Hello and welcome back everyone! Today's chapter comes in at 6.4k without my A/N. Also, I added a new scene to chapter 11, actually detailing the water room trap. It establishes Leopara as a strong swimmer, although Panthro is still the one who solves the puzzle.
Leopara crashed into herself. Her heart lurched, jump-started again by the force of her soul. Reflexively, she gulped in a deep breath of air to relieve her burning lungs- and nearly choked as saliva tried to flow with the air.
This provoked a full-blown, agonising coughing fit.
Every muscle in her body already ached. In particular, her ribs felt bruised and the exertion from coughing only exacerbated the pain she was in.
"You're awake!" a voice exclaimed. It was Jorma, Lion-O's dog friend. A kind and gentle old man with a walking stick. He hurried to her side and grabbed a cup from the end table beside her. "There there," he reassured her. Holding the cup to her lips, he said, "Try to drink this if you can."
Leopara didn't nod, for she didn't want to strain her neck, and obediently sipped from the cup. The water wasn't As she did, she flicked her eyes about her surroundings in confusion. Judging by the dim, earthy interior, and scrap metal lying about, this was Jorma's shop, rather than the Thundertank. It seemed like his personal room, rather than the open shop, however.
Other than Jorma, Snowmeow lay beside her, head resting on the edge of the bed.
She didn't see signs of anyone else.
Thirst satisfied, she turned her face away from the cup to signal she was done with it. In a voice that was more hoarse than she would have liked, she asked, "Wh… what happened?"
"Necromechs." Jorma said. He did so in a deep and sage tone, as if the words meant something to her. The confused scrunch on her face prompted him to explain, "Machines that sniffed out the Book of Omens energy signature. They destroyed your Thundertank and stole the book." Whiskers. Jorma continued calmly on. "Lion-O and the others chased after them to get it back."
Leopara sank back into the pillows supporting her- which seemed odd to her- and digested those words.
"You gave us quite the fright, Lea…" A pause. "What was it? Lea-something…"
"Leopara." she croaked.
"That's right, thank you." He took a moment before continuing to speak. "You stopped breathing, and your heart stopped beating." She vaguely remembered the incident. "And then you just started again." Jorma said this in a wondrous tone.
Leopara sighed. "Thank you, Jorma."
Jorma nodded. Before he could say or do anything, there was a sudden raucous from the entrance of the cave leading to Jorma's shop. The sounds of three heavy sets of feet, running fast. Before either of them could wonder who it was, Lion-O's voice rang out, ragged and breathless.
"Is… is Leopara…? Is she okay?"
Jorma left her side to go meet them, giving her arm a gentle and reassuring pat as he left. "Yes! She's awake now!" He gestured to beckon Lion-O- and presumably Tygra and Panthro- to come back into this dimly lit room to see her.
Instead, she heard three loud, identical thuds.
Jorma gasped and murmured something. Leopara could hear it, but she was so overwhelmed with concern that she didn't process his words.
"Jorma?" she called out in alarm instead. Her throat instantly punished her, feeling as though the flesh inside were cracking and pulling apart from the exertion of raising her voice. She lowered it. "What happened?"
"They just collapsed!" he exclaimed in a boggled tone of voice. Then, he shook his head. His ears flopped a little as he did so. "Must have been quite exhausted from their journey to Soul Sever's domain…" With that, he disappeared completely from her view, going on to murmur something about, "Let's get you all somewhere a little more comfortable," to Lion-O.
Leopara sighed and leaned heavily into her pillows. There wasn't really anything else for her to do, for now, except rest and wait.
Lion-O didn't keep her waiting long. Leopara was just beginning to drift into an uneasy sleep when there was a sudden pitter-patter of feet approaching her. The sound was unexpected on the packed-dirt floor of Jorma's shop, more of a thump-ing sound interspersed with the odd thunk as he crossed a patch of scrap.
Her eyes snapped open and her head turned towards the door automatically.
Lion-O entered, more of a dark but recognisable silhouette than a cat at first. Then, her eyes adjusted to the light and he approached her. His eyes were slightly wide with concern, but his shoulders sagged in relief. As he also took in details about her, a tired grin stretched across his features.
