What a Cat-Asstrophe!

[Gothicruby]

It was in times like these, Lion-O sadly realised, that there was only so much night-life one could take in before the dull silence ringing in his ears took the proverbial cake; three nights in a row on sentry-duty in this forsaken valley with five hours sleep in total was officially the young lord's limit. Throughout their travel there'd been no sign of anything; no bushes rustling, branches falling, not even a cricket to keep his mind focussed on the annoyance. He scrubbed his hands once more over hsi eyes "That's it, I've had it. I'm done." he stood, ignoring the stiffness in his legs "Tygra?" he called off, ear perking for any indication to give that that his older brother was awake "Tygra, your turn."

[Croup]

((love this thread's title! xD)

"What . . . already?" Tygra groaned faintly as he stirred awake at hearing his brother's voice. It hardly felt to him as if he'd gotten enough rest for it to be his turn on watch already, but a glance at the moon's position told him otherwise. He got up and stretched his muscles. "Hardly worth it to even bother keeping a watch," he complained sourly to Lion-O as he stepped up to the lookout position. "Pretty sure we're the only things alive in this valley . . . "

[Gothicruby]

An endearing grin played at Lion-O's lips as he watched the griping tiger rise "You'd think, right?" he chuckled lightly, stepping back from his post to allow his brother room to take watch and get comfortable "But when have we ever been that lucky?" he was careful to make sure he wasn't going to step over anyone's stray hands or legs in his short trip closer towards the fire, expression dipping considerably as he thought back on how many close calls they'd had just getting in to this valley "Besides, if by chance we have been watched this whole time; one dropped guard would be all the cue anyone would need for an attack," a hint of an all too teasing smile once again tugged at his lips "Isn't that something like what you'd normally tell me? 'Mr.Millitary'?"

[Croup]

"Yeah yeah, just get to bed already," Tygra said, annoyed at being lectured on military field discipline by his younger brother of all people. The kid wouldn't know discipline if it grabbed him the whiskers. Or, at least . . . the old Lion-O wouldn't. Since assuming the mantle of Lord of the Thundercats, Lion-O had actually changed a lot. Become more responsible, level-headed, almost acting like a leader. Over the time since they'd been on the run, Tygra was slowly coming to respect him more and more, not that he'd ever admit anything of the kind to his new 'lord'.

He hunkered down and began his watch. However, as the minutes dragged by and nothing stirred, he began to get annoyed. It seemed like the only sounds whatsoever were coming from the Kits' soft snores down at the camp, mixed with Panthro's louder ones. "This is really getting to be a pain . . . " he muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose.

[Gothicruby]

Lion-O's brow quirked as his brother's initial remark caught his ear, playful grin sinking slowly as he took a moment to cast the other cat a dissapproving stare "Temper there Tygra," he very gently warned as his arms came to fold across his stomach, leaning back against the foot of one conveniently over-sized tree "We've had enough to growl about already the past couple of weeks, we don't need more before the ambush has even happened." he knew that probably should have been more sympathetic to Tygra's temper, especially when throwing sleep deprivation into the mix, but unfortunately Lion-O was far too concious of how one little slip-up born from anger could serve to cost someone in the long-run. All the same, he left it at that and made an effort to try and sleep.

For a few minutes his body betrayed him; having become so used to this backwards schedule over the last few days that he actually felt restless, wide-awake almost. He sighed quietly, shifting against the root again and began the task of blocking out Panthro's thunder-tankesque snoring and actually try to settle down. His gaze was drawn to his brother's back for a moment, unable to bite back some residual concern that he often felt for the older one's being...they'd had their differences in the past, infact one cropped up not yesterday, but at the end of the day he was beginning to understand why Tygra had been like he was when they were younger; it was just a shame when some of those old traits snuck back into the fold now and then.

[Croup]

A slight shift in his position. A huff. His brother lecturing him. Who did he think he was? Tygra cleaned his gun, mulling over the words. Temper . . . pff, my temper's fine. Just because I'm always right and no one ever listens to me . . .

He looked across the moonlit valley again, and sighed.

His breath caught.

What was that . . . ?

Out a short distance away, just through the treeline and up the ridge . . . something glistened.

Could it be . . . ?

He studied it for a span of ten breaths, keeping perfectly still. At last, he was sure.

It is! Moondew Roses!

Exceedingly rare, the flower was one that glowed only by the light of a full moon. One of the most romantic gifts that was possible to give . . . and Tygra's mind drifted to Cheetara. Surely she'd smile if he offered them to her . . .

His willpower battled only for a moment. On sure, leonine legs, he clambered to his feet, and was off into the forest. I'll only be gone for a minute. Besides, we all know there's no one in this valley. Keeping watch is just a formality . . .

And it'll be worth it to see Cheetara smile at these flowers!

