Chapter 14 of Signal in the Sky

Bizarre Love Triangle By Purrsia Kat

Felina tugged the heavy wool wrap tighter around her body as she made her way through the darkened forest. She was grateful Alderan had given her the garment to guard against the icy strength of the north wind. What a contrast from the weather they’d enjoyed earlier in the day. It seemed to Felina as if it was back to wintertime reality. And with her distracting visit with Alderan concluded, Felina knew she’d also have to fully deal with Bela’s death. She bent and closed her eyes tightly against the wind as she came out of the woods. In the clearing, nothing prevented the cutting wind -- as well as the snow that began to fall -- from whipping at her. At least she could see the lights of the Lair now. A short time later, she entered the warmth and security of the Lair. Felina couldn’t remember a time when she’d been happier to pass through the Lair’s lofty steel doors. And not simply because she was now out of the elements. Felina was truly starting to feel like the Lair was someplace she could call home. Felina padded quietly down the hall that led to the bedchambers, aware of the late-night hour and hoping not to disturb anyone’s rest. “Felina?” She nearly jumped out of her fur at the sound of Snarf’s meek voice. The lioness turned and regarded Snarf with a weary smile. She opened her mouth to speak a greeting, but Snarf stopped her with a wave of his hand. “I -- I just want to say....rrrrwl....” Snarf’s ears drooped heavily as he seemingly struggled for the right words. Felina squinted to better study his face. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that Snarf had been crying. Snarf released a weary sigh. “I’m sorry about Bela and all that stuff I said about her,” Snarf said in a rush. “It’s okay, Snarf. I--” “No it’s not,” Snarf insisted. “Truth is, her way of setting up the kitchen made more sense. And she was right not to fawn over you like you’re still a little kid...and....sneeeyarf....I’m not just saying that because she’s -- you know --” Snarf averted his eyes as his voice trailed off. Felina nodded solemnly, not knowing what to say. An awkward moment passed before Felina spoke. “How is everyone else fairing from the day’s travails?” “Well,” Snarf replied, perking up a bit, “Lion-O is back --” “Back?” “He left right after you did, sneeyarf snarf. Didn’t really say where he’d been; just went straight to bed,” Snarf explained. “Sorry, but I didn’t feel much like playing the inquisitor tonight.” A faint smile tugged at the corners of Felina’s lips. “I understand. How is Panthro? Did he ever let Tygra check him over?” Snarf chuckled softly. “Need you even ask? Of course not. Even now, he’s down in the hangar nursing ‘his baby’ back to health. He mentioned something about building some new vehicles so that next time Lion-O goes charging off on a mission, the Thunder Tank won’t have to take a beating. Oh, and Tygra is still roaming around here somewhere, trying to figure out just how the Mutants breeched the Lair’s security systems.” Felina nodded and stifled a yawn. “And Cheetara? She’s faring well?” “Yeah. No more labor scares, but she’s still taking it easy,” Snarf replied. “But you should get yourself to bed. We’ve all had quite a day, and you’re no exception.” She smiled, thinking how Snarf would never be able to squelch that part of him that just had to look out for the better good of those he cared for. “Same goes for you then, Snarf. Goodnight.”

Felina lay wide awake in the darkness for at least an hour, sleep never overtaking her exhausted mind. Alone in her bedchamber, memories of Bela haunted her, refusing to let her mind wind down into peaceful slumber. Felina blinked back tears as she gazed to the foot of her bed where Bela usually lay, curled up in a fuzzy ball. Sitting up and abruptly tossing blankets aside, she set her feet down on the cold floor and walked across the room to her window. She wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to do the job her thin nightgown failed to do, though the chilled air was not completely responsible for her shivering. She stared out at the swirling snowflakes that sparkled in the courtyard’s security lights for a long moment. In her restlessness, she wandered out into the now silent, empty corridor. With only the low- power lights on in the hall, the muted yellow glow mixed with the silence was like a manifestation of what was in Felina’s own heart. After glancing down both ends of the hall several times, Felina turned and began to wander the Lair aimlessly.

