Isn't it funny how things start.. you know someone so long you think you
know them like the back of your hand.. then they go around and change on
you. It's sad really.
This is what happened to Rumpleteazer, the night she found out about Mungojerrie and his. well. why don't we start at the beginning and take it from there.
Rumpleteazer was a pound kitten, she'd been born there by a queen who was brought off the streets. She didn't know her mother very well.. seeing as the old queen was quite sick, and had to be taken away shortly after birthing her kittens.
The humans at the pound were very nice to all the kittens, taking good care of them and finding them all good homes. except for Rumpleteazer. See. Teazer, as she was called later in life, was the runt of the family.. she was so small that the pound vet was surprised she lasted a week. After that, her fur came in, but in an odd pattern. True she was going to be a tiger striped tabby it seemed, but. it just didn't look right at first, growing in odd patches, never quite the same length. So while the pound officials tried to find a good home for her, she kept getting passed by for nicer looking cats.
She learned how to fend off some of the nastier cats in the pound, sometimes the hard way, but loved to check in on new arrivals. One night, as she was making her rounds, she heard a voice coming from one of the far cages, that was usually empty. The voice was low and obviously that of a tom, but he sounded so sad and forlorn that she decided to go check it out. She climbed up to the level that the tom seemed to be on and just listened for a bit.
".. got yerself inta it dis toime ya did.." The voice said with a sigh, "now dey's nevah gonna foind ya.. and it serves ya roight it duz."
Teazer frowned and crawled closer, peeking in one of the slats at the side of the cage. She saw a tiger striped tom sitting in the middle of the cage, looking down at his paws. He was a bit ragged, but was more fit than any of the street toms she'd seen. She frowned as the tom started talking to himself again. "Ya shoulda knowed bettah Jer. goin out on yer own loike dat. now yer gonna be stuck 'ere ferevah."
Teazer felt sorry for the tom and stuck her head around the cage a bit. "Hullo," she said, jumping as the tom screeched in a very un-tomly manner and leaped to the back of the cage, rocking it slightly. He stared at her with wide eyes.
"Whaddaya want?" he asked accusingly.
Teazer tilted her head, "Just wanted ta say hullo," she said.
The tom tilted his head as well, "Yer accent's diffren than da udders,"
Teazer frowned, "Tis better than yours!" she said.
The tom raised an eyebrow and moved closer, "says 'oo?"
"Says me!"
The tom chuckled, "Ya got some spunk in ya, ya do!" he said, "Me names Mungojerrie, wuz yers?"
Teazer eyed the tom wearily, "Stripes," she said.
"Cor dat's a perty name, tis,"
Teazer blushed, "ya think so?"
Mungojerrie smiled, "wouldn't say it if'n oi din mean it."
Teazer sat down by the cage door, "So whatcha in here fer?" she asked, starting to imitate his accent.
Jerrie sighed, "Oi ran outta da house when da missus opened da door. gots meself lost, oi did."
Teazer smiled, "Don't worry bout it," she said, "lotsa cats get lost and their owners always find them! I seen it happen all the time!"
Mungojerrie looked at her, "Cor guv, ya really fink so? It'd be noice ta be back 'ome it would. Course da only reason oi ran wus cuz da master wuz aftah me fer yoinkin 'is vest 'gain."
Teazer giggled slightly, "You took a human's vest?"
Jerrie nodded, "cor! Oi aluz do. tis 'ard tho.. dere's four o' dem." (Mungo held up three fingers), "an only one of me."
Teazer nodded. Jerrie looked at her, "what'chu in 'ere for den?"
Teazer shrugged, "Me.. I've. Oi've alus been here."
Jerrie looked at her, "really?"
Teazer nodded laying down. She started telling him about her life in the pound, and he told her about his home and his humans and all the trouble he got into. They talked well into the night, and ended up falling asleep beside each other on either side of the cage door.
When morning came, the door to the back cage area opened, and a small group of humans walked in. "He was brought in late last night. When I saw his collar I put him in a back cage, away from the strays. I called you as soon as I could." The pound employee led the others towards the back.
Two little girls peeked into some of the other cages as they walked by, each holding an adults hand. "Fank'ya guv," the adult man said, "Da gurls wouldn't stop croiing bout dere 'toigah' till ya called, even da missus wuz worried."
The pound employee smiled, "It's no problem really, it's really quite nice to know that we got a cat back home, safe where it belongs." He chuckled, "Looks like Mungojerrie made a friend with our Stripes." He said, giving Rumpleteazer a stroke on the back. She jolted awake and looked around, startled by all the humans.
