Hey guys! Hope I'm not too late updating for you. We're starting to get close to where I've written ahead, so updates may be a little slower. I'm still one chapter ahead *cue Aladdin* so there's no need to panic yet, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.
To my reviewers! Evelyn Knight: I'm really glad you enjoyed the chapter. There's definitely more to Grizabella than what brief glimpses we're shown in the movie/musical. I had fun digging through all the theories, and I've seen variations of yours among them. I'm glad you liked my inclusion of Exotica. She was a character I didn't know existed until I started researching the cats and the Junkyard, and I just had to include her. :)
HaveYouBeenAnAlumnus: Love your username by the way. Yeah, I'm trying to avoid blowing their minds too much yet, but things are brewing, so I'm not sure how long I'll be able to avoid that.
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! A lot more gets revealed and things start getting interesting as we lead up to the ball. ;) I look forward to hearing what you think in the reviews.
- Raven
The first thing I noticed when I made it back to the den I shared with the twins, was that both Coricopat and Tantomile were waiting for me outside, equally grim expressions on their faces. I paused, then continued up the path towards Tantomile, who stepped aside to allow me in the door, but the look on her face had me worried.
"I feel like a teenager getting caught sneaking into the house after a party," I tried joking as I stood in the kitchen, a nervous chuckle bubbling in my throat.
"Persephone, we need to talk," Tantomile said in response, and I shifted anxiously before sitting down in the chair she motioned to.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" I asked quietly sinking slightly in my seat.
"No," Tantomile said, but her tone didn't quite convince me, and Cori was silent as usual, but his arms were crossed, and his silence was more solemn than his usual thoughtful silence.
"I just wanted to try and figure out what exactly it was you were planning on doing back there in the clearing," Tantomile continued, and I felt my guard start to rise instinctively, my previous irritation slowly returning.
"I wasn't really planning anything," I said carefully. "I…I don't know, I just felt bad," I finished lamely, and I could see Coricopat's expression turn slightly skeptical, but he wasn't frowning so much, and I was grateful at least for that. Tantomile was silent as she stared at me, and I wondered if she was trying to gauge my intentions by reading my thoughts. I honestly wasn't even sure what my intentions had been; I had thought that if I had reached out to her, if I had touched her and accepted her, then the others would too, but I realized now that it wouldn't be that easy.
"No, it wouldn't," Tantomile said sternly, but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn't mad anymore, and I deflated a little, relieved.
"You have to understand, Persephone," Coricopat broke in quietly. "Things in the Junkyard are a little strained. We are trying, but we aren't perfect. But you have to understand that things work the way they do for a reason. You might not understand it now, but maybe in time."
He had sounded so certain, so sure of himself, and of me. I could try to understand, the same way they could try, but in the end, we both failed. I sighed to myself, frustrated, and unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in the pile of blankets. Finally, I flung them off of me, stretching quickly and creeping out of the spare room of the twins' den. I slipped out the door and walked into the yard, then broke into a run once I had made it a few feet away from the door.
I ran to the other side of the Junkyard, past the 'alley' where I had been confronted by Bombalurina, until I found myself at the place where I had found Exotica earlier that day. It wasn't hard to make out in the dark, but I still found myself squinting a little to try and make out her form among the shadows. There was nothing there, and yet when I turned around to go back I heard her voice behind me.
"Looking for something?"
I whirled around on my paws, almost tripping, and heard her laugh softly. There was a shift of movement, and two eyes peered at me from a hollow spot inside a barrel.
"Exotica," I gasped, placing a paw on my chest. "You know we really should put a bell on you or something, so you can't keep sneaking up on people like that."
Her eyes flickered, and I wondered if I had accidentally insulted her, but then she hummed, and I realized she was amused, or maybe thoughtful.
"What is it you were looking for?" She asked, sliding over, and I crawled into the barrel beside her, tucking myself in tight so I wouldn't bump her.
"I was looking for you," I admitted. "But also, I guess, just looking for answers."
"Oh?" She said, and I could feel her eyes searching me, finding questions I didn't know I had. "This is about Grizabella."
