It had been heard (at least among the humans) that there was to be a snow flurry that night. Snow wasn't anything new to the cats - they had definitely experienced it before. All had figured that it would be the usual snowfall - if it stuck at all, there would only be a few inches. Then it would melt the next day, and everyone would get on with their lives.
Skimbleshanks was the first to wake up. He looked up and shook his head, sending a large amount of snow flying everywhere. He rubbed his eyes and gasped - all of the cats had disappeared under a large blanket of snow! He stepped out of the cardboard box, and fell smack down at least a foot into the snow. The snow was incredibly deep! A frightened yelp escaped his jaws, and Munkustrap shot straight up from his sleep.
"Skimble what's wr-- Heavyside Layer, what on earth ... ?"
"It snowed," Skimble said, shaking a few clumps of snow off his paws. "It snowed a lot."
"Well, I see that," Munku said. "We have to wake up the other cats before they all freeze under all that snow."
Munku began to shake Demeter who was sleeping right beside him. She yawned and shook the snow off her head, and gasped at the sight of Skimble halfway hidden under the snow. The cats all began to wake up after this, each gasping at the sight of the snow. They had a hard time finding Victoria, as her fur was barely visible underneath the white snow. Vicky woke up, and lifted up a newspaper beside her, showing Mistoffelees, who had hidden under it to escape from the cold weather.
"Snow, snow, snow, snow," Etcetera bounded happily down the large pile of garbage, and landed with a huge plop into the snow. "Gee, this is fun! WEEEE!"
Jemima, Electra, and Exotica jumped into snow as well, and the four kittens began laughing and pelting each other with snowballs.
"Girls," Munku began. "We can't play right now. The snow's much too deep, your fur is going to get very wet and dirty, you're all going to be cold ..."
Etcetera threw a snowball at Munku that hit him straight in the face, sending all the kittens into an uproar of laughter.
"Misto, get up!" Vicky shoved Misto, who was still sleeping. Except she shoved him a little too far ....
"RROWWWWW!!!!!" Misto landed smack into the snow. The tiny cat was almost completely hidden by the snow. He jumped up and hissed, his fur standing straight on end.
"Vicky, that's COLD!" He shouted. "Don't wake me out of a dead sleep by shoving me into a foot of snow!"
The cats were all laughing, especially Vicky. She felt a snowball hit her on her head, and she whipped around to see Misto staring at her with a smirk on his face.
"Allright, this is war!" She jumped into the snow and began throwing as much of it as she could at the black cat. The other kittens came over, and soon all of them were rolling all over the place, snow flying everywhere.
"Kittens!" Munku tried to get their attention, but to no avail. He cleared his throat and tried even louder this time. "KITTENS!"
"YO!!" Tugger yelled at the top of his lungs, and all the cats stopped. "Munku has something to say!"
"Now I want all of you to stop this nonsense right now," Munku said. "It looks like we're going to be stranded here for quite a while, so we need a plan. No playing. And you, Misto," Munku gave him a disappointed look. "I'm ashamed of you. You're almost an adult, and you shouldn't be acting like an immature little kitten."
"Key word, 'almost'," Bombalurina sniffed. "Let him have a little fun. Just because he's magic doesn't mean he has to grow up any faster."
"Yeah!" Misto agreed, but after Bombalurina shot him a look that told him to shut up, he obeyed.
"Just let them play," Demeter added. "You used to be a kitten too."
"Fine," Munku rolled his eyes. "Go ahead and play. Us adults will make a plan."
The cats all grinned at each other, and started to throw the snow again. The older cats dodged the snow as they made their way over to Munku.
^..^
"Shhh! We have to have a silent attack!"
Vicky, Etcetera, and Misto hid behind a large barrier of snow. They were, of course, playing a snow fort game against Exotica, Electra, and Jemima. Etcetera was busy rolling what seemed like a million snowballs, while Misto and Vicky kept watch.
