Yes, I know it's late, I'm very very sorry. cringes I have no excuse this time, except for a massive case of writer's block. I'm going to tell you now, since I neglected to before, that upon clicking on this story you acknowledged that you would have to be resigned to very erratic updates. My muses lead busy lives, and often they will desert me for weeks at a time. Sometimes I lose interest completely in a story I was planning on writing. This has happened at least three times. I usually play stories over and over in my head before writing a word, that may have something to do with it. Anyway, just to warn you, I will try to keep to a weekly update schedule from now on, but you may have to wait a while between chapters.
Disclaimer: If I owned Cats, it would be considerably longer and Growltiger's Last Stand would be in the movie.
We wound through back alleys and sidestreets, not meeting any other cats on the way. I walked next to Mistoffelees, shivering at the brush of his pelt against mine. After five minutes or so we reached the gate to the Junkyard. We went through it, and after making our way around a few piles of junk, emerged into a familiar clearing.
It looked exactly as it did in the movie, right down to the angle of Pouncival's chair. Lounging felines occupied several surfaces, but they quickly perked up when Munkustrap, Misto and I entered the clearing. Tugger sauntered over, a few kits trailing after him.
"Hey there Beautiful, what's your name?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Misto bristle and open his mouth, but I cut him off.
"I'm Sage. Who are you?" I asked. I already knew, of course, but I couldn't let them know that.
"I'm the Rum Tum Tugger," was his very predictable answer. He looked like he was going to say more, but Etcetera came forwards.
"I'm Etcetera," she said enthusiastically. "And this is Electra."
"And Victoria!"
More cats started coming closer, eager to introduce themselves. The only one who stayed back was Cassandra. She was scowling, looking at me with narrowed eyes. I couldn't imagine why she didn't like me, but it added to the list of things that nagged.
Munkustrap went off to get Old Deuteronomy, and when they returned things had calmed down a bit. Deuteronomy slowly came over to me.
"Hello, child. What is your name?"
I cleared my throat nervously. "Sage, sir."
"No need to be afraid," he chuckled. "Why have you come to the Junkyard?"
"I want to join the Jellicles," I replied without thinking. Startled, I almost took back my words, but I stopped. They were true, I did want to join. That way I could be with my Mistoffelees.
"Well, we are always open to cats in need of a home. Does anyone have any objections?" he asked. After a moment, Alonzo spoke up.
"How do we know she's trustworthy? She could be a spy from Macavity!" I noticed that Cassandra, beside him, looked very pleased. I was shocked at the accusation and was about to reply when Mistoffelees did so instead.
"A spy? How dare you say that about her! She's beautiful and kind, and I know she would never work for him!" There were assorted mutters of agreement, and Alonzo sunk down, looking bashful. Misto's defense of me nagged at me more than anything else so far. Also, I saw Jenny and Jelly talking, and thought I could hear the words 'young love'. I gave a mental shake of my head just in time to hear the words, "Welcome to the Jellicle Tribe." I was a bit startled, I had expected someone else to protest. Oh well. I wasn't one to complain about good luck. I was in the Tribe, and that was what mattered.
The cats gathered around to congratulate me, and before long they began to dance. Mistoffelees came up to me, and shyly asked if I wanted to dance with him. I agreed, of course, and we whirled out into the midst of the rest. I found that I was as unexpectedly skilled at dancing as I was at fighting.
Mistoffelees and I danced for a long time, and eventually the cats began to leave in ones and twos. After a while it was just me and my darling Misto. A part of my mind started in shock. Waitasec, my Misto? Darling Misto? But the other part of my mind shoved it down viciously. I wasn't going to let this stupid nagging ruin our perfect relationship. We whirled around one last time and came to a halt, staring into each other's eyes.
Reluctantly, I broke the contact. "I should be getting to bed."
"But you don't have a den, where will you stay?"
"Well, is there a box or somewhere that I could sleep until I find a place?"
"Yeah, there's a bunch over that way." He gestured off to the right.
"Thanks. I'll see you in the morning." Smiling, I left in the direction he pointed. It didn't take long to find a box and a piece of old blanket. As soon as I did, I fell asleep.
From the top of a tall pile of junk, a pair of slitted eyes watched their parting. Cassandra growled to herself. "That slut will not steal Mistoffelees from me," she whispered viscously. "I'll stop her... somehow."
On that ominous note (ha!), we end this chapter. I know it was short, but I couldn't put anything else in and have it run smoothly. Also, I need a beta reader. So far, I have had to beta myself. If anyone wants to perform this office, send me a message and I will be most grateful. A cookie to anyone who reviews!
xXDemeter-WillowwitchXx: I hope she wasn't a Mary Sue too... thanks for the review!
Miss Tinkerbell: I'm glad you like it so much!
FireGoddess528: Don't hurt me! I'm sorry!
Cindersquirrel: Odd review... and my name has Capital Letters! Adi Sagestar, not adi sagestar. Bad. :P
Lastly, there is a story everyone should read. Artificial 9 Lives by hyper-health-critic is quite good, and it seems that I'm the only one reading it. I have offered to advertise for her (or him), so please do read it. You won't be sorry you did.