"You're okay." There was a hint of a question in his observation, but he continued on. "I was so worried."
His movement was a little sluggish, she noted. He walked as if every muscle was in direct protest; indeed, she could faintly sense from him a dull combination of relief, remorse, and pure fatigue- he was too tired to feel anything else beyond the basic emotion.
Privately, Leopara echoed the sentiment. As grateful as she was to awake in her body, she was too strained and tired to feel much else.
Out loud, she replied, "So was I. What happened?"
The rasp of her voice caused him to frown. His brows furrowed and he stared at her intensely, eyes flicking about as he really examined her. By the time he spoke again, he was sitting by her side, on the very edge of the bed. Tygra and Panthro joined him from the doorway.
"The Book of Omens was stolen," he admitted. Leopara nodded. Jorma had told her as such, but he didn't get to elaborate more before they returned.
"Machines called the Necromechs sniffed out the Book's signature," Tygra elaborated. He was also weary and relieved, but he didn't carry the same sense of guilt as his brother. That caused Leopara to briefly think, Oh no, Lion-O's blaming himself, isn't he?
Panthro gracefully stepped in with an inelegant grouse. "Blasted machines destroyed my baby!"
Jorma had also told her that. She hadn't processed yet what its destruction would mean for them. Would they be able to repair it? If they couldn't, how were they going to keep up with Mumm-Ra and his army, let alone get ahead, without it?
The ball of anxiety in her chest, which she thought had dispersed altogether when she woke up alive and not dead, impolitely informed her it was still present. It tightened around her heart like a vice grip,and did something to her throat that made it impossible for her to speak.
Instead, she squeaked.
The boys took this sound as a sign to do all the talking, and immediately began regaling her with the events that unfolded after she went into the Book of Omens. The nechromechs and their thorough destruction of the tank. Chasing after the mechs, guided by Flicker. Coming to the lair of the nechromech's master, Soul Sever. His tragic tale and their conflict. How Tygra's soul had briefly been severed- and put into scrap instead, which then transformed into a monstrosity and fed off of the souls of Soul Sever's family. Lion-O ended their tale with Flicker's heroic sacrifice to save them all.
Here, Tygra smiled at her with sympathy in his eyes and remarked, "My whole body ached, and I was only out of it for a few minutes. I can't imagine how yours feels right now.
Leopara gave a weak smile in return and a one-word answer. "Bad."
He and Panthro chuckled at that.
"You're gonna be alright, kid." Panthro said.
"Come on," Tygra glanced at Panthro, "-let's go find the others. They need to know about the tank."
Panthro nodded in agreement. Together, he and Tygra left.
Lion-O's expression of remorse intensified. "I'm sorry. This is my fault." All of the muscles in his body tensed, and even trembled from the exertion. "I couldn't protect you or the book. I shouldn't have left you alone."
Leopara's head hurt from the conflicting thoughts in her mind. On one hand, pure exhaustion dictated this was too much for her to handle right now. On the other hand, she absolutely did not want him to blame himself for this. It was clearly out of his control. None of them had known about the Nechromechs or the Soul Sever, except Jorma. If Leopara had known, she wouldn't have gone into the Book of Omens; she would have stayed with it to safeguard it instead.
She landed somewhere between the two thoughts. Outstretching her hand towards Snowmeow, she remarked, "I wasn't alone." Snowmeow stretched to bump the top of his head into her palm and let out a quiet grumble.
Lion-O didn't seem convinced. "You could have died, Leopara, and it would have been my fault for not protecting you."
A frown tugged at her lips. She really didn't have the brain-power to argue or debate. So, rather than articulate a well-thought argument against Lion-O's logic, she rasped, "No."
"Leopara-"
"No." she repeated in a whisper.
Lion-O hesitated. Then, he sighed heavily. It was the kind of sigh that released all the tension in one's body. Instead of arguing more, he squeezed her hand. "I'm glad you're alright."
Weakly, she smiled at him and squeezed his hand back.
"Are you alright…?" Lion-O asked after a moment.
Now that he asked her, Leopara herself hesitated. She wasn't dead, and she was relieved about that. But she felt like death, if she paid any mind to her body. It felt like the time she had a cold, but this time, Jaga wasn't here to take care of her with soup and soothing magic.
