Tumblebrutus and Grumbuskin both stared at Growltiger as if they had misheard him.
"You have children?" said Tumble.
"Yes; a son and two daughters," Growltiger confirmed.
"Who's their mother?" inquired Grumbuskin.
"Me," Griddlebone answered simply.
"Captain…" said Grumbuskin, "You never told any member of the crew – not even me – that you had children."
"That was to protect them," Growltiger stated, "I have many enemies; so I kept my children a secret in order to hide them from those who wished to do me harm."
"But why are you looking for them?" asked Tumblebrutus.
"Because not long ago, they ran away," Griddlebone replied, looking down at the ground sadly, "And that's my fault."
"No, it is not," Growltiger assured her, putting his arm around her shoulders, "I should have been with you to care for them. I am the one to blame."
"You were only taking precautions to keep them safe," she responded, "I was just being downright overprotective."
"What exactly happened?" asked Tumblebrutus, "Why did they run away?"
Neither Growltiger nor Griddlebone answered him straight away. They were both contemplating how they should answer his question.
"We should probably start at the beginning of it all," Growltiger spoke at last.
He and Griddlebone kept their explanation brief, but covered the most important details regarding the main topic thoroughly.
Around five years earlier, Growltiger and Grumbuskin had enlisted themselves in the feline navy. The two of them managed to get assigned to the same commanding officer. As time passed, the two of them worked their way up the ranks. Before long, they had become independent, taken up piracy, and created their own crew.
In all that time, Growltiger and Griddlebone had been in contact with each other constantly. He had visited her at least once every week.
About thirty months earlier – halfway in-between the day Growltiger had joined the navy and the present day – Growltiger and Griddlebone shared a very passionate night with each other. Not long after that, Griddlebone discovered she was pregnant.
About two more months later, she had given birth to three kittens – a tom they named Dawlimer and two queens they named Scurtena and Bellazni.
After the kittens were born, Growltiger had left Grumbuskin in charge of the Demagogue for a while so that he could spend a few weeks with them and his mate.
However, it was right then that he realized that his family was one of his few weaknesses. If any of his enemies ever got to them, they could use them against him. So he decided that he had to protect them. But he could only accomplish this by staying away from them for great periods of time.
Growltiger explained his plan to Griddlebone. She was somewhat reluctant, but understood his concern. He continued to support her and keep in touch with her, but the length of time between his visits began to increase. Eventually, it got to the point where Growltiger just stopped visiting them. It was not because he was too tied up in his own affairs to spend time with his family; it was because he was too worried about the safety of his family to risk seeing them anymore.
Over time, the kittens were starting to become impatient when their mother would not tell them when their father was coming home. They knew very well what type of business he was involved in, but they did not see any reason for their father to neglect them. They finally concluded by themselves that he had abandoned them.
Their mother tried her best to convince them otherwise, but she had little success. In fact, they began to think that SHE had something to do with their father being away all the time.
Finally, Dawlimer, Scurtena, and Bellazni became so angry at their parents that they had decided to run away. This had happened just four months earlier. Griddlebone had not seen them since.
She contacted Growltiger and had a messenger inform him of what had happened. He immediately brought this to his attention. Griddlebone had explained her plan to him: She would begin a search for their children and give the news to anyone she and Growltiger could trust. They would set up a special, complex network to have them located and returned home safely.
When Griddlebone discovered that Growltiger was planning a meeting with Baltrow, she had contacted the elderly cat and arranged for him to speak with another cat. The other cat knew where to find the kittens, as well as who was looking out for them.
After this arrangement had been made, Growltiger and Griddlebone had decided that she would come on board the Demagogue so that she could explain the entire plan to him. They had also decided that once the kittens were found, the five of them would stay on board the Demagogue together. Growltiger had finally convinced himself that it was safe enough for them to live there with him.
"Now that we know that they are in Hampton, we simply need to wait until the time is right," Growltiger stated, "Then we can bring them home."
"'Wait until the time is right?'" repeated Tumblebrutus.
"More arrangements need to be made beforehand," Griddlebone elucidated, "We will handle this with the secret network we've established across the city."
"But before we do that, we have a more pressing matter to attend to," said Growltiger, "One of Genghis' top cats – Nihaar – managed track Baltrow to the rendezvous point. He ambushed us during the meeting. Baltrow died shortly after giving me the information."
"What exactly is the more pressing matter?" asked Griddlebone.
"We now have evidence that Genghis is stalking us," explained Grumbuskin, "We have to chase him and his goons off first. After that, we can organize a plan to bring your children home safely."
"A wise strategy, sir," commented Tumblebrutus, "How should we manage that?"
"First, I'll have Bill Bailey and Grumbuskin interrogate the Siamese tom we took prisoner this evening," stated Growltiger, "Odds are he won't speak, but it is worth trying. After that, I plan for us to send Genghis a little message of our own."
"How?" asked Tumble.
Growltiger grinned evilly and replied "We will assault one of his outposts along the river."
