Disclaimer: I don't own Cats. I only own the made up characters.

Note: Sorry it took me awhile to update. It's been crazy hot where I live, and my boyfriend says not to be on the computer that much so it doesn't fry. I keep trying though. ^^

Chapter 10:

"You disappoint me." Adulphus growled to his mate. He was furious that they were being watched now. It would be next to impossible to carry out their plan now. He sometimes wondered how he got stuck with such a stupid mate, but then again, she proved useful more often than not. "I hope somewhere inside that brain of yours is something smart so we can do things right."

At the moment, the two of them were sitting in a boat on top of a garbage pile in a far corner of the junk yard. It was a corner none of the others really went, but Adulphus and Lunstria were still within eyesight of the rest of the tribe. Lunstria was sitting in front of him, her head bowed, and she wore a depressed expression. It only served to anger him more.

"I'm sorry love, I wasn't thinking. I was only trying to do what you asked me to, which was try and get close to her." Lunstria spoke barely above a whisper. It was obvious she was guilty. Adulphus wasn't ready to stop berating her though.

"Well, you can think, can't you? Because I'm going to need you to be smart for me when she has her stupid little kittens." Adulphus still felt angry, and felt self satisfaction when it came out in his voice. "Remember, we only need one to raise as our own. The stupid tribe will never find the kitten." Adulphus was pleased with his plan, even if Lunstria wasn't. He didn't care what she wanted.

"I can do that." Lunstria whispered. "I promise not to let you down." She took in a deep breath and forced a smile on her face as she looked up at him. "I love you. I always do as you say."

"Well, you carry out my plans in stupid ways." Adulphus snapped. "We always get into trouble." He was done now. Reaching out a paw, he scratched her behind her right ear. "Nevermind that now." He said, speaking softer. "We have time yet. In the meantime, we can still try to win their trust back. It won't be that hard." Adulphus smiled kindly as Lunstria purred.

The damage seemed to be done now. As Adulphus looked out at the tribe, he could see some of them leaving, and the rest were laying about waiting for the night to come. That was when they really came alive, even if it wasn't a ball. It was rather intriguing to watch. This was the first cat tribe that Adulphus had come across that danced at all. The others boasted about their talents, but never went out of their way to prove said talents. Even Adulphus was silently surprised to see how talented the Jellicle tribe was. Singing, dancing, and a close group of friends. They were also the first tribe to immediately distrust outsiders.

"You may go." Adulphus said suddenly to Lunstria. "I want to think for awhile. Go mingle." He smiled at her. With a cheerful mew, she leaped down, albeit not very gracefully, and landed at the bottom of the trash heap with a thud he could hear from the top. He watched as she immediately bounded over to where Bombalurina and Demeter were sitting. Adulphus began thinking about how to take care of the rest of the tribe. It would be too much of a hassle to drug all of them. But what about an army of Pollicles? Surely that would create enough chaos so that Lunstria could snab a kitten and leave quickly while the parents were soundly asleep. Adulphus smiled to himself. It was the perfect plan. The only problem, he had no idea where to gather enough Pollicles to put his plan into action. That in itself would take some planning.

"I'm sorry Twinkie, but Quaxo said you can't see Blaise anymore," Demeter said, sounding annoyed. "Blaise is in enough trouble without you causing more of it." She was blocking Twinkie's way to Blaise's den. Twinkie shrunk back, trying not to look horribly guilty.

"I never meant to get her into trouble," Twinkie whispered. "I just wanted to try and make friends with her. She seemed lonely." Her pleading eyes bore into Demeter's, who only turned away. It would anger Quaxo even further if she went against his wishes.

"You can't. Quaxo won't allow it, and I doubt Munkustrap would either. I don't know if you've noticed, but those two toms don't like you or your mate. They are both under the assumption that you're out to cause trouble, and it would serve no purpose to go around looking for it. You're not to go near Blaise or her den. I'm sorry." Demeter tried to push Twinkie back, and ended up looking around for help. Twinkie was obviously not budging.

"Look, can't I just say I'm sorry?" Twinkie demanded. "Besides, why are you lot telling Blaise what to do? I thought she was allowed to make her own choices." Twinkie winced when she realized she was going a bit too far.

"For one, we're all very protective of Blaise, for reasons you don't need to know about. For two, Blaise agreed to stay away from you. It appears her loyalty to her mate is more important. I couldn't imagine why." Twinkie heard the sarcasm dripping from Demeter's voice. She no longer felt guilty, she now felt desperate. If she couldn't go near Blaise, there was no way to carry out the plan. Adulphus would be furious. There was no time to wonder what sort of punishment he would deal to her, but Twinkie would have to act fast.

Sighing, she backed up. She was not going to win this argument by force. "I'm sorry. I'm just jumpy now. I guess I was excited when I thought I had a new friend. She said she was an outcast, and I thought it was nice to have someone to relate to." Twinkie put on what she hoped was an apologetic smile. Demeter, after a moment's hesitation, returned the smile.

"I can see where you're coming from." Demeter said. "It would be nice to talk to someone with similar interests, but I still can't let you by, I'm sorry."

"I understand. Can you at least tell Blaise Lunstria stopped by to say sorry?"

"...Excuse me?" Demeter was looking appalled. "Tell her who stopped by?"

"Twinkie. Tell her Twinkie stopped by." Twinkie was horrified by her mistake. She shook her head and forced a grin onto her face, as if it was a simple mistake anyone could make.

"You said Lunstria." Demeter pointed a claw at her, her eyes wide. Damn her, she was a smart one. It seemed almost nothing got passed Demeter. Lunstria cursed silently.

"No I didn't."

"Your name's not Twinkie." Demeter's voice was rising. Jellicles that were formerly not paying attention were now looking, some of them appeared confused, and the others who were closer were beginning to look suspicious. Demeter backed away in horror. "They were right about you!" She looked around at the other cats, who were only staring.

"I promise, my name's Twinkie." She said quickly, but it was too late, the damage had been done.

"MUNKUSTRAP!" Demeter called out with a shrill voice. The silver cat looked up from where he was seated, which was by the tire. Demeter called out again. "Munkustrap, come here!" He got to his feet and began walking slowly, his eyes never leaving Lunstria's. "You're a liar, Lunstria." Demeter hissed. Her face had gone from it's surprised expression to one of pure hatred. It was the first time Lunstria hated the sound of her own name.

With a gulp, the old gray cat looked up at the boat where Adulphus was seated. He was giving her the fiercest of glares. It was obvious he understood what had just taken place. He had an uncanny ability to sense when some plan of his had gone wrong. Lunstria froze. She had blown it, and this time, there were no second chances.