The sun was up and shining in the late morning of the Jellicle Junkyard. Cats were lazing about in the summer heat, feeling rather sluggish. A few were down at the lake, letting the soft mist that the wind was stirring up brush over them gently. The younger cats were playing, having fun with their friends. A gold princess dashed out of the pipe in the main clearing of the yard, closely followed by a tanish-brown and bronze tom. "Shimmer! Wait up!" he called.

The gold princess giggled her melodic giggle. "You have to catch me!" she told him. Despite the fact that the tom was nearly a head taller than her (He had shot upwards in height), she fearlessly darted towards him, daring him to try and get her.

"Shimmer!" he exclaimed. He lunged at her, but missed by a few mere inches and fell flat on his face.

Shimmer giggled again. "I thought Jellicle Cats are supposed to land on their feet when they fall on their head," she said teasingly.

"That was my face, not my head, number one," the tom said, picking himself up. "And number two is that you're dead meat!" He lunged at her again.

The gold princess squealed. "Tristy!" she squeaked, jumping out of the way and dashing a little away. The tom tried to grab her again, and came closer to succeeding this time. Shimmer only barely jumped out of the way. "But I have to tell Magic! She'll worry, Tristy!"

What she was calling him finally clicked in his brain. "Don't call me that!" he cried, grabbing the princess and throwing her over his shoulder. Shimmer let out a cry of laughter.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! You're Tristam! Now let me go tell Magic I'm gonna hang out with you today!" she yelled. Tristam sighed and complied with her wishes. He couldn't stay mad at her for much longer than a few minutes, nor could he ignore something she asked of him. The tom gently put her down on the ground. "Thank you," she said sweetly, smiling up at him. "I'll be right back!" Shimmer started to walk away, still watching Tristam over her shoulder. She knew that sometimes he would come up from behind her and grab her again, and start to tickle her. Not watching where she was going, Shimmer ran smack into another solid surface. She snapped her head around and looked up. "Oh! Sorry, Puck!"

The other tom gave her a smile. "Perfectly alright, Shimmer," he said, taking her paw and stroking it gently. A few feet away, Tristam's face darkened at the affectionate gesture.

The gold princess smiled at the tom. She was still perfectly innocent, not a suspicion in the world. "Okay!" she chirped happily. "I'm just going to tell my sister that I'm going to hang out with Tristy- Oops! I mean, Tristam!" Shimmer clapped a paw over her mouth, then looked over at the brown and bronze tom. Her eyes were big and sorrowful. "I'm sorry!" she said.

Tristam shook his head. "It's fine," he muttered. Shimmer gave him a doubtful look, then turned back to Puck.

A glare was written over the tom's face. He obviously wasn't fond of the fact that Tristam had this special nickname. As the gold princess looked back to him, however, he quickly masked it over with a smirking smile.

"I-I'll see you later, Puck," Shimmer said, trying to duck around the tom. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, though.

"You know, Shimmer," he said. "You don't have to tell Majestic what you're doing every waking moment of the day. She's a little over-protective, in my opinion. So over-protective, that she won't even let you out of the junkyard without her or one of her trusted friends."

"That's 'cause the only time I left the junkyard my age, and that was you, I nearly got killed off by a Peke! I think that's a perfectly good reason to keep me in the 'yard." Shimmer stated. Her voice was calm, but her big aquamarine eyes quickly glistened, threatening to form tears.

"But we were kits, Shimmer. You're older, and I can protect you now. I'm not scared of a stupid Peke. Besides, nothing bad happened, right?"

"Actually, I nearly got killed, again, and Majestic pretty much drained all her energy saving me, and we were both out for a while. A few weeks, actually. Plus, I'm still a kit," Shimmer muttered, tears now threatening to fall.

Puck then picked up with his scorning of Shimmer's older sister. "And yet, despite that protectiveness, she managed to let you get captured by the Hidden Paw."

