The moonless night enveloped the city streets, the only glow shed from dim streetlamps and the beading of stars in the velvet sky. In the darkness the black queen cat was near invisible as she darted through the shadows, only her white paws prominent. She halted as her ears pricked, detecting a sound. She quickly flattened herself against an alley wall.
A mouse scuttled by.
Paranoid.
She heaved a muffled sigh.
But not without reason, she thought, as she put down the object that obstructed her utterance.
The black and white kitten was near weightless, as she cradled him in her paws. He wasn't even much more than twelve hours old. She scarcely believed she'd had enough time to get away, hiding so she could give birth to him, let alone to feed him. The kitten fumbled blindly now for more of her milk.
She frowned. "Not now love," she whispered. The kitten mewed pitifully. "Sh-shh…" she whispered.
She peered around the corner, making sure the coast was clear. There was little time to lose.
She continued her journey through the night, and it was almost sunrise when she arrived at her destination, the stars fading with the cool morning glow.
The junkyard appeared empty, but she new that at this time the residents were in their makeshift dens, hidden from sight as they prepared for a nocturnal slumber.
As silently as she could possibly allow herself to be, she made her way to the centre of the clearing among the human discards. There she lay her down her infant kit. He had slept for the remainder of their journey, and now he was beginning to shift into wakefulness. As he let out a soft squeak, she couldn't stop herself from letting a tear fall.
"I'll miss you so much."
An after-thought then occurred, and she quickly yanked off her collar, snapping the clasp. It was a thin leather band, with an iridescent, white-gold pendant in the shape of a heart. She rested it on top of his soft belly as he continued to mewl. She had no time left.
"I love you," she whispered as she nuzzled him as a final farewell. That was when she heard movement above her, and she swiftly turned tail and fled into the last remaining shadows of night.
A tired Munkustrap had only just seen the shadow of a cat disappear from the dark borders of the junkyard, above from his perch on the precariously leaning chair. He frowned though, noting a matter of greater urgency that the stranger had left behind. He leapt down, climbing down from the hood of the car, and approached the kitten.
His eyes widened in surprise.
"Why…you can't be more than a day old!" He murmured, picking up the now howling kitten. Curiously, he examined the collar that had been left behind with it.
"Munkustrap…" He heard the groan behind him. "I don't know what's possessed you to still be up, but why can't it leave the rest of us in peace?" Munkustrap turned to the bleary-eyed Rum Tum Tugger, who now started in surprise at the sight of his brother holding an infant kitten.
"Is…is that yours?" he queried in bewilderment.
"No!" he almost yelled in reply. The Rum Tum Tugger winced.
"Keep your fur on. Then what are you doing with it?"
"I just found it here! Some cat left it! I didn't see them."
"What's going on?" The excited call came from an alert Alonzo, who now scurried from the pipe.
"What is all the commotion?" Jennyanydots' tone was thick with disapproval as she climbed out of her den. "Alonzo, what are you doing out of bed?"
"Oh come on Mother, I'm not a kitten anymore!" he groaned.
"Alright, I don't care whose idea it is to have a morning of revelry, my kitten needs to sleep!" Jellylorum stormed out into the clearing, and stopped in surprise for the same reason that everyone else gathered around he was, and more still did so as they all awoke to discover the reason for all the excitement.
Jennyanydots frowned. "Alright, Munkustrap, just what is this all about?"
As Munkustrap gave them the not-so-detailed explanation as to the curious appearance of the kitten, Tugger never once took his eyes off the small bundle of fur that his brother held. When Munkustrap finally finished, Tugger said, "What's that you're holding?" indicating Munkustrap's paw.
Munkustrap looked down in surprise, having forgotten about the collar. "It's a collar. I found it with the kitten." The adolescent Alonzo came over for a better look. "This is all really weird," he commented.
"Hey Munk, why don't you let me hold him?" Tugger asked. Munkustrap paused juggling the kitten to look at Tugger in surprise.
"Oh…alright. Be careful."
Tugger rolled his eyes as he took the kitten. "I'm not going to play football with him."
The kitten had temporarily silenced, and Tugger rubbed the fragile thing warm. There was something peculiar about this cat. Peculiar and familiar. Demeter and Bombalurina peered over his shoulders at the kitten, Demeter smiling particularly. "What a sweet thing!" she cooed. Bombalurina just seemed pleased to be in such close proximity to Tugger.
"Oh, how I wish Old Deuteronomy were here!" Jenny sighed. "He could tell as what to do."
Munkustrap tried not to bristle. "Well, I am the official protector of the tribe!"
Tugger rolled his eyes. "Only just. Dad only said so last month at the Ball." He grinned as he teased his brother.
Munkustrap straightened. "Yes, and Old Deuteronomy made that judgement with trust in me. So I will be making the decisions."
"So what do we do, Munkustrap?" Munkustrap started at Demeter's query, and blushed as she eyed him hopefully. He didn't even have to consider the question for long.
"We'll take the kitten in, of course!" he announced. "We can't simply turn it away."
"It's a him, Munk," Tugger said, again rolling his eyes. "Aren't you, little fella?" He grinned down at the blind kit.
Munkustrap coughed, a little uncomfortable under this pressure. "Yes, him. Sorry." He regained himself. "Jellylorum?"
"Yes?" She attempted to conceal a smile, already certain what he was about to suggest.
"Do you think you'd have room for the kitten?"
"Of course I do!" She beamed, not hiding her delight. Her mate, Skimbleshanks, sidled up to her. "I think Pouncival would be delighted to have a brother." He smiled tiredly.
"Well…that settles that then," Munkustrap concluded. "Um…Tugger?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah." Tugger approached Jellylorum and handed her the black and white kitten. "What'll you name him?" he said suddenly.
Jellylorum chuckled as the kitten almost instantly struggled to find her milk. "The little dear devil," she mumbled. "What do you think of Mistoffelees, Skimble dear?" Skimbleshanks stifled a yawn.
"That sounds wonderful, Jelly."
The marmalade tom's exhaustion didn't go unnoticed by Munkustrap. "Alright, we'd all best be going to bed," he said, summoning a commanding presence.
Tugger stood by his side, as they watched Skimbleshanks and Jellylorum return to their den, along with the rest of the tribe. That's when they both heard a soft, female voice behind them say, "You're right, Tugger."
They both turned to lay their eyes on the twins, Tantomile and Coricopat, gazing at them with identically unreadable expressions.
"Mistoffelees is a special cat,"Coricopat continued where his sister left off.
"How special, you will one day learn," she finished.
With that, the two turned to return to their resting spot, leaving the brothers with baffled expressions on their sleepless faces.