It wasn't a question, but not quite a statement, either. I shrugged a little, my tail twitching behind me. "Well, yes. But also…other things." I trailed off vaguely, not wanting to bring up what I knew was a little more than just a sore subject.
She stared at me then, and I shifted under the intensity of her gaze.
"Persephone," she finally said, and I looked up at her. "Can I show you something?"
I nodded, albeit a little warily, and she came closer each took a hold of one of my paws, her eyes closing as she concentrated on something I couldn't comprehend. I decided after a moment to close my eyes too, and when I opened them again, I was standing in the clearing of the Junkyard, right in the middle of a circle of kittens.
They ranged in size, age and color, and I guessed that some were about the human equivalent of 12 or 13, while some of the smaller ones were still young; maybe 5 or 6 in human years. I spotted two of the older kittens, black with white hatch markings, and instantly stepped closer. "Cori? Tanto?"
They didn't answer, but I heard Exotica's voice in my ear. "You're only here to observe, Persephone."
I turned, but couldn't see her, though I hadn't really expected to.
"What game are we going to play?" Coricopat asked, and I turned back to see him leaning forward a little in anticipation, Tantomile copying his movement beside him.
"We've been standing here forever and still no one can make up their mind," she said, looking around the circle.
I followed her gaze, walking around and laughing a little as I recognized the younger versions of the Cats I knew and loved. Demeter and Bomba also stood side by side on the opposite half of the circle. Their red and white fur was clear of any blemishes or scratches, and it was strange for me to see them without their iconic hatch marks.
"I voted we play tag," a young male spoke up smoothly, and I turned to see a sleek black Tom-kit, the smallest hints of a spotted mane ruffling around his ears.
Demeter rolled her eyes, huffing in annoyance. "You always want to play tag."
"Well, I am the fastest runner," Tugger boasted unabashedly, drawing himself up proudly and then stumbling as it seemed he was suddenly pushed. The other kittens chuckled, but Tugger scowled and shoved the smoky striped Tom beside him.
"Not funny, Munkus!" he hissed, as the other kit also tripped.
"I didn't do anything!" Munkustrap protested hotly, shoving Tugger back. Demeter stepped gracefully out of the way as the two boys tumbled over each other, hissing and batting with sheathed paws. The circle split to allow them to break through and continue wrestling in a less crowded area of the clearing, then reformed into a smaller shape.
"Ok, so they're out," another kitten spoke up, brushing a tuft of fur out of his eyes, one of which was spotted. "We have a vote for hide and seek, and for tag…."
"And freeze tag!" A pale striped Queen-kit cut in, glaring at Tumblebrutus (or was it Pouncival? I couldn't tell.)
"Freeze tag counts as tag, Electra," he sighed, shaking his head. "And anyway…"
"We'll be standing here all day if you don't decide soon," a new voice spoke up, causing Tumble/Pouncival to throw his hands up in exasperation at being interrupted again. Then his frustration turned to anger as he glared at the shape slinking shyly into the group.
He was about as old as Munkustrap, still an adolescent, but there was no mistaking the violent red and orange fur, or miss the gleam in emerald green eyes, a smile hanging on the edge of his lips. "I say we compromise and play hide-and-seek-tag."
"No one asked you!" Tumble/Pouncival snapped, at the same time Electra asked, "What's that?"
"It's simple, really," Macavity said, eloquent even in his youth. "Someone is chosen to count, and they're the 'Seekers.' Everyone else hides, and when the time is up, the Seeker tries to find them. If the Seeker finds you, you run to the base and they try and tag you. If they do manage to tag you, then you have to freeze where you are until someone else comes and tags you again to unfreeze you."
He glanced around the circle expectantly, and I could see the others considering it. "How do you win?" Demeter asked, and I noticed the way she specifically seemed to be asking him how he would win.
Macavity smiled again, and Demeter scowled. "If everyone is tagged, then the Seeker wins. But if no one can be found or tagged, then everyone who was hiding wins."
"What do you think, Pounce?" Tugger asked, brushing himself off as he came back to join the circle, Munkustrap trailing not too far behind.
