Post by Lady1Venus on Oct 21, 2008 15:09:00 GMT -5
Moving as fast as he could through an opened meadow, barely able to walk with an injured leg, he wasn’t sure he knew where he was going. He had been taking a nice walk through the forest near the Tree Top Kingdom. He was distracted from his walk when he noticed a lost unicorn. Being the person he was, he escorted the unicorn back to it’s own forest to it’s keepers. They thanked him for bringing back the strayed unicorn.
Heading back towards the Tree Top Kingdom he was attacked by the Lunatacs. They never gave him the chance to use the Sword of Omens to call for help. They quickly tackled him down, injuring his leg and causing him to loose his voice, all thanks to Chilla. With some quick thinking, Lion-O was able to escape from Chilla and Tug-Mug. It was the first time he ever seen them work as a team.
He quickly saw a forest and he made his way towards it, he was barely in the forest before he was caught by Tug-Mug. Tug-Mug laughed as he held the young lord, with one arm tied behind his back as the other tried to get keep the sword out of Tug-Mug’s reach.
“You won’t need that anymore,” Chilla laughed as she came up from behind.
Lion-O was quickly loosing his strength. He could barely breath, his leg throbbed and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand the strain of his arm. Sweat began to bore into his eyes, preventing him from being able to see properly.
Nearby, standing on a limb of a tall tree, a lone Warrior Maiden with long dark hair, almost black, and wore a two-piece animal skin, watched with disgust as the Lord of the Thundercats was fighting to get away from his attackers.
She had never really had the chance to meet the Thundercats but had seen them many times when they helped out. She had to help him. She grabbed a nearby vine and quickly tied a knot for her foot to slide through then tied another for her arm to be secured.
When she was secured on the rope, she grabbed out her bow and notched an arrow. The arm wrapped in the vine, held the bow, while the other held the arrow. She bent her knees and jumped off the tree.
At the precise moment, she let go of the arrow, letting it fly down and narrowly missing Tug-Mug and Chilla. The arrow flew right between them, embedded itself into a tree directly behind them.
Tug-Mug released his hold on Lion-O, making him slowly fall to the ground, as he turned to see what just flew past him. Chilla did the same. When the two looked at the tree, a yellow gas seeped out from the arrow, making the two cough
The Warrior Maiden smiled as she saw her plan work. She only wanted to distract the Lunatacs so she could grab Lion-O. The hand that held the arrow, she leaned down as she got close to the Thundercat. She knew he was about loose all strength. She had to reach him before the gas reached his nose.
Just before he collapsed, she grabbed his raised hand that held the sword. With good maneuverment she was able to swing out of the way and into a nearby tree, without being seen. She gently rested Lion-O against the trunk of the tree, while she looked on down below. She watched as Chilla quickly blew the gas away, while still coughing. Once the two got their coughing under control, they turned to find their prey gone.
They cursed at each other and began to fight, allowing the Warrior Maiden to escape with the Lord of the Thundercats. She hefted Lion-O up on to her back and grabbed another vine, swinging from tree to tree. When she knew she was far enough away and couldn’t hear them anymore, she stopped. Knowing how important his weapon was, she looked to see if he still had it. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw he had a white-knuckle grip on his sword, giving her the indication he was still conscious. Still holding the vine, she slid down, landing on the ground.
With his eyes barely opened, he noticed that he was at a campsite. He wasn’t even sure who had rescued him or even if it was a rescue. He blinked several times, trying to get the sweat out of his eyes.
She laid him down, on a bedroll and began to wash his wounds. He whimpered in pain.
“It’s ok, Lord Lion-O.”
Lion-O tried to sit up at the sound of the woman’s voice. He blinked several more times, trying to clear his vision.
She noticed his distress. “I’m a Warrior Maiden. For the past few days I’ve been camping here, keeping watch on the outskirts of the forest.” She quickly noticed that he couldn’t talk as there was an ice block blocking his voice passage. She slightly moved away but was back at his side within moments.
In her hand she held a water skin jug. But something was off; there wasn’t water in it as steam was coming out of the opening.
“Here, drink this. It may be difficult at the moment but the liquid will melt Chilla’s handy work.”
Lion-O shakily tried to grasp the water skin but he was trembling too much from fighting to keep the sword away from the Lunatacs. The maiden saw he couldn’t get a hold of the skin. She knelt closer, gently grasping his head and bringing the skin to his lips. For several minutes, barely anything was getting down his throat but soon; the ice began to melt over his neck.
Lion-O began to cough when the ice was gone. Gradually, the coughing stopped and he began to greedily suck in air. “Thank you,” he whispered as he leaned his head back down on the ground. “What was that?” he asked as he was now able to clear his eyes so he could he see.
“It’s an ancient Third Earth drink, called hot cocoa and no thanks are necessary. You’ve helped us on many occasions without us asking. Though you and the Mutants disturbed our peaceful way of living, I wouldn’t trade the last few years for anything. You Thundercats are the first male friends, the Warrior Women have had in a long time.”
Lion-O slightly smiled and raised his head to see his rescuer. He noticed that she had a small headband in her wild hair and he recognized her as one of the younger warriors. Suddenly a sharp pain shot up through his leg causing him to cringe in pain.
Seeing this, the maiden moved back to his leg to finish cleaning the wound. “You will be ok. But right now we have to get you to safety. Whatever happened, you have a small sprain and I believe it turned into a break. I can make a makeshift brace to prevent you from trying to use the leg.”
Lion-O looked at his sword and slowly raised it a little of the ground.
“No. You mustn’t call your friends. The Cat’s sign will attract the Lunatacs to our location. You will have to rely on me until I can get you to your friends.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Look I’m sure you’re not use to having to rely on a woman for help but we can’t take the risk of them finding us.”
Lion-O leaned back, as he heard the anger in her voice. “You win.”
The Warrior Maiden looked at the lord as she sighed. “Sorry, Lord Lion-O. I’m sure you have relied on women before as you have two of them and a growing girl in amongst the Thundercats but…”
“Warrior Maidens have a hard time trusting men,” Lion-O finished.
The maiden gasped quietly. “How did you know that?”
“Between Willa and Nayda, we have learned a lot about your culture. So what is your name?”
“Fiona.”
“How did you become a warrior? I know not all you Warrior Maidens were born into the tribe.”
“I lost my family to a madman when I was little. One day I was found near the Tree Top Kingdom and the queen of the tribe took me in. She taught me how to fight and to use the bow. Fortunately I already had survival skills as I had lived in the forest for two years before I was found.”
“That’s quite the story.”
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.” Fiona stood and walked away.
When she came back, she had two pieces of stick…well they weren’t you’re normal size sticks they were more like boards but one could tell that Fiona made them from a tree. She set them down on either side of Lion-O’s injured leg. Grabbing the vine that she used to climb down, she climbed back up the tree and sliced the vine. With careful stepping she climbed back down, using the tree limbs as her pathway down.
When she was back on the ground, she grabbed her nap sack and carefully lifted Lion-O’s leg and placed the sack underneath it, giving her room so she could wrap the vine around his leg.
“This may hurt but what ever you do, try not to yell out in pain. I’m going to tie these pieces of wood to your leg with this vine. You ready.”
With a few quick deep breaths, Lion-O braced himself for the pain and nodded.
Using her legs, Fiona leaned her legs up against one piece of wood against the leg. With one free hand, she held the other piece and then wrapped the vine around as tight as possible with the other. As she got further down his leg, she no longer needed to hold the wood together. She was able to use both hands to finish wrapping the vine.
Several times, Lion-O thrashed his head back and fourth as the pain consumed him. He had a tight grip on the hilt of the Sword of Omens, using the sword to channel his cries. When the task was done, it took Lion-O several minutes before slowly releasing the sword, letting the sword to finally fall on the ground.
Knowing he was exhausted from the pain and his struggle with the Lunatacs, she carefully took her sack out from under Lion-O’s leg and allowed him the rest he needed. She knew it wouldn’t take long before rest would take over his body as she watched him struggle to stay awake.
She admired his bravery and admitted herself that he was good looking. She had never met a man quite like him before. She had the pleasure seeing all the Thundercats at one time or another but none of the males could compare to the beauty the young lord had.
