6

School in the Wollo village had stared two months before, and it was nearly time for the autumn festival. Lynx-O and Kohlee were wearing light pants and tops, rather than their warm-weather clothing and uniform. Lynx-O was trying to hold yet another combat lesson, but was finding his student's attention far too distracted by the festival to concentrate.

Kohlee intended to attend the festival, and had asked Lynx-O to come, not because she felt she couldn't do it without him, but because she wanted him there...as a friend. Lynx-O had readily agreed, and asked if she minded other ThunderCats coming as well. She had grinned and said she didn't mind at all.

Once it was obvious that nothing productive was going to be accomplished, Lynx-O decided a game of tag in a large clearing would at least provide some kind of instruction, expend some energy, and be fun. And so the two played tag for a while before sitting on a log to talk.

"Did you ever like to read?" Kohlee asked Lynx-O. "Or draw, or anything like that? Before your accident?"

Lynx-O smiled. "I did," he said. "I loved to read, all sorts of books. And...I still do."

There was a long silence from Kohlee. "You still do? But...how?"

"There is a language for blind people called Braille. It consists of little raised bumps representing the letters. When you run your fingers over the bumps, if you've learned the language, you can read. It is the way I use sensors, and the like, I have something called a Braille board. It looks much like a computer keyboard, with Braille letters on it, and electrical impulses on certain buttons tell my fingers what it going on."

There was another silence, one that reeked of shocked surprise. "There is?" she finally asked, eagerness in her voice. "How do I learn it? Do they make books of Braille? Will you teach me?"

Lynx-O chuckled. "They do make books of Braille, and the computer at the Tower of Omens can convert existing books into Braille as well. And I will teach you gladly. You are quite close to having the sensory sensitivity needed to read Braille easily. Perhaps for the remainder of this school year, along with your other lessons, we can begin learning."

Kohlee laughed excitedly. "I thought I'd never be able to read again!"

"Well, it will take a while to learn. But you will read again. That I promise."

Deep in the woods, two Mutants conversed. "Hoo, I'm not gonna help you, Jackalman," he said. "You want her dead, you do it yourself."

"Nya-ha-ha! Not like I need your help, Monkian," said the jackal. "I've 'borrowed' a Thundranium pistol from Vultureman."

"'Stole,' you mean."

"Whatever. It's strong enough for one Thunderian...more than strong enough! It'll be like shooting puppies in a barrel." He cackled. "Or kittens."

The two Mutants quieted as they neared the place where the two sat talking. Monkian stood silently behind his companion, while Jackalman got out a small pistol from a holster on his belt.

Lynx-O sensed something moments before it happened, and by the way Kohlee stood so quickly and grabbed her staff...she had felt it too. "What's wrong, I feel something," she whispered fearfully to Lynx-O.

Lynx-O had gotten out his Light Shield. "Be ready, young Kohlee. Be ready to run for help if need b-"

Lynx-O never got out the rest of his sentence, as he was hit from behind by the Thundranium beam. It his him square in the back, making him stumble, and seeming to take the strength from his limbs. His legs shook as he spun around and reflected the next blast back at the wielder, but as it was pure Thundranium energy, it didn't bother the jackal in the least. He simply set off as many blasts as the gun would discharge. Whether or not Lynx-O managed to reflect them back, the level of the stuff in the clearing would be too high for the old cat to deal with.

Jackalman's plan had worked. Lynx-O tried to stay conscious, for Kohlee's sake as much as his own, but he sank to his knees, his muscles shaking with the exertion of trying to keep him upright. Jackalman sprang into the clearing and hit Lynx-O over the head with his club. The old cat went down. Jackalman cackled.

He would have to act fast, Jackalman knew. The blasted Lord of the ThunderCats always knew when one of the other ThunderCats was in trouble. Always! But this shouldn't take long, right? After all, it was a little blind Wollo girl. How much trouble could she cause?

At first, it seemed like Jackalman was right. As Jackalman began firing, her whole body froze in fear at the sound of the Mutant's voice. It was him. Somehow she knew this, it was this one that had blinded her to begin with. At first this realization made her freeze yet more.

But then Lynx-O's patient training and teaching began making its way into her consciousness, and even in her paralyzed fear, she realized she knew what was going on. The jackal was firing something that hurt Lynx-O somehow, but it wasn't hurting her. It stank of harsh chemicals and, somehow, fire. Thundranium? Lynx-O had told her of it, and this must be it.

She heard Lynx-O fall to his knees. She heard and smelled the jackal Mutant run past her, and she shook with fear. She heard something, pres7umably the jackal's weapon hit Lynx-O, and she heard him hit the forest floor.

Then she heard the Mutant turn on her, and suddenly understood that he meant to kill her; hurt her badly at the very least. She also realized that she did have to let that happen.

Jackalman nickered as the girl before him readied her stance and assumed a competent-looking fighting stance. He laughed aloud at the look of determination on her face as he leapt forward with his club, intending to bash the girl's head in. Kohlee heard all of this, and she ducked, allowing the club to whoosh harmlessly over her head. She heard his squawk of surprise as he overbalanced and nearly threw himself on the ground.