"Etcetera, how are the snowballs coming?" Vicky asked, not turning around. For a long while there wasn't an answer, and she turned around. "Etcetera!"
Etcetera was busy making a snowman, thoughtfully placing two buttons into his head for eyes. She looked up and smiled sheepishly.
"I got bored!" She pointed to a large pile of snowballs. "But we have plenty of ammunition. We'll be ready for any attack."
"CHARGE!"
The other three cats came crashing into the snow fort. Etcetera frantically threw her snowman head at Electra, then cowered and covered her head. Jemima laughed, then kicked Etetera's pile of snowballs over. Misto dove right into the snow and tried to bury himself in it, while Vicky tried to frantically fight off the cats.
"Hey you two, help me here!" She shouted. Etcetera looked up, then screeched and covered her head. Misto replied by merely crawling even deeper into the snow.
"We won," Jemima fell down, exhausted. "You lost."
"Fine," Vicky said. "But it wasn't my fault that I was paired up with a BUNCH OF COWARDS!"
Etcetera shivered, then slowly lifted up her head.
"Is it over?" Her voice said shakily. The cats burst out in laughter, as a look of relief flooded over her face.
"Come on back out," Electra grabbed Misto's tail, which was the only part of him still sticking out of the snow, and pulled it. His tail twitched, then flicked under the snow, leaving him completely invisible.
"Yo, Misto," Etcetera laughed. "You can come out now. It's over ... Misto ...?"
"Presto!"
The cats all looked up to see Misto balancing carefully on a large pipe, a sly smile on his face.
"Did you miss me?" He shook his coat free of all the snow.
"Misto, um ... " Exotica motioned towards the pipe, a nervous look on her face.
"I bet you're wondering how I got up here, aren't you?" Misto straightened up with a proud look on his face. "Well, those kind of things are quite hard to explain."
"But Misto ... " Jemima began.
"It's only magic," He said. "What else is there to question?"
"Misto?"
"Yes Etcetera?"
"WATCH OUT!!!!!!!"
As soon as she said this, a huge pile of snow slid off a box that was straight above Misto, and landed right on his head, knocking him off balance. He screeched as he fell to the ground, landing almost silently into a pile of snow.
"Are you okay?" All the cats rushed over to him as he sat up, shaking his head free of snow.
"Yeah, I'm fine," He said as he licked his paw to try and hide the blush that was creeping up on his face.
"I think," Alonzo began from his perch on the tire. "That it's time for us to take a break from playing. Try to get a little warm, okay?"
"Awww .. " The cats all sighed, but headed back over to the junk anyway. They were tired and cold ... and they needed to dry off a bit too.
Vicky noticed Misto leap over the snow towards the car, his head hung low and his tail drooping. She knew he had been kind of embarrassed at his fall - in fact, very embarrassed. He was obviously still upset about it, for he crawled back under the newspaper, out of sight. She decided it best to leave him alone for awhile, so she went over and sat next to Rumpleteazer.
"Have fun?" Rumple grinned at her.
"Yup! That was tons of fun!" Vicky exclaimed. "Though I think Misto's a little upset ... I don't know what to do. What do you do when Mungo's upset?"
"Well, there was once when Mungo was really embarrassed because he had just totally messed up at catching a mouse. He had been trying to impress me and a few other queens. He went off and sulked, just like Misto is doing now. I let him a little while to pout, then I went over and talked to him. Just try to change the subject and get his mind off of it," Rumple said. "It always worked for Mungo."
"Thanks, I'll try that!" Vicky gave Rumple a hug.
"Attention cats," Munku stood up. "According to our recent measurements, the snow is a tail and a half tall, which is about a foot and four inches. This, of course, means that we are stranded for awhile. But luckily, we have just sent out Skimbleshanks and Mungojerrie to find us the necessary supplies we'll need. So, as advice, just relax and try to keep warm and dry."