Lion-O awoke with a start, blinking several times at the dark figure looming over him. Lion- O backpedaled across the expanse of his bed, ready to spring into a defensive stance until a soft voice emerged from the darkness. “It’s me.” He squinted at the figure. “Felina?” Lion-O relaxed as she sat upon the edge of the bed and leaned in toward him, her features finally coming into focus in the dim light. “I couldn’t sleep...” she said apologetically. He reached out and rubbed her shoulder. “Want to talk?” “Nothing really to say,” she replied, looking down at her clasped hands. Lion-O’s hand dropped from her shoulder, and he leaned back on his hands, looking awkwardly ahead. “Oh.” It’s not like it was a secret to anyone how they both felt about their arranged marriage. And most likely, his role in Bela’s death had pushed Felina beyond any hope to even try to make the best of their situation. Not that he could blame her. In fact, he imagined making a relationship flourish was hard enough when the two parties involved chose one another. Not to mention the fact that -- His thoughts were cut short when Felina clasped him by the chin and turned his head to face her. Before he could open his mouth to question her actions, she kissed him. Lightly at first and then with much more intensity as she leaned into his body. Any form of questioning that came to his mind vanished, the sheer power of her kisses lulling his mind into a numbingly lustful bliss. Lion-O was pleasantly surprised to have Felina take the initiative concerning physical relations. She’d been at best awkwardly accommodating to his advances in the past, what few he’d dare to make, anyway. He offered no resistance as she shed her gown and gently pushed his already- nude body down on the bed. Wordlessly, they merged together amid a tangle of hot flesh and wet kisses.

Long after Lion-O fell asleep, Felina remained awake beside him. The closeness she’d desired through making love was only superficially served. A physical joining was certainly no substitute for an emotional connection. Once again, she was left to ponder her thoughts quietly in the early morning hours. It was then that she took notice of the metallic box, sitting upon the desk across the room. Slipping carefully from the bed, Felina quietly crossed the room and sat in the chair before the desk. She noticed the ThunderCat insignia impressed atop the metal lid and traced her fingers lightly across it. Curiosity overtaking her, she clicked on the desk lamp and opened the box. She immediately became wrapped up in the contents of the box, starting with the same letter from Claudis Lion-O read earlier in the evening and working her way through. Not only were there letters and official documents penned by Claudis’ own hand, but also a binder containing musings of her father, Jaga. Also, there were a few letters tucked within the pages of the binder, which were letters to Jaga from her mother, Leonda. Felina was drawn to these papers, all her wonderings about where the box came from vanishing as she eagerly soaked up the tale the prose told of the parents she hardly knew. It was almost as if the pages reached out from the faded pages and gripped their alphabetical fingers around her mind, transporting Felina back to a time when her parents fell headlong into both love and scandal.

Jaga sat at the desk in his bedchamber, his face resting in his palms. He sighed heavily, unsure of how to proceed. At first, he dismissed the rumors as part of the natural reluctance of people to accept the viability of a May-December romance. But now, the real truth hurt more than the talk. Jaga stole himself to look down at the document before him; it was a damning little piece of evidence. He felt his face warm and he cursed himself a fool. A fool, not because he’d been blind all along to the signs pointing to the truth he chose to ignore. No, a fool because even as he sat before the undisputable evidence the Thunderian marriage certificate provided, his mind still spat forth a thousand excuses why the Leonda named on the document was not his beloved. The woman described on the document matched in every way to the one he’d been involved with for nearly a year -- the same name, age -- everything. The cold logic of his mind told Jaga it was all true. He’d been carrying on this entire time with a married woman. And not just any married woman, but one who was wed to his friend and fellow ThunderCat, Grune. But his heart refused to believe that Leonda could be capable of such deception. There had to be a reasonable explanation for everything. Jaga rubbed his eyes wearily, appalled at the lump forming in his throat and the stinging in his eyes suggesting he may weep. He’d secured the marriage document days ago and hadn’t found it within him to confront Leonda with it. But tonight, when she called on him, he would put off the unpleasant business no longer. Tonight, he would hear the truth from Leonda’s own lips.