I nodded to myself as my confusion was finally cleared up, and looked to Pouncival to see what he would decide. He frowned, his small eyes narrow as he looked at Macavity, who widened his own eyes and lifted his brows in a seemingly innocent expression.
"Fine," Pouncival finally spat out. "But you get to Seek." He poked Macavity hard in the chest, causing him to step back to avoid falling, and I realized with surprise that Macavity was actually shorter than Pouncival, shorter than most of the kittens, in fact. The other kittens scattered, though Coricopat and Tantomile stayed and waited until Macavity had covered his eyes before backing away quietly.
I wanted to stay and see what Macavity did, but I felt a tugging in my gut as the kittens went further away, and Exotica's voice spoke in my ear. "You're linked to them, Persephone. You see what they did, which means you have to stay with them."
I felt a little disappointed, but I followed after the twins anyway, dropping to all fours to run alongside them. I heard Macavity call ready-or-not, and looking over my shoulder, I saw him start to sprint after us. Coricopat saw him too, and he nudged Tantomile's shoulder.
"He's coming!" he cried, trying to urge her on faster. "We have to…"
But I never found out what it was they had to do, because Macavity leaped, paws extended, grabbing both twins by the tail and freezing them instantly where they were. The twins cried out in surprise, but they didn't stumble and fall as I expected them to. They just froze, and I realized as Macavity strolled around to face them with a cheeky smile that that was his plan. Coricopat growled, and Tantomile hissed at him, and I knew if she had been able to move she would have smacked the smile right off him.
"That's cheating!" she hissed, but Macavity just shrugged.
"We never said no magic, and I couldn't take a chance, you see."
He dropped to all four feet and ran off, laughing in the face of their curses. "Don't worry!" he called back over his shoulder. "It's only temporary; you'll unfreeze in a bit!"
"How kind of him to only make it temporary," Coricopat muttered, and Tantomile grimaced.
"It could have been worse," she allowed, but Coricopat shushed her.
"You'll jinx it!" he said, and they both fell silent. I could hear laughing and squealing from the clearing behind us, then crying and cursing as the others were tagged and realized the trick. A black streak passed in front of my eyes, then faltered and came back.
"Cori? Tanto?"
"Tugger!" Tantomile cried, genuinely delighted to see him for what I'm sure must have been the first time in her life. "Quick, unfreeze us!"
Tugger crept cautiously forward, then stood, furrowing his brows as he stared at them hovering an inch above the ground, paws splayed out in the middle of a run. "How are you doing that?" he sounded terrified and impressed all at once.
"We're not," Coricopat grumbled. "Macavity tricked us; he's actually freezing when he tags, it's not just the game."
"So how do I unfreeze you?" Tugger cocked his head, uncertainty on his face.
"Just tag us again, I don't think he would have been that mean to make it so we couldn't be unfrozen again."
Tugger nodded, and carefully tapped Tantomile's shoulder. She dropped lightly onto her feet, her tail twitching. He did the same to Coricopat, and all three cats sighed in relief as they looked at each other.
"Who else is left?" Coricopat asked him, once the danger of being frozen had passed.
"I think it's just me, Munkus and Deme," he said. "Macavity found my hiding spot, but he wasn't fast enough to tag me and I got away."
The twins exchanged a look at Tugger's words, standing in unison and causing Tugger to do the same. "We have to find and unfreeze everyone else," Coricopat said, and Tugger nodded anxiously.
"I saw them as I was running. I didn't think to unfreeze them; I was kind of trying to save myself." He admitted this a little sheepishly, fluffing his mane in embarrassment. "But now that I know, I'll definitely try…"
"Wait," Tantomile said sharply, holding out a hand to stop him, her head turning to the right and ears pricked smartly forward.
"Tanto, what?" Cori began, but then he too stiffened, following her gaze. Their eyes seemed to lose focus, and Tugger shifted uneasily before the twins suddenly spoke up, their voices echoing each other in urgency.
"Fire."
The one word made Tugger's fur stand on end, and the twins blinked, staring at what was now unmistakably a thick plume of black smoke, coming from somewhere beyond the clearing.
"Isn't that…?"
