Cheetara started to say, but the ocelot was already flouncing away, breaking into a trot before kicking off from the ground and onto a tree branch, proceeding to flip between branches.
"She can't help being a show-off." Lion-O remarked with a shake of his head before turning back to Kuncia. "I'm sorry…but I think you're both going to have to apologize."
The snow leopard grimaced, but didn't object, and simply brushed by him, walking up to Panthro as he resumed fiddling with one of the exhaust tubes on the Thundertank. The panther glanced over his shoulder at her, meeting her eyes before turning back to his work and muttering, "Looks like you've got something on your mind you've gotta get off. You can say it to me, I'm not going to tell anyone."
"I understand the wisdom in Lion-O's words. Nyrris and I should both apologize…" she said slowly, "But I don't believe I was in the wrong. Rules are needed. They provide structure, safety, stability. Especially in magic. One wrong move, and a spell won't work, or worse."
The only immediate response she got was a ting-ting-ting of metal hitting metal as Panthro gently rapped the spikes of one mechanical hand on the tubes. But after a moment, he stopped and glanced at her again, a sympathetic expression on his features.
"From where I was sitting, neither of you were wrong."
"Oh?" she prompted.
"Yeah," he answered, "I may not be big on magic, but that doesn't mean I can't tell you've both got a good point. I mean…it's not too different from teaching a cub swordwork. You hand them a dangerous weapon, tell them not to cut themselves. But even if you teach them verbally what not to do, it still doesn't mean they won't get cut. Sure, they may not get hurt as often as a cub left to learn on their own, but that doesn't mean that they won't have to learn some things the hard way. Any two cubs can become masters of their weapon when they've matured, and whether they had to train themselves or if they received careful instruction…" he paused and gave a soft growl as he tinkered, before finishing, "They can still be each other's equal. If that makes any sense, that is."
Kuncia smiled warmly at him. "Actually, it does. I do believe I know what you're saying, and you're right; neither of us were in the wrong about magic. We simply had a miscommunication. I think it shall be easier for me to apologize now." She turned away, about to walk off, before she glanced back over her shoulder. "Thank you, Panthro."
"Anytime." he answered, grinning broadly.
Nyrris had taken no time at all to find the small clearing near a stream they had passed earlier, and settled down to sulk, irritated at the very thought of what had just transpired. She thought about splashing some of the water over her head, to better clear it, when reflections in the water had given her pause. She thought she saw a dark shadow marked with veins of silver staring over her shoulder, but when she glanced behind her, nothing unusual was there. The sight unnerved her a tad, and she merely sat back, pondering.
"That looked an awful lot like one of Aunt Priséa's spirits," she muttered to herself, but the thought of her family only brought back Kuncia's stinging words and made her more irritated. She scooped up a nearby stone, preparing to throw it into the stream, when a shadow passed overhead, darkening the ground. She froze, thinking for a minute of the thing she'd seen hovering over her shoulder, when she heard a sharp caw above her. Glancing up, she nearly jumped, blinking in surprise to see a large crow perched on one of the lower branches of a tree, and as she stared, it seemed to glower back at her with intelligent, fierce red eyes. She lowered her hand, rubbing the stone and giving a weak chuckle.
"Oh, it's just you," she exhaled a sigh of relief, "My imagination's going wild and I'm jumping at some old crow."
At this, the bird ruffled its feathers and gave an indignant caw before swooping down on her. She let out a yelp and threw up her hands to prevent it from hitting her eyes, but the crow only pecked at her once or twice before landing nearby, glaring angrily.
"Oh, please!" she grumbled, "Like you're some high and mighty king of birds!"
"Caw!" it snapped its beak at her.
"Oh, don't start," she groaned, rubbing her temples, "It's bad enough Lion-O had to break up me and Kuncia arguing."
The crow tilted its head at this, watching her curiously. It seemed mollified, but the odd crest of feathers that rose on its head weren't much of a comfort. Nyrris blinked, unsure what exactly was happening. Crows were smart things, according to her aunt and uncle, but no one had actually ever mentioned if they could understand spoken words.
But at that point, it didn't matter. She just needed someone to talk to.