Her eyes welled up at the thought.
She spent so much time in the Book of Omens and didn't even see him. Regret flooded her, bringing tears to her eyes.
"I will be. Just need some rest."
When Pumyra, Cheetara, and the twins finally joined them at the shop, they were quite surprised by the sullen atmosphere. They were even more shocked to learn about what happened while they were out shopping.
The Thundertank? Destroyed.
The Book of Omens? Stolen and retrieved.
Leopara's soul? Briefly trapped in the book.
Leopara? Nearly died.
"It sounds like a lot happened." Cheetara observed. Pumyra was kneeling down beside Leopara, grasping her wrist to feel her pulse. "How are you feeling?"
"Um. Glad to be alive?"
"I bet." Pumyra remarked with a skeptic scoff. "You look terrible."
Leopara couldn't help but let out a baffled laugh. "That bad?"
"Your eyes are a little bloodshot…" Cheetara agreed. She reached out to rest the back of her knuckles against her forehead. Through their fur, Cheetara's hand felt cool. "You have a slight fever, too."
Pumyra moved her hands without comment on her pulse. Leopara hoped that meant her heart seemed to be doing just fine. Without asking her to move, Pumyra jabbed her hands behind Leopara's back, scraping against the pillow that was supporting her weight. Leopara couldn't help but arch her back out of the way, a movement that her muscles really, really did not agree with.
A hiss of pain escaped her.
"Lean back." Pumyra told her simply. "I want to feel how you're breathing."
"Not the best." Leopara answered honestly, leaning back into Pumyra's hand. Her claws scraped against her dress and Leopara couldn't help but shiver with a sudden sense of foreboding. The image of Pumyra flexing her claws and piercing them into her kidneys came to mind, unbidden.
Leopara repressed a shudder and shoved her feeling of foreboding away.
She was just feeling more vulnerable than usual and she didn't know Pumyra well yet. That was all.
"You're all tense." Pumyra noted. "Relax and breathe normally."
Leopara tried to follow her instruction, but she just couldn't seem to get the muscles in her back to relax, or for her lungs to stop holding her breath.
Pumyra withdrew her hand with a frustrated growl. "This isn't working."
"Let's try another way, then." Cheetara said. She rested her hand on Leopara's chest, just below her collar. Leopara found this was not nearly as nerve-wracking. "Go ahead and breathe."
She did as instructed. Cheetara wore a persistent frown.
"I'm going to make you a tea that will help clear your airways and soothe your throat." Cheetara said. "Do you mind if WilyKit and WilyKat come in?"
Everyone was doing their best to give Leopara space and only disturb her to check if she needed anything. Water, food, or to relieve herself. Despite doing their best to convince the adults to let them in to see her, thus far the Wilytwins had been denied entry into the room. Leopara was a little grateful and felt guilty about it. But she was exhausted and they could be… a lot.
She didn't see the harm in letting them come check on her themselves, however. At least, not now that Cheetara and Pumyra had the opportunity to assess her and determine that she really wasn't going to die at any moment.
"Sure."
Cheetara smiled and stepped out of the room. Leopara could hear her and the other speaking. Tygra and Lion-O asked her a question and the twins began to plead with her. They exclaimed in joy when she murmured her approval for them to come inside- she said something else through the sounds of their excitement and they quieted down.
Then, their heads peeked inside, joined by Snarf. They caught sight of her immediately.
"Leopara!" they called softly. With no more reason to linger in the doorway, they hurried to the bedside, all but bowling Pumyra out of their way. She growled, but they paid her no mind. Instead, they climbed up on the bed, careful to avoid putting their weight on Leopara. They were tiny still, so this worked. Somehow. Snarf perched on Snowmeow, snya-ing at her gently. "We were so worried when Tygra and Panthro told us something happened!"
"Yeah!" WilyKat agreed.
"I'm going to be okay." Leopara reassured them. "I just need time to rest and recover." She paused. It had been a long while since she had seen them properly. They never got to regale her with the story of what they got up to while the rest of them were at Mount Plun-Darr. "Where did you get that?" she asked, gesturing weakly at the bag slung over WilyKat's shoulder.
