Welcome back, everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Ro-Bear Bill was tireless leading them from the lush forest to an arid canyon.
He stopped only at the edge of a canyon, looking down into it.
There, tucked in an alcove under the far canyon wall, was the Conquedor's tank. It was opened up to reveal a stage, upon which he had chained and bound a large blue felyne beast that roared. It must have seemed fearsome to the crowd gathered around- a few tall creatures she couldn't put a name to and a pack of shorter ones that looked, on a glance, like bulldogs- but to her… it just seemed like sorrowful rage.
Unfortunately- or perhaps fortunately- the Conquedor was too far for even her to hear.
"There, Conquedor sells to bad ones. Trollogs. Giantors. All bad." Leopara frowned as she swept the area. Poor beast… it doesn't deserve this.
Nothing deserved to be captured and sold.
Ro-Bear Bill continued, "Bela. Bebo." She followed his gaze to the red curtain partitioning the interior of the Conquedor's tank from view of the stage. Just behind it were the Berbils.
"We can't take them all on." Tygra observed.
There were a lot of those trollogs.
Still, Lion-O was not to be deterred. "I think I got an idea."
"What are you thinking, Lion-O?" she asked. He hadn't had the best ideas last time they went on an adventure, and she wanted to know sooner rather than later if this one was ill-thought.
He pointed at the blue felyne beast. "That." He dropped his hand. "We free the beast and during the chaos, get the Berbils and leave.
Although she couldn't hear the Conquedor or the crowd from here, she had been able to hear its roars before. Sorrowful. "We can't just leave it here." she protested.
Lion-O and Tygra swiveled their heads in unison to blink at her.
Once upon a time, she would have wilted under their dual-stare. "It was torn away from its home like the Berbils- it clearly doesn't belong here. What do you think will happen to it if we just leave it?"
Understanding dawned on Lion-O. "It'll just get captured again."
"Or hurt. Or die."
"...so…?" Tygra inquired.
She ignored him and so did Lion-O. "Do you think you can handle the felyne then?"
"Handle?"
"With your magic? You know… bond with it or convince it to help us…?" Lion-O offered, very abruptly uncertain.
Leopara blinked at him. "Oh. Hm, I've never tried that before, but I hadn't ever tried candy fruit before today either." she shrugged, feigning nonchalance. I didn't even know it existed… a lot like I've never thought of using magic like that. she thought quietly to herself.
Lion-O gave her a smile that made everything worth it all; bright as the sun and filled her with just as much warmth. She melted from his expression, almost missing his words.
"You're the best, Leopara."
"Th-anks." she replied quickly, voice cracking.
Unamused, Tygra asked, "Are you two done?"
"I think it's sweet." Cheetara said, countering his annoyance.
Leopara choked. Lion-O cleared his throat. "Right. Leopara will free the felyne beast and cause a distraction, while the rest of us get the Berbils. Then, we'll all head back to the village."
They all nodded.
Lion-O smiled again, this time more of a self-satisfied smirk. "Good." He flipped up the hood of his cloak. "Let's go."
"Wait, how are we going to get close?" she asked, scrambling to her feet to follow him.
His smirk grew. "We're going to make a bid." he explained easily.
What?
"We disguise ourselves and get close, posing as bidders… hm, not too bad, Lion-O. Not the worst scheme you've come up with." Tygra said with approval.
"Praise? From you?" Leopara gasped.
Tygra sent her a withering look.
Cheetara chuckled and bumped her shoulder against his while flipping up her hood. Tygra's head snapped to attention, make eye contact with her while she said, "Aren't you full of surprises~"
Flabbergasted, Tygra said nothing and stopped in his tracks.
A bit shocked herself, Leopara paused too.
Cheetara did not. She smoothly followed Lion-O and Ro-Bear Bill.
They didn't waste too much time standing there like fools. They quickly flipped their hoods up and hurried to catch up to Lion-O, so as not to be left behind. The walk was almost dead silent- a gust of breeze here and there, the sounds of their feet in the dry dirt, Ro-Bear Bill's soft mechanical whir as he rolled beside them. The path they took down into the canyon was narrow and winding, worn into the wall of earth by repeated travel.
