"Wake up, Jerrie! Wake up! It's time ter get up!" Mungojerrie smiled and streched. He would miss this when Rumpleteazer moved out, being woken at the crack of dawn every day because his best friend was bored. She got up hours before everybody else in the Junkyard and could never think of anything to do alone so she always woke him with some stupid suggestion or idiotic plan to make mischief, in short exactly the kind of idea he liked. They had had so much fun in the mornings while everyone else was asleep, playing pranks on their fellow Jellicle, stealing from humans or racing each other over the piles of junk. Mungojerrie sighed, it would be different now Rumpleteazer had found Tumblebrutus and decided to settle down with him, well, as much as Rumplteazer was ever likely to settle down. She would probably never be the calm, quiet type who wanted a family and cared about cushions and curtains and things. She would always want to daringly steal pretty shiney things off humans and be generally reckless and silly but that was exactly what Mungojerrie liked so much about her.
His thoughts were interrupted by Rumpleteazer jumping onto his bed and shaking him violently from side to side in an attempt tp wake him up. "Yor so lazy, Jerrie. Wake up," she giggled in his ear knowing he was already awake. He swatted a paw at her in a half-hearted attempt to make her go away but she dodged and came straight back again laughing. "Yer missed me!" She knocked the pillows he had been lying comfortably on onto the floor and with a final shake the little calico queen jumped back off her friend's bed and grabbed his blanket pulling it off him.
"Teaz! Give that back! Oi'm up, ain't oi?", Mungojerrie exclaimed and sat up in bed glaring in mock disaproval at Rumpleteazer who had a very smug and triumphant expression on her face and had wrapped herself warmly in his blanket. "Yor a nightmare, yer are. Oi don't know 'ow oi survived wiv yer for so long. Good luck ter poor Tumble." The tom streched and got up. Suddenly without warning he lauched himself across the room and grabbed Rumpleteazer who shrieked and squirmed trying to get free. After a brief struggle Mungojerrie untangled his blanket from round the giggling queen and threw it back onto his bed. He dragged her out of his room and back into the main part of the den and dropped her onto a cushion where she sat looking innocently up at him with her big green eyes. "Wotcher want ter do now? Do yer want ter start packin' yor stuff yet?", he asked her.
"That's so borin'. Oi want ter do sumfink more fun on me last day 'ere. Tumble can 'elp me pack later." Shruggling Rumpleteazer got up and wandered over to the shelf where they kept their food and helped herself to a mouse. "We could play that prank on Munkustrap that we 'ad planned." She grinned enthusiastically and threw a mouse at Mungojerrie when he wasn't looking so it hit him on the side of the head making her giggle. Mungojerrie rolled his eyes and pretended not to be bothered but when Rumpleteazer wasn't looking he threw it back at her so it hit her with an unpleasant squelch and made her jump. "Don't do that, Jerrie. It's disgustin'. Yor messing wiv yor food."
"Yer started it. Any road oi fought yer wanted ter play that prank on Munkustrap now. We'd better get going or 'e'll already 'ave left 'is den." Mungojerrie crept outside with Rumpleteazer trailing behind him. They sneaked around the edge of the Junkyard towards the den Munkustrap shared with Demeter so that nobody who happened to be up early would see them. They were almost invisible to anybody watching anyway as their striped fur blended in with the criss-crossing shadows cast by the rubbish. As they neared their target the two cats slowed down and one of them disappeared for a second only to return dragging a heavy paint can along behind them.
"Don't get any on us will yer, Jerrie. Oi don't fancy bein' dyed green, it's not me colour ," Rumpleteazer's voice whispered quietly from out of the shadows and she moved to a safe distance away from her friend and the paint in case it splashed. She couldn't wait to see the look on Munkustrap's face when they played this prank on him. They were going to place the paint above the entrance to his den and then Rumpleteazer was going to scream so he would come running out and Mungojerrie could pour the paint on him dying him green. The best part was he wouldn't be able to get rid of the colour for about a week. Mungojerrie had got paint on him when he brushed against a freshly painted wall while stealing a necklace and that had given them the idea. It would be such a laugh to see the serious protector of the tribe in bright green. Rumpleteazer was already sniggering at the thought.
"Focus, Teaz. Go and sit over there and wen oi give the signal scream, ok?" Mungojerrie dragged the can of paint away and began to slowly climb the rubbish to reach the den roof holding the paint as far away from his fur as possible. It was a particularly bright poisonous green, so bright in fact it almost glowed in the dark. He had spotted it in a far corner of the Junkyard and it had seemed perfect for this prank so they had hidden it close to their victim's den ready for when they needed it. Mungojerrie had now reached the front edge of the den roof and poised the can right over the entrance. He looked up and nodded to his partner in crime.
Rumpleteazer was now positioned opposite Mungojerrie on an old, broken chair and was waiting for the signal. As soon as she saw Mungojerrie nod she began to scream as if she was being murdered. It even made the calico tom watching her jump it was that loud.
