CHAPTER TWO: Questions

"Macavity." Bombalurina greeted the ginger cat coldly, eyeing him with contempt.

"Bomba."

She flinched at the sound of her old nickname, nobody had called her that since… well, she didn't want to think about it.

"Don't call me that Macavity, I left it all behind when I left you."

"Bombalurina."

The way he hastened to rectify his mistake surprised her, this wasn't the Macavity she knew. Or was it? No, this was like the Macavity she had once known, back before he became the notorious criminal he was today, back when…when she had loved him. The thought of this made her falter and when she replied it was without thinking.

"Most people call me Bomb or Bomby these days."

"It's not that much of a far cry from what I called you, but if you prefer it…"

"No," she cut him off, her senses returning, "call me Bomba. It signifies my old life, I don't want my new identity to be linked to you as well."

"Alright."

The reply was simple and almost apologetic, she couldn't believe it, there were so many questions she wanted to ask him all of a sudden. They were invading her anger at him, stopping her from doing what she should, which was getting out of there as fast as possible, or confronting him at the very least. Anyway, she didn't think she would have got very far in her present state. Her emotions reached a compromise and she was able to say.

"Look, I don't know why I'm here, but…" she faltered again, not really sure what to say next.

"Bomba, relax, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yeah?" she was immediately on the defensive, "Well excuse me if I have trouble believing that."

"I never hurt you Bomba, and I don't intend to start now."

"Never hurt me? That was all you ever did."

"I admit that emotionally I may have done, but I never laid a paw on you."

"No, you had Demeter for that."

"Bomba, Demeter was… well, she was different."

"And that gave you the right to beat her about?"

"Look," he said, and suddenly he became angry "I don't have to justify myself to you. I'm Macavity, The Mystery Cat, The Hidden Paw, the very Napoleon of Crime!"

"Oh yeah? Then why did you save me?"

"Because I couldn't leave you there to die."

"Funny that, after you killed all those other cats without a second thought."

"I just saved your damn life, you could at least be grateful."

"I don't want to be grateful Macavity, I want answers."

"Alright, yes I killed other cats, and still do. Yes, I did hurt Demeter, and yes I saved you because I loved you once and maybe I still do! Are you satisfied now?"

"No, that still doesn't explain what was so different about me and Demi."

He softened again, "Bomba, you, you were special. We grew up together, when I found Demeter I thought I'd found another you. I missed you after you left," she sneered, "yes, missed you Bomba. When I met Demeter I thought it would fill the void you'd left me with. And for a while it did."

"And then?"

"It wasn't the same Bomba, nothing could ever replace you. I'm only feline, and like other cats, no matter what I do, I still need love."

"Then how about doing something to deserve it?"

"You think this is easy for me? When you've been prejudiced against all your life, there comes a time when you believe it yourself and become what they say. And yes, I enjoy this life, I wouldn't swap it for anything. But those feelings don't extend to everyone I know, you don't find love, it finds you, no matter who you are. So that's why I saved you, and why you can't expect me to feel the same about Demeter."

Bombalurina had no idea what to say, her mind was a whirlwind of emotion, anger merged with sorrow, regret, hatred, love.

"Macavity…" she began, before collapsing into sobs. She had no idea why she was crying, she wasn't crying for him or even for herself, she just cried.

"It's just delayed shock Bomba," said Macavity gently, he was so caring he seemed less like himself than ever, "take some deep breaths and drink this."

He handed her a cup of dark liquid. She gasped in lungfuls of air and dashed a paw across her eyes, sobs subsiding. Taking the cup she sniffed at it suspiciously.

"Smells like catnip!"

"There is some in there."

"Look, just tell me everything that's in it Macavity. I've not forgotten that time when you doped that milk to 'calm me down'."

"You know it wasn't like that Bomba, you were hysterical, you would've hurt yourself if I hadn't done something."

"Well I was only in that state to begin with because you'd just killed eight innocent cats!"

"Ok, well let's not go into that for now. I promise you that all that's in it is hot water, herbs, and a little catnip to sweeten the taste and help you relax. You won't heal if you're constantly wound up."

She sniffed it again and took a small sip, the taste was somewhat familiar, it was a lot like the medicines Jennyanydots made for Jellicle kittens when they had stomach aches. She took another sip,

"Where did you learn to make this?"

"You and I both grew up on the streets Bomba, and we both knew how to look after ourselves, and that included healing. You can't have forgotten?"

"Not forgotten, just blocked out."

"Look, I've given you my word, I've no reason to want to hurt you. Accept it and let yourself heal."

"It's hard to accept to say the least." She retorted "The last time I saw you it was with Demi, being pursued down an alley with you and Longfang hot on our tails."

Then, more sleepily, "Where is the big oaf anyway?"

"Still here, he's my second now, not the most intelligent cat in the world, but loyal."

"Right, um, Macavity…?"

Bombalurina realised that he had doped her when she began to feel drowsy, her initial reaction was anger, why couldn't he be honest with her just for once? But she had little time to dwell on it, as a few seconds later she had slipped into a deep sleep.

Macavity watched as the cup slipped from Bombalurina's paws. There would be trouble later when she realised he really had doped her, the catnip content of the drink had been much higher than he had let on and it had only been a matter of time before she slept. He sighed, he doubted she would believe that he'd done it for her own good but he knew that she needed rest and she wasn't going to get it by demanding answers to their past.

Everything he'd told her was true, although he'd never been able to explain to her the reason behind his cruelty at killing other cats. It was the bloodlust, he got a kick out of doing it, it felt good to exercise his power over others. It always had, right from when he had started doing it. He didn't know why it was a step he had never taken with Bomba anymore than he knew why he had saved her today. It had always been that way between them, she was the only one he had ever cared about. Perhaps she had been the only one who ever cared about him.

Ok, as you can see, the chapters in this are (I think) a bit shorter than it's predecessor, and they involve less narration and more direct speech. That's because I was more interested in using this fic to explore the interaction between Bomba and Macavity. Also, whilst the other one was set over a series of years, this one happens over the course of about two days. Feedback much apreciated as, reading this again, I'm really unsure if readers will like it. Ooh, also I should mention that, dispite being about a year on from Flame of The Mystery Cat, this fic still takes place before the Jellicle Ball we all know from the show. All the cats in it are still a bit younger.

Disclaimer: All rights to Cats belong to ALW & the RUG.