Leonda absently ran a brush through her thick, dark mane. She gently rubbed her swollen abdomen, and the infant within kicked in response. A bittersweet smile crept across Leonda’s visage. Everything she’d ever dreamed about romance had come true. Though she never thought she’d find it in a man so much her senior as was Jaga. Indeed, when she first arrived at the Cats Lair at the behest of Lord Claudis, Leonda never expected to fall in love with anyone, let alone the respected ThunderCat elder. But just as the spring sunshine coaxes the life from the earth, so Jaga’s quiet and gentle manner evoked love to blossom in her heart. Nagging guilt was the only black mark on the romance, for in the preceding year, she’d gotten to know a ThunderCat warrior. Her father would often offer Grune and his troops quarter whenever they passed through the remote area of Thundera where the family farm was located. Though she liked Grune well enough, when he asked her to marry him, she wasn’t sure. It seemed sudden, there was a significant age difference...and he just didn’t make her heart sing the way she thought it should if she were truly in love. Her father, seeing the opportunity for her to marry into Thunderian nobility, urged her to accept. Love, he said, would grow between them in time. She was young at just eighteen and so time was on her side. Besides, what was there not to love about a ThunderCat, her father reasoned. Grune could offer her security and protection from the dangerous world in which they lived. No, the small detail that she was not in love with Grune mattered little, he insisted. And so, before Grune lead his troops on another mission against the marauding Mutants, they wed there on her parents’ farm. They didn’t have time to consummate the marriage, and Leonda was secretly grateful for that. She’d heard that sex often proved initially painful for a girl and had no qualms about putting off the matter until Grune returned from his current tour of duty. Coincidentally, she was summoned to the Cats’ Lair by Lord Claudis himself, not long thereafter. She assumed Claudis summoned her to the Thundera City when he got word that she’d wed a ThunderCat. To her surprise, nobody seemed to know of the nuptials. Perhaps, she reasoned, Grune had not gotten the word out. Leonda likewise pushed the issue to the back of her mind once she was told of the incredible task Lord Claudis assigned to her. It seemed she was one of the few left that possessed knowledge of the language of the ancients. This language was taught to her by her mother, which was traditionally passed down the through the maternal lineage of her family. Leonda never did quite believe her mother’s claim that her kin used to be keepers of a sacred, magical book. Rather, she dismissed the notion as an elaborate dream of a poor farmer’s wife to fuel some feeling of importance. Still, the language intrigued Leonda and she absorbed it quickly. She was ushered by Claudis and Jaga to a chamber that held a mythical golden tome. Claudis hoped she could translate it. The Book of Omens was a challenge to decipher, even knowing the language in which it was written. She’d pored over it much of the time since, gleaning valuable insight here and there. Leonda was told to report any new findings to Jaga, and at first thought nothing much in the way of love toward the much older gentleman. It was the night Jaga brought the Treasure of Thundera to her chambers when the kiss that started the spiral into love and deception happened. They figured out what the Key of Thundera was for by taking a frightening journey into the Book itself and meeting the intimidating guardian. When they were thrown out of the Book, entangled together on the floor -- that’s when it happened. Rising to her feet, Leonda prepared to meet with Jaga in his chambers. Their child together was due any day now and perhaps he wished to get things in order before the birth. Luckily, the fact that the two never wed was not viewed as highly unusual to Thunderians. Not that Jaga hadn’t asked her to wed. It broke her heart to refuse him, but she was already walking a thin line with this affair. She certainly didn’t need to add polygamy to her list of crimes. A bittersweet smile graced her lips as she thought of how suddenness and an age gap were such major considerations when she wavered at the idea of marrying Grune; and how little they mattered when it came to Jaga. Love was indeed a strange beast. Walking the corridor on her way to Jaga’s chambers, Leonda just wanted to cherish what happy time they had left together. In just a few weeks, Grune was due to return and the horrible truth would be exposed. Many times, she’d nearly confessed -- but the selfish part of her that just wanted one more moment with Jaga always won out. Upon opening the door, Leonda pushed her nagging guilt and anxiety about the near future aside and donned her warmest smile. She studied Jaga as he continued to stare pensively out the window. He failed to even spare her so much as a glance when she entered the room, and a shock of fear shot up Leonda’s spine. She thought for a panicked moment that perhaps Grune returned early. It was an eerie feeling of deja vu, harkening back to the night several months ago when Jaga casually mentioned to her that he received word that Grune had gotten married. She was only able to breathe again after he went on to say Grune’s letter did not supply many details, thanks to Grune’s gruff and to-the-point manner -- and so her secret remained as such. “What’s the matter?” Leonda asked, trying not to sound too timid as she stepped toward him hesitantly. He seemed distracted the last several days. Perhaps the war against Plundarr was not going well. Without glancing in her direction, Jaga replied, “I’ve got something at which you should take a look.” Keeping his eyes averted, he extended his arm to offer the folded document he held. In silence, Leonda gently took the paper from Jaga, and slowly unfolded it. She quickly scanned the document, her heart sinking with sickening realization. She was grasping her own marriage certificate. It seemed like minutes passed while words eluded her. Mercifully, Jaga broke the silence. “Why?” he simply asked. “Why the lies?” He sounded more heartbroken than angry. “Y-you don’t understand,” she stammered, dropping the tell-tale piece of paper to the floor. “It’s not how you think.” “So that paper is a forgery? Are you denying you’re married to my friend, Leonda?” Jaga demanded, with a definite angry edge to his tone this time. “I-I...no,” Leonda admitted weakly, blinking back tears. “But, I don’t love him, not like I do you.” “Damn it, Leonda!” Jaga cursed through gritted teeth. His glare penetrated her like daggers, and she wished more than ever that he’d return to simply not looking at her. She felt her chest begin to hitch and she knew it would be a matter of moments before she started bawling. So much...so much she wanted to say, so much she needed to explain. “You had to realize that Grune and I are friends as well as fellow ThunderCats. And do you know what ThunderCats live by? The Code of Thundera, which include the tenets of truth and loyalty. Taking my friend’s virgin wife to my bed is not exactly the embodiment of those ideals.” Leonda wiped at the rapid flow of tears in a vain effort to dam their flow. “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt anybody. Don’t blame yourself. You are guiltless, as you did not know. But we are meant to be together. I just know it.” Leonda was beyond caring about how pathetic and desperate she sounded in that moment. Jaga sighed and rubbed his forehead as he often did when he was impatient with the young lioness. “Leonda, it doesn’t work like that, ” he began, pacing his words methodically. “We’re done, do you understand? I will do right by you as far as the cub is concerned, but whatever we had between us is no more.” In the deepest part of her soul, Leonda expected him to react this way. But the part of her that came alive and believed in romance when she fell in love with Jaga also wanted to believe that somehow, he’d set everything else aside and still be with her. She clasped her hand over her mouth and sank to her knees as Jaga brushed past her. The damning sheet of parchment floated on the breeze created by Jaga’s flowing cape as he left. She stared at it, the slow-motion and graceful way it glided was hypnotizing. Her mind was frozen in a state of grief so deep it made the world around her seem to elongate into a blurry, gray tunnel. Leonda’s sobbing finally began to subside, and she slumped her head in sorrow. A frown creased her brow as she noticed her gown was wet -- too wet to credit the tears she’d wept. In fact, she was sitting in a puddle of moisture. She gasped in concert with a mild cramp in her abdomen as she realized the baby was coming.