"There, now, why don't you try talking to Misto now?" Rumple nodded at Vicky, who jumped over to the car.
"Hey Misto," She looked curiously the paper.
"Go away."
"Come on, Misto!" She lay down next to the paper. "Tell me a joke. You always have funny jokes."
"Leave me alone."
"Someone's grouchy," She said playfully, nudging the paper slightly with her paw.
"Go away."
"Can you do that neato thing with the lightning coming out of your paws for me?" She asked. "I love that trick. It's so awesome."
"No, I can't."
"Misto," She lifted up the paper and looked at the black cat. "What's done is done. You can't go back in time. It's over. No one cares anymore."
Misto didn't reply, just turned away from her and curled up tight. Vicky shrugged and went back over to Rumpleteazer.
"Didn't work?"
"No," Vicky sighed. "I tried to get him to tell me a joke or do a trick, but all he said was 'go away'."
"Try giving him a really nice compliment," Rumple suggested. "The fall bruised his ego, so try building it back up again."
"Yeah!" Vicky took a deep breath and jumped back over to Misto.
"Hey Misto?"
"Just leave me alone."
"You know you have really awesome tricks! They're amazing!"
"Shut up."
Vicky was a little surprised. She'd never heard Misto say that to anyone before. He must be REALLY upset. She thought for a minute, then thought of the perfect thing to say.
"Misto, has anyone told you how absolutely adorable you are?"
Misto's body twitched, and his ears perked up, but he still said nothing.
"I think you're the cutest cat I've ever, ever seen. You have the cutest little faces! And you have this adorable smile ..."
He rolled over and looked at her curiously.
"You mean that?"
"Of course!"
"Do ... *you* think I'm cute?"
"I most definitely do!" She smiled at him. "Out of all the cats here, I think you deserve the 'Cutest Cat' award!"
"Cuter than Rum Tum Tugger?"
"By all means, yes."
"Seriously?!"
"YES!" She said, exasperated. "Misto, you are the cutest, most adorable, lovable, sweet cat that I've ever seen."
Misto looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned.
"Thanks Vicky," He purred, rubbing up against her.
"No problem," She purred as well. She glanced across the junkyard at Rumple and gave her a wink.
^..^
"I'm cold," Etcetera whined to Jellylorum.
"I know you're cold," Jelly sighed. "Try cuddling up next to somebody. That's what penguins do in the north to keep warm"
Etcetera bounded over to Tugger and cuddled up next to him.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Mmm, being a penguin," She sighed happily, closing her eyes.
All of the cats sat around, bored to tears. Mungo and Skimble had returned with little food, and the cats had already eaten it all. The kittens were sick of playing in the snow, and tired as well. The adults had talked about nearly everything, and with nothing to talk about, they were just as bored as the kittens.
"Wanna play a game?" Electra asked the other cats.
"No, not really," Exotica rolled her eyes, but then she looked thoughtful. "You know what I heard?"
"What?"
"I heard that Vicky has a crush on Misto," She motioned towards the two cats who were laughing and talking on top of the car.
"No duh!" Electra said. "That's obvious."
"But I heard that Misto likes Cassandra."
Electra also looked thoughtful. This *was* an interesting tidbit. Very interesting. She jumped up next to Exotica to talk some more.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course! Remember when he brought Old Deuteronomy back? He picked her to help him. And then he danced with her!"
"Well, so? Vicky danced with whatshisface."
"Yeah, but Misto was dancing awfully close .. and the look on his face!"
"Hmm .. well, what should we do?" Electra asked her friend.
"I think we should embarrass him. Look at him - he's just leading her on! I think some embarrassment will put him in line."
"But he was already embarrassed once today ..."
"Oh, come on!" Exotica sighed. "We don't want our friend to be broken-hearted."
"You're right," Electra nodded. "Let's go."
The two cats bounded over to Misto and Vicky. Vicky looked a little surprised to see them, but soon she smiled.
"What's up, you guys?" She said to her friends.
