"Pounce, what happened?" Munk shouted to him, hurrying to meet him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of golden fur and then Tugger was rushing ahead of him to Misto. Tugger took Misto from Pounce as Munk met them, who were trying to help the out of breath Pounce. Pounce leaned heavily on Munk as he tried to explain.
"I don't know what exactly happened. I found him passed out in the clearing, but it smelled heavily of magic. I can only guess at this point whether or not he did it himself or if M-Macavity was involved." He said as Munk helped him to Jenny's. Munk could hear the slight hesitation before Macavity's name that all Jellicles spoke with out of fear.
Tugger was already there with Misto, oblivious to what had been said. Misto lay on one of the many beds that Jenny used for examining the Jellicles or for the kittens nap times, Tugger standing close by, his eyes never leaving Misto. Jenny was frantically circling the bed Misto lay on, quickly looking him over.
"He's thin…too thin even for his size…both of you are." She said directing that at Tugger. "He appears to be alright. Poor thing, I bet exhaustion just got the best of him. Pounce, dear, you're just out of breath right?"
"Yes, Jenny, I'm fine. I just need to rest a minute." He said sitting on one of the other beds before curling up for a nap. Jenny hurried off to check on Jelly and the kittens.
"Tugger, will you be alright alone with Misto? I should hurry to check out the clearing Pounce mentioned, see if I can find answers to what happened to him." Munk asked.
"Go ahead, Munk. I want answers too. I'll keep them safe." Tugger assured his brother and with that Munk was gone leaving Tugger alone with Misto. He sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking Misto's head fur. "I've missed you, Misto…what happened to you?"
Misto purred quietly turning toward Tugger, who smiled sadly at him. So, he didn't hate Tugger, at least no subconsciously. As Misto turned however, he caught a scent that did not belong to the small Tom. Tugger was curious as to where its source was. He noticed a patch in Misto's fur that was ruffled on his chest and realized this was the source. He looked closer hoping to find out what had happened to Misto. He was filled with rage as he saw the familiar mark of his oldest brother; a burn in the shape of a paw print surrounded by fire. Tugger let out a roar of rage as he hit the nearest wall with his fist, causing it to bleed. Misto was snapped awake by the sudden noise, seeing Tugger kneeling in front of the wall, his back to Misto.
"T-Tugger? Where am I?" He asked shakily, trying to control his emotions.
"I'm sorry if I woke you. Munk had wanted to talk to you and he sent Pounce to get you. He found you unconscious and brought you here. Munk went to the clearing to find out what happened and left me with you. Pounce is sleeping over there in the corner."
"I thought I heard Jenny's voice."
"You did. She just left to help Jelly with the kittens." Tugger said trying not to bring up his own questions. Misto sat silently staring at his back before talking again.
"Please, Tugger, at least look at me." He muttered, sitting up.
Tugger slowly turned toward him, his eyes at first trained on the ground. He slowly raised his eyes till they met with Misto's, both of them held pain. Misto looked away first, unable to understand why Tugger seemed as bad as him; it was then that he noticed Tugger's physical state and he was stunned.
"Tugger, you look awful. What happened to your paw?"
"Oh, that's nothing…lost my temper is all."
"Let me help then." Misto said taking Tugger's paw in his own. He gently ran his other paw over the scrapes, a few stray sparks lingering on Tugger's paw as Misto's magic healed the small cuts.
"Thank you, Misto…ffelees. That's the second time you've healed a cut for me…I owe you a lot…"
"No, you don't, just forget about it." Misto said, trying hard to avoid the past.
"…Alright." Tugger said standing.
"Where are you going?" Misto asked, his voice sounding on the verge of panic.
"I'm going outside for a minute…get some air…" Tugger said, being sure to avoid eye contact with Misto as he left. The truth was Tugger couldn't stand being so close to Misto and be unable to try and fix things between them, so he figured he could step outside and smoke till Munk returned. For once, he hoped it would be soon.