Fiona looked at the sky, she knew soon would be nightfall and they were going to need to have some food. But she knew it would be too dangerous for a fire to be lit after dark. She quietly left the campsite, looking for food. She didn’t travel very far from Lion-O. She needed to make sure that if the Lunatacs found them, she would be able to get Lion-O to safer grounds before they were caught. But luckily for her, she knew of a stream nearby.
-
A small fire was cackling when Lion-O woke. With some renewed strength but still fatigued from earlier; he slowly rose up on his elbows to see what was going on. He watched with interest as Fiona poked at the fire. He noticed there were a couple fish strapped to two small sticks.
For the moment, Fiona was busy enough that she didn’t even notice Lion-O struggling to get up. He saw there another stick, lying beside him and realized that Fiona made it for him to move around. He grabbed the crutch and used it to lift himself up. When he was standing, she had not noticed he was awake he hobbled over towards her. He hadn’t make it very far before she turned.
“Lord Lion-O,” she gasped. She stood and walked over to him. “You shouldn’t have tried to move away from the bedroll. I left the crutch there for you so you would be able to stand if we needed to get away in a hurry.”
“Sorry, I just wanted to see what you were doing. Please call me just Lion-O.”
“Oh. I’m making us a little bite to eat before dark. Afterwards I was hoping to start making our way towards Cats’ Lair.”
“That would be the best idea. Tug-Mug and Chilla won’t give up. They know I’m injured and if they are smart enough, they will also know that it’s too dangerous for me to call my friends.” Lion-O quickly turned his head back to the bedroll. But there was something missing. His sword.
Fiona also looked. “Don’t worry. Your sword is safe.”
Lion-O looked at her with alarm. He saw that she was patting her side. His eyes widened as he saw the Claw Shield strapped to her waist. The Sword of Omens was sitting in its proper spot within the Claw Shield.
“Until we are both safe, the sword might be safer. The Lunatacs are after your sword. If they were to get you again, they won’t get the sword.”
Lion-O nodded in agreement.
When Fiona and Lion-O reached the fire, she helped the young lord to sit down so he could eat. When he was as comfortable as he was going to get, Fiona sat down beside him. She grabbed the fish and handed one to her companion.
“I know it isn’t much and probably not what your use to…”
“It will do. You went out of your way to try and make my discomfort as comfortable as possible, why would I argue?”
“But you are a lord…a prince and should be treated as such. Not someone who’s out in the wilderness, trying to survive away from his attackers.”
“I may be Royalty, but that doesn’t mean I will always live like one.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“My life has not always been easy. In fact since we arrived here, it’s been anything but easy.”
“I suppose. But still. I know Willa doesn’t even live like this.”
Lion-O looked at the woman beside. “If it weren’t for earlier, I’d be enjoying this.”
Fiona looked over at her friend. “You’re kidding. You don’t seem to be the person to want to camp out.”
“Before the Lunatacs were revived, myself and the Thunderkittens have done a few camp outs. Mind you we were never out of the sight of Cats’ Lair but just enjoying sleeping out under the stars was enjoyable. I use to do a lot of that when I was young.”
Fiona turned back to continue eating. For several minutes, she and Lion-O were both quiet. When their meal was gone, Fiona stood and began to pack up camp. When she was complete, she watched Lion-O for a few moments as he stared into the fire.
“From the location of the sun, I can locate the general direction of Cats’ Lair.”
Lion-O shock his head, coming back into reality. He grabbed his crutch and slowly made his way to his feet. “Cats’ Lair is East of the Tree Top Kingdom.”
“This is true.” Fiona grabbed her bow and arrows. She notched an arrow into bow and fired it at the campfire. Whatever sprayed out of her arrow, extinguished the flames, placing the campground to near darkness.
She walked close to Lion-O. “Perhaps maybe it would be better to make it to the village instead. From there we can contact your friends and they can retrieve you from there. We are closer than Cats’ Lair.”
“I don’t want to put the rest of your tribe in danger ‘cause of stupidity.”
“Helping that lost unicorn back to Unicorn Forest is not being stupid. And how were you to know that you would be ambushed by the Lunatacs.”
“I thought I felt like being watched.”
“Sorry. I had noticed that you were taking a leisure walk. When you left this forest, I stopped. I didn’t even know the Lunatacs attacked you until you reached the edge of the forest. Where were you attacked?”
“In the field between the two forests.”
“Well lets get going. We are going to have a long walk to even the Tree Top Kingdom. But first, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to get as far from here as possible. And the only way to do that is by the trees. I need to carry you.”
“You already carried me this far. How you did it, I don’t know. You don’t seem to be the type to be able to withstand my weight.”
“There’s a lot I keep to myself. Do you have any strength?”
“A little. Why do you ask?”
“Well for a short while, you could release a lot of your weight into your hands, while I guide us on the vines. That will allow us to get further away faster.”
“Let’s go.”
Fiona nodded. She wrapped Lion-O’s arm around her as the two of them slowly walked to the trunk of a tree. Once at the tree, she released Lion-O, allowing him to put his weight on the crutch, while she grabbed her nap sack.
“I hope you don’t mind.”
“Don’t mind what?”
Lion-O didn’t have to wait long to find his answer. He suddenly felt a little weight being attached to his back.
“This will also make things easier. If you carry the bag, it will make better comfort for you to be against my back.”
When Fiona’s bag was attached to Lion-O, she got Lion-O to wrap his arms around her neck. The crutch was resting between the two for the moment. She grabbed a nearby vine that was hanging down and began her slow climb up the tree until they were high enough up that if the Lunatacs were to show, they wouldn’t see.
Once on the tree limb, she had Lion-O lean against the trunk while she strapped the crutch to his back. It was difficult to do as his back was against the tree but he needed it to make sure he stayed off his leg.
As soon as the crutch was secured, she pulled Lion-O to her and she grabbed the vine again and swung out of the tree. Lion-O, with one hand, held the vine, while his other hand was secure at her waist.
Unbeknownst to them, they had left just in time. Just as Fiona swung out of the tree, Tug-Mug and Chilla entered her campsite.
“They are not here,” Chilla growled.
Tug-Mug looked for a few moments before answering. “They were though and not too long ago either. Who ever helped the Thundercat lord had a campsite here. See there,” he pointed where an arrow stuck out of the ground, “was a fire that has been recently put out.”
He slightly bounced to the spot and felt the ground. “Very recently. In fact just a few minutes ago.”
“So they can’t be too far. He’s wounded and the rescuer won’t be able to withstand his weight for long. Any idea, which way they have gone.”
“There’s only one. They are headed towards Cats’ Lair. And it’s in this direction.”
-
Fiona knew Lion-O was quickly getting tired. It was also getting quite late as well. On a final decision, Fiona stopped on a large tree where an abandoned hut sat within its branches.
“Why are we stopping?” Lion-O asked tiredly.
“You are getting tired and it’s getting too dark for me to navigate. We’re going to have to stop for the night. We are at an abandoned hut, it will give us shelter for now.”
“What was it used for?”
“Centuries ago, when there was more maidens, there used to be a patrol group. This is the only surviving hut left. I’ve always kept it in check. If I need to escape from danger, I always come here. In fact this is where the queen found me when she took me in.”
When Fiona and Lion-O were in the hut, she unstrapped the bag from Lion-O. She pulled out her bedroll and gently had Lion-O laying on it. She pulled out her only blanket and wrapped it around him. When he looked comfortable she moved away, to watch the door.
“What about you? You will be cold.”
“I’ll manage. Right now, you need as much as rest as possible.”
“You need to rest as well.”
“Look I said I’d manage.”
Frowning, Lion-O didn’t want her to be as weak as he was. She would need her strength to stay ahead of the Lunatacs. She obviously did not know as much as she should about them. With an idea in his mind, he held out his hand as he spoke.
“Sword of Omens, come to my hand. I, Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, command you.”
Fiona quickly turned around as she watched the sword come to life and flew into Lion-O’s waiting hands. With hands on her hips, she walked over to the injured cat.
“You know the sword is too dangerous to use right now.”