"Oh, nothing,"Exotica snickered. "Nothing at all!"
"Okaaay .." Vicky said, a puzzled look on her face.
Electra looked like she was going to burst out with something. She held it in as long as she could, until finally she couldn't hold it back any longer.
"We heard that Misto likes Cassandra and not you, Vicky!" Electra said in one breath. Misto's eyes widened as he looked at Victoria with a shocked look on his face.
"What?!" She whipped around to stare at him sternly.
"I-I-I, um, I mean ..."
"You little jerk!" She yelled as she jumped up and ran off, crawling into the pipe, out of sight. Exotica and Electra shot a fake sympathetic look back at Misto before trotting off, chattering about Vicky's poor fate. Misto shook his head and bit his lip - why had they said that? He didn't like Cassie better than Vicky ... why would they think that? He felt a tear slip down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away before anyone could see.
"What's wrong, Misto?" Mungojerrie jumped next to Misto with a concerned look on his face.
"Oh, Electra and Exotica said something about me that wasn't true, and Vicky got upset and now she's really mad at me," He sighed.
"Ah, that's happened to me before. One time a few of Rumple's friends came up and said that I had a crush on another cat, which of course wasn't true. But Rumple got upset, and ran off to sulk. Well, I let her be for awhile, then talked to her by myself," He gave Misto a pat on the back. "Just try talking to her and saying that whatever the other cats said was not true. Even better, try bringing her something to cheer her up."
"Oh, wow, thanks!" Misto said. "That really helps me!"
"No problem," Mungo grinned. "Now go ahead and try talking to her."
Misto ran off towards the pipe. He approached it slowly and carefully. He could hear muffled sobs coming from inside, and he saw Vicky who was facing away from him, crying. His face softened as he looked at her.
"Vicky, I'm -- I'm so sorry."
"Yeah. Whatever."
"Please look at me, Vicky."
Vicky whipped her head around. Her face was wet and stained with tears. She looked at him, then shook her head, with an angry look on her face.
"I can't believe you. Just leave."
"Vicky, listen to me."
"Why should I? You're probably just lying."
"No, Vicky. What the Electra and Exotica said wasn't true. I don't like Cassandra at all."
"Whatever. Leave me alone, Misto. It's over."
Misto's face fell, and his tail dropped. Vicky watched him as a tear slid down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away. He really did look like he meant what he said ... and she knew how her friends were always spreading untrue gossip about other people. Misto sighed, then trudged out of the pipe. Vicky turned around again, and cried herself to sleep.
^..^
She woke up, and glanced outside. More snow had fallen in the night, covering most of the cats in a lovely white blanket. She sat up, and noticed something beside her. She picked up the strange object - a single red rose. The rose sparkled as she touched it - it was obvious that Misto had left it for her. She held it close to her, a tear slipping down her cheek. He really had meant what he had said. And he truly was sorry.
She ran over to the car where Misto slept underneath the newspaper that was think with snow. She lifted it up and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Of course, Misto awoke with a start and slipped off the car in surprise. Vicky jumped into the snow next to him and gave him a hug.
"I'm sorry, Misto," she whispered to the surprised cat.
"I'm sorry too, Vicky."
"Why are you sorry?"
"I'm sorry about ... everything."
She pulled away from him and looked at him thoughtfully. Misto smiled and purred softly. He nuzzled against her and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"Let's not get mad at each other anymore," Vicky said.
"I agree," Misto's voice said softly. Suddenly, he pulled back and turned away from her.
"Misto, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Her reply was a snowball smacking her in the face.
"Allright, war time," She grinned as she began to pelt him in snow. The two cats laughed as they threw the snow at each other, rolling over and over. Misto pinned Vicky to the ground, finally, and kissed her again.
"I think I won," He laughed.
"You're wrong. We both won."
^..^
"So, Rumple, what'd ya do yesterday?"
"Oh, not much, Mungo. I helped a younger cat with her love life."