They arrived at the Conquedor's stage just in time.
"Next up, the Ro-Bear Berbils." he addressed his audience. Above and behind him on another section of his tank were the corralled Berbils, contained in place by trepidation and metallic rings that were aglow with fuzzy red light. "Best builders money can buy. Efficient, tireless, and most importantly, defenseless." he said cruelly, letting out a genuine laugh. "Bidding starts at one thousand for the lot!"
She clenched her jaw, disgusted by him.
"Fifteen-hundred."
Animals- creatures, people, whatever- like him were the worst. Opportunistic and selfish, with no regards to anyone but their wants and their desires. The type who took whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, however they wanted, like they were beyond petty consequences and untouchable. They were exactly the problem with the world, the ones who fed beings like the Ancient Spirits of Evil and helped them grow fat with power.
"How about two-thousand?" he asked, holding up two slender fingers.
Uncio, Slithe, Grune, Captain Koinelius, and now the Conquedor- they were just everywhere in her life all of a sudden, and they were causing most of her problems.
"Three thousand. Now we're talking. Thirty-five hundred?"
The thought made her bitter.
He held up five fingers. "Five thousand? Do I hear-"
"Ten thousand!" Lion-O shouted. Shocked chatter erupted around them as the Conquedor's attention swiveled towards them.
Not only did they already stick out like a sore thumb amongst the scarcely dressed trollogs and giantors, in their dark blue cloaks, but Lion-O possessed the subtlety of a brightly colored fruit begging to be eaten.
"That's a lot of shillings, pal." the Conquedor said, calling Lion-O's bluff. "How do you plan on paying for all of that?" Suspicious, he hoisted his rifle up.
With the Gauntlet of Omens adorning his left arm, Lion-O yanked away his cloak. "In steel."
"Ugh." the Conquedor grumbled, annoyed.
She and Lion-O leapt up onto the stage. With a powerful swing with the Sword of Omens, Lion-O shattered its shackles. She reached out with her magic, praying to the gods she could somehow project her intent to the beast.
Without hesitation, it whirled on the gathered trollogs and giantors. With a loud, rumbling roar, it sent many of them scurrying and advanced on the Conquedor, batting him to the ground like a toy.
Did it work?
The beast leapt down from the stage, roaring again at the trollogs who scattered again.
The Conquedor tried to aim his rifle, but was caught by Tygra's whip. He yanked it free from the Conquedor's grasp. The Berbils rolled off the stage, bouncing as they landed, and sped away down the canyon. Tygra and Cheetara followed, joined quickly by Lion-O and herself.
She held out her hand towards the beast, looking back awkwardly as she ran. Follow me, follow me… she pleaded.
It hesitated, turned away from her. It looked at her over its shoulder. Come on, please!
Finally, it moved, bounding after her.
It… worked?!
She was surprised even more when the felyne beast lowered its head and ducked into the back of her legs, all-too smoothly hoisting her up onto its back without even stopping its stride. She grabbed fistfulls of his long fur, startled and her own fur rising on end.
It let out a smaller roar, almost a meow, which was distinctly sad. Her hackles lowered and she leaned forward to peer at its face. She didn't know how to read its relaxed features, but she could sense the… Leopara wanted to ascribe the name "nostalgia" to the sadness she sensed.
But what would a felyne beast like this be nostalgic for?
That was silly.
When she looked up, she realised they had outpaced the others.
"Whoa." she said, tugging on its fur a little.
It slowed from a loping gallop to a trot, and then stopped. That wasn't quite the response she expected from a wild beast…
Leopara blinked a couple times. She leaned over to meet the felyne's gaze. "Are you… were you someone's pet?" she wondered aloud.
It let out a conversational grunt, but not one she understood.
She sat up, feeling stumped. She looked over her shoulder for the others. They quickly came into sight, still running. They slowed down once they caught up to her and the felyne beast.
"Are we really bringing this mangy beast with us?" Tygra asked, exasperated.
"He's not mangy!" Leopara protested. In need of a good brushing, yes, but not mangy! She huffed a little. "You're just jealous."
