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Chapter Text

Perched on top of an old chair, Jemima passively watched the clearing in the junkyard, ‘It’s certainly more lively today,’ she thought sadly. Her mama, Demeter, sat with Auntie Jelly and Uncle Asparagus on top of the old tire and chatted about how Grandpa Gus was doing. At the same time, Uncle Alonzo and Plato watched Pouncival and Tumblebrutus play, keeping them from hurting each other. Auntie Jenny and Auntie Bomba were sitting too far away to hear, but they were laughing about something. Meanwhile, after Uncle Tugger had left and Uncle George and Aunt Cassandra went off to patrol the borders, her daddy, Munkustrap, was doing his best to entertain the seemingly infinite line of questions from Electra and Etcetera.  On most days, Jemima would be very much inclined to join Electra and Etcetera in a game or watch Tumblebrutus and Pouncival compete in how many tumbling passes they could do across the clearing before falling or getting tired. Still, she just couldn’t bring herself to join them. 

Her parents had noticed her dour mood earlier and asked how she was feeling, but when she insisted she was okay, they set it aside in the hopes that she would open up later. Although Jemima had resigned herself to sitting out on all the fun until she felt better, two cats decided they couldn’t just sit idly by any longer. Jemima felt her fur prickle before she heard the gentle voices in her mind. ‘Hello Jemmy,’ the deeper voice of Coricopat greeted happily from within her head, ‘May we join you,’ the calmer voice of Tantomile asked. Jemima didn’t need to answer verbally, and the two psychic twins had already hopped up onto the chair with her once she thought of her approval. Tantomile loafed down to her left while Coricopat did the same to her right, and the three of them sat and watched the junkyard below them.

 No words left their voices or their minds for a moment before Tantomile continued the conversation. “Something troubles you,” she stated aloud as if it were a proven fact, and Jemima no longer felt like trying to deny it. “How did you know,” Jemima said curiously, although she somewhat knew the answer already. The mystical cats knew almost everything that went on in and out of the junkyard and were always willing to lend a helping paw when needed. “We saw a dark cloud obscuring your aura,” Tantomile replied in her usual calm manner. “We didn’t want to pry, but we could see that this has been weighing heavy on you,” Coricopat admitted, his ears pinned back in worry. Jemima’s tail flicked nervously as she thought of what to say, how much to reveal. Ultimately, she decided if anyone could help her with a rather peculiar problem, it would be the two most peculiar cats she knew. 

Jemima tucked her paws even further under her body, shrinking even further into her already tiny frame, “I-I’ve been having strange dreams,” she confessed. “Nightmares,” Coricopat and Tantomile asked gently. Jemima shook her head decisively, “They’re not just dreams or nightmares,” she insisted, “I-I…I think I’m seeing the past, or at least other cats' memories.” Neither of the twins said anything as they waited for Jemima to gather the courage to continue. “Last night, it was like I was looking through my mother's eyes,” she explained confusedly, “Macavity was there. He was saying something , but it was all mixed up, so I couldn’t understand.” Jemima sniffled, “Whatever he said really hurt her, and I felt her pain. Mum said something back, and then Macavity started hissing and spitting! He got right up into Mum's face and even swiped at her! Like a real one, not like when Mum or Uncle Lonz wants to shoo off Uncle Tugger.” Tantomile purred, attempting to comfort her friend, “Jem, I can only imagine how scary and confusing this must have been for you.” Jemima’s ears pinned low to her head, and her tail lashed in anxiety as she continued. “That's only part of it,” she clarified, “I-I always felt like something was different about me, something within me that I can’t explain!”

Sensing her growing fear and sadness, Tantomile pressed her body into Jemima’s, and Coricopat mirrored his twin. It wasn’t much, but it did provide her with the comfort she needed to get to the core of her fear. She spoke hesitantly, “I just know things, like when someone feels sad, when Papa is ready to start play rehearsals but hasn’t told anyone yet, or how to help Grizabella with her song.” Jemima’s sweet voice cracked as she tearfully admitted, “I don’t know what's wrong with me, but being that close to Macavity, even in a dream, something in him felt familiar to whatever is in me , and that scares me.” Tantomile and Croicopat’s hearts broke at hearing Jemima’s suffering and how she felt about herself, and they took a moment to assess what to say to their distressed friend.

 While her black and maroon coat and wide green eyes already made her more distinct within the clowder, she was always just a bit…different. Despite being a kitten, Jemima is more in touch with others' emotions than her year and a half of life would have you believe. She’s rather intuitive and the most compassionate of the other kittens, almost always able to sense when someone needs some help or company. Still, that wasn’t a bad thing or alarming at all. Jemima had yet to see all of the danger and cruelty outside the walls of the junkyard and the fenced-in porch of her human home. Despite her unexpected emotional maturity, she was still so young and innocent. 

What worried the others was how she was prone to get stuck in trances, staring off into space, completely frozen, minus the gentle rise and fall of her breathing and a very rare blink. However, as Demeter’s daughter, this wasn’t exceedingly out of place either. Her mother was prone to the same staring fits and could have a bit of trouble breaking out of them. That didn’t stop Jemima from accidentally scaring the life out of almost everyone in the Junkyard at some point when they caught her during one, and they were occurring even more frequently as she grew older. Regardless, the Jellicles adore Jemima despite her quirks, and she is just as much of a Jellicle as the others. Jellicles always watched out for kittens, especially their own, but Jemima had this natural pull about her that endeared her to the rest of the tribe. 

Even the more mystically inclined cats seemed drawn to her. Although Tantomile and Coricopat hadn’t been part of the tribe when Demeter left, they slowly became friends with her after her return to the junkyard. The twins did wonders in helping Demeter as she recovered from escaping Macavity’s clutches and adjusted to being pregnant. Once her little Jemima had been born, the twins sensed something special lying in wait within the tiny kitten. They were unsure of what that meant, so they’d decided between themselves to look out for the little queen and help guide her into whatever abilities she may possess. Naturally, the other cats were surprised to see the reticent and mysterious Coricopat and Tantomile fussing and entertaining the young queen as if she were their own little sister. However, with how sweet Jemima was, no one could blame them. 

Coricopat and Tantomile quickly noticed they were not the only ones who had felt unexpectedly bonded to the young kit. The moon reflected the heavy side layer, and while all cats are bonded through the moon, some cats are more sensitive to its effects than others. Coricopat and Tantomile noted five cats in the tribe who were especially moon-sensitive: Demeter, Victoria, Etcetera, Cassandra, and Jemima herself, and moon-sensitive cats tend to stick together. Naturally, Demeter loved her daughter, even before she’d been born, but their bond seemed even closer than most. While most had attributed Demeter’s extra protectiveness over her daughter as leftover paranoia from being abused by Macavity, the twins knew that their closeness to the Jellicle moon had further bonded them together. 

Then there was dear Victoria, who rarely reacted to Jemima’s staring trances, just as Jemima never judged Victoria for her naming fits. The white queen and her brother, Mistoffelees, were brought into the Junkyard when they were still pretty young. The two had been through a lot and had been slow to open up to the rest of the clowder, but Jemima had been a gentle but welcoming presence to the both of them. Despite being slightly older than Jemima, Victoria and her got on like a house on fire and quickly became best friends. While it was harder for them to see each other now since Victoria now had her human family, she came to visit often, and more often than not, the two queens could be found practicing their singing and dancing.  Similarly, while Etcetera and her weren’t exceptionally close, they still got along incredibly well. Their laughter and joyful mewls lit up the junkyard when their mothers brought them together for a play date. 

Every member of the tribe loves Jemima and would do anything to help her because she has such a good and pure heart. The fact that she was afraid her powers made her like Macavity made the twins wish they had talked to her or her parents sooner. Coricopat and Tantomile hadn’t known for sure if they were sensing magic within the kit or something else. They had been afraid of needlessly worrying Jemima and her parents with the prospect of magic. They now realized their mistake for not intervening sooner but knew now was the time to rectify it. First, help Jemima understand her powers, then Demeter and Munkustrap, and lastly, help the rest of the tribe if needed. Tantomile leaned closer to Jemima as she began, “Jemima, there is something we need to tell you.” The comforting pressure seemed to help calm Jemima down, but her body lost some of its tension, and her ears were pricked to attention. Tantomile touched her tail to Jemima’s, and Coricopat did the same. As the twins intertwined their tails, Tantomile, Coricopat, and Jemima’s bright green eyes glazed over as their minds connected.  

Within the mental plane, Jemima felt floaty but still grounded. She felt lighter than she should be but was still connected to some physical area.  Somehow, Jemima felt comfortable in this place despite never being there before. It reminded her of the most recent Jellicle ball. Jemima listened intently to her grandfather as he explained how our perceptions and experiences affected our memories and understood his meaning. Then, the twins reached out to her, and she felt compelled to reach back. She’d been thrown into a vision as soon as their paws connected. She saw Grizabella, saw her whole life go by in the blink of an eye. Jemima had seen how much Grizabella had been hurt, how she hurt others, her desperation to get to the top, and her despair as she fell to the bottom. Jemima had seen some good in Grizabella, the varying amounts of good intentions scattered about her life. Still, she couldn’t say whether her good intentions outweighed her wrong or misguided actions. Grizabella had done a lot of bad, but it felt like the odds had been stacked against her from the start!  It was a lot for Jemima’s young mind to wrap around. She wondered if Grizabella would have turned out differently if she hadn’t been hurt as much.  

However, despite seeing all of the worst parts of the glamorous queen, Jemima truly believed in the pain and remorse that she had. She was unable to move on from her lifetime of hurt and regrets. Grizabella was living trapped in longing for her memories, dreaming to be good again, to be loved again, to be a Jellicle again. Grizabella wasn’t going to live much longer, and if she wasn’t a Jellicle, she would die cold, alone, and miserable. She’d have died desperate to live in her memories rather than living and making more! Again, Jemima had asked herself, would Grizabella not have been so bad if she hadn’t been through so much pain?

Jemima hadn’t known the answer, but she wished Grizabella could have another chance to be happy. That when she died, she’d get a clean slate for her to write herself a new story, one where she could be as good as she wanted, where she wouldn’t carry along the baggage of her grief. However, from what Jemima understood of her Papa and Grandfather’s explanation of the Heavyside layer, cats who die without being the Jellicle choice usually don’t come back for another chance. If she died, she’d go the Heavyside layer without ever being able to recover from her pain. Jemima had realized that's what Grizabella needed! She needed a life without pain—a new life… another Jellicle life. Grizabella needed to be the Jellicle choice. 

Her epiphany had come faster than she could stand, and something greater than her told Jemima she needed to convey that message. Somehow, without ever hearing it before, Jemima had sung of Grizabella’s memories, and the rest of the tribe had resonated with her. They had been proud of the young queen’s firm grasp on Old Deuteronomy’s sermon, thinking her song was meant to showcase that. Only later, when Grizabella had sung the same song, did the other cats truly realize its importance and what it meant for the haggard queen. That had been the first time Jemima saw another cat's memories. No one had questioned her on how she knew Grizabella’s song, so she’d written it off as some weird side effect of the ball or the twins' magic. However, she was soon proven wrong. As time progressed, Jemima began having more visions, usually brief glimpses from another cat's eye view, but now they were getting more intense. Jemima was nervous about what the truth would hold for her but was ready for answers. When she opened her eyes, she saw Coricopat and Tantomile facing her, waiting for her to stabilize within this different plane of existence.

Tantomile reached out and covered Jemima’s paw with her own, drawing the maroon kitten’s eyes to hers while Coricopat padded over to sit next to the small queen. In her usual calm and controlled manner, Tantomile began speaking, “You have powers, Jemima. You have your whole life. They just needed time to develop and manifest.” Coricopat’s ears pinned back guiltily, “We suspected, but we didn’t want to alarm you unnecessarily in the rare chance we were mistaken. We see now that was the wrong decision,” he confessed. Tantomile bowed her head in apology, “We’re so sorry that you suffered in silence when we could have helped you,” her shame and regret were evident in her tone. Jemima's shoulders drooped, and her ears pinned low, “What do I do? What if I hurt someone? What if my powers make me like him ” she asked them tearfully, terrified at the prospect of being the next boogycat to plague the streets.

Coricopat shook his head, bending low to make eye contact, “Jemmy, we swear that this isn’t a bad thing,” he promised. Tantomile chirped in with her agreement, “The moon pulls on all cats, but for some, like Mistoffelees and you, or my brother and I, it pulls stronger. Your visions, trances, and heightened sense of intuition are blessings from the Heavyside layer, from the Everlasting Cat themselves.” Coricopat nodded, “More importantly, you need to know that no matter what similarity you might see between yourself and Macavity, you’re nothing like him,” he reassured. 

Tantomile turned more serious, “When Macavity invaded the junkyard, Cori and I got a deep read on his aura before he managed to hypnotize us,” she revealed, “It was entirely shrouded in darkness, full of selfishness, malice, and cruelty.” Coricopat scoffed, “If he even has a heart, it is cold as stone and black as a moonless night!” His sister nodded solemnly, “You would need to ask your parents for more information on Macavity, but we could see that even without his powers, Macavity was willing and eager to hurt others.” Coricopat elaborated, “His powers did not make him who he became. He’s a cruel, depraved, self-obsessed megalomaniac, and even if he’d never had magic, he’d be doing the same things he's doing right now, just on a lesser scale,” he hissed angrily and had to force his fur to lay flat after he’d puffed up in agitation. 

The amused look Tantomile gave her twin seemed to soothe him. Then she redirected her gaze back to Jemima, “You don’t have to worry about your powers turning you into Macavity because you are his complete opposite,” she assured. Coricopat beamed proudly as he nuzzled Jemima’s head, “You are caring where he is cruel, you are compassionate where he is callous, and you are good-hearted where he is fiendish,” he complimented earnestly. Jemima straightened up a bit as her fear slowly left her. While she knew that Coricopat and Tantomile had tolerated her well enough, she had no idea they thought so highly of her. Although impossible to see beneath her deep red coat, she flushed as she nuzzled her friend back. A small but rare smile graced Tantomile’s muzzle, happy to see that her and her brother’s efforts to reassure their friend were working. Tantomile joined in, “Whether you are a magical cat, a mystical cat, or some other type of cat, your powers do not and will never define you,” she swore. A smug look blossomed in Tantomile’s eyes, “let alone turn you into an ill-tempered raggabrash like Macavity,” she smirked. 

Jemima couldn’t help but giggle after being surprised by Tantomile’s out-of-character jab. She reached up to nuzzle the mystic queen, who purred contentedly. Coricopat’s larger body encompassed both Jemima and his sister, and the deep rumble of his purring seemed to reverberate throughout Jemima’s more petite frame. Jemima’s eyes shut slowly as she grew more and more content in their comfort. Soon, the twins’ eyes closed as well, content and more secure in the knowledge that Jemima would be able to traverse the new world of her powers with their support. The first part of their job was done.

As if no time had passed, Jemima opened her eyes along with Coricopat and Tantomile as the twins unwound their tails. They were back on top of an old chair. Jemima looked back down to the clearing. Her Mum was still talking with Auntie Jelly and Uncle Asparagus, Plato and Uncle Lonz encouraged Pouncival and Tumblebrutus as they did backflips off a pile of junk, Auntie Bomba was still with Auntie Jenny, Electra and Etcetera were still hounding her Papa for as many answers as he could give them. The sun seemed to shine a little brighter as a perky smile made its rightful place on Jemima’s face. Suddenly, she felt a tongue grazing over her left ear. Tantomile began grooming her, and Coricopat spoke gently and soothingly, “Jem stone, we want you to know that you can come to us for help no matter what. We know what it’s like to feel out of place. I imagine how you’ve felt is similar to how we felt as we came into our powers.”

Her large jade eyes widened in shock. Jemima hadn’t thought about it before because they seemed so confident in their abilities, but it made sense for the twins to have struggled as their powers developed. Jemima could remember when Mistoffelees had kept his magic under wraps, only revealing a diminutive portion of his powers as his trust in the tribe grew. It was only at last Jellicle ball that he showed off the true breadth of his powers, fully trusting that the tribe wouldn’t abandon him. However, that raised another concern in Jemima. How was she going to explain her powers to her parents? Another problem, how are the rest of the Jellicles going to react?!

Tantomile stopped grooming her to speak, “You won’t need to worry about that, Jem,” she comforted. “We’ve been meaning to meet up with your parents to discuss something for a while now,” Coricopat added. Tantomile got an unreadable look on her face, “While we deal with them, you should go enjoy the rest of the day with your friends. I think a certain tom is waiting for you to notice them,” she chirped. Jemima looked down to the clearing and saw Pouncival watching her from the corner of his eye. Once he saw he had her attention, he turned around and flipped off of the junk pile, managing a few backflips before he tripped over his tail. Jemima hopped off of the chair to make sure Pouncival was ok and Electra and Etcetera soon came over to greet their friend. Uncle Lonz smiled and nuzzled her head, happy to see she was finally out of her somber mood. “Jemmy,” Demeter called, and Jemima looked up to see her mother smiling at her. Demeter reached down next to her and held up a scrunched-up piece of newspaper in her mouth then threw it towards the kittens and a paper ball game began, letting Alonzo, Plato, and Munkustrap finally have a bit more freedom. Jemima laughed as Tumblebrutus swatted the ball and managed to bean Electra in the back of the head, it was a lively day in the Junkyard indeed. 

