Lion-O crept through the empty halls of Cat's Lair, taking great care to be quiet as he slipped past the living quarters where his fellow ThunderCats peacefully slept, each of them unaware of their leader sneaking past. It was very early in the morning, the sky still pitch black and every being asleep. Well, almost every being. Lion-O usually enjoyed his sleep, Snarf could attest to that fact with how often Lion-O's old nursemaid had needed to wake up the Lord of the ThunderCats when he had slept in a little more than he had the time for.
After he crept down the stairs, the sound of his boots against the surface seeming louder than usual in the silence, Lion-O lingered for a moment, glancing at the hallway that lead to the sword chamber where the Sword of Omens would be displayed on its holder alongside the Claw Shield.
It was foolish, he knew, but tonight he didn't want to be Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats, he just wanted to be... Lion-O, a thundarian with no responsibilities or worries, no weight upon his shoulders.
He had been thrust into adulthood and the role of Lord of the ThunderCats with little preparation. He had gone to sleep with the body and mind of a twelve year-old when they left Thundera, and had awoken in the body of a man, the body of a leader, but he still was little more than a child in mind.
He hadn't had the time to get anything but a leader since they had awoken from their pods, he hadn't had the time to think of everything that had occurred since he and his fellow ThunderCats had left Thundera.
He continued on his path, leaving the Sword of Omens where it lay as he slipped out the doors of the Cat's Lair, quickly jogging down the stairs and across the bridge, heading for the forest that surrounded the lair. He needed to clear his head, and a peaceful walk through the beautiful environment of Third Earth was the perfect way to do it.
It wasn't long before Lion-O reached the tree line, the thundarian following a well-worn path that wove through the trees, the path defined by the usage of hundreds and hundreds of years, defined by the natives of Third Earth that may or may not still reside on the planet that the ThunderCats had come to call home.
The wind whistled through the trees, creating an eerie sound that unnerved the ThunderCat, his fur rippling and rising along his spine.
He was beginning to regret not bringing the Sword of Omens, at least it would be able to reassure his worries about danger being present.
As he began to reassure himself that his worries were unfounded, that there was nothing malicious waiting for him in the night, Lion-O's right foot landed on something that felt unnatural and before he could pull it away to inspect it, a sharp metallic snap split the air and excruciating fiery agony raced up his leg. A gutteral and ragged scream split the air, deafeningly loud in the silence of the night, and it took Lion-O a moment to realize that it had come from his own mouth. He collapsed to the ground, his right foot sharply throbbing as he lay on his side curled around the injured limb. He gave himself a few moments to just breathe heavily, his fingers curling into fists and his teeth split his lip as he bit down to distract himself from the agony.
After he collected himself, Lion-O looked down at his foot, at the source of his pain. His eyes widened and he felt the blood drain from his face as he saw what had happened, what he had stepped into in his carelessness.
It was an animal trap, rusted and old, it's jagged metal teeth were buried at least an inch deep in Lion-O's leg. Blood was oozing from each puncture wound, the smell of iron filling the air and overwhelming Lion-O's sensitive sense of smell. The trap was trying to close further as Lion-O examined it, trying to crush bone and nerves with its spring powered strength, it's jaws digging deeper and deeper into his flesh with each passing moment.
He needed to get it off, now.
The trap was, thankfully, fairly simple in design. Two half circles of metal jaws clamped tightly around his bloody limb with a small circle of metal serving as the base of the trap beneath his foot. It most likely hid the mechanism that had activated the springs to clamp the jaws shut when Lion-O had stepped upon it. Lion-O was breathing in short gasps, his heart racing and his hands trembling as his body was wrought with pain. He took a deep breath to try to calm himself as his fingers tightening on the cool and rough surface of the metal, and then he pulled.
A strangled groan escaped his clenched teeth as he pryed the jaws apart, his muscles straining as the fought against the springs that tried to force the metal jaws in the opposite direction - back into his flesh. His fingers were slick with blood, almost letting the metal jaws slip through his grip and snap back into his wounded leg, but he tightened his grip and forced the jaws far enough apart for him to wrench his leg into the air and away from the trap. With his leg safe Lion-O threw the trap away, the wretched thing bouncing into the underbrush that lay beside the trail, and fell back onto the ground. His energy was spent, and the amount of blood that he was losing, the amount of blood that was smeared onto his hands and pooled on the ground beneath him, was beginning to catch up to him. He couldn't walk with his leg in the state it was in but there was one thing he could do in order to get help.
"Sword of Omens, come to my hand!" Lion-O extended a bloodied hand, his limb trembling as he held it aloft.
For a moment, it was silent and he feared that the sword had not heard his plea, that it would not come to his hand. He almost dropped his arm but then the sounds of cracking branches reached his ears and with a shower of leaves and twigs the Sword of Omens burst through the tree cover and the hilt landed perfectly in his awaiting hand, his shaking claws curling around it as he let his tense body collapse down to the ground, the sword falling heavily against the dirt as he exhaled in relief.
"Thunder, thunder," his attempts at drawing the sword through the air lacked the usual energy and force, "thunder, ThunderCats! Ho!"
As he was cast in the red glow of the ThunderCat signal and with his fellow ThunderCats most likely already having jumped from their bed to race to the source of the signal, to him, Lion-O let himself close his eyes and drift beneath the waves of unconsciousness that had been pulling at him for the past few minutes.
In their hands, Lion-O would be safe.