Pumyra groaned and was about to protest- no doubt she had heard plenty about it while shopping- but the twins beat her to it. They launched into the tale of how they met a raccoon named Tookit, who stole their flupe and flink. They chased him through the city, during which he just kept stealing more and more stuff and it all seemed to come in handy!
"He called himself a 'kleptovoyant,' but I think he was just lucky." WilyKit groused.
Tookit had a darker side than he originally led them on to believe. He tried to trap them, with promises of candy and treats and fun, all while having the other children- this they did not elaborate on- steal money and gems on the side. All to his benefit. The coin and precious items they stole were his 'cut' for 'letting' them live in his Forever Bag and 'allowing' them all the candy they could ever want.
But it was a trap. None of them could go home to their families because they were thieves now, and the constable would arrest them. Maybe execute them or send them to The Pit!
WilyKit and WilyKat took great pleasure in explaining the trap they used against Tookit, tricking him into confessing to his crimes where the Constable could hear and getting him caught. Now, all the kids' names were cleared and they had the real Forever Bag now.
"Wow." Leopara said, not knowing what else she could say to that. "That was clever, you two."
They grinned at her. "Thanks, Leopara!"
"We got him good!" WilyKat added.
Cheetara entered with a tea tray. "I hope I'm not interrupting. Your tea's ready." After setting the tray down, she smoothly poured Leopara a cup and added a scoopful of honey. "Here."
Leopara raised her hands to accept the cup gingerly. "Thank you, Cheetara. This smells nice." It smelled a little bitter, but the honey would help with that. She took a sip and ignored the bitter flavor.
"Let's head back out to the others. Lion-O wants to talk with us."
"What about?"
Cheetara shrugged. "I don't know."
This intrigued them more than anything. They scrambled off the bed in a flurry of activity, shouting their farewells over their shoulders while waving.
"Try to get some rest now." Cheetara added over her own shoulder before stepping out of the room.
Over the next week, the rest of the Thundercats, sans Pumyra, would head out past the scrapyard to the skyship they found outside Soul Sever's domain. They worked all day, everyday to repair it and get it sky-worthy again.
Pumyra, and Snowmeow, stayed with Leopara.
She wished it was Cheetara instead, but the fact of the matter was that Pumyra needed rest too. She had just gotten her freedom and hadn't a moment to rest since. She was underweight and constantly irritable- probably from lack of food, in Leopara's opinion. Jorma let them stay around the shop; he wasn't very busy anyways. "It's more of a hobby than a business." he had admitted once.
In fact, he sometimes left with the others to work on that skyship and see what scrap he could find that they would need.
During that time, Pumyra finally caught her up on all that she missed at Mount Plun-Darr. Specifically, meeting their sisters, Pumilee and Leoparis respectively. Pumyra clearly didn't consider herself a wordsmith and likely didn't place much value on the craft- and yet, when she spoke, Leopara could close her eyes and see the world through hers instead.
Above them, dark and angry skies roiled with flashes of lightning and the crash of thunder. The sound of it nearly drowned out the sounds of misery and the cracking of whips below. The oppressive presence of the bones of a long-dead dragon coiled around the mountain, glaring down at them. The jagged red crystals that pushed through the terrain like wicked claws glinted with malice and hatred.
Pumyra felt their hatred echoed in her, but she had to keep a cool head- for now, at least. As they- herself, Lion-O, Panthro, and Tygra- picked their way down the slope, she watched their surroundings for one cat in particular: her sister.
She had left Pumilee behind when she was sold to Dobo.
The rats had sold because she had caused them lots of problems. Lots. She wondered often why they hadn't sent her down in the mines to die like so many others. Maybe they feared she would succeed, and what she could- nay, would- do with their precious Sword of Plun-Darr? If that were the case, why not kill her, make an example out of her?
Pumyra wasn't sure why they specifically chose to sell her. What she was sure about was that she was now going to cause more problems for the rats, and she was going to enjoy it.
She was going to make them regret letting her live.
When she didn't spy her sister or the white tabby she was often with immediately, fear and anger bubbled in her chest. She felt panic, but grasped it firmly and turned it into a weapon.
