Grune set his journal down and tucked it into his bag.  The last rays of sunlight shone through the window.  "What to do with myself now..." he muttered.  His visit to the Third Moon of Plundarr was almost halfway over.  Much of it had been uneventful, and some of the political meetings had been downright boring.  At least he wouldn't have to be away too much longer, that was a relief.  As he was arranging things in his suitcase, a small paper slipped out of one of the folds of clothing.  He picked it up and read it.  It was Kalin's address, or rather, the address of a club where she could be found in the city.  Probably.  She apparently enjoyed playing games too much to be direct, even in her contact information.  He read the address.  He was free the rest of the evening...

"Oh that's brilliant, Grune, go looking for trouble." he berated himself.  He couldn't believe he was actually entertaining the thought of going to see that woman, that dangerous, manipulative, mysterious, lunatac woman.  That impossibly seductive and alluring woman.  Grune looked at the address again.  He was interested in finding more out about her, as well as her boss, the infamous crime leader Luna, although he knew damn well finding out about Luna was not his true objective.  "What harm could it do, really?" he wondered aloud.  Plenty of harm, especially if Scarlette finds out you're lusting after some lunatac when you should be thinking about her, he thought.  Grune stared indecisively at the paper.  To go or not to go... if he went he might regret what he found or saw.  If he didn't go, he might always regret not going, and wondering.  He hated to think that he was being a coward by not going, and seeing what there was.  He was a Thundercat after all.  Surely he could handle whatever little games she might try to play.  She'd have to be pretty damned good if she could fool him.  "What the hell." Grune decided.  He grabbed a few things, and called the guards that had been assigned to him to have him taken to the address.  Within a matter of minutes, he was on his way.

The vehicle stopped near a building that looked forbidding.  It was large, dark, and very solid.  He could hear the sounds of a lot of individuals inside, though he had no idea what they were doing.  He probably didn't want to know anyway.  If there was one thing he had learned about lunatacs during his lifetime, it was that they were weird.  There was a reason that there was only one letter's difference in the spelling of their species and the word "lunatic", after all.

The guard that had taken him here looked at the building in distaste.  "Ambassador Grune, I really should advise you against this.  That Luna is a crazy power-hungry bitch.  Her friends are all criminals, although no one can prove anything.  This is not in your best interests as a Thundercat ambassador.  Her highness Queen Sileira will have my head if anything happens to you here."

"I am well aware of Sileira's feelings about Luna, and I am sure they are well founded.  However, you forget that I am a Thundercat.  I have dealt with lowlifes in all their forms, and I am not intimidated by Luna and her gang's reputations."

"I know, Ambassador, but..."

"That will be all.  I will contact you when I need a ride back.  Thank you." Grune told him firmly.

The guard took a deep breath and cast one last nervous glance at the forbidding building.  "As you wish, Ambassador."

Grune nodded and walked to the door.  As he went through it, there was a man, who appeared to be a mix of several races, standing near an inside door.  He raised his eyebrow.  "Thundercats?  Here?" he said with a cocky laugh.

"I'm here to see Kalin." Grune informed him in an autoritative voice.  Grune looked over the guy at the door.  He could tell he was somebody's flunky.  He didn't have much going for him either.  He was on the tall side, lean and not terribly muscular.  He had blue skin, which indicated he was likely part frozen lunatac and might have some ice or fire spitting capabilities, but his purple and white hair and tall lanky build were indicative of two other races.  He knew mixed race lunatacs had limited powers, like the mixed race Thunderians.  They couldn't be specialists at anything without a lot of special training.

"Yeah, well, maybe Kalin's not here." the doorman said.  He gave Grune an infuriating smirk.  Jerking around a Thundercat wasn't something he'd ever gotten to do, and he was planning to do it as long as he could get away with it.

Grune knew it too, and snarled at him. "Enough games, you worthless piece of trash!  Now I am going in to see Kalin."  For effect, Grune clenched his fists and got in his face.