"She gave up her powers to try and save me! Magic's the best sister in the world!" Shimmer said fiercely, tears quicly streaking her golden fur that lined her face. She turned and ran towards Tristam, who wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and let the princess cry into his shoulder. He whispered comforting words into her ear as he gently turned around and started leading her towards his aunt's den.

Puck's face twisted with hate for Tristam, whom Shimmer trusted completely. Heck, she might have even loved him. Why couldn't he be the one comforting her? In last desperation, he yelled, "And you really shouldn't be hanging around with a hench-cat!"

At the yell, Tristam froze. He turned around again, eyes ablaze. His history was a touchy subject. He gently placed Shimmer an arm's length away, then took a few steps towards Puck.

"That's right! You heard me! You're a filthy, good-for-nothing, hench-cat! A servant of the evilest thing that has ever walked the planet!" Puck continued, even with each menacing step that Tristam took towards him. The tom quickly realized that his desprate idea had been a very, very bad one.

"Am I really?" Tristam growled. Puck didn't answer, though, because the brown and bronze tom hurled at him, knocking him onto the ground. The fight broke. Blood was drawn. Shimmer screamed.

In her den, Majestic's purple eyes gazed intensely at a small bottle of a clear, blue-tinged liquid as she carefully made to pour it into an already half-way filled vial, when her purple-tipped ears twitched.

"Careful," Mistoffelees said, watching her every move.

He spoke too soon, however, for before the word could completely roll off his tounge, Majestic's head snapped up, breaking her concentration. Her paw jerked, and the strange liquid was sloshed all over her den. "Shimmer," she breathed, before practically throwing the bottle down as she dashed out of the den, Mistoffelees following quickly behind her.

They ran quickly towards the sound of the scream, and were soon facing a battle of two toms, with Shimmer standing in the sidelines, eyes wide with horror. Magic threw herself in between the two, grabbing Puck and dragging him away from Tristam. Misto moved to do the same to Tristam, but the tom wiped some of the blood from his lip and withdrew. "Help me!" Majestic squeaked, trying to keep a hold on Puck, who continued to strain against her and try to attack Tristam again. In the moment after she cried out, two silver blurs appeared in front of Majestic. Coricopat bent down and looked into Puck's eyes, expression hard. After a few moments he drew back, and the tom stopped struggling against the black and purple queen, and slumped down.

Coricopat stared at him, expressionless. "Confusion spell," he finally muttered, before he and his sister moved away in their flawless sync.

Mistoffelees looked to Puck, murmured something, and held his paws over the tom. A few seconds later, Puck was floating next to the tuxedoed tom. "I'm taking him to Jenny," Misto said quietly.

Majestic nodded. Then she rounded to Shimmer, who had dashed towards Tristam. "Are you alright?" she asked urgently, swooping down and picking up her younger sister.

Shimmer nuzzled Majestic. "I'm fine. A little shaken, but fine. Tristam moved me to a safe distance." Shimmer looked fondly at the tom. "And I'm going to clean his cuts," she added firmly, wiggling out of Magic's grasp and landing lightly on the ground. She crept towards Tristam again, who flinched away, not wanting anyone to touch the wounds.

Majestic's eyes glinted in something of a smile in them. She saw how her sister treated Tristam. And how he treated her as if the most precious thing in the world. "I'm going to go tell Munkustrap," she said quietly. Her violet eyes moved to Tristam, who's face was one of mild fear. "He should know," she said, equally as quietly, though her eyes flashed with something that said she was sorry for anything that was about to happen. And with that she turned and moved towards the entrance of the junkyard in search of their protector, leaving Shimmer and Tristam.

Tristam watched as the black and purple queen walked away, worry starting to build in his mind. He was drawn away from it however, when a voice broke into his head.

"Sit," Shimmer said, pointing at the ground.

"I'm fine, Thimmer," Tristam said through a busted lip. Shimmer gave him a pointed look, and he unwillingly sat, still unable to disobey her wishes. The princess sank down next to him and started to clean his wounds. The brown and bronze tom flinched as her gentle tounge ran over the scratches and cuts.

"I want to be a healer," she said conversationally.

