A/N: Apologies for the late update

Rating: R (M)

Genre: Romance, Drama, Angst, some Humor, Sap

Warnings: Slash, Het, mention of sex, some blood, swearing, incest (they're cats, there's nothing unnatural about it)

Pairings: Misto/Munku, Tugger/Bomba, mention of Munku/Dem, some Cass/Munku, past Bomba/Munku, Mungo/Rumple

Timeline: two weeks from the Jellicle ball in the movie.

Description: Love cannot exist for a magical cat; in fact, it's fatal if it does.

Disclaimer: I do not own CATS, or any portions thereof. None of the following events took place in the original CATS plotline, and I do not claim that they do.

Songs to Read With: (not mandatory) Take on Me (Ah-Ha), If You Could See What I See (Geoff Moore and the Distance), I Must Be Dreaming (Frou-Frou)

Between Death and Love

Chapter Ten

By Edenrising

(Recap. From Chapter Nine)

"The Black cat breathed a chuckle, "True." And that was all there needed to be said."

Cassandra didn't consider herself a vain cat, she did however think herself beautiful and worthy of attention. It was this fact that… concerned her. She was beautiful, and intelligent, and very captivating and yet- she was ignored. It made no sense; she'd done everything right; followed the right channels (politically, of course) and attacked the instincts in all the right places. She should have been irresistible, the epitome of feline grace and loveliness.

Yet, Munkustrap evaded her attentions.

He hadn't at first, no; he'd been quite responsive especially when he'd realized that she was willing to give him another kitten. That was her trump card; Munkustrap loved kittens and she was fertile and respectable… well bred. Ever since their first mating some time ago, Cassandra kept her eyes on the Jellicle protector, admiring his lithe strength and proud features, noting his likes and dislikes. If it hadn't been for her restless youth, she would have stayed with him for some time, but she had become entranced with Alonzo and even gave him a son for it, a terrible mistake.

Not only was Alonzo a second-litter cat, he was immature and not nearly as good a mate or as attentive to her needs as Munkustrap was. If one good thing came of it, it was Tumblebrutus.

Cassandra's gaze softened and she allowed a sigh to escape her lips. Her darling baby boy… he was going to be a champion. And Electra, a debutante of queens. Cassandra was not particularly kind, but when she thought of her two, wonderful kittens her nature became soft and motherly. That was her strong point as a queen, not the best mate but certainly the best mother in the tribe.

Trouble was, why didn't Munkustrap want her? She'd been stalking him since Demeter had failed to satisfy him, and Bast knew what a handful that skittish thing was. Next to Demeter… Well, it was like comparing Medusa to Aphrodite. She was better, much better, and he had been responding. She had given him the proper signs, asked the proper questions and as a good male cat should do, he responded with the proper gifts and given the proper answers. What went wrong?

The day after Tumblebrutus' coming-of-age-party had been one of anticipation for Cassandra, she'd waited anxiously in the flower field by the north fence and the ever-lasting car (which read Honda, Accord). This was the traditional accepting ground for Jellicle cats to agree to a mating, and she had waited patiently the entire day, as Munkustrap had suggested the day before.

To her disappointment, upset and general distaste the grey tabby never showed at the appointed place. So, sometime the day after, she began to ask around for the tom, and was surprised to find that no one had seen him all day not even her before-mate Alonzo, who was one of Munkustrap's closest brothers. Eventually she had gone to find the Rum-Tum-Tugger, who she dreaded horribly, to ask him if he knew where his estranged brother could have possibly disappeared to.

She'd found him with his arms around Bombalurina, and he'd had the rudeness to imply that perhaps Munkustrap was with someone else, which had made her angry. And so, she had bitten back with a jab that he wasn't the true father of Bombalurina's children; which of course, he was. She knew this well, and had felt guilt at the awful look on Bomba's face and Tugger's stiffening, but he deserved it, it was mean what he'd said and she deserved some revenge accordingly.

Her only regret was that of hurting the red queen who she marveled at as being one of the finest looking and smartest females she'd ever met. But, oh well, sacrifices must be made to ensure the future of the tribe. To make sure Munkustrap didn't choose wrongly, and created good, tasteful children that were a benefit to all Jellicles.

Cassandra was making her way down the autumn-tinged lanes of the junkyard, observing all those that passed, including Bomba who gave her a cautionary glance. The Burmese stared forward and didn't react, confrontation was appalling. She made a left at the yellow chair and worked her way over a mound of yellow foam, which stunk outrageously, and towards the playing field where she knew her babies would be. Tumblebrutus was already a full-fledged tom, but she knew he'd still want to be around his old friends until he found his interests grew apart from theirs.