Tygra's brow climbed towards his hairline.
Lion-O chuckled, reaching out to pet the beast's flank. The beast watched while he pet him, but otherwise didn't react.
"Huh, you really tamed him after all." he said, sounding skeptical and impressed.
Leopara knit her brows a little. "I guess so." she said.
"We should get back to the village." Cheetara interjected before Tygra could continue.
Tygra nodded. "You're right, let's go."
Lion-O continued eyeing the felyne for a moment. "Do you think he'd let me ride him too?" he finally asked.
Leopara blinked then looked down at the beast. "Er… can he?" she asked.
The beast seemed to shrug indifferently before crouching down. Feeling more giddy joy than he was willing to express, Lion-O climbed up behind her and grabbed hold of the beast's fur with one hand. "Thundercats…" oh no. "Ho!" he exclaimed. She felt the distinct movement of him spurring the beast into motion, and to her shock, he pounced forward into motion, loping ahead of everyone once again.
The abrupt lurching motion rocked her backwards into Lion-O with a yelp. "Lion-O!" she exclaimed in surprise. She turned her head to look at him, and found herself far too close.
He gave her a bashful grin and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry~"
It was hard to stay mad at that, especially because all she could sense from him in that moment was unabashed joy, like that of a cub. She'd taken her studies with Jaga so seriously, she couldn't properly remember the last time she felt that emotion herself- but Lion-O's thrill was contagious.
Leopara let out a laugh, sitting up.
A host of Berbils, WilyKit and WilyKat, and Panthro came to greet them on their return. Lion-O slipped off the back of the felyne, who Leopara had decided to call "Snowmeow," to greet their electronic chattering.
"We can't celebrate yet. The Conquedor's coming back."
"And this time, he's bringing friends." Cheetara added urgently.
Leopara tilted her head as she slid off Snowmeow. He was? It didn't surprise her, but she hadn't heard anything… perhaps because Snowmeow had moved so quickly.
He nuzzled into her now, demanding to be pet. She acquiesced, stroking the top of his head.
"We have friends of our own." Panthro reassured them, gesturing at the Berbils.
"Except they don't know how to fight." Tygra rebuked. That was why the Berbils enlisted their aid in the first place.
With a bit of a smirk and a proud voice, Panthro countered, "But they do know how to build." He looked down at the Berbils while Leopara took the moment to look at the village. It was almost completely repaired, if not fully, with the only sign of anything ever happening being two work ladders on the central hub of the Berbils. "You guys ready to save your village?"
She exchanged a glance with Lion-O, Cheetara, and Tygra. Tygra was skeptical, but Lion-O and Cheetara mirrored her hopeful attitude.
Ro-Bear Bill strode forward and stopped in front of Panthro. He raised his arm and saluted to the panther.
Panthro returned his salute.
In unison, they both pivoted and began to walk away, followed by a single file train of Berbils and WilyKit and WilyKat.
"Huh." she said aloud in wonder. "Would you look at that?"
"Aw, they've grown on him." Lion-O agreed mischievously. More seriously, he followed up with, "The rest of us should get ready too. If you don't have anything to prepare, then you should offer your help to the Berbils wherever they can use it." He swept his eyes over the three- four, including Snowmeow, and five including Snarf- of them. When they all nodded, he nodded in return. With a determined look, he grinned. "Let's teach the Conquedor a lesson he'll never forget."
Now was as good a time as any to read the leather-bound journal.
A journal which she had carefully kept close to her, for what was inside she understood to be priceless. Rituals for wards and bonds of protection. If she could manage to weave these in key locations around the Berbil village, she could create pockets of safety that were impenetrable save for magical means, like the wards layered on the Sword of Omens.
She had never had the chance to perform a ritual of such nature with Jaga- most of their rituals had been divining in nature.
That was why it had been so important to him to leave her instructions. They were old Thunderan magics, the likes of which no other animals on Third Earth had ever been capable of. Their use had been more common many generations ago, when Thundera had possessed an Order of Sorcerers, but that time was long gone.
Now, it was just her.