The adult woman smiled, "And 'oo's dat den?" she asked
"Oh, this here is one of the cats who was born at the shelter, she was the runt of the litter, we haven't been able to find her a home, try as we might. She's pretty much got the run of the place."
The older of the little girls reached up and pet the queen, "'er furs all funny," she said, giggling.
The pound employee nodded, "We can't figure out why, but her fur grows in patches, try as we might.. could be she needs a better environment or something we can't offer her."
The littler of the girls pulled on her father's hand, "Da, can we 'ave 'er, she's so liddle, loike me!"
Her father smiled, "Now princess, ya knows we can't really 'ave anuther pet, Mungojerrie makes enuf truble for ten!"
The older girl looked at her dad, "but, we'd take care of 'er we would! Oi'd feed 'er an' wash 'er an' brush 'er ev'ry day oi would!"
By this toime.. er Time. Mungojerrie had woken up and looked around, seeing his humans he gave a happy meow and started scratching at the door. When the pound employee opened the metal gate like opening, Jerrie peeked his head out and looked around. Spotting Teazer, who'd moved slightly to the side, he went over and gave her a head nuzzle.
"Aww dear, now don't dat just melt yer 'art." The mother of the girl's said, "Couldn we jes bring 'er 'ome? Mebbe she'll settle our tomca' down."
Looking at his family, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. And so. thus begins the story of the dynamic duo of notorious cats. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. bet the family wishes they left dear 'Stripes' where she belonged.. But we won't get into that.
A few months passed, and life seemed to go as normal. Stripes was given the name Rumpleteazer by the two little girls, which she personally thought suited her much better than 'Stripes' ever did. With good feeding, grooming and exercize, (some of which was NOT overly enjoyed by Teazer) her fur eventually did grow into a lovely full coat with extraordinary shine and volume. and well.. I should get on with the story before Jerrie pummels me..
As I'm sure you know (from a lovely play put on by humans.. bout time they realized that cats are much better than they are and they paid homage to that prowess.. ) Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer went to that special Jellicle gathering of all the important cats in the area (including me of course. ).
It was shortly after that ball that the story really gets started (I hope.)
Teazer and Jerrie were walking home from the ball. Teazer had been strangely quiet, and Jerrie was beginning to worry. "Teazah? You okay?"
Teazer looked at him, "Jer, didja 'ear what Deme and Bomba said when dey sang 'bout Macavity."
Jerrie's face tensed slightly and his ears shifted, but it was unnoticed by Teazer, "No, oi don't fink oi roightly did.." he said.
Teazer took a deep breath, "Dey said dat some cats werk fer 'im, and dey named you along wif Griddlebone." she said.
Jerrie stopped, "Teazah. It's jes a song.. you know dat as well as oi do. you dun fink da one bout Growltigah wuz real do ya?"
Teazer shrugged, "oi dunno," she said.
"Well.. it's jes a song.. a silly song bout one o' da cats, dere's nufin to it, 'onest!"
Teazer nodded, "ok," she said, playing with the pearls around her neck.
Jerrie say that and smiled, "'member when oi found dem fer ya?" he asked, starting on the way back home again.
Teazer nodded, "Dere so prity," she said, catching up to him and nuzzling him, "Oi can't fank ya enuf fer 'em."
Jerrie shrugged, "it's nuffin," he said.
Ah yes. this lovely little scene was put down for a reason. See, Teazer and Jerrie were closer than any other cats, well.. except maybe the dark twins, but that's beside the point. Many of the cats in the junkyard thought they were siblings, due to their colouring similarities. After they found that to be wrong, they thought them to be mates, naturally. however in actuality, they were neither, but at the same time, they had a bond that was more than that.
Unfortunately however. in the weeks to follow, all of the basements of the heavisidelayer were about to break loose.
You see, when Jerrie so neatly twirled, backflipped and hopscotched around Teazer's question, he was avoiding answering the truth. That he did, in fact, work for Macavity. But not by his choice, it was the only way to protect his Teazer. Macavity, however, did notice the fact that Jerrie was one of the first to jump up at the Ball to swat him away. This angered him to no end, and he felt that the tiger cat needed a little. discipline.
He sent the summons to the tom in the usual manner, a black cat by the rose bush in the back yard, and Jerrie had no idea that anything would be wrong. He made sure Teazer was sleeping, and snuck out the basement window.
Upon arriving in Macavity's presence, he knew this wasn't some simple theft job as usual.