"So did I!"
"Really! Well, that's ironic."
"Yes, it certainly is ..."
"Hmmm ...."
Skimbleshanks was the first to wake up. He looked up and shook his head, sending a large amount of snow flying everywhere. He rubbed his eyes and gasped - all of the cats had disappeared under a large blanket of snow! He stepped out of the cardboard box, and fell smack down at least a foot into the snow. The snow was incredibly deep! A frightened yelp escaped his jaws, and Munkustrap shot straight up from his sleep.
"Skimble what's wr-- Heavyside Layer, what on earth ... ?"
"It snowed," Skimble said, shaking a few clumps of snow off his paws. "It snowed a lot."
"Well, I see that," Munku said. "We have to wake up the other cats before they all freeze under all that snow."
Munku began to shake Demeter who was sleeping right beside him. She yawned and shook the snow off her head, and gasped at the sight of Skimble halfway hidden under the snow. The cats all began to wake up after this, each gasping at the sight of the snow. They had a hard time finding Victoria, as her fur was barely visible underneath the white snow. Vicky woke up, and lifted up a newspaper beside her, showing Mistoffelees, who had hidden under it to escape from the cold weather.
"Snow, snow, snow, snow," Etcetera bounded happily down the large pile of garbage, and landed with a huge plop into the snow. "Gee, this is fun! WEEEE!"
Jemima, Electra, and Exotica jumped into snow as well, and the four kittens began laughing and pelting each other with snowballs.
"Girls," Munku began. "We can't play right now. The snow's much too deep, your fur is going to get very wet and dirty, you're all going to be cold ..."
Etcetera threw a snowball at Munku that hit him straight in the face, sending all the kittens into an uproar of laughter.
"Misto, get up!" Vicky shoved Misto, who was still sleeping. Except she shoved him a little too far ....
"RROWWWWW!!!!!" Misto landed smack into the snow. The tiny cat was almost completely hidden by the snow. He jumped up and hissed, his fur standing straight on end.
"Vicky, that's COLD!" He shouted. "Don't wake me out of a dead sleep by shoving me into a foot of snow!"
The cats were all laughing, especially Vicky. She felt a snowball hit her on her head, and she whipped around to see Misto staring at her with a smirk on his face.
"Allright, this is war!" She jumped into the snow and began throwing as much of it as she could at the black cat. The other kittens came over, and soon all of them were rolling all over the place, snow flying everywhere.
"Kittens!" Munku tried to get their attention, but to no avail. He cleared his throat and tried even louder this time. "KITTENS!"
"YO!!" Tugger yelled at the top of his lungs, and all the cats stopped. "Munku has something to say!"
"Now I want all of you to stop this nonsense right now," Munku said. "It looks like we're going to be stranded here for quite a while, so we need a plan. No playing. And you, Misto," Munku gave him a disappointed look. "I'm ashamed of you. You're almost an adult, and you shouldn't be acting like an immature little kitten."
"Key word, 'almost'," Bombalurina sniffed. "Let him have a little fun. Just because he's magic doesn't mean he has to grow up any faster."
"Yeah!" Misto agreed, but after Bombalurina shot him a look that told him to shut up, he obeyed.
"Just let them play," Demeter added. "You used to be a kitten too."
"Fine," Munku rolled his eyes. "Go ahead and play. Us adults will make a plan."
The cats all grinned at each other, and started to throw the snow again. The older cats dodged the snow as they made their way over to Munku.
^..^
"Shhh! We have to have a silent attack!"
Vicky, Etcetera, and Misto hid behind a large barrier of snow. They were, of course, playing a snow fort game against Exotica, Electra, and Jemima. Etcetera was busy rolling what seemed like a million snowballs, while Misto and Vicky kept watch.
"Etcetera, how are the snowballs coming?" Vicky asked, not turning around. For a long while there wasn't an answer, and she turned around. "Etcetera!"