"Yeah, I had to open my big mouth." she said, hugging her knees to her chest and scowling like a pouting child, "But I had to. I mean, I know she's just teaching the cubs; heck, that's what she does, she's got a whole class full of them back at her home. And I know she's got a specific way she teaches…but that doesn't mean it's the only way. Sure, a lot of magic-users like to do all the gestures and stances and all that formal junk, but that doesn't mean it's the only way to do it."
The crow tilted its head to the other side and she chuckled.
"You think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"Caw." it answered dryly.
"Nobody asked you!" she protested, ignoring the fact that she just had asked. Evidently, the bird didn't seem as inclined to forget, and it fixed her with a flat stare, ruffling its feathers a second time.
"Oh, go shove off!" she growled, swatting with her hand to shoo it away.
Except she didn't swat. Her hand wasn't empty.
A moment too late, she realized what she had done as the small stone arched through the air and struck the crow on its side.
"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, scrambling to her feet as the bird let out an eerie cry of pain, flapping its wings furiously. "Oh, my gosh, you poor thing! I'm so sorry! Just hold still, I'll help you!"
The crow swiveled its head, red eyes blazing as it hissed and snapped its beak at her. She hesitated, trying to grab the bird, but it was not about to come quietly and continued to jab at her, until at last she took a gamble and reached out, just managing to clamp her fingers over the smooth, sharp beak. Immediately the bird began to struggle wildly, flapping its wings in an attempt to pull up its feet, but the injured wing hampered its movements, and its talons fell short of their mark. Nyrris, barely managing to keep her grip on its beak, angled her arm around the bird to pull it in, while her free hand automatically went to one of the pouches on her belt. Priséa had given her niece one of her prized treasures, and Nyrris now drew out a length of spellweave bandage, snapping it free of the thick roll when she was sure she had the amount she needed.
"Aunt Pris is never gonna forgive me for this," she muttered, dreading what the older ocelot would say when she heard her niece had used some spellweave on a bird, much less one she herself had injured.
But strangely, the crow calmed a bit when its red eyes found the bandage, its struggles easing. Nyrris decided not to question this sudden turn of luck, not even when the bird obliged to extend its wing, just a fraction, and she set to work on wrapping the bandage as best she could. Before long, the bird relaxed, and she was able to release its beak and focus on tying off the bandage.
"Whew!" she huffed, falling on her backside and tucking the rest of the spellweave bandage back in her pouch. She glanced at the crow, which was watching her cautiously, and attempted a smile. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
But this was evidently the wrong thing to say, as the crow let out an angry hiss, jumped into an awkward flight, and pecked at her again.
"HEY!" she shouted, truly swatting this time, and the crow flew off with one last angry caw, leaving her to fume as it disappeared. "Fine, you dumb bird! See if I ever help you again!" She cupped her hands and screamed after it, "THAT WAS A WASTE OF A GOOD SPELLWEAVE BANDAGE!"
"Why are you yelling at the sky?" came a wary, tentative voice.
She spun to face Kuncia, who was watching her with an expression of guarded skepticism.
"It's nothing." she mumbled, flushing with embarrassment and knowing full well her response would do nothing to dismiss the notion that she was crazy. Kuncia merely cocked an eyebrow before she spoke again.
"I've come to apologize." she declared calmly. "I am sorry if I seemed close-minded to you. I merely wished to instruct the children in the best way to use magic so as to prevent them from coming to harm through the use of it. I did not mean to sound as though I was saying there is only one way of spell-casting. And I am sorry for my words against your family; they were spoken rashly and without consideration."
Nyrris ducked her head with guilt and sighed. "I'm sorry too. I know you're just trying to look out for the cubs; it's what you do. And I shouldn't have called you close-minded; you probably know more about every kind of magic used by every type of spellcaster than I do. I just got carried away because I didn't understand you."
At this, the snow leopard offered her a small smile. "Forgiven. And truth to tell, I do not know all that. It's part of why I have joined you all, so that I may learn."
"Guess I still have a bit to learn too." the ocelot said with a sheepish grin, and Kuncia placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"In Conscientia," she said, "The admission of that is a sign of growth and wisdom."