"Jellylorum's Den!" Tantomile finished for her brother, and without another word, all three kittens were off, sprinting as fast as they could towards the smoke. I followed, catching up and then overtaking them within a minute. I slowed as I neared the fire, letting them pass me, blinking the sting of ash from my eyes and trying not to gag as stray wisps of smoke entered my mouth.
"Munkus, you're ok!" Tugger cried in relief, launching himself at the grey Tom-kit, who stood just outside the ring of adults. Everyone had gathered; Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots, Jellylorum and a slightly younger (but still aged) Gus, and…I had to blink to make sure it really was her, Grizabella: young and considerably less worn than I had last seen her. She was right there in the midst of the group, and though there were a few stray glances in her direction, they weren't hostile.
The adults were all moving, shifting and passing pails and cups and anything that would hold water back and forth, slowly and painstakingly putting out the flames. All the kittens from the clearing were present, except for Macavity and Demeter, and Bomba was being held back by Pouncival and Munkustrap, preventing her from running into the burning den to look for her.
It was only then that I realized someone was crying, harsh screams and broken sobs coming from past the ring of adults. I felt a sick feeling settle in my stomach when Macavity's name was hissed and shouted out.
"What happened?" Etcetera was whining, Electra trying to comfort her as best she could. "How did the fire start?"
Munkustrap's eyes were hard when Bomba finally gave up and fell to her knees, though she still strained to see what was happening. "Macavity did it," he said darkly, and a stunned sort of silence went through the group of kittens. I noticed the adults closest to us stiffened, and Grizabella's ears went back against her head, though she kept her eyes on the center of the group, which was shifting to reveal two ash covered and smoking forms.
"Demeter!" Bomba screamed, launching into an impossible run, her arms wrapping around the smaller Queen, paws searching for any signs of damage.
"She's fine, lass," Skimbleshanks said gently, trying to usher her away from the still smoking wreckage of the den. "Just a little shaken, but she's fine."
The sobs still hadn't stopped, and I realized now that they were coming from the other trembling form, who I knew without a doubt must be Macavity, and was only confirmed when his name was hissed from one of the adults. Macavity knelt in a pile of ash, cradling his paws to his chest and whimpering, his lips moving as he tried to speak up, but the only thing that came out were the broken cries I had heard before.
"What happened?" Jennyanydots asked, and though her eyes were on Macavity, I realized she was asking Demeter when the Queen-kit answered.
"I don't know," her voice was hoarse from the smoke and muffled by her sister's grip on her. "We were playing tag and…and…" her gaze flicked briefly to Macavity before darting away again. "I don't know."
The adults shifted and split further, bringing the other kittens into the group, hoping for clarification. The twins exchanged another look, and Tantomile shook her head anxiously, glancing at the trembling form of Macavity. Jenny caught the look and repeated her question to them, and Coricopat frowned a little before answering carefully.
"We were playing freeze tag," he began, then hesitated before continuing. "We were running, and Macavity came after us because we were the last to leave, and not fast enough to avoid being tagged." He stopped again, unsure how to continue, and Tugger pushed his way forward, explaining for him.
"I found them frozen, but they were really frozen, and couldn't move, and we realized that Macavity had tricked us and was using his magic to make everyone freeze for real when he tagged them."
Eyes narrowed and ears flattened as the adults absorbed the information, but a soft whimper from the kitten in question drew their attention.
"It was…was just a game…I didn't mean…." He broke off with another muffled sob, clutching his paws even tighter to his chest, his own ears falling as he took in the anger and hatred all around him.
"I always knew there was something…" Jellylorum hissed darkly, but was cut off at a soft word from Gus.
I glanced over at her, feeling a twinge of anger myself. I looked behind me at the huddle of kittens, all of whom were exchanging anxious glances, as well as nudging and whispering, but no one was making any move to say or do anything in his defense.
"What do you propose we do?" Skimbleshanks asked softly, though his voice held an edge as he glanced over at Macavity.
"Well that's obvious, isn't it?" Jellylorum answered, her eyes blazing with an intensity that matched the fire that engulfed her house.
"What are you saying?" Gus asked, and I couldn't tell if he was asking genuinely, or from a lack of hearing.
