Of Roses, Tulips, Lilies and Sunflowers
His evening was different for two reasons. Firstly, he'd usually board the Midnight Rail alone. This evening, the Jellicle leader's younger wife and Mother of the novice Jellicle protector had sidled up to him and asked sincerely that she come with him.
"Skimble, I haven't seen anything. I need to know I'm not missing out on anything by being here," whispered the infamous glamour cat of the junkyard, she sensed his hesitance and quickly tried to win him over, "I love my husband, I love my sons, I love the tribe but look at me, how many chances am I going to be given in life? I need to see what's out there. Please, Skimble."
So he'd agreed and with both of their spouse's blessings, they met at the gate of the yard at ten and walked together amiably to the station. He hadn't seen her for the majority of the evening but as the train was making it's return to the station, he'd simply gone to see how she'd like the trip. Grizabella was enchanted by the people who had boarded, the landscapes they'd passed and the friendly conductor who had given her a saucer of milk. She'd run over to him and embraced him, whispering that she was so grateful he'd let her come, that she'd never been so happy.
And then the second thing happened. He'd heard a cry. It wasn't a human child that had somehow gotten stuck on the train, it was the kind of cry he had become so accustomed to as the tribe got larger and larger. His ears perked and he blinked at his companion who simple stared at him blankly, her lips upturned in a confused smile.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
Skimbleshanks trusted his senses, it was how he kept everything so orderly and he knew he'd heard a cry, so naturally he went to investigate. The young queen that had accompanied him with his travels that night could only turn on her heel and follow him as he ran down each carriage, his ears leading him to an empty carriage with the door slightly open. Grizabella had caught on by now, her maternal instincts kicking in as she made her footsteps quiet and she motioned to Skimbleshanks to check underneath the seat.
The cry had turned into more of a whimper and it was encased in a chorus of shaky breaths and a few absent sobs. Skimbleshanks sunk and ducked his head to peer at the source of the crying. Huddled under the seat was three young queens.
The eldest only looked about sixteen with two smaller girls cradled close to her, there was a smaller girl but of the same age curled by her red back and pressed her face into the nape of the taller girl's neck and then a baby who must have only just opened her eyes tucked by her white chest. Skimbleshanks felt a lump rise in his throat as the red queen looked up at him and immediately rose to take a protective stance, holding the baby to her chest and shielding the other queen behind her.
Grizabella tutted, her eyes were bleary as she made her way closer and leaned past Skimbleshanks to hold her hand out to the red queen.
"Oh, the darlings," she whispered, "Where's your mother, sweetling?"
The red queen didn't ease out of her defensive pose, "Gone. What do you want?"
"To help you," Grizabella replied, a small smile on her sweet face, "Skimbleshanks here heard the little one cry. What are your names?"
The kit tucked behind the eldest's legs peaked out to look at the strangers, her fur was blonde but it stood out and shone like gold against black markings. She was more trusting than the older queen, as sweet girls usually are, and Grizabella immediately felt the urge to sweep her up and take her home.
"My name's Demeter," she said, her eyes wide and blinking, "She's Bombalurina and she's holding Jemima."
"Such pretty names," Grizabella said to the younger girl, she saw the elder girl relax slightly but her face was still steely and fiercely protective, perhaps if her body was stronger she'd have been stuck in the protective stance that she'd taken when the two strangers had first approached.
They were lean and malnourished, their fur was lank and thin and their eyes were sunken into their skull which created tired looking shadows around them. The baby made wincing noises with every heavy breath and it served as a reminder to how fragile she was. They needed a good meal, some water and a loving Mother and Grizabella knew that she wanted to give them all of those necessities.
"When this train stops, would you like to go get something to eat? Somewhere to stay?" Demeter started to paw at Bombalurina's leg, her excitement evident in her smile and her fast whispers. Bombalurina kept her eyes on Grizabella uncertainly before Skimbleshanks put his hand out and smiled at her gently.
"Come on, love. Let us look after you, eh?"
The scarlet queen blinked at him and her eyes filled up with tears, "They're so little," she whispered and put a hand on Demeter's head and pulled Jemima closer to her chest.
"I know, but they'll be okay," he whispered, not knowing whether or not he was trying to convince himself or the teen girl in front of him.
"How do you know?" she said, her voice harder and a tear trickling down her cheek, "How can you possibly know that?"
Skimbleshanks paused, startled by the harshness of her words but he quickly regained composure and took a step closer, when she didn't hiss or flinch away he took it as a sign that was the young girl was open to being convinced.
"I don't," he replied and saw her shoulder sag, "But they'll have a much better chance if you come with us."
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When Skimbleshanks and Grizabella returned to the tribe that night with the new arrivals, the eldest cats sprung to attention and watched as Grizabella promised to raise the eldest two as her own children and Jennyanydots came forward and said that she could nurse the youngest since she had only just had another baby and still had milk available. Bombalurina had screamed when they tried to separate them, so for the night she remained with Jemima and Jennyandots as Demeter slept with Grizabella.