The huge angry sabertooth was enough to put the fear of the gods into the lunatac.  "All right, all right!  She's inside." He opened the door and pointed to a red eyed lunatac nearby, a man likely in his mid forties that was full of battle scars.  "Stelthor, this Thundercat says he knows Kalin.  Take him to her, all right?  Before he kicks my ass?"

Stelthor, the red eyed lunatac, laughed.  "You are such a spineless little shit, aren't you Ishar?  Why Luna has you watch the door is beyond me."

"For my people skills and dazzling personality." Ishar replied, and gave them a million dollar smile.

"More like entertainment value, if you ask me." a rude female voice scoffed.  Grune saw Stelthor be joined by a psychic race lunatac woman with hard features and a lightning bolt medallion around her waist.  Instantly she gave Grune the creeps.  He knew right away she wasn't someone to mess around with.

"Aw, I'm crushed." Ishar retorted sarcastically, and went back out the door.

The woman frowned at Ishar, and joined Grune and Stelthor on their way to a different room.  "So this is the famous Grune the Mighty?" she asked.  He could tell she was mentally evaluating him, and her tone wasn't exactly warm or friendly.

"I didn't tell you my name." Grune answered suspiciously.

Stelthor laughed. "You're a sabertoothed Thundercat, who else would you be?  Besides, you fit Kalin's description exactly."

"She'll be pleased to see you.  We were beginning to think you wouldn't pay us a visit.  By the way, my name is Torlei.  I'm an associate of Kalin's and Luna's." the psychic lunatac said to him.  Her voice seemed a tad friendlier now, but her expression still made him wary.

They arrived in a private room where there were several rough looking lunatacs.  Grune scanned the room and saw Kalin among them, sitting in the shadows with a smile of amusement on her face.  He recognized Luna and her bodyguard instantly, as well as the frozen race girl, red-eyed lunatac from the party, and the tall psychic race man who had been with Sileira's friend.  There was another one that hadn't been at the party, a short, round, ugly gravity-race lunatac.  Grune shivered.  Maybe that guard back at the palace had a point.  This crew really didn't seem all that friendly.

Moments later Kalin was at Grune's side.  He wasn't sure how she had moved that quickly, but he didn't really mind.  "You came to visit me... I am flattered."

Luna laughed.  "Yes, I would have thought the royals would have talked you out of coming here.  Sileira and my cousin Lunaro are hardly my biggest fans."

"Can't imagine why." Alluro muttered, inspiring snickers from RedEye and TugMug.  Luna shot them a look, but didn't say anything.

Kalin slipped her arm around Grune's shoulder, and Torlei and Stelthor moved aside.  "I am very happy to see you, Grune.  I'm sure you all will excuse me while I have a word with Grune in private?" she looked at the others.  No one voiced a protest, so Kalin led him out of the room and down the hallway to another room, a room that had a bar in it but was empty except for the two of them.  Kalin walked behind the bar and poured herself a drink.  "What's your poison?"

Grune shook his head.  No way was he going to drink anything from here.  Even if it was only alcohol and nothing that would outright kill him, he wasn't about to let his judgment get impaired when he was here with a bunch of mercenaries and killers that hated Thundercats. "I don't drink."

Kalin shrugged and sipped at hers. "Pity, you seem rather uptight today, Grune.  You need to loosen up and enjoy yourself.  I imagine you must be going crazy with boredom in that palace and all those stuffy political officials."  Grune didn't reply and she laughed.  "No response, well never mind, I know you must be bored, otherwise you wouldn't have come here."

"What makes you say that?"

Kalin approached him and seductively laid her hand on his arm.  "What other reason would there be?  Unless there was something you wanted from me?"

"There's nothing I need from you." he responded gruffly.

"Then why are you here?  I know it's not to spy for the Thundercats.  After all, you've got that code that doesn't permit you to do anything underhanded or of questionable morality.  So you must have a personal interest, then." Kalin looked directly into his eyes and moved even closer to him.