When she was close enough, Lion-O used his free hand, to trip her. She didn’t even see it coming. She didn’t even had the chance to yell out or anything before she was on the wooden floor. With the same hand, Lion-O wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“I will give you back my sword for protection if you also get some rest. This blanket is big enough for the both of us. I maybe from the lions but I won’t bite.”
Sighing in defeat, Fiona slightly cuddled into Lion-O’s uninjured side. She quickly fell asleep, as did Lion-O.
-
The next morning Fiona awoke. Her eyes widened when she saw she was tightly curled into Lion-O. His arm was secured around her back as she lay on his arm. She was about to move when his arm tightened on her.
“They are right below us,” Lion-O whispered. “Luckily Red Eye isn’t with them.”
“We have to get out of here,” she whispered back.
“Leave me here. Get to Cats’ Lair as quick as possible. I will just slow you down. They will come to my rescue as I will be taken back to Skytomb.”
“I’m not leaving you here to be tortured by them. Like it or not, we are in this together. Chances are we are too high for them to look. How do you know they are below us?”
“I can hear them.”
Fiona raised her head to look Lion-O in the eyes.
“Cats have better hearing than humans do,” Lion-O answered her silent question.
“I’d say they do. We are 200 feet off the ground and you can hear them. I can’t hear them at all. If you could let me go, I can check to see how close they are.”
“We may be 200 feet up, but they are directly below us. Tug-Mug could easily destroy this hut with a single bounce. We can’t afford that.”
“Let me up, I could throw another arrow at them so we can make our escape. I have learned to be quiet and make sure floor boards don’t make a sound.”
“They are leaving, they must not have seen the hut.”
“They wouldn’t. The hut is well camouflaged within the tree branches.” She noticed Lion-O loosened his grip on her shoulder. She quietly moved away from Lion-O and tiptoed to the doorway. As Lion-O said, she saw the two Lunatacs below but they were moving away, heading towards Cats’ Lair. She knew they were heading in the same direction as she was.
“We’re going to have more trouble then we can afford.”
“What do you mean?” Lion-O stayed laying on the floor, he knew he’d make too much noise with his brace.
“They are heading towards Cats’ Lair. We are going to have to outwit them. I don’t have enough arrows to stop them so we could get ahead. We’re going to have to find another way.”
She quietly walked back over to the Thundercat Lord. She helped him to sit before pulling out a water skin. “Here, this is full of water. When you were resting last night before dinner, I took the liberty of filling my water skins. I have three water skins and one is full of hot cocoa.”
Lion-O gratefully took the water skin. “How are we to outwit the Lunatacs?” he asked between drinks.
“When I lived on my own, I no weapons to protect myself. So I made my own. You’d be surprised what you can make with just twigs and vines.”
“Then what are we waiting for. Let’s get going and stop the Lunatacs before they reach your village.” He handed back the water skin before grabbing his crutch and lifted himself up, with Fiona’s help.
When the two were situated to begin swinging from tree to tree, Fiona started to have a plan form in her head. As they began their journey through the trees, being sure not to get ahead of the Lunatacs, Fiona discussed her plan. At first Lion-O didn’t like it but he eventually agreed. Between the two of them they were going to outsmart the two Lunatacs.
The two Lunatacs in question were not very far in front of their prey. When Lion-O and Fiona caught up with the two, they stood far enough up a tree to listen but not able to be seen. They could hear the two quite clearly in what they were nagging about
“I think we went too far,” Chilla hissed. “I believe they were hiding on us.”
“It would be a lot easier with Red Eye,” Tug-Mug whined.
“Oh stop your whining.” Chilla stopped for a moment. She looked around for a few quick moments. “Did you hear something?”
“Only you,” Tug-Mug glared.
Chilla turned to her companion. “I should chill you off.”
“Who put your chills in a twist?” Tug-Mug said sarcastically.
Chilla moved away from the bouncer, ignoring his comment.
When they were out of earshot, Fiona turned to Lion-O. “The best way to get put our plan into motion is by waiting until dark. We’ll rest here for now and then near nightfall, I will continue on ahead and lure them here.”
“While we rest, we can make our traps.”
Fiona nodded her head in agreement. “Perhaps I should follow them a little bit longer so we’ll know when we’re safe.”
Fiona was about to grab a vine when Lion-O grabbed her arm. “We’ll just wait here for 20 minutes before we head to the ground.”
Fiona started to feel her anger rising. She never had to do what she was told in a very long time by a man and she didn’t want to start now. But with one look at the young handsome Lord, her anger drained away. She knew he was right. He had been fighting the Lunatacs way more often then the Warrior Maidens. Besides he was too cute to be angry at.
-
As nightfall began to approach, Lion-O was in his position. He hid in amongst the bushes, with what weapons were able to be made. Though he couldn’t move, he was ready and able to help with anything possible.
Knowing Lion-O was in position, Fiona took to the trees to catch up with the enemies. When she reached them. They had stopped for a rest. Standing on a tree limb, away from their campsite, she notched an arrow into the bow and fired it off.
The arrow flew between the two enemies and slammed into a nearby tree. The two looked at the arrow and then whipped around to see where it originated from. At first they couldn’t see where it came from.
“Yeah, up here,” Fiona called down.
Chilla was the first to notice the woman. “You’re a Warrior Maiden.”
“So you recognize me.” Fiona quickly grabbed her vine and swung off. She quickly turned to find that her plan was working.
Just like Lion-O had warned her, Tug-Mug used his technique to easily keep up with her. If it weren’t for swinging around the trees, he would have caught up to her. But she kept ducking around the trees, causing him to slow down. Chilla in the meantime was trying to catch up.
By the time Fiona got to her campsite, she barely could see. She knew she wouldn’t have time to warn Lion-O they were coming. She stopped at a tree before notching another arrow to slow him down. The arrow hit it’s mark, causing him to cough. She knew it wouldn’t take him long to get over it but it was enough time for Chilla to catch up and Fiona to get into position.
From Lion-O’s hiding spot, he was able to see Tug-Mug right close to Fiona. He knew Fiona knew what she was doing when she stopped and turned. When he heard Tug-Mug start coughing, he knew that it was to bide more time for Chilla to catch up.
When Chilla caught up to Tug-Mug, she hissed in disgust for Tug-Mug falling for the same trap again. She blew in towards the arrow, dissipating the gas.
“Thanks,” Tug-Mug coughed as he got back up to his normal height.
“It wasn’t out of kindness. She knows where the Thundercat is. She’s protecting him. We must have came close to their encampment and she lured us away from him.”
“Then me must head back.”
Chilla grabbed Tug-Mug and threw him to the ground. “If we capture her, we’ll easily find the Thundercat.” Chilla walked past the bouncer and into the campsite. But what she didn’t know was they were in a campsite.
Chilla didn’t make it very far as she was suddenly tripped, crashing to the ground. Between Lion-O and Fiona, the two were able to trip Chilla with one of the vines. They both knew it wouldn’t stop Chilla for long.
No sooner thought, she jumped back to her feet, whipping her cape off of her. “How dare you catch this Lunatac off guard!”
Using the Claw Shield, Lion-O released one of the claw lines, wrapping it around Chilla, causing her to trip again. By this time, the woman was fuming. Tug-Mug watched in amusement as the chilled woman fell twice, when he entered the campsite.
“Are you having problems?” Tug-Mug snickered.
“Just that woman is going to die!” Chilla sneered.
Before Chilla had the chance to look at her ankle, Lion-O retracted the claw line. Now that Tug-Mug was in the mix, it was time to put the rest of the plan into action.
Fiona went out from her hiding spot to climb up a tree she was beside as Lion-O played with Chilla, distracting her. Once she was at the top of the tree, she notched three of her arrows, surprising Tug-Mug. Tug-Mug jumped and crashed into a ground-covered hole. He landed with a crash into the hole, twigs and leaves falling to spray his head.
Remembering what he did to Wilykit and Wilykat during the Anointment Trials, he knew of a way to pull the same trick again. He just had to get the two directly in front of him, with their backs turned.
Before too long, Tug-Mug jumped out of the hole and he was less than thrilled. “I don’t think that woman is working alone. How would she have been able to set a trap like that in a small amount of time?”
