Taking the Pound
By: SquigglyDot
Human P.O.V.- visualize the Jellicles as actual cats, please and thank you
Disclaimer: All rights to T.S. Elliot and Andrew Lloyd Webber- I own nothing
Note: I'm still toying with this idea, so I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Taking the Pound
I knew it was going to be a very long day and I simply wanted to bang my head against my desk. Sadly, it was only a little after ten in the morning.
Finishing with a quick examination of my latest patient, who was still completely out of it due to an earlier encounter with a sedative, I made sure the cage was securely locked, and turned around. There was uproar as I passed- our current prisoners were not at all pleased with me. And I couldn't blame them. Quietly shutting the heavy door behind me, I collapsed into my pitiful chair, and rested my head against the old desk.
Although it occurred to me that the repetitive beat of my forehead against the wood wasn't actually helpful it still made me feel a little better.
When the workday had started at nine I met my new co-worker. He was good looking, only a few years older than me, and seemed to be quite a charmer. By a quarter after he returned to the office in his new dogcatcher uniform and had a cage under his arm.
The two rowdy cats he had picked up were Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer. They belonged to a high-class family in Victoria Grove and didn't belong in the Pound. In fact, I can't recall the last time we had cats in the Scotland Yard Pound- dogs were the usual inmates.
He asked me to fill out their paperwork as he forced them into another, sturdier cage in the back room. When I mentioned that the cats were often seen roaming the streets and both wore collars, he informed me that the family would have to come retrieve them. Without another word, he was out the door, and I was stuck listening to the howls emitting from the other room.
I barely got started on the proper papers when there was a commotion outside and the glass door was being pushed open. He had collected several more cats in the short time he'd been away. One cage contained two very upset felines while the other held five terrified kittens that huddled together in one corner.
"Get the door," he ordered and I bustled over to do so. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer fell silent as we entered; intent to watch the happenings unfold. I gaped as the overzealous dogcatcher transferred the trembling kittens into a singular cage across from our earlier inmates before fighting the other two into another cage. They fought diligently and recklessly. These had to be wild- but they, too, wore collars. Junkyard cats.
He'd collected Bombalurina and Demeter along with the freshest batch of kittens from the Junkyard. It was only his first day and he had already broken our one unspoken rule; the cats that gathered in the Junkyard are to be left alone. I tried in vain to soothe the cats after he disappeared into the front but they were having none of it.
The third cage that was brought in surprised me the most. It contained the Rum Tum Tugger and he was not pleased. His back was arched, his tail puffed out, and he was hissing between each low growl.
Without a second thought, the idiot of a dogcatcher had reached into the cage and started to pull Tugger out. The cat latched on to his arm, teeth and claws shredding the flesh before him and the man howled like a wounded animal. It set off all the cats.
The back room had quieted down, if only for a moment, and I lifted my head. What was I supposed to do? My co-worker had been sent here on a recommendation; he was an excellent catcher. But he was in the process of collecting all of the cats in Scotland Yard. How could I even go about undoing everything he had done in the span of an hour?
There was silence now and I looked about in confusion. A slim black cat sitting atop my desk startled me. Some call him Mistoffelees. How he had gotten into my office was a mystery; the door was shut and my simple bell alarm system hadn't sounded.
"Hi," I managed, feeling a little foolish. He blinked at me before leaping from the desk and taking a seat by the glass door. I stood to look over said desk and was astonished to see the pride and joy of the town, Old Deuteronomy, hobbling slowly towards the Pound. Munkustrap, the Junkyard protector, accompanied the elderly cat.
I opened the door and allowed them entrance after it was made clear they intended to come in. Old Deuteronomy nodded at me with peaceful eyes even as all three feline visitors made their way to the back door. Expectant gazes landed on my dumbfounded form but I opened the door anyways.
The silver tabby was the first to enter, body on high alert, while Mistoffelees hung back with their leader. Munkustrap went to each cage and gently nuzzled his trapped companions. The black cat followed moments later and had the first cage open in a split second- a magical cat indeed. Munkustrap gazed about, leaping onto the counter top as another cage clicked open.
The kittens poured out of their prison, rushing to huddle around Old Deuteronomy as the two females kept tense watch.
A low growl distracted me from the astonishing black cat and I looked towards the silver tabby. His eyes were hard.
Stepping precariously over the crowd of cats, I made my way to unlock the cage that held the still form of the Rum Tum Tugger. Soon, all felines were watching me as Munkustrap stepped gingerly into the cage. He sniffed at the light blue cast around the Maine Coon's front paw and looked back at me with anger.
"He…he put up a fight with the new guy…" I'm talking to a cat. "I had to sedate him to set the bone after he was hit against the cage." There were several low growls from the crowd at my feet and I was more than a little scared, "I'm sorry."
Munkustrap turned back to the other and gently put their foreheads together, purring softly. Tugger shifted his head sluggishly but did not open his eyes. The silver tabby straightened as he exited the cage and returned to the floor. The kittens instantly swarmed him, each of who he seemed to comfort, before making his way to Old Deuteronomy. An understanding passed between them and the Junkyard protector returned to the counter.
Mistoffelees lead them all to the back door and waited for me to open it. I did so and watched them all disappear into the alley behind the Pound. What can I say; Old Deuteronomy himself came to collect his missing kittens. When I turned back around Munkustrap had re-entered the cage and curled up beside the Maine Coon. He eyed me for a moment.
"I'll leave the cage open… um… come get me when you're ready to leave," I felt so foolish. But he blinked in understanding then rested his head against the others.
It seemed it would be my job to knock my co-worker down a peg or two- and explain to him why the cats were gone...
Oh yeah, it was going to be another very long day and all I wanted to do was bang me head against my desk.