A/N: Due to the fact that I've been threatened about the ending of that last chapter, I've decided to post this chapter up. Macallla and Ryin threatened me with Macavity, and since I don't really like him, I've decided to post this chapter now, rather than tomorrow like I had planned. Nothing much really happens in this chapter, and so this'll probably be pretty much a filler. Have fun reading this (pathetic, the way I see it) chapter, review it afterwards and I'll get the next (better) chapter up soon.
We sat there in my den for a while. I'm not exactly sure how long Ria, Tugger and I sat there, yet I knew it was a while. I could tell that I was getting restless, so I stood up and made my way towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Ria asked me, breaking the silence. I shrugged.
"I'm not sure. I think I'm going to go check on Pouncival," I replied. She nodded, and I dropped down to the ground. I walked slowly to the courtyard, still wondering if I wanted to actually figure out what was happening to Pouncival. I needed to tom up and face the consequences of my actions, though, so I continued to walk to where Pouncival was being kept. I ducked inside the den he was laying in. The nurse-queen (I still didn't know her name, and it was starting to get on my nerves) was sitting, asleep, beside Pouncival's motionless body. I walked up to him, placed a paw on his cold head, and sighed. He was still alive, yet just barely. I figured that he would be dead by nightfall, no matter what I did. I couldn't believe that I had let go of my emotions and let this happen. I took a shaky breath and sat down.
"Quaxo, what are you doing here?" she asked me.
"I wanted to see how he was doing. I still feel responsible for this happening. I'm the oldest, and I shouldn't have let them do that. I noticed some wires that were sparking, and he was sitting in the same puddle of water as the wires. He might have gotten shocked from that," I told her.
"Really? Electrocution? Maybe, yet I can't do anything about that. It'll mean just waiting. In the meantime, I'm Jennyanydots. Jenny, usually. I'm Pounce's mom," she said.
"It's nice to meet you again," I said. "I'll just leave you here." She nodded wearily and motioned for me to go. I stepped out of the den and went to sit on the TSE1. The sky grew lighter as the sun grew higher and the day wore on. I was about to nod off on the pleasantly warm car when a cat with a long brown tail sat down next to me.
"Hello, kit. You're Quaxo, right?" he asked me. I nodded. "I'm Skimbleshanks."
"It's nice to meet you," I told him. "Do you have any idea why no one's around?"
"They're probably all worried about Pouncival. I wanted to thank you for bringing Pouncival back here. I don't know what would have happened to my family if the baby of the family wasn't back," Skimbleshanks said sadly.
"Who's in your family?" I asked him, sitting up and looking over at him.
"Jennyanydots is my mate. Plato's the oldest, then Tumblebrutus, Etcetera and Pouncival," Skimbleshanks replied, counting off on his paw. I nodded, and then thought back to what Ria had said.
"What about Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer?" I asked him. "Aren't they yours?" He looked up at the clouds passing over us and sighed deeply.
"Mungojerrie's older than Plato, and Rumpleteazer is in between Tumble and Etccy," he said slowly, as if he was wondering if he should tell me or not.
"Yet why don't you count them?" I asked him.
"I—they were a mistake. I never meant to have them," Skimbleshanks told me. He slid off of the car, looked at the hood of the trunk and back up at me. "Hey, I'll tell you a secret."
"Yes? What is this secret?" I asked as I leaned close to him.
"If you hit this hood just right, the trunk will open up," he said. I sighed and nodded.
"I know that. You just press the latch. Everyone knows that," I said, leaning back. Skimbleshanks sighed, and motioned for me to get off of the hood. I rolled my eyes and slid off of the hood as he climbed on.
"Now if you just press here," he pressed the center of the hood and it opened up. I looked up at him, surprised that he could figure something like that out. "I used that little trick to surprise the queens back when I was your age." I smiled and sat back up on the trunk.
"Neat trick," I told him. He nodded and looked at me.
"Who was your mother?" he asked me. I looked down at my paws, debating whether or not I should answer truthfully.
"Triana," I said, siding with truth. Skimbleshanks nodded slowly, his eyes closed.
"I remember her. She left the junkyard long ago, when she was barely old enough to take care of herself," Skimbleshanks said softly.
"She lived here?" I asked. "She never mentioned the junkyard."
"She probably didn't want to remember it more than she needed to. She always felt guilty about leaving us," Skimbleshanks said. "I was wondering, though, if you knew that the Jellicle Ball was coming up next month. And if you were planning on taking anyone, or mating anyone." I shook my head.
"Not as of now Skimb—" I was cut off by Jennyanydots running into the courtyard.
"Skimble, Quaxo! Pounce's awake!" Jennyanydots said. Skimbleshanks and I looked at each other before running into the den.
"Hey there, son," Skimbleshanks said as he patted Pouncival's head.
"Hey there, Dad. Hey there, Quaxo," Pouncival said weakly. I smiled when he addressed me.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him.
"Fine. Tired, I guess," he replied. "How come you're still pink?" I looked down at my fur, which was starting to dry and get matted, and was still bright pink.
"I thought it made me look cooler," I told him. Pouncival smiled. I went to walk out of the den, when I turned back and told him, "Oh, and no matter how good you feel tomorrow, or tonight, don't get up. Just eat, sleep and drink for the next few days." Pouncival nodded and I ducked out of the den. Immediately after leaving the den I was engulfed in a mass of familiar fur. Jemima pulled back after a minute with a worried look on her face.
"How's Pounce? My whole family's worried sick about him," she asked me.
"He'll be fine," I said. "He just needs a bit of rest." Jemima sighed a sigh of relief and looked at me more carefully.
"Why are you pink?" she asked me. I laughed and looked at her.
"Long story. Do you mind helping me find some way to get it off?" I asked her. She smiled sweetly and took my paw.
"I'll take you to my human's place. They like cats," she told me as she led me out of the junkyard.