If anything had happened to Pumilee…
Pumyra shook her head. They continued to pick their way through the operation silently and clinging to the shadows when and where they could. It was better to avoid being out in the open, where the rat sentinels could spot them before they were ready to make their move. The sentinels would either recognise they weren't part of the slave force- and the men definitely didn't look like any of the other slaves- and raise the alarm, or they would be an idiot who presumed every cat belonged to them and lash out at them with their whip.
Either way would force them to act before they were ready.
Before Pumyra had found her sister.
But, of course, just because she knew the rational and subtle way to do things did not mean Lion-O did. Or that he cared when she protested. He was drawn out into the open, with the three of them tagging along behind him, to an old, emaciated cat. It was clearly a waste of their time and water- this cat was clearly knocking on Death's door and waiting for it to open. Then, he would know peace and his suffering would be over.
A quick scan of the cats in their immediate area gave her pause. They all looked like they were on the verge of keeling over and dying on the spot.
The rats had been working them even harder than she remembered. Pumyra clenched her jaw, grinding her teeth in pure rage.
She was going to rip the rats apart with her bare hands.
So much rage at once had caused Leopara to pull back for a moment. She understood it, she was just… surprised at how endlessly Pumyra seemed to be able to generate the emotion. Leopara eventually lost steam. When she thought back to the Ramlak, or the Swordsman town, or the first encounter with Addicus and Kaynar, she didn't feel nearly as much rage now as she had then. She still despised the monkey and jackal, especially Kaynar, but her fire didn't burn as hot as Pumyra's anger did.
But then again, Addicus and Kaynar hadn't enslaved her for months. They hadn't tortured her for months or killed any of their people, Lion-O notwithstanding. Mumm-Ra's generals were a threat they had always been able to push back against.
The rats were not. When Pumyra… when the cats resisted them, they were killed. If they weren't killed, then they were whipped and beaten and deprived of food until they were too weak to put up a fight. It made Leopara's stomach twist with guilt. She wished they had found them sooner and put an end to their suffering sooner. It was better late than never, but if only they hadn't been late at all. How many more of their people could they have saved?
She thought of the corpses and skeletons deep in the mines.
Dozens? Hundreds?
Pumyra had continued on with her story without noticing Leopara's ruminations. It was the mention of her sister that brought her back to it.
Across the way from the old cat, Pumyra spotted her sister.
Pumilee was with that white tabby, keeping their heads down and working harder than the rats deserved. She was swinging her pickax in a rhythm she recognised; doubtless, she was humming one of the various war songs their father had taught them. Her sister liked that song for its rhythm and making her feel closer to him, even though he was gone.
A naïve sentiment, as far as Pumyra was concerned. It was clearly working to keep her spirit intact and her rhythm of bringing down her pickax consistent.
The tabby, Ben-something, was loading the broken chunks of stone into their mine-cart. He was larger than most of the worn down cats around them, although he had lost weight since Pumyra saw him last. His ragged clothes hung loose around his body and his muscles bulged an unhealthy amount. If he didn't eat more, his body would soon start to atrophy his remaining muscle mass. That would be a waste, she thought, since he was a craftsman after all. He was much more valuable, healthy and hale than he was wasting away.
It took some coaxing to convince Lion-O to abandon the old cat. She should have led with seeing her sister, because he budged immediately once she hissed that at him.
They crept along, staying low and out of sight. By the time they reached Pumilee, Ben had shoved their cart off and taken it to be sifted by the cat slaves too weak for manual labor. A different cat had joined her sister, one that made them all do a double take.
This cat bore a striking resemblance to Leopara, but without any of the softness or any of the naiveté. Her features were worn and haggard from being starved nearly to death. Her eyes were a dull, but venomous blue- glinting as she took in the sudden appearance of Lion-O before her. It was as if someone had dangled a juicy steak in front of her and she wanted to rip it apart with her claws and fangs. Her hair was long and tangled, and had been tied into a sloppy bun for practical reasons. It had spots-
"Rosettes," Leopara corrected her automatically. Her face flushed with heat as Pumyra gave her an unamused look. "Leopards and jaguars have rosettes. Cheetahs have spots."
