A/N

Hi there! I know I've been promising this re-write of Jellicle's Yard of Impractical Cats for quite a while, now.

What I've turned this into is a collection of stories, most of which are multi-chaptered, into one story. Some of them backstories, some of them answering questions that came up while looking through the lyrics of each song and analyzing them, and a couple others that were just fun ideas I came up with when looking at the aspects of the musical.

Thanks for your patience, everyone! Let's get started! :D

One sunny morning, an old, slow, but majestic grey-brown tom made his way to a scrapyard, its shining metal piles stacked high into the sky. Stopping at just the border, he took a moment to catch his breath. Immortal or not, he was still old, and his organs didn't work nearly as well as they did in his youth.

"How could you lose her?!" an angry queen's voice caught his attention. "You were supposed to be watching her!"

"I thought she was with you!" a tom's protesting response prompted the older one to shake his his head.

"Sillabub! Where are you?"

"Where did you run to?"

Working against his aching joints to get up, Deuteronomy went in the direction of the voices, leading him to a brilliant scarlet queen, and her mate, a leopard-spotted Maine Coon mix. "Is there a problem, you two?"

"AH! Old Deuteronomy!" Out of habit, the Maine Coon bowed in submission, the queen soon following.

"No need, my son, but I've heard a lot of ruckus, and it appears to be coming from you."

"Oh, it's...it's nothing," the Maine Coon chuckled nervously. "We were just...playing hide-and-seek!"

"Yes, and, oh, that Sillabub. She's such a good hider...part of it is she, uh, wouldn't let us peek."

"...Well, I do love a game of hide-and-seek...perhaps I could play, too?"

"Uh, of course, Dad! Everything's better with you!"

Deuteronomy smiled to himself. Surely they didn't think that he was born yesterday, did they? Kittens wander off sometimes; it happens. But she was small and the Yard was big: how far could she really go?

Reaching her tiny paws into the air, Sillabub stretched her tiny body as tall as she could make it, simply to try and reach a dangling, matted string of yarn that happened to be hanging from a broken lamp.

"Sillabub," her grandfather called, catching the kitten's attention. "Your parents are looking for you. Let's show them that there isn't any trouble you've gotten into."

"And I was looking for you, Old Deuteronomy," she replied. "I have a question to ask, surely you're up to the task."

"Of course, child. Ask away, What is the question you have for me today?"

Bounding up by his feet, she looked him into the eyes and asked, "what is a Jellicle cat, really? Our songs tell us that Jellicles are many things, but never what makes a Jellicle cat a Jellicle cat. I think that's rather silly."

Old Deuteronomy smiled. "A Jellicle cat is someone who has been a member of our tribe at any point, even if they have no blood relation to anyone. Hopefully this answer doesn't disappoint?"

"Mostly not, but there's also something I've been thinking about a lot: what happens to the Jellicle cats who turn away? When they leave, are they still Jellicles at the end of the day?"

"They are in my eyes. Always and forever, even after each one of them dies."

Slowly standing up, Old Deuteronomy motioned his head for her to follow him, and a moment later was she returned to her (very relieved) parents.