Spring
"Teazer? Oi, Teazer!"
The tabby queen groaned, opened her eyes, and sat up. She looked around for a moment, puzzled, until at last she recalled that she was in her own den where she belonged. Still ain't got quite used to th'new digs yet…
"Wot d'yew want?" she complained, turning to glare at her brother, who'd woken her. "I was just 'avin' such a nice sleep…"
"Didn't exac'ly sound like it," Mungojerrie contradicted.
"Are yew about to 'cuse me o' snorin'?" Rumpelteazer demanded. "I don' snore, yew do!"
"No, no, not at all," Jerrie said quickly. "Wot I mean is, yew were, ahm… talkin' in yer sleep."
"Oh." She feigned indifference. "Wot of it?"
"Yew still 'avin' the nightmares?" her twin asked in a softer tone.
"Wot nightmares?" Teazer yawned.
"Yew don't 'ave t' talk about it," Jerrie shrugged. "Jus' thought I'd ask."
"One o'them ol' lady queens said fer yew to ask, didn' she? Didn't she? Wos it Miss Jelly? They fink I'm crazy er somefin'…"
"No'un finks yer crazy, an' I thought to ask ya all on my own—just to be nice. But if yer gonna be like that, never mind. An' yew c'n find yer own breakfast too," he added, heading out of their den. Observing that Jerrie kept very obviously glancing back over his shoulder, Teazer gathered that—as usual—he didn't mean what he'd said, and followed along with her brother to do some hunting.
Hunting, not burgling. Upon the twins' entering into the life of the Junkyard, Jennyanydots had volunteered herself and her mate, Skimbleshanks, as Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer's 'guardians,' despite their protests that they were plenty old enough to shift for themselves. One of the first lessons Jenny had taken it upon herself to teach the tabby twins was that "there was food aplenty to be had" and "isn't it wonderful that you've no need to go rifling through humans' things uninvited anymore!"
Teazer heaved a small sigh and glanced sidelong at her brother, who she knew would be thinking along the same lines. But he was determined to make a good impression on their newfound 'family' and follow their rules to the very letter, however much he might 'suffer' for it. Although they'd been here a few months now, Jerrie still held to a deepseated fear that any wrong move might get them thrown out, despite Jenny's frequent reassuring speeches that "family don't abandon one another because of mistakes—they work through the difficulties together!" After all, hadn't Growltiger managed to get himself banished from the Jellicles? And look what had happened to him… If Jerrie only knew where his sister took herself off to most nights while the rest of the Junkyard slept.
"Well, wot's it t'be?" Jerrie asked, with forced enthusiasm. "Mice? Scraps?"
Before Teazer could begin her reply, she noticed Jennyanydots bustling over to them and suppressed an annoyed groan. Not that she disliked the kind, motherly queen, but was it necessary to smother them and treat them like babies?
"Morning, dearies," Jenny called cheerily. "I've brought your breakfast!" The plump tabby queen set a tray in front of the twins, containing an assortment of discarded leftovers she'd dug up from various piles, together with some kitty chow she'd brought back from her humans' house. (Bringing back food and the occasional odd item from one's own humans was not considered stealing—"what's mine is yours" and all that.) There were no mice: Jenny had an objection to killing mice herself, though she didn't stop others from doing so. It wasn't an unappetizing meal, but Teazer missed the…well, the fresher foods she and Jerrie had been accustomed to lifting from humans. One of these days they'd steal away and appropriate some decent food… Bring back something delicious to their Jellicle friends… Once they'd tasted it and realized what they were missing, surely the Jellicles would never again object to the twins' burgling humans' homes. Or perhaps they could get themselves adopted by a human family of their own—then it would only be borrowing, surely? What were a few bits and pieces between an owner and his pet—didn't humans call their pets their "best friends"? Perhaps some of the other cats with human families would help to back them up…
"Aww, fanks, Miz Jenny," said Jerrie—again in the overly-cheery tone.
"Yeah, fanks," Teazer echoed, trying to mimic his enthusiasm.
They paused. Jenny spread an old blanket on the ground in front of their den, moved the tray onto the blanket, sat herself down, and motioned for the twins to do the same. Clearly she meant to stay and have a chat with them whilst they ate. In other words, they'd better make sure to finish every single bite of their breakfast…
Rumpelteazer poked her brother repeatedly to make absolutely certain sure he was truly asleep. Finally, having reassured herself on that point, she tiptoed out of their den and began to make her way through the Junkyard. She knew Munkustrap or Alonzo would be patrolling about somewhere, perhaps even guarding the entrance. But she'd discovered on several separate occasions that, so long as she moved carefully, she was simply too stealthy for them—or their senses simply weren't quite as sharp as Growltigers' Henchcats' had been…well, it wasn't as if the Jellicles were accustomed to constant conflict. Perhaps it was a combination of both. But Teazer certainly felt like taking credit; after all, were not she and Mungojerrie the Masterliest of Master Burglars? The main thing to worry about was if Munkustrap or Alonzo weren't in a certain place, like the entrance, and if she on the contrary accidentally ran smack into them as they made the rounds. But this seemed to be the time each tom took a rest and stayed in one particular area. At least so far… And if she kept close to the junkpiles so's to be able to dive into one and hide if need be…
All at once, Rumpelteazer's ears flicked back, detecting what sounded suspiciously like the tread of small footpaws behind her—whoever-it-was was trying and failing to be as quiet and stealthy as she. Quickly, the tabby queen ducked behind an old washing machine. After waiting a moment, she risked a peek out. Standing a few feet away, and looking around in puzzlement, was one of the Jellicle kittens—one of those cream-and-ginger twins, about her age or a bit younger, though Teazer couldn't quite recall his name. She grinned at the tomkit's confusion. Apparently he was following her, but she wasn't fazed by it: he'd be easy enough to get rid of.
