Of Roses, Tulips, Lilies and Sunflowers
The magician looked over to the queen-kit beside him and frowned. She was far too young and gentle to be so worried, her eyes moved quickly and watched the tribe with concern as her brow furrowed and her lip puckered. She looked at her oldest sister and watched as she spoke somberly with Cassandra, she found her other sister who sat with the leader's sons and listened to them speak with feigned interest, she looked over at her best friend, who was sat with Plato as usual, and her eyes welled up with tears. Jemima had become close friends with the tuxedo cat next to her and his porcelain sister but as of late Victoria had been preoccupied with Plato who was finding it hard coming to grips with being an orphan.
Jemima had understood, of course Victoria would want to make sure Plato was okay, but she didn't like the way Plato acted around her any more. She'd never been close with Plato because he preferred to hang around with older cats but when they did talk he was polite and kind of smiley. He smiled at her now but not in the way he used to, he acted like Jemima made him uncomfortable, like she had some kind of disease that he was afraid of catching. So whenever Victoria went to play with Plato, she apologised to Jemima and said perhaps it was best if she 'went alone.'
Quaxo sighed and rubbed his shoulder against hers, a notion that went appreciated by the younger queen kit who smiled at him and rubbed her eyes to dispel the tears that clouded them. The tom looked at her, silently arousing an explanation for her sadness, and finally she sighed and whispered,
"I think I've upset Plato."
"What could you have done to upset Plato?" Quaxo said gently, his tone neither comforting nor accusing, just perfectly impartial.
"I don't know," she shrugged, "He doesn't like me any more."
"And this makes you cry?" Jemima blinked at the older cat, he was three years her senior and the same age as Plato but his face was so kittenish and he never spoke down to her, he made her feel comfortable.
"Partly, but mainly because Victoria won't play with me any more because Plato doesn't like me and I don't know what I've done," she suddenly felt anxious, "Do you think it's because I'm clumsy? Because I'm working on it, I really am."
Quaxo couldn't help but laugh slightly, the queen-kit wasn't clumsy in the slightest but because she hung around with Victoria a lot who was the walking definition of poise and because she had the clever acrobatics of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer bombarding her at home, she had somehow become disillusioned and deemed herself as clumsy. He ruffled her head fur, ignoring her panic-stricken stare and laughed a little more.
"You're not clumsy, Jem, and I'm sure Plato does like you."
"Why wouldn't he?" The two young cats jumped at the new voice as Demeter stood over them, her tail twitching with irritation, "What could Jemima have possibly done to him?"
Jemima ducked her head in embarrassment as her sister grabbed the attention of most of the tribe, including Plato and Victoria, with her loud voice and proud stance. Plato looked down too, Victoria had her arm around him and looked up at Demeter with uncertainty. They hadn't seen her make her way over but Demeter had been watching her little sister for quite some time and had been growing increasingly angry at how sad she looked.
Ever since the Jellicle Ball, some of the kittens had started to distance themselves from anyone associated with the glamour cat, it wasn't an outright gesture or even blatantly obvious but Demeter and Bombalurina had both noticed the weary looks from Victoria and the glares from Pouncival. It was because they believed, in their kitten minds, that Grizabella had full responsibility for Eileen's passing. Munkustrap and Tugger had been the exceptions to the kittens' anger because the two were so inherently warm so it was very hard to be upset with them, even Tugger who's new favourite game was to 'jump attack' passers by. However, Macavtiy, Bombalurina and Demeter were looked on as though they were consorting with the enemy and had therefore inherited some resentment, the main source of said resentment was Pouncival and Tumblebrutus who were too young to comprehend the concept of the 'Jellicle Choice' and saw it all as an unfair excuse to take their Mother away from them.
Demeter could deal with them acting weirdly around her or Bombalurina, she knew it was just a way for them to mourn their Mother and get over their loss but she couldn't stand it when Jemima was brought into it. Jemima barely knew Grizabella, she was as in the dark as the rest of them when it came to how the Choice worked, she was just confused as to why some of her friends didn't want to speak to her much any more.
