Chapter 4: Still a Kitten
A/N: So the prompt today was to create a Jellicle tradition. Enjoy and please review!
Disclaimer: I don't own CATS.
"Stupid! Everyone's just so stupid…" mumbled a furious tom.
Pouncival sat in one of the lesser-visited clearings, his arms crossed and a pout that only a kitten could muster plastered across his face. He listlessly pawed at a collection of marbles that he had found. All the miniature spheres looked almost identical as their glass surfaces reflected the cloudless summer sky. Most of them were almost entirely clear with a green strip of color in the middle, resembling a cat's eye. However, a few of them featured various other colors entangled with the jade.
A motherly voice carried across the clearing, calling out the kitten's name. Instead of responding, the tom only seemed to intensify his glare at the marbles and crossed his paws tighter across his chest. He could hear the cheer in her voice, and it just pissed him off.
"Oh there you are Pouncie, darling. Everyone's gathering already for the Expeditions. You don't want to make everyone wait for you." Jennyanydots purred as she crouched next to the fuming tom and gently nuzzled his cheek and brushed a strand of headfur out of his face. Just like the queen was denying situation at hand, she also ignored the dark aura that seemed to radiate from Pouncival.
The tom almost instinctively shrugged his shoulders and lightly shoved his mom away; though remembering that she was his mother and making sure that he wasn't too rough. It had been two days since the translation of that fateful sign, and tears still readily sprung to his eyes, he thought he had cried himself dry yesterday. "Just leave me." He mumbled bitterly.
The tabby queen instantly stood up, but never lost her gentle patience. "What do you mean Pouncie? We can't go without you!" She tried to make her smile believable as her heart broke to see her own kitten spiraling into despair.
Pouncival jumped to his feet, his paws quivering as they clenched into hard fists. The patched tail swished violently back and forth as the tom's ears were pinned back against his head. "Stop it!" He hissed, unable to look at his mother. He didn't want to talk to her like this, but he couldn't stop the anger flowing through his veins. "What's the point? We'll be gone when the Jellicle Moon rises!" Pouncival crossed his arms again, trying to stifle their shaking.
He couldn't help but feel fury as everyone went on as if nothing was wrong. Early in the morning, everyone would pack their things, and later come out into the clearing and go on just like they did everyday. And some rattled Jellicle had put it into everyone's head that they should still go on the annual Expeditions.
Every year, a few weeks before the Jellicle Ball, the entire tribe would leave the yard to go explore the surrounding city. The cats would split into groups of two or three and search for a special treasures. There were no specifications for the treasures, just whatever caught each cat's eye. Then, after an hour or two of exploration, the tribe would meet up and show everyone what he or she had found. Each year the cats would incorporate each valuable finding into the Ball. It was a tradition that allowed each cat to add their own flair while making each Ball unique. For example, last year Tugger found the deflated football that he used for his bagpipe while all the kittens had stumbled upon the shoeboxes and cans that were used for the Pekes and the Pollicles number.
However, this year, the tribe wasn't going to even celebrate the ball. The whole tribe would be gone in four days. What was the point?
"Stop this right now Pouncie!" Jennyanydots exclaimed, firmly placing her paws on her hips. "You aren't going to ruin the little bit of peace that this tribe is clinging to! Can't you just have fun like the rest of the tribe and enjoy what little time we have left?"
"You can't make me!" He pouted again, clasping his side fur, still trying to stem the tears."
"Pouncival!" The queen's voice was cool and deadly, that of a mother that would no longer take the attitude. "Stop being a kitten! It's time to grow up and understand."
Clearly the trigger had been pulled; Pouncival spun around and flung his arms out from his sides. He was tired of being told how to handle the situation. "No! Don't tell me what to do and how to feel! So what if I'm acting like a kitten, it's cause I still am a kitten! And I'm going to act on how I feel! My whole life has been in this yard. And my friends and my tribe…they're my family too…and we're all going to have to split up." His voice hiccupped as the tears began to slip down his cheeks. "I'm not going to act like everything is alright, because it's not!" With his last statement, Pouncival kicked the pile of marbles he had stacked up and spun back around and whispered, "I'm still a kitten…this wasn't supposed to happen…"
A soft paw rested on Pouncival's shoulder. "I'm sorry…Pouncie…"
The patched tom just shook his head and shrugged her paw away. He didn't want her pity or her apologies; he just wanted to be alone. Pouncival listened as his mother left on padded paws. After a few minutes of silence for the tom to control his tears, he plopped back down in a small pile and began to pick up the marbles that were within reach.