Grune wanted her to stop and get out of his personal space so he could think clearly. At least he thought he did, part of him did, anyway.  There was another part of him, though, an annoying part, that wanted her to stay right where she was and move closer.  He wanted her to kiss him again, even though it was wrong.  He would never initiate it, but if she did it, well no one could blame him if he responded, right?  NO! he yelled back at himself.  What on Thundera was he thinking, lusting after this killer?  Not only was she an enemy, but he was also a Thundercat.  An engaged Thundercat, at that.

"Fighting your feelings for me again, are you?" Kalin asked bluntly.  Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"I have no feelings for you." Grune snapped, too quickly.

Kalin laughed.  "You're a bad liar.  If you'd said that without emotion in your voice, I might have bought it, but that was too much too heated to be a true denial."

"I didn't ask you."

"No, I asked you, actually.  So why don't you at least tell me truth, honorable Thundercat?  If you're torn because you're attracted to me but you love another, why don't you admit it?"

Grune was starting to get angry. This woman had nerve.  How dare she insinuate that he had feelings for her!  Especially if there might be more than a hint of truth to the allegation.  He gave her a cold glare.  "You're full of yourself, aren't you?"

"I'm being honest.  We both know you want me, and I want you.  I have always found Thundercats, sabertooths in particular, very attractive." she leaned in closer.  "And I know if you were getting all you need from your love at home, then you wouldn't be interested in me like I know you are now.  The fact that you came here at all tells me that much.  That and the fact that you aren't going to stop me when I do this." Kalin challenged him, and pressed her lips against his. As much as he may have wanted to, Grune offered no resistance and kissed her back with fervor.

It went on for a few powerful and passionate moments, until Grune came to his senses and pushed her away.  "No, I can't do this!" he growled.

An annoyed expression crossed Kalin's face.  "You know, the phrase 'been there, done that' is starting to apply to this little scenario here, of you and I together and then you oh-so-honorably coming to your senses.  Do you really think that your woman would be proud of you for shoving me away after you made certain you had kissed me just long enough to enjoy yourself?" she asked.

"You don't know Scarlette." Grune said coldly.

"Scarlette, so she does have a name.  Anyway, I am sure Scarlette would not be pleased with how you've handled yourself.  Yes, you are showing some restraint, but not enough to count in most women's eyes.  You led me on, you initiated it by coming here and seeking me out when you knew full well that I was interested in you.  If my promised one had done to me what you are doing to her, I would have broken the engagement for betrayal without a doubt for what you have already done, and probably broken a few bones and bruised his vital organs as well.  So why don't you at least go all the way if you are going to do it, Grune?  Go out with some style?"

Grune grew more angry. "Are you that desperate that you have to beg for it, Kalin?"

Now it was Kalin's turn to lose it. "You're calling me desperate.... you, the one who is sending out signals with every fiber of his being that he wants to be seduced, and then when I act on it, pulls away under the very thin excuse of morality?  At least I am brave enough to admit to what I want and go after it, something I don't think you have the guts to do."

Grune roared. "It's not that I don't have the guts to do it, Kalin, it's more like I don't have the stomach for it.  For you or your little games.  Unlike you, I don't get off on hurting people and manipulating them." He walked towards the door.

"That's right, I forgot, you Thundercats are superior to the rest of us mere mortals, I forgot.  You abide by higher standards because you are already so perfect.  Pardon me, I keep forgetting that." Kalin said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Grune turned around and grabbed her roughly, pinning her against the bar. "Don't push me, lunatac." he warned.

"Or you'll what?" Kalin asked him, not at all intimidated.  "You won't hurt me.  Not only is it against your little 'Code of Thundera', but you're far too interested in me to actually hurt me.  Admit it."

"Interested? In a scheming, conniving killer like yourself?  Dream on." Grune told her coldly, and stormed out into the hallway.

Kalin simply smiled as she watched his retreating form. "You'll be back, Grune.  Oh yes, I will see to that."

Grune had stormed out of the club and was waiting for one of the royal guards to come and pick him up.  He had just sent in a message on the communicator to the palace and he had been told someone was on their way.  He couldn't believe Kalin's nerve.  Who did that woman think she was?  She didn't know him, she didn't know Scarlette, and she sure as hell didn't know anything about the Thundercats.  He glanced down the street again.  Where was that damned guard anyway?