Jaga paced the floor, agitation etched into his brow. In the other room lie Leonda and his newborn daughter, Felina. Before him stood his longtime friend, Grune, who had returned earlier than expected. “I don’t know what to tell you, Grune. I had no idea....” Grune sighed heavily. This was not the homecoming he’d been daydreaming about. “I need to talk with Lee,” Grune said gruffly, brushing past Jaga and into the adjacent room. He ducked slightly to fit under the door frame. He stood silently for a moment at the foot of the bed, carefully looking over his bride and the squirming newborn she clutched to her breast. He noticed she was making a point to avoid his gaze. It was clear Leonda was not going to be the first to speak, so Grune took the initiative. “I thought you were a woman of integrity,” he said quietly, his tone void of any malice. Rather, he spoke mournfully. Leonda’s only response was to cast a nervous sideways glance. “However, you are still my wife. I’m willing to forgive you and raise the child as my own,” he announced. At this, Leonda looked at him squarely. “No,” she said, her jaw set firmly. “I’m in love with Jaga. I’m sorry, Grune. When I married you, I didn’t know what love is -- I thought I did and I’m sorry I hurt you. But I cannot stay with you when I have feelings for another.” Grune growled softly, his mouth curling into the slightest of snarls. But she had just had Jaga’s child. Perhaps she would change her mind in time. One thing he was certain of -- Jaga would not indulge the affair any longer. So, it had to be merely a matter of time before Leonda came to her senses.