Chapter Text

After what his sister had just pulled, Coricopat was not a happy cat. After Tantomile had directed Jemima’s attention to Pouncival, the three watched as the young tom flipped off the junk pile he stood on and tripped pathetically over his tail. Despite falling flat on his face, the young tom’s dastardly ploy for Jemima’s attention worked as she immediately hopped off the chair to check on her friend. Coricopat turned to glare at his sister, ‘Was that necessary,’ his mind’s voice grumbled. Tantomile turned her nose in spite, sitting up to groom her already clean paw, ‘What? She’s just going to hang out with her friends, and Pouncival is one of her friends,’ she insisted. Coricopat watched the rest of the kittens come up to greet Jemima, his stern gaze focused on Pouncival in particular, ‘You know what I mean. He’s been making goo-goo eyes at her since before the last ball,” he scowled. Tantomile stretched and rolled her eyes as she scoffed, ‘Oh, so now you’re going to stop Jem from hanging out with other toms, too.’ Coricopat groaned as he stood, ‘Oh everlasting, you’re still not over that!’

When Tantomile had joined in Bombalurina’s dance at the height of the last Jellicle ball she’d been excited to pair up with another tom besides her brother. She loved him, of course, and loved dancing with him, but she was a grown queen. If she wanted to have fun with the opposite sex, she should be allowed to do so. Instead, she saw how Coricopat deliberately positioned himself in Plato’s spot so he couldn’t dance with her. If it had just been this one incident, Tantomile probably would have let it go, even though letting go of grudges was not typically a cat's nature. Unfortunately, Coricopat had ‘cock-blocked’ her, for lack of a better term, at nearly all of the previous Jellicle events. He’d ‘accidentally’ stood in Alonzo’s spot at the Summer Solstice dance, cut in front of Munkustrap at the Halloween Jubilee, and even straight up glared George out of the way at the Bast celebration!

Tantomile leaped off the chair onto the fence, ‘Maybe I wanted to dance with Plato or George. Did you ever think of that,’ she pouted. Coricopat huffed as he followed her, ‘For the last time, I wasn’t going to let any horned-up rowdy toms feel up my sister!’ The mystic queen mentally groaned. While Tantomile loved her baby brother, who was younger by a whole 15 minutes, she was annoyed by his overprotectiveness. Resolving to leave this argument for later, Tantomile and Coricopat refocused on their next objective to help Jemima. They needed to explain Jemima’s powers and what it meant for her to her parents.
The twins perched on the edge of the wall, preparing for their next steps, ‘I’ll get Demeter, you get Munkustrap. We’ll bring them back to our den so we can have some privacy,’ Tantomile decided. Coricopat nodded, and the two brown tabby cats hopped off of the wall, breaking off into two separate directions. Tantomile padded over to the old tire where Demeter had been chatting with Jellylorum and Asparagus Jr. Their auras looked brighter today, which warmed Tantomile’s heart a tad, ‘Gus must be having one of his good days,’ she mused. Tantomile did her best to make herself noticeable as she hopped onto the tire. She didn’t want to give any of the other cats a fright as she accidentally tended to do.

Demeter noticed Tantomile as she hopped up and gave her a nuzzle as she sat next to her. Tantomile, Asparagus, and Jellylorum reached out their paws to greet each other. “Well, look who decided to stop by,” Jelly grinned, softly nudging her front paw into her brother’s side. Asparagus bowed his head in greeting, a relaxed smile gracing his muzzle, “How have you and Coricopat been.” Tantomile settled down in her spot next to Demeter. “We’re fine, just been busy helping our human,” the witch’s cat answered, “They’ve been receiving a lot of customers as of late, so we’ve been helping out in the garden and with her casting as much as we can.” Jelly’s head bobbed in sympathy and understanding; the Practical cat was always busy, tidying up around the junkyard, minding the kittens, helping her father, tending to the injured in the medical den, and an endless supply of other tasks to make herself useful. It never failed in making her worry for the older queen. While she admired Jelly’s hardworking nature, she spent so much time fussing over others that she seldom left time for herself. “And how are you today,” Tantomile inquired. “Oh, we’ve been just fine and dandy,” Jelly beamed. Asparagus shyly nodded in agreement as his sister continued on, “Olivia took Carbuckety to the theater to visit their granddad, and I’ve managed to clean out the den while Plato and Alonzo were watching Tumbles and Pounce.”

Coricopat’s mind called out to her, distracting her from her conversation, ‘Heading back to the den!’ Right after, she saw her brother and Munkustrap dart up the various piles of trash in the direction of their den. Refocusing on her task, Tantomile hurried to end the conversation, “I apologize for interrupting, but I needed to borrow Demeter for a while.” Jelly reassured her that it was fine, but Demeter turned towards her concerned, the tip of her tail twitching with anxiety. Placing a reassuring paw on her friend’s shoulder, Tantomile reached out to her with her telepathy, ‘It’s nothing bad, I promise.’ Demeter let out a shaky sigh of relief. Jelly, Asparagus, and Tantomile shared farewells as Demeter called out to Jemima and told her she needed to run an errand. For a moment, Tantomile and Jemima locked eyes, a nod of understanding and a slow blink exchanged between them. After promising to return later, Demeter said her goodbyes and followed Tantomile as she led them back to her and her brother’s shared den.

As expected of a pair as mysterious and elusive as Coricopat and Tantomile, their den was out of the way of the main clearings in the junkyard. It was still accessible for Jellicles who needed their guidance, but it was difficult to locate for any cat unfamiliar with its location. The old, chipped, and rusted van lay mostly covered by smaller piles of trash. The back doors had long since been broken off and replaced by the Tantomile and Coricopat with an old but beautiful purple curtain embroidered with yellow suns. It was the perfect spot for the twins to retreat when their powers began to overwhelm them, and it had plenty of room for them to counsel other Jellicles and store their various crystals and herbs. Tantomile stepped up and nudged aside the curtain. Demeter stepped inside and was pleasantly surprised to see her mate sitting on one of the plush pillows as he chatted with Coricopat. Munkustrap seemed just as surprised to see Demeter enter and hopped up to greet her. Tantomile plopped down next to her brother, the two affectionately rolling their eyes while the two mates nuzzled and purred happily in greeting as they made their way over to their seats. After Demeter had settled, she and her mate looked towards the twins expectantly.

Tantomile sat up straighter, carefully watching the couple’s expression, her tone flat and even, “We have something important to tell you. Like I told Deme, it's not bad-” Coricopat interjected, his deep voice calm to avoid sending the parents into a panic,“-but it will affect the tribe. More specifically, Jemima.” Munkustrap and Demeter glanced at each other nervously, the anxious queen softly purring to comfort herself. Munk nodded for the twins to continue. Tantomile chose to cut straight to the chase, “Jemima has magic,” she stated bluntly, her clinical stare looking over the couple to gauge their reactions. Munkustrap’s ears pinned back, and Demeter’s fur puffed up. The two exchanged a scared look, clearly terrified about what this meant for their daughter. Magic had become somewhat of a taboo subject amongst the cats of London after Macavity had gone rogue. The Jellicles were hardly isolated and conversed with other clowders on the regular. How would outsider cats would treat Jemima if they discovered she had magic? That's not even considering the negative side effects one's powers could have against their users. Munk and Demeter had both witnessed the crippling migraines Macavity had gotten when they were younger and still learning how to control his powers, and Mistoffelees’ paw pads were prone to cracking and bleeding when he used too much magic. Why should their kit have to suffer for something out of her control?

Tantomile and Coricopat sat patiently as they waited for the couple to acknowledge them again, literally seeing the waves of fear, anxiety, and protectiveness rolling off of them. Demeter and Munkustrap turned their focus back to the twins, “What kind of magic,” Demeter worried. Coricopat stared reassuringly towards the anxious couple, “Her powers seem to be more mentally and spiritually focused, similar to ourselves,” he explained, “Still, they’ve only just manifested, a few months ago at most.” Demeter and Munkustrap looked to Tantomile to clarify, “She’s confessed to having dreams where she’s living through the memories of other cats. She also has heightened empathy and intuition,” she added, “However, it’s possible that they may evolve further than she is currently presenting.”

Demeter finally calmed down some after learning more about Jemima’s powers. It was a well-kept secret, but Demeter had a touch of magic herself. As she stared into the twins' sharp green eyes, their truthful sincerity reflected back into her, and she knew that they were being honest. While Demeter would love her daughter no matter what kind of powers she had, she felt relieved to know she was already familiar with internal magic and would be able to help her daughter come into her gift. Her time with Macavity gave her deep insight into his magic and how it worked. Despite being able to fly, Macavity’s magic was mostly internal. Casting illusions and hypnotization are manipulations of the mind and senses, as opposed to external manipulations of the physical plane like Macavity’s flight or Misto’s electricity, telekinesis, and conjuration. Demeter scoffed to herself, ‘I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ Macavity had such strong internal magic it made sense that his offspring’s magic would lean internally. Even Demeter’s own magic was internal, her True Sight allowing her to see through illusion and falsehoods. She gained a gift from the Heaviside layer the night she decided to escape Macavity: the ability never to be caught by his illusions and tricks again.

“-he ball,” Munkustrap mumbled, drawing the others' attention. His stern face was lost in thought, and his tail swayed absently behind him. Noticing the others' stares, he explained himself, “At the ball- I always wondered how Jemima knew Grizabella’s song. At first, I thought Grizabella had heard Jemima singing it and was inspired by her, but during dad’s sermon-” Munkustrap paused, still thinking over his suspicions before he continued, “I thought she was just going into a trance with how she was staring, but what if she saw something that let her know that Grizabella was going to be the Jellicle choice?” Coricopat’s ears and tail perked up as he thought back to the Jellicle ball, “During his sermon, Old Deuteronomy had us pass along a message to Jemi. We couldn’t ‘see’ what it was, but from what we could gather from her thoughts, she saw Grizabella’s memories.”
Hearing that, it seemed like everything else clicked into place for the parents.

Again, Demeter was stunned, she knew her mother had lived a hard life before she came into the Jellicles and after she had abandoned Demeter and Bomba and left the tribe, but nothing specific. Her mother refused to talk much about her past while she was growing up and had only been able to learn bits and pieces of Grizabella’s life through stories told by Old Deuteronomy and the other older cats when she was still a kitten. Even those stories, she was sure had been censored and redacted to protect her innocence and her mother’s privacy. The sting of being abandoned had hurt, but it had been hard to see her mother wandering lost through the streets of London. The same went for Munkustrap and even Bombalurina, although Demeter knew her sister was too stubborn to ever admit it. The rest of the clowder had rallied around the sisters to protect and raise them, the adults stepping up to make sure that the queens grew up loved. Still, the hurt of being neglected and then abandoned by her mother so that she could chase stardom had never left her. It wasn’t until she heard the song of her memories that she realized the extent of her mother's pain. But if Demeter understood things correctly, Jemima hadn’t just heard stories about Grizabella. Jemima had seen everything she went through. What a heavy weight for a kitten to bear. Demeter felt awful, how could she have let Jemima live through that and done nothing to help her? She saw Jemima had changed some after the ball. Little things in the questions she asked about the world, the darker parts of it, about being abandoned. Demeter always reassured her daughter that they would never abandon her and that she would always be safe with the other Jellicles, but she still felt she should have done more.

Demeter turned to look at Munk. His head lowered as he stared off into space, his brow furrowed deeply in thought. She might not have been psychic like Coricopat and Tantomile, but Demeter didn’t need to be to know his mind was working to piece this new information together and find out how to help Jemima. Despite not being her biological father, he loved Jemima like his own kitten from the moment she was born. Suddenly, his pupils shrunk in realization, and his amber eyes darted to the twins. His rich voice louder than expected, “Was that why she seemed so off this morning?” Tantomile and Coricopat jumped slightly in surprise, and Demeter's hackles rose again. None of them had been expecting the outburst. Munk cringed when he realized how loud he had been compared to the previous silence, placing his paw over Demeter’s and apologizing for the shock, “This morning we noticed Jemima was acting distant, nervous- like something had spooked her. Did she see another cat’s memories again?” The twins shared a nervous look, which did nothing to help Munk and Demeters’ anxiety, a silent discussion going on between them.

Tantomile eventually closed her eyes and sighed resignedly, her front paws kneaded to fix her seat before she looked back to the parents and continued. “Earlier, when we spoke with Jemima, she told us that she had a dream where she was looking through your eyes,” Tantomile nodded her head to Demeter, “she said that Macavity yelled at you, then swiped at you for telling him off.” The golden queen froze, the memory instantly coming back to her. Demeter couldn’t even remember what they had been arguing about; it was that trivial, but it was the first time Macavity had tried to get violent with her. Munkustrap wrapped his paw around Demeter, his soothing purrs rolling through her smaller body after being pulled into his tall, fluffy frame. Coricopat purred and pressed into her side, “Now that her powers have grown, she’s become instinctually aware of her magic.

When she sensed Macavity’s magic and her own, she got spooked.” Munk's head tilted in thought, “So she knows?”
Her tail calmly flicked behind her as Tantomile nodded, “We explained how magic works and that she had powers, but we’d need to do a few tests and exercises to help her better. With your permission, of course.” Coricopat sat back up and further clarified, “It would allow us to determine better how her magic is affecting her and if she’ll be able to gain further control over it.” Neither parent needed to look to the other to know their answer, “Of course,” Munkustrap insisted. The twins purred contentedly, and Munkustrap watched a small smile grow on Demeter’s face. Between the twins and the rest of the Jellicles, Jemima would be in good hands.

Chapter Text

The night was silent, aside from the occasional noise from the wild animals outside or the wind rustling through the trees.  The moon was still waxing, not quite full, but just enough to light up the world below with its gentle glow. Etcetera felt as though her mind was wrapped in cotton as she slowly woke up, her golden eyes quickly dilating to see in the darkness. Once Etcetera was awake, she was awake, and now her whole body was wound tight with a bright, staticky energy she couldn’t place. She sat on her haunches and turned to see her twin Electra was still sleeping soundly on the other side of the basket. If not for the moonlight, her sister would have appeared no more than a blob, but the moonlight from the windows let Etcetera see her more clearly. The black and red tabby’s chest still rose and fell softly, nothing to indicate that whatever had awoken her from her deep sleep had affected Electra.

Etcetera slipped out of the basket onto the cool wooden floor, kicking her blanket off her leg and shakily rising to her paws. A quiet melody made its way from down the hall, and Etcetera dazedly followed it to the top of the basement stairs. Her ears pricked up, and she could faintly hear her mother’s bright, cheery voice accompanied by the squeaks of mice. The old Gumbie cat was hard at work as usual. Etcetera took a step away from the stairs. When she usually woke up at night, she would wake her twin and play with their ball or watch her mother work. However, tonight, Etcetera was not thinking clearly. As if pulled on a string, Etcetera silently padded through the house to the kitchen, stopping in front of the back door.

For once, Etcetera sat still, something she never did. Minus her breathing, Etcetera stood utterly still as she stared up through the window on the bright green door. Etcetera sat back on her haunches, golden eyes staring wide and hazy as the moonlight poured through the glass, dousing the dilute calico in its silver glow. Leave…The word echoed through her mind like the moon had spoken to her. Leave, Etcetera could hardly keep track of herself now. At what point did she end and the moon start? Leave. ‘I need to leave,’ she thought dazedly.

Despite her stupefied state and her mother’s rules, Etcetera nimbly darted through the cat flap as if being controlled by an outside force. Once out of the back garden, she darted off into the inky midnight streets of London. Somehow, Etcetera easily managed to traverse the darkened streets of England, in no way due to her experience. Still a few months shy of a full-year-old, she’d only been allowed outside with her mother guiding her. The midnight streets were no place for a young kitten such as herself, but she managed to make her way to her destination without encountering any difficulty. Her petite frame easily squeezed through the gaps in the fence that most adult cats couldn’t squeeze through, and she made her way around bits of rubbish and trash until she came to a stop.

The fog in her head had finally lightened, and Etcetera took a moment to gather her bearings. Slightly panting from her journey, she silently peered around and took in her surroundings. She was in the Junkyard, at the main clearing where the Jellicles hung out the most. Her bright gold eyes flitted back and forth. She had never seen the Junkyard this empty, but then again, she didn’t live there. Maybe this is just what the Junkyard was like when she and her sister weren’t having a sleepover with the other Jellicles. A golden spark caught her eyes, and the fog rolled back into her mind. Etcetera hopped up the oven onto the nearby junk pile, bits of clarity drifting back to her when she’d made it to its precipice. Stepping onto the aerial platform, a gold shine stopped her, drawing her eyes up to the main trapeze. Cobbled together from junk and glittering starlight, the trapeze sat untouched, just barely swaying from a previous breeze. 