"Mungojerrie..." The tom shuddered, just the way his name slipped off the tongue of the crime lord let him know he was in trouble. "I was most displeased with your behaviour at the Ball last month. I must admit, your using your accomplice as a means to enter the Ball unquestioned was ingenious, however, your actions against myself were, less than satisfactory."
Jerrie swallowed nervously and continued to stare at the floor.
"I have yet to determine what your punishment will be for your behaviour, but I expect your performance to be greatly increased in quality in the near future."
Jerrie nodded, "Yessir," he muttered.
Macavity nodded as well and motioned for him to leave. He was led back to Victoria Grove by a different cat this time, a female who was somewhat similar in pattern to that of Jemima, the youngest princess at the Ball. When they reached the rose bush, the queen put a paw to his arm and pulled him close, giving him a long kiss. He tried to pull away, but it was a full ten seconds before it was possible. He gaped at her as she turned and left, smoothing down some of his ruffled fur before going back into the house.
He found Teazer where he'd left her in their cat bed and curled up beside her, feeling guilty for so many reasons upon reasons. He fell into an uneasy sleep, not noticing the irregularity of the queens breathing, nor the tears streaming down her cheeks.
Again some time passed, with little to no sign of Macavity or the punishment he'd promised. Jerrie was starting to feel safe, thinking that with all the planning and plotting Macavity may have forgotten about him. On the other hand, Teazer had been acting very strangely. She was more stand offish and seemed less trusting of him. Her giggle, which was usually very loud and attention getting, had almost completely disappeared.
Being a usual male (so I've been told) he was clueless to any possible reason that she would act like this.
Of course, as you've already figured out, being such smart little humans and all, the worst is yet to come.
Macavity sent another summons, Jerrie left as usual, following the black cat (not white rabbit.. this isn't the matrix.. the black cat. stay with me here.. ) Teazer, of course, was faking.. since the last time Jerrie left, she didn't actually fall asleep until he did. So she started to get up to follow him, when she heard a voice calling her. She peeked out the window to see, what could have been Electra. The queen was in the shadows so she couldn't be sure.
"Teazer! You've gotta come quick! Mungo's off to see Jemima! It's not right. he told me not to tell, but I'm your friend! I just had to!" Electra motioned to her, "Hurry, come quick, I'll lead you to them!"
This is what happened to Rumpleteazer, the night she found out about Mungojerrie and his. well. why don't we start at the beginning and take it from there.
Rumpleteazer was a pound kitten, she'd been born there by a queen who was brought off the streets. She didn't know her mother very well.. seeing as the old queen was quite sick, and had to be taken away shortly after birthing her kittens.
The humans at the pound were very nice to all the kittens, taking good care of them and finding them all good homes. except for Rumpleteazer. See. Teazer, as she was called later in life, was the runt of the family.. she was so small that the pound vet was surprised she lasted a week. After that, her fur came in, but in an odd pattern. True she was going to be a tiger striped tabby it seemed, but. it just didn't look right at first, growing in odd patches, never quite the same length. So while the pound officials tried to find a good home for her, she kept getting passed by for nicer looking cats.
She learned how to fend off some of the nastier cats in the pound, sometimes the hard way, but loved to check in on new arrivals. One night, as she was making her rounds, she heard a voice coming from one of the far cages, that was usually empty. The voice was low and obviously that of a tom, but he sounded so sad and forlorn that she decided to go check it out. She climbed up to the level that the tom seemed to be on and just listened for a bit.
".. got yerself inta it dis toime ya did.." The voice said with a sigh, "now dey's nevah gonna foind ya.. and it serves ya roight it duz."
Teazer frowned and crawled closer, peeking in one of the slats at the side of the cage. She saw a tiger striped tom sitting in the middle of the cage, looking down at his paws. He was a bit ragged, but was more fit than any of the street toms she'd seen. She frowned as the tom started talking to himself again. "Ya shoulda knowed bettah Jer. goin out on yer own loike dat. now yer gonna be stuck 'ere ferevah."
Teazer felt sorry for the tom and stuck her head around the cage a bit. "Hullo," she said, jumping as the tom screeched in a very un-tomly manner and leaped to the back of the cage, rocking it slightly. He stared at her with wide eyes.
"Whaddaya want?" he asked accusingly.
Teazer tilted her head, "Just wanted ta say hullo," she said.
The tom tilted his head as well, "Yer accent's diffren than da udders,"
Teazer frowned, "Tis better than yours!" she said.
