Chapter 1

You know that fog that sort of creeps into backyards on winter nights? Victoria was a bit like that for us. She seemed to sneak up on us and give us a good jaunt before melting away into the early-morning sunlight.

I can't say I'll never forgive her for leaving me when we'd finally made real contact. One thing about her is that you can't feel any misgivings towards her for too long. She was the Jellicle angel, but I suppose that's over and done.

But I'm getting too far ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning.

It was a cold night just after the start of the year, and I was out walking around, trying to think up new ways of looking less like a kitten in front of Tugger and Munkustrap. I had ventured out of the Junkyard, a miracle in itself in my case, seeing as I most definitely wasn't the bravest cat in the tribe.

The sound of soft crying caught my attention, and I stopped in front of a rusty, graffiti-covered car. I could feel a prickle of uneasiness running through my fur, and I swallowed nervously as I peered into the dark interior of the car.

A snowy white paw flashed out from the darkness, catching me on the ear and making me yowl in pain as I leaped backwards. Even through the dull throbs coming from my hurt ear, I knew I was not going to let this chance at an adventure go. Munkustrap, with his acute sense of hearing, would probably be here in a few minutes to ruin my chance at proving myself.

Before I could stumble to my paws and slink forward again, however, I saw two white paws appear on the window. Unconsciously, I stepped backwards – straight into a pile of tin cans that rattled in every direction. The white paws disappeared momentarily, and then a head was peeking up over the car door and out the window, eyes wide with curiosity.

I remained as still as possible, and then those eyes fixed on me. The other kitten seemed to jump at my huddled black and white shape, and I shrank even lower. It was clear this was no Jellicle cat, and I could see she was just a bit younger than me. She finally crawled out of the car, and I saw with a jolt of amazement that she was snowy white everywhere on her body.

The small kitten stared at me silently from her vantage point just next to the car. "Did I hurt you?" she finally asked, making my hurt ear twitch wildly. "No!" I meowed defensively, sitting up a bit straighter. I saw a twinkle of laughter shine in her eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked, voice muffled as she held a paw over her smile.

"I'm fine," I grumbled irritably, starting to feel annoyed that I'd let a young queen scare me to death. She blinked. "Where'd you come from, anyway?" she asked, and then the moment ended as a small silver tabby darted into the scene, looking around wildly with his fur puffed out fiercely. "Where's the enemy, Misto?" he growled, overlooking the white kitten completely as he searched for some hidden Pollicle.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Relax, Munk, it's nothing," I said, for possibly the millionth time in my short childhood. I noticed the white kitten shrinking down, and then I guess I was staring at her too much because Munkustrap turned and leveled his powerful gaze on the cowering white shape. With a squeak of fear, the she-kit leaped forward, smacking Munkustrap dead on his nose with claws unsheathed.

Even I winced at that one. Munkustrap, being Munkustrap, immediately went into defensive mode and barreled into the white queen, bowling her over so she landed on her back, paws and belly up as Munk pounced on her. I could see the angry red scratches on his nose were looking extremely painful, but Munkustrap ignored them.

I ran over on one of my rare ventures into something like bravery and attempted to push my brother off the stunned she-kit. "Misto, leave me alone. I can take her!" he growled, keeping the kit pinned. I was a surprisingly quiet kitten, but I knew that any cat who heard me yowl would immediately come running.

I sat down, threw my head back, and let out the most piteous mewl you'll ever hear. Instantly there was a loud commotion nearby, and onto the scene ran Skimbleshanks, his eyes wide and frantic as he took in the scene. Finally deciding to help out the most endangered kitten in the area, he leaped onto Munkustrap, bowling him over and freeing the white she-kit just as Jennyanydots waddled into the clearing.

Always the most motherly of the Jellicle cats, Jenny waddled quickly to the she-kit's crumpled form on the sidewalk, nosing her over for any signs of injury. I could see form a distance that the kitten wasn't stirring, but her small white chest rose and fell regularly, so I figured she'd simply been knocked unconscious by Munku's attack.

Jenny picked the thin kit up by the scruff of her neck, waddling purposefully towards the main Junkyard. I followed closely while Skimbleshanks scolded an unhappy Munkustrap, and the soft defensive comments of my brother followed me all the way home. The white kit had struck out thoughtlessly against both of us before finding out who we were, but she'd still seemed nice to me.

We finally reached the clearing in the center of the junkyard where most of the Jellicle cats were sitting with worried expressions. I blushed brilliantly at the many stares I was receiving, especially from the younger kittens. It wasn't hard to slip out of our small troupe and I wriggled happily into a discarded pipe, relieved to have escaped the curiosity of the tribe.

I'd find out more about the white she-kit later, I decided, drifting to sleep in the spacious compartment.