Over the next few months, little seemed to change much to Grune’s disappointment. Jaga insisted on assisting Leonda as far as the child was concerned, which only seemed to give Leonda hopes of a reconciliation. On top of that, the entire Lair was abuzz with the gossip. The tales began to spin wilder and more out of control as they were spread about. Until one day, the word came down that Jaga and Leonda hadn’t ended their romance. At first, Grune refused to believe it, shrugging the notion off as the malicious work of busy bodies that had little else to do but theorize about the personal lives of the nobility. But after casually mentioning the rumors to Lionas, Claudis’ wife, Grune’s curiosity was piqued. Lionas showed definite signs of discomfort when the subject was broached. And since Lionas and Leonda spent much time together, it only made since that she would know something. Truthfully, part of Grune didn’t want to know if it was true. But the larger part of him had to know. He set about having Leonda followed and it wasn’t long before he found out the truth. Grune saw it with his own eyes, even. Jaga and Leonda walking the baby around the City park; Jaga walking Leonda to the modest home she now lived in on the outskirts of town; the kiss they shared on the doorstep, which was far more than a friendly kiss. The intense feelings inspired by this double betrayal were hard to describe -- Grune never felt anything remotely like it before. The only recourse he knew of was to go to Lord Claudis and let an unbiased third party settle the issue. And now there he was, sitting at the round council table in closed session with only Claudis and Jaga. “This Leonda,” Claudis said, speaking thoughtfully, “she is still married to Grune, no?” Jaga nodded solemnly. “Yes.” “I can see how the child came about, with you not having knowledge of her state of matrimony beforehand, Jaga. But now...” Claudis trailed off, deep in thought. Grune tensed. As much as he didn’t want it to have to come to this, he regretted the punishment Jaga was about to receive. And as ridiculous as it was, Grune still wanted another chance to be to Leonda what Jaga already was. That would be impossible if they continued to carry on with one another. “She is quite young. But I believe her when she says she no longer loves Grune. She has asked me to have the marriage annulled, Grune. And I’m granting her wish -- though it will still take some time to become official,” Claudis gently explained. Grune looked up at Claudis with an expression of total shock, barely noticing Jaga’s nearly identical reaction. Finally, the burly saber tooth found his voice. “What? When did you talk with her?” he demanded. “That matters not,” Claudis responded. “Both of you should start over anew and recognize the marriage as the apparent mistake it was. I’m not trying to be cruel, Grune, but I truly think it’s for the best for everyone involved. I do believe she cares for you and she does not wish you any ill will...these things, sometimes just happen. Perhaps if you hadn’t been apart from one another so soon after marrying, things would have turned out differently.” Did Claudis really expect Grune to just sit by and watch Jaga and Leonda become a happy little family right under his nose? He’d never felt so insulted in his life. “And so that’s it?” Grune asked incredulously. “Jaga will have to resign his rank in the Thunderian forces for his part in the fraternization. He’ll have to rejoin the troops and start at the bottom,” Claudis explained, almost regretfully. “I see,” Grune responded coolly, his eyes narrowing. It was punishment, but not the standard for such an offense. Jaga was getting off easy, as far as Grune was concerned. Jaga was likely to advance through the ranks quickly with his experience and abilities, making the punishment little more than a slap on the wrist. The thought more than disgusted Grune. Jaga was going to come out of this nearly unscathed and with everything that Grune just lost. “I hope you understand,” Claudis said. Jaga sat silently, contrite in his demeanor. Grune rose from his council seat. “Perfectly,” came his growled reply.