Etcetera was busy making a snowman, thoughtfully placing two buttons into his head for eyes. She looked up and smiled sheepishly.
"I got bored!" She pointed to a large pile of snowballs. "But we have plenty of ammunition. We'll be ready for any attack."
"CHARGE!"
The other three cats came crashing into the snow fort. Etcetera frantically threw her snowman head at Electra, then cowered and covered her head. Jemima laughed, then kicked Etetera's pile of snowballs over. Misto dove right into the snow and tried to bury himself in it, while Vicky tried to frantically fight off the cats.
"Hey you two, help me here!" She shouted. Etcetera looked up, then screeched and covered her head. Misto replied by merely crawling even deeper into the snow.
"We won," Jemima fell down, exhausted. "You lost."
"Fine," Vicky said. "But it wasn't my fault that I was paired up with a BUNCH OF COWARDS!"
Etcetera shivered, then slowly lifted up her head.
"Is it over?" Her voice said shakily. The cats burst out in laughter, as a look of relief flooded over her face.
"Come on back out," Electra grabbed Misto's tail, which was the only part of him still sticking out of the snow, and pulled it. His tail twitched, then flicked under the snow, leaving him completely invisible.
"Yo, Misto," Etcetera laughed. "You can come out now. It's over ... Misto ...?"
"Presto!"
The cats all looked up to see Misto balancing carefully on a large pipe, a sly smile on his face.
"Did you miss me?" He shook his coat free of all the snow.
"Misto, um ... " Exotica motioned towards the pipe, a nervous look on her face.
"I bet you're wondering how I got up here, aren't you?" Misto straightened up with a proud look on his face. "Well, those kind of things are quite hard to explain."
"But Misto ... " Jemima began.
"It's only magic," He said. "What else is there to question?"
"Misto?"
"Yes Etcetera?"
"WATCH OUT!!!!!!!"
As soon as she said this, a huge pile of snow slid off a box that was straight above Misto, and landed right on his head, knocking him off balance. He screeched as he fell to the ground, landing almost silently into a pile of snow.
"Are you okay?" All the cats rushed over to him as he sat up, shaking his head free of snow.
"Yeah, I'm fine," He said as he licked his paw to try and hide the blush that was creeping up on his face.
"I think," Alonzo began from his perch on the tire. "That it's time for us to take a break from playing. Try to get a little warm, okay?"
"Awww .. " The cats all sighed, but headed back over to the junk anyway. They were tired and cold ... and they needed to dry off a bit too.
Vicky noticed Misto leap over the snow towards the car, his head hung low and his tail drooping. She knew he had been kind of embarrassed at his fall - in fact, very embarrassed. He was obviously still upset about it, for he crawled back under the newspaper, out of sight. She decided it best to leave him alone for awhile, so she went over and sat next to Rumpleteazer.
"Have fun?" Rumple grinned at her.
"Yup! That was tons of fun!" Vicky exclaimed. "Though I think Misto's a little upset ... I don't know what to do. What do you do when Mungo's upset?"
"Well, there was once when Mungo was really embarrassed because he had just totally messed up at catching a mouse. He had been trying to impress me and a few other queens. He went off and sulked, just like Misto is doing now. I let him a little while to pout, then I went over and talked to him. Just try to change the subject and get his mind off of it," Rumple said. "It always worked for Mungo."
"Thanks, I'll try that!" Vicky gave Rumple a hug.
"Attention cats," Munku stood up. "According to our recent measurements, the snow is a tail and a half tall, which is about a foot and four inches. This, of course, means that we are stranded for awhile. But luckily, we have just sent out Skimbleshanks and Mungojerrie to find us the necessary supplies we'll need. So, as advice, just relax and try to keep warm and dry."
"There, now, why don't you try talking to Misto now?" Rumple nodded at Vicky, who jumped over to the car.
"Hey Misto," She looked curiously the paper.
"Go away."
