Mistoffelees: The Original Conjuring Cat

Mistoffelees: The Original Conjuring Cat

By Quaxo'

.

Mistoffelees loved the flowers. Well, not so much the flowers as he did picking them with his parents. His father Wind Dancer, a black tom, was allergic to pollen and only tolerated flowers because of his wife Moonshadow, a white queen. In truth, Moonshadow thought flowers were not all that grand, but went along because she thought the other two enjoyed it. They never really did much in the way of picking the flowers. Mistoffelees, being all of seven, would rip all the petals off anyway, and then scold the flowers for appearing indecent in public. They all got a laugh out of that. They were a happy family.

They picked flowers the day it happened. Moonshadow had found a dandelion for Mistoffelees, and both she and Wind Dancer were engrossed in watching their son rip the many petals off one at a time. He was halfway through when he sensed something.

"Mama, something is coming. Something bad." Moonshadow and Wind Dancer exchanged worried looks. Their son was showing the first signs of magic. This would endanger his life.

Both cats stood, fearing the worst. It was the worst that came. Over the horizon came a herd of townscats, led by a headstrong young tom known as Munkustrap. Angry stares came from his followers, along with many deranged cries.

"Down with witches!"

"Death to all evil!"

"Get out of our town, you Hadean creatures!" The troop of angry townscats stopped in front of the frightened 'witches'.

"Moonshadow and Wind Dancer, you have been accused of performing witchcraft, and in doing so, you murdered the following respected citizens: George, Bill Baily, and the honorable Judge Carbucketty. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Wind Dancer vainly attempted to shield Mistoffelees behind him. "Munkustrap, you idiot! We are but simple magicians who are capable of no more than a few parlor tricks. Please spare our lives."

"You claim you are not witches, yet you do in fact know magic."

"That is correct."

"Witch! Witch!" the cries rang up from all around Mistoffelees and his parents.

"Take them to the town square! They shall be burned for their crimes!" screamed Munkustrap, and two off his nameless followers dragged Moonshadow and Wind Dancer away. Someone grabbed Mistoffelees roughly by the neck, but he had closed his eyes so tight, he was unable to see whom.

^-,-^

Mistoffelees finally opened his eyes to discover that someone had placed a tight fitting collar around his neck. Connected to the collar was a piece of rope that was tied to a post. Mistoffelees pulled at the collar, but it grew tighter, causing him slight discomfort. He looked for his parents, trying to see if they could free him. He saw Old Duetoronomy, the Jellicle leader and a very good friend of the family, hanging his head in shame. He heard sinister laughter and looked up to see Munkustrap cackling and pointing at a large, wooden stage. On it, tied in most uncomfortable positions to posts, with piles of wood at their feet, were Moonshadow and Wind Dancer.

"Mistoffelees! Mistoffelees, we love you!" cried his mother. "We will always love you, don't you forget that!" echoed his father. Mistoffelees' breath quickened as he saw the two that had taken his parents set fire to the stage.

"Mama! Mama, papa, no! Duetoronomy! Duetoronomy you have to help them! You have to SAVE them, they were good cats! They were good cats AND YOU KNOW IT! Duetoronomy!"

The young cat began pawing at the ground, not caring that the collar would soon choke him into unconsciousness. He continued calling for his friend as his mother began to scream louder. The smell of burning flesh reached his nostrils and his stomach lurched. He blinked away the tears that threatened to drown his face and tried to reach the fire. He could see his father hang limply from the pole he was tied to. He was already dead. Wind Dancer was allergic to many things, smoke being one of them. He had allowed himself to be suffocated before any pain came. Moonshadow was not so lucky. Mistoffelees could see her clearly. All her fur had burned off already and her skin had turned a charred black. It was apparent that any movement would send her into a traumatizing pain, yet she persisted to try to release herself. A final flame reached up and engulfed the two cats, leaving behind only two charred posts.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MAMA! PAPA! COME BACK! PLEASE, come back." Mistoffelees hurled himself at the stage as the pure white spirits were lifted up to the Heavyside Layer, ignoring the fact that his windpipe was nearly crushed. The townscats were so busy congratulating themselves on ridding their good town of evil, no one noticed two small, silver essences spring forth and embed themselves in Mistoffelees' tiny white chest.

