The first time I saw Macavity was also my last. I never actually saw his face again. It was my first night in London. I had clambered off my ship that morning, looking for the place my father had told me about. With the day quickly fading, I looked for a place to sleep. I saw a small tree near the junkyard. The junkyard was my ultimate goal, but I wanted to enter fully awake. I crept over to the tree and found a small hole in the roots, small enough to hold a small cat like me. I was comfortable.
Suddenly, I heard approaching voices. I peaked out, keeping myself hidden in the shadows of the roots. Two very tall Toms were coming closer. One was a rough-looking Tom, but seemed more likely to smile than frown. He was all black except a brilliantly golden mane and a stripe of the same color around his waist. He was quite handsome. But it was the cat he was walking with that scared me. His face, his body, everything about him is burned into my memory. He was the bigger of the two, older, I think. He was bright red, and his beady black eyes shone unnaturally. He had extremely long claws, and a highly domed head. When he laughed suddenly, all the fur on my back stood straight up. I curled up further into the shadows, but I could still see them. The maned Tom walked toward the junkyard while the ginger cat kept along the road. I watched the handsome cat first. My mistake.
He kept at an even, calm, pace all the way to the entrance. There, he paused for a moment. He raised his nose to the air, and sniffed. He must have been able to smell me. He quickly glanced at the scary cat, then turned towards me. He stared into the depths of my little shelter. He saw me. Then he turned and strode into the junkyard. I looked for the red cat. He, too, paused to smell the air. He grinned in a way that sent a shiver down my spine. It was evil. But he kept walking until he had passed my tree and I could no longer see him. I breathed a sigh of relief. They had left me alone.
Just as I began to relax, something yanked me out of my hole and pressed me against the tree. The red cat held his paw in a way that pinned my neck tightly. But I forced my self to scream. Or in cat terms, to yowl! Then he pressed harder on my throat. I could only just breath. He laughed coldly.
"My cats could use a squeeze these days, and you seem to be a pretty, young thing, despite the freak coloring." So he had seen my stripes. They had a soft lilac tint, usually unnoticeable in the light of a setting sun. "Yes. You'll do quite nicely my sweet-". He froze. Slowly, with a scowl, he turned to look at something behind him. He let go of me with his arm, and I all but collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
I heard a voice filled with authority cry out "Macavity! This Queen isn't on your territory. Leave her be!"
I could here the hatred when the red cat replied "Ah my dear broth- forgive me, I forgot the title is useless now I have been 'banished'. But now, this Queen isn't on your territory either, Munkustrap!"
"She is more on ours than yours." The voices grew softer and further away. I saw a silver striped tabby yelling at Macavity. He seemed to be leading him away from me. Suddenly, I felt fur brush against mine, and paws reach under me to pick me up. I looked up at the cat mane. He carried me in his arms. I smiled slightly at the comfort, (I probably blushed also. He is SO handsome) but I was still scared. He had been talking with Macavity earlier. He noticed me staring at him and grinned.
"Meow." What was his first word to me. It wasn't the type of meow we cats use to confuse humans. It was supposed to be seductive. I heard someone running to catch up to us, and, I'm afraid to say, I freaked out. I clutched at the handsome cat's mane tightly in fear, and pulled myself closer to him. "Meow, Kitten!" he exclaimed. I guess I pulled too hard. "It's just Munkustrap." I turned slightly and saw the silver tabby. I slowly relaxed a little. I refused to let go of the mane, though. The two Toms walked us into the junkyard, but we obviously hadn't reached the right part. I buried my face into that gorgeous mane of gold, and, exhausted by fear and lack of sleep, I fell asleep in his arms.