"Do you want to hear about your sister or not?" Pumyra snapped.
"Sorry, please continue."
Unlike Leopara's hair, her sister's had rosettes scattered through it.
Pumyra hissed to get her sister's attention. "Pumilee!"
Her sister looked much like her as well, but she had the softness and naiveté that Pumyra lacked. Her markings weren't as pointed and jagged as they arched above her eyes. She pulled the crown of her mane taut, smoothing out the natural flare the same way WilyKit did. Her hair was just as vibrant a russet tone, tipper with white as if it were a paintbrush stained by paint. Her eyes were golden and bright. Despite the new, fading scars and welts on her skin, the rats hadn't beaten out her hope that they would make it through this darkness and emerge once again into the warmth of daylight.
And she grinned as her eyes landed on Pumyra. "Pumyra!" Without any further warning, she flung herself into Pumyra's arms. Pumyra was not embarrassed to admit that she wrapped her arms tight around her sister and held her for longer than was strictly necessary. "I knew you'd come back!" Pumilee pulled away to look at Lion-O and Tygra. "And you brought the princes! And… General Panthro? I thought you were dead."
Panthro grunted. "My death was greatly exaggerated." he rumbled. "And it's King Lion-O now."
"So I see." Pumilee said with a wide grin. She was so affable, and Pumyra had no doubt she was planning how she could use them as a weapon to bludgeon the rats with, all while the cats freed themselves and escaped.
However, before she could make conversation, or either Lion-O or Tygra could speak, Leoparis stepped forward with a manic smile.
"So, King Lion-O, where. Is. My. Sister?!" she hissed.
Pumyra liked her immediately.
"Your sister-?" Tygra wondered.
"Jaga's apprentice?" she spat at him. "Leopara? Whom he stole from the clan?"
Lion-O looked her in the eyes, an annoyingly admirable trait. Without being cowed by the force in Leoparis's eyes, he smoothly asked, "What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about?" Leoparis's expression twisted into a disgusted and incredulous grimace. Her eyes held onto their dangerous glint. Punyra could hear the rage bubbling in her throat, and felt pettily gleeful. The old cat had been so elated to see Lion-O that he had instantly forgiven him for taking so long to save his people. Leopara's sister, however, looked like she wanted to rake him across the coals and watch him squirm. Pumyra liked that in a cat.
Some people were just too forgiving.
"I'm talking about how you Thundercats," the word dripped with venom, "-take whoever you want, whenever you want, and everyone else be damned."
This made both Lion-O and Tygra bristle. Pumilee shifted uncomfortably, eyes flicking between the three.
"You," Lion-O led with, in a fantastically accusatory tone, "-didn't even visit or write to her once. You gave her up."
This information seemed to be news to Tygra. That didn't stop him from backing his brother up. "Yeah. Jaga didn't 'steal' her from anyone."
"That's exactly what I'd expect a Thundercat to say!" Leoparis tried to lunge at him, but there was suddenly a large, metal hand on her shoulder. Panthro's arm had snaked around to hold her in place, and she didn't have the strength to budge it.
"We're not here to fight or dig up old wounds." Panthro told her. "Save that energy for the rats."
Lion-O was quick to take advantage of Panthro's talent at defusing a situation.
Part of that talent was his hulking size and most cats' sense of self-preservation. No one looked at Panthro and thought, 'Wow, I'd like to be put through a wall today and never walk again!' They thought, 'What life choices have I been making to make this guy look at me?'
"After today, you're all going to have your freedom. I'm sorry it's taken so lo-"
Leoparis spat at him.
Pumyra didn't mean she hissed or spat words at him. She spat actual saliva at him. It didn't hit him, but he was taken aback by the gesture.
"-ng… but we're here now. Including Leopara. She and Cheetara are investigating the curse on the Sword of Plun-Darr and the mines."
For the briefest of moments, Leoparis began to relax.
And then Lion-O had implied her sister was going into the Deep Mines, where cats were sent to die. "You sent her to go die?!" she shrieked.
That, Pumyra didn't like. Pumilee instantly started to try to calm her down while Pumyra whipped her head back and forth, looking for the rat that was bound to have noticed the commotion and cluster of cats by now.