Just like they had known he would Munkustrap came running out of his den and paused to look for the source of the noise. Mungojerrie tipped the paint can and the bright green paint seemed to fall almost in slow motion towards the cat below. The aim was perfect and the whole can landed right on Munkustrap who let out a horrified yell and jumped to the side almost falling over his own feet. He whirled round looking for any sign of the culprits but they had both disappeared before he could see who it was. All he heard was hysterical laughter fading away into the distance.
Once far enough away the two troublemakers stopped and clutched at each other for support they were laughing so hard. Looking back they saw a furious Munkustrap searching for them. He was a bright, unforgiving green that almost hurt your eyes to look at it. Only his tail was still it's normal silver and black colour. Somehow that just made the whole thing look just that bit more ridiculous. "Did yer see 'is face?", Rumpleteazer gasped between laughter, "'e were livid." All Mungojerrie could manage was a nod as he was still sniggering too hard to talk.
"We'd better get 'ome and pretend ter be 'avin' breakfast or sumfink," Mungojerrie finally managed to say after a few more minutes of helpless laughter, "'e might come ter see if it were us." Together they ran as fast as they could back to their den and threw themselves inside. Mungojerrie grabbed a book and hastily sat down and pretended to be reading it and Rumpleteazer snatched up a bowl of leftovers from last nights supper and began to eat.
They only just got back in time. Seconds after they had sat down a green and very angry Munkustrap burst into the den. "Was this you?", he shouted and glared furiously from one cat to the other. Both of them had arranged their faces into looks of surprise at the sudden interruption and shock at Munkustrap's new look. Mungojerrie had frozen in the act of turning the page of his book and Rumpleteazer had a rat's tail hanging out her mouth.
"Woss 'appened ter yer, Munku? Why do yer look like that?", Rumpleteazer managed to get out after a long silence where both calicos stared at the now green tabby.
"Were wot us?", Mungojerrie asked at the same moment. Both culprits were keeping surprisingly straight faces for the moment but Mungojerrie was keen to get rid of the Jellicle protector before his friend began to giggle and gave everything away. Already Rumpleteazer was shaking very slightly with suppressed laughter and seem to find it hard to look Munkustrap in the eye.
"This!" The furious tom waved a paw at his fur and gave Mungojerrie an angry look. "If it was, you're both in so much trouble! I'll..."
Quickly before he could finish his threat Mungojerrie interrupted, "That weren't us. Are yer sure it were on purpose? If it were maybe it were one of the kittens because it definitely weren't us." He looked up at the other tom with wide innocent eyes and Rumpleteazer nodded to back him up, too close to bursting out laughing to actually speak. They were both so good at lying that Munkustrap found it impossible not to believe them, after all they had had years of practice lying to Jennyanydots about where they had been when they were out stealing things.
There was a long silence and then Munkustrap snapped, "If I find out it was you you'll regret it." and stormed from the den leaving a trail of paw-prints behind him.
As soon as he had gone Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer burst out laughing all over again. "That were close," Rumpleteazer giggled and offered Mungojerrie the bowl of food. "Want any?" The food didn't look very nice. It was everything they'd had left when they had eaten their supper the night before and it was all mixed together making it look more like vomit than anything else.
Mungojerrie shook his head in disgust and pulled a face. There was no way he was eating that, not even if somebody paid him. "Wait 'ere, Teaz. Oi've got sumfink for yer," he said and hurried back into his part of the den. Under some spare blankets he had hidden a bowl of salmon and some new pearls for Rumpleteazer as a kind of moving-out-present. Picking them up Mungojerrie hurried back to his friend who had already got bored of waiting after just a few seconds and wandered after him. "Oi got these for yer." He held them out to a surprised Rumpleteazer. She hadn't expected him to get her anything.
"They're wonderful. Thank yer," Rumpleteazer whispered and her eyes began to fill with tears as she pulled Mungojerrie into a bone-crushing hug. By the time she let go she was crying properly and clutching the necklace to her chest.
"Don't go all soft on me! Yor only movin' next door." Mungojerrie looked horrified and patted Rumpleteazer's paw awkwardly. She hardly ever cried and he wasn't sure how to make her feel better again. This hadn't been what he had planned when he got her a present. He had been hoping for laughter and smiles not tears.
"Sorry, oi'm bein' silly. Let's go and eat this fish." Rumpleteazer shared out the food between them and they sat down to eat. It didn't take long for Rumpleteazer to cheer up again and by the time Tumblebrutus arrived to help her pack and carry her things to his den she was laughing and chatting as normal. "Hi, Tumble," she called as soon as she noticed him and jumped up to give him a big hug.
"Hi." Mungojerrie tried to smile and sound pleased to see his friend but he couldn't help feeling just a little bit jealous and wanting him to go away again even though he knew it was stupid. "Sure yer 'aven't changed yor mind? She's a nightmare." Mungojerrie smirked at Rumpleteazer who swatted him with a paw.