Leopara carefully retrieved the journal from within her sash, where it rested against her ribs, and carefully opened it. Generations of knowledge were held within, not entirely unlike the Book of Omens.
She skimmed through the pages of old Thunderan at first, for there was no time to read each individual ritual. She had to find the one that suited them now. The rest could be read later.
It took her a few skims to find what she wanted.
Trap wards. When triggered, they could produce a number of effects. For today, they would explode as surely as a mine would, but only when the Conquedor, his tank, a trollog, or a giantor crossed them.
She emerged from the Thundertank with the book in hand and withdrew Jaga's staff from her sash, allowing it to grow to its full length. Eyes flitting between the book and the ground, she began to read aloud the ritual chant, pushing her magic through the staff. The ground began to glow, elaborate runes drawing themselves in blue light.
"Whoa…" she heard WilyKit murmur in awe.
Leopara couldn't be distracted now, or the ward she had begun would fizzle out. Or it would be prematurely set off. Fizzling out was the better option.
"What's she doing?" WilyKit's voice asked.
She recognised the answering hum as Cheetara. "I believe it is an ancient magic ritual. We should leave her alone."
"Okay…"
"You can ask her about it later." Cheetara reassured the disappointed kitten. Leopard swung her book arm towards them, a sharp and jerky motion that caught their attention. Very quietly, Cheetara whispered, "Go see what you can do to help the Berbils."
Cheetara must have made a gesture, because for once WilyKit didn't respond. Not in any manner Leopara was aware of, with her back to them and chanting aloud.
This would not be the only time Cheetara would have this conversation with someone.
The cheetah ushered Berbils along and not to make too much noise or else they'd distract her; she intercepted Lion-O, who loudly called out to Leopara to inquire what she was doing, and with a quick explanation that Leopara was not to be interrupted right now, sent him away; Cheetara watched Panthro strut by, the panther sparing a glance at the glowing and spreading, sprawling runes before shuddering and hurrying past. On at least one occasion Leopara passively heard, Cheetara had to stop Snowmeow from approaching and flopping on her, instead giving the large felyne his desired pets herself.
In hindsight, she should probably have told everyone what she was crafting before she began, so that they left her alone from the onset. The clanging of metal and sounds of sparks flying bothered her very little, and with her eyes glued to the pages of the ritual book and the wards themselves, she barely noticed anyone or anything else. The glow of her wards provided her enough light to read by, even when the sun began to set.
When she finished, she felt exhausted and drained. The glow of the wards faded, not settled in the village. She all but collapsed, falling to her knees while catching her breath. Her throat was in pain, dry and sore from speaking for hours.
If only she'd had another sorcerer to help her. It would have been woven so much quicker.
A hand appeared in her vision, holding a waterskin. She blinked at it and looked up.
"I thought you'd be thirsty after all that." Lion-O said with a smile.
She smiled shyly and nodded. She accepted the waterskin and took a long, long drink from it, finishing with a satisfied sigh. "Thank you, Lion-O."
He held out his hand again. She took it and he helped pull her to her feet. "You're just in time. It's nightfall. Everyone's getting ready near the perimeter." He studied her for a moment. "Are you okay to fight?"
"I think so… let me eat a little and-"
"Oo, oo!" WilyKit exclaimed. A candy fruit was unceremoniously shoved into her other hand, with the book. "Have a candy fruit! It'll make you feel better~"
Leopara blinked a couple more times. "Thanks, WilyKit." She smiled at the kitten, who beamed.
"What was that that you were doing?" she asked, almost too fast to understand.
"An ancient ritual…"
"What does it do?"
"... well, this one explodes. Not all at once, just in key areas. It has a magic reservoir, so it will be good even after we leave."
"What's that?"
"What?"
"The magic reserver!"
"Reservoir? Hm… it's like a dam, for magic. It allows some magic through, but mostly it just collects magic that's distributed to other parts of it."
"Cooool." WilyKit said.
Lion-O grinned. "That is pretty cool," he admitted.
Leopara felt her cheeks flush. "Thanks…" She stroked her braid shyly, pulling it forward over her left shoulder. She quickly took a bite of her candy fruit, now that she wasn't being assailed by WilyKit's questions.