The tom raised an eyebrow and moved closer, "says 'oo?"
"Says me!"
The tom chuckled, "Ya got some spunk in ya, ya do!" he said, "Me names Mungojerrie, wuz yers?"
Teazer eyed the tom wearily, "Stripes," she said.
"Cor dat's a perty name, tis,"
Teazer blushed, "ya think so?"
Mungojerrie smiled, "wouldn't say it if'n oi din mean it."
Teazer sat down by the cage door, "So whatcha in here fer?" she asked, starting to imitate his accent.
Jerrie sighed, "Oi ran outta da house when da missus opened da door. gots meself lost, oi did."
Teazer smiled, "Don't worry bout it," she said, "lotsa cats get lost and their owners always find them! I seen it happen all the time!"
Mungojerrie looked at her, "Cor guv, ya really fink so? It'd be noice ta be back 'ome it would. Course da only reason oi ran wus cuz da master wuz aftah me fer yoinkin 'is vest 'gain."
Teazer giggled slightly, "You took a human's vest?"
Jerrie nodded, "cor! Oi aluz do. tis 'ard tho.. dere's four o' dem." (Mungo held up three fingers), "an only one of me."
Teazer nodded. Jerrie looked at her, "what'chu in 'ere for den?"
Teazer shrugged, "Me.. I've. Oi've alus been here."
Jerrie looked at her, "really?"
Teazer nodded laying down. She started telling him about her life in the pound, and he told her about his home and his humans and all the trouble he got into. They talked well into the night, and ended up falling asleep beside each other on either side of the cage door.
When morning came, the door to the back cage area opened, and a small group of humans walked in. "He was brought in late last night. When I saw his collar I put him in a back cage, away from the strays. I called you as soon as I could." The pound employee led the others towards the back.
Two little girls peeked into some of the other cages as they walked by, each holding an adults hand. "Fank'ya guv," the adult man said, "Da gurls wouldn't stop croiing bout dere 'toigah' till ya called, even da missus wuz worried."
The pound employee smiled, "It's no problem really, it's really quite nice to know that we got a cat back home, safe where it belongs." He chuckled, "Looks like Mungojerrie made a friend with our Stripes." He said, giving Rumpleteazer a stroke on the back. She jolted awake and looked around, startled by all the humans.
The adult woman smiled, "And 'oo's dat den?" she asked
"Oh, this here is one of the cats who was born at the shelter, she was the runt of the litter, we haven't been able to find her a home, try as we might. She's pretty much got the run of the place."
The older of the little girls reached up and pet the queen, "'er furs all funny," she said, giggling.
The pound employee nodded, "We can't figure out why, but her fur grows in patches, try as we might.. could be she needs a better environment or something we can't offer her."
The littler of the girls pulled on her father's hand, "Da, can we 'ave 'er, she's so liddle, loike me!"
Her father smiled, "Now princess, ya knows we can't really 'ave anuther pet, Mungojerrie makes enuf truble for ten!"
The older girl looked at her dad, "but, we'd take care of 'er we would! Oi'd feed 'er an' wash 'er an' brush 'er ev'ry day oi would!"
By this toime.. er Time. Mungojerrie had woken up and looked around, seeing his humans he gave a happy meow and started scratching at the door. When the pound employee opened the metal gate like opening, Jerrie peeked his head out and looked around. Spotting Teazer, who'd moved slightly to the side, he went over and gave her a head nuzzle.
"Aww dear, now don't dat just melt yer 'art." The mother of the girl's said, "Couldn we jes bring 'er 'ome? Mebbe she'll settle our tomca' down."
Looking at his family, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. And so. thus begins the story of the dynamic duo of notorious cats. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. bet the family wishes they left dear 'Stripes' where she belonged.. But we won't get into that.
A few months passed, and life seemed to go as normal. Stripes was given the name Rumpleteazer by the two little girls, which she personally thought suited her much better than 'Stripes' ever did. With good feeding, grooming and exercize, (some of which was NOT overly enjoyed by Teazer) her fur eventually did grow into a lovely full coat with extraordinary shine and volume. and well.. I should get on with the story before Jerrie pummels me..
As I'm sure you know (from a lovely play put on by humans.. bout time they realized that cats are much better than they are and they paid homage to that prowess.. ) Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer went to that special Jellicle gathering of all the important cats in the area (including me of course. ).
It was shortly after that ball that the story really gets started (I hope.)
Teazer and Jerrie were walking home from the ball. Teazer had been strangely quiet, and Jerrie was beginning to worry. "Teazah? You okay?"