"Come on, Misto!" She lay down next to the paper. "Tell me a joke. You always have funny jokes."
"Leave me alone."
"Someone's grouchy," She said playfully, nudging the paper slightly with her paw.
"Go away."
"Can you do that neato thing with the lightning coming out of your paws for me?" She asked. "I love that trick. It's so awesome."
"No, I can't."
"Misto," She lifted up the paper and looked at the black cat. "What's done is done. You can't go back in time. It's over. No one cares anymore."
Misto didn't reply, just turned away from her and curled up tight. Vicky shrugged and went back over to Rumpleteazer.
"Didn't work?"
"No," Vicky sighed. "I tried to get him to tell me a joke or do a trick, but all he said was 'go away'."
"Try giving him a really nice compliment," Rumple suggested. "The fall bruised his ego, so try building it back up again."
"Yeah!" Vicky took a deep breath and jumped back over to Misto.
"Hey Misto?"
"Just leave me alone."
"You know you have really awesome tricks! They're amazing!"
"Shut up."
Vicky was a little surprised. She'd never heard Misto say that to anyone before. He must be REALLY upset. She thought for a minute, then thought of the perfect thing to say.
"Misto, has anyone told you how absolutely adorable you are?"
Misto's body twitched, and his ears perked up, but he still said nothing.
"I think you're the cutest cat I've ever, ever seen. You have the cutest little faces! And you have this adorable smile ..."
He rolled over and looked at her curiously.
"You mean that?"
"Of course!"
"Do ... *you* think I'm cute?"
"I most definitely do!" She smiled at him. "Out of all the cats here, I think you deserve the 'Cutest Cat' award!"
"Cuter than Rum Tum Tugger?"
"By all means, yes."
"Seriously?!"
"YES!" She said, exasperated. "Misto, you are the cutest, most adorable, lovable, sweet cat that I've ever seen."
Misto looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned.
"Thanks Vicky," He purred, rubbing up against her.
"No problem," She purred as well. She glanced across the junkyard at Rumple and gave her a wink.
^..^
"I'm cold," Etcetera whined to Jellylorum.
"I know you're cold," Jelly sighed. "Try cuddling up next to somebody. That's what penguins do in the north to keep warm"
Etcetera bounded over to Tugger and cuddled up next to him.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Mmm, being a penguin," She sighed happily, closing her eyes.
All of the cats sat around, bored to tears. Mungo and Skimble had returned with little food, and the cats had already eaten it all. The kittens were sick of playing in the snow, and tired as well. The adults had talked about nearly everything, and with nothing to talk about, they were just as bored as the kittens.
"Wanna play a game?" Electra asked the other cats.
"No, not really," Exotica rolled her eyes, but then she looked thoughtful. "You know what I heard?"
"What?"
"I heard that Vicky has a crush on Misto," She motioned towards the two cats who were laughing and talking on top of the car.
"No duh!" Electra said. "That's obvious."
"But I heard that Misto likes Cassandra."
Electra also looked thoughtful. This *was* an interesting tidbit. Very interesting. She jumped up next to Exotica to talk some more.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course! Remember when he brought Old Deuteronomy back? He picked her to help him. And then he danced with her!"
"Well, so? Vicky danced with whatshisface."
"Yeah, but Misto was dancing awfully close .. and the look on his face!"
"Hmm .. well, what should we do?" Electra asked her friend.
"I think we should embarrass him. Look at him - he's just leading her on! I think some embarrassment will put him in line."
"But he was already embarrassed once today ..."
"Oh, come on!" Exotica sighed. "We don't want our friend to be broken-hearted."
"You're right," Electra nodded. "Let's go."
The two cats bounded over to Misto and Vicky. Vicky looked a little surprised to see them, but soon she smiled.
"What's up, you guys?" She said to her friends.
"Oh, nothing,"Exotica snickered. "Nothing at all!"
"Okaaay .." Vicky said, a puzzled look on her face.
