Deme nearly cried every time she looked at Jemima. "Oh, my dear- I'm so happy that you're okay."
She tried to pretend that they were happy tears, but seeing the wounds that Macavity planted on their daughter made her throat constrict. Jemima purred. "Mother- I'm sorry that I ran away. I just wanted to explore, and these two cats grabbed me and took me to Macavity," her furry red ears laid back against her head.
The patched Queen managed a purr as she rubbed her face against her daughter's. She bumped noses with her, then stopped and smiled. "Go on, dear. I think your friends are waiting for you," she said, nodding to the three female kittens who were standing patiently behind Jemima- except for Etcetera, who looked like she was about to explode.
The tortie kitten smiled, then hared past her mother towards the three kittens. Victoria purred loudly and started grooming her friend, while Electra and Etcetera started chatting away, "You should've seen the look on Tugger's face when he found out you were missing..."
Demeter chuckled, amused by the kitten-gossip.
The red-and-white patched Queen turned to find Munkustrap standing behind her, his countenance firm and tall. "Ah- hello, Demeter. Uh...I was just wondering how you were feeling...after everything-"
She blushed. "I'm fine, thank you..." she started to walk away, but he pawed at her in a gentle manner, indicating that he wasn't finished speaking.
"Um...uh- Alonzo caught a grouse, and...well, he didn't want it, so he wondered- if you might want to share some," he finished.
Demeter frowned. Munkustrap was a terrible liar. "Munkustrap, if you want to share a grouse with me, you can just say so. You don't have to give other cats credit for suggesting it, even if you are a wimp."
Munkustrap's ears flattened against his head. Demeter scolded herself internally, realizing how harsh she must've sounded to poor Munkustrap. "I'm sorry, Munkustrap. I didn't mean it like it came out, honest."
He smiled, and his ears perked up again. "It's okay. You know what? Forget about the grouse. I'll just see if Tugger wants it."
Deme's cheeks were a darker shade of red. Her ears flattened and she closed her eyes, shaking her head and batting her ears wildly.
"Deme?"
A strange sound came from the female's throat- she felt as though she was choking, and clawed at her throat. Her eyes burned from the heat of his gaze; she screeched and fell to the ground, writhing in pain from the burns on her skin. She choked. Eventually, the pain subsided, but then...she felt nothing, and it was almost worse. Intense worry flurried in her chest. My little one. The patchy Queen could hardly believe that he would do this to his own flesh and blood. But then again, she had seen him do worse. Shadows surrounded her, whispering in her ears until she could hear nothing but ringing. Her mouth opened, and she thought she would scream again, yet nothing came out. Demeter pawed at her mouth. The Queen was mute. Her writhing body continued to move about like a snake, out of control- and then she heard a voice that took the ringing from her ears.
"Demeter! Wake up! It's just a memory, Deme, that's all it is...it can't hurt you..."
Demeter opened her eyes.
Bombalurina was holding her. Her foxy-red sister was running a paw through her fur, stroking her until her heart finally stopped thrumming and she could no longer hear it in her ears. Beyond Bomba, it seemed like the whole Jellicle group had gathered, watching to see what would happen. She wanted to stand and speak, to regain her dignity, but her body was still paralyzed with fear. Before Macavity, she had never known that it was actually possible.
Munkustrap knelt behind Bomba, his face etched with concern. "Are you alright?"
The Red Queen turned her head to glare at Munkustrap, her brown eyes brimming with ferocity. "What did you say to my sister?!"
Munkustrap jerked back, assuming a submissive posture. "I asked her if she wanted to share a grouse with me," he explained, his ears twitching.
Bomba growled. "Whatever. Nothing to see here, kitties! Go on back to what you were doing, and give a lady some space!" Bomba might not have been in the Jellicle group for very long, but everyone knew that when the fox-red Queen spoke, you'd better listen.
So they dispersed, and by the time Demeter was starting to feel her toes again, Jemima was the only one left within a foot of Bombalurina. "Momma- are you alright?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. Deme suddenly felt so bad that she had scared her own kitten to near tears.
Deme nodded, attempting to reach for her daughter. "Come here, darling," she whispered sweetly. Jemima crawled into her mother's lap, forming an almost amusing cat pile. Demeter placed a paw on her daughter's head. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you because of me."
"What do you mean?"
She was crying already. Bomba's tail lashed. "Are you sure you want to tell her this?"
Deme nodded, looking up at her sister. "She should know why Macavity wants her."
Bomba sighed.
"Jemima- you know that Macavity is a very bad cat, and that the Jellicles have always been very nice to us. But, what I haven't told you is that we weren't always with the Jellicles. You were born here, Jemima, but you're Macavity's kit, because I was Macavity's mate."
The tortie kitten pulled away from her mother's gentle strokes. Her body was shaking. "I don't understand-"
Demeter clamped down on her own tongue, tasting her own blood. She winced, then continued, "Jemima, Macavity is your father. He wants you because you are his kin, but I am certain that he would use you against the Jellicles, and that's not right. These cats love you, Jemima. I love you. And, I know that when you're older, you may not stay, but I don't want you to hate me for this now. Please, don't hate me for this now."
Jemima gulped. "I don't hate you. I love you." Her purr was broken as she spoke, and Deme was sobbing now.
"Bomba, can you let me up?" she asked.
"Are you sure?"
Demeter nodded. Bomba helped the other Queen to stand, both of them towering over the much smaller Jemima.
"Momma, I think I want to stay here with you now."
The Queen's eyes widened. "Are you sure you don't want to go play with your friends?"
Jemima nodded thoughtfully.
