Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!
Fact: deaf people have had to fight for the right to just be.
Six months after the jellicle ball
It was near twilight, the setting sun casting a few last long beams of light across the land as it sank in the west. Lyplora stretched out on a tire, watching Addie's kittens playing with the other kits, and their dad talking to some of the other parents. She smiled at the sight, and slowly ran her paw over her slightly protruding belly, wondering what her own kits would be like.
Suddenly, she tensed up as she felt the air move behind her, and out of nowhere a paw covered her eyes so that she couldn't see. Lyplora turned her head this way and that, knowing by the scent that it was her mate playing a trick on her, and when the paw was pulled away, there was Misto, levitating a silver chain with a single pearl hanging from it.
Lyplora gasped as she looked from her mate to the necklace, "Happy birthday," signed Misto, with a quirky grin on his face. "So what's it like to be 24?"
Lyplora stiffled back a laugh as Misto leaned forward and fastened the necklace around her neck, below her spiked collar. "You didn't have to do this, you know that right?" she signed, but Misto waved off her protest and rested his paw over her stomach, biting his lip.
"My big daddy cat," she signed, giggling, as she reached down with her other paw and put it over Misto's. Then both of their eyes met for a second, and Lyplora signed with a serious look on her face, "thanks Misto, this is the best birthday present anyone has ever given me."
Misto nodded, looking at her earnestly, "it's your birthday, of course."
Lyplora shook her head and looked back at the kittens playing, "I wonder if our humans will be okay with the kittens?"
"you won't have to worry, my magic is good for more than just parlor tricks."
Lyplora raised an eyebrow, she seemed to learn more about the tuxe's magic every day.
"By the way, why aren't your cousins here? It is your Birthday."
"They're still practicing that meditation stuff they tried to get me into a while ago, they haven't left their den in weeks, surviving off of nothing but pure will power and the life force of the universe."
The tux starred at his mate like she had gone crazy, but then she cracked up, not able to keep a straight face. "Just messing with you, no they're coming later."
Suddenly, Cassi jumped up on a tire near them, and then gracefully approached, carrying a small cake with a single candle in it.
"Happy Birthday," she said and signed, putting down the cake. "Lyplora, I know you wanted to eat healthy until you have the kittens, but it's your Birthday, make an exception."
Lyplora rolled her eyes and sat up, still rubbing her stomach affectionately. The day after the Jellicle Ball, Lyplora and Cassi discussed the hearing spell, and after Lyplora assuring her that they were still friends and they could still use sign together and relate, Cassi decided to get it done. It worked pretty well, giving Cassi her full hearing back, which she enjoyed. Really her reason for getting it done, was how frustrated she would get trying to listen to others all day, because she always had to listen hard and she found herself mentally exhausted from it. Lyplora was supportive of her friend and understood, that only catching bits of what's said must of been frustrating, so she got why Cassi would want it. But even then, Cassi found that she still preffered using sign language with the few Jellicles who knew it, because of how the language brought her such wonderful friends who could understand her.
The tribe treated Lyplora a lot better now, but as Lyplora had joked, the novelty of being a deaf hero wore off. She was fine with that, although there had been word that they were going to reenact her heroic battle agaisn't Macavity at the next Jellicle ball, she wanted to forget that whole part and move on to where she had helped a hurt queen begin again. (She also hoped that if they did, Tugger wouldn't decide to do any random bagpipe solos) She had without even thinking about it, vanquished their greatest enemy, and now the tribe lived with a new found security thanks to her.
She was now the tribes healer, which was what she had wanted to be from the time she discovered that she had magic. She had to deal with the queens coming to her and bawling and explaining repeatedly when it was obvious the kitten just had a scratch. She got the oddest cases, one queen getting stuck in a split, Pouncival getting tangled in electrical wires and getting shocked, mass diarrhea after another one of Rumpus Cat's parties. Most of the patients seemed awkward around her, but she had fun with it, as they would babble on about how amazing she was for doing any small thing or would try to show her sympathy, she could laugh anything off. She realized that, after saving everyone's asses, it took a lot of effort to act that way, although she didn't like the fact that she had never gotten an apology from Bomba.
Lyplora thought over these things as she watched Admetus talking to Bomba, who looked awkward, like she felt guilty and wanted to leave. She watched them for another minute, and then turned her attention toward Tugger's den, hoping she didn't look too guilty as she knew he would have run into her little surprise right about then. But her attention was brought back to what they were doing when Misto waved his paw and she looked up at him.
"Lyplora, wanna light the candle and make a wish?"
"Well...I have something to show you..." she signed, the guilt beginning to show through her poker face.
"Lyplora, what did you do?" asked Cassi, realizing that the blushing queen was hiding something.
"Oh Cat you didn't," signed Misto, looking over Lyplora's shoulder at Tugger's den, wide eyed.
"I did, and Tugger should come out and show us in about...five... four... three.. signed Lyplora, and she counted down on her fingers. When she got to one, she pointed at Tugger's den, and Tugger exploded out the door screaming, covered with feathers and honey, causing a crowd to gather.
As Etcetera gave chase to her now feathered idol across the junkyard, Misto smacked himself in the face, trying to stop from laughing, and Cassi just rolled her eyes.
Lyplora looked one last time at the rediculous scene that was taking place below, and then turned back to the two Jellicles. Pretending to look innocent, she raised both her arms and asked, "what?"
Okay people, this is the end to my first story. How did I handle it? What did I do well, what did I do wrong? I'm really sad ending this thing, I can't believe this story is over, it's like I'm saying goodbye to a friend.
By the way, did I do a decent job of developing the character of Lyplora? Because after Marlee Matlin won an Oscar for best leading actress in Children of a Lesser God, some really nasty critics said all she had done was play a stock character who happened to be deaf, which was of course not true. Still, how did I do with the character? Did anybody think she was just a generic, stock character, that was undecernable from any other besides the fact that she's deaf?
Peace, love, and all that jazz!