Electra looked like she was going to burst out with something. She held it in as long as she could, until finally she couldn't hold it back any longer.
"We heard that Misto likes Cassandra and not you, Vicky!" Electra said in one breath. Misto's eyes widened as he looked at Victoria with a shocked look on his face.
"What?!" She whipped around to stare at him sternly.
"I-I-I, um, I mean ..."
"You little jerk!" She yelled as she jumped up and ran off, crawling into the pipe, out of sight. Exotica and Electra shot a fake sympathetic look back at Misto before trotting off, chattering about Vicky's poor fate. Misto shook his head and bit his lip - why had they said that? He didn't like Cassie better than Vicky ... why would they think that? He felt a tear slip down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away before anyone could see.
"What's wrong, Misto?" Mungojerrie jumped next to Misto with a concerned look on his face.
"Oh, Electra and Exotica said something about me that wasn't true, and Vicky got upset and now she's really mad at me," He sighed.
"Ah, that's happened to me before. One time a few of Rumple's friends came up and said that I had a crush on another cat, which of course wasn't true. But Rumple got upset, and ran off to sulk. Well, I let her be for awhile, then talked to her by myself," He gave Misto a pat on the back. "Just try talking to her and saying that whatever the other cats said was not true. Even better, try bringing her something to cheer her up."
"Oh, wow, thanks!" Misto said. "That really helps me!"
"No problem," Mungo grinned. "Now go ahead and try talking to her."
Misto ran off towards the pipe. He approached it slowly and carefully. He could hear muffled sobs coming from inside, and he saw Vicky who was facing away from him, crying. His face softened as he looked at her.
"Vicky, I'm -- I'm so sorry."
"Yeah. Whatever."
"Please look at me, Vicky."
Vicky whipped her head around. Her face was wet and stained with tears. She looked at him, then shook her head, with an angry look on her face.
"I can't believe you. Just leave."
"Vicky, listen to me."
"Why should I? You're probably just lying."
"No, Vicky. What the Electra and Exotica said wasn't true. I don't like Cassandra at all."
"Whatever. Leave me alone, Misto. It's over."
Misto's face fell, and his tail dropped. Vicky watched him as a tear slid down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away. He really did look like he meant what he said ... and she knew how her friends were always spreading untrue gossip about other people. Misto sighed, then trudged out of the pipe. Vicky turned around again, and cried herself to sleep.
^..^
She woke up, and glanced outside. More snow had fallen in the night, covering most of the cats in a lovely white blanket. She sat up, and noticed something beside her. She picked up the strange object - a single red rose. The rose sparkled as she touched it - it was obvious that Misto had left it for her. She held it close to her, a tear slipping down her cheek. He really had meant what he had said. And he truly was sorry.
She ran over to the car where Misto slept underneath the newspaper that was think with snow. She lifted it up and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Of course, Misto awoke with a start and slipped off the car in surprise. Vicky jumped into the snow next to him and gave him a hug.
"I'm sorry, Misto," she whispered to the surprised cat.
"I'm sorry too, Vicky."
"Why are you sorry?"
"I'm sorry about ... everything."
She pulled away from him and looked at him thoughtfully. Misto smiled and purred softly. He nuzzled against her and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"Let's not get mad at each other anymore," Vicky said.
"I agree," Misto's voice said softly. Suddenly, he pulled back and turned away from her.
"Misto, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Her reply was a snowball smacking her in the face.
"Allright, war time," She grinned as she began to pelt him in snow. The two cats laughed as they threw the snow at each other, rolling over and over. Misto pinned Vicky to the ground, finally, and kissed her again.
"I think I won," He laughed.
"You're wrong. We both won."
^..^
"So, Rumple, what'd ya do yesterday?"
"Oh, not much, Mungo. I helped a younger cat with her love life."
"So did I!"
"Really! Well, that's ironic."
"Yes, it certainly is ..."
"Hmmm ...."