There weren't any rats paying them attention, however. Most of them were paying attention to-
Pumyra's hackles raised and she let out a yowl.
"Not you too-" Tygra began to protest.
Pumyra tore off across the jagged landscape, hurtling towards the shadow silhouettes of a rat whipping a cat. She didn't even think about it- she saw it and her vision filled with red.
"Pumyra!" her sister cried behind her.
"Whiskers!" Lion-O cursed.
He must have chased her with Tygra and Panthro, abandoning their attempts to explain to Leoparis that it was Leopara's decision to go and she insisted- no, really, she did!
"And you know the rest." Pumyra concluded.
Leopara's eyes snapped open. "Huh? I don't, actually. What happened?"
Pumyra fixed her with a look that said, 'don't be stupid.' "The whole mountain collapsed."
"Well, yeah. I know that." Leopara replied. She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. "But, I think there are some things that happened that you're leaving out."
Pumyra rolled her wrist more. "I tried to kill the rat- it turned out to be the mouse, Mordax, but Lion-O insisted we show him mercy. He betrayed us, we got captured, dragged before the Rat King Ratar-O. We thought we were going to die, but, somehow, we survived."
Somehow, we survived.
Leopara let out a breath of a chuckle. "That sounds like Lion-O alright."
Pumyra's gaze sharpened, assessing Leopara. She didn't like the feeling. "What about you and Cheetara? What happened to you?"
Leopara sighed a little. "The whole mountain collapsed on us?"
Pumyra did not refrain from rolling her eyes. She rolled them with impunity. "I know that." And then, in a moment of feeling smug and clever, she quoted her, "I think there are some things that you're leaving out."
"Alright alright." Leopara took a moment to collect her thoughts, then began. She described how she and Cheetara infiltrated the dig site, donning dirty cloaks and the shackles before slipping in line. A rat had stopped the whole line to secure their shackles. Leopara remembered Cheetara joking that Lion-O was starting to rub off on her, but kept that joke to herself. For some reason… there were just things she was reluctant to tell Pumyra.
Leopara wasn't, for instance, going to tell her that she had felt the pulse of the curse, or that the Sword of Plun-Darr was its wicked heartbeat. She definitely wasn't going to tell her that it had been calling out, or that it had emotions. Not even Cheetara or Lion-O knew that yet.
They probably should, but…
She just didn't want to tell Pumyra that. Something inside of her twisted, but not in the usual way. Leopara struggled to identify the feeling for a few moments before realising she had lapsed into silence.
"Sorry, it was…" she grasped for an excuse and found one. "It was horrible, Pumyra. There were so many bodies… no one had tried to come for them. Or bury or cremate them."
Guilt now had its turn twisting her insides. She hadn't stopped to cremate them either. The curse had forced her and Cheetara on the run almost as soon as she had come back to consciousness after being knocked out by their fall.
Punyra's expression fell from intrigued, to horrified, to remorseful in the span of a few moments. "Well… the curse is broken now, and they're buried. I see no reason to linger on it."
At first, Leopara took great offense to this and was about to argue- but then, she sensed the underlying disquiet that laced Pumyra's words. Did she… also feel guilty?
Leopara stared at her for a long moment, trying to decipher her intentions.
She concluded that yes, Pumyra did feel guilty. Her words were a means to relieve her guilt. Sensing this, Leopara took a deep breath and leaned back.
"You're probably right." Leopara murmured. Without the curse, beasts and insects should move in and the process of their decomposition and return to earth would be hastened. They would be born again- hopefully into a kinder life.
At the end of the week, Leopara felt that she understood Pumyra better than she had before. She wasn't a cat without kindness or a softer side, but she was guarded. Like them all, she had been deeply traumatised by the destruction of Thundera.
By all the death and the chaos…
But unlike the four of them- Lion-O, Tygra, Cheetara, and herself- Pumyra wasn't given the chance to grieve or process it at all. She never got to catch her breath or bask in the rays of sun. Her moments of peace were even more scattered and stolen than theirs had been.
Also, at the end of the week, Leopara could reliably walk.