Chilla turned, unknowingly facing Lion-O. “You’re right. There must be other Warrior Maidens at work here.” Out of the corner of her eye, Chilla saw something moving down the tree. Not knowing there were only two people working on a plan, she quickly turned and blew her ice breath towards the tree, trying to entrap the Warrior Woman, so she could flush out the others.
Fiona saw what was about to happen and she jumped down the rest of the way, just before the ice froze the tree. She landed lightly on her feet but she was caught. She crawled into a nearby bush as Tug-Mug jumped to her location.
“Where ever she went she just disappeared.”
“She did not disappear. She’s hiding somewhere near there,” Chilla said angrily. “Woman you are driving my patience. If you don’t want your precious forest destroyed, you will show yourself now.”
At the same moment, Fiona took out the Sword of Omens, slightly stabbing Tug-Mug in the leg. He began to jump in pain, distracting the two once again. Fiona quickly made her way to Lion-O and ducked.
“What should I do?” she whispered in his ear.
“Reveal yourself,” he whispered in the same manner. “Get them over here, I have an idea. I’m going to tie this vine to them both and then reveal myself. But before I do that, I’ll need you to get their attention and have them turn so their backs are to me. They will come at me fast but not fast enough before you throw the last trap.”
Fiona turned quickly, moved away from Lion-O not wanting to give away his position. When she was far enough away, she jumped out of the bushes. “All right, you win.”
Chilla turned from just about to freeze everything in sight. “You will take us to Lion-O, or life will be over just as this part of the forest will be.”
Fiona held out her hands in defeat. “Don’t harm the forest. I’ll take you to him. Mind you we won’t get there until morning.”
“I told you he we were nearing his position.”
“Shut up,” she hissed. “Start walking.”
Fiona started walking towards Lion-O but stopped short before the bushes. “Wait!” she stopped and turned. “I think I see the other Thundercats.”
The two Lunatacs turned to see if what she said was true. With their backs turned, Lion-O threw her the vine and she tied it to the Lunatacs and then jumped out of the way to help Lion-O up. When he got to his feet, they still had their backs turned. She helped Lion-O hobble over to the nearby tree to hide behind it.
She handed him his sword. “Call for help,” she whispered.
Lion-O nodded in agreement. He turned to watch the Lunatacs turned back when they realized they were being tricked.
“Where did she go?” Tug-Mug asked.
“Don’t you know,” Chilla growled. “She wanted us distracted so she could escape but this time she has gone too far. She is the only one here, plus one other and I think I have an idea who that one other is.”
“Why don’t I save you the trouble,” Lion-O said as he came out of hiding.
“Lion-O?” Chilla questioned. “Get him!”
At the same time Tug-Mug jumped after Lion-O, he realized too late that he wasn’t the only one. With the vine attached the two; Chilla also went up into the air. Tug-Mug only made it so far before he ended up dangling from a huge tree limb. Chilla was on the other side.
Fiona grabbed another vine and snapped it to wrap around Chilla and another around Tug-Mug.
“Mind if I introduce the only other helper.” Lion-O waved his hand to let Fiona reveal herself. Fiona notched her last arrow into her bow and fired it at the ground, lighting a small campfire.
“THUNDER! THUNDER! THUNDER! THUNDERCATS HO!”
Fiona watched for the first time, as the Sword of Omens grew in length and the cats signal roar to live, stretching up into the sky.
-
Snarf kept pacing around the command center in worry. He knew something was wrong with Lion-O he was way over due. But he knew he wasn’t the only one. Lion-O had never returned the night before and he hadn’t been around all day.
Earlier, Panthro took the Hovercat and searched around but he found nothing. He had returned to Cats’ Lair just as it approached dark. Now all the Thundercats were in the command center, talking about their missing leader.
“What are we to do?” Cheetara asked.
“I’ve scouted the area all the way to the Tree Top Kingdom and there’s nothing,” Panthro said.
“I’m sure he’s all right,” Tygra said, trying to remain calm.
Snarf was about to make a remark at Tygra when something caught his attention on the screen. Everyone looked at Snarf.
“Snarf, what is it?” Wilykit asked.
“Lion-O,” he answered.
The Thundercats looked at the screen, causing their eyes to glow and their symbol.
“Let’s move,” Panthro yelled. “Wilykit and Kat, you two stay here.” He quickly turned; making his towards the hanger that had the Thundertank. The other Thundercats were quickly to his side as the two kids stayed to protect their home.
When the Thundercats were in the Thundertank, the tank sped off in the direction the Cats signal was coming from.
-
With help from Fiona, Lion-O hobbled over to the fire, to keep warm and to rest until the others were to arrive. When he was seated, Fiona continued to watch the Lunatacs. Within minutes she started to hear noises and the ground began to shack. She quickly looked at Lion-O as he smiled.
“It’s only the Thundertank.”
“I see why it’s called that,” she answered.
Before too long, the Thundertank arrived and the Thundercats jumped out. Snarf ran into Lion-O’s waiting arms.
“We were so worried about you,” he whined. “What happened?”
Tygra and Panthro looked on in amazement as they saw two of the Lunatacs tied to a tree, cursing at each other, with a Warrior Maiden standing guard. Lion-O looked like hell though. Twigs and leaves were all through his hair as two pieces of wood and some sort of rope was tied to his leg. Minor cuts and scrapes covered his legs, arms and face.
“Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long story,” Cheetara said as she approached her leader.
“Well it isn’t that long,” Fiona said as she came closer, which was a bad mistake.
Chilla grabbed Tug-Mug with her tied hands and began to freeze the vine. Within seconds, the two broke free of their confines and escaped.
“They got away,” Fiona turned, irrated.
“That happens a lot,” Tygra said. “What happened?”
“I was taking a walk,” Lion-O said. “I ended up helping a unicorn and when I left the Unicorn Forest, I was ambushed by the two. They injured my leg, causing me not to be able to call you. Fiona here helped me when she saw they caught up to me. I have been in good company with her since.”
“Why didn’t you call for us sooner?” Snarf asked.
“If I was to call you I would have alerted the Lunatacs to our position and I was in no position to fight.”
Tygra looked at the Warrior Woman. “We have a lot to thank you for.”
“As I said to Lion-O, no thanks are needed. You guys have helped us out a lot as it is.”
“Let’s get you back to Cats’ Lair,” Panthro suggested.
Lion-O used the crutch Fiona made for him to help himself up. “Let’s go. I know I could use a real wrapping for my leg and a bath.”
The Thundercats laughed.
Tygra was the first sober and turned to Fiona. “Would you like a lift back to your village?”
Fiona nodded. “Sure. I’m due home now anyway. I will need to let Willa know what happened within the last 24 hours.”
Lion-O turned to the maiden. “Fiona. I really need to thank you this time. If it weren’t for you I would have ended up being in a worse mess than I ended up.”
Fiona slightly bowed. “You’re welcome Lord Lion-O. Even though the circumstances could have been better, I’m glad I have finally gotten to meet the Thundercats. All the times you have been in the village, I was always too busy to introduce myself.”
The other Thundercats were a little baffled with Fiona bowing and calling their leader by his title when just moments ago, she addressed him so informally. No one never really called him that, not even Willa.
“Well we’re glad,” Panthro said, recovering quickly. “That you kept our leader safe.”
-
A few days had past and Lion-O was hobbling around on two crutches as his leg was wrapped up properly. He took a small walk outside around the entrance to Cats’ Lair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something approaching. He looked over at the drawbridge and saw that it was Fiona.
“What brings you here to Cats’ Lair?”
Fiona walked up the steps to be face to face with Lion-O. “I wanted to see how you were doing. You look better now that you’re home.”
Lion-O chuckled at her comment as she smiled back. In a quick action, Lion-O leaned in and kissed her cheek. Fiona looked stunned as she placed her fingers where he kissed.
“I just wanted to give you my thanks in more of a personal matter without my friends watching,” he answered her confusion.
“Oh,” she said.
“You are welcomed to come here anytime. Don’t be a stranger. Perhaps the next time I have a campout with the Thunderkittens, I’ll stop by your village and invite you.”
“That would be nice.”
“Would you like to come in and have a tour?”
“Sure.”