Except no, WilyKit wasn't done. She sobered up with a pang of sadness. "If it's so strong, why didn't Thundera have one?"
Her unexpected question hit Leopara like a sack of bricks or a burst of lightning. She choked on her bite of candy fruit, coughing and gasping for air, clutching at the jewel on her sternum.
"Are you okay?" Lion-O asked, his hand hovering on her back like he was unsure what else to do.
Leopara nodded although her features were twisted miserably. She took a swig of water to help wash the candy fruit down. Once her throat was clear, she faced WilyKit again. The kitten was still peering up at her sadly, and apparently quite indifferent to her near-death experience. "Um…" she smoothed her hand down her dress. "Well, a ward big enough for all of Thundera wouldn't have been sustainable. It would have always needed more magic than what ambiently exists in the world around us. And… it's not like Thundera had an order of sorcerers anymore who could even create such a thing." She paused for a moment. "Magic affecting specific areas or objects lasts much longer than anything else. Some of them are forever."
"Oh." WilyKit said. She thought for a moment, looking around. "How long will this last?"
"Hm… I'm not that experienced at rituals like this, so maybe a few years?" Leopara felt very uncertain all of a sudden.
"However long it lasts," Lion-O said, "-it's more defenses for the Berbils and will buy them time. Good work, Leopara."
Leopara nodded. "I'm going to sit and recuperate. I'll join you all soon."
Lion-O nodded. "I'll sit with you. WilyKit, go tell the others we'll be there soon."
Lion-O led her over to Snowmeow; at some point, the Thundertank had been moved. She didn't know how she had missed that, it wasn't exactly a quiet piece of junk. Snowmeow was more than happy to see her approach however, his long, fluffy tail wagging.
"Is that… armor?"
"A little bit." Lion-O admitted. "It's mostly just a saddle. Since he's going to be with us for a while, I thought, 'why not?'" He chuckled at himself.
"It's nice." she agreed, sitting on her knees and petting Snowmeow. "He doesn't seem bothered by it at all."
Lion-O nodded. "Yeah… that's a little weird." he agreed
"I think… he might have been someone's pet once. Wild beasts don't like saddles or anything on their back."
"I think you're right."
"His master must miss him terribly." she said with a frown and knit brows. At this, Snowmeow meowed at her with a sense of sadness.
Lion-O joined her, moving around Snowmeow to pet him as well. "Panthro isn't even bothered by him, can you believe it?" he asked.
"Really? I thought he'd be all, 'there's no way you're bringing that lump of fur in my Thundertank.'" she mimicked the general. Lion-O stared at her for a few moments, until it became awkward. "Um…"
"Sorry. It's just… kind of eerie how you do that."
"Do what?"
"Sound just like Panthro. Or me, when you did it at the town."
She beamed. "I'm just good at mimicry."
"It's creepy…" he admitted quietly, almost ashamed to say it.
"Creepy?!"
Lion-O shrugged vaguely. "Yeah, I mean… a little. It's not bad!" He raised his hands in front of himself in surrender. "It's just… wow, you're really, I mean really good at it."
"Hmph." She looked away from him, giving Snowmeow all her attention. "Who's a good, giant kitty pet~?" she asked him. From the thrashing of his tail, Snowmeow was a good, giant kitty-pet, and he knew it.
He rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry…"
She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "You were talking about Panthro and Snowmeow?"
"Right. Yeah, he was surprisingly fine with us bringing him along. Just no chewing on anything in or attached to the tank."
"Are you sure you didn't have to persuade him?"
"Yup." Lion-O said, letting the 'p' pop.
"That is surprising." she agreed.
They were quiet for a moment, enjoying the silence as they pet Snowmeow. The giant beast blinked slowly at them, absolutely relaxed under their touch. When he perked up abruptly, she sighed.
"I think that's our cue."
"Are you feeling well enough to fight?"
Leopara nodded.
"Good." Lion-O said, standing. He offered her his hand yet again, and yet again, she accepted his help standing. Snowmeow similarly scrambled to his paws, stretching with a yawn.