"Pouncie?"
The tom was shocked out of his contemplation of the mesmerizing orbs. He looked up to see Electra tentatively stepping into the clearing.
"I've been looking for you. You weren't at the gathering for the Expeditions. So I came looking for you." The tortoise-shell queen tentatively glanced from the marble in Pouncival's paws to his face. She cocked her head, a trace of worry reflected in her eyes.
Pouncival gave an indifferent shrug and kept his eyes glued to the shining marble. "Sorry Lectra. I didn't feel like going. You should probably go back to your partner, I'd only be a party-pooper." The young tom longed to share his feelings with the queenkit. He knew that out of the whole tribe, she would understand him, but he didn't want to depress her with his disheartening thoughts.
Electra bent over and placed an orange paw on top of the marble, captivating Pouncival's attention. "Well, I was worried when you didn't show up, and I actually don't have a partner." As Pouncival raised a skeptical eye towards Electra she continued. "No really, I don't. Cetty paired off with Tugger and Bomba (of course), Tumble ran off with Plato, and obviously Jem, Viki, and Misto made a group. And I mean I could have gone with any of them, but I wanted to make sure you were okay and I figured you'd need a partner too…" She trailed off as a feint blush spread across her face; Pouncival couldn't help but think that it was such an endearing sight.
"Oh…" Between Electra's pretty blush and his warring emotions, Pouncival took a moment to gather his thoughts. "I really wasn't planning on going…I don't see the point and I'm not going to pretend. We'll be long gone before the even Ball starts…"
Electra pulled her paw back and settled down next to Pouncival, picking up her own marble. "I mean I always enjoyed exploring with friends more than finding things anyways. And I dunno…maybe you don't need to find something for the ball. I was hoping to find something to always remind me of the tribe. Maybe you can too, or something else special and dear to you."
Silence pervaded the small clearing as Pouncival studiously examined the marble rolling back and forth between his paws. "Maybe…" He started to say slowly, as if contemplating each word. "Maybe there's something for both of us… and it's right here in the yard."
Electra cocked her head and turned her gaze to Pouncival. "What do you mean?"
Pouncival held his marble up between the two cats so that they could both be caught by its shine in the sun. "Well…the way I see it, if we're very careful with our claws, we can make holes in these marbles." The tom quickly held up his other paw, asking Electra to wait for him to finish. "We could make the holes and give them to every Jellicle in the tribe, then they could put them in their collars or wherever they want. That way we'll always be connected and remember the yard…"
Electra perked up as a smile took over her face and a giggle erupted. "And we'll always be able to recognize each other if we meet, no matter how much we may change."
Pouncival gave and enthusiastic nod. "And every summer, when the Jellicle Moon begins to pull on us, I plan on coming here. Well, not exactly here, but Rosshill Park a little distance off. And anyone who wants to ever meet up there can. Then we can catch up, and if-if anyone finds a new spot for the whole tribe, we can tell each other." Pouncival knew it was wishful and naive thinking, but he still needed something kittenish to hold on to, to keep him from losing his mind.
The young tom was thrilled when Electra didn't give him a reality check, but instead threw her arms around his neck, holding him close and nuzzling his cheek. "That's an amazing idea Pouncie! I don't know what to do first, go tell everyone or start work on those marbles!"
Pouncival laughed and hugged the queen back. Why did this little piece of heaven have to come when he had such little time left…? Well at least it happened. "We could work on the marbles now, then tell everyone when we give them the things."
Electra pulled back but never lost an inch of her clownish smile. "You're full of good ideas!" She purred as she deftly picked up the marble she had knocked out of his paw when she hugged him and eagerly placed it back in his paw. She quickly picked up her own and slowly began to rotate her claw in the top of the marble, making careful progress for a hole all the way through.