Life moved onwards from there. The next day Bombalurina and Demeter were introduced to Grizabella's sons who had all been perfect gentlemen. They were a good year older than the newcomers but they treated the two as if they were the same age as them. The eldest of the litter of toms, Macavity, spoke with Bombalurina and nodding somberly throughout her recount of her ordeal while Tugger and Munkustrap played with Demeter, teasing her when she couldn't keep up with them.
Jemima stayed with Jennyanydots, drinking the milk she'd been deprived of for God knows how long. When Bombalurina was asked about what the kitten had been eating, she said that she chewed meet and mouth-fed her but the small baby suckled at the Gumbie cat willingly. Jennyanydots' youngest kitten, Electra, had been indignant at first but after being teased by her elder brother and sister that she was still a baby she wholeheartedly weaned herself from her Mother's milk and let Jennyanydots nurse the new baby.
Soon enough, it had been a year and Bombalurina was sat atop of the old car and watching as Demeter played boisterously with Munkustrap and Alonzo, throwing her head back and giggling as they tumbled together, scaring the much younger Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer who were parading their sister Electra and trying to get her used to the junkyard. She had come to know and love each of the Jellicle cats, they were comfortable and caring and kind, everything Bombalurina had longed for when she acted as a makeshift Mother for her younger sisters. She liked that the adults didn't treat her like a child and trusted her to look after the very young kittens, she liked that the elder kittens and adolescents accepted Demeter straight away and made it so easy for her to adjust
She felt a soft pressure rub up against her and turned to face Grizabella, her adopted Mother.
"Someone's looking pensive," she cooed as she started to groom the teenager's head fur, "What's troubling you, my sweet?"
"Will Jemima be able to come out soon?" she said, cutting straight to the point, "Jellyorum's kittens are only a few months older than her and they're already tumbling about, Jenny can't be so concerned about her getting hurt because.. Well, Electra's out and about and she's trusting those two goofs to look after her. So why can't Jemima come out?"
Grizabella stopped and looked down at Bombalurina, whom she'd come to love as much as her own children. The three sisters had recovered well, after a few months of good nutrition and shelter they'd come on leaps and bounds. Bombalurina started to look like a stunning young lady, Demeter was not so far behind her and Jemima's fragile body wasn't so fragile any more. However, everyone was aware of their background and knew not to handle them carelessly in fear they'd somehow revert back to their former state.
"Has she not been letting you see her?" Grizabella asked, her brow furrowed and her body tensing. Jennyanydots had gotten very attached to Jemima and Skimbleshanks had confessed to Grizabella almost a week previously that the small kit had called him 'Daddy.' She didn't know how she could take Jemima from them now even though she knew that Bombalurina was anxiously awaiting her reunion with her youngest sister, so said youngest sister had been a prickly subject lately, one that she liked to avoid because she felt awful with both solutions.
"No," Bombalurina said, shaking her head, "No, Jenny lets me see her all the time but I feel bad. She's such a clever girl but she's being locked away all the time, I know she'd like to be out here, playing with the other kittens."
Grizabella chuckled as Demeter pinned Munkustrap who wriggled beneath her whining and giggling at the same time, "Perhaps it's a good thing she's not playing with the other kittens. Our Demeter's a warrior, she'd crush her."
Bombalurina laughed lightly but shrugged, "I mean like, with the littler ones, like Victoria or Etcetera."
"Your sister wasn't brought up like Victoria or Etcetera or any of the other kittens," the older queen mumbled and rubbed up against her adopted daughter, "My sweet, we still need to be careful, we need to limit any kind of long-term effects that she may have carried on from when she was a newborn. But she'll be out soon, and you'll wish that she'd stayed locked up because I can see her being a little terror like Demeter."
Bombalurina nodded with a small smile. Shortly after following Skimbleshanks and Grizabella to the Jellicle tribe, she decided it was the best thing that happened to her. Her first Jellicle ball was around the corner, she'd become quick friends with some other queens her age such as Cassandra and Grizabella's sons played the effortless big brothers to both Bombalurina and Demeter. It all fitted, it was all perfect.
She barely had nightmares of her time without her Mother now. She didn't even bother to think about her Mother because Grizabella was everything her Mother wasn't. She was warm, she sang to them when they were sad or frightened and held them close before saying goodnight. Bombalurina remembered her own Mother as a desperate queen, falling in and out of love with a stream of toms and when she'd finally had enough, she had made sure to wait until Jemima could at least open her eyes before she left and Bombalurina was at least grateful for that but she left so soon and while her children slept. Bombalurina only woke to watch her go because Jemima cried for a feed.
Grizabella kissed the top of her head before stretching, "I'll be seeing you for dinner, make sure your sister doesn't damage my son too much."
"I'll try," she answered, giving her new Mother a small smile, "But if you don't mind me saying, Munkustrap's a wimp and could probably do with a good duffing up now and then."