Leonda looked nervous as she tucked little Felina into the arms of Katya. She took a few moments too long fussing with the infant’s swaddled blanket. “You go on ahead with the baby,” she instructed the young lioness. “I’ll join you both at the Academy shortly. I just have a few more things to gather here.” Katya nodded obediently and left Leonda’s home without further ado, taking only a bag of the baby’s belongings with her. “I wish Jaga could have come himself,” Leonda remarked, turning to Lionas. During the time Leonda spent at the Lair poring over the Book of Omens with the nobles, she and the Lady of Thundera became fast friends. Having Lionas here was almost as comforting as having Jaga there would have been. Almost. “After today’s council meeting, he thought it best if you and Felina lay low until things cools off.” Lionas looked slightly nervous herself. “Jaga would have seen you off himself, but he had to begin serving out the first part of his punishment. It’s too bad, though. Little Lion-O is going to miss that daughter of yours. He’s taken quite a liking to her already.” Leonda blushed and averted her eyes to the floor. It shamed her to know she was partly responsible for Jaga’s current state of disgrace. “I understand. And yes,” she said with a fond smile, “it’s cute how he looks out for her.” She thought of the toddler with the shock of red hair showing keen interest in Felina as a new playmate. “Still, I think he’s being overly cautious. Likely he’s asking this of you more for the sake of cooling the scandal than for safety concerns.” Lionas continued. “I don’t think Grune would move to harm either you or the baby. He’s a ThunderCat, after all.” “So is Jaga and that didn’t stop him from bending the rules when it was convenient for him.” Leonda whirled around to see Grune’s massive silhouette darkening the doorway. “Grune,” she gasped, taking an instinctive step back from him, “what are you doing here?” Stepping into the light, Grune stared down upon Leonda, his arms wrapped across his chest in a defensive stance. “You didn’t even have the integrity to ask me for a divorce. Instead, you went behind my back and asked Lord Claudis to annul the marriage.” Even from a distance, Leonda could detect the distinctive reek of alcohol on Grune’s breath. She glanced nervously at Lionas as several awkward moments passed. There was so much she wanted to explain, but the complexity of her feelings and the lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. “I see,” Grune declared as if Leonda had spoken. “So, it just ends like this. Tell me, was anything you ever said to me the truth?” At the time, she had meant everything. She truly did intend on being a dutiful wife when they’d married. But now she knew what real and true love was and there and neither her or Jaga could deny it any longer. It was this marriage that was the biggest lie. Leonda, however, couldn’t vocalize any of these things she was thinking and feeling. But she feared the sorrowful look in her eyes told him everything. A shiver went down her spine when Grune’s eyes flashed with what Leonda swore was pure malevolence. “Answer me, woman.” Grune’s voice rumbled low and menacing. “I...I didn’t mean for this...I...” Leonda fumbled for the right words, failing miserably. “I’m sorry,” she finally managed to squeak out. Grune’s lip curled into a sneer. “I don’t want your pity.” Then, just as suddenly as he appeared, Grune turned on his heel and left. Leonda and Lionas stared at each other in stunned silence.

Grune slammed the shot glass down onto the bar. “What does that old man have that I don’t?” His speech was well-hindered by the alcohol and he spoke at a volume much louder than normal. Swaying on his barstool slightly, he eyed the patrons on either side of him. “Hmmm? Answer me that!” “She really dumped you for that old cat, huh?” the wiry panther to Grune’s left snorted. “Must have money.” “And the guy was your best friend? Damn, that’s gotta really top it off,” said the lynx on Grune’s right. The cat tossed back his bottle and eyed the ThunderCat insignia on Grune’s chest. Grune shrugged, no longer caring about the humiliation of it all. It was all over the City anyway, there would be no escaping from the rumors. Which was especially true now that he heard the latest news on the street -- the betrothal ceremony for young Lion-O was to be announced soon. And who was going to be his intended but none other than the illegitimate daughter of Jaga. That....that was the last straw. The news came like a slap in the face to Grune, as the action all but legitimized everything that transpired over the last year. “Here’s to the Code of Thundera,” Grune said, shakily raising a fresh shot glass. “Who needs it!” he yelled before downing the liquor. The rest of the evening became lost in an alcoholic blackout to Grune. The next thing he knew, he woke up lying on a bench in a tiny park on the opposite side of the city from the bar. He sat up, and quickly regretted it. Gripping his throbbing head, Grune squinted against the early morning sun. Staggering down the street, he paid little heed when a group of Thunderian men approached him. “There he is! It must be him!” One shouted angrily to the others around him. “He’s got the one saber tooth.” Scowling, Grune brought his hand up to his mouth and felt that indeed, one of his mighty sabers were missing. But how? Had there been a brawl? Grune blinked, straining to remember what exactly transpired the other evening. But before he could sort through his mottled memory, the trio of men were upon him. All were of strong, muscular build and bore the crest of Thunderian Lair guardsmen on their togas. The one that appeared to be the leader looked at his comrades with a mixture of unease and regret before he spoke. “Grune of the ThunderCats,” he announced, “it is the will of Lord Claudis that you are placed under arrest for the murders of Lady Lionas and Miss Leonda.

