"EEEEEEE...you're squishy!" squealed Bast, hugging Axecat around the waist, the inflatable cat, at six foot, six, dwarfing her own tiny frame. In truth, Axecat's air pressure was high enough to give him quite a firm body, but he supposed that flesh and bone has a certain resistance that mere gas lacked.

"Wanna float?" he asked instead, nodding toward the creek where the players had assembled.

"Sure!" cried Bast, climbing onto the cat's back as he lay on his belly in the water, head pillowed on his arms. She lay half-curled across him, kneading her way into a comfortable position which would look awkward to anyone but another cat.

The others sat miserably on the bank and watched. Of course Axecat wasn't worried about death in the classical sense...he could always be re-inflated and the chances of total vinyl obliteration were next to none. Not to mention the fact that things passed very quickly through a body filled with air, particularly emotions.

"Maybe we should take a clue from them and not worry about it," shrugged ThunderManx. "After all, Bast herself said it was to keep people from doing stupid things...well, I imagine she meant *extremely* stupid things considering what the Mutants get themselves up to."

"Yeah, but they're show characters," Altaica pointed out. "They can be brought back."

"Well, you think some one would take into account the fact that some of *us* might end up in the Mutant camp."

"Oh! The horror of a world without the gloriousness of me!" moaned Don Karnage. "Whatever will you poor saps do with yourselves when there is no one to plunder your villages and take what is rightfully mine!"

"Ri-ight," said Altaica cautiously, edging away from the canine. "I suppose you're right about the death...she did say that resurrection spells existed and no real fatalities ever occurred on Thundercats. I'm more interested in character deaths anyway. I'm rather glad they can be brought back without memory of how they died. I'm still rather inexperienced at torture after all and I might accidently do away with someone. Of course, now I can do away with them on purpose and start out fresh...I can demolish Tygra in fifty different ways if I want to!" she exclaimed, eyes widening as though only just realizing the full potential of it all.

"Lass, you worry me," said the snarf as he studied the map. He offered to let her look over his shoulder. "If you're going to be torturing Thundercats, you should find a base of opperations, don't you think?"

Altaica frowned in irritation at having to be reminded of such a thing, but stopped and considered it none the less. "My character, Altaica, had a ship where she could conduct her 'experiments'...but I guess that's out of the question for me. At least for now."

"I plan to wander for a while...explore a little, maybe find some lost pools of magic or additional characters that might have been added in for the benefit of the intrep explorer," winked the snarf. "Our Lady Bast is clever with such tiny details, I think."

"Wandering might be a good idea for a time," agreed Altaica, "although I don't know where I'll wander to. Once I get myself established I'm definitely going off to find some tiger action."

"I might allow you the honour of wandering toward Castle Plun-darr to enjoy my most enjoyable company," grinned Don Karnage. "I am not liking cat-type people overmuch, but I would most enjoy you carrying my bags."

"Doesn't he ever give up?" asked Altaica to the group in general.

"Not as far as I know," said the snarf mildly.

"Well you can carry your own bag as far as I'm concerned, Donny," said ThunderManx.

"Ack! Never call me that name!"

"Because...*Donny*...I'm heading for either the Cat's Lair or the Tower of Omens," finished the panther with emphasis.

"Oh!" cried Bast, looking up from her furry raft. "I ran into Jet! She thought you might go to the Cat's Lair and hopes to find you there."

"And you were planning to tell me this when?" asked ThunderManx a little sourly.

"Well, excuse me for enjoying the sun and water," said Bast with a sniff. She kneaded Axecat's back again and settled herself in as the inflatable panther sighed with pleasure.

"You know, some of us would like a massage as well," said the snarf pointedly. Bast grinned wickedly and grew a tail for the sole purpose of flicking it at the only human member of the group.

"To hell with that...how can Axe feel it?" mused Altaica. "He doens't have nerves or anything...he's a balloon!"

"Pool toy," corrected Axecat. "And it's magic, man."