The moon shone brightly over them in the night sky. The little white flowers in the red arches above the Berbils' village glowed softly. Overall, the night was well-lit.
So, when they joined the others, they were easily able to see the approaching forces. The giantors were the easiest to see, towering over everything around them including the walls of the pass.
"Here they come." Lion-O said.
Tygra looked back at the village. "Let's hope these bears know what they're doing."
Leopara was confident the battle would be in their favor. She had seen some of the Berbils's contraptions while joining the other cats, and they seemed formidable; and they weren't alone. They were combined with her wards and the cats themselves, Snowmeow, and the upgraded Thundertank.
The Conquedor would have to have something truly impressive to trump all that.
Lion-O slid his hand into the Gauntlet and raised it. He grasped the hilt of the Sword of Omens. As he drew it, he began his mantra, "Thunder… thunder… thunder… Thundercats, ho!"
A burst of red shot out from the sword, racing towards the night sky where it swirled and swirled until it formed the Thundercat's insignia, projected from the Eye of Thundera.
That was Panthro's cue. He was in the Thundertank with Ro-Bear Bill, ready to pounce on the Conquedor's tank and keep it busy while they swept up his forces.
The red eyes of the Thundertank flared to life, and the tank roared as it charged down the incline towards the Conquedor's tank, ambushing it.
That was the signal for the Berbils to launch their… erm, she wasn't exactly sure what they did, but they latched onto the Conquedor's tank and let out an electric surge even she could see. This caught the attention of giantor, who lagged behind the rest of the Conquedor's forces when they charged forward. WilyKit and WilyKat, waiting to the side with candy fruit canons, fired upon the giantor and lured him towards a Berbil trap.
The first few trollogs that got close were repelled by her glyph with a glorious burst of blue and hurtling them backwards.
Leopara turned from the scene, grabbing onto Snowmeow's saddle, and hoisted herself up.
Being mounted again while a battle raged on reminded her an awful lot of Thundera; they had been confident then that they would achieve victory too. However, this time was different. They were the ones who had laid the trap, not the ones who walked into it. This time, she felt of her role on the field, why she was there.
And her mount was a giant felyne-beast with claws almost the size of her forearm and fangs just as large. That alone made her feel more powerful than she would have otherwise.
A trollog that broke off from the group, which was now scattered, was lured towards a trap by Snarf.
Cheetara dashed forward with a rope, ensnaring a giantor and pulling him backwards until he stepped on a Berbil launching pad, which flung him at such a ridiculous speed that his gruff shout sounded high-pitched instead.
"Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!" Ro-Bear Bebo exclaimed mechanically, waving his arms around. "Help. It's got me."
Tygra was on the two trollogs faster than Leopara could sneeze. Camouflaged, he punched one in the face- she presumed it was a punch- and it collapsed with a yowl, then he struck the other one, catching Ro-Bear Bebo as he was flung away. The one got up and tried to sneak up on Tygra, but there was no sneaking up on Tygra. He swung his fist up without looking, hitting it squarely in the face and sending it slumping.
She looked down at Snowmeow. "Ready, boy?" she asked.
Snowmeow answered her with a roar, lurching forward. Batting away the trollogs was child's play to him, and when he caught the attention of a giantor, Leopara raised a barrier around them to absorb the strike. And then, with her clinging to his saddle as though her life depended on it, he pounced the reeling giantor, pushing it down to the earth.
She and Snowmeow kept them 'entertained' while Lion-O circled up the pass to join Panthro; the roaring of the two tanks had died down, and that meant only one thing: the Thundertank had done her job, and the Conquedor's tank was out of commission.
It wasn't long until she heard metal ringing from up there. Seeing that Snowmeow had things nicely handled without her direction, she spared a moment to look up and watch the short cliff's edge. She could see Lion-O, silhouetted by the up-turned tank of the Conquedor. "-not your property!" he snarled with what she counted as his third strike. The force of this one knocked the Conquedor off his feet. Glinting in the silvery moonlight, Lion-O pointed the Sword of Omens at the Conquedor and held him captive there.
