Disclaimer: I do not own Thundercats.
"Happy Chinese New Year!" Ralph announced to everyone, making them stop whatever they were doing.
"Sweetie, what are you talking about?" Leophelia asked.
"I was doing maths to keep track of how long I've been in this world, and I realised it's the new year, more specifically, it's the Year of the Snake!"
"The what?" Lion-O questioned.
"It's the Chinese zodiac. In my world, there's a big country called China. China follows a calendar that operates on a 12-year cycle, and each year is represented by an animal. Look."
Ralph opened his journal, presenting a red circle 12 sections, each one bearing the small drawing of an animal. The animals were, in that order, a rooster, a dog, a pig, a rat, an ox, a tiger, a rabbit, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a goat, and a monkey.
The ThunderCats and Drago Tribe marvelled at the child's sketches. Although not a masterpiece, they were fascinated by the story behind it, a piece from another world.
"Wow…"
"According to the legend, a god known as the Jade Emperor held a race where the animals had to cross a river, and each animal was granted a place in the cycle in the order of what place they took."
"Which animal took first place?" WilyKat asked.
"The rat."
"A rat won?" Panthro groaned.
"What's wrong with rats?" Komo inquired.
"We had a bad encounter with a rat a while ago." Cheetara answered, recalling Ratar-O.
"All rats are nothing but trouble." Tygra grumbled.
"You also thought all lizards were nothing but trouble, then you met us." Leophelia retorted. "It's stupid to base the mortality of a species by the action of one."
"You're not a lizard."
"And you're not a lion."
Tygra and Leophelia glared at one another, sharing a spark of thundering tension.
"Leopy, enough." Lion-O wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back.
"Tygra, stop it." Cheetara pressed her hand on Tygra's chest, pushing him back.
"You guys, it doesn't matter who won." WilyKit said, pointing at Ralph's drawing. "Each animal gets a turn on the cycle and had their own year."
"So, Ralph, what's so special about the snake?" Komo asked.
"Well, people who were born in the Year of the Snake are supposed to be charming, intelligent and brave." Ralph replied.
"That's me to an A!" Snakayla bragged.
"Great, another thing you can boost your ego with." Chamelyon remarked. "As if it wasn't big enough already."
Snakayla slapped her tail at him for that comment.
Panthro peered at the drawing, studying the circle and animals more when he realised something.
"Hey kid, why isn't there a year of the cat?"
"Well…" Looking sheepish, Ralph didn't want to answer, but he cannot resist telling another fact. "A cat was in the race. But it couldn't swim, along with the rat. So, they hitched a ride on the ox's back to cross the river, but the rat kicked the cat off halfway to the other side. The cat didn't finish the race, so it didn't get a year…"
The ThunderCats stared at him, stunned.
"The rat left the cat to drown?" WilyKat gawked. "And it won first place by cheating?"
Ralph whimpered, not wanting to answer.
"Another reason to hate rats!" Panthro exclaimed.
Ralph got sad by what he caused. So sad that his eyes water, his lips quivered, and his lungs released loud wails.
"Nice going, Panthro." WilyKit deadpanned. "You made him cry!"
"I-I didn't mean to!" Panthro stuttered.
Without a second thought, Lion-O scooped Ralph up just before any of the Drago Tribe could. The king let the little human cling to him while he patted his back, calming him down. Leophelia observed him with hearts in her eyes, loving how tender he was to Ralph.
Ralph buried his sulking face in Lion-O's shoulder, muttering. "I was just trying to tell a fact from my world, but I think I accidentally caused a rift between two species, and we're supposed to unite all the species…"
"Oh, Ralph, don't worry about it." Lion-O assured him. "We were just surprised by the story of the rat. We cats have a lot of pride. And Panthro just has a big mouth."
"Hey!" The panther snapped.
"Technically, there is the year of the cat."
Everyone turned their gazes to Tygra standing by with Ralph's journal in his hands, one of his fingers on one particular animal within the drawing.
"In the form of the tiger." He grinned.
"Of course you're happy about that!" Leophelia snarked.
The tiger and the leopard got into an argument so heated, their lovers had to separate them.
Ralph clutched his journal close to his chest as he pouted.
"I am never telling another fact about animals again."
(The next day, he recited the entire history of Queen Elizabeth II's corgis.)