^-,-^

Eight years had passed since that night. Eight years since Munkustrap so "graciously" let Mistoffelees live. He remembered the exact words: "If you prove useful, you will live, for now."

A new generation of kittens had come, and Duetoronomy had decided to put an end to the old medieval ways of life, and they became the peace-loving Jellicles we all know and love. Most of the town elders were able to forget most of the old teachings. Most of them. One was determined to keep the old ways alive somehow. He would teach the new kittens to fear and hate magic. He would rid the world of that boy, even if it meant killing them all.

^-,-^

"Levinius. Levinius, levinius, levinius! Argh! Work darn you, work! Why won't you levitate, you stupid plate! Urrmph! How did mother do this?"

"Do what, boy?" Mistoffelees whirled around and saw his gray and black monster.

"Nuttin'. I wasn't doing anything," he said with mock confidence.

"Not even…magic?"

"Oh no, not magic. Why on Earth would I do something like that?" His voiced dripped with sarcasm. He tensed when he felt Munkustrap's claws dig into his shoulder.

" Do you have a death wish, Pussycat? Perhaps you don't remember what today is? I do. Deutoronomy may not approve , but what he doesn't know, can't hurt him." Munkustrap released his grip on Mistoffelees' shoulder. "Oh," he said, standing "you missed a spot on those plates." He left with a sneer.

Mistoffelees spat on the ground. In a sense, he did have a death wish. Or rather, he wished Munkustrap's death, if that counted. Frustrated, he tossed his hands into the air, and a single, weak bolt of blue lightning erupted from his fingertips, landing on the wood for the night's fire, sending it into flames. As he desperately tried to put the small fire out, the fur on the back of his neck stood on end, like somecat was watching him. He looked to the shadows, and he swore he saw a cat-maybe two- disappear into the gray gloom.

Outside, two cats nearly identical to each other appeared and slunk into the undergrowth of the forest surrounding the village.

"So the boy-" whispered one.

"-he is alive." finished the other, and they crept further into darkness.

^-,-^

Mistoffelees padded quietly down the busy village street. He knew none of the younger kittens would talk to him, for they still abided by the 'don't talk to strange cats' rule. Any of the cats his own age didn't trust him; he had no idea as to why.

Since the kittens wouldn't talk to him, and the younger cats wouldn't talk to him, and since most mothers and fathers were too busy, he went to see Duetoronomy, to ask the same question he did every day.

"Why did you let them die?"

^-,-^

The only other person who actually had time to talk with Mistoffelees was Skimbleshanks, who ran the town's railway station. A train master has to keep a level head, you know. Still, he adored the young cat, and no one really seemed to mind much.

That day, Skimbleshanks was watering down the station, thanks to a herd of muddy feet. He looked up to watch some kittens playing, and saw his favorite tom walking around them.

"Mistoffelees! Hello!" The adolescent raised his head, and hurried towards his favorite stationmaster.

"Skimbleshanks! How are you? Have you been feeling alright?" Skimble smiled. Such a polite little tom. He would have to show him to Jennyanydots sometime.

"Stoff, ye ask me the same question every day, and every day I give ye the same answer. I'm fine. Haven't had any problems with the old ticker since last year. Say, ye look like ye need a good some thin' to do. A train's going to be coming by any minute now; why don' ye stay and help me with the passengers?"

"Oh no I couldn't. You see—"

"Balderdash. Ye go see that great lump every day. Stay with me fer once." After a great deal of poking and pleading, Mistoffelees finally ended up standing impatiently with Skimblshanks waiting for the 5:00 train. The distant rumbling and familiar hiss of steam marked the train's arrival.

Mistoffelees unconsciously leaned out to see the train.