The two turned and walked into Cats’ Lair. The adventure Lion-O had with the Warrior Maiden he was going to cherish. It wasn’t every day that one would have to fight off the enemy with only a Third Earthian and had no way to call for help. It was the first time that Lion-O couldn’t call for help, when they weren’t too far away. He hoped that he would never had to go through an adventure like that again. But only time would tell.
Heading back towards the Tree Top Kingdom he was attacked by the Lunatacs. They never gave him the chance to use the Sword of Omens to call for help. They quickly tackled him down, injuring his leg and causing him to loose his voice, all thanks to Chilla. With some quick thinking, Lion-O was able to escape from Chilla and Tug-Mug. It was the first time he ever seen them work as a team.
He quickly saw a forest and he made his way towards it, he was barely in the forest before he was caught by Tug-Mug. Tug-Mug laughed as he held the young lord, with one arm tied behind his back as the other tried to get keep the sword out of Tug-Mug’s reach.
“You won’t need that anymore,” Chilla laughed as she came up from behind.
Lion-O was quickly loosing his strength. He could barely breath, his leg throbbed and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand the strain of his arm. Sweat began to bore into his eyes, preventing him from being able to see properly.
Nearby, standing on a limb of a tall tree, a lone Warrior Maiden with long dark hair, almost black, and wore a two-piece animal skin, watched with disgust as the Lord of the Thundercats was fighting to get away from his attackers.
She had never really had the chance to meet the Thundercats but had seen them many times when they helped out. She had to help him. She grabbed a nearby vine and quickly tied a knot for her foot to slide through then tied another for her arm to be secured.
When she was secured on the rope, she grabbed out her bow and notched an arrow. The arm wrapped in the vine, held the bow, while the other held the arrow. She bent her knees and jumped off the tree.
At the precise moment, she let go of the arrow, letting it fly down and narrowly missing Tug-Mug and Chilla. The arrow flew right between them, embedded itself into a tree directly behind them.
Tug-Mug released his hold on Lion-O, making him slowly fall to the ground, as he turned to see what just flew past him. Chilla did the same. When the two looked at the tree, a yellow gas seeped out from the arrow, making the two cough
The Warrior Maiden smiled as she saw her plan work. She only wanted to distract the Lunatacs so she could grab Lion-O. The hand that held the arrow, she leaned down as she got close to the Thundercat. She knew he was about loose all strength. She had to reach him before the gas reached his nose.
Just before he collapsed, she grabbed his raised hand that held the sword. With good maneuverment she was able to swing out of the way and into a nearby tree, without being seen. She gently rested Lion-O against the trunk of the tree, while she looked on down below. She watched as Chilla quickly blew the gas away, while still coughing. Once the two got their coughing under control, they turned to find their prey gone.
They cursed at each other and began to fight, allowing the Warrior Maiden to escape with the Lord of the Thundercats. She hefted Lion-O up on to her back and grabbed another vine, swinging from tree to tree. When she knew she was far enough away and couldn’t hear them anymore, she stopped. Knowing how important his weapon was, she looked to see if he still had it. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw he had a white-knuckle grip on his sword, giving her the indication he was still conscious. Still holding the vine, she slid down, landing on the ground.
With his eyes barely opened, he noticed that he was at a campsite. He wasn’t even sure who had rescued him or even if it was a rescue. He blinked several times, trying to get the sweat out of his eyes.
She laid him down, on a bedroll and began to wash his wounds. He whimpered in pain.
“It’s ok, Lord Lion-O.”
Lion-O tried to sit up at the sound of the woman’s voice. He blinked several more times, trying to clear his vision.
She noticed his distress. “I’m a Warrior Maiden. For the past few days I’ve been camping here, keeping watch on the outskirts of the forest.” She quickly noticed that he couldn’t talk as there was an ice block blocking his voice passage. She slightly moved away but was back at his side within moments.
In her hand she held a water skin jug. But something was off; there wasn’t water in it as steam was coming out of the opening.
“Here, drink this. It may be difficult at the moment but the liquid will melt Chilla’s handy work.”
Lion-O shakily tried to grasp the water skin but he was trembling too much from fighting to keep the sword away from the Lunatacs. The maiden saw he couldn’t get a hold of the skin. She knelt closer, gently grasping his head and bringing the skin to his lips. For several minutes, barely anything was getting down his throat but soon; the ice began to melt over his neck.
Lion-O began to cough when the ice was gone. Gradually, the coughing stopped and he began to greedily suck in air. “Thank you,” he whispered as he leaned his head back down on the ground. “What was that?” he asked as he was now able to clear his eyes so he could he see.
“It’s an ancient Third Earth drink, called hot cocoa and no thanks are necessary. You’ve helped us on many occasions without us asking. Though you and the Mutants disturbed our peaceful way of living, I wouldn’t trade the last few years for anything. You Thundercats are the first male friends, the Warrior Women have had in a long time.”
Lion-O slightly smiled and raised his head to see his rescuer. He noticed that she had a small headband in her wild hair and he recognized her as one of the younger warriors. Suddenly a sharp pain shot up through his leg causing him to cringe in pain.
Seeing this, the maiden moved back to his leg to finish cleaning the wound. “You will be ok. But right now we have to get you to safety. Whatever happened, you have a small sprain and I believe it turned into a break. I can make a makeshift brace to prevent you from trying to use the leg.”
Lion-O looked at his sword and slowly raised it a little of the ground.
“No. You mustn’t call your friends. The Cat’s sign will attract the Lunatacs to our location. You will have to rely on me until I can get you to your friends.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Look I’m sure you’re not use to having to rely on a woman for help but we can’t take the risk of them finding us.”
Lion-O leaned back, as he heard the anger in her voice. “You win.”
The Warrior Maiden looked at the lord as she sighed. “Sorry, Lord Lion-O. I’m sure you have relied on women before as you have two of them and a growing girl in amongst the Thundercats but…”
“Warrior Maidens have a hard time trusting men,” Lion-O finished.
The maiden gasped quietly. “How did you know that?”
“Between Willa and Nayda, we have learned a lot about your culture. So what is your name?”
“Fiona.”
“How did you become a warrior? I know not all you Warrior Maidens were born into the tribe.”
“I lost my family to a madman when I was little. One day I was found near the Tree Top Kingdom and the queen of the tribe took me in. She taught me how to fight and to use the bow. Fortunately I already had survival skills as I had lived in the forest for two years before I was found.”
“That’s quite the story.”
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.” Fiona stood and walked away.
When she came back, she had two pieces of stick…well they weren’t you’re normal size sticks they were more like boards but one could tell that Fiona made them from a tree. She set them down on either side of Lion-O’s injured leg. Grabbing the vine that she used to climb down, she climbed back up the tree and sliced the vine. With careful stepping she climbed back down, using the tree limbs as her pathway down.
When she was back on the ground, she grabbed her nap sack and carefully lifted Lion-O’s leg and placed the sack underneath it, giving her room so she could wrap the vine around his leg.
“This may hurt but what ever you do, try not to yell out in pain. I’m going to tie these pieces of wood to your leg with this vine. You ready.”
With a few quick deep breaths, Lion-O braced himself for the pain and nodded.
Using her legs, Fiona leaned her legs up against one piece of wood against the leg. With one free hand, she held the other piece and then wrapped the vine around as tight as possible with the other. As she got further down his leg, she no longer needed to hold the wood together. She was able to use both hands to finish wrapping the vine.
Several times, Lion-O thrashed his head back and fourth as the pain consumed him. He had a tight grip on the hilt of the Sword of Omens, using the sword to channel his cries. When the task was done, it took Lion-O several minutes before slowly releasing the sword, letting the sword to finally fall on the ground.
Knowing he was exhausted from the pain and his struggle with the Lunatacs, she carefully took her sack out from under Lion-O’s leg and allowed him the rest he needed. She knew it wouldn’t take long before rest would take over his body as she watched him struggle to stay awake.
She admired his bravery and admitted herself that he was good looking. She had never met a man quite like him before. She had the pleasure seeing all the Thundercats at one time or another but none of the males could compare to the beauty the young lord had.
Fiona looked at the sky, she knew soon would be nightfall and they were going to need to have some food. But she knew it would be too dangerous for a fire to be lit after dark. She quietly left the campsite, looking for food. She didn’t travel very far from Lion-O. She needed to make sure that if the Lunatacs found them, she would be able to get Lion-O to safer grounds before they were caught. But luckily for her, she knew of a stream nearby.