Like the rest of the kittens, Etcetera liked watching Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer perform their cartwheels and somersaults, but she had always been much more fascinated by their flips, leaps, and twirls on the trapeze. Say what you will about the actions and decorum of the mischievous Calico twins, but none could deny how their natural feline grace came out with their acrobatics both on the ground and in the air. Whenever her older siblings snuck into her humans’ home, she would always beg them to show her whatever tricks they could manage, using the curtains as aerial silks and the curtain rod as a trapeze. Etcetera had also begged her older siblings how to use the trapeze herself, but Jennyanydots forbade it. Their mother had threatened to have Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer by their whiskers if they put their little sister on the trapeze while she was too young and could get hurt, and neither of the mischievous twins dared to disobey that order.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer had done their most elaborate trapeze act at the last Jellicle ball, and this year’s spring kittens were fortunately just old enough to attend. A cat’s first Jellicle ball is always so exhilarating! While it had been difficult for all the kittens to keep up, they’d mostly adjusted to having the energy of the Jellicle moon and Heaviside layer flow through them. They’d still done excellently, and the kittens were so excited for the next one. Etcetera mainly danced in her mother’s footsteps like her twin sister, but she couldn’t help but be mesmerized as her adoptive siblings seemed to fly alongside the Jellicle moon. Even then, Etcetera had felt a pull to do what they did.

Ever since the ball, Etcetera couldn’t help glancing longingly at the trapeze whenever she visited the junkyard, but now she felt like she literally couldn’t look away. It was too high for the young queen to reach, but then she watched the trapeze slowly lower a few inches from its initial position. Now, it was the perfect height, and Etcetera’s paws were locked onto the bar before she’d even processed stepping to the edge of the platform. Etcetera stood frozen in time at the edge of the sky and ground. The moonlight made her white, grey, and ginger coat glow, her golden eyes blown wide and filled with stars as she stared at the horizon before her. A small part of Etcetera told her to step back and heed her mother’s order, but the call of the moon and trapeze was irresistible. One paw in front of the other, she walked off the platform. Her legs kicked up, helping to propel her forward, then she swung her legs back to push her backward above the platform. The wind blew through her coat with each swing, and the world shrank beneath her. She had never felt so free! It felt like her fur was standing on end after she had rolled on the carpet in the living room for too long. However, all things must come to an end, and soon enough, her paws couldn’t hold up her weight anymore, and she slipped off the trapeze onto the ground. Etcetera only barely managed to land on her feet before tumbling over onto her flank. Luckily, she hadn’t been too high and managed to shake off the fall without much fuss. Etcetera sat on her haunches and looked down at her paws, then up at the trapeze and moon. She couldn’t believe what she’d just done.

 As if a spell had broken, Etcetera snapped out of her trance. Her excitement was dampened with fear over being out so late, being alone in the dark, and getting in trouble for disobeying her mother’s rules. Etcetera stood to her paws, wincing at the bruise she could feel forming on her flank. As quietly as she came in, Etcetera snuck out of the junkyard and began heading home. She anxiously tried to recall the way from her previous trips to and from the junkyard. Etcetera was just starting to panic when she saw the yellow picket fence surrounding her home and sighed in relief. She skittered through the gap between the bushes to reach the fence, scrambled up, and hurried into the back garden. Etcetera didn’t know how long she’d been gone but hoped she could make it back inside without being caught. She jumped up the steps and slowly stepped through the cat flap. Etcetera stopped and looked around to see if her sister or mother had seen her. She stood in complete silence for a few seconds, her tail anxiously twitching behind her. When no one came to confront her, she finally relaxed and sighed in relief, thanking the Everlasting Cat for letting her make it home safely and without getting caught. Etcetera began walking back to the living room, ready to lie down and go back to sleep. 

“Cettie! Darling, where were you,” her mother called from behind her. Etcetera startled, her hackles raised as she puffed up in fright before calming down once she’d realized it was her mum. Turning to face her mother, Etcetera could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she came closer. Jennyanydots looked her over, inspecting her for any injuries, “-and why are you so dirty!” Etcetera thought fast to give her mother an answer, “S-sorry! I heard something outside, and when I peeked through the flap I thought I saw a mole in the cabbage patch! I fell through a bush when I tried to catch it.” Jennyanydots rolled her eyes in the way only a mother exasperated with her child could manage, “Cettie, now what have I told you about going outside at night?” she scolded. Etcetera winced, both from the reprimand and the guilt of lying to her mother. Her gaze shifted down to look down at her paws, “I’m sorry, Mum,” she mewled. 

Jennyanydots sighed, looking affectionately at her daughter. She padded closer and nuzzled her cheek to the top of her head, a low purr reverberating from her chest. “Now, now, love. No harm done. I just want to keep you safe,” her mother reassured. Etcetera relaxed somewhat from the comfort, a slight purr rumbling up in her chest. However, she still felt a twinge of guilt for her unsanctioned trip to the junkyard, her impromptu Trapeze trial, and now for lying to her mum. Jenny nudged Cettie onto her feet, “Come on now, love, let’s get you cleaned up.”  Etcetera followed her mother into the living room. Electra batted their cloth ball back and forth between her paws, but she immediately stopped and smiled once she realized who it was. Her mum sat her down on the rug and started grooming her. Electra bounded over and plopped down in front of her, “Where’d you get off to?” Etcetera did her best to describe a mole chase that hadn’t occurred. After finishing her tale, Electra stared back at her sister with an unreadable expression, her head slightly cocked to the side in a way that made Etcetera’s stomach turn. She hoped that if her twin knew she was lying, she wouldn’t call her out on it. Electra shrugged, licking her paw and washing her ear, “Well, hopefully you can get it next time.” Her tone was flat and even, but how her twin’s golden eyes looked at her still made Cettie feel uneasy. Once Jenny finished cleaning her up, Etcetera bolted up to grab the cloth ball and hit it toward her sister, and Electra ran to play along. She was having fun, but as much fun as Cettie was having, she couldn’t help but miss the feeling of the trapeze.

Chapter Text

If someone had asked me before what the definition of happiness was, my answer would have been simple. Most likely, I would have said full bowl of warm cream, playing with my human, Jemima or Mistoffelees, dancing with Plato, or being in the company of the Jellicles. However, as I stared into the morning sky, watching soft glimmers of starlight quickly fading as what could only be a Jellicle sun rose to take the Jellicle moon’s place, I knew my answer had changed. Once Grizabella’s final note rang out, the silence that filled the junkyard was deafening. The whole clowder sat staring, clusters of glowing eyes just watching as Grizabella started to sadly limp away. Except when Grizabella took that first shaky step, I rose onto my paws, steady and sure. 

I’m not as emotionally intelligent as Jemima or Munkustrap, nor do I have the intelligence of lifetimes passed like Cassandra or Old Deuteronomy. Old Deuteronomy and Jemima had reached out to Grizabella with some level of understanding beyond my comprehension. I could only see that Grizabella was hurting both in body and mind. From the limping to her collapse during her song, it was clear to me that her body was dying, and the sorrow in her song told me that her soul had been dying long before her body had begun withering away. The first time I saw Grizabella after her arrival at the Junkyard, she seemed so indomitable and unflappable. She’d hardly reacted to Bombalurina’s scorn nor Cassandra’s disdain. Even when she’d been scratched by Carbuckety and pushed by Pouncival, Grizabella had just brushed them off and continued onward with her head held high. 

In spite of how strong she’d initially seemed, it was clear that the repeated rejections wore away at her proud and stoic veneer. Now she seemed so weak like her life force was leaking out of her like water through a cracking dam. The first time the adults blocked me and the younger kittens from touching Grizzabella, I wondered why she would show up at a place where she was clearly not wanted. It couldn’t have been happenstance that she showed up at the junkyard on the night of the Jellicle ball. As slow and decrepit as she seemed, she would’ve had to have traveled from Tottenham court well in advance to make it to the Junkyard in time. Each time Grizabella appeared, I wondered why she kept coming back when all she faced was rejection, but I found my answer in her song. 

From the steely look of Grizabella’s gold eyes to her inattentiveness to her own injuries, I know that her feline instincts made her aware that her time was drawing nearer. The fact that she’d survived this long must’ve been a blessing from the Everlasting Cat! When she suddenly collapsed during her song, there was a brief moment where my heart filled with dread and horror. For a split second, I truly worried that Grizabella had just up and died right where she stood, her song left permanently unfinished. Then, she breathed in the crisp early autumn air and curled up into herself, and I realized that while she wasn’t dead yet, she was waiting for it. She was anticipating death, not like when good kittens were excited to get toys and stories from Jennyanydots, Jellylorum, and Old Deuteronomy during the winter solstice, but the way a boat at sea nervously waits for a storm while sitting in calm waters under a cloudy black sky. 

Grizabella knew that she was dying and that she would die alone. Coming to the ball had been her last-ditch effort to avoid that. I could see it in her eyes that Grizabella longed for connection, community, acceptance, and warmth from those she’d once loved, but I don’t think she actually expected to receive it. Hope and expectation are such very different things, and while she had shown up hoping for forgiveness and acceptance, she hadn’t looked very surprised at each rejection. She’d kept returning to the ball because it was better than nothing.  While the Jellicles hadn’t accepted Grizabella in our presence, at least she wasn’t completely alone. Except, in a way, she still was. Not physically alone, but with no acceptance or even tolerance of her presence, she was merely alone in a crowd. Before Jemima had begun singing, I saw the grim look of resignation cross Grizabella’s muzzle, that dying alone in a crowd was the closest thing to not dying alone that she would get, so she might as well take it. 

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to touch her. Never in my short life had I ever thought I would want to touch another cat so badly, let alone one that I knew practically nothing about except that she was other and an outcast. Untouchable. Then Jemima started singing, her beautiful soprano voice ringing out through the silence as clear as a bell. Her bright eyes shined as if they were full of stars, and as she sang, it was like some of that starlight relit Grizabella’s hope. I was so close to her that her ears twitched as she sensed my approach. I was a paw step away from her when I hesitated. Normally one of the adults would have stopped me by now. 

I glanced back at where I’d been sitting. Munkustrap seemed caught off guard but almost excited like the bird he’d resigned himself to being unable to catch had finally landed in reach and was ready to strike. Asparagus was stunned, as if he didn’t know what to do with himself. Jelly waited with bated breath. She seemed to almost want to intervene, but more out of anxiety over her safety than malice toward Grizabella. It was as close to acceptance as her mother figure would give. Old Deuteronomy stared into her eyes intensely. The Jellicle leader urged me forward, and I oh so badly wanted to oblige.

When I looked back, I could see Grizabella’s paw shaking anxiously, her desperation practically leaking out of her. She had seemed so proud when she had first arrived at the ball. Now, all I could see was a hurt queen who had no one, and no one deserves to have no one. I reached out and placed my paw in hers as tenderly as possible. She seemed so hurt and fragile that I worried any more pressure might hurt her. A sigh of relief wracked Grizabella’s frame, and at that moment, almost all of her desperation had left her. She turned to face me, and I finally got to see Grizabella clearly. She was utterly filthy, her fur so saturated with oil, dirt, mud, and sand that it had tangled into thick mats. They were so dense that I couldn’t tell what color her coat was.

It was heartbreaking. Her makeup was still done, and she had fixed her coat as best as she could, so she clearly still had some pride in her appearance. She physically couldn’t groom herself like she needed and had no one to help her. Victoria had heard it was natural that as cats got older, they had a more challenging time grooming themselves, but she had never actually seen it while living with the Jellicles. Gus, as old as he was, was never left dirty. His coat may be slightly matted or ruffled from his extra naping, but none of his children would let their father get anywhere close to this filthy. Jellylorum especially would sooner die than see her father in this state. The same went for  Old Deuteronomy, their leader may have a particularly stubborn matt or awkward cowlick from constantly sleeping sprawled across the vicarage walls, but he was never actually dirty. Every cat in the clowder fussed over them, ensuring they had what they needed for their independence and taking care of the things they couldn’t. Even outside of a clowder, cats groomed each other socially. It was a way to bond and socialize with one’s brethren. Grizabella’s coat being in such a state meant that she had been well and truly alone. 

In the split-second that I had been lost in thought, she almost flinched like she was afraid the very sight of her had spooked me, and I would run away, taking my acceptance with me. I did the only thing I could think of to prove that I wasn’t going anywhere. I clasped both paws over hers and brought it to my face. My whiskers twitched against her flesh and fur, and I could feel the dirt and grit that clung and had been worked into Grizabella’s coat. I wasn’t surprised at the slightly musty and old cat smell that stuck to her, and I didn’t care that I could feel it rubbing off into my body. Maintaining a pure white coat had always been difficult, but the tribe was always willing to help her reach a particularly difficult or stubborn spot. 

It didn’t matter how dirty Grizabella might get me. I’d lick her clean myself if I had to, because now Grizabella was one of us. I wouldn’t mind putting up with a musty smell and having to clean a few extra stubborn stains out of my snowy coat if it meant that I could help Grizabella, to make her a Jellicle again, to be someone for her. Then, the rest of the clan surrounded us, and I realized that now was the time to present the newest Jellicle to the tribe. Two shadows of black and white moved in behind her, and I knew I could introduce Grizabella to the cats I trust most. 

I gently guided Grizabella’s paw into Misto’s, still barely twinkling with starlight. His claws were short and well maintained, while Grizabella’s were long and shaped but covered in chipping red nail polish. Still, he held her and smiled as tenderly to Grizabella as he would Jennyanydots or Jellylorum. Alonzo followed behind their brother and greeted Grizabella next, then passed her along to the next tribe member. Everything else happened in a flash, and just like the previous year, another Jellicle cat was sent to the Heaviside layer. Now I sat amongst the rest of my family, Jellicles of all ages scattered through the junkyard in small clusters as they took in the new day. I thought of a new definition of happiness, of restoring a bit of love and care into a haggard old queen and praying to the Everlasting Cat that her new life would be more fortunate. 

Chapter Text

“Alright, girls, line up,” Jellylorum called, hurrying behind the younger queens as she ushered them into position. Victoria, Jemima, Electra, Etcetera, and Rumpleteazer stood up from where they had been sitting and chatting on the tire and lined up in height order. The older queen looked them over and nodded, “Excellent! Now, let's start with our scales while we wait for the boys.” Jelly took her ‘conductor’s stance, standing up straighter and pushing her shoulders back. She waved her paws in front of her, “One, two, one, two, thre-” A loud crash rang out through the junkyard, accompanied by hissing and growling. Tumblebrutus and Carbuckety came tumbling through the Junkyard, but for once, neither was showing off their gymnastic abilities. Tumblebrutus’ larger frame came through the junkyard first, rolling to pin Carbuckety beneath him. Carbuckety was reaching out, trying to scratch his older brother, but was unable to reach him due to his shorter limbs. 

Plato and Alonzo came running right behind them, immediately working to break up the fight. Plato inserted himself between the two and began pulling Carbuckety away, trying to restrain him from getting any more scratches in. Alonzo restrained Tumblebrutus, still hissing and trying to get at his younger brother. Finally, Pouncival, who had been hidden behind the older cats, came trodding through, limply holding his toy sword at his side. Jelly brought a paw to her face. She could already feel grey fur trying to overtake her champagne coat. Jelly shrieked, “ CARBUCKETY AND BILL BAILEY, YOU STOP THAT THIS INSTANT! ” Carby and Tumbles froze. Plato and Alonzo let the boys go now that they had stopped trying to maim the other, and the others watched Carbuckety and Tumblebrutus go ramrod straight as they watched their mother stomp over, her fur completely puffed up in anger. The young toms winced as Jelly grabbed them by the ear with her paws and dragged them up to their den to read them the riot act. 

Plato, Alonzo, and Pouncival shared a knowing look. Those two were in for an earful. Etcetera broke formation and sat down between Rumpleteazer and Electra, “What was that about,” she asked. Pouncival walked over and joined the girls on the tire. He plopped himself down between Etcetera and Rumpleteazer, “ I just wanted to play knights,” he sighed resignedly. Alonzo and Plato followed behind him, Plato sitting next to Victoria, and Alonzo perched himself next to Jemima. “They got into a fight over a bird from the fresh-kill pile,” Plato scoffed, the lax tom all too used to his younger brother’s antics, “It looked like they were gonna work it out. Lonz and I turn around for two seconds and look back to see them trying to kill each other and Pouncival trying to break it up.” Alonzo huffed, licking his paw to groom his fur back into place, “I swear they always fight over the dumbest shit.”

 Victoria, Electra, Etcetera, and Rumpleteazer laughed at the boys’ antics while Jemima pouted, her tender heart always discomforted when her friends argued. Alonzo reached over, slinging an arm over Jemima and squeezing her closer for comfort, “Don’t worry about them, Jemmy, they’ll be over it by tomorrow night at the latest.” Electra’s tail perked up, and her whiskers flicked curiously. Tumblebrutus typically avoided fights, but then again, he could be a little territorial or possessive over what he wanted, “I wonder who started it,” she pondered. Plato shrugged from where he was cuddling with Victoria, “Couldn’t say, but my money’s on Carby. He’s so hot-headed that any smartass comment Tumble made might’ve set him off.” Pouncival snickered, “Doesn’t matter either way. Did you see how mad Mum was? They’re both gonna get it!” Rumpleteazer laughed, nudging a paw into his side, “I ‘aven’t seen Auntie Jelly that mad since I tried usin' the theater curtains as aerial silks!” Teazer paused, the pale calico’s whiskers twitching in contemplation, “Wonda why she didn’t call him by his second name.” Etcetera looked over to her sister, “You’re right! I hadn’t noticed at first, but when she’s upset, she only calls him Bill Bailey.”