"I think you know," she said, not answering him so much as everyone else, her face pinched and cold as she looked around the clearing at the other adults.
"We can't," Skimble said, shock evident in his face and voice.
"Jell, he's just a kitten," Jenny gasped, a paw flying up to cover her mouth.
"No," she replied. "He's not. He's..."
"It was an accident," Gus tried again to join the conversation, but Jellylorum cut down his response too.
"And what if I or any of the others had been in there? What if one of my kittens, or yours, Jenny, had been playing nearby when the den had gone up?"
Jenny worked her mouth a few times, at a loss for what to say, and Jellylorum nodded a bit, a vindictive sort of look on her face. The adults turned almost as one to face the young kitten, though Skimbleshanks turned away, shooing and guiding the other kittens away from the scene, muttering in a grieved undertone how someone would have to tell Old Deuteronomy.
My stomach lurched in fear, and Macavity whimpered as they closed around him. Then an orange streak darted forward, hissing loudly and placing itself between Macavtiy and the furious adults. The orange tabby hissed again, crouching down and placing a paw on Macavity's shoulder, pushing him back and shielding him from view.
"No one touches him!"
"Grizabella, what-?" I heard someone gasp, but she only growled in response, ears pinning back against her head as she shifted to conceal Macavity even further.
"No one. Touches. Him." Her voice was low with intensity, and caused a few of the cats to pause, if only for a moment. Even Skimbleshanks had stopped in the middle of herding the kittens away, and Demeter's eyes were wide with fear as she stared over her shoulder at Macavity.
Then the spell was broken, and the adults surged forward once more, though Grizabella hissed and swiped at anyone who came close enough. But they were more than her, and finally she turned, her teeth closing gently around the scruff of Macavity's neck, and sprinted out of the clearing and towards the other side of the Junkyard. No one followed them, but she ran anyway, and disappeared from view in a matter of seconds, Macavity bouncing lightly against her chest as she went.
"Follow her," Exotica whispered in my ear, and I jumped, having almost forgotten that she was there. I dropped to all four feet, then hesitated, glancing back over my shoulder at the adults. I turned just in time to see Skimbleshanks sprinting towards the back of the yard where a brick wall loomed. He leapt over it and was gone, and I turned back to chase after Grizabella.
I ran in the same direction she had, ducking and weaving through the towers and piles of trash. Eventually, the piles grew closer together, and I pricked my ears forward, straining to hear over my ragged breathing. A soft scrambling sound, along with a whimper met my ears, and I knew I was going the right way. I caught a flash of orange fur, and ran out into a clearing just in time to see Grizabella crawling into a thick metal pipe.
I followed, blinking when something heavy swatted my face, then relaxed when I realized it was just a curtain. I exited the pipe and found myself in a large circular den. It was warm, with a slightly spiced smell which reminded me of gingerbread and the holidays. The room was sparsely decorated, with only two tables in the main part of the den; one large one shoved along the farthest wall, and a smaller round one which Grizabella was placing Macavity down on as I entered. The walls weren't painted, but pictures hung from the walls, all of them landscapes, and all of them places I had never seen before.
Another whimper from Macavity drew my attention, and I turned to see Grizabella fussing over him by the table. She said something to him, her voice too low for me to hear, but he nodded, and her ears went back. She darted from the room and returned moments later with a large plastic box, which she placed down on the table beside him with a thump. She opened it and emptied piles of bandages and tubs of some kind of medicine onto the table beside him.
"Grizzle," Macavity whispered into the silence, wringing his paws anxiously. "Am I a monster?"
Grizabella froze, turning sharply from the medicine to look at him. "Who told you that you are?"
"No one," he said quickly, but she gave him a stern look and he dropped his head, a trace of hurt in his voice as he whispered, "Everyone."
She sighed, and came over to him, kneeling down so she was level with him. "Look at me, darling."
He sniffed and did the opposite, lowering his head even further. She took his face gently in her paws and raised it to look in his eyes.
"You are not a monster, Macavity," she said firmly. "And anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong."
"But Jellylorum's den…" he began, then broke off, wringing his paws anxiously before wincing in pain.