"Weally?" the tom said. Shimmer giggled at his newly acquired lisp. They sat in silence for a while as Shimmer continued to clean Tristam's numerous cuts and scrapes. After a while she leaned back and gazed at him for a moment, then jumped up.

"I need you to say right here for a few moments while I go get a few things to help your cuts. Please?" she added, pleading with her big aquamarine eyes. Tristam, though he had fully intended to stay put anyway, practically melted. He nodded. Shimmer gave him a smile, then snapped her head upwards. She opened her mouth, and spoke, but in the tongue of the wind. There was a small gust a few moments afterward, and the gold princess flashed her smile again, before darting off.

Tristam sat in content silence, looking around at his surroundings. Before long, he heard a gently whirling of wind, and looked up to see a small cyclone descending, swirling green herbs with it. It slowly came all the way down to where it stood next to him for a few moments, before the winds gently died down, leaving a small, neat pile of herbs next to him. Tristam stared in amazement, and soon heard the sound again, and looked up once more, only to see that the cyclone this time was even smaller, and made of water. Instead of gently settling on the ground, though, it continued to dart though the sky. After a second of thought, the tom realized that if it did settle, the water would stream off. And then Shimmer wouldn't have what she needed. As he thought about the little gold princess, she leapt back into the clearing, carrying with her several items. She was a gold flash as she darted around, setting everything but a bowl next to Tristam, then jumping back up and speaking the wind's language again, her voice gently coaxing the water into the wooden bowl. The cyclone slowly moved down and the water settled down into the bowl.

Shimmer gave a small smile. Then she gracefully moved back towards Tristam, not spilling a drop of the water. She gently placed the bowl down, then picked up a second one she had brought. The gold princess scooped the herbs into it, then ever-so carefully mashed them until they no longer looked like thin leaves. She poured a little bit of the water into the herbs, then swirled it with her fingers. The contents soon became a green paste, and Shimmer looked up at the tom next to her. "Don't move. It'll sting a little. But no more than it did when I cleaned them," she said, her voice as clear as crystal, tinkling like little bells at the same time. Tristam nodded, and sat stock still as Shimmer first poured a small bit of water, then smeared the green goo onto one of the gashes on his arm. Then she wrapped it with a strip of linen cloth nice and tightly, making it a bandage. She did this to every cut or scrape on him, excluding his busted lip.

"Thank you," Tristam said, able to talk normally now that his lip was of normal size. He gingerly got up. Shimmer rose with hit, ready to support him if he needed it.

"You're welcome," Shimmer said quietly. She watched as he slowly started to walk, headed in the direction of his aunt's, Jennyanydots, den, where he stayed. He and Shimmer had been planning to hunt for his own den before the fight had started. Shimmer watched him for a few moments longer, but then unexpectedly said, "I'd do anything to help you feel better."

Tristam turned slowly, then limped his way back to the gold princess. "You would have done that to anyone who was hurt. Wether it be me or Macavity, you would have insisted on fixing us up," he said, not meeting her eyes, but a small smile on his face. "That's what I love about you," he said quietly.

Shimmer's aquamarine eyes widened. She looked up at his face, then wrapped her arms around him. She closed her eyes and nuzzled into his chest. Tristam let out a sigh, then pulled out of the hug. He took a step back, then, with a moment's hesitation, gave Shimmer the smallest, quickest kiss on her dainty lips. Then he turned and limped away, headed back to his aunt's house. He left Shimmer staring after him, one paw almost touching her lips. "Did that really just happen?" she breathed to herself. She quickly dashed over the tire and climbed the fence close behind it, jumping down and letting out her joy. The nature around her thrived in that moment, becoming greener and healthier. The gold princess fell backwards into the soft grass, content with lying there and not thinking, staring off into space. The nature spirits around her buzzed with excitement, happily chittering away. Shimmer let out a sigh, and really felt what she felt towards the brown and bronze tom.

It turns out Puck was right.

She loved him.

A/N:

Hello, again, readers! I'm sure you're glad to see this! I only have one thing to say: The Title is subject to change.