-
A small fire was cackling when Lion-O woke. With some renewed strength but still fatigued from earlier; he slowly rose up on his elbows to see what was going on. He watched with interest as Fiona poked at the fire. He noticed there were a couple fish strapped to two small sticks.
For the moment, Fiona was busy enough that she didn’t even notice Lion-O struggling to get up. He saw there another stick, lying beside him and realized that Fiona made it for him to move around. He grabbed the crutch and used it to lift himself up. When he was standing, she had not noticed he was awake he hobbled over towards her. He hadn’t make it very far before she turned.
“Lord Lion-O,” she gasped. She stood and walked over to him. “You shouldn’t have tried to move away from the bedroll. I left the crutch there for you so you would be able to stand if we needed to get away in a hurry.”
“Sorry, I just wanted to see what you were doing. Please call me just Lion-O.”
“Oh. I’m making us a little bite to eat before dark. Afterwards I was hoping to start making our way towards Cats’ Lair.”
“That would be the best idea. Tug-Mug and Chilla won’t give up. They know I’m injured and if they are smart enough, they will also know that it’s too dangerous for me to call my friends.” Lion-O quickly turned his head back to the bedroll. But there was something missing. His sword.
Fiona also looked. “Don’t worry. Your sword is safe.”
Lion-O looked at her with alarm. He saw that she was patting her side. His eyes widened as he saw the Claw Shield strapped to her waist. The Sword of Omens was sitting in its proper spot within the Claw Shield.
“Until we are both safe, the sword might be safer. The Lunatacs are after your sword. If they were to get you again, they won’t get the sword.”
Lion-O nodded in agreement.
When Fiona and Lion-O reached the fire, she helped the young lord to sit down so he could eat. When he was as comfortable as he was going to get, Fiona sat down beside him. She grabbed the fish and handed one to her companion.
“I know it isn’t much and probably not what your use to…”
“It will do. You went out of your way to try and make my discomfort as comfortable as possible, why would I argue?”
“But you are a lord…a prince and should be treated as such. Not someone who’s out in the wilderness, trying to survive away from his attackers.”
“I may be Royalty, but that doesn’t mean I will always live like one.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“My life has not always been easy. In fact since we arrived here, it’s been anything but easy.”
“I suppose. But still. I know Willa doesn’t even live like this.”
Lion-O looked at the woman beside. “If it weren’t for earlier, I’d be enjoying this.”
Fiona looked over at her friend. “You’re kidding. You don’t seem to be the person to want to camp out.”
“Before the Lunatacs were revived, myself and the Thunderkittens have done a few camp outs. Mind you we were never out of the sight of Cats’ Lair but just enjoying sleeping out under the stars was enjoyable. I use to do a lot of that when I was young.”
Fiona turned back to continue eating. For several minutes, she and Lion-O were both quiet. When their meal was gone, Fiona stood and began to pack up camp. When she was complete, she watched Lion-O for a few moments as he stared into the fire.
“From the location of the sun, I can locate the general direction of Cats’ Lair.”
Lion-O shock his head, coming back into reality. He grabbed his crutch and slowly made his way to his feet. “Cats’ Lair is East of the Tree Top Kingdom.”
“This is true.” Fiona grabbed her bow and arrows. She notched an arrow into bow and fired it at the campfire. Whatever sprayed out of her arrow, extinguished the flames, placing the campground to near darkness.
She walked close to Lion-O. “Perhaps maybe it would be better to make it to the village instead. From there we can contact your friends and they can retrieve you from there. We are closer than Cats’ Lair.”
“I don’t want to put the rest of your tribe in danger ‘cause of stupidity.”
“Helping that lost unicorn back to Unicorn Forest is not being stupid. And how were you to know that you would be ambushed by the Lunatacs.”
“I thought I felt like being watched.”
“Sorry. I had noticed that you were taking a leisure walk. When you left this forest, I stopped. I didn’t even know the Lunatacs attacked you until you reached the edge of the forest. Where were you attacked?”
“In the field between the two forests.”
“Well lets get going. We are going to have a long walk to even the Tree Top Kingdom. But first, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to get as far from here as possible. And the only way to do that is by the trees. I need to carry you.”
“You already carried me this far. How you did it, I don’t know. You don’t seem to be the type to be able to withstand my weight.”
“There’s a lot I keep to myself. Do you have any strength?”
“A little. Why do you ask?”
“Well for a short while, you could release a lot of your weight into your hands, while I guide us on the vines. That will allow us to get further away faster.”
“Let’s go.”
Fiona nodded. She wrapped Lion-O’s arm around her as the two of them slowly walked to the trunk of a tree. Once at the tree, she released Lion-O, allowing him to put his weight on the crutch, while she grabbed her nap sack.
“I hope you don’t mind.”
“Don’t mind what?”
Lion-O didn’t have to wait long to find his answer. He suddenly felt a little weight being attached to his back.
“This will also make things easier. If you carry the bag, it will make better comfort for you to be against my back.”
When Fiona’s bag was attached to Lion-O, she got Lion-O to wrap his arms around her neck. The crutch was resting between the two for the moment. She grabbed a nearby vine that was hanging down and began her slow climb up the tree until they were high enough up that if the Lunatacs were to show, they wouldn’t see.
Once on the tree limb, she had Lion-O lean against the trunk while she strapped the crutch to his back. It was difficult to do as his back was against the tree but he needed it to make sure he stayed off his leg.
As soon as the crutch was secured, she pulled Lion-O to her and she grabbed the vine again and swung out of the tree. Lion-O, with one hand, held the vine, while his other hand was secure at her waist.
Unbeknownst to them, they had left just in time. Just as Fiona swung out of the tree, Tug-Mug and Chilla entered her campsite.
“They are not here,” Chilla growled.
Tug-Mug looked for a few moments before answering. “They were though and not too long ago either. Who ever helped the Thundercat lord had a campsite here. See there,” he pointed where an arrow stuck out of the ground, “was a fire that has been recently put out.”
He slightly bounced to the spot and felt the ground. “Very recently. In fact just a few minutes ago.”
“So they can’t be too far. He’s wounded and the rescuer won’t be able to withstand his weight for long. Any idea, which way they have gone.”
“There’s only one. They are headed towards Cats’ Lair. And it’s in this direction.”
-
Fiona knew Lion-O was quickly getting tired. It was also getting quite late as well. On a final decision, Fiona stopped on a large tree where an abandoned hut sat within its branches.
“Why are we stopping?” Lion-O asked tiredly.
“You are getting tired and it’s getting too dark for me to navigate. We’re going to have to stop for the night. We are at an abandoned hut, it will give us shelter for now.”
“What was it used for?”
“Centuries ago, when there was more maidens, there used to be a patrol group. This is the only surviving hut left. I’ve always kept it in check. If I need to escape from danger, I always come here. In fact this is where the queen found me when she took me in.”
When Fiona and Lion-O were in the hut, she unstrapped the bag from Lion-O. She pulled out her bedroll and gently had Lion-O laying on it. She pulled out her only blanket and wrapped it around him. When he looked comfortable she moved away, to watch the door.
“What about you? You will be cold.”
“I’ll manage. Right now, you need as much as rest as possible.”
“You need to rest as well.”
“Look I said I’d manage.”
Frowning, Lion-O didn’t want her to be as weak as he was. She would need her strength to stay ahead of the Lunatacs. She obviously did not know as much as she should about them. With an idea in his mind, he held out his hand as he spoke.
“Sword of Omens, come to my hand. I, Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, command you.”
Fiona quickly turned around as she watched the sword come to life and flew into Lion-O’s waiting hands. With hands on her hips, she walked over to the injured cat.
“You know the sword is too dangerous to use right now.”
When she was close enough, Lion-O used his free hand, to trip her. She didn’t even see it coming. She didn’t even had the chance to yell out or anything before she was on the wooden floor. With the same hand, Lion-O wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“I will give you back my sword for protection if you also get some rest. This blanket is big enough for the both of us. I maybe from the lions but I won’t bite.”
