It was dusk, perhaps the most peaceful time of day in the Junkyard. The stars were just coming out, though it was sometimes hard to make them out, considering the smog that surrounded the city. Thermal inversion was a jerk.

Bombalurina loved dusk. She sometimes sat on the fence after a busy day to look at what little of the stars she could see and clear her head. Today just so happened to be quite a stressful day for her. Jenny made her babysit the kittens all day, Munkustrap and Tugger had left the Junkyard yesterday to hold congress with their father and had yet to return, and, to top it all off, her mother had chosen today to grace them with her presence.

She could never really forgive Grizabella for abandoning Demeter and herself. How could a mother do something so vile? If Gus hadn't found them, they would have never survived. And then she had the audacity to show up uninvited and ask for sympathy! Poor Demeter didn't know what to do with herself. She wanted to get her mother back, but there was no mother there to get back. She was just some low-life, dirty, self-important, selfish-

She was pulled from her thoughts as she heard a crash come from bellow her, nearly causing her to fall off the fence as it wobbled back and forth.

"Rumpus Cat, what was that for?" She hissed at the cat bellow her. She heard a low laugh coming from the cat as he jumped up on the fence to join her.

"Honestly, Tugger, do you want to kill me?" She grumbled, grooming her fur back to its original configuration.

"If I did, your sister would kill me first. So, what's up, Babe?" He asked, looking at his claws.

"Nothing." Bombalurina said defensively. Tugger rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, I know somethings up. You only sit up here when you've got something on your mind."

Bombalurina sighed and looked down. "My mother was here today."

Tugger's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Griz? Here? She should know better than that. She knows she isn't welcome here."

Bombalurina scoffed. "Like she ever cared about getting permission for anything before." She growled and shook her head. "Can we please talk about something else, Tugger?"

"Like what?" He purred seductively, wrapping an arm around her waste.

"How was your trip?" She asked. He purr died out, and he retracted his paw from around her to scratch the back of his head.

"Well- not so good."

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked.

He looked like he was going to refuse, but relented. "Well, Daddy dearest seems to think that I need to start helping Munku and Alonzo on patrol, seeing as I am his son and," he switched to a strict, fatherly tone "'The son of a Jellicle leader shouldn't be tramping around and making a mockery of his family.' Seriously, who cares?" He growled. "Not everyone has to be a carbon copy of Munku. Besides, I'm more of a lover, not a fighter." He puffed up his chest.

"Well, being able to defend yourself is a valuable skill." Bomba said tentatively.

"What, so you agree with them?" Tugger asked, somewhat perturbed.

"Well, I mean, you don't have to be a protector or anything, I just think maybe you would need to be able to defend something you really care about. Like and opinion...or a Queen, maybe."

Tugger let out a defeated sigh. "I'm no knight in shining armor, Bombie. I'm not the type to run into battle, caws a blazing."

"But if you needed to. Could you?"

"I mean, I'll do what ever it takes to protect something, I'm just not into the whole hero thing." He shook his head. "But enough about my Daddy problems, are you sure you're okay? I know how seeing Griz always messes you up." He wrapped his arm around her comfortingly. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay."

"You sure you don't wanna talk about it?" He said, rubbing his head against hers.

"I'm good." She smiled at him. "Thanks."