"O'course 'e 'asn't changed 'is mind, Jerrie. Don't give 'im any ideas." Rumpleteazer couldn't help glancing up at Tumblebrutus just to make sure he hadn't decided he didn't want to live with her after all but he was laughing so she felt reassured.
"Good morning, you two," Tumblebrutus said cheerfully, "Sorry, Jerrie, I haven't changed my mind. Looking at your faces you'd think you were moving miles away not just a few seconds away. You can still visit each other all the time and everything." Tumblebrutus had noticed that despite their seemingly good mood both friends were actually looking quite miserable in comparison to their normal hyperactive selves. "By the way, I saw Munkustrap as I was coming over here and I noticed he'd done something different with his fur today. It was green. That didn't have anything to do with you did it?", he said trying to distract them.
"Us?", Rumpleteazer looked shocked, "Would we do somefink like that?" She gave her new mate the most innocent look she could manage that just made him more suspicious.
"Yes, you would actually. It's exactly the kind of thing you would find funny. You have to promise never to dye me a strange colour otherwise Jerrie can have you back again." The fact Tumblebrutus was grinning spoilt the threat but Rumpleteazer still shook her head looking serious.
"Oi would never dye yer a strange colour. Oi promise." She giggled at the sceptical look on Tumble's face. He clearly didn't believe her. "Oi wouldn't!" Her indignant, mock hurt voice made Mungojerrie and Tumblebrutus laugh and Mungojerrie pulled her into a hug.
"Oi would," he whispered mischievously in her ear and ruffled her fur playfully. "We'd better get packin' or yer'll still be 'ere tomorrow," Mungojerrie said out loud and let go of Rumpleteazer who wandered back over to her food and finished off the fish she had left uneaten when Tumblebrutus arrived. While she finished the food her best friend took Tumblebrutus through to her part of the den, which was separated from the rest by a faded red curtain, and together they stared in horror at the amount of junk Rumpleteazer seemed to have collected over the years. There were things she had stolen with Mungojerrie like necklaces and pretty vases but there were also books, old newspapers, blankets, hundreds of cushions, two folded sets of curtains, a teddy bear, a tin full of coins Rumpleteazer had found, loads of different coloured pencils and lots of other odds and ends.
"How can she need all this stuff?", Tumblebrutus managed to ask after a long silence where neither tom could tear their eyes away from the chaos they were about to have to sort out. "Does she want to keep it all or is she planning to get rid of some of it?" There was a slightly desperate note to Tumblebrutus' voice when he asked that and he really hoped Rumpleteazer would be able to tell them what she wanted and how to find it. He was dreading her insisting that she needed all the things crammed into the small space and they would have to find somewhere to put them in the new den. Mungojerrie's vague shrug did nothing to reassure him and Tumblebrutus could see himself spending the whole day sorting rubbish. At that moment the owner of the junk arrived with a huge smile on her face as if the mess in her room was perfectly normal for the morning when she planned to move out.
"Woss the matter?", she asked looking from one tom to the other and back again.
"Are yer takin' all this stuff?", Mungojerrie nervously asked not really sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"O'course not, most of it's rubbish." Rumpleteazer rolled her eyes and walked over to a smaller pile of things in the corner. "This is the stuff oi'm taking." Tumblebrutus and Mungojerrie both let out a sigh of relief and moved forwards to help her pick up some boxes and move them out the den.
Secretly Mungojerrie was hoping it would take hours so Rumpleteazer would have to stay another day but it only took an hour for them to move everything into the new den and stack it all neatly in the middle of the floor. When they had finished Mungojerrie felt rather sad and already quite lonely but he didn't want Rumpleteazer to see so he beamed at her, hugged her and told her how great it would look when she had unpacked. Of course she knew him too well to actually be fooled.
"Jerrie, Oi've got somefink for yer." The little queen rummaged through her things and pulled out a battered book. "Oi'd like yer ter 'ave this." It was the scrapbook she kept newspaper clippings in about things she had stolen with Mungojerrie.
"Oi don't know wot ter say. Oi can't take this." Mungojerrie looked down at the book and struggled to not burst into embarrassing tears. It was just so hard to imagine not living with Rumpleteazer. They had lived together for as long as he could remember and the den would feel so empty without her. Mungojerrie hugged her tightly. "Thanks. Oi'd better go now." Rumpleteazer nodded and hugged him back and he walked slowly back to his own den flicking through the scrapbook. The clippings made him laugh as he looked at them: Priceless necklace stolen, Still no leads in jewel robbery, Antique vase reported missing and things like that. Some of them were from years ago. Typical of Rumpleteazer to keep them this long. Mungojerrie smiled fondly at the faded old newspaper articles.
When he reached the den Mungojerrie put the book down and became his usual practical self again. Unlike his partner in crime he didn't just steal for fun, he had a job to do and he would be late if he didn't hurry. The calico tom left his den and crept silently out of the Junkyard vanishing into an alley beyond.