"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Come on, Tori. When have I ever acted on a bad idea?"
The queen's mind was immediately flooded with memories of the many singes, burns, electrocutions, and near heart attacks she had witnessed throughout her young life at the hands of the magician. Mistoffelees continued gathering supplies, innocent of his best friend's worry.
They were soon joined by Mistoffelees' older brother, The Rum Tum Tugger, who took a seat next to Victoria. The young queen couldn't hope but blush at the attractive tomcat's proximity to her, though she did the best to hide it.
"So, I'm not here to spoil your playdate or anything," Tugger said. The younger cats pouted at his reference to their "playdate." They were adolescent cats! They didn't have "playdates" anymore.
"But you may want to reign in Tumblebrutus. He's been telling everyone you are in here, um," Tugger coughed. "Making kittens."
"That's exactly what we're doing," Mistoffelees told him, carefully laying out a deck of cards. Tugger frowned. "Wow, um, Misto, I- I figured one of the elders would have given you this talk, by now, but this isn't exactly how you-"
"Not like that, you idiot."
Misto tossed a top hat onto the floor in between them and sat across from his spectators. "So," he began, "we all know Jenny has always wanted kittens of her own, yes?"
"Yes, of course," Tugger replied. "She mothers everybody. Even the cockroaches."
"But she's spayed," Mistoffelees continued.
"That is also correct."
"Well, with her birthday coming up and all, I wanted to get her something special. I'm going to make her a kitten, with magic!" Misto beamed.
"Be careful, Mistoffelees," Victoria urged, as he began tossing his cards and dice around in showers of colorful sparks. He just rolled his eyes at her.
"It's just one kitten, Tori. It won't be hard."
The cards and dice disappeared in the magician's hands as he brought them together. He closed his eyes, focusing deeply on his task. Although he'd never admit it to Victoria or Tugger, he was actually quite nervous. He'd never attempted a trick anywhere near this magnitude, before. What if he made a puppy by accident, or a cat with three eyes, or worse – a human kitten? Mistoffelees shuddered at the thought. Human kittens were disgusting, like alien potatoes.
He opened his eyes to see an orb appear in his paws. He had expected it to be orange, but it was actually changing colors. Oh well, Mistoffelees thought, and he cast the orb into the top hat that sat before him. Everyone gasped when they heard a tiny meow from inside the hat. Mistoffelees peered inside. His eyes went wide as he grinned and began to hyperventilate.
"I did it," he gasped. "Oh, Everlasting Cat, I did it! I made a kitten!"
He gently cradled the tiny orange tabby in his paws and pulled him out of the hat, knocking it over in the process. To everyone's surprise, two more kittens tumbled out.
"Um, Misto?" Victoria whined, panic rising in her voice.
"Um..." Mistoffelees set the orange tabby kitten beside him reached out towards the hat, as another kitten rolled out. "Shit. I-"
Tugger pulled the hat upright, hoping to stop what might have been an endless flow of kittens pouring from it. The three older cats stared at each other in what could only be describe as unadulterated shock.
Eventually, Mistoffelees gulped and peered into the hat, which had stopped producing kittens, but not before three more had appeared inside. He started turning green behind the white fur on his face. "There's, um-"
"Seven," Victoria breathed.
