A lone kitten walked the streets of London, trying to find shelter from the ever-worsening storm; rain, sleet, and even small amounts of snow. She was a tortoiseshell; an orange and black mix. She didn't have a name, or if she did she didn't know it. She had been wandering the streets for about a week, since she was two months old. The kitten couldn't remember much, only a faint, blurry memory of two cats - her parents.

After another long, five minutes, the kitten finally found somewhere half-way decent to rest. She came upon a Junkyard; not much, a bit dirty and smelly, but at least it had some shelter. Now, had the kitten been more experienced, she might've stopped to sniff the air, and check out the place, but she was young, immature, and above all, exhausted. Looking around once, she stumbled into the Junkyard, found an old cardboard box, and curled up inside. She was asleep almost instantly.

The next thing the kitten knew, there were voices all around her. She opened her eyes, to see four or five cats peering at her. Not for the first time in her life, she became increasingly frightened, but as she was cornered, there wasn't much she could do. She cowered as low as possible, but the cats didn't go away. Instead, one older, cream tabby queen remarked "Oh, my gosh, just look how dirty she is! She's probably been roaming the streets for months!"

"Oh, have some consideration, Jelly," said another, younger queen

", you'd look like that if you'd been wandering the streets. Besides, she can't have been stray for too long; she's not even three months yet. You of all Jellicles should have known that."

"Still," interrupted yet another older queen ", Jelly's got a point, Kardia. That kitten does need a bath; a good wash at the very least!"

Suddenly, a large, silver tabby appeared. For a moment or two, he stared at the kitten, then he said, in a loud, calm voice "Right, regardless of whether this kitten needs a bath or not, she must first be taken to Old Deuteronomy. Then, we'll decide what to do with her after that."

"Oh, but Munkustrap," began the cream tabby, but stopped at the look on his face, and after a glare from him, nodded sullenly.

Then, suddenly, a paw reached in, and picked the kitten up (very gently) by the scruff of her neck. The next thing she knew, she was being cradled in the arms of the creamy-white queen who had been called Kardia. The kitten looked up into the big, blue-ish grey eyes, and, for the first time in a long while, felt comfort.

But then, she was moving; or at least, that's what it felt like. Kardia was carrying her, following the silver tabby through the Junkyard, to where an old, old cat sat on a disused tyre, talking with a pair of identical twins. The moment they saw the group, the twins leapt off the tyre, and had melted into the shadows before the kitten had time to decide whether they were there or not. Being a kitten, she soon gave it up, and looked up, to see the old cat looking kindly down at her. His appearance, to the kitten, was rather intimidating, and when he stood up, and began walking towards her, she squeaked in fright, and tried to scramble away, but Kardia held her tight, and suddenly, the kitten was being lifted into the old cat's arms, and, carefully and gently, examined.

After a quick examination, the old cat handed her back to Kardia, with instructions that she should first be given a wash, then fed and found somewhere where she could rest. Kardia at once volunteered to look after her.

"If she's still on milk, she can suckle with my two little ones, and if not, then I can still offer her a place to rest."

The cream tabby, who was known as Jellylorum, tried to protest, and help with cleaning up the kitten, but Kardia would have none of it. She just gave Jelly one last, withering look, before leaving, to return to her mate and kittens with her new kit. As she walked to her den, she said to the little kitten "Now then, little one, you must have a name. I know! I will call you Electra, as you have some reddish-ginger on you."

"Did you know," she continued, to the now sleepy kitten ", that Electra was a Goddess. I can't remember whether she was Greek or Roman, but she was definitely a Goddess. So, how's that, my little Electra. You're named after a Goddess. Oh, you're so sweet. And to think, all Jelly would have done was get you cleaned up, then turn her back on you. I promise you, my little Electra, I'll never, ever turn my back on you!"

"Well," said Kardia ", we're here!"

Electra peered through half-closed eyes, to see a piece of cloth, hung over a propped up bar, being lifted up, then, a warming sight met her little kitten eyes.

A brown and white mix tom was lying on a sort of homemade bed, curled around two tiny balls of fur, slightly smaller than Electra. The tom looked up, and smiled when he saw Kardia, but then noticed Electra, and frowned slightly, giving his mate a puzzled look. Kardia gave him a plea-ding look, and said "Oh, Bill, I couldn't just have left her. If I'd done that, Jellylorum would've got to her, and you know what she's like. You know how coolly she talks about Etcetera, compared to Victoria, and that little white fur-ball isn't even her own, whereas Etcetera is her flesh and blood. That little kitten's gonna grow up, and find out that her mum loves a stray more than her. And, Heaviside bless Etcetera, that the rest of the Tribe will be there for her."

"Yes," said the tom, nodding ", but what about Veni & Tia? How do you think they're gonna react, huh?"

"Oh, Bill, please! She hasn't got anywhere else to go, if we don't take her!"

"What about Jelly? I thought you said-", the tom began, but stopped at the pitiful look on his mate's face. After a brief pause, he sighed, and said "Oh, Ok! As long as you think you can handle it?"

"Of course we can!" cried Kardia joyfully. "And I'm sure the girls will love her. She'll be a big sister to them!"

The tom got up, slowly so as not to wake the kittens, and padded over to his mate. He had a good look at Electra, and promptly said "Right, first things first: she needs a good bath!"

Kardia nodded, slowly, and took the kitten over to where a small, tin tub sat next to a tap. The tom filled the tub, and Kardia placed Electra care-fully into it. The kitten mewed, and tried to escape from the cold, wet water, but Kardia held her firmly (but gently!), and with Bill's help, managed to give a sufficient rinse to show off her fluffy coat better.

Then Kardia dried the kitten, took her over to the bed, placed her beside the other two balls of fur, and curled up around all three. Bill emptied the tub down a drain, then joined his mate on the bed. Kardia smiled softly at her mate, then curled herself more tightly round her little kittens, as if to protect them from the world, and life.