Munkustrap made his way over to Demeter, that damn reasonable expression clouding his face and his tail between his legs. She flinched away from him when he tried to put a calming hand on her shoulder and continued to stare at Plato, silently willing the young tom to retaliate. Plato's eyes clouded over and he kept his head down, not willing to take part in a verbal slinging match with the older queen. Just as Demeter was going to nod and walk away, satisfied that she'd made her point, Pouncival stood in front of her and hissed in a pathetic manner.
"Leave Plato alone," his little voice indignant, "Leave him alone or I'll get you."
Demeter went to retort but felt herself being ushered away by Bombalurina who'd slinked over with Cassandra at her side some time during Demeter's staring competition. She found herself feeling slightly thankful for her sister's interference, she didn't really want to have an argument with a kitten but couldn't help but being riled up by the way he spoke to her or by the way they treated her little sister. The blonde queen sighed and followed the Abyssinian and her sister, leaving Munkustrap with the kittens.
Pouncival let out another little hiss at Demeter's retreating form before looking down at the queen kit who'd been watching with wide eyes and a trembling lip, if she hadn't been such a baby then Demeter would never have gotten involved and upset his older brother, he hissed at her too and her little face crumpled. He accepted the swat from Munkustrap and ran over to Jellyorum who was already chastising him from the other side of the yard.
Munkustrap sighed and sunk to his knees to get a good look at the kittens, Jemima was lead on her stomach now with her head cradled in her arms and little sobs jolting her body every now and then, Quaxo stared at her in horror as though she might explode any second. The silver tabby craned his head and scanned the junkyard quickly to find Macavity, it was his job to look after the kittens after all. He gave up quickly and motioned for Quaxo to scamper off, which the small tom did willingly, before sitting next to the crying queen kit.
Macavity was too busy consoling Demeter for she was angrier than she'd ever been. He'd convinced her to come back to his den so she could have some time away from everyone to cool off. She was pacing now, her tail swishing as she walked and her arms waving madly. Everlasting, she was beautiful. Her lovely face was contorted with her anger, her green eyes narrowed and her lips moving at a mile a minute, he'd barely heard what she'd been saying because he was so intent on watching her. She stopped dead in her tracks before sighing and looking over to the ginger tom, her cheeks flushed slightly,
"Sorry Mac, I didn't mean to rant at you. It just, it makes me so angry, you know?" he smiled, nodding as he rose to meet her.
"I understand," he said, noticing her smile as he walked over to her, "But they're so young, they don't know any better."
"And Jemima's even younger," she insisted. He was close now, so close that if she craned her neck she could see every feature of his exotically beautiful face, she feebly punched his chest and sighed, "Help me, Mr. Protector."
He chuckled and his chest raised, it was so pretty, she kept her hand there for a while before realising what she was doing and whipping it back down to her side making him laugh again.
"Help yourself, you're certainly capable enough, my little brothers have the battle scars to prove it."
"Yeah well, your little brothers are whimps."
One of said little brothers now was laid down in the dirt and trying to convince the crying kitten to 'give him a smile.' Bombalurina watched him tentatively, resisting the urge to barge over and steal her sister away but Cassandra had already stopped her.
"She needs to become more socialised, Heaviside knows that she missed out on that when Jenny kept her cooped up like a little Rapunzel," she had said, and it was true, Jemima was still shy and uncertain of some of the cats and if anyone was going to get her to stop crying, it would be Munkustrap whom she had taken quite a shine to.
So she sat and watched, with Cassandra on her left, Tugger on her right and Exotica sprawled horizontal to them. They were chattering without any real direction of conversation, it only acted as background noise to distract Bombalurina for her impending concern about her two sisters. Demeter had run off with Macavity which would have been fine by her if they didn't go into his den where she couldn't keep an eye on them and Jemima still had her face in the dirt with Munkustrap desperately trying to rouse her from her moping.