“Pshh-Yeah, because he doesn’t have his second name yet,” Plato drawled as chill as ever. The queens all turned to face where he was relaxing on the tire, even Victoria looking up in mild surprise, head tilted in confusion, “What do you mean? It’s Tumblebrutus, isn’t it?” Plato snorted and just shook his head, slouching further into his seat. “Nope! Mum was having a hard time finding a second name for Tumbles. She tried a couple out to see how they felt, but none of them fit, so she just stuck with Bill Bailey and decided to let him find his second name on his own. Same thing happened with me and Olivia, funny enough!” The queens stared at Plato in disbelief, then turned to Pouncival, who only nodded, confirming his brother’s words. Jemima looked back to Plato, confused, “Then why do we call him Tumblebrutus?” 

Plato chuckled, “Remember that play Grandpa Gus was tellin' us about, Growltiger?” He paused, saw the girls nod, then continued, “That was Tumble's favorite story when he was younger. It might still be now, although really he just loves all pirate stories, so it’s hard to say. He’d ask to hear Growltiger nearly every time he saw Grandpa, and he loved to humor him. Growltiger’s bosun was called Tumblebrutus, and he was his favorite character, he said he wanted to be just like him. Guess it works out now that he’s helping Dad on the trains. Maintaining a ship can’t be too different from maintaining a train, can it?” Pouncival snickered, he could practically hear Skimbleshanks hissing in indignation if he’d heard what Plato said, ‘Thank everlasting Dad is with his humans otherwise we’d never hear the end of it!’

Shaking his head, Plato shrugged off his tangent, “Anyways, whenever we played pirates, he always pretended to be Tumblebrutus. Even when Pounce and Carby were born, the first thing he tried to play with them was Growltiger and Tumblebrutus. I started calling him that as a joke and it stuck for everyone. I’m surprised you didn’t know?” Etcetera rubbed her head in thought. “I guess we just never thought about him. I usually paid more attention to Griddlebone,” she mused.

The sound of paw steps coming their way made the group turn to see Jellylorum, Tumblebrutus, and Carbuckety, her sons looking slightly worse for wear. The young toms’ ears were pinned back, tails dragging low beneath their legs and glaring daggers at the other as they sulked over to tire under the watchful eyes of their mother. Carbuckety deposited himself next to his twin while Tumblebrutus made his way over to their older brother and Victoria. 

“I beg your pardon for the interruptions, girls! I’m sure we won’t be having that problem again.” Jelly glanced at her two troublemakers, shooting them with her signature glare that would set any of the kittens on their best behavior. Sufficiently cowed, Tumblebrutus and Carbuckety averted their eyes and nodded. Jelly shifted her gaze back to the rest of her pupils and smiled, “Now, let’s get started.” The girls all returned to their lineup, this time being joined by the boys. Jelly put them through their vocal warmups and exercises, and the afternoon slowly passed them all by.

Jelly clapped her paws together happily, “Great job everyone! I think that's enough for today, so I’ll leave you to have some fun before the girls have to head home.” The younger cats sighed in relief, leaving their rigid positions and spreading out across the tire with their friends. With one last warning look to her boys, Jelly turned and trotted away toward the TSE1, hopping up onto the trunk to sun herself. Etcetera smirked, “Wow, Carby! You and Bill Bailey must’ve gotten an earful!” Tumblebrutus scowled, “Oh, stuff a squirrel in it, Cettie,” he hissed, keeping his voice low so as not to attract his mother’s attention. 

Chapter Text

The summer heat radiated in waves from the paved streets, and the humans left for their homes as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. Despite the human's absence at the old scrap heap, the junkyard became more lively the closer night came. Cats were running about from here and there, clearing out space in the main clearing to ensure nobody tripped while dancing, putting up decorations, and bringing back food for their evening celebrations. All except for their resident chef and upcoming actress. Asparagus and Olivia maintained a brisk pace as they carefully searched through the junkyard. Olivia yelled, "Pounce! Carby! Tumbles! Where are you?!" Her ears twitched, listening closely for an answer or another sign of the mischievous kittens, but pinned back when she heard nothing. Asparagus grumpily followed along nearby, "Come on out, boys!"

The young queen groaned as they continued trudging through the trash. They'd checked all their usual playing spots but turned up empty-pawed, so she was forced to search the more remote areas of the junkyard. It was infuriating how much mischief her brothers got into. She climbed up another junk pile and scanned the area. Still no sign of them. "This isn't funny, so you better come out before I tell Mum," Olivia cried frustratedly, glowering as the sun got even lower in the sky. She was going to throttle the little buggers when she got her paws on them! They were supposed to be getting ready for the party, but they'd gone and run off again!  

Asparagus turned to his niece from the empty wastes of the junkyard, shaking his head, "We've searched the junkyard high and low. They're not here, love." Olivia let out a tiny hiss and kept calling out the boys' names, threatening to get their mother and that they'd miss the party. Her fur bristled slightly when she still received no reply, and her tail twitched nervously. As much as her younger brothers could make her want to rip their whiskers off, she still loved them very much, and their sudden disappearance was concerning. While her brothers were prone to running off, tonight was the Summer Promenade. They'd been so eager to celebrate, but now the start time was growing nearer and nearer, and they were nowhere to be found. Asparagus stepped closer and pressed his head to her side. After another moment of silence, Olivia sunk in on herself and nodded resignedly, gently pushing back against her uncle. She licked down her fur as her uncle stood, then skipped down the pile of trash towards the more populated part of the junkyard, 'Mum's not gonna be happy!'

"Jerrie, Teazer, could you please put these up," Jellylorum asked the twins, holding a chain of old lace handkerchiefs between her front paws. "Sure," the enthusiastic twins cheered. Jerrie stood on his back legs, and Teazer hopped on her brother's shoulders, spreading her front paws to keep her balance. She reached down, taking the fabric from Jelly, " 'Old still, Jerrie," the calico queen chirped as she knotted the lace chain across the gate to the junkyard. Jelly smiled, thanked them for their help, and then walked away, her smile quickly falling off her muzzle.

'Something's wrong," she thought grimly. Being the practical cat she was, Jelly had been making herself busy preparing for the upcoming celebrations and making herself useful wherever she could. She'd entrusted her youngest sons to their older siblings' care, so it wasn't as if they'd been left unsupervised. However, she hadn't seen any of her children since breakfast, and she was starting to get that sour feeling in her stomach that usually came with one of her children having gotten into something. She'd been rushing back and forth across the junkyard as she set up for the party and asked all the other cats she came across, but none had reported seeing her babies. While Plato and Olivia were grown enough to take care of themselves and keep out of trouble, her youngest group of kittens was another story. While her boys were getting older, they were still just rowdy kittens. They surely would've been seen by someone if they'd gotten up to their usual shenaniganery. Plus, her boys loved to party. With the Summer Promenade looming overhead, there's no way they would miss it!

"Auntie Jelly, what's the matter?" Jellylorum almost lept into the air, her fur standing on end as she turned to face the voice. George watched her with eyes full of concern, Alonzo and Plato mirroring his expression. Once she realized who it was, Jelly calmed down, a paw clutching her chest, trying to calm her thumping heart, "Oh, I'm sorry, Georgie! Have any of you seen Olivia or the boys anywhere?" George thought for a moment, "Not since this morning at breakfast. I had morning patrol and saw them leaving the prey pile when I got back. Plato and I just finished picking up the food." Jelly looked to her son, but Plato shook his head nervously, "A little bit after three, I took them to the theater to visit Grandpa, but they went back with Liv. I stayed behind for a little bit until I went to meet George." A tired frown stretched across Alonzo's face, "I just finished the perimeter check, and I didn't see hide or hair of the boys or Olivia." 

The tip of Jelly's tail started twitching as her nerves worsened. That was two hours of her children being unaccounted for. When her daughter kept watch over her brothers, she almost always stayed close to their den or the main clearing. Jelly had already passed by the clearing and their shared home multiple times and still hadn't seen them. Occasionally, Liv might take them on a stroll, but with the festivities growing closer, her daughter wouldn't have done anything to risk making them late. Now, Jelly was running out of possible explanations for their disappearance other than them having gotten lost or hurt somewhere. 

Plato walked over and put a paw on his mother's shoulder, "Don't worry, Mum, we'll find them. Lonz, George, and I'll do a quick sweep around. Liv's probably practicing her lines and watching the boys have a tumbling contest or tryna' to catch a rat or something." Her son's tone was light and joking to try and set her at ease. Still, she could tell that he was worried for his siblings, the nervousness in his eyes out of place on her usually easygoing son. George walked closer to stand next to his cousin, "You go and finish getting ready for the party. We'll find them and send them back to the den," he reassured a gentle smile on her shy nephew's face. Jelly nodded solemnly and began making her way home, sending a prayer to the Everlasting Cat that her daughter was there with her brothers or that she at least knew where they were!  

"Dammnit Pounce, Carby, run faster," Tumblebrutus yelled to his brothers, urging them forward. The twins ran as fast as they could, but keeping up with their older brother and his longer legs was hard. Pouncival flinched and almost tripped as a rock flew past his head and ricocheted off the pavement as raucous shouts followed them. 'I knew this was a bad idea,' he thought as he pumped his legs even harder. As with many of their not-so-bright escapades, this bad idea had been Carbuckety's suggestion. Why Pouncival and Tumblebrutus kept listening to their accident-prone brother after all the times his plans had blown up in their faces, he wasn't sure.

However, this one was having the worst outcome out of all the hair-brained schemes and poorly thought-out ideas Carby had come up with. " Let's sneak out of the junkyard," he said, "We'll be back before dark!" 'Back before dark, my arse,' Pouncival thought bitterly. After returning to the junkyard, they went back to their den. Uncle Asparagus had stopped by, and the kittens were corralled into a nap with their uncle and Olivia. When Carbuckety woke up to see their uncle sound asleep and their sister gone, he'd woken up his brothers, and the three toms snuck out and ran for the more secluded parts of the junkyard. Things had been fine…well, at first. They had played a couple of games and practiced their hunting skills, doing their best to avoid the heat and keep from underfoot as the older cats prepared for the upcoming celebrations.

However, as the evening droned on, the young toms had grown bored sitting by as they anticipated the oncoming festivities. Carby's plan had sounded so exciting, and in the beginning everything had gone according to plan. After sneaking out of the junkyard, the patched brothers wandered to the nearest park. Their parents and older siblings would occasionally take them there when the weather was nice, and it was the only place whose path they could recall from memory. They'd had fun chasing the birds and receiving pets and treats from the nearby human children. Eventually, they'd climbed up a nearby tree to enjoy the last few bits of daylight, but that was just the calm before the storm.

The boys climbed down and began heading home when the sun started to slip below the horizon. That was when they had gotten caught in their current predicament. A group of teenage boys had spotted the trio making their way through the evening streets and had decided to see whose aim was the best by throwing rocks at the young cats. The toms instantly took off running, but the humans followed in hot pursuit and refused to give up despite how many twists and turns they'd taken to dodge them. 

With their stamina draining from the chase, the brothers were struggling to outpace the young hooligans. Carbuckety started to lag behind his brothers, the small tom hissing as a small stone clipped his shoulder. Tumblebrutus glanced back at his younger brothers, watching the humans close the gap between them. At that moment, he made a split-second decision, he'd do anything to protect his family. Stopping on a dime, Tumblebrutus turned to face the humans and launched himself at one of them, his claws fully drawn.  

Alonzo, George, and Plato had agreed to meet back at the old oven before splitting up to search the junkyard more efficiently. After an unfulfilling search, Plato skulked back to their rendezvous point, soon followed by George. Plato looked to his cousin first, "Any sight of them," he asked anxiously, but George shook his head sadly when a female voice called out to them, "Plato, George!" The toms looked to see Olivia scrambling up the oven with none of her usual agility or grace, Asparagus jumping up right after her. "Liv," Plato cheered, bumping heads with his sister, but was shocked when his sister dodged his affection. "Have you seen Tumbles, Carby, or Pouncival," she asked frantically, "I left them sleeping with Uncle Gussie during a nap when Aunty Jenny called me, but they wandered off while he was still asleep!"  Plato groaned, "I'm gonna knot their tails together!" George stepped closer, "Plato, Alonzo, and I just split up to search the junkyard, but he should be back soon. I'm guessing Dad went back to the den?"

Olivia nodded, but before she could say anything else, Alonzo hopped up the side of the oven and sighed once he saw her. "Any sight of them," Plato asked anxiously, Alonzo stepped forward with a displeased expression. "I didn't see them," The harlequin tom explained, "but I caught a whiff of the boys' scent by a hole in the fence. It's right by an alley near the west end of the junkyard." Frustrated groans rumbled out of the other cats. The younger toms knew they weren't supposed to be out of the junkyard alone, especially not so close to dark. Alonzo and Munkustrap frequently reported the nearby dangers that roamed the streets at night, and George had an encounter with a fat-headed bulldog just a few nights prior. Why couldn't the lads ever just stay out of trouble!

Alonzo looked to the young queen, "Liv, go back to the den and tell Jelly what's going on. Then tell Munk that the rest of us are heading out." Then he turned to Plato and George, "I'll show you where I found their scent. Then we should split up again to cover more ground," he suggested. Olivia took off toward home while George and Tumblebrutus followed Lonz to the alleyway and looked around. There was an old dumpster and some trash scattered about, but no sign of the younger toms other than their fading scent. They had to have squeezed through the fence to end up here, and the direction of their scent indicated that they had headed west. Alonzo started strategizing, the black and white tom turned back to face Plato and George, "I'll cover one side of the block, and Plato, you take the other. George, you head a block past us and check ahead, see how far their scent goes." The toms nodded in agreement and ran off following the scent. Alonzo waited for the traffic to pause before hurriedly crossing the street. Keeping a brisk pace, Alonzo followed the younger toms' scents for a couple of blocks, darting in and out of each alley and calling their names to ensure they weren't hiding in some dark corner or trashcan.

"RA~AWWRRR," Lonz's ear perked up at the cry. It kinda sounded like Tumbles. "GET IT!" Alonzo ran to follow the cry and human shouts and saw two adolescent humans retreating into an upcoming alley. Sneaking up behind them, Alonzo peered between the humans' giant legs. The alley was a dead end, and he saw Tumblebrutus and Pouncival being backed into a corner as one of the humans lifted their arm to throw something. Alonzo reared up and jumped onto one of the humans. He climbed up its back, digging his claws in as much as possible. He hopped on the human's head, then scratched and bit the ugly creature's arm and hand. The human swore and tried to reach for the black and white tom, but he quickly pulled back and leaped off the boy's shoulder to scratch the other human across the neck.

"Lonz," Tumblebrutus and Pouncival cried in relief, but the harlequin tom refused to take his eyes off the threats. "Go get Plato! He's looking for you across the street," Alonzo ordered, and the two red and white kittens ran off to find their older brother. After a minute or two of dodging the humans' kicks, grabs, and stones, Plato arrived and backed him up. It only took a few more scratches for the humans to give up, and Alonzo chased the young boys out of the alley. He watched the humans until he was sure enough that they wouldn't double back, then ran back into the alley. He saw Plato checking on his two younger brothers and gently assessing their injuries. Pouncival had a couple of scratches and scrapes, but Tumblebrutus was the worse off. The poor tom was heavily bruised, wheezing, and favoring his right side. Pouncival curled into Tumble's side, a low purr reverberating through him as he tried to comfort his brother.

Alonzo's sharp gold eyes locked onto Pouncival. "What happened," he asked harshly, still agitated from the fight. The patched tom flinched, and a small pang of guilt struck Alonzo's heart. "C-Carby convinced us to sneak over to that park with the fountain," Pouncival confessed, "We'd been there before with Mum and Livvy, so we thought we'd be fine. We were on our way back when a group of humans saw us and started throwing rocks and cans at us! We tried to run, but they wouldn't stop chasing us, so Tumbles charged and scratched their leader to try and scare them off. Then the human got mad and kicked him!"   

Plato worriedly inspected Tumblebrutus' injuries, but Alonzo could tell from his own experience that he needed to see Victor and Jelly. Pouncival started to tear up as Tumblebrutus groaned. Lonz walked closer and gently butted his head against Pouncival's. He was fine with kittens, but comforting others in serious situations like this wasn't really his forte. Lonz tapped the kitten with his paw to make him look up, "He'll be ok," he reassured calmly, "but we gotta get him back to the junkyard. Where's Carby?" Tears started falling from Pouncival's eyes, his hazel eyes full of fear. "I don't know," he cried, "We got split up a few blocks ago."

Alonzo sighed and closed his eyes to gather his composure. Once he'd made a plan, he turned to Plato, "You take them back to the junkyard and tell Munk we'll need a search party. I'm gonna look for Carby." Plato nodded with the most serious expression Alonzo had ever seen on him. Then the auburn tom reached out and pressed into Lonz's shoulder with his paw, "Be safe," he said hopefully.  Alonzo smirked, then ran off in the direction Tumbles, Carby, and the humans had come from.

