WARNING: Very small references to death, and just a little bit of abuse (if you squint really, really hard).
Disclaimer for the entire fic: Cats belongs to a guy. I'm a girl. Enough said. The 'Demon Cat' from my story doesn't belong to me either, she (or he?) belongs to… whoever lives at number 22 on my street.
A/N: This fic is my new year's gift to all of my readers. Happy 2008! The ending of this fic kinda sucks, but I couldn't come up with anything else… if anyone comes up with a good idea, I may write a second chapter. If not, this will remain a one-shot. Either way is fine with me.
Word count: 785 words
The Demon Cat at Number 22
Ah! Hello, there. My name is Old Deuteronomy. You must be the new kitten who has joined the Jellicles, am I right? Yes, you were rather lost… it's a good thing Munkustrap found you. You wouldn't have survived otherwise, with those cold winter nights… temperatures are so low, every cat's whiskers are covered with frost as soon as they leave the houses of their human companions, or when they leave the safe warmth of the junkyard.
Still, we are all very lucky compared to the ones who live on the street, who have no place to return to. You're cold? Don't worry, you can come and hide in this large pile of blankets. The queens all worked together to create this for the kittens, so they wouldn't get cold. In the mean time, I'll tell you a story to keep your curious mind occupied…
As every tom, queen and kitten knows, the most frightening thing out there in the wide world are not the thing humans think we are most afraid of. Yes, most dogs are rather scary, but they are easy to avoid if you know how. Even if they manage to back you into a corner, it is quite simple to escape. Dogs can't climb, you see. Nor are they as nimble as we are.
The thing which most cats fear more that anything else – the thing that makes their fur stand on end and makes them flee in terror – is the notorious and widely known Napoleon of Crime, the cat known as Macavity.
But although he is the most feared, he is not, in fact, the most dangerous.
I can see you're very confused. You see, a long time ago, a certain Jellicle lived right here in the junkyard; a beautiful queen named Roja. (1) She was so pretty, that almost every tom vied for her attention; but it was all in vain. She eventually left the junkyard to be with her chosen mate; a gruff cat with a suspiciously dark look about him, a stranger to us. She came back a few months later; weak, starved and bearing kittens.
There were three kittens in her litter. The first was a spindly looking male, who died shortly after. The second was a female, a mackerel tabby in the colours red and white. The third was a wild looking red cat, who made a name for himself as Macavity. Roja, unfortunately, died soon after. If she hadn't, perhaps Macavity wouldn't have turned out this way… who knows?
From the very beginning, Macavity was like a wolf among sheep. It did not take long before the other cats decided to ban him from the junkyard. He blamed the Jellicles for his mother's death, and swore to take revenge. While his sister was not as rowdy, she too commanded a certain amount of fear and respect from other cats. Unlike Macavity, who was kicked out and lived on the street, she left on her own and picked a random human to live with.
In fact, she lives not to far from here, on Churchill Road number 22. (2) And while Macavity excels at terrorizing Jellicles and Pollicles, his sister has a love for terrorizing humans. Especially mail deliverers, it seems. When she hears mail falling through the slot, she runs to the door and jumps up, trying to put her claws into soft flesh. (3) You'll notice that there is a new mail deliverer every week; all of the subsequent ones refuse to go to this address. The humans call her the 'Demon Cat at Number 22'.
It's not just humans that are afraid of her, either. While most cats don't even know she exists, there are a few who have heard about her. They avoid her as much as possible... mostly because she is Macavity's sister of course. But the one who is the most scared of her is (amusingly) Macavity himself! The 'Cat of a Thousand Alibis' may be the most frightening thing to many cats all over world (or at least all over England), but he is deathly afraid of his own sister… it's rather ironic, don't you think?
Did you enjoy the story about Macavity's sister? Yes? I'm glad you did. There's a secret I'll tell you about her… she enjoys scaring humans, but she has nothing against cats. In fact, she has sworn never to harm anyone of the Jellicles (because she grew up as one), or any kitten. Since you are both of those, you certainly have nothing to fear from her…
The good thing about all of this is that, if you are ever in trouble with Macavity, you just need to go to Churchill Road number 22…
(1) – Roja: Spanish (feminine) word meaning 'red'.
(2) – Churchill Road is where Macavity gets on the bus to visit his favourite fish 'n chips bar. I'm not kidding, either. Look up "Macavity (cat)" on Wikipedia and read it for yourself!
(3) – This is the part of the story that's based on truth. This cat lives on my street at number 22. I just don't know whether it's a tom or a queen (truthfully, I'm not even planning to find out).
Posted: January 01, 2008