The Thundercat was so caught up in his rage that he was taken completely by surprise when a cheeful voice rang out from behind him in greeting. "Ambassador Grune!"  Grune whirled around and saw a female lunatac, that he recognized from that banquet when he had arrived.  Her name escaped him, but he remembered she had been the date of one of Kalin's friends at that party.  When he met her eyes, she smiled brightly and walked over.  "I'm surprised to see you here.  Did you come to see Kalin?  You remember me, right?  My name is Lurella, we met at the banquet?"

Grune nodded politely.  "Yes, I remember meeting you.  Nice to see you again.  I had come here to visit Kalin, but it was a mistake.  Right now I'm returning to the palace."

"I'm here to meet my boyfriend, Alluro.  You met him, right?  But now you're leaving... I'm sorry to hear that."

"Are you?" Grune asked.  His foul mood was beginning to override his need to be diplomatic.  "Thundercats like me aren't too high on the list of favorites among the locals here.  You lunatacs are too busy playing games and trying to get the better of honest cats like me." he snarled.  Lurella seemed a tad taken aback, and Grune felt a bit guilty for going off. "Sorry." he added.  "I haven't had a good night here."

Lurella shrugged and offered him a smile. "It's all right.  I know how things are, our people don't get along.  I do admire you for trying though.  Too many don't even bother.  It's a shame.  Maybe if we're lucky someday we'll all know what it's like to not be at odds with one another."

Grune let out a laugh. "That opinion can't make you very popular around here."

"I'm not taken seriously anyway.  They all think I'm spoiled rich girl, and I guess it may be true.  Most people just think I'm naive and too trusting, or discount my opinions because they think I'm an airhead.  I don't know, I might be.  My father used to always tell me I was too nice for my own good, that people would wind up taking advantage of me because I wasn't tough or bright enough to say no.  But I know I am smart enough to get by, and if people can't see past that, it's their loss. I'm also empathic, among other psychic powers I was born with, I sense people's feelings and their needs and I just don't understand how others can watch or initiate suffering and not care.  That makes me weak in the eyes of many lunatacs, but it's the way I am."

The Thundercat raised an eyebrow. "You despise suffering, yet you date one of Luna's gang?"

Lurella frowned. "It's not a gang!  And Alluro is different.  He saved my life, you know.  That's how we met.  I was attacked by some thugs on a street and he drove them away.  He only works for Luna because his sister does, and he owes her some money.  He doesn't like it.  He's told me how he really feels about it."

Grune listened, but had trouble with viewing her boyfriend as a 'misunderstood' type. "Either that, or he's playing on your sensitive empathic nature to get something from you.  Watch him, Lurella."

She seemed slightly offended.  "You don't know him!  It's none of your business anyway!  And besides, I can handle myself."

Grune was not convinced of that.  She seemed entirely too taken in by the guy to be objective. Still, it really wasn't his business anyway, so he decided not to push the issue.  He saw the ride he was waiting for turn the corner and wait for him.  He was surprised at the girl in front of him.  Though she was very naive and perhaps not as sharp as others he'd met, he understood why Sileira liked her.  "My ride is here, I must be going back to the palace." he told her.  He then smiled warmly at her.  "It was nice to see you again. You're a decent individual... a rare thing from what I've seen around here.  That bright outlook you have, it's a blessing.  Don't let anyone tarnish that or take it away from you."  Grune waved at her and climbed into the guard's vehicle.

"Good luck, ambassador!" Lurella called out, and made her way into the building.

As the vehicle sped away, Kalin looked out on the street below from a high window.  She had watched Grune since he left.  She wondered what he and Lurella had been talking about, but didn't really care.  Kalin didn't think she could have anything all that valid to even say in the first place.  Kalin watched the vehicle retreating until it was out of sight.  "You think it's over, Thundercat Grune?  You are so wrong.  It's just beginning.  When I'm through with you, you'll never know what hit you, Ambassador.  You'll never see it coming.  Never."