"Here she comes, m'boy!" Skimble cried excitedly as he slapped Mistoffelees softly on the back. The train gave a gentle screech as it came to a stop.

"Wow." Mistoffelees stared up at the metal monster with awe. He had never seen anything so large.

"Right then. We had better get a move on, aye Stoff?" Mistoffelees nodded blankly, and followed his mentor into the train.

^-,-^

How busy the train was! Filled with Queens and Toms of all shapes, breeds, and sizes, it sure was a site to see. Skimblshanks cupped his paws to his mouth and called out in his gruff bass voice.

"Sixth stop: Jellica! All those gettin' off, grab yer' luggage an' come to the front o' the car!" A slim red queen, a shorter, yet just as slender, black and gold queen, both clad in luxurious silk, hurried to the front of the car.

"Right then," Skimble replied, making a curt bow, "I'll take yer' bags, and ye can hand yer luggage to Stoff, miss." The red queen rudely thrust her bags into Mistoffelees' arms.

"Wait! Wait, I'm here, too!" A thin black tom with a mane came stumbling towards the front of the train. The black and gold queen rolled her eyes in disgust. The tom dumped his heavy bag into Mistoffelees' already full arms.

"There ya' go, mate. Right as rain." The red queen huffed and turned to Skimblshanks.

"Can we move it along please? I'm late for an appointment with your town leader, and I'd like to get to my apartment before I go meet him."

"If ye need to leave, miss, Stoff will escort ye to yer' temporary apartment." The scarlet queen turned to Mistoffelees and studied him.

"This? This little worm? He doesn't look fit to be a slave cat." Mistoffelees was taken back. He had been called many a rude name, but nothing like this.

"I'm not a slave," he said bluntly, "and if you're going to be so rude, you can find your own way, miss…"

"Bombalurina."

"Miss Bombalurina. Good day." He calmly dropped the queen's luggage, and walked away. He was barely more than five yards when the shorter queen came running after him.

"Excuse me! Excuse me, Mr. Stoff?"

"Mistoffelees."

"Right, Mr. Mistoffelees."

"No, just Mistoffelees."

"Oh…very well. Look, I've come to ask you to forgive my sister. You see, she has had a rough life, and just narrowly escaped an abusive relationship. I do hope you don't think to wrongly of her. After all, she can't be much older than you, she's only sixteen, and has a tendency to judge people rather quickly."

"Don't worry miss…"

"Demeter."

"Right. As I was saying, you don't need to worry. I'm all for giving someone a second chance. I'd ought to be, after what happened…" Tears came to his eyes as he thought of the fateful fire. He quickly brushed them away with his hand.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to get all emotional on you. I'll go find your sister, Miss Demeter," he said as he turned to walk back to the station.

"Just Demeter will do fine, Mr. …I mean, Mistoffelees."

^-,-^

Bombalurina tapped her foot impatiently. That rude tom would surely come back after Demeter fed him her "heart-breaking story". She felt a light hand on her shoulder.

"Do you still have your bags, Miss Bombalurina? Your sister told me you still need to find your way." Bombalurina snorted as she pointed to her luggage.

"I knew you'd be back. After what my sister told you—"

"What your sister said had nothing to do with it. If it wasn't for what he did, I wouldn't have come back. You didn't deserve it. But I was brought up better than that, and I'm all for giving someone a second chance."

"He who?"

"He him," replied Mistoffelees, pointing in the direction of the gray and black tom that was rapidly approaching.

"What do you think you are doing!" he screamed.

"I…I was just…just helping Miss Bombalurina to her apartment," Mistoffelees mumbled with his head down.

"Did I say you could go? Did you get permission first?"

"Skimblshanks asked me, and I was done with the dishes…" Mistoffelees felt his blood run hot; his eyes began to tear as he clenched his fists and jaw. He silently prayed the blue lightning wouldn't come like it did in the kitchen.