Tumblebrutus raised an eyebrow in interest. "Sir, forgive me for saying this; I know you are far more experienced than I at this job, but are you certain that is the wisest course of action to take?"
Growltiger slowly nodded and stated "Tumblebrutus, all pirates live by a simple rule: 'In time of war, after the first blow is delivered, never hesitate to retaliate with greater force. You must let your enemies know that you mean business.'"
Tumblebrutus could not argue with that logic.
"In fact, Tumblebrutus, I may have a role for you to play in the assault," explained Growltiger.
"Anything, sir," said Tumble, "As long as I don't have to… you know, shed some blood of others."
"No, no, it's nothing like that," Growltiger assured him, "It's much less violent than that, but more dangerous and tactical."
"Alright," Tumble agreed, "Tell me what you want me to do."
"One step at a time, Tumble," said Growltiger, "First, we need to put the plan together and decide who will be in the assault party. Then we will assign roles. Until then, I want you to keep guarding the bridge."
"Yes, sir," said Tumblebrutus.
"Very good," Growltiger grinned again, "You are dismissed."
Tumblebrutus saluted his Captain and left the Officer's Lounge.
Back the Jellicle Junkyard, Jemima was sitting by herself on top of the TSE-1. Victoria, Etcetera, and Electra were spending some time around Rum Tum Tugger in the center of the clearing. Normally, Jemima would happily join her friends, but she had something else on her mind.
She still could not figure out what exactly Tumblebrutus had been planning on telling her the other night. He actually seemed to be avoiding her ever since then. She had asked around to see if anybody else had any idea about what Tumblebrutus was going through, but it seemed no one had the faintest idea.
However, just an hour earlier, Exotica had told Jemima about the other night. She and Tugger had been spending some time together in his den when Tumblebrutus had knocked on the door. When Tugger came back to Exotica, he happened to mention that Tumble had asked him for some advice on how to manage a relationship with a queen.
Jemima noted that this took place just before Tumble had come to speak with her. As she reflected on this matter, she started to develop a few theories about Tumble's behavior.
She decided that the only way she could acquire the truth was to speak with Tugger directly.
She got up and went to the center of the clearing. Tugger saw her approaching and smiled at her.
"Good evening, Jemima," he greeted her warmly, "Come to join in the fun?"
"Well, um…" she began, "Tugger, can I talk to you alone for a moment?"
"About what?" he asked.
"It's a personal matter regarding Tumblebrutus," Jemima told him, "I fell there is something you know that I also need to know."
"Okay," Tugger agreed.
Etcetera, Electra, and Victoria complied with Jemima's request. They went to the side of the clearing to let her talk with Tugger privately.
"So, what did you want to know?" he asked her.
"Tugger, the other night, Tumble approached me and talked to me about our friendship with each other," she explained, "He pointed out how we've been best friends for a long time, but he wanted 'more than friends.' When I asked him to be more specific, he got very nervous. Before long, he abruptly ended the conversation and ran off. He and I have barely spoken since then."
"Why are you telling me this?" inquired Tugger.
"Exotica told me that you had spoken with Tumblebrutus only a few minutes earlier," Jemima answered, "She told me that he had asked you how to start a certain type of relationship with a queen. So, I was wondering if you knew anything more about this?"
Tugger was surprised to hear this; Tumblebrutus had not even started his relationship with Jemima yet!
"I know precisely what is going on," he told her.
"What?" she asked him, "What does this all mean?"
Tugger kneeled down and stroked Jemima kindly on the cheek. He explained "Jem, it's actually quite obvious when you think about it. Tumblebrutus loves you."
Jemima stood still and took these words in carefully. She looked up at Tugger and said "He… he does?"
He nodded with a smile on his face and replied "Of course he does. When he asked me for relationship advice, he was asking for how to start a serious relationship with a queen. That queen was you."
"So, you are saying…" she began.
"When Tumblebrutus spoke to you about being more than best friends, he was trying to ask you to be his future mate," Tugger confirmed.
A merry smile slowly crossed Jemima's face. But something was still bothering her. "If that is the case, why did he run off?"
Tugger shook his head and responded "I think his anxiety and nervousness got the better of him. He was probably worried that you would refuse his offer."
"How could I refuse something like that from him!" she stated, "Surely he knows that I care for him as much as he cares for me."
"When he gets home, I suggest that you go speak to him about this," Tugger advised her, "Then you can set everything straight with him."
Jemima smiled again and said "Thank you, Tugger. Wait… where is he, anyway?"
"I think he got a job in the city," Tugger clarified, "He may not be back until around midnight or later."
"What kind of job?" she asked.
"Beats me," said Tugger, "The only ones who know are Coricopat and Tantomile. In fact, the only reason I know of it is because I overheard Tumble talking to them about it this morning."
"Well, as soon as he gets back – if not tomorrow morning – I'll talk to him," Jemima told the Maine Coon.
Tugger continued smiling and kindly stroked her cheek again.
"You're a good kit, Jem," he told her, "You deserve a good tom like Tumble. And he deserves a good queen like you."
She blushed and looked away.