The giantors and trollogs who were still there watched in dismay before erupting into shouts and grunts. Worse for wear and thoroughly demoralised, the Conquedor's forces fled.
With a flick of his blade, Lion-O freed the Conquedor and he had no hesitation scrambling down the short cliff to flee from him.
She patted Snowmeow's shoulder before he could chase after them. "Whoa, whoa."
He growled and paced, but then eventually turned his attention towards Lion-O and began to pad towards him.
Behind him, somewhere, Ro-Bear Bill exclaimed, "Yay!"
The rest of the Berbils, and the Wilytwins, joined in his cheer, feeling triumphant and confident.
Leopara smiled up at Lion-O, and he smiled down at her. She nudged Snowmeow to turn. Needing no further invitation, Lion-O gracefully lept down and clambering onto Snowmeow's back behind her. "Let's get back to the village, buddy."
Snowmeow gave a small roar of agreement.
Spirits were high the next day.
Having gotten a warm night's sleep on a full stomach, Leopara was especially chipper. She awoke first of the cats. To her dismay, the Berbils were already out and active- until she remembered they required no sleep and had begun reconstructing parts of the village they had dismantled. This time, they were using brand new parts, so as to keep their defenses active.
She walked about, at first just enjoying the morning air. At some point, she wandered near the candy fruit trees and began to collect some.
When she had a basket full, she returned to the tank. Everyone, including Cheetara, was still asleep. She grinned. "Good morning!" she called out.
WilyKit and WilyKat did not stir, but everyone else did.
Panthro did so with a jolt. "Huh, what? Who?" he grumbled, nunchucks at the ready even before his eyes were opened.
"Aw, that's no way to greet someone with food, is it?" she teased him, picking a blue candy fruit and tossing it at him.
Panthro lowered his nunchucks and caught the fruit lazily, bringing it to his mouth to take a bite. "Mm… candy fruit."
"It's too early for this. Go back to bed." Tygra groused at her. She tossed a green candy fruit at him. Not hard, lightly, but he was not expecting it and its shell cracked against the arm slung across his eyes. He shouted, sitting up. "What the whiskers?!"
"Come on, it's a beautiful morning, sleepy head. And I brought food."
"Ugh. You're a morning person." he said, narrowing his eyes with contempt.
"Aww… is the poor Prince not a morning kitty?" she mocked him.
Lion-O laughed.
Tygra sent him a withering look before glaring at her again. "No, we just stayed up last night and I value my sleep." He took a bite out of the cracked candy fruit anyways.
"Uh huh."
Cheetara plucked a yellow candy fruit from the basket. "Thank you, Leopara." she said sweetly.
Lion-O followed her lead, picking another blue one. "Thanks." he said simply, although he was clearly a bit disgruntled about being woken up abruptly as well.
She smiled at both of them. "You're welcome!"
"Hmn…" one of the Wilytwins mumbled in their sleep. "Can...dy… fr...t…"
She gently set a candy fruit in front of either one of them. In sync with her removing her hand, they curled their little gremlin hands around the fruit and sleepily took a bite.
How unexpectedly adorable. was the last thought she had before they were bolt-right awake and hyper. Like ravenous little beasts, they tore into their candy fruit with horrifying ferocity.
Eventually, they all filed out of the Thundertank.
More awake and alert than the night before, they started to curiously poke around the village inspecting the traps, except Panthro who went to check on 'his baby,' the Thundertank.
"I don't think the Conquedor will be coming back anytime soon." Lion-O declared.
"Not with the village rigged like this." Tygra agreed. Next to him, WilyKit and WilyKat swung on a platform suspended by a thick spring with Ro-Bear Bebo.
Cheetara smiled. "We should leave soon."
Lion-O nodded. "We still have to find the first stone before Mumm-Ra does."
"We will." Leopara promised, setting a hand on his shoulder. "We will."
I know Snowmeow was never part of the Thundercats in the 80s and he was only briefly seen in 2011, but you'll have to pry him out of my cold, dead hands. Anyways, thank you very much for reading! A special thanks to The Night Whisperer and Heart of the Demons for reviewing chapter 15, and to Frankannestein for your reviews on chapter 13, 14, and 15!