"And you think that gives you the right to leave without permission!" Munkustrap slapped Mistoffelees hard across the face, sending him to the ground. He heard a dull smack, and the sound of Munkustrap screaming in pain.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Bombalurina was standing over him, wiping the blood from Munkustrap's nose off her fist. Skimblshanks and the thin black tom from the train came running over.

"Look queenie, I don't care who you are or where you're from, but no one, I repeat, no one tells me what to do or not to do, got it? He's my sla…charge, and I can do whatever I want with him." Skimblshanks put a paw on Munkustrap's arm.

"Come on, Strap, I did give him permission, and he's not your slave; that was outlawed years ago, after the…unpleasantness." Skimblshanks gave a quick glance towards Mistoffelees. He had pulled himself up off of the ground and was rubbing his sore cheek. Munkustrap sneered at Mistoffelees as he turned to leave.

Skimble turned to his charge. "Right then, Mr. Rum Tum Tugger, why don't I show ye' to yer apartment?" Tugger licked his lips and winked at Bombalurina as he passed.

Bombalurina knelt beside Mistoffelees and grabbed one of her bags.

"The nerve of him! Treating you like some sort of slave!"

"You thought I was a slave when you first saw me." The already red queen turned a deeper shade of crimson.

"That's different. I mean, look at you! All dirty and torn; I didn't know any better. He must have been with you your entire life! And what about your parents? Don't they know about this?"

"They can't know…they're dead." Mistoffelees spat the word out as if it were poison.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Mistoffelees turned to face the scarlet queen. He realized that this was the first time anyone asked how he felt about the burning.

"He killed them. Munkustrap, he burned them alive. Thought they were witches. I was seven. Had to watch the whole thing, mother screaming with burnt flesh. Father suffocated on the spot, never felt a thing." The images still burned into Mistoffelees' mind. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"They would never have hurt anyone, magicians the both of them. Unfortunately, it was during a time where even a non-magical card trick classified you as some evil devil worshiper. If you so much as thought the word "presto", they whisked you off to the burning platform. My mum and dad, they were the first ever. It was horrible. Old Duetoronomy outlawed the practice after that. Speaking of which," he said with dry eyes, "you really must be going." Bombalurina quietly get up of off the ground, stunned by what she had heard. Neither she nor Mistoffelees saw the two identical figures watching them from the shadows.

^-,-^

Mistoffelees set the luggage down on the front porch of Bombalurina's apartment. The queen watched as the young tom tuned to leave. She had to admit she was a little sorry to see him go. She felt as though the bright fire that burned within her had grown when she met him, and now was dying just a bit. She brushed it off as just a dead feeling because she had just escaped a horrible relationship, and probably would have felt that way with anyone. What she didn't know, was that at that moment as he stood on the deck of Munkustrap's home, Mistoffelees was having a similar feeling. Shoving it aside, he put a trembling hand on the door handle. After a moment's hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside, confidently awaiting the punishment inside.

^-,-^

Mistoffelees gingerly touched his arm. Munkustrap in the end had thrown him into the food cellar, a five-foot drop. He was careful not to lean against anything, for the last punishment had opened and reopened several wounds, and a food cellar is not the cleanest of places.

Mistoffelees looked around him, trying to rub warmth back into his legs with his good arm. Usually, the numbing cellar was empty, but now was full of food being stored for the Jellicle Ball.

Mistoffelees shivered. The cold of the cellar was making him tired. He lay down on the ground, ignoring his bad arm as well as the fact that the dirty floor would surely infect the open scars on his back. With heavy breaths he propped himself up on his elbows, his arm to numb for him to notice the searing pain that was racing through him. He stared towards the ceiling at a small window, just big enough for him to fit through, he supposed.

The sun was setting, making the already freezing cellar seem even colder. Mistoffelees twitched as he began to pull himself along the floor towards the window, knocking over food sacks as he went. As he hoisted himself up onto a box of potatoes, his bad arm gave way with a sickening crunch. No amount of cold could prevent him from feeling his entire arm slide out of place. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the rest of his body onto the box. When he discovered no quiet way to remove the glass, he simply ran his fist through it, cutting his hand in more places then one.