Grizabella took hold of his paws and examined them closely before opening one of the jars and slathering a thick cream that smelled strongly of mint all over them. When they were sufficiently covered, she closed the jar and began to bind them in heavy white bandages, her paws gentle and nimble as she worked.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice firm but not harsh. He shifted anxiously, making to wring his paws again but was prevented by her own paws, which tied off the strip of the bandages before moving to clean up the medicine.
"It was an accident," he said again, his voice so low I could barely hear. Grizabella finished cleaning up and sat next to him on the table, placing an arm around his shoulders reassuringly.
"We were playing," he said softly, his eyes growing distant as he spoke. "And I was making everyone freeze. I didn't mean anything by it, I just…wanted to try…and I thought it would be funny to see their faces."
"But they didn't think it was funny, Mac," Grizabella said, her voice soft but stern. "It scared them, because they didn't know it was a game. They thought…"
"That I'm a monster," he finished, and she bristled.
"Stop that." She turned to face him, her eyes sharp. "You are not a monster."
"But they think so," he insisted. "And Demeter thinks so, too."
"Demeter?" Grizabella repeated, confusion entering her features before clarifying. "I see."
I didn't, not quite, but Macavity frowned at the look she gave him before continuing, rubbing the bandages nervously.
"We were the only ones left, I think. Maybe Tugger was too, and Munkustrap, but I didn't know that at first. It was just me and Demeter. I was going to freeze her too, but then I thought instead…if it was just us…." His voice trailed off again as Grizabella gave him another stern look.
"Macavity," she said slowly, her voice echoing the sternness of her eyes.
"I asked!" he protested, catching her expression. "I did ask! I just…didn't think she'd say no."
"And let me guess, you tried anyway?" She said knowingly, and Macavity shrunk a little, embarrassed and hurt as he nodded.
"She got mad. Then I got mad, and I tried to freeze her but she was already running away, so then I reached out and…and then the fire." His face fell, and so did Grizabella's, her grip tightening around his shoulder before falling away.
"I didn't mean to," he whispered again, dejected. "It just…I can't control it, sometimes, but I've never made more than sparks or little flames. But this time…."
"You're just lucky no one got hurt," Grizabella scolded him, standing from the table to face him.
"I know," he said quietly, sniffing again and dropping his head.
"And you can't just force someone to like you," she added, glaring at him slightly. "Especially not with magic."
He nodded glumly, rubbing his paws across his eyes harshly. "I know, Grizzle. I'm sorry."
She sighed, and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "It's not me you should be apologizing to."
He nodded against her chest, bringing his own, smaller arms to wrap around her as best her could. "I'll apologize to Deme as soon as I see her."
"And you'll need to apologize to Jellylorum as well," she said. Macavity stiffened against her and tried to pull away, but she refused to let him, and instead gripped him a little tighter.
"But she hates me!" he whimpered into her fur, his voice tight with fear. "And I burned her den, and…and…"
She shushed him, squeezing his shoulder gently with her paw. "It will be alright, Mac, I promise," she whispered. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
He was silent, and she lowered her head to rub it gently against his. "You know I won't, Mac. No one is going to hurt you."
Macavity nodded, raising his face to hers and purring softly as he rubbed against her. She smiled, and hummed under her breath to calm him. They settled into a comfortable silence, each content in the other, if only for the moment. Then Macavity's ears went back suddenly, and Grizabella turned quickly, her fur ruffling as she faced the door. A large Tom was standing in the entrance, and I felt a surge of fear before I recognized the smoky fur and dark stripes.
"Deuteronomy." Grizabella relaxed, though Macavity grew even tenser as he stepped fully into the den.
"Grizzle," he acknowledged with a bow of his head. His voice was full of grief, his expression pained as he turned to the kitten now trembling in her arms. "Macavity."
He opened his mouth to say something more, but I couldn't hear what it was. Macavity's eyes grew wide, and Grizabella looked like she was hissing. Or yelling. The room spun suddenly, and I blinked as dizziness made me sway on my feet. Fog filled my head, blurring the scene and making everything dim, but I still heard Macavity's voice, full of hurt and pain and fear as he screamed.