"Just wot d'yew fink yer doin' outta yer den at this hour?" she inquired, emerging from her hiding place. The tomkit jumped slightly, startled, and blushed at her words.
"Well, what are you doing?" he countered. "You're not supposed to be wandering alone at night any more than I am!"
"Never mind wot I'm doin', I'm on'y gettin' air, now who'd object t'that? An' I feels like bein' on me own, so jus' off yew pop an' leave me alone."
"Getting air? So are you collecting air in a bag, then?" the tom snickered, pointing in triumph at the empty pillowcase Teazer had forgotten to hide behind her back. Now it was Teazer's turn to blush.
"Look," she pleaded, "jus' go back to yer den an' pretend ya didn't see me. A'right? I'll…" She cast about wildly for an incentive. "I'll bring ya back somefin' real nice if you do! Whatcha fancy—food or shiny fings?"
"Ha," the tom shook his head stubbornly, "you can't get rid of me that easy. Take me with you, or I'm telling."
"But…" Teazer gulped in air, trying to keep from panicking. "But wot makes ya fink I'm goin' anywhere?"
"Heaviside, you're thick!" the tom chortled. "You just offered to bring me back something. How can you bring me back something from nowhere?"
Teazer's shoulders slumped as she realized her foolish blunder. She was caught. Nothing to do but make the most of things. "Listen," she resumed sternly, still trying to maintain some authority over the situation, "wot's yer name any'ow? I mean, which twin'r you?"
"You've been here how long and haven't figured it out?" He rolled his eyes. "I'm Admetus."
"Righ'…A…Ad… Meetie… Look, Add-Me, if yer comin' wif me you've gotta do exac'ly as I say, see? I knows the city streets an' yew don't. An' furthermore, everyfing you see's gotta stay top secret. Got that?" She shot Admetus what she hoped was a threatening enough glare.
Admetus yawned, unimpressed. "Sure, top secret."
Rumpelteazer raised an eyebrow at him, not fully convinced. However, she said no more except a muttered "C'mon," and continued her way cautiously towards the Junkyard exit. Once or twice she hissed at him to tread more softly, to which he retorted that he was treading softly, quiet as a mouse. So she gave up trying to tell him and simply hoped no one else would hear his pawsteps, which to her sounded loud as if she had an elephant marching-band following her.
As she had expected, one of the protectors was keeping watch at the gates—Alonzo, she thought, squinting through the darkness. They had little difficulty making it past him, though he did jump once and look round, probably because of Admetus' lack of stealth. Keeping to the shadows, they avoided his gaze, gradually slinking father and father away from the safety of the 'yard into the city.
They crept along silently (apart from what Teazer considered Admetus's "impossibly loud" pawsteps) for some time. At last, after they had passed several rows of humans' homes without stopping, Admetus piped up in a loud whisper: "Well, which one's it going to be then?"
"Eh?" Rumpelteazer pulled up short, puzzled. "Wot d'yew mean 'which one'?"
"Which house are we going to burgle? That's your thing, right? – Yours and your brother's. Don't pretend everyone in the 'yard doesn't know your favourite pastime. You're meant to have given it up, but…" He trailed off, watching her with a mischievous grin to see if she'd deny it.
"Oh…oh, yeah," Teazer stammered, recovering (though, she feared, too late), seeing a chance to let Admetus believe her nighttime doings were something completely different to what they actually were. "Just…jus' can't seem t'give up the thievin' ways. You've caught me."
Admetus's grin faded. "You admitted that far too quickly," he accused. "Thieving…that can't be it, or at least not the only thing… What do you really do out here?" The tabby queen didn't answer immediately. Admetus cocked an eyebrow and acted as if he would head back to the Junkyard. "Well, guess I'd better inform Munkustrap of your unaccountable ventures out of the Junkyard at night…"
"Wait!" Teazer hissed, putting a paw on his arm to stop him. It was useless—she'd missed her single opportunity to get out of letting him in on her secret. "If'n you'll keep followin' me, you'll soon see fer yourself. C'mon." She continued making her way down the deserted street.
Admetus followed, frowning suspiciously. "Fine. But if you're fooling me, I promise you I'll tell."
Teazer rolled her eyes. "Aye, so y've said. Say, ain't yew ashamed of yerself? I thought tattle-tellin' was fer babies. But no matter. I ain't foolin' ya. An'," she added in a mutter that the younger tom had to strain to hear, "I can bet anyfin' you'll be more surprised than y've ever been in yer life."