Advance! She could nearly hear Lynx-O's voice in her head. Attack while he's off balance! The girl sprinted forward, ducking under the branch of the tree she knew was there, as she knew this part of the woods very well by now. She lashed out with the light staff, catching Jackalman in the back and nearly knocking him to the ground.

She smelled his anger as he caught his balance and turned again, growling at the girl that had just humiliated him. Kohlee could swear she heard someone else laughing, deeper in the woods, but paid it no mind. She spun as the jackal sprang at her again, taking a slight glancing blow of the club to her shoulder, but managing to hit Jackalman across the backs of his knees. The jackal went down, and though Kohlee's hyper senses were by no stretch perfected, they were certainly honed enough to hear the jackal hit the ground.

Kohlee darted forward and kicked, as hard as she could, the place where she thought his head was. It ended up being his ribs, and he grunted in pain. Strangely, anther "thud" was heard on the ground, and for a moment, Kohlee had a horrible vision that the jackal's arm or something had been torn off, and hit the ground. But in split second later, her mind convinced her that was impossible. And so...

His club. The young Wollo realized she had been hearing her assailant's club hitting the ground. She grabbed, and Jackalman grabbed at the same time...

Kohlee was certainly no match for Jackalman in strength, but the lithe young girl certainly outmatched him in speed. Her hand closed on the handle of the heavy weapon a mere second before his, and she yanked it back with all her strength. It landed barely a yard away, so heavy was it, but the important thing was, it was out of Jackalman's grasp.

Jackalman was furious. Now, even he could not miss the sound of Monkian's laughter as he watched farther into the woods. Breathing hard he launched himself at the girl, intending to bash her face in with his bare fists. He silently vowed to give Monkian's face the same greeting later.

The jackal's anger was something that Kohlee could use. She understood this. After all, had Lynx-O not told her many stories that illustrated how anger clouded one's thinking? He would be lunging straight at her, mindless of little else.

She darted out o the way yet again, not able to bring her staff around in time to hit him again, but realized that she had cleared a path right to his weapon. He would have it again in a minute.

The fear was beginning to show through the adrenaline. She couldn't keep this up forever, what if help didn't come?

But it did. Almost as if this thought had made it so, there was a sound overhead, a sound she finally realized was the ThunderCats' flying vehicle. She heard a powerful voice cry "Hoooo!" and heard the startling sizzle of a high-powered energy beam heading her way. For a moment she panicked, and crouched to the ground, covering her head and face. For a moment, her mind flashed back on the attack she had tried so hard to block out ever since it had happened. But then she heard Jackalman's yell of pain, heard him run into the woods. She heard two pairs of feet disappear into the trees, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The next several moments were very confusing for Kohlee then, for she had not learned yet how to sort out so many sounds at once. For all she could tell, the clearing was suddenly just full of people. Her parents had heard the commotion and had run for the clearing, with several of the neighbors. As they were out a ways, it took until now for them to arrive. She felt her mother's arms around her, sobbing with relief.. She heard feet everywhere, and at least four voices either asking what had happened, or issuing orders.

Then she caught the name Lynx-O, and she let out a worried cry. Breaking from her mother's grasp, she ran for the place where she had heard Lynx-O fall. After nearly tripping over him, she fell to her knees and frantically felt for his chest, to see if his heart still beat. She felt another pair of hands, which belonged to Pumyra, and pushed them away. She closed her one eye by habit, desperately trying to shut out all the noise, as she sought the heartbeat, and strained her hears for the sound of breathing.

A moment later, she found both, and nearly sobbed with relief. Pumyra, who had already determined that Lynx-O was alive, had let Kohlee find out for herself, and then smiled. "He will be all right, Kohlee," said Pumyra. "We're going to take him to the Tower, if you'd like to come."

Kohlee was certain that had it been her, that Lynx-O would have come along to make sure she was all right. And so, she would do the same. She nodded her head, and Pumyra stood. "Then follow us."

The young Wollo hesitated, turning towards where she'd left her parents for a moment. "Go ahead," said her father, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "We'll be here when you get back."

And so she followed Bengali and Pumyra as they brought their friend to the ThunderStrike, where Lion-O sat now at the controls.

Lynx-O had been brought into the infirmary, which was so full of herbs and other potent natural healing substances that it almost looked more like a greenhouse than a medical room. She lay Lynx-O on a bed near a counter, and set about cleaning his head wound and administering a shot that wound help counter the affects of the Thundranium. The winds had carried the potent fumes away for the most part, but all of the cats had known immediately that it had been used.

Once that was done, Pumyra laid a hand on Kohlee's head briefly, and said that they only had to wait for Lynx-O to wake. Kohlee said she would wait there, and Pumyra said that was fine.

The young girl had actually fell into a doze by the time Lynx-O woke. Her adrenaline rush had worn off, and now she only felt shaky, and exhausted. Lynx-O groaned, and Kohlee stirred. When she realized where she was and that her friend had woken, she lurched to her feet and ran for the sound. She grunted as she ran full tilt into the bed, but ignored this as she stood on her toes to throw her arms around the lynx.