The playing field was an offshoot from the main grounds (where the Jellicle Ball was held) hidden by a secret entrance that protected the kittens from any harmful intruders. 'Not that it stops Macavity,' Cassandra thought with a frown. It was odd, as a former Jellicle member, Macavity knew where their weakest spots were, but he never had attacked the kittens, only the fully grown cats and for that Cassandra was relieved. She was always nervous when her children played here, it wasn't safe and she couldn't always be there to protect them- she had duties as a diplomat for the Jellicles.

Cassandra made her way through the open field towards Jenny and Jelly, who were scolding Electra and Etcetera; both seemed to be quite annoyed and embarrassed, glaring at each other. Cassandra raised an eyebrow at the scene and huffed, ears perking at the cutting words coming from Jenny and Jelly.

"Honestly you two," berated Jelly, "If you can't play nice, we'll have to cut your claws!"

Electra rolled her eyes, "But Jenny, it's not fair- we can't protect ourselves without claws." Although she was embarrassed, her sarcasm was evident.

"I've had just about enough of your attitude Electra," Jenny replied calmly, arms crossed, "You don't play nice, you don't make an effort to act courteous among your peers, you don't respect your elders."

Electra huffed, and was soon showing signs of being ashamed, Etcetera beamed.

Jenny caught the other kitten's superior look and turned to her, "And that goes for you two missy, you aren't any better than anybody else. You two are entering your queen-hoods and are still engaging in these stupid fights over Pouncival. I thought that this time you might actually kill each other."

Cassandra felt ashamed at her daughter's behavior, she hadn't known that Electra had been causing trouble with Etcetera- she'd always been under the impression that they were on good terms, if not friends at least. A lady never picked fights or had open distaste for another. Cassandra was also disappointed in herself, her job as a parent was failing because she hadn't taken the time to see her children lately because of her obsession with the silver tom.

Cassandra stepped forward into complete view, Electra's eyes caught hers and she gasped, flushing in embarrassment, becoming upset at the knowledge that her parent knew her shame at being unladylike- she'd let her mother down.

"Mommy!" and then covered her mouth, with her paws, beginning to cry. Etcetera looked alarmed and hesitantly rubbed the other's back.

Cassandra nodded to the two other queens, "Jenny, Jelly, how are you?" the two queens responded with surprise and affirmations that they were well. "If you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Electra privately." She placed a hand on the kitten's back and led her away slowly. Electra tried to apologize, but choked on her sobs constantly, she was unable to even speak a sentence fully, and only a few words could be heard.

"Electra," Cassandra began quietly, "Electra dear, stop crying."

Electra obediently wiped her tears and looked at her beautiful mother, she often felt dwarfed by her beauty and that she was an ugly duckling compared to her; Pouncival always said so. She couldn't help that she liked the young tom so much, he just teased her so much, gave her so much attention. He was the only one that said she was interesting and cute, even though he said hurtful things sometimes.

"I'm sorry Mommy," Electra whimpered, "I just like him so much."

Cassandra smiled at her daughter's voice, "Yes dear, I know. But you must remember that toms aren't the end of the world, and they're certainly not worth going to pieces over. Not to mention that they're complete idiots most of the time," Electra giggled weakly, "Its up to us queens to put them in their place, and we can't do that if we're being hysterical," Cassandra glanced at her daughter, "So me must remain calm, and ladylike, and refrain from the urge to hit them when they're being stupid." She seemed lost in her own thoughts, but Electra didn't notice, "Bast knows what they would do if we weren't there to keep them straight!"

Electra wiped her tears with a paw, "Mom, that's not nice."

Cassandra grinned, "Of course it's not, but that doesn't mean it's not true…"

Mistoffelees poured the forgotten tea into two cups and sat across from Bomba, he conjured a sugar bowl and some milk in a fancy pitcher and sat across from her silently, handing her the cup. He looked at her, but her attention was elsewhere, on a book that lay open by the bookshelf entitled; 'Famous Magical Cats: Their lives and losses'. The black tom sighed, he'd forgotten he'd been reading that but it was too late to put it away now; to put it out of sight.

Out of sight, out of mind.

He sighed a long breath, and placed his cup on the small table in front of him, more of a bucket than anything, but it worked nicely. Folding his hands in his lap, Mistoffelees shifted and cleared his throat.

Bomba startled and looked at the black tom. She hadn't remembered he was there. She pulled her thoughts away from their morbid hollows and smiled at the black cat, "I was just admiring your book collection; it seems much larger than when I was last here. You always loved to read."

"Yes," Mistoffelees mused, "I was given a box full by Cassandra," Bomba flinched, "- the last time she went on one of her diplomacy trips. It seems that a magic cat lived in another tribe recently, and left his possessions to no one, she thought I'd have more use for them here." He picked up a nearby book, one on the tales of Bast and the creation of the Heavyside layer.

"He died." She stated

"Yes." Mistoffelees said, "As do we all."