[Gothicruby]

While his heavy lids had long since drifted shut, Lion-O's mind was unfortunately still conciously working over fleeting images of times since past. His brow furrowed a moment later, troubled by the sound of crunching grass and what sounded like light foot falls ebbing further off into the distance. Nobody was stirring from the noise or screaming yet and as far as he knew there wasn't anything to indicate that they were in any immediate danger...but was that really a good sign? He carefully peered through half-lidded eyes just to assure himself that all was well before snapping right to his feet, alarmed by the distinct lack of tiger prowling around, though he swore he caught a flash of orange just off in the distance there and it didn't take much to put two and two together That smug tail-end! After the earfuls he's given me?! he tensed in a physical effort not to give in to his frustration and growl out at the situation, it wasn't going to be helpful to lose it over his brother's irresponsibility. Instead, he set his sights firmly on the forest looming up just over the valley So what's more important than our lives, brother? with one last glance to make sure that the sleeping group was safe, Lion-O picked up his heels and followed on the path that he thought he spied Tygra taking mere moments before.

[Croup]

A short distance later, Tygra was smirking as he neared the glimmering blossoms. Lovely, almost as lovely as the woman herself . . .

Unfortunately for the Cat warrior, so set was he on the object of his hunt that he failed to notice he was the object of one himself. The ambush took him completely by surprise.

"GET HIM!"

"Wha--!?"

Too late, Tygra saw the dark form dropping down from the trees overhead. "Lizards!" he said with a snarl, and reached for his whip. Before he could draw it however, one of the scaly abominations had already landed behind him and grabbed his wrists. Though he struggled mightily, the brutish creature was stronger and managed to pin his arms behind his back. Soon, more came to assist in his capture.

In an embarrassingly short time, Tygra's legs were roped together and his arms were tied behind his back, rendering him helpless. Though he struggled and snarled as best he could, the lizards merely laughed at him in their evil, slithering hiss. "A fine prize. Mum-Ra will reward us handsomely," said one.

"It was only a matter of time until their guard was down . . . " said another.

"Now that we have one, why not seize the others?"

"An excellent idea."

Tygra felt a wash of guilt, as it was obvious he'd played right into these hunters hands. And now, because of him . . . the rest of his team might be in great peril as well. He continued to snarl and tried to bite, but an instant later he got rudely gagged, making him groan. The worst part was that the group of lizards was small, and he was certain that under normal circumstances he could have defeated them all easily.

Oh this cannot be happening!

[Gothicruby]

From what Lion-O had seen the valley had always been quiet, almost deathly so at the best of times; so it was probably safe to assume that the commotion up ahead was anything less than trouble. Abandoning the effort of following a stealthy pace, the young lord immediately broke into a sprint up towards where this ever-increasing din seemed to be hailing from though his racing heart near enough stopped at what he swore to be the sickening slither of a lizards hiss. He ducked sharply behind one of the thicker trees lining this opening, set all the more on edge by the sudden quiet that had enveloped; though that was nothing compared to an all too familiar hiss snaking through his ear. Lizards. A group of them. Whiskers...Lion-O's ears strained, listening for any sign that Tygra might be among them. He couldn't hear anything...maybe he'd gotten lucky and missed them, or headed back to the group? That thought was utterly squashed in no time; he couldn't hear Tygra, but by one lizard's mention they clearly had him. A low growl emitted from his throat at the prospect, but it only took one more mention of their sleeping friends to spur him into action "No-one's going anywhere!" he growled, leaping from his hiding spot with sword immediately drawn "Let him go."

Recovering from the startle quick enough, one of the lizards that had taken such delight in bounding their captive turned to his superior with a confident smirk "We've already siezed one weak little kitty," he observed with a boot thumping into the tiger's side for emphasis, sneering ruefully down at the pathetic sight "Surely the so-called king can't be that much of a problem?" he turned the smirk up towards, before yelping and drawing all too quickly back in surprise as the lion came at him almost with an almost feral temper.

With the sword of omens drawn, Lion-O leapt right into the thick of the battle, standing over Tygra with a ferocity he'd never truly known. He fought his way through the gang of them, using the blade's might against any who tried to oppose his rescue effort, especially any unfortunate enough to wander just that little bit close to his helpless brother. He watched as the last of them syphoned off, all too tempted to chase after the pack of screaming reptiles just to make sure that they couldn't do their sleeping friends any harm while they were so defenceless...it was only a small gang now, half of them unconcious or flung off into the side-lines and besides they didn't seem armed, did they? They couldn't do much harm, right? Stuck on the horrifyingly helpless thought, he channeled this panic into the most productive action he could think of; ripping the gag from Tygra's mouth "Explaination. Now!"

[Croup]

"I . . . " Relief flooded through Tygra as Lion-O came to his rescue, fighting off the assailants, scattering them to the far winds. His brother fought with the fury of a devil on his behalf. At the same time, shame battled in Tygra's heart. He'd been an utter fool, caught so easily, when he'd been supposed to have been protecting the others . . .

He squirmed in his bindings. "I don't have one," he said angrily, not looking Lion-O in the eye. "I acted like a complete kit . . . just untie me."