Deme smiled. "Okay. Well- I need to go speak to Munkustrap for a moment...are you okay with Bomba until I get back?"
Jemima grinned. "Sure!"
Demeter found the black-and white tom rather quickly. He was sitting on the trunk of the old red automobile, soaking in the afternoon sun. "Excuse me, Munkustrap, might I have a word with you?" she asked, her ears swivelling to point in another direction.
Munkustrap stood, licking one of his forepaws, his whiskers twitching. "Of course," he followed the female to a more private spot, feeling that they were both being watched.
The patchy red-and-white Queen was silent for a few moments, staring at the tall Second-In-Command of the Jellicles. "Uh- I just wanted to let you know that it wasn't your fault, what happened back there. Um...it was the grouse, you see...when I first met Macavity, he offered me a grouse, and I thought he was just being a polite Tom, but-"
Munkustrap lifted a hand to stop her. "It's okay, Demeter. You don't have to explain yourself to me. Besides, the grouse is gone. I gave it to Tugger. It's his favorite, anyway." His whiskers twitched again. "How about you and I go hunting for something different? A rat or a squirrel? That is, if you're still willing to share prey with me..."
"Of course I would share prey with you, Munkustrap. You're my friend. Uh- but do you mind if I bring Jemima along? I...I just told her about Macavity."
Munkustrap looked worried now. "We don't have to go if you don't want to. I understand if you need to stay here with Jemima...is...is Jemima alright?" he asked, his face etched with genuine concern.
Demeter's glance drifted over to where Jemima was chasing Bomba's tail. "She'll be okay. Jemima's still young yet. I'm hoping she won't have much memory of Macavity or his lackeys...or at least, not like I do-" her eyes were suddenly dimmed by a distant mist, yet she still spoke, "that's why I came to Deuteronomy, asking for help. I knew I couldn't raise Jemima there." The female blinked, and the mist in her eyes was gone.
Munkustrap scratched the back of his neck with one paw. "Well...I'm glad you and Jemima made it here," was all he managed to say before the russet-splattered Queen rose from her spot on the ground, making her way over to Jemima and Bomba.
"You can go on if you like, Bomba. Munkustrap and I are going to take Jemima hunting."
The Red Queen halted. "Demeter, I'm not sure you should go. Not after what just happened. You haven't had a spell like that since-" the female's claws dug into the soft dirt, "you haven't had a spell like that in a long time. I'm just not sure that Munkustrap will know what to do if it happens again. And besides...you don't want Jemima to see you like that again."
Demeter nodded. "You're right. I don't. But I'm fine, Bomba. Trust me," her words were pleading, and she knew that Bomba couldn't bear to object any longer.
"Fine. Go on," she said, giving her sister a big smile. Demeter nudged her sister playfully, and Bombalurina groomed behind her ears. "Be careful," she said, her voice rough as she regarded Munkustrap. The Red Queen waited until Demeter was far enough away not to hear the last part, "If you even think about making a pass at my sister, I'll kill you," she threatened, leaving the black-and-white tom to consider his involvement in their family dynamic. He padded away.
Munkustrap, Demeter, and Jemima found themselves in the forest. Munkustrap wasn't particularly fond of this place; the oaks were too high, the breeze was too cold, and the dust of the earth made him yearn to breath normal, non-pollenated air. Yet, somehow this time was different. With Demeter padding by his side, the oaks seemed less intimidating, the breeze was not so harsh against his fur, and the dust- it was still there, and Munkustrap was still sneezing- yet seeing the nervous Queen so at ease as she played with her kitten made everything feel just right.
"Okay, Jemima, why don't you show us how to catch a mouse?"
Jemima's fur had puffed up against the wind. "Okay!" she mewed happily, walking a little further away from them. Once she spotted her prey, the red-and-black splattered tortie hit the ground, crouching, taking long steps as she cornered her prey.
The mouse darted out of reach, but Jemima made haste to chase it. She shot underneath bushes, chattering away as she tried to find that poor little mousy that had suddenly disappeared from her sights.
Demeter leapt to her daughter's aid, watching with obvious interest. "Jemima, darling, slow down. That was a good try, but why don't you let Munkustrap show you how to start?"
Demeter thought she heard Munkustrap stifle a sneeze. "Um- yes, of course," the black-and-white Tom responded, rubbing his nose with a paw. "Well, Jemima...first, you crouch down, as you already did...but gently. You don't want to rustle what might be under you. It's also helpful not to sit in a pile of leaves...that'll give you away rather quickly," The green-eyed female watched as Munkustrap stood over her, pointing with a paw as he whispered to her in a gentle manner.
A moment later, Jemima was crouching properly, distributing her weight in her back legs to as to pounce on the next mouse before it could run. Munkustrap also kindly explained that wiggling her haunches would probably scare the mouse...and she stopped, tucking her tail in, falling into the perfect instinctual posture that all Jellicles knew. Demeter watched with pride as a clumsy mouse fell in her kitten's path. Jemima's dark-brown eyes sparked with determination as she lept, her paws landing on the mouse's tail. The little animal tried to move from under her grasp, then turned to bite the black-pawed kitten.
"I caught it! I caught it!" she chimed in her soft, sing-songy voice.
"Jemima, lookout!"
The little female kitten glanced down just in time to see the mouse turn to bite her paws. She nipped it's neck swiftly, staining her white cheeks with it's warm, red blood.
Demeter padded over to her daughter, beaming with pride. "I did it! I caught a mouse!"
"You did, my dear!" Demeter piped, glancing at Munkustrap with amusement in her eyes.