When he'd gotten up this morning, Alonzo definitely hadn't been expecting to go on a kitten hunt through the nighttime streets of London, but here he was. Beneath all of the posturing and bravado that he'd shown to comfort Plato and Pouncival, he was worried about what he'd do if he couldn't find Carbuckety. Or worse, if he found him and he was hurt or-. Alonzo paused and shook his head before pushing on. Munk always told him he shouldn't get stuck on the worst outcome or he wouldn't be able to see anything else.

With all the chaos, the last of the sun's light slipped away faster than sand through an hourglass. * CRASH * Alonzo stopped and turned to the source of the sound. His ears twitched as the crash was accompanied by humans screaming, followed by loud screeching and hissing. Sprinting as fast as he could, Alonzo followed the sound behind a restaurant, 'There !' Three humans stood throwing rocks and cans at Carbuckety and trying to kick George as he struggled to fend them off. Without hesitation, Alonzo threw himself into the fight. Alonzo was proud to say he was one of the best fighters in the clan, and George was no slouch either. Still, fighting off something so big was a challenge, especially while outnumbered and exhausted.

Carbuckety cowered behind a trash can, another can whizzing overhead as his tiny body quivered with fear. When George found him while trying to escape the humans, he was relieved. He thought he'd finally be safe, but he was wrong. Instead of being warm and cozy back at the junkyard, he was stuck hiding behind a trash can while his cousin fought tooth and claw to protect him. He missed his brothers, his family, the theater, and the junkyard. Carby flinched as another can crashed against his hiding spot with a loud clang, 'I wanna go home!'

"AAAGGGGHHH!!" One of the humans screamed, and Carbuckety looked over to see a new cat dragging its claws down one of the humans' faces. The boy dropped the rest of his ammo and reached up to their face, blood dripping down in bloody rivers and obscuring their vision. Alonzo jumped out of the way of the stumbling human and watched the newcomer leap off the boy's shoulder and scratch another boy across the face. Alonzo jumped over, then scratched and bit the boy's arm as the mysterious cat bit into his cheek. The third human stopped to help their friends, and George took the opportunity to scratch them, making them run back in the opposite direction. George dove through one of the stumbling humans' legs and grabbed Carby by the scruff. Once he'd gotten ahold of his cousin, he booked it out of the alley. After getting past the humans, he dropped Carbuckety out of his mouth and yelled after his fellow protector, "I got him, let's go!"

The second boy yanked his arm within Alonzo's jaws and shook his arm to try and throw him off. Releasing his grip, he spat out the human and jumped away from them, dodging out of the first stumbling human's path. The mysterious figure retracted their claws and dismounted their target, elegantly sticking their landing despite all of the chaos. Alonzo watched them dash and weave through the first and second humans' legs, making them trip on their other friend. "Lonz, come on," George called urgently. Alonzo started to back out of the alley but didn't take his eyes off the other cat. Just before the alley faded from view, Alonzo watched the stranger cat leap up off the wall, fleeing onto a nearby balcony. Seeing them from so far away was hard, but he could tell they had dark coloring and a svelte figure. Their head turned towards him, staring at him as the rising full moon shone behind them, their moonlit eyes barely glowing as they watched him finally turn and follow George and Carby back to the junkyard. 

Chapter Text

Despite the previous scare, the Summer Promenade proceeded on without a hitch. As the moon came to its zenith in the sky, cats danced to the music only they could hear, caught up with friends, and enjoyed the food Bustopher Jones had supplied from his clubs. Alonzo contemplated the evening's events as he sat loafing atop the TSE1 with Plato, George, and Victor beside him. Munkustrap and Asparagus found the three cats as they trekked toward the junkyard, so they debriefed them on what'd happened on the way there. 

The three toms were immediately herded to the communal den to be examined. In reality, it was just a few old crates the humans had stacked for the cats to sleep in as thanks for keeping the vermin away. It served them well enough and was far enough away from the junkyard's office to avoid the humans if they so wished. 

It was a blur of champagne, brown, and black fur as Tantomile, Victor, and Jellylorum darted in and out of boxes to care for their patients. Coricopat greeted them as they approached, already having sensed their presence. Jellylorum nearly tripped over her tail as she ran to her son, grabbing and hugging Carby close and sobbing until Tantomile gently ushered them into one of the nests. Victor came out and called for Alonzo to follow him while Coricopat took George aside for his own check-up. After asking all of the usual questions and looking in all of the usual places, Victor sent him on his way with a gruff, "Take it easy," turning back to tend to his more pressing patients. 

For a moment, Lonz just sat there, head lying on his paws while he processed everything that'd happened. Eventually, he stood up and padded to the other nests to check on Tumbles and his brothers. Olivia held Pouncival and Carbuckety, gently grooming her brothers while her mother fussed over Tumblebrutus as Victor worked. As Alonzo entered the den, Jelly practically pounced on him, holding him close and thanking him over and over. Alonzo purred and awkwardly wrapped his front paws against her to return the embrace. Victor eventually came over, gently headbutting his aunt and informing her he'd finished tending to Tumblebrutus. Jelly rushed back to her son, and Alonzo took the opportunity to slip out before he got caught up in another emotional moment.

Alonzo returned to the clearing, claimed a spot on the TSE1, and dozed on the trunk of the old car, exhausted from his day's work and the kitten's rescue. A little while later, Plato, George, and Victor joined him, thanking him for helping keep their brothers and cousins safe. “How's Tumbles?” Alonzo worried. Victor let out a reserved smile. “Overall, pretty well despite the circumstances, but with the herbs we gave him, he'll be out till morning,” Victor explained, “His ribs are bruised, and his left front paw is sprained, but nothing's broken. He'll be up and tumbling again before we know it!" With his anxieties assuaged, Alonzo relaxed back down on the car until he caught sight of another visitor approaching.

Jellylorum came up the car with Carbuckety and Pouncival. "Alonzo, I know I said it before, but I truly can't thank you enough," she thanked. Alonzo smiled, his tail happily swaying back and forth, "All in the job, Jelly." Jellylorum turned to thank her nephews, and Alonzo looked at her sons sternly. Carby and Pouncival stepped forward, "You really saved us back there, Lonz. Thank you," Pouncival said earnestly, his head lowered in shame. Carby mirrored his twin, "Yeah, I promise we won't do that again." Satisfied with their penance, Alonzo gave the boys a curt nod before their mother escorted them away. The four toms sat in comfortable silence as they watched the rest of the party go on around them.

Multiple gasps came from the tire as Pouncival and Carbuckety animatedly recounted their recent misadventure to the other kittens and Old Deuteronomy. Alonzo scoffed but couldn't find it in him to be too upset. In the same way he had a soft spot for their mother, Alonzo was quite fond of Jelly's three youngest sons. Maybe it was because they reminded him of himself when he was their age or how often he'd been roped into kitten-sitting by Jellylorum. 

Softly drifting in and out of consciousness, Alonzo thought back to their mysterious savior. He never got a good look at them due to all of the action, but their form was sleek and streamlined. It reflected in the way they'd fought. They'd run and leaped with the grace of a dancer, jumping from one human to the other without any fear or hesitation. While he hadn't been able to watch for too long, Alonzo had admired their skill and agile technique.  

"Alonzo, Plato, George, I hear you've had a busy day." The toms all looked up to see Old Deuteronomy puttering closer to them, raising his paw to them in greeting. They all returned the greeting, smiling reverently as the Jellicle leader walked closer. Victor bowed his head to Old Deuteronomy before hopping off the trunk onto the fence and then onto the nearby chair to give them some privacy. 

After a bit of preparing, Old Deuteronomy hopped up the old car and joined the other toms on the trunk. The wise Jellicle leader sat down with a proud smile, "I must applaud you lads for your work today. Fighting off one or two humans is no small feat, but opposing three humans simultaneously is a marvel! Alonzo, George, it's been proven once again that the junkyard has nothing to worry about with you as protectors, and Plato, I know that your mother and brothers are so grateful to have you." 

George blushed and ducked his head down shyly, happy but slightly embarrassed by the praise. Plato shrugged and smiled happily, purring as he thanked Old Deuteronomy for the compliment and laid back down. In contrast, Alonzo puffed up a bit, his vanity tickled, "Oh, nothing out of the usual for us, right, George?" Alonzo watched and rolled his eyes as the shy brown tom shook his head and sank further into himself. Plato tsked and playfully nudged his cousin in the ribs, "You're too humble, mate!" Thinking of the fight again brought Alonzo's thoughts back to the stranger, "Although, this time, we did have a bit of outside help." 

Plato and Old Deuteronomy paused, their heads snapping to look at him. "Oh?" Old Deuteronomy's aged eyes lit up with interest, his head tilted in curiosity, "What do you mean by that?" George straightened up a bit, "I was alone when I found Carby, and we got backed into an alley behind the local Indian restaurant when Alonzo found us. The humans were pretty big, so we were struggling to find an opening to grab Carby and escape. Then, one of the humans let out a screech, and Carby says he saw a cat fall out of the sky and claw them in the face!" Alonzo cheered, "Yeah, you should've seen it! She jumped from one human to the other and did the same to them. She even bit them in the face!" 

Plato looked impressed, "She? You mean they were a queen?" Alonzo stretched as he mulled over his memories, "I think so? It's not like we talked. They didn't even hiss once during the entire fight, but we attacked the same human at the same time. I thought they smelled like a queen, but I might be wrong."  George squinted as he thought back to the alley, "They did seem a bit on the smaller side, but I wasn't paying that much attention. Out of all of us, I think Lonz got the best look." The black and white tom shrugged, "I was too busy trying to keep the humans away from Carby to focus on them for too long. I saw them hop onto a nearby balcony while we were leaving. They were too far away to make much out. All I could tell was they had a short, dark coat, and their eyes barely glowed." Old Deuteronomy picked at his coat, "Must've been blue-eyed; they reflect less light than green or gold eyes do," he said knowingly. After a bit more chatting, Alonzo got bored of just sitting on the sidelines and felt ready to join in on the festivities. He stretched to get the blood flowing back to his legs, then waved goodbye to Old Deuteronomy, George, and Plato. 

Munkustrap and Coricopat smiled as Alonzo slid onto the dance floor and made space for him to join them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tiny kitten slip away from where she'd been hanging out with Electra and Etcetera. "Uncle Lonz," Jemima squealed, practically throwing herself at him. Alonzo spun and chuckled as he caught her easily, "Jemma!" He indulged her for a few minutes, twirling the giggling kitten around the dance floor, taking turns as her father and Coricopat joined in on the fun. It reminded him of the time he tried to teach her ballet. She hadn't taken to it much, but while he hadn't been upset with her, he wished more cats in the clowder knew his favorite dance style. Bombalurina would indulge him every once in a while when she was feeling generous. Still, she was the only ballerina in the junkyard. If she wasn't around or in the mood, he was out of luck, and it sucked having to go all the way to the theater to find a halfway decent dance partner.

The music suddenly stopped, and Alonzo noticed Munkustrap puffing up and rising into his protective stance. Alonzo copied him gently, guiding Jemima behind him. His eyes darted across the junkyard, scanning for any sort of threat. A familiar scent wafted through the junkyard, 'It can't be," he thought incredulously. Then he saw them, a familiar stranger calmly making their way through the piles of junk to join the other cats on the dance floor. Alonzo tried to get a better look but had to move out of the way as Coricopat pushed past him toward the new cat. Tantomile appeared from somewhere and headed in the same direction as her brother. 

The mystic twins and the mystery cat looked each other up and down, circling each other for a moment as an unspoken conversation passed between them. Then, the music returned to the junkyard as Coricopat and Tantomile took the newcomer by the paw and fully brought them onto the dance floor. The three danced together as if they'd done it since kittenhood, but soon, the twins broke away, leaving the cat alone on the dance floor. The stranger wasn't fazed at all and continued dancing on their own. The crowd had spread out a bit, and now Alonzo could finally get a good look at the stranger. 

He felt quite chuffed that he'd been correct in his earlier assumptions. The cat was a queen with dark brown fur on her face and limbs, lighter fur around her torso, and brilliant blue eyes that looked around at the various cats and took in the junkyard. She was clearly a Siamese from her eyes and coat pattern and a well-off one from the intricate, pearl-studded velvet collar around her throat. 'What's a fancy purebred like her doing roaming the streets?' Naturally, Alonzo hadn't had much experience with the fancy purebred cats that the rich humans toted around during their globetrotting. The few he had encountered were fussy, wimpy, pampered little things that couldn't catch a mouse if their lives depended on it. This queen was gorgeous and looked immaculately kept. How did she know how to fight like that?

Despite the hoard of unknown cats surrounding them, she showed no fear as she continued dancing. Alonzo watched, impressed, as the queen rose up en pointe, her steps light as a feather as she danced across the floor. With a final pirouette, the queen curtsied and posed as she finished her solo. The silvery moonlight fell over her petite frame like a gauzy curtain, her eyes and beautiful coat shining as she faced her audience. 

Carbuckety wormed his way through the audience, running up to the queen before anyone could stop him, "HEY! You're the cat who helped us back at the alley!" The queen remained unfrazzled at Carbuckety's excitement, the corners of her mouth pulled up into a coy smirk, "Well, you look like you're doing better." Carby scampered closer and hugged her legs, "Thanks for saving me." The queen startled slightly at the physical contact but recovered almost immediately. She gently grasped Carby's head in her paws and gently turned his head from one side to the other. Her gaze was soft but focused as she clinically looked the kitten over from head to tail, "I was worried that last can had hit you. Thankfully, it looks like I was wrong," she murmured pensively. The queen released her grip once she was satisfied with her examination, and her gaze returned to the crowd, watching the surrounding cats cautiously. 

Munkustrap stepped forward, still on guard but much more calm after seeing the twins and Carbuckety's reactions. Carby rubbed his head against her leg one last time before scrambling out of the way to make way for their head protector. Munkustrap gave the queen a small bow as he greeted her, "Good evening, miss. May I have your name?" The Siamese curtsied. "First or second," she purred, her rich voice as warm and smooth as melted butter. Surprised at her witty response, he paused before giving her a reassuring smile, "Whichever you'd prefer to give." 

The queen tilted her head demurely as she put on the act of thinking his question over. Her moonlit eyes shimmered coyly, "Hmmmm. Asking a queen her name before giving yours isn't proper." Munkustrap blinked again, once again caught off guard. A few jellicles snickered at their eloquent protector being lost for words. The silver tabby quickly recovered, "My apologies," he chuckled, "I'm Munkustrap. Welcome to the junkyard." 

Munk extended his paw slowly to not startle their guest, watching sincerely to gauge her reaction. She giggled at Munk's seriousness and extended her paw daintily, "Well met. My second name is Iahpharoette, but I prefer Cassandra," the queen, or rather, Cassandra, proudly replied. Munk smiled, his tail happily swaying behind him, "Well met, Cassandra. If Carbuckety's assumption is correct, you helped some of our cats out of a tight situation earlier." She huffed, waving her paw dismissively, "It was a trifling matter. Putting ill-mannered humans in their place is a coveted pastime of mine."

George and Plato came out from the crowd, led over by Carbuckety. George stepped forward a bit stiffly while his cousins followed much more excitedly. George bowed his head to the queen, "T-Thank you for helping us! The kitten you helped save is my cousin. Without your help, I don't know if we would've gotten him home in one piece." Plato did the same but with a bright, cheeky grin, "We truly can't thank you enough! My brothers are brats, but we'd be lost without them. Plus, you helped Georgie and Lonz out, too. You're a lifesaver!" Cassandra proudly accepted their praise and gratefulness, "I think I was just at the right place at the right time." 

Upon seeing their head protector's approval of the queen, many of the older jellicles stepped forward to give their greetings. Alonzo made to step forward when he felt a slight tugging on his tail and turned around. Jemima was now joined by Electra and Etcetera, the three young queens staring at Cassandra. "Who's that Uncle Lonz," Jemima asked, finally pulling her gaze back from the new queen in the junkyard. Alonzo sat back on his haunches and explained to the young queens how Cassandra had helped them save Carby. The kittens oohed and ahhed about how cool the new queen was before running off to get a closer look.

Once the surprise had worn off, the music returned, and the jellicles carried on as they had before. Alonzo made to approach Cassandra but saw Munkustrap leading her up the TSE1 to meet Old Deuteronomy. Rather than interrupt their leader's greeting, Alonzo returned to the dance floor. He leaped onto the dance floor with a saut de chat and landed in the middle of the crowd with no difficulty. With that, the dancing was back in full swing. Careful to mind the other dancers, Alonzo gave them a decent berth as he took a few steps in preparation for his double tour. He stared at the old car as he spun. Two turns were hardly enough to make him dizzy, but better safe than sorry. Of course, his choosing the TSE1 as his spotting point was just because it was convenient and had absolutely nothing to do with the pretty queen perched on it!

Once he'd landed, he noticed Cassandra glancing at him as she talked with Old Deuteronomy, a slight smile gracing her muzzle. She looked impressed, but Alonzo couldn't tell whether it was with his dancing or her conversation with Old Deuteronomy. Either way, he couldn't help the way it patted his ego. As more cats flooded the dance floor, Alonzo stepped out of their way and continued dancing alone. He was about to take a break and take a seat next to Jelly when he felt a gentle poke on his back. Alonzo turned, expecting to see Munkustrap, only to come face-to-face with Cassandra. 