Tired and freezing, Mistoffelees pulled himself out of the icy food cellar, collapsing with exhaustion to the ground.

^-,-^

Bombalurina thought it was just an uncomfortable bed that prompted her to take a moonlight stroll. If only it was that simple.

She wandered the grounds around her new home; she and her sister had become official Jellicles just that afternoon. Her eyes and hands observed the breathtaking scenery, but her mind strayed to Mistoffelees. Replaying the events from earlier that day, she was sure he had gotten more than just a slap from Munkustrap when he returned.

She stood there in the light of the moon, her fingers tracing the outline of a lily. Gentle moonbeams played with her fur, making her appear to be an uncut ruby. She giggled as she watched the dewdrop diamonds drip from petal to grass.

Her ears perked up. Was it her imagination or had she just heard someone groan? She looked around, silently praying the sound came from some small animal searching for a midnight snack. She raised a hand to her mouth, for lying on the ground in front of her, was an unmoving Mistoffelees.

^-,-^

Mistoffelees awoke to the gentle touch of a moist cloth being dabbed at his forehead. He blinked, waiting for his eyes to refocus. He realized his arm didn't hurt as much. Somecat must have put it back into place and wrapped it while he was unconscious. And, for the first time in as long as he could remember, he was actually comfortable. He blinked one last time, groaned, and turned his head to face his savoir. To his surprise (along with a little delight), the worried red face of Bombalurina peered back at him.

"Hey."

"Hey." A moment of silence. Bombalurina, a mix of happiness and sympathy, could contain herself no longer. She threw her arms around his neck as best she could with him lying down and cried.

"Everlasting Cat, I thought you were dead." Mistoffelees smiled.

"So did I."

"This is not a laughing matter!"

"Do I look like I'm laughing?"

"Well, no…but you smirked! That's almost as bad!" Mistoffelees chuckled at the slim queen.

"Oh my. That's one of the many things I love about you." Bombalurina stalled. Mistoffelees realized what he said, and would have kicked himself for it, if he hadn't been lying down. The scarlet queen chewed on a claw thoughtfully.

"Did you just say what I think you did?"

"That depends. What did you think I said?"

"I think you said there are things you love about me. What exactly do you love about me?"

"Now that depends on your perspective of the word 'love'. You see, some cats look at the word 'love' as-" Bombalurina, smiling all the way, had leaned over and givin Mistoffelees a soft kiss on the cheek. The small tom look at her carefully, blinked, and reached his arms around her neck to pull her closer to him. They could feel the electricity between them as they engaged in one long, passionate kiss. Without warning, Mistoffelees sat up, and, as gently as he could, pushed Bombalurina away.

"I can't do this." Bombalurina gabbed at his arm.

"How do you mean?"

"Don't you see? If I—no, if we—do this, he'll come after you."

"Who?"

"Munkustrap. If he found out that I cared for you even just a little, he'll come after you and hurt you. Don't say anything! Do you realize how much I would hurt if anything happened to you?

"Look, tomorrow's the Jellicle Ball. There'll be food, dancing, lots of noise…maybe we can talk there but…" his voice trailed off into nothing, hints of tears dripping down his face. He leaned over and gave Bombalurina a final kiss, whispering in her ear before he left.

"I'm sorry."

^-,-^

Tears were streaming down Mistoffelees' face as he ran back towards Munkustrap's villa. A shadowy movement caught his eye, and he stopped to see if maybe his eyes were playing games with him. The figure was, in fact, a cat, the skinny black tom from the train to be exact. The fellow wore a bright sunny smile and was apparently calling for Mistoffelees.

"Ahoy there, little munchkin! I was wondering if you could give me a hand?" Mistoffelees, being the kind cat that he was, agreed to go along with the strange tom, as long as Munkustrap wasn't there.

^-,-^

"Y'see, I've gone and locked myself out again. Do you have a key or anything?" Mistoffelees hesitated. He debated using his magic to open the door. After all, Munkustrap wasn't there, and this tom seemed honest enough.