"What form did Jet use," asked ThunderManx, squeezing into the break in the conversation.

"She's a white cat," replied Bast, opening one green eye, but not bothering to move.

"You mean like a white-furred Thunderian?"

"No, like a white cat," emphasized the Avatar. "With paws and a tail."

"That'll put a damper on your love life," smirked Altaica.

"Not necessarily," said the snarf. "One should keep an open mind about such things."

"Both of you are fucked," ThunderManx said, shaking his head. "If she's just a plain white cat then she still needs a friend...probably more than if she were human."

"Well, I, the dread pirate Don Karnage, have no desire for kitties," sniffed the canine...and was generally ignored. The rest of the group was none too keen about finding out what might stoke Don Karnage's desires.

There was an extended moment of silence before Bast opened her eyes again, yawned, and dangled her feet in the water to paddle her feline float closer to shore. "Well you all seem to have your affairs well in hand," she said. "Are you leaving immediately or do you plan to wait until morning?"

"Well, considering the time difference between here and the real world, waiting for morning shouldn't be a problem," said ThunderManx, yawning in turn.

"I agree," said the snarf. "Would you like to join us, milady?"

Bast laughed lightly as she climbed onto the bank and Axecat stretched from the change of weight. "I would like to, but I have one more group to visit. By then you should all be familiar with the rules...or at least the control panels and the help file. Then you can all have some real fun and play the game!"

"So that's it? You show up, rattle off some rules, float on Axecat, and disappear?" ThunderManx asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Well no," replied Bast stretching. "I'll be around. I just won't be around right now." She gave the Thunderian a wink, half turned, and disappeared in a brief shimmer of light.

"Hmmm...wonder if I could learn to do that," mused Altaica, watching the feline depart. "They'd never even see me coming..."

*********************

"Aww...look how cute they are!" gushed Telly, watching Lepraa, Woodstock, and a little brown Bast-cat all curled up together in a furry ball of feline relaxation. Periodically one of them would yawn and once Woodstock woke up to lick Bast's head a couple of times and stretch before lolling back into semi-consciousness.

"Just lovely," snarled Thunderwolf. "What the hell kind of deal is this? What kind of game lets you die?"

"You don't really die, silly, just your character," laughed Telly.

"Same fucking deal!" roared the Thunderian. "Why the hell are you so happy about it?"

"I don't plan to do anything all that dangerous."

"Well I'm with Thunderwolf although I still think he could relax a little," said Artemis, frowning at the lion. "

"Well I don't want to die," whined Wilycub. "And I don't want to hurt either."

"You're all making far too much of this," said MDG Calypso578 calmly. "Bast plainly said it was to keep us from doing anything stupid. If we stick to the game there shouldn't be any problems."

"Fine for you...you're a machine," snorted Artemis blackly.

"I am both biological *and* machine," corrected MDG. "I can be killed just as easily as any of you."

"I don't want to be killed at all!" wailed Wilycub. "It's not fair!"

"How many people have you seen killed on Thundercats?" MDG asked her. He hoped he wouldn't turn out to be the designated cub-sitter. He wanted to concentrate on the making of things. Machine and structure.

"No," admitted Wilycub thoughtfully, her courage rising.

"Right. This game is based on the cartoon so if we behave according to the cartoon we should be okay. Just people who try to be too nasty or do really dumb things are going to get hurt."

"Or so you think," said Artemis blackly.

"Oh so what?" snapped Telly, getting annoyed with all the pessimism. "It's a *game* people! We're not going to get seriously hurt even if our  characters do and if we die, we die! So we have to choose a new character...we can always come back to our first one when the experience drains out...and everyone knows that if you're going to die in a game, you generaly die early on. The more power you accumulate, the less likely death is."

"Well, you have to admit that she has a point there," said MDG, casting a significant look at the other two adults.