"Bombalurina, she's not going to spontaneously combust," she blinked at the Maine Coon beside her before registering the words and smiling a little, she was being silly and she knew it.
"I know it's just... I don't know, I figured everyone kind of accepted the Jellicle Choice, I didn't expect this kind of backlash," she mumbled, toying with her head fur.
"That's what usually happens," he said with a shrug, "But when kits get involved it can get a bit messy, usually Dad doesn't send anyone who has responsibilities like kittens but it was Eileen's time."
"I think it's a horrible tradition," Exotica said, she wasn't a very outspoken cat but she spoke with clarity now, her head risen slightly and her chin jutted out, "Taking a Mother away from her kits like that... In front of her kits like that is unforgivable."
Cassandra started to hush her sister but it was no use, Bombalurina felt the tom beside her prickle and arch his back slightly, as one of Old Deuteronomy's sons he felt the need to defend tradition and the way Exotica was talking about it had obviously hit a nerve.
"It couldn't have been helped," Cassandra said quickly, "The kits snuck over to watch, they should have been taken better care of."
"But what about Admetus?" Exotica pried with an eyebrow raised, "Do you think it was fair he had to watch his Mother be..."
"We didn't take an axe to her, Exotica," Rum Tum Tugger said with cool vehemence lacing his words, "She could have refused if she wanted. Plus, I didn't see you whining too much about tradition when Admetus was whirling you around in the air, should we be expecting a happy announcement?"
Exotica regarded him for a while. She as the type of queen that seemed intimidating naturally, with her almost black eyes and her pursed lips. Cassandra often had the same effect on people but managed to play it off by smiling constantly and being sweet to basically everyone whereas Exotica was very straight-laced and serious, which perhaps could be seen as endearing but to a lot of people it was just scary. Rum Tum Tugger made sure he didn't shrink under her glare until finally she rolled her eyes and concluded with,
"You can't accept that this tribe and it's customs aren't as squeaky-clean and perfect that you've been brought up to think they are. Well let me tell you, I'm not witnessing another one of those damn choices, never again."
She stood, dusted herself down and walked away, leaving Cassandra to bite her lip and fiddle with her paws and Tugger to mumble,
"Just slink off."
A few feet away, Munkustrap finally had gotten Jemima to look up at him and after a few minutes of him promising her that no one was angry with her she finally stood up and brushed the dirt off her fur. Munkustrap stay knelt so he could be on her level and he smiled at the kitten's face, all streaky with tears.
"Come here," he said, brushing them off her face, "There, all gone."
She gave him a small smile before looking down at the floor again, "Pouncival doesn't like me now."
"I'm sure Pouncival does like you, Jemima," the tabby cat said gently, his voice's steadiness betraying the look of weariness on his face and his fear that she'd burst out crying again, "He's just upset at the moment and people do silly things when they're upset."
She nibbled her lip and looked up at him through her eyelashes, he almost giggled at how cartoon-like she looked until she reached out her hands as a signal for him to lift her. Munkustrap was acknowledged as the tribe's older brother, while he wasn't the Protector he had taken it upon himself to make sure he put the other Jellicles at ease and paid close attention to the kittens. When he was asked why he spent so much time with the kittens, he'd say it was because they ran the queens ragged but secretly he admired their carefree attitude and wanted to cling onto childishness for as long as possible. He lifted her with ease and she clung onto his side, she'd taken to Munkustrap because he was the calmer of Old Deuteronomy's sons and while the other two intrigued her, she felt comfortable with him.
"Why did Pouncival's Mummy have to go away?" she whispered, her ears stuck to her head as if she was ashamed of even thinking about questioning the tribe's rules.
"Sometimes when people have done everything they needed to they get very tired, and when they get tired sometimes it's just nicer to... To let them go. And Pouncival's Mum knew this and she wanted to go away, so she did."
"Did your Mummy make her go away?" she said, gaining a littl more confidence, "Because Etcetera said she did."
"No one made her go away," Munkustrap said as lump began to rise to his throat, "She just went away."