"You promised! You promised me!"
"Macavity!" Grizabella's voice answered, equally pained.
"I hate you!"
There was another scream, an endless, wordless noise of anger and pain, and then it all went dark, a curtain of fog descending and taking it all away.
When my head cleared and my eyes opened again, I was back in the barrel with Exotica, who was staring at me with an unreadable expression on her face.
"I…What was that?" I gasped, shifting a bit to restore feeling to my feet.
"A memory," she answered quietly, her voice distant, as though she were still remembering it herself. "A defining moment."
"I got that, but exactly…"
"What did you see?" Exotica cut me off, her voice firm but not harsh.
I blinked, then frowned, hearing it all echoing back in my head. "Macavity and Grizabella…." I began, still stunned.
"No, go back further," she urged. "The kittens; what did you notice about them?"
"Uh…they couldn't decide on a game?"
She gave me a look, and I huffed a little, knowing that wasn't what she wanted to hear. I closed my eyes again, trying to put myself back in the moment.
"I noticed when Tugger and Munkustrap were fighting. Tugger was pushed, and thought it was his fault. But I noticed how Munkustrap didn't move. None of the kittens moved."
"Except…" she prompted, and my brow furrowed as I thought.
"Macavity," I whispered, opening my eyes again. "When he came in."
She hummed in approval. "A bit of an antagonist even then," she mused quietly, a sad sort of smile playing at her lips. "What else did you notice?"
"Demeter and Bomba," I said instantly. "They weren't…I mean, they didn't have any…" I faltered, unsure how to say they hadn't had any marks without bringing up a touchy subject.
"Yes," Exotica said, hearing and understanding my hesitance, her bitter-sweet smile growing a little. "And what else?"
"Macavity was very interested in Demeter; trying to impress her, or…something. Is that what caused the fire?"
"What did you notice about the adults?" Exotica asked, ignoring my question.
I frowned, but thought anyway. "They were quick to turn on Macavity, as if without being told they knew it had something to do with him."
"What, specifically, about him?" She pressed, and I tried to think.
"His magic," the realization hit me, and she nodded, her lips pressed tightly together.
"It was new to us, then. Even the twins hadn't come into their magic fully, so there weren't very many who understood how it worked."
"But what about Mistofolees?" I asked, confused. "Didn't he have magic too?"
"This was before Mistofolees," Exotica explained patiently. "And it was just as complicated with him, if not more so, considering the circumstances."
I wanted to ask what circumstances, but I decided to file it away for later, and instead asked, "If Cori and Tanto had their magic, too, what was so different or upsetting about Macavity's magic?"
"It was destructive," Exotica said plainly. "The twins' magic dealt more with the mind; the spiritual, feeling side of things. Macavity didn't just control fire, he was fire, and fire is always destructive."
I thought for a moment, then said quietly, "Fire can also be cleansing. I mean, it can be…healing, sort of. In its own way."
"It can be," she agreed. "But it wasn't. He wasn't."
He didn't get a chance to be, I thought, then paused. I'm defending him…why am I defending him? How did that happen?
"I showed you these things, Persephone," Exotica said, breaking into my thoughts. "So you could understand that just because a thing seems unassuming or harmless, does not always mean it will remain that way. Just because something has the potential for good, does not mean it doesn't also have the potential for something else."
"I understand," I said, nodding my head a little. "Really, I do, but…I don't know, I just…there has to be more."
"More?"
"To the story," I insisted. "It can't just end there. There has to be some sort of…reason, or explanation or something."
Exotica smiled at me, but it was a sad sort of smile. "Of course there is more, to all sides of the story there is more, but I showed you that particular story for a reason. Now you must learn what it is."
"But Exotica, I…!" I tried to protest, turning to her, only to find the barrel empty. "Exotica?"
Silence. Darkness.
I sighed, resting my head in my paws.
"I'm going to find you a bell tomorrow," I vowed to the open air. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I heard a quiet laugh, but it dulled in comparison to the roaring laughter that quickly rose up to overtake it, drowning everything in searing amusement.