Alonzo froze. She was even more stunning up close. The moon was directly above them now, casting a silvery sheen on her rich chocolate coat and making her eyes faintly glow. Her colors were darker than the few other Siamese cats he'd seen before, which made her bright blue eyes stand out even more. "Alonzo, right?" Cassandra asked, finally snapping him from his thoughts. Alonzo smiled and slightly bowed, "That's right, a pleasure to be at your service! I know you've probably already heard it several times by now, but thank you. You really saved us back there." 

"I don't know about that," Cassandra mused, "You seemed to be holding your own pretty well." Alonzo shook his head, "As a protector, I'm always ready to fight off any threats to the clowder. George and I weren't gonna stop fighting until we could save Carby, but your intervention prevented things from ending up worse." Although he was prone to pomp and bluster, Alonzo truly cared about ensuring the safety of the tribe. Even with his vanity, he could admit that Cassandra’s swift intervention had likely saved them all from injury. Cassandra looked him up and down coquettishly, "I noticed your dancing. That was ballet." Alonzo blinked and nodded, surprised at the sudden change in topic. "Y-yeah,” Alono sputtered, “Most jellicles know the basics, but I chose to specialize.”

Cassandra smirked and stepped closer. Alonzo watched her pass by him as she circled him, then felt her side brush against his and flick her tail against his. A shudder spread through his frame as her whiskers grazed his, and Alonzo felt himself flushing underneath his coat. "Well then," Cassandra said haughtily as she faced him, "if you truly wish to thank me, you'll indulge me in a dance." With that, she spun on her heels and began walking toward the dance floor while Alonzo stood frozen in place. After a few steps, she stopped and glanced at him over her shoulder expectantly, her tail flicking side to side in irritation as if to say, 'I'm waiting.' Alonzo caught up with her and took her paw in his as they stood up to their full height and began to dance.

Excited mewls and murmurs rumbled through the clowder about one of their lead protectors dancing with this mysterious new queen. A few jellicles even retreated from the dance floor to get a better look. However, Alonzo could only focus on the lightness of her steps, the length of her lines, and the quality of her turnout. 'Her technique is impeccable,' he marveled to himself. Alonzo lept a few feet away, then turned back and waited for her to follow. Cassandra stepped along without missing a beat, performing a pirouette every few steps. Once she was a few steps away, she extended her paw and locked eyes with him while he came closer and took her paw in his. 

Cassandra rose en pointe, and Alonzo held her close as she dipped into an arabesque penche. His strong paws kept a firm but gentle grasp on her torso as her head and front paws slowly listed toward the ground and gently assisted her as she rose back up. The two stepped together, traveling back to the center of the dance floor. Then Alonzo replaced his paws around her middle and circled her. Cassandra stood perfectly straight as Alonzo slowly turned her. Once they finished their promenade, she allowed him to assist her during her pirouette. Cassandra turned her head from the audience to meet Alonzo's gaze, subtly lifting her eyes upward and shifting her stance. Alonzo caught her intentions, readjusted his hold, and lifted Cassandra high above his head. Alonzo's eyes were locked onto her smooth silhouette, her front paws extended gracefully toward the moon like a swan as he supported her back leg. 

The other jellicles sat in silence as Alonzo gradually turned in place with Cassandra held firmly in his grasp. Finally, he gently lowered the queen to the ground and reluctantly released his grip. Cassandra posed elegantly with her face and front leg raised to the moon as Alonzo knelt down and posed while holding her other paw. 

Caterwauls and applause erupted from the audience as their performance concluded, and jellicles swarmed to flood them with compliments. In all of the commotion, Cassandra and Alonzo were separated as Bombalurina, Tantomile, and Exotica went up to the newest queen. Alonzo was tempted to follow but was stopped when Munkustrap darted in front of him, Jemima riding on his back. "That was incredible, Lonz! I haven't seen you dance like that since last year's Bast celebration," Munk cheered as he softly butted his head against his. "Yeah, you looked so pretty with Miss Cassandra," Jemima squealed, her big emerald eyes alight with excitement, "Can you lift me like that?" As always, Munk tried to decline on his behalf, as his best friend hated to impose anything on anyone. However, Alonzo could never deny the sweet kitten queen something when it was in his power. 

Once more, Alonzo twirled the tiny Jemima around the dance floor, this time lifting her above his head, similar to how he did Cassandra. All the while, Jemima giggled and marveled about how high up she was. After a few minutes of fun, Demeter came forward from where she'd been hiding and gently thanked Alonzo for his indulgence of her daughter with a nuzzle to the side. Despite her protests of not being sleepy, Demeter tenderly herded her daughter home after Munk placated her with the promise of a story.

Now that he was alone, Alonzo looked to see where Cassandra had gone and saw her perched on the tire, chatting and laughing with the other queens. Alonzo couldn't help his fascination with her. Initially, he'd assumed it was just because she'd helped rescue Carby and fought off their opponents with skill and grace that far surpassed what most pampered pussycats were capable of. After her solo performance, his interest shifted to her being a ballerina. Dancing cats were already slightly uncommon outside of theaters, and cats that specialized in ballet even more so. However, Alonzo had felt something shift within her between her solo and now, and he was sure the other jellicles felt it too. Maybe not at first, but after their pas de deux, it was becoming clearer and clearer that she had all the makings of a Jellicle cat. 

It reminded Alonzo of when he wasn't a Jellicle, just a hissy, scrappy young adult not fully out of kittenhood. When, after months of standoffishness, bravado, pomp, and bluster, he'd finally let his guard down and reluctantly joined Plato and Jellylorum in dance at Munk's gentle encouragement. When he finally felt like he'd found a home for himself, only for the dance to end and him to sit down on the tire and worry that he was wrong. 

Before the junkyard, Alonzo had never had a home or even permanent shelter. His mother had shunned him for her new kittens and drove him off once he was old enough to fend for himself. Like most other strays, he just wandered the streets until he found a territory and stuck to it. Alonzo bounced between hiding spots based on human activity and food availability, fighting fully grown toms and queens tooth and nail to survive. Until the day Munkustrap found him. 

Instead of fighting him to take his makeshift den, the silver tabby was excited to see another tom close to his age, and eagerly introduced himself. After weeks of visits, chats, and propositions, Munk managed to slowly lure him to the junkyard with promises of food and protection from humans and other cats. Not one to just sit idly by, Alonzo became a protector to earn his keep. When Alonzo contemplated leaving the junkyard before the other can was thrown, Old Deuteronomy joined him on the tire and asked him how he felt being a Jellicle cat. Alonzo had insistently denied being so. After all, he was nothing like Munkustrap, Jellylorum, Plato, or the Rum Tum Tugger. How could he possibly be a Jellicle cat?

Old Deuteronomy had merely chuckled and placed a gentle paw on his shoulder. "You don't have to be like my sons, Skimbleshanks, or anyone else to be a Jellicle cat," Old Deuteronomy reassured, "There are plenty of qualities needed to be a Jellicle cat, and you've already met them." Alonzo looked at Old Deuteronomy expectantly, hopefully. The Jellicle leader looked at him tenderly with warm gold eyes that always seemed to peer into your soul to see it in its purest form, and smiled, “ Jellicle cats are black and white .” 

Old Deuteronomy continued to list off all of the various things that made a cat a Jellicle cat, and Alonzo unconsciously scooted closer to listen better. As he continued speaking, Alonzo felt something in his heart ignite, like when humans took those little red twigs they called "matches" and struck them to light a candle. Something must have changed in his face, as Old Deuteronomy beamed and said he must've finally lit his 'Jellicle spark.' Alonzo changed that day. After that, he wasn't just a lone stray cat fighting to survive. He didn’t just survive, he was alive. Alonzo was still a stray and always would be by his own choice. However, after that, he was never alone. A Jellicle cat is never alone. Now, as he stared at Cassandra, sitting where he once sat, and catching his stare with her alluring blue gaze, he was reminded of one the finest attributes of a Jellicle cat. "Jellicle cats have moonlit eyes."

Chapter Text

Old Deuteronomy’s wizened brown-hazel eyes gazed up at the sky, a swarm of emotions reverberating through his mind. ‘I knew she still had some of that old Jellicle spark in her! Everlasting, please make her next life easier than this one,’ he prayed as the last morning sparkles of the cat that was Grizabella, finally faded in the morning sunlight. His old bones sagged as he looked down from the tire. 

The euphoric energy that came from the Jellicle moon was waning, and the exhaustion from the previous night of dance, play, magic, and bloodshed was now catching up with them. Several of his jellicle children followed suit as the congregants started to yawn, groan, whine, or wobble. 

A soft thud came from his left, and Old Deuteronomy turned to see Tugger looking no worse for wear with his ever-present smirk, “Penny for your thoughts?” Tugger’s tone was purposefully relaxed so as not to give away his true concern, but it was hard for any of his children to slip things by him, especially the Rum Tum Tugger. Old Deuteronomy sighed, “The ball’s over, but now there’s more work to be done than before.”

A low, soft groan came from his right. Old Deuteronomy turned and found Munkustrap, his poor, sweet boy. His son was still standing tall, but in the better light, Old Deuteronomy could see that he was also very injured. Small rivulets of red started to leak through his silver coat. Straps seemed to sense his father’s eyes on him and met his gaze, then immediately jumped up to his level with a heavy groan and grunt. 

His eyes were tired, and his voice was croaky and rough as he fretted over his father and brother, “Are you okay?” Tugger looked his brother up and down, shaking his head at his lack of self-preservation. “Straps, worry about yourself. You look like you jumped through a pile of broken glass,” he scoffed. Munk finally sat down onto his haunches. “It sure feels like it,” he winced and bit his lip as he tried to collect himself. 

Now that his adrenaline had worn off and the Jellicle moon’s sway over him was fading, his stinging pain was coming in more clearly. He could feel where his bro- Macavity’s claws had torn through his flesh and ripped up his fur, and his claws practically itched with the thought that he had Macavity’s fur, flesh, and blood on them.

“Everyone, come on over to the crates! We’ll get you all checked out,” Jellylorum called loudly, the head nurse taking charge of assessing and triaging everyone. The other jellicles quickly started moving. Tantomile and Coricopat lead the train of cats towards the communal space, Victor assertively ushering along the stragglers, while Bustopher, Skimble, and Morgan gathered up the kittens and helped them along. Munkustrap watched as most of the cats started towards the crates, but also saw Alonzo sitting in place.

Alonzo stiffly rolled his shoulders, his breathing a bit stilted and shallow, like he’d be pained if he moved too much. A blur of brown closed in on the tom as Cassandra darted over to him, and Jellylorum immediately joined in to corner him. Both queens had the same practiced, commanding glare. They’d need to get the brow-beating started early if there was going to be any chance of getting the stubborn tom into the nursery den before he physically needed to be carried there.  

Someone nudged against his face, and Munk jumped a little. He was so exhausted that he hadn’t even noticed anyone coming. He turned and saw Demeter, her rich green eyes full of worry. “Darling, you need to get checked out,” she worried. Munk looked to his brother, who was already rolling his eyes and nodding, ‘Yes , Munk , he would look after Da~ad ,’ before he could even ask. Demeter nudged against his shoulder, “Go on now,” she chirped nervously, “before I sic Jenny on you!” 

Munk chuckled at his mate’s ‘threat’, but still rose to his paws anyway, which got him an incredulous gawk from Alonzo. Cassandra was sat back on her haunches and glaring at the black and white tom with her icy blue eyes, as Jellylorum stood scowling beside her with her forelegs crossed over her chest. Munk shrugged playfully as he slowly passed his friend, “Can’t argue with the queens, Lonz.” Alonzo hissed at him, but was placated by Cassandra gently rubbing her head up his side and nudging into his cheek. The tom shivered as she skimmed her tail up his spine, gently poked him on the back of the head with it to get him up and moving. Munkustrap chuckled as he looked down at his paws, taking one shaky step in front of the other, then-darkness.

Chapter Text

It was the migraine that woke him up. Munkustrap’s brain ached, throbbed, and stung in a very particular way that he’d felt many times before, but never to this extent. It felt like someone had bludgeoned him over the head before tearing his mind into a million little bits with a seam ripper, then tossed salt onto the exposed wounds for good measure. Resisting Macavity’s hypnosis was difficult, and breaking out of it was both challenging and painful. Then again, almost everything involving that devilish reprobate was painful. 

He took a staggered breath as his eyes slowly cracked open. His whole body stung and burned from where Macavity’s sharp claws and teeth had raked across his body and pierced his flesh. Munkustrap had been in a decent number of scraps in his life. Not as many as Alonzo or Tugger, maybe, but enough for him to say that he hadn’t lost many, and had been badly injured in even fewer. However, trying to call what he and Macavity had done to each other a scrap would be severely understating the previous night’s events. A duel or a battle might be more appropriate. That still didn’t feel severe enough, but even with his decently sized vocabulary, he struggled to find a word that was strong, violent, or brutalistic enough. 

They hadn’t needed words as they’d circled each other, the other cats in the clowder watching the unspoken conversation exchanged between brothers.  It was almost funny how, despite being the most truthful of the three of them, Tugger and Mac hardly ever listened to a word he said.  Maybe that was why Macavity had looked so shocked when he’d struck him. In that moment, Munk’s heart twisted in guilt. Macavity’s sunken copper eyes stared up at him with such shock, his paw touching where he’d scratched him. He almost looked like an innocent tom who’d been caught unawares. He almost looked like his brother again, but then again, Macavity had never been a good brother to begin with. 

Despite the small flip-flop of his heart, Munkustrap had stood firm, his guard completely raised and his gaze cold enough to cover his inner turmoil. His keen gold eyes watched Macavity, waiting for what he knew was coming. He watched the shock give way to something dark and sinister. Rage, pride, indignation, and cold calculation all rolled into one bone-chilling glare…and just like that, Munkustrap’s guilt left him. 

That’s how it always was with Mac, his ‘sweet side’ full of charismatic politeness and a facade of geniality cloying for other cats’ trust, until you saw through his act or he saw no more use for you. Then you’d be faced with his jagged cruelty that came out in sharp words, even sharper claws, or a wave of the paw to twist your senses against you and have you back to following his wants and desires. Macavity swiped back his long claws, grazing his skin as he tried to turn out of the way.

Their clash had been a blur of silver and flames as their bodies danced, stumbled, rolled, and flew across the junkyard. Slashing claws and sharp teeth ripping into each other. Blood, fur, and bits of flesh being scattered across the area with each strike.

A creaky groan leaked from Munkustrap’s mouth. His mouth was bone dry, and his throat stung and burned horribly, the pain coming in second behind the migraine. Breaking out of Macavity’s magic was just so hard, and the second time Macavity had enthralled him, he was only snapped out of it by 4 jagged lines of red that had been dealt by his own claws. He’d been an unwilling marionette in Macavity’s sick little puppet show. 

A small part of himself was relieved, he hadn’t had to kill Macavity. He never planned on it, after all, they needed to find Old Deuteronomy, and it would be much harder to do so if his kidnapper were dead. Even more so, he never wanted the lifeblood of another cat to be on his paws, let alone a cat whose lifeblood was so close to his. Still, when it came down to Macavity or the tribe, or even Macavity versus another individual cat’s life, Munkustrap knew what his decision would have been. And even though the thought scared him, deep down, he doesn’t think he would’ve felt that bad about it.

Macavity was just… wrong , he always had been. A back-biter, a rotten egg, a bad seed, whatever negative epithet you wanted to call Macavity, it probably applied. As much as he liked to believe in change and redemption, he knew Macavity would never seek it. He knew that better than he knew his own coat.

 It had always been there; it was unfortunate that Munkustrap had been the only one to see it when they were still young. Most of his grievances and concerns over his brother had been written off as a miscommunication or accident at best or dismissed as petty sibling rivalry at worst. It wasn’t until they’d started approaching adulthood that the other adults started noticing what he’d been seeing. 

Macavity could be incredibly charming and nice, but it was always so shallow. His good deeds seemingly done out of goodwill, but the whole time, he’d grumble about whatever reward he could receive or what benefit a cat would bring him. Never mind a silver tongue, Macavity had been blessed with a gold one. He always had the right words to get other cats to sing to his tune, and the powers to push and bend their minds to dance to his whims. 

“Straps, here.”

 He opened his eyes and saw Victor gently pushing forward a pie tin of water. He leaned forward and sank his head into the vessel, taking a deep drink from the still sloshing water. Soon, his lungs burned for want of air, and he forced himself to pull his head out of the pan. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, but he choked on it from breathing in too fast. Victor hustled over next to him, purring and rubbing his back to try and help him, but there was only so much that could be done. Slowly, his breathing evened out as he took a few moments to collect himself from his painful and disorienting awakening and the bitter memories that had been dredged up.

He stared listlessly ahead, his usually sharp eyes too tired to focus. “How is everyone?” His voice was breathy, croaky, and wet. Munkustrap was almost taken aback by how badly he sounded. Most tended to be a bit raspy after a Jellicle holiday, especially after the ball, but his already tired voice was even further distressed by his injuries. 