Sighing in defeat, Fiona slightly cuddled into Lion-O’s uninjured side. She quickly fell asleep, as did Lion-O.
-
The next morning Fiona awoke. Her eyes widened when she saw she was tightly curled into Lion-O. His arm was secured around her back as she lay on his arm. She was about to move when his arm tightened on her.
“They are right below us,” Lion-O whispered. “Luckily Red Eye isn’t with them.”
“We have to get out of here,” she whispered back.
“Leave me here. Get to Cats’ Lair as quick as possible. I will just slow you down. They will come to my rescue as I will be taken back to Skytomb.”
“I’m not leaving you here to be tortured by them. Like it or not, we are in this together. Chances are we are too high for them to look. How do you know they are below us?”
“I can hear them.”
Fiona raised her head to look Lion-O in the eyes.
“Cats have better hearing than humans do,” Lion-O answered her silent question.
“I’d say they do. We are 200 feet off the ground and you can hear them. I can’t hear them at all. If you could let me go, I can check to see how close they are.”
“We may be 200 feet up, but they are directly below us. Tug-Mug could easily destroy this hut with a single bounce. We can’t afford that.”
“Let me up, I could throw another arrow at them so we can make our escape. I have learned to be quiet and make sure floor boards don’t make a sound.”
“They are leaving, they must not have seen the hut.”
“They wouldn’t. The hut is well camouflaged within the tree branches.” She noticed Lion-O loosened his grip on her shoulder. She quietly moved away from Lion-O and tiptoed to the doorway. As Lion-O said, she saw the two Lunatacs below but they were moving away, heading towards Cats’ Lair. She knew they were heading in the same direction as she was.
“We’re going to have more trouble then we can afford.”
“What do you mean?” Lion-O stayed laying on the floor, he knew he’d make too much noise with his brace.
“They are heading towards Cats’ Lair. We are going to have to outwit them. I don’t have enough arrows to stop them so we could get ahead. We’re going to have to find another way.”
She quietly walked back over to the Thundercat Lord. She helped him to sit before pulling out a water skin. “Here, this is full of water. When you were resting last night before dinner, I took the liberty of filling my water skins. I have three water skins and one is full of hot cocoa.”
Lion-O gratefully took the water skin. “How are we to outwit the Lunatacs?” he asked between drinks.
“When I lived on my own, I no weapons to protect myself. So I made my own. You’d be surprised what you can make with just twigs and vines.”
“Then what are we waiting for. Let’s get going and stop the Lunatacs before they reach your village.” He handed back the water skin before grabbing his crutch and lifted himself up, with Fiona’s help.
When the two were situated to begin swinging from tree to tree, Fiona started to have a plan form in her head. As they began their journey through the trees, being sure not to get ahead of the Lunatacs, Fiona discussed her plan. At first Lion-O didn’t like it but he eventually agreed. Between the two of them they were going to outsmart the two Lunatacs.
The two Lunatacs in question were not very far in front of their prey. When Lion-O and Fiona caught up with the two, they stood far enough up a tree to listen but not able to be seen. They could hear the two quite clearly in what they were nagging about
“I think we went too far,” Chilla hissed. “I believe they were hiding on us.”
“It would be a lot easier with Red Eye,” Tug-Mug whined.
“Oh stop your whining.” Chilla stopped for a moment. She looked around for a few quick moments. “Did you hear something?”
“Only you,” Tug-Mug glared.
Chilla turned to her companion. “I should chill you off.”
“Who put your chills in a twist?” Tug-Mug said sarcastically.
Chilla moved away from the bouncer, ignoring his comment.
When they were out of earshot, Fiona turned to Lion-O. “The best way to get put our plan into motion is by waiting until dark. We’ll rest here for now and then near nightfall, I will continue on ahead and lure them here.”
“While we rest, we can make our traps.”
Fiona nodded her head in agreement. “Perhaps I should follow them a little bit longer so we’ll know when we’re safe.”
Fiona was about to grab a vine when Lion-O grabbed her arm. “We’ll just wait here for 20 minutes before we head to the ground.”
Fiona started to feel her anger rising. She never had to do what she was told in a very long time by a man and she didn’t want to start now. But with one look at the young handsome Lord, her anger drained away. She knew he was right. He had been fighting the Lunatacs way more often then the Warrior Maidens. Besides he was too cute to be angry at.
-
As nightfall began to approach, Lion-O was in his position. He hid in amongst the bushes, with what weapons were able to be made. Though he couldn’t move, he was ready and able to help with anything possible.
Knowing Lion-O was in position, Fiona took to the trees to catch up with the enemies. When she reached them. They had stopped for a rest. Standing on a tree limb, away from their campsite, she notched an arrow into the bow and fired it off.
The arrow flew between the two enemies and slammed into a nearby tree. The two looked at the arrow and then whipped around to see where it originated from. At first they couldn’t see where it came from.
“Yeah, up here,” Fiona called down.
Chilla was the first to notice the woman. “You’re a Warrior Maiden.”
“So you recognize me.” Fiona quickly grabbed her vine and swung off. She quickly turned to find that her plan was working.
Just like Lion-O had warned her, Tug-Mug used his technique to easily keep up with her. If it weren’t for swinging around the trees, he would have caught up to her. But she kept ducking around the trees, causing him to slow down. Chilla in the meantime was trying to catch up.
By the time Fiona got to her campsite, she barely could see. She knew she wouldn’t have time to warn Lion-O they were coming. She stopped at a tree before notching another arrow to slow him down. The arrow hit it’s mark, causing him to cough. She knew it wouldn’t take him long to get over it but it was enough time for Chilla to catch up and Fiona to get into position.
From Lion-O’s hiding spot, he was able to see Tug-Mug right close to Fiona. He knew Fiona knew what she was doing when she stopped and turned. When he heard Tug-Mug start coughing, he knew that it was to bide more time for Chilla to catch up.
When Chilla caught up to Tug-Mug, she hissed in disgust for Tug-Mug falling for the same trap again. She blew in towards the arrow, dissipating the gas.
“Thanks,” Tug-Mug coughed as he got back up to his normal height.
“It wasn’t out of kindness. She knows where the Thundercat is. She’s protecting him. We must have came close to their encampment and she lured us away from him.”
“Then me must head back.”
Chilla grabbed Tug-Mug and threw him to the ground. “If we capture her, we’ll easily find the Thundercat.” Chilla walked past the bouncer and into the campsite. But what she didn’t know was they were in a campsite.
Chilla didn’t make it very far as she was suddenly tripped, crashing to the ground. Between Lion-O and Fiona, the two were able to trip Chilla with one of the vines. They both knew it wouldn’t stop Chilla for long.
No sooner thought, she jumped back to her feet, whipping her cape off of her. “How dare you catch this Lunatac off guard!”
Using the Claw Shield, Lion-O released one of the claw lines, wrapping it around Chilla, causing her to trip again. By this time, the woman was fuming. Tug-Mug watched in amusement as the chilled woman fell twice, when he entered the campsite.
“Are you having problems?” Tug-Mug snickered.
“Just that woman is going to die!” Chilla sneered.
Before Chilla had the chance to look at her ankle, Lion-O retracted the claw line. Now that Tug-Mug was in the mix, it was time to put the rest of the plan into action.
Fiona went out from her hiding spot to climb up a tree she was beside as Lion-O played with Chilla, distracting her. Once she was at the top of the tree, she notched three of her arrows, surprising Tug-Mug. Tug-Mug jumped and crashed into a ground-covered hole. He landed with a crash into the hole, twigs and leaves falling to spray his head.
Remembering what he did to Wilykit and Wilykat during the Anointment Trials, he knew of a way to pull the same trick again. He just had to get the two directly in front of him, with their backs turned.
Before too long, Tug-Mug jumped out of the hole and he was less than thrilled. “I don’t think that woman is working alone. How would she have been able to set a trap like that in a small amount of time?”
Chilla turned, unknowingly facing Lion-O. “You’re right. There must be other Warrior Maidens at work here.” Out of the corner of her eye, Chilla saw something moving down the tree. Not knowing there were only two people working on a plan, she quickly turned and blew her ice breath towards the tree, trying to entrap the Warrior Woman, so she could flush out the others.