Lynx-O groaned, but he laughed, and put his own arms around her. "Oh, I was worried, Kohlee," he said. "What happened?"

After a moment, Kohlee told the story, and when Lynx-O spoke, he was highly impressed. "Well," he said with a laugh. "If a final exam were needed, my young friend, you just took it. And you passed with flying colors. I am very proud."

Flushing with pride, Kohlee smiled widely. But then she frowned a little bit. "Does that mean you're not going to teach me anymore?"

Lynx-O shook his head and then chuckled. "No, absolutely not," he told her. "I have yet to teach you Braille. And I believe we've a festival to go to next week."

Kohlee laughed and hugged him again.

A week later, it seemed the entire Wollo violate had gathered in the town square for the autumn festival. Food and game booths were everywhere, and there were contests and races and performers.

The ThunderCats, who all agreed that they could use a break, had put the auto-defenses into effect at the fortresses, and joined Lynx-O at the festival. Many Bolkins, and even the occasional Warrior Maiden and Tuska had come to enjoy the festivities.

Lynx-O stood at a booth, drinking a mild alcoholic drink, and listened to Kohlee telling a couple of her friends how she'd fought Jackalman. The battle had done wonders for the girl's self esteem, Lynx-O realized, and she had sought out her friends two days afterwards. She had had enough of hiding, she'd said. And she'd asked Lynx-O if she minded if she went alone. Lynx-O had not minded a bit, in fact he was delighted.

Kohlee planned on going back to school the next year, after she had learned Braille. The school said they would give the books she needed to the Tower, so that Lynx-O could use the computers to convert them to Braille. Kohlee would have some catching up to do, but she felt confident she could do it.

"Lynx-O, I'm gonna enter the three legged race!" Kohlee called to Lynx-O.

"Splendid!" said Lynx-O. "With whom?"

The young Wollo blushed so furiously that it was visible through her dark fur. "Well, with Forir," she said, turning her head form where she'd left the boy at the starting line of the race.

Lynx-O laughed delightedly. "I wish you luck!" he said to her.

Kohlee and her friend did not end up winning, but they came in third, and got a green ribbon each, proclaiming this. Kohlee ran her hands across the embossed number and letters, and smiled.

After the games came a gigantic barbecue. The booths all closed down for the night, ready to open on the next day of the four-day long festival. Fires were lit, and spits of meat and wire cages of vegetables were set to roast in the wood fires, and people sat down in groups everywhere to talk and tell stories.

Lynx-O sat down next to his young student, who turned her face towards him. She recognized his sound and smell by then, and grinned. "Hi!"

Lynx-O smiled. "Evening, young Kohlee. You've no idea how happy I am to hear you having fun." He was nearly done with his own meal by then.

She gave a little bit of an embarrassed laugh. Then she shrugged. "Well...I guess...I guess it's not as hard as I thought it was. I never noticed how much I heard and sensed before...you know, this happened."

Lynx-O smiled. "It's a shame, in a way," he said. "That people with sight miss out on many, many things when they don't need to use them."

"Well...I kinda wanted to thank you," said Kohlee. "For all the stuff you did for me. And I'm sorry for kicking you in the shin that one day."

Lynx-O laughed. "All is forgiven, my young friend."

"Oh...and I made you this." Blushing, she handed Lynx-O something soft.

Frowning in curiosity, Lynx-O took the item, and felt it. Whatever it was, it was very big, big enough to be a blanket, which turned out, that's what it was.

"I knitted it," she said with an embarrassed laugh. "I never did it before, and so mama had to help me. And it was something I didn't have to see much to do, I could feel."

"Beautiful," Lynx-O said, holding the soft blanket to his face. "Remarkable...thank you, Kohlee." He hugged the girl, who hugged him back.

She shrugged, pleased and embarrassed at the same time. "I think it's all one color. But I didn't think it matters a lot to me or you what color it is anymore."

"You are quite correct. It is quite lovely enough without worrying about color."

Just then, as many people were finishing their meals, Forir came over, smiling shyly. "Hey..." he said to Kohlee. "They're starting a dance over there." The musicians of the fairgoers were getting together once more for more music and merrymaking, and the mead and wine were making their way into the crowd as well. "You, uh...want to dance with me?"

Kohlee laughed a little bit, and shrugged agreeably. "Okay," she said to him. "See you later, Lynx-O?"

"Of course." As he listened to the young Wollos leave, Lynx-O turned his face back to the warmth of the fire.

After that night, Lynx-O did continue to instruct the young girl, and very soon, he realized she would not need his instruction for much longer. She was back in school, and had entered a class of warriors, along with others of her group. The instructor had been reluctant, until he saw that she fought better than three-fourths of his class already.

The fact that she no longer needed his training did not stop the old cat from visiting, as they had become quite close friends by then.

And though neither of them knew then, in years to come, for people who might need a bit of encouragement...their story would be told. It was a story, after all, of determination and inspiration.

And courage.