"…I'll take that as a compliment." Nyrris chuckled as the two of them walked from the clearing, the incident with the unusual crow slipping from her mind.
When nighttime fell, it brought with it a new complication. They had set up camp for the night after finding a spot of relative wooded area in the fringes of the Dead Plains, settling down to build a fire pit near the Thundertank. Lion-O was turning the Sword of Omens over in his hand as the flames crackled and hissed, his worries and doubts nagging at the back of his mind.
His first immediate thought was that he had come so far already, that he shouldn't be plagued with doubts and fears. But it couldn't be helped. Sometimes, like earlier when he stepped in during the argument, he hardly felt like a leader, let alone a king. And now, as he stared at the Eye of Thundera, winking in the firelight…
Jaga said the sword had chosen him. But what if he wasn't cut out for the part…? Had the sword ever chosen wrongly before? Was it just his through birthright, then?
"Is there something on your mind, Lord Lion-O?"
The words startled him, bringing him out of his thoughts as he glanced up to see Jess'ica watching him carefully, a thin line of concern on her forehead. He had to stifle his surprise; Jess'ica had rarely shown any signs of sympathy to any of them since they met her. He glanced back down at the Eye of Thundera.
"Not really. Guess I'm just feeling…nervous. If that's even the right word."
"Nervous? What've you got to be nervous about?" WilyKat asked, looking up from his supper and furrowing his brow.
"Tell us what's on your mind, Lion-O." Cheetara said quietly. He tossed her a guarded look, and she averted her gaze, looking distinctly guilty.
"I'm just wondering," he spoke after a time, "If maybe the Sword chose wrong."
"Nonsense," Kuncia spoke up, "I've heard your tale, and I believe the Sword chose true after all. You've already come this far and accomplished much; the recovery of the legendary Book of Omens is nothing to scoff at."
"One could even call you inspirational." Tygra spoke up, offering his younger brother a rare, genuine smile.
"Hah. Wish I felt like I was." he muttered.
"Look kid," Panthro spoke up, "We all believe in you. The sword believed in you enough to pick you. Heck, Jaga believed in you, and that's sayin' something, 'cause I knew him for years before your father sent Grune and I to find the Book. And I say it's high time you start trying to believe in yourself."
"I agree." Nyrris remarked, "Remember what Viragor said about seeing the bigger picture, back in the Forest of the Magi Oar?"
"What's that got to do with this?" Lion-O asked, prompting both Panthro and Kuncia to groan and shake their heads.
"So modest it makes him blind." Kuncia sighed.
"Kuncia's right," Nyrris said with a nod, "You're not willing to try looking at yourself the way we see you. Maybe when you start to, then you'll see the Lion-O we see."
Slowly, the smile started to creep back onto his face. Nyrris really was like an older sister to him, and the words of his friends were a much-needed boost, buoying the weight of on his shoulders so he felt confident again.
And then came the sounds of gunfire and swords ringing. Everyone was on their feet in an instant.
"Sounds like trouble," Panthro said, somehow managing to make the word "trouble" sound synonymous with "fun." Tygra and Lion-O exchanged a roll of the eyes.
"You'd think he gets bored easily." Tygra remarked.
"Come on, we have to check this out!" Lion-O said to the others, drawing the Sword of Omens, letting the blade extend to its full length before he shouted his warcry and they raced off in the direction of the noise. But as their luck would have it, they didn't have to go far. Two figures suddenly burst out of the darkness, running desperately until they were safely behind the Thundercats. Their pursuers arrived moments later, a ring of lizards coming into view.
"Great, what now?" their captain growled.
"You've got one chance. Whatever you've done to these people, we're not going to tolerate it. Leave now." Lion-O snarled, lowering the sword into a ready position.
"And just who do you think you are, barking orders to me, you filthy cat?" the lizard captain snapped back.
"I am Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats," he growled softly, "And I won't tell you again. Leave."
"I don't take orders from a hairball-hacking milk-lapper!"