Teazer looked at him, "Jer, didja 'ear what Deme and Bomba said when dey sang 'bout Macavity."
Jerrie's face tensed slightly and his ears shifted, but it was unnoticed by Teazer, "No, oi don't fink oi roightly did.." he said.
Teazer took a deep breath, "Dey said dat some cats werk fer 'im, and dey named you along wif Griddlebone." she said.
Jerrie stopped, "Teazah. It's jes a song.. you know dat as well as oi do. you dun fink da one bout Growltigah wuz real do ya?"
Teazer shrugged, "oi dunno," she said.
"Well.. it's jes a song.. a silly song bout one o' da cats, dere's nufin to it, 'onest!"
Teazer nodded, "ok," she said, playing with the pearls around her neck.
Jerrie say that and smiled, "'member when oi found dem fer ya?" he asked, starting on the way back home again.
Teazer nodded, "Dere so prity," she said, catching up to him and nuzzling him, "Oi can't fank ya enuf fer 'em."
Jerrie shrugged, "it's nuffin," he said.
Ah yes. this lovely little scene was put down for a reason. See, Teazer and Jerrie were closer than any other cats, well.. except maybe the dark twins, but that's beside the point. Many of the cats in the junkyard thought they were siblings, due to their colouring similarities. After they found that to be wrong, they thought them to be mates, naturally. however in actuality, they were neither, but at the same time, they had a bond that was more than that.
Unfortunately however. in the weeks to follow, all of the basements of the heavisidelayer were about to break loose.
You see, when Jerrie so neatly twirled, backflipped and hopscotched around Teazer's question, he was avoiding answering the truth. That he did, in fact, work for Macavity. But not by his choice, it was the only way to protect his Teazer. Macavity, however, did notice the fact that Jerrie was one of the first to jump up at the Ball to swat him away. This angered him to no end, and he felt that the tiger cat needed a little. discipline.
He sent the summons to the tom in the usual manner, a black cat by the rose bush in the back yard, and Jerrie had no idea that anything would be wrong. He made sure Teazer was sleeping, and snuck out the basement window.
Upon arriving in Macavity's presence, he knew this wasn't some simple theft job as usual.
"Mungojerrie..." The tom shuddered, just the way his name slipped off the tongue of the crime lord let him know he was in trouble. "I was most displeased with your behaviour at the Ball last month. I must admit, your using your accomplice as a means to enter the Ball unquestioned was ingenious, however, your actions against myself were, less than satisfactory."
Jerrie swallowed nervously and continued to stare at the floor.
"I have yet to determine what your punishment will be for your behaviour, but I expect your performance to be greatly increased in quality in the near future."
Jerrie nodded, "Yessir," he muttered.
Macavity nodded as well and motioned for him to leave. He was led back to Victoria Grove by a different cat this time, a female who was somewhat similar in pattern to that of Jemima, the youngest princess at the Ball. When they reached the rose bush, the queen put a paw to his arm and pulled him close, giving him a long kiss. He tried to pull away, but it was a full ten seconds before it was possible. He gaped at her as she turned and left, smoothing down some of his ruffled fur before going back into the house.
He found Teazer where he'd left her in their cat bed and curled up beside her, feeling guilty for so many reasons upon reasons. He fell into an uneasy sleep, not noticing the irregularity of the queens breathing, nor the tears streaming down her cheeks.
Again some time passed, with little to no sign of Macavity or the punishment he'd promised. Jerrie was starting to feel safe, thinking that with all the planning and plotting Macavity may have forgotten about him. On the other hand, Teazer had been acting very strangely. She was more stand offish and seemed less trusting of him. Her giggle, which was usually very loud and attention getting, had almost completely disappeared.
Being a usual male (so I've been told) he was clueless to any possible reason that she would act like this.
Of course, as you've already figured out, being such smart little humans and all, the worst is yet to come.
Macavity sent another summons, Jerrie left as usual, following the black cat (not white rabbit.. this isn't the matrix.. the black cat. stay with me here.. ) Teazer, of course, was faking.. since the last time Jerrie left, she didn't actually fall asleep until he did. So she started to get up to follow him, when she heard a voice calling her. She peeked out the window to see, what could have been Electra. The queen was in the shadows so she couldn't be sure.
"Teazer! You've gotta come quick! Mungo's off to see Jemima! It's not right. he told me not to tell, but I'm your friend! I just had to!" Electra motioned to her, "Hurry, come quick, I'll lead you to them!"