Victor let out a deep exhale and shrugged. “Mostly minor injuries and superficial wounds, thank Everlasting. A lot of scratches, sore sides and flanks, and headaches. Lots of headaches. Coricopat and Tantomile used their powers to assess everyone. Pretty much everyone got hypnotized at some point, except for maybe Misto and Tugger, but a few said that they were hit directly with his magic.” 

Munk took another drink as he listened along, swallowing and licking his chapped lips when he finished. “Any major injuries?”

Victor gave him the sharp look that he always got when he got hurt on the job and tried to fuss over anyone else. “You, Lonz, and Jerrie are the worst off. You’ve got a lot of bruising across your ribs, Straps, and some of the deepest claw wounds. Alonzo wasn’t as bloody, but he got thrown even harder than you did, so Auntie Jelly’s giving him a concussion test. Jerrie’s a bit better, he got clawed on the face really bad, and he got thrown too, but we all know he’s made outta rubber. He bounced out of here as fast as he could to go to his mum and sisters." 

His lip tensed into a firm line, “But the others are okay?”

Victor nodded, lifting a forepaw and waving it side to side in a soso motion. “George and Plato fought off some henchcats, and against all odds, managed to make it out all right.” Despite his gruff tone, his voice seemed a touch more tender when focused on his brother, and Victor sighed before continuing. "Electra and Etcetera are still getting checked out by Cori and Millie cause they got hit directly by the magic, and poor Pouncival got flipped like a flapjack, but we’re not seeing anything too concerning yet.”

Munkustrap’s expression tightened, his eyes briefly falling with grief and guilt. He resolved himself to check in on the kittens and their families as soon as Victor would release him. He focused back on Victor and managed a small, grim smile.“Thank you, Victor. I know you must be tired, but you and the others have done a great job taking care of everyone.” Victor gently nuzzled against his side in thanks and ordered him to get some more rest before standing and heading out to care for the other cats.

Munkustrap took in a deep breath and thought over the information. His mind was racing with a myriad of different questions and worries, his tired brain working hard to try to process all of the overwhelming thoughts. Why? What? How? Why kidnap their father, then return to impersonate him? What had Macavity planned on doing with him if Mistoffelees hadn’t magiced him back? Cassandra had made it back to the junkyard, but how, and had Macavity or his goons noticed her escape? Had he found out about the Mistoffelees and his powers? Had he noticed Jemima? What would he have done to everyone if Demeter hadn’t seen through his glamour? How close had Macavity been from taking everything ?

His energy was still drained from all of the physical exertion, and pondering the answers to the seemingly endless questions reverberating around in his cranium only exhausted him more. Before Munkustrap could think too hard, he'd already slowly drifted off to sleep. A few visitors popped their heads in on the regular to take watch over their sweet protector.

Chapter Text

Etcetera blinked awake, her bright yellow eyes still hazy with sleep. Someone shifted beside her, and she looked to see she’d been lying against Carbuckety’s side, the black and brown patched tom’s chest quietly rising and falling. She dazedly turned to see Electra sleeping curled up beside her, her head resting on Tumblebrutus’s flank. Oh yeah-

The evening before, her mother had brought her and Ellie to the junkyard and, after much begging from all of the kittens, had conceded to a sleepover. Although Etcetera had been just as excited for the sleepover as her peers and was eager to have more time to spend with her friends, there was one thing she was worried about.

Ever since that first night a few months ago, Etcetera had been pulled to the junkyard in a moonlit trance. Each month, as the moon began waxing, she’d feel an irrational pull toward the trapeze, only easing once the full moon reached its peak intensity and began to wane. She barely processed all of the late-night excursions to the junkyard, only the call of the trapeze, and her frantic scramble to get back home before she was found out. 

Through her trance, Etcetera would swing back and forth across the clearing, sometimes sitting on the bar, other times holding onto it between her paws, but growing stronger and more capable each session. Or at least slowly learning how to properly dismount after watching her older siblings, rather than falling flat on her bum as she had in the beginning. Once the call had been answered, she would scurry back home as quickly as possible, or back to Jellylorum or Demeter’s den if she’d been having a sleepover.  

Somehow, she’d managed not to get caught during all of her nightly outings, but that was more luck than anything else, and she was sure that Electra was suspicious of her even if she hadn’t said anything. She might be a goodie four-paws, but at least she wasn’t a tattle-tale. Still, she couldn’t rely on her twin to keep a secret this big, one where a single slip of the paw had real consequences. 

Despite what some neighborhood cats might think, Etcetera wasn’t stupid. She knew that the trapeze was inherently dangerous, especially when she’d started before she’d turned 1. While the pull that drew her to the trapeze had been so forceful, it had begun to ebb slightly, and the line between her own wants and her compulsion had grown blurry. Etcetera might have been able to resist some of its effects, but recently, she honestly hadn’t even tried. Because as much as she hated lying to and disappointing her mother, she’d fallen completely in love with the trapeze, even if she was three-quarters of the way into a moon drunk trance as she did it. 

Cettie rubbed the last winks sleep out of her eyes as she looked over the rest of the sleeping bodies. Jem, Vicky, Pounce, and Misto were huddled together on the other side of  Jerrie and Teazer. Her older siblings were sprawled out next to Electra, having been left in charge of the kittens while their mother and Auntie Jelly had their tea and went about their nightly duties. They’d been given a strict warning of “No shenaniganery” from their mother before she and Auntie Jelly left, and the kittens immediately rejoiced at having such lax kittensitters. 

Her older siblings had heeded Jenny’s warning well enough, but always knew how to bend and twist the rules. It was impossible for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer to keep their noses completely clean, but none of the kittens had been injured, and they were all smart enough now to omit any details that might’ve gotten the older twins in trouble.

Then it started, the pull passed through Etcetera, her eyes going wide and unfocused, and her fur standing on end. An unfamiliar sense of claustrophobia welled up in the pit of her stomach. With winter coming, the air was rather chilly, so Mistoffelees had used his powers and opened up the boot of the TSE-1, then closed it behind them so that they could all sleep out of the cold. Now he was asleep, so Etcetera would have to step over everyone else to sneak through the hole that led to the front of the car. She lightly stepped around the other cats with an uncharacteristic amount of caution, doing her best not to step on anyone’s tails or brush against their whiskers until she found the rear exit. 

Etcetera crawled through the hole and popped up onto the back seat of the car. She let out a sigh and took in a deep breath of the cool air, the slightly icy bite making her lungs tingle. She turned and crawled over the back seat onto the car's chassis and looked up at the open air. The stars twinkled across the sky, and the almost full moon shone brightly overhead, its powdery surface reminding her of the pearls Teazer had worn for the ball. By the time the next pull pulsed through her, she’d already crossed the clearing and was pulling herself up the side of the oven. 

Earlier, Jerrie and Teazer had shown off on the trapeze after Etcetera had begged them. Unfortunately for her, they’d been responsible enough to shorten the trapeze’s ropes before guiding the kittens inside. It was fascinating to watch. Whenever Jerrie, Teazer, or, less frequently, Plato decided to use the trapeze, they would reach up and softly touch the shimmering lines of starlight, pulling and tugging on them until the trapeze was the perfect height.

Etcetera’d watched her older siblings closely each time they’d prepped the trapeze, and it had taken multiple sessions of trying to mimic their actions until she’d finally managed to grasp the seemingly intangible ropes. Now, she no longer needed the Everlasting Cat to take pity and lower the bar for her, or whatever unexplainable force she’d assumed had been lowering it for her. Now, Etcetera’s small white and grey paw glittered next to the starlight as she tugged on it, the bar slowly lowering down with each pull, until it was at the perfect height for her shorter reach. 

Her brain felt muddled. She hadn’t even fully registered crossing the gap to the trapeze. She latched onto the handle with her forepaws and ran off the platform, swinging forward in a high arch. The wind rushed through her short coat, and her eyes glittered with moon and starlight as she swung high above the clearing. Previously, she would’ve described the pulling she was feeling as a misty fog she had to traverse through to find some sort of clarity, but now it was more like a staticky interference that she struggled to contain within her small body. She was positively tingling from her toe beans all the way out to the tip of her whiskers.

‘Higher.’ 

Etcetera pumped her body back and leaned into the swing forward, propelling herself even higher. She felt like she was glowing with how happy and free she felt. If her mind wasn’t so foggy with euphoria, she’d probably have wondered if this was how birds felt as they soared through the air. It felt like she was finding a part of herself that she hadn’t known was missing, like the first time she’d had cream or stepped outside and experienced sunshine. 

‘High~er, High~er!’  

Her muscles burned as she pushed herself even harder and swung even farther. Her moonlit eyes dazedly took in the sight of the junkyard around her. She was high, higher than she’d ever been during her previous flying sessions, and so high that she could almost see the top of the fence. The clearer part of her head was telling her to slow down, that she was too high up. However, it was little more than a whisper, drowned out by the roaring cheers of the moon-drunk part of her mind, forcing her to think back to her siblings' earlier performance. Mungojerrie had flipped over the trapeze, landing on it backwards with the bar hooked behind his hind legs. 

‘Could she do too?’ 

She kicked forward, her inky pupils sparkled as they consumed the rest of her iris, almost completely obscuring the gold in her eyes. A manic grin split her face as she readied herself for the trick. 

‘ETCETERA, STOP!’ Two foreign voices called out through her mind, immediately dampening down the static and clearing her senses, but it was too late as her body practically shot forward like a bullet.

 “AAAHH!” Etcetera screamed and tried to tighten her grip, but the force of the swing had ripped her left paw off the bar. She shrieked and scrambled to try to regain her grip, but her left paw struggled to reach the bar as she swung back. Her paw kept grazing the bar, just barely scratching it with her claws. She was tempted to just let go, but if she did, she’d be sent flying! 

“CETTIE!” Mungojerrie screamed, his eyes practically bulging out of his skull as he saw one of his baby sisters holding on for dear life. He forced himself out of the car’s backseat and ran down the back of the car. He darted straight toward the oven and leapt on top, then he got a running start and jumped off the platform, his yellow-green gaze focused on his baby sister and the incoming trapeze. 

Never let it be said that Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer weren’t reputable acrobats for a reason. In the split second between him getting on top of the oven and jumping off of it, he’d calculated the right force and timing for him to reach the trapeze. His right paw grabbed the handle as soon as it came within reach, and his left paw pulled his little sister up to his chest. 

Mungojerrie gasped from the force of Etcetera’s body hitting his and knocking some of the wind out of him, but he managed to keep his wits about him. He moved his left paw to grab his sister’s and pulled her up so that she could grab onto the bar, then reaffixed his grip. “Stay still, Cettie, we’ll lose momentum,” Jerrie instructed. The two held on tight, doing their best not to move their bodies too much and just let the trapeze run out of steam. Finally, they slowed down enough that Jerrie easily swung them back onto the oven's stovetop. The two just managed to touch down when they heard the one cat they absolutely didn’t want to hear. 

“MUNGOJERRIE, HOW DARE YOU!!” Jennyanydots' shrill screech shocked the two of them out of their skins as they watched her storm toward them. Mungojerrie jumped down off the oven, and Etcetera shamedly hopped down behind him and looked around at the much fuller clearing. Coricopat and Tantomile sat on top of the TSE-1, until the boot shimmered slightly and started to rise, forcing them to jump down. The now open boot revealed Mistoffelees, Teazer, and the others in various states of fear and sleepy confusion. Her ears twitched as she heard pawsteps and the rustling of cats moving through the junkyard. However, her eyes caught on the mystic twins who stared directly at her, their bright jade eyes lit up with a clinical expression.

Jennyanydots stood on her hind legs and grabbed Mungojerrie by the ear, dragging him off the platform. “AH-Aah, Mum, I SWEAR it's not what it looks like,” he protested as he struggled against Jenny’s claws. “Oh, really!” Their mother yelled. “Because it looks like you’ve been getting your little sister up on the trapeze, after I explicitly told you not to! She’s not even a year old, Jerrie! She could have broken her neck!”

“I kno- Oww, I know that,” Jerrie winced, “Mum, I swear on me ‘art I didn’t put ‘er up there, I was just trynna to get her down!” Their mother loosened her grip and looked down at Etcetera with a raised brow. Cettie nervously met her mother’s gaze, her voice chilly and stern, “Etcetera, is that true?”

Etcetera looked up at her big brother anxiously. It was one thing to lie to keep herself out of trouble, but she couldn’t let Jerrie get in trouble because of her. Etcetera looked back at her mother before her gaze dropped to the floor. “I-I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help it,” she squeaked. Jennyanydots sighed and let her son go. “I’m sorry, Jerrie. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions,” She said sincerely as she gently rubbed his ear. 

Jerrie pressed back against her paw with a small purr and let out the same sigh of relief that he and Teazer always had when they avoided getting in trouble. Normally, Jerrie would’ve made himself scarce to avoid getting called out for some other wrongdoing. Instead, he took a step back from their mother and stood up a bit straighter before turning to face Etcetera. 

None of the Jellicles, barring Munkustrap, Demeter, Bombalurina, and Rumpleteazer, had ever seen Mungojerrie look so serious. His yellow-green stare was intense, filled with concern. “Cettie, what were ya thinking?! You know how dangerous acrobatics can be when yer not trained!” Etcetera flinched at Jerrie’s serious tone. Her ears pressed tightly to her head as she nodded, too ashamed to speak. 

As much as Jerrie and Teazer loved to show off their tricks, they refused to ever teach any of the kittens a skill that they weren’t ready for. They’d promised to get their mother’s permission to train her when she was older, but they would’ve outright refused to teach her any aerial stunts until her training had officially started, even if their mother hadn’t forbidden them.  They knew from experience what injuries they could get from messing up a trick, and they’d seen even worse than they’d gotten. It was why she hadn’t gone to them for help. She knew they would’ve told their mother, and then she wouldn’t be able to fly again until she was four! Still, she’d never seen her brother so serious, especially not at her.

Etcetera could only look down at the ground in shame as Jerrie shook his head and crossed his forelegs. “ ‘Ow’d ya even get up there?” Jerrie grumbled not even really talking to her, just venting his concerns into the air. “I used that trapeze last, and I know that I put it up ‘fore we went inside-” Her brother flinched as he came to a sudden realization, his gaze darting back down to her with his pupils drawn slim with fear. “This wasn’t your first time, was it?! Teazer and I’ve been arguing back and forth with Plato over leavin’ the trapeze down since October, but it was you, wasn’t it?” 

Mungojerrie’s accusation barely echoed through the junkyard, but his words hung heavy in the air. Etcetera’s silence all but confirmed it. Jenny wailed as she grabbed her daughter by the shoulder. “OCTOBER! You’ve been riding the Trapeze since October?!” Etcetera shrank down into herself as her mother squeezed her shoulders, her eyes alight with panic. The dilute calico silently nodded, her shame keeping her from making eye contact.

‘Jenny, please, it's not entirely her fault.’ Jenny and her son flinched as a calm, feminine voice buzzed through their heads. Tantomile silently approached from behind Jenny, accidentally startling the poor queen half to death, Coricopat following close by and coming to stand next to Jerrie. Coricopat looked down fondly on Etcetera, the quiet tom giving her a small smile before looking back up to the other adults, “We were heading home when we sensed something strange.” Tantomile placed an apologetic paw on Jennyanyots’ shoulder, “We followed it to the clearing and saw Cettie up on the trapeze. Her aura is shimmering with moonlight.”

Jennyanydots squeezed Cettie closer. Mungojerrie looked frantically between the mystic cats, “What’s that mean?! Is she sick!?”

Coricopat shook his head and pressed his frame against Jerrie’s, a low purr of comfort rumbling up from his chest. “She’s just a little extra special,” Coricopat reassured, a surprisingly big grin gracing his lips, “I promise you, she’s going to be fine.”

Tantomile gently patted where Jenny’s paw anxiously rubbed her daughter’s shoulder. “Pardon me,” her voice remained flat and clinical, but nonetheless Jennyanydots could sense the gentle concern from the black and brown queen, and stepped back a bit to allow Tantomile and Coricopat a better look at her dear kitten. Cettie trembled as she nervously watched the mystic twins turn their gazes towards her. 

She knew that what had been happening wasn’t normal, but she hadn’t really known what to do about it. She enjoyed flying on the trapeze, but no one enjoyed feeling like they weren’t in control of their actions, and her fear of punishment and the unknown had kept her from seeking advice. The twins might be able to tell her what was wrong with her, but that’s just it; she didn’t want something to be wrong with her. Now her secret was out, and she’d been exposed to those she cared about most in the most obvious way possible, with no proper explanation for her actions. 

Tantomile looked down at Etcetera, who hesitated in raising her gaze from the ground. The black and brown tabbies had always been a bit off-putting to Cettie. The jellicles were full of different personalities, and Etcetera couldn’t say she was scared of anyone, but it was harder for her to connect to cats who were so reserved and mysterious. However, as the mystic queen’s soft jade eyes were locked onto her, Cettie could see Tantomile’s stoic expression being offset by earnest concern and empathy. 

“What happened, Cettie?” 