Artemis and Thunderwolf considered this. Artemis shrugged. "I suppose she does. But I plan to roam the forests a bit and maybe take up residence with the Warrior Maidens for a time to raise my fighting skill. It's a little more dangerous when one's not hold up in a fortress."

"Well there's safety in numbers," said Telly, calming somewhat. "I plan to head in that direction for much the same reason. We can watch each other's back."

"Lepraa watches my back," replied Artemis with indignity. To suggest thatan Avatar needed a nursemaid...

"Well then, she can watch my back too," shrugged Telly. "Spirits know thatI need it...at least until I can raise my experience level.

"This admition mollified the Avatar and she agreed that there was safety in numbers. "I have definite reasons for going to Cat's Lair," said MDG offhand.

"I'll probably set out there first thing in the morning."

"Oh! Can I go with you, Calypso?" begged Wilycub. "I want to go to Cat'sLair too and play with the Thunderkittens, but I don't know how far I'll get by myself if there are Mutants around. I'm tough, but I'm at level one too."

"Sure, you can come along," said MDG, ruffling the cub's mane. "As Artemis said, there's safety in numbers."

"Where are *you* going to, Thunderwolf?" asked Telly. "We all spilled...it's your turn."

"None of your business," growled the lion.

Artemis snorted. "You just don't know."

"Oh I know what I want alright...it's finding the right place for it," shrugged Thunderwolf. "But I won't be heading for Cat's Lair, that's for sure...I want someone with some *fight* in them!"

"Sheesh! What a Grune!" said Telly, rolling her eyes.

"And? You have a problem with that?" challenged Thunderwolf, taking an agressive stance.

"Not really. Chill out," replied Telly with mild disgust. "If you're just going to fight everybody, you might as well head for the Pyramid now and make your alliances."

"That might not be such a bad idea," said Thunderwolf evilly. Telly rolled her eyes once again and turned to the bedroll she had begun to unpack.

"I think Telly might have the right idea," said MDG. "We should all get some sleep so that we can get started first thing tomorrow."

"Fine," agreed Artemis. "But we need a watch. I'll take the first shift, Thunderwolf, you're next. Calypso, I'll have you go third and we'll finish off with Telly."

"Who put you in charge?" demanded Thunderwolf. He didn't like being ordered about by anyone.

"Someone has to make the schedule," replied Artemis drily. "You and Calypsohave the most powerful senses...you should take the late-night, pitch dark shifts."

"What about me?"

Artemis looked to the source of the piping voice. "Growing cubs need their sleep," she attempted by way of explanation. Then she hit on the perfect excuse. "Besides, we need you rested so that you can wake up at any time and use those eyes and ears of yours if one of us senses something."

"Well...okay," said Wilycub uncertainly. "Is Bast going to stay here?"

The group looked toward the pile of sleeping cats. "I guess so," said Artemis. "Lepraa seems comfortable with her and so does Woodstock. Besides...cats are on red alert even in their sleep...they'll be our back-up guard."

"Can I sleep with them too?"

"I don't think it's up to us," laughed Telly at the young Thunderian's question. "Just plop down with them and see if they mind."

Taking the suggestion literally, Wilycub did so. There was a general shifting at the disturbance and a brief caterwaul from Bast who found hertail sat-upon. Otherwise the groups seemed undisturbed and Woodstock even licked the Thunderian child's head as she tumbled into sleep.

"Hope I can fall asleep that easily," grinned Telly, laying back on her blankets as she watched the stars peek from between the tree branches above. Thunderwolf merely snorted and curled up on his own patch of forest floor.

MDG too spread out his bedroll as Artemis took a watchful position in the crook of a tree. "Wake me up if you need me," he offered and the Avatar shrugged. "None of us are powerful enough to take on any serious enemies yet," he insisted, becoming slightly annoyed by the woman's cool attitude. Artemis signalled that she understood and waved him toward his bedroll.

Sighing, MDG collapsed on the blankets and slowly drifted off into sleep.

*********************