Fiona saw what was about to happen and she jumped down the rest of the way, just before the ice froze the tree. She landed lightly on her feet but she was caught. She crawled into a nearby bush as Tug-Mug jumped to her location.
“Where ever she went she just disappeared.”
“She did not disappear. She’s hiding somewhere near there,” Chilla said angrily. “Woman you are driving my patience. If you don’t want your precious forest destroyed, you will show yourself now.”
At the same moment, Fiona took out the Sword of Omens, slightly stabbing Tug-Mug in the leg. He began to jump in pain, distracting the two once again. Fiona quickly made her way to Lion-O and ducked.
“What should I do?” she whispered in his ear.
“Reveal yourself,” he whispered in the same manner. “Get them over here, I have an idea. I’m going to tie this vine to them both and then reveal myself. But before I do that, I’ll need you to get their attention and have them turn so their backs are to me. They will come at me fast but not fast enough before you throw the last trap.”
Fiona turned quickly, moved away from Lion-O not wanting to give away his position. When she was far enough away, she jumped out of the bushes. “All right, you win.”
Chilla turned from just about to freeze everything in sight. “You will take us to Lion-O, or life will be over just as this part of the forest will be.”
Fiona held out her hands in defeat. “Don’t harm the forest. I’ll take you to him. Mind you we won’t get there until morning.”
“I told you he we were nearing his position.”
“Shut up,” she hissed. “Start walking.”
Fiona started walking towards Lion-O but stopped short before the bushes. “Wait!” she stopped and turned. “I think I see the other Thundercats.”
The two Lunatacs turned to see if what she said was true. With their backs turned, Lion-O threw her the vine and she tied it to the Lunatacs and then jumped out of the way to help Lion-O up. When he got to his feet, they still had their backs turned. She helped Lion-O hobble over to the nearby tree to hide behind it.
She handed him his sword. “Call for help,” she whispered.
Lion-O nodded in agreement. He turned to watch the Lunatacs turned back when they realized they were being tricked.
“Where did she go?” Tug-Mug asked.
“Don’t you know,” Chilla growled. “She wanted us distracted so she could escape but this time she has gone too far. She is the only one here, plus one other and I think I have an idea who that one other is.”
“Why don’t I save you the trouble,” Lion-O said as he came out of hiding.
“Lion-O?” Chilla questioned. “Get him!”
At the same time Tug-Mug jumped after Lion-O, he realized too late that he wasn’t the only one. With the vine attached the two; Chilla also went up into the air. Tug-Mug only made it so far before he ended up dangling from a huge tree limb. Chilla was on the other side.
Fiona grabbed another vine and snapped it to wrap around Chilla and another around Tug-Mug.
“Mind if I introduce the only other helper.” Lion-O waved his hand to let Fiona reveal herself. Fiona notched her last arrow into her bow and fired it at the ground, lighting a small campfire.
“THUNDER! THUNDER! THUNDER! THUNDERCATS HO!”
Fiona watched for the first time, as the Sword of Omens grew in length and the cats signal roar to live, stretching up into the sky.
-
Snarf kept pacing around the command center in worry. He knew something was wrong with Lion-O he was way over due. But he knew he wasn’t the only one. Lion-O had never returned the night before and he hadn’t been around all day.
Earlier, Panthro took the Hovercat and searched around but he found nothing. He had returned to Cats’ Lair just as it approached dark. Now all the Thundercats were in the command center, talking about their missing leader.
“What are we to do?” Cheetara asked.
“I’ve scouted the area all the way to the Tree Top Kingdom and there’s nothing,” Panthro said.
“I’m sure he’s all right,” Tygra said, trying to remain calm.
Snarf was about to make a remark at Tygra when something caught his attention on the screen. Everyone looked at Snarf.
“Snarf, what is it?” Wilykit asked.
“Lion-O,” he answered.
The Thundercats looked at the screen, causing their eyes to glow and their symbol.
“Let’s move,” Panthro yelled. “Wilykit and Kat, you two stay here.” He quickly turned; making his towards the hanger that had the Thundertank. The other Thundercats were quickly to his side as the two kids stayed to protect their home.
When the Thundercats were in the Thundertank, the tank sped off in the direction the Cats signal was coming from.
-
With help from Fiona, Lion-O hobbled over to the fire, to keep warm and to rest until the others were to arrive. When he was seated, Fiona continued to watch the Lunatacs. Within minutes she started to hear noises and the ground began to shack. She quickly looked at Lion-O as he smiled.
“It’s only the Thundertank.”
“I see why it’s called that,” she answered.
Before too long, the Thundertank arrived and the Thundercats jumped out. Snarf ran into Lion-O’s waiting arms.
“We were so worried about you,” he whined. “What happened?”
Tygra and Panthro looked on in amazement as they saw two of the Lunatacs tied to a tree, cursing at each other, with a Warrior Maiden standing guard. Lion-O looked like hell though. Twigs and leaves were all through his hair as two pieces of wood and some sort of rope was tied to his leg. Minor cuts and scrapes covered his legs, arms and face.
“Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long story,” Cheetara said as she approached her leader.
“Well it isn’t that long,” Fiona said as she came closer, which was a bad mistake.
Chilla grabbed Tug-Mug with her tied hands and began to freeze the vine. Within seconds, the two broke free of their confines and escaped.
“They got away,” Fiona turned, irrated.
“That happens a lot,” Tygra said. “What happened?”
“I was taking a walk,” Lion-O said. “I ended up helping a unicorn and when I left the Unicorn Forest, I was ambushed by the two. They injured my leg, causing me not to be able to call you. Fiona here helped me when she saw they caught up to me. I have been in good company with her since.”
“Why didn’t you call for us sooner?” Snarf asked.
“If I was to call you I would have alerted the Lunatacs to our position and I was in no position to fight.”
Tygra looked at the Warrior Woman. “We have a lot to thank you for.”
“As I said to Lion-O, no thanks are needed. You guys have helped us out a lot as it is.”
“Let’s get you back to Cats’ Lair,” Panthro suggested.
Lion-O used the crutch Fiona made for him to help himself up. “Let’s go. I know I could use a real wrapping for my leg and a bath.”
The Thundercats laughed.
Tygra was the first sober and turned to Fiona. “Would you like a lift back to your village?”
Fiona nodded. “Sure. I’m due home now anyway. I will need to let Willa know what happened within the last 24 hours.”
Lion-O turned to the maiden. “Fiona. I really need to thank you this time. If it weren’t for you I would have ended up being in a worse mess than I ended up.”
Fiona slightly bowed. “You’re welcome Lord Lion-O. Even though the circumstances could have been better, I’m glad I have finally gotten to meet the Thundercats. All the times you have been in the village, I was always too busy to introduce myself.”
The other Thundercats were a little baffled with Fiona bowing and calling their leader by his title when just moments ago, she addressed him so informally. No one never really called him that, not even Willa.
“Well we’re glad,” Panthro said, recovering quickly. “That you kept our leader safe.”
-
A few days had past and Lion-O was hobbling around on two crutches as his leg was wrapped up properly. He took a small walk outside around the entrance to Cats’ Lair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something approaching. He looked over at the drawbridge and saw that it was Fiona.
“What brings you here to Cats’ Lair?”
Fiona walked up the steps to be face to face with Lion-O. “I wanted to see how you were doing. You look better now that you’re home.”
Lion-O chuckled at her comment as she smiled back. In a quick action, Lion-O leaned in and kissed her cheek. Fiona looked stunned as she placed her fingers where he kissed.
“I just wanted to give you my thanks in more of a personal matter without my friends watching,” he answered her confusion.
“Oh,” she said.
“You are welcomed to come here anytime. Don’t be a stranger. Perhaps the next time I have a campout with the Thunderkittens, I’ll stop by your village and invite you.”
“That would be nice.”
“Would you like to come in and have a tour?”
“Sure.”
The two turned and walked into Cats’ Lair. The adventure Lion-O had with the Warrior Maiden he was going to cherish. It wasn’t every day that one would have to fight off the enemy with only a Third Earthian and had no way to call for help. It was the first time that Lion-O couldn’t call for help, when they weren’t too far away. He hoped that he would never had to go through an adventure like that again. But only time would tell.