"Before I do anything, I have to know; do you believe in magic?"

"I depends on how one looks at the word magic. Now, in my own honest opinion, June bugs are very magical. How else can you explain picking fifteen of a rose, and finding thirty more on that same flower only five minutes later?"

"That's not what I was asking, but, alright. I'll open the door. But you cannot, I repeat, cannot tell anyone what you saw. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" the tom said, smiling al the while. Mistoffelees sighed, cracked his knuckles and placed his hands on the door. Concentrating very hard, he made a mental image of the door unlocked. He made it a point to hold concentration even while the door began glowing bright blue. Mistoffelees heard a clock, and released his hold on the door.

"Ha ha! There you go, sir. Right as rain!"

"Right as rain…yes." The tom looked at the door, then at Mistoffelees, shrugged his shoulders, and skipped of in the opposite direction, whistling, and with a slight bounce to his step. Mistoffelees watched the odd cat go.

"Curious," he mumbled, and rushed his way back into the cellar of Munkustrap's cabin.

^-,-^

The sun was rising and already preparations were being made for the night's festivities. Munkustrap had kicked Mistoffelees awake from what he thought was a deep night's sleep, when in truth, it was a few minutes of 'resting'. The short tom was laying out tables and rolling out barrels of food as the first hints of sunlight streaked across the sky.

It was almost noon when the final preparations for the ball were completed. No one was out yet. The Cats of Jellica traditionally stayed inside their houses until they were invited to join the festivities. For as long as Mistoffelees could remember, he was the one to sing the invitation. He cleared his throat and sang as loud as he could.

Jellicle Cats come out to-night

Jellicle Cats come one come all

The Jellicle Moon is shining bright

Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball

A pretty white kitten named Victoria had been chosen this year to aid him in singing the invite. The two sang the invitation again in perfect harmony as the villagers of Jellica emerged from their houses. The young ran fast, the younger skipped merrily, and the old hobbled out with the aid of their children. Munkustrap snatched Mistoffelees by the ear and dragged him over to a small table.

"Sit," he snarled. "Sit until they ask you to dance." The gray and black tom stalked off with a smile on his face as he began to mingle with the villagers. Mistoffelees watched as Victoria stood on the old wooden stage and sang her prepared song.

Did you know there's a dragon that lives out at sea

Who enjoys tea and crumpets and buzzes like a bee

And then there's the Peke that lives out in the wood

That spends all his time making shoes out of food

Did you know that there's beast that lives under the mat

That comes out only to take a whiff of your hat

And when finished he goes back under the bed

At least, that's what Tumblebrutus said

And then, all around him, the kittens of the town chanted the chorus with the little white queen.

Brutus

Brutus

That's what Tumblebrutus said

Two playful kittens grabbed the young trickster Tumblebrutus up onto the stage to sing the second verse.

Did I ever tell of my trip to Siam

To feast upon dragon and succulent lamb

And to visit my brother (did you know he's a prince?)

Who gave me a sword and taught me how to fence

Don't tell your mothers, they'll want to know how

"How could he have gone? It's Thailand now!"

Tell father as soon as mother's gone to bed

"Guess what Tumblebrutus said!"

Brutus

Brutus

Guess what Tumblebrutus said!

Mistoffelees laughed and clapped along with the adults and watched the brash young tom swing a little queen kitten around. He silently wished he could go dance, but he knew Munkustrap was watching him…somewhere. Scarlet hands grabbed his arms and pulled him from his seat.

"Dance with me," Bombalurina demanded.

"Oh no, I don't—"

"Dance with me!" she yelled again, swinging him around by the arm as the music picked up. Mistoffelees laughed merrily, until he tripped on his tail and fell flat on his face. Bombalurina giggled and helped him to his feet. Her merry expression soon changed to dead serious as she swung Mistoffelees over to a small area of the town square.

"We really need to talk."

(A/N) I really really really wanted to make this one part, but I couldn't. it was getting way too long. More to come.