"Can we interest you in a beating, then?" Tygra asked, punctuating his question with a crack of his whip, and in that moment, all hell broke loose. The lizards charged into the cats, drunk on battle fury and determined to regain their fleet-footed prey. Cheetara smacked into the first line of them, leaving a golden trail in the air behind her as her staff cracked many a lizard in the face, again and again. Panthro was a roaring blur, his spiked knuckles cracking into lizard after lizard as he drove right through them, a proverbial Thundertank in and of himself. Two of the lizards near their commander broke rank and started to retreat, only to come face-to-face with a grinning tiger-man.
"Leaving so soon, boys?" he asked sweetly, smacking their heads together with a resounding CRACK!
"Forget this, sir!" another lizard yelped in a voice that quavered with fear, "I-I'd rather t-take my chances with General Slithe! I'm not m-messing with these cats!"
"COWARD!" the commander screamed, hefting his own tarnished sword, "Stand your ground and fight!"
Lion-O snarled in fury and with a powerful surge of his legs, he slammed into the commander, knocking the lesser blade away with a vigorous downward swing of the Sword of Omens. The lizard gave a yelp of surprise and pain, stumbling backward and nursing his injured hand. The young prince's blue eyes narrowed as the image of the lizard commander and the memory of the wolf bandit overlapped in his vision, and he leveled his blade, bringing the point to rest between the lizard's eyes.
"Last chance." he growled acidly. The lizard gulped audibly, scrambling back from the sword and with a sharp curse he turned and fled behind his troops.
"I gotta admit, you're definitely getting better with the death threats." Tygra chuckled as he returned to his brother's side. But before anyone could say much else, a weak groan drew their attention, and as one the Thundercats turned to see the people they had protected. One of them had drawn back her hood to reveal a beautiful white cat marked by faint gray spots. Cradled in her arms and suffering from injuries was a male cat, brown with cream-colored stripes across his face, a combination that had been rarely seen in Thundera in more recent years.
"More cats?" Cheetara murmured somewhere nearby.
"This is getting to be a regular occurrence!" Panthro muttered.
The white cat looked up at them wildly, silver eyes wide with terror.
"My husband!" she cried as the cat in her arms stirred faintly. Upon a closer glance, they could see several darkening bruises on his face, a split lip, and blood that was drying quickly on his chin. "Please, help him!"
"We'll do everything we can," Kuncia said gently, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder while Panthro moved to lift the unconscious male.
"Help me get him to the Thundertank, boys." he groaned, lifting his burden under the arms while Tygra and Lion-O supported him by the legs. The white cat was helped to her feet by Kuncia, Nyrris, and Cheetara, but she took off rather quickly of her own accord, rapidly trying to keep pace with the men as they hefted her husband.
"Nyah!" came a small protest from foot-level, drawing the attention of many to—
"Snarf?" Lion-O yelped in surprise, though he immediately felt stupid for saying so; this creature, despite the fact it could have been his pet's twin, was significantly darker in color, and was puffed up in anger as it followed the white female closely.
"Careful, Kewi," she scolded her pet, "I shall admit, lord prince, I had hoped we would first meet under better circumstances."
"Better circumstances?" Lion-O echoed once they had gotten the injured cat to the Thundertank and let Kuncia and Nyrris tend to his injuries, "Just what exactly do you mean? Who are you?"
"Cougaress. My husband is Razor," she said, a determined look on her face despite the worry in her eyes, "Were we in Thundera still, we would be marked…'vigilantes.' We've been trailing that faction of lizards for a number of days now, hoping to sabotage them a little, slow them down."
"Why?" Panthro demanded, drawing a hiss from Kewi that went completely ignored, "A couple of survivors of that damned holocaust they rained on Thundera, I'd think you'd be better off in hiding."
But Cougaress was already shaking her head, a grim smile on her face.
"See, that's the issue; my husband and I have never been the sort to just sit and wait this kind of thing out. Especially not after we heard that Mumm-Ra himself is now moving among his army. We had to give them a little hell, you see. It was all part of our bigger goal."
"And that is?" Lion-O asked warily, meeting her eyes.
"Getting to the Lord of the Thundercats, that we would lend him our aid, as we once had when we served King Claudus," she replied in bleak triumph, "And now we have found you."
A/N: ...Nyrris, your kindness is going to come back and bite you in the ass. R&R please!
All OC's are credited to their owners in the copy of "MORTAL BONDS" Chapter 7 on my Deviantart account.