Grune stood in stony silence before the full Council as the evidence mounted against him. He showed no emotion when shown photos of the crime scene -- Leonda, lying on the dusty and remote path between the City and the Academy, her throat mercilessly slit from ear to ear; the body of Lady Lionas nearby, her head caved in from blunt force trauma. He couldn’t remember doing either deed and he refused to look a single council member in the eye. Of the living modern day ThunderCats, Panthro was the only one actively sitting on the council at the time, though he was much younger. Given that Claudis and Jaga alike were too overcome with emotion to run the trial, it was Panthro who presented the case against Grune. Though no murder weapon was located, the circumstantial evidence was staggering. Grune had the motive to wish Leonda ill will. But perhaps the most damning piece of evidence was a single saber tooth found lying in the dirt near Leonda’s slain body. Leonda, in fact, still gripped the large rock that was apparently used to knock the tooth from Grune’s mouth. The evidence on him for the death of Lionas was less convincing, and it could not be proved with certainty that Grune was the one who shoved her hard enough into the rocky embankment along the path to cause her fatal injuries. It was conjecture, therefore, when the council decided Grune did just that when Lionas tried to intervene in his attack on Leonda. As for the charges brought against him regarding the fact that he was the prime suspect in the looting and pillaging of many outer villages following the murders, those seemed to be insignificant in the wake of the two more serious charges. Grune had nothing to say for himself in his own defense, maintaining his silence throughout the proceedings. Anything he might have said would likely not have changed the outcome, which was of course, his conviction of the murder of Leonda. Though it could not be proved he harmed Lionas with intent to murder her, it mattered little. The conviction for his part in Leonda’s death was enough to prompt the council to dole out the maximum punishment under Thunderian law. Again, Grune gave away nothing of his emotions as Claudis finally stood and announced that Grune would be stripped of his ThunderCat status and exiled from Thundera for eternity. Grune gritted his teeth in such a way that it almost looked as though he wore a sneering smile in light of the verdict. He flinched as Claudis and Jaga jointly raised the Sword of Omens. It first stripped Grune of his ThunderCat power, which felt to Grune like his very soul was being torn from him. He wailed in agony, dropping to his knees. Upon a second command from Claudis, the Sword enveloped Grune in a crystalline prison before transporting him through time and space to serve out his exile.

Felina replaced the binder into the box and closed the lid. She sat there stunned, her mind whirling from this new information. Her mother....murdered by Grune. Her father, less than innocent in his role in Grune’s downfall. No wonder Grune hated her father so much. And she, as a child, was caught in the middle of it all; a living symbol of the transgressions of her father. And in a way, she served in exile as well, hidden away at the Academy for fear that Grune might return. How ironic it was, then, that the vengeful saber tooth was here on Third Earth. But perhaps the most disturbing thing to Felina was the parallels she saw in her own life. Like her mother, she hoped she and Lion-O would fall in love in time. But what if they never do? What if her marriage is doomed like her mother’s was? What if she or Lion-O meet someone else with which they fall in love? Felina’s mind reeled with so many uncertainties. She stared wistfully at Lion-O’s sleeping form in the morning light and tried to make sense of this way it was that her people lived.

(Got two themes for this chapter...the first set of lyrics fits Jaga’s feelings about the situation me thinks. The second set seem to sum up Grune’s thinking on the matter.)

Every time I think of you I feel shot right through with a bolt of blue It's no problem of mine but it's a problem I find Living a life that I can't leave behind There's no sense in telling me The wisdom of a fool won't set you free But that's the way that it goes And it's what nobody knows While every day my confusion grows

Every time I see you falling I get down on my knees and pray I'm waiting for that final moment You'll say the words that I can't say

I feel fine and I feel good I'm feeling like I never should Whenever I get this way, I just don't know what to say Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday I'm not sure what this could mean I don't think you're what you seem I do admit to myself That if I hurt someone else Then I'll never see just what we're meant to be

--Bizarre Love Triangle, New Order

You know it never meant much to me There’s something on your mind I can see, It didn’t hurt me too much to find that your were seeing someone else for all of this time, You know that I don't care, and I like you to know that I don’t care I don't need your sympathy, why don't you ever look at me You did nothing from me, You get nothing I'll see You did nothing from me, You get nothing

There’s no today, and there’s no tomorrow, You'll find sadness, and I'll find sorrow, Nobody knows but we always show, I think I’m losing my mind, but that is the way that it goes, And those lies, all of those lies, I can see that the truth light in your eyes So I guess that we are through, you did to me what I did to you

--Let’s Go (Nothing For Me), New Order