Her muscles were stiff and ached from disuse, but it was a lesser pain than before. The more she moved and warmed her limbs up, the less they would ache. But, she could walk. She could probably run if she wanted to.
Punyra had also finished stitching up her dress, cutting away and salvaging the ragged cloth to mend the dress. It no longer had a back, instead swooping down in a 'v' to reveal the rosettes on her shoulder blades. The 'v' tucked into her golden sash, obscuring where it actually ended. Pumyra had also hemmed up her shredded sleeves and stockings, but Leopara wasn't sure about wearing them yet… They were quite short now, and she still had a good pair.
For now, she stuck with what she was familiar with, and headed out of the room to meet the others in the main room of Jorma's shop.
"Are you sure you're ready?" Tygra asked, beating Lion-O and Panthro to the punch.
"There's no shame if you need more time, kid." Panthro added.
Leopara smiled and waved her hand. "I'm more than ready~ I'm eager."
They chuckled and took her at her word.
"You must be going crazy cooped up all week!" WilyKit and WilyKat exclaimed.
She nodded her agreement and Lion-O spoke up with authority. "Well then, let's head out. With Leopara and Pumyra joining us, we might just finish up the skyship today."
Tygra snorted. "Keep dreaming, little brother."
Snowmeow headbutted her hip, demanding attention. He hadn't left her side the entire time, and the others had to take a break to hunt for him. Once they set out, however, they probably weren't going to return to Jorma's shop. Snowmeow would have plenty of opportunity to hunt while they worked.
Lion-O turned to Jorma and began to thank him profusely for everything. Leopara followed Tygra and Panthro outside, eager to see daylight for the first time in a week.
It was blinding.
Leopara raised her hand to shield her eyes and squinted.
"How are you feeling?" Tygra asked.
"I'm fine." she reassured him. "It's just so bright compared to the shop."
Panthro let out a chuckle. "Yeah it is."
Cheetara rested a hand on her shoulder. She wasn't the next to speak, however. Whatever she had been prepared to say got drowned out by the twins. "I can't wait for you to see the Feliner!" WilyKit exclaimed.
"The Feliner?"
"Yup!"
"That's what we decided to name it." WilyKat added, gesturing at himself with his thumb. "It was my idea."
WilyKit bristled. "No. It. Wasn't!"
As they watched and waited for Lion-O, the two devolved into a familiar cycle of arguing. Their bickering was refreshing after days and days of being fussed over or left with just Pumyra. Besides her story about Mount Plun-Darr, she wasn't a conversationalist. That was probably a skill "affable, idealistic Pumilee" possessed instead.
"I'm glad to have you with us again," Cheetara said. Like Leopara, she had decided to tune the twins out into background noise. "Everyone's been worried," I know, "-especially Lion-O."
Leopara snorted. "Isn't he still worried?"
"Snyarr." Snarf replied conversationally. Leopara crouched down to scoop him up. He had snuggled with her a few times, but mostly clung to Lion-O's heels.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Lion-O apologised from the mouth of the cave. "Let's head out."
Everyone nodded, and they began the long trek to The Feliner.
For the first time in a long while, they all felt more hopeful than frustrated about the future. The long walk didn't even bother them; they spent it laughing and joking. The twins practically ran laps around them and Leopara started to feel really good and energised about an hour into the walk. So much so, she challenged Lion-O to a race to the scrapyard just in view.
He hesitated to accept.
She did not hesitate to break into a sprint.
"Hey! Wait! That's cheating!" Lion-O shouted from behind her. Leopara just laughed.
Cheetara won the race.
Thank you for reading! Special thanks to The Night Whisperer, Hestia28, and IrishDreamer4 for your reviews last chapter! I'm holding onto your Intermission prompt for now, Irish! (The idea may or may not come up during Hiraeth proper, I'm not sure yet!) See y'all in What Lies Above pt. 1!
"Woah, wait a sec, Panther." I hear you say. "Leopara isn't going to question or process what Pumyra told her about her sister said?"
"Well," I reply, "I'm afraid there was a version of the scene where she did, but Pumyra also gave her extra information that I want to hold onto for now. Also, have you seen this girl's ability to delay processing things? All in due time ;)"