Etcetera looked down at her paws unsure, before looking back to meet  Tantomile’s eyes. “I-I… one night in October, I woke up alone. Not like alone alone, Ellie was still asleep, and Mum was working, but I didn’t know why I woke up since I hadn’t been asleep for that long, but I was just wide awake. Then my head started to feel all fuzzy, like my thoughts weren’t mine-” She paused her rambling, realizing she was about to incriminate herself. Her stomach twisted into knots, heavy with guilt and anxiety that the lies she told that strange night, and on all the others since then, would crumble around her like a soggy biscuit. 

Jennyanydots seemed to have already realized what she was thinking and softly pressed her head to hers. “I’m not going to be cross, Cettie. It was wrong of you to lie, but right now we need you to tell us what happened so that we can help you. We can sort out consequences in the morning.” 

Etcetera winced slightly at the mention of consequences, but knew that she couldn’t get off scot-free. “Somehow, I ended up in the kitchen, and I just remember staring at the moon through the glass. My thoughts were all foggy, and I couldn’t think straight. Something in my head told me I had to leave, and before I knew it, I ended up at the Junkyard- I didn’t even know how I got here. The same thing happened again, and I was on top of the oven. The trapeze lowered down in front of me, and I rode it. ”

“Had you ever felt a ‘pull’ like this before then?” Coricopat gently asked.

Etcetera paused and tried to think back on every time she’d felt the strange sensation. “Yeah, at least I think so?  It was at the ball, when Jerrie and Teazer were in the air, I felt it then, but not as strong. I thought I was just excited for the ball.” 

Tantomile’s brow raised. “Do these urges come at the same time every month?”

“Not exactly,” Cettie shrugged, “They start when the moon starts to glow and stop when it starts to dim.” Tantomile and Coricopat exchanged glances before nodding. 

Mungojerrie impatiently stepped forward, his tail swishing behind him nervously, “Well? What is it?!”

Coricopat purred as he chuckled, his tail curling comfortingly across the other tom. “Nothing, she’s moon-touched.”

Jennyanydots returned to Cettie’s side, giving her daughter’s paw a gentle squeeze. The motherly queen looked to the mystic twins for further explanation, “And what does that mean?”

“When a cat is more susceptible to the Everlasting Cat’s influence,” Tantomile began, “this is often reflected by fits, trances, and or compulsions that are tied to the phases of the moon.” She briefly glanced down at Etcetera to see if she was following. “That is called moon sensitivity, or being ‘moon-touched’ as Cori put it. For Etcetera, it seems to have expressed itself via compulsions to ride the trapeze.” 

“Sooo, does that mean the Everlasting Cat wants me to fly?!” Etcetera asked, eyes and voice practically exploding with enthusiasm.

Coricopat chuckled at the little queen’s excitement, “Once you're older and more trained.” 

Etcetera looked like she was about to cheer before remembering her mother looming next to her and just nodded. Coricopat and Tantomile seemed like they still had more to say to her mother about her ‘moon sensitivity.’ Still, she couldn’t erase the smile off her face. She was meant to fly!

—------------------------

Mungojerrie crouched down next to the basket, cocky grin shining with excitement and pride. “Are ya ready, Cettie?!” 

Etcetera beamed up at him with an almost manic grin, her body trembling, trying to contain her excitement. “I’m more than ready!” she cheered. Electra rolled her eyes as she finished grooming her wiggly twin’s ear and that small spot of fur on the back of her head that had taken to sticking up sometimes after they’d had a nap. Once she’d finished, Cettie let out a purr of thanks and stood up as fast as she could, running and jumping onto her brother’s back. Jerrie laughed as he shrugged Cettie higher up his back and impatiently waited for Electra to finish grooming her foreleg. “Come on, Ellie, ya look great! If ya don’t stop, you’ll cough up a hairball!” 

“But it won’t lay flat!” she cried with a pout.

Jerrie stalked over to his younger sister and nudged her to stand. “It’s poking out ‘cause you’re losing your kitten coat, once it’s all out, you won’t have to worry about it! Now come on!  Teazer and I promised Mum we’d take you over. Unless, you’d rather wait for her and miss out on extra time playing with Jemi, Vicky, and Tumblebrutus! Etcetera let out a light giggle as her sister stumbled to her paws and ran over to join them. Rumpleteazer poked her head in and hurried them along, and before they knew it, they were at the junkyard. While their last few hours of playing with their friends were fun, Etcetera couldn't contain her excitement for what was about to come.

The ball always began the same. The sun had to be firmly settled behind the horizon, and the Jellicle moon must already be making its way into the sky. Once it reached a certain point, they could all start to feel it, the blossoming warmth of connection that only the moon and Everlasting Cat could bring.

After she’d served her punishment of having to help the mice with their tatting for a month, her mother had finally allowed her to start her apprenticeship. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer had been ecstatic to finally be able to teach their sister to fly, and if Cettie had been improving before, she was practically soaring now. Old Deuteronmy had even watched her practice and said that she was a natural! Now, after months and months of practice, she was ready for her first real performance! It was all sorted out. She’d go on as they sang the opening number, and George was going to spot her. 

The opening number started as it always did, the different cats singing out their greetings to each other as if they were announcing their arrivals. As she sang and danced with the others, Etcetera could feel the pull of the trapeze flowing through her body, but it wasn’t time, not yet. Just a few more verses. The song continued at a whirlwind pace, and soon George was leading her up the oven and standing behind her, ready to assist. Etcetera adjusted the ropes, gripped the bar, then turned back to George and nodded. He smiled and nodded back, before giving her a big push, and then all the other Jellicles looked up as they danced and watched Etcetera fly through the air, her shimmering form cutting across the moon with each swing. 

Chapter Text

“Mama, why are your eyes green?” 

Jemima asked with her wide-eyed, curious stare directed up at her mother. Demeter slouched to touch noses with her daughter and held back a tired sigh. Her daughter was perfect, the apple of her eye, but she had so many, many questions, and Demeter only had so many answers. 

Jemima was growing up fast, well fast enough for a Jellicle, something which had delighted Demeter to no end. The fact that her daughter was born in and wouldn’t have to go through some arduous journey to try and find her place. She was Jellicle, meaning that even if she decided to stray as she got older, she would always have family besides her and Bomba to rely on. Still, they wouldn’t need to worry about that for a while. 

Her baby was still so young, but she was gentle and kind, with a calm temperament, not to mention remarkably clever. She was also talking on a more advanced level than she’d expected from such a young kitten. Her insatiable curiosity had been evident early on, her eyes blearily opening up at only six days old, and now that she had the facilities, she always asked endless streams of questions to try to fill it. Demeter didn’t mind answering Jemi’s questions, but she was just so clever that some of her questions were more advanced than she could answer, and she seemed to never run out of them.

“Well, I suppose it’s because my father had green eyes," Demeter hummed, gently nuzzling her small kitten's face, "My mother had gold eyes, like Auntie Bomba." 

Jemima's tiny face scrunched in thought, "Well, why did he have green eyes?”

Demeter’s ears pinned back as she frowned. "I'm afraid I don't know why Jemmi. You’d have to ask my father, and I never met him." Her ears flicked at the sound of pawsteps, and she immediately pushed Jemima behind her and whipped forward to face the mouth of her den. Her short, scruffy fur puffed up as much as it could as a large shadow grew closer and closer to the den. Then a silver paw poked in the entrance, and Munkustrap’s head carefully ducked in, three mice clenched by their tails in his jaws. Demeter instantly deflated and settled at the familiar company, but before she could get a word out

Jemima squealed with joy and toddled her way over to the tom as he squeezed his way into the smaller den, "Papa, Papa!”

Demeter ran over to her daughter embarrassed, her coat bristling as she fretted and tried to corral the small kitten. "Hush now, Jemma! Let him through the door!"

Like the sweet little queen she was, Jemima stopped and stepped back a few paces. Thinking her tiny pawsteps backwards would give the much larger Munkustrap enough room to enter their home. However, her focus hadn’t deterred as she gleefully peeked up to the silver tom’s face. “Papa, why are Mama's eyes green?" 

Munk paused in the entrance, flustered slightly at the misconception, Jemima hadn’t grown out of yet. An adorable misconception he almost prayed she’d never grow out of, that maybe one day- Demeter huffed and quickly darted over, scruffed her daughter, and walked further back into their den to give Munkustrap a good amount of space to slip in. His tall form quietly squeezed into the old barrel behind her as she set Jemima down.

"Thank you so much, Straps!" Demeter flushed, nervously rushing her words from her embarrassment.

“Nuh proh-,” Munkustrap tried to mumble around the three mice, before thinking better of talking with his mouth full and the poor example it would set for Jemima. He lightly placed the three mice onto the ground before the mother and daughter before replying, “No problem!”

His keen, bright yellow eyes flicked down to Jemima, who curiously watched him from behind her mother’s legs. He nodded and gave her a wide, toothy grin, “I’ve got a treat here for the big queen!”

 Jemima ran out from behind her mother’s legs and watched in excitement as Munk nudged the smallest mouse towards her. The small kitten gasped in excitement before looking back up at him. 

"Thank you," Jemima mewled excitedly.

Munkustrap’s smile deepened as he watched Jemima show off her first full mouse to her mother, who appropriately oohed and awwed over it as if she’d been the one to catch it. The mouse was minuscule compared to himself, hell it wouldn’t even count as a snack for a smaller queen like Demeter. However, it was the perfect size for the still-weaning kitten to practice using her now full set of milk teeth, which she had been very excitedly showing off to all the other Jellicles. Especially her fellow kittens, since she was the youngest of the bunch and wanted them to see how she could keep up. Catching the little bugger had taken some baiting and waiting on his part, but seeing the joy it brought the tiny queen made it all worth the toll.

 "You're very welcome, Jemi! And to answer your question, my father told me that the Everlasting cat picked traits from the Earth to make each cat, based on where our ancestors came from.” His soft gaze briefly glanced up to Demeter, who was watching him with her soft, pretty green eyes as she listened in on his explanation. His face grew a bit hot, and he averted his attention back down to Jemima before he could get truly flustered, “Green eyes, like your mother’s, reflect the grasses, rolling hills, and untamed jungles that make up the homes of our wild cat ancestors."

Jemima's blueish hazel eyes sparkled as she took in his explanation. When he’d finished his lecture, she stared straight forward into space with a thoughtful expression. After fully contemplating his words, she nodded solemnly as if she had just learned something of the utmost importance, then readied herself to dig into her snack. She was quite the peculiar kitten, but none of them would change her for the world.

Demeter looked down at the two remaining mice and pushed the largest one back towards Munkustrap. "How was your day?" she asked before taking a bite.

Munkustrap thought for a second before replying. “Fine. A bit too warm for my tastes, I’m hoping my summer coat will be in soon.” 

With her mouth full, Demeter simply nodded as she listened, but frowned as she watched Munk push the other mouse back to her. Before she could say anything, he shook his head, "I already ate, besides you’ve a kitten to nurse," he insisted with a placating grin. The black and gold queen shook her head at him in exasperation and continued to listen to him ramble on about his day.

Meanwhile, Jemima happily licked her lips as she swallowed the first bites of her meal and looked back up to Munkustrap. "Mama said her mama and Auntie Bomba's eyes are gold, what do those re-flex?" Jemima curiously stuttered over the new word, and the two adults couldn’t help but smile.

“Re-flect, darling,” Munkustrap chuckled. “Gold eyes are more common, so some say they represent the prairies and savannahs that many wild cats inhabit still to this day, but I hold with a different view." Jemima looked at him expectantly as she took another bite, so he decided to humor her. "Father told me that when we pass on to the Heaviside layer, our eyes turn into stars so that we can watch over the cats we leave behind."

Jemima seemed to think on that for a moment. Being such a young kitten, she didn’t fully understand the complexities of death, the afterlife, or the Heaviside layer, but appeared to be thinking over the prospect with as much deliberation as she could give. After a second or two, her mouth drew into a firm line and gave a curt nod. “I think I hold with that too,” she said with the utmost seriousness and consideration.

Demeter snorted before letting out a soft purr, “I’m surprised you’re able to hold with anything besides dinner.”

Jemima shook her head unbothered at her mother’s jest. She leaned down for another bite from her prey before pausing with a brief look of realization and looking back toward Munkustrap. "What about my eyes, Papa?"

Munk awkwardly licked his paw and groomed his ear as her mother tried to redirect her. "Jemima, honey, poor Munkustrap is tired. You were so excited to get your own prey, so you better eat it before it goes off," she chided gently, softly nudging her daughter back towards her meal. 

The large tom made himself more comfortable, loafing down on his paws and wrapping his long, fluffy tail around himself. "It's no problem at all, Deme. It’s important for the kittens to learn, and I'm glad that Jemima has been so eager. I think Cettie might have her beat in questions per minute, though." 

Demeter did her best not to choke as she stifled a laugh. If there was any cat who could ask more questions than Jemima, it would definitely be Etcetera. Poor Jenny was doing well, keeping up with her, but then again, she had raised Jerrie and Teazer. Munk looked down at little Jemima, who was giving him her best kitten eyes in hopes of getting him to finish his explanation of their eyes in relation to the universe, "finish your supper and then I'll tell you, sweetheart." Jemima pouted, but returned to her meal without further complaint. The two grown-ups were comfortably chatting about their day, getting so caught up in their conversation that neither noticed how Jemima rushed and nearly inhaled her dinner.

"I'm finished," She called out excitedly, pushing the bones forward and sitting back onto her haunches. She waited expectantly for him to continue, her stubby black and maroon tail wagging back and forth in anticipation. Munk chuckled at the little queen's enthusiasm. Her expression reminded him so much of Tugger when he was that age. 

"Well, you're eyes are still kind of greenish blue right now. Most say that blue eyes represent the Nile River that the cats of ancient Egypt would drink and hunt by, or the oceans that cats traveled by boat. Water in general, really. Though they're not done changing, so we’ll have to wait and see in the next few weeks." 

Jemima’s head tilted slightly in confusion, and Munk couldn’t help the smile that overtook his lips. Demeter did the same thing when she was confused, even as a kitten, and it seems that she’d passed it on to her little princess as well. “What do you mean, they’ll change? The water?”

He shook his head and laughed, “No, Jemi, your eyes!”

Jemima's eyes blew open even wider. "Your eyes can change?!" she gasped. Munkustrap nodded with a wave of his paw.

"All kittens are born with blue eyes, but most don't stay that way. Like Uncle Tugger and I were born with blue eyes, and they turned gold, while Pouncival's turned hazel. It’s somewhat rare for a cat’s eyes to stay blue, or at least I haven’t met very many adult cats with blue eyes. Can’t say it’s the same everywhere."         

“But why do we start out with blue eyes?” Jemima asked insistently 

“Water is essential for all life, including cats. The Everlasting Cat gives us blue eyes when we’re born to pour all of the life force that has flowed through the world's water into us and give us the best chance for survival. It’s why some cats say it’s unlucky to have kittens under a new moon because the moon and water are very closely tied, but I like to hold with that just being an old Gib’s tale.”

Jemima only took a second or two to process everything, then immediately fired back with another question, “Well, what color will my eyes be?”

Demeter hummed and took her kitten’s face between her paws. She gently rolled her baby’s squishy face in her paws as she looked her over. “Hmm, you might get gold eyes like Auntie Bomba, you do look so much like her,” Demeter pondered, “or maybe Amber, like your Grandpa Deuteronomy, o-or copper.” 

Demeter anxiously looked over to Munkustrap, “Copper’s common in Maine coons, right, Straps?” 

Munk immediately knew what, or rather who, Demeter was thinking of as she trailed off, her paw slightly trembling as it brushed through her kitten’s fur. Munk scratched his ear at the irritating thought, “Common enough,” he assured. Jemima looked up at him from between her mother's paws, and Munkustrap smiled. “Personally, I think you’ll get green eyes, like your mum, but honestly, honey,  it’s hard to tell until you’re most of the way through. To know for sure, we’ll just have to wait and see in the next few weeks.” 

Jemima sighed and pouted slightly, and slumped down onto hr paws. Her whole frame drooped as if she had been told some horribly sad news, like that all the butterflies in the world had been stolen, or that she could never see the moon again. 

“Now, now don’t be cross,” Her mother soothed, making her daughter pitifully look up from the ground, “it’ll be done before you know it!”

Munk nodded in agreement, “Especially now that you have all your milk teeth. The change typically starts once you get most of them and your eyes have been changing a lot now that you’ve got your full set!”

As fast as she’d drooped, she’d perked right back up, her little tail flicking back and forth as she hopped up onto her hind legs and danced in circles about the small den. She rambled on and on about what color her eyes would turn while Demeter and Munkustrap watched on with amusement. Eventually, the burst of energy her excitement had given her had run out, and her full stomach made her sleepy with warmth and contentment.

In the upcoming weeks, the blue slowly faded from Jemima’s eyes, and the maroon calico was left with a pair of beautiful summer green irises that almost perfectly matched her mother’s. And while Demeter would’ve loved her daughter’s eyes no matter what color they’d turned, she’d been slowly relieved to see that her eyes hadn’t turned into the striking copper that she was all too familiar with, that from her eyes alone, you might not guess who her father was. Even if she did have to roll her eyes for a week of Munkustrap’s light gloating about having been right. She just prayed that her baby could see the world through kitten eyes for as long as possible.