Etcetera awoke first, smiling as she stretched. She looked over at her sleeping mate, who was, as usual, snoring away, sprawled out on his stomach. As she softly ran a paw down Tumblebrutus' back, she heard three soft voices coming from behind their "bedroom".
"Shhhh!! You're being loud, Mina!!"
"Sorry Lorenzo!"
"Come on, you two!"
Knowing full well that her children were up to no good, Etcetera lay back down, silent. All of a sudden, a loud "One…Two…Three…NOW!!!" was heard, as three kittens pounced on their sleeping father.
"What in Heavyside…", Tumble snorted, trying to shield himself from the madness. When he saw that it was just his children, he relaxed and laughed.
"Another wake-up call?", he asked.
"Well, someone had to do it, you sleepyhead", Etcetera laughed in her bubbly laugh. She looked at him lovingly as she lay on her stomach, head propped up on her hands.
"Yeah! You're not supposed to sleep ALL day, Daddy!!", Mina said, crossing her tiny arms. The only girl out of the litter, she was very much 'Daddy's Little Girl'. Mina was already beautiful, and mostly brown and white, like her father, even inheriting his trademark brown patch over her right eye. She was as bright and bubbly, just as her mother had been, and her big heart sometimes got her into trouble.
"Come on, Daddy!! We wanna go see Uncle Pounce and Aunt Leccy to see if their kittens have come yet!!", Lorenzo said, bouncing. The oldest of the tree, he was a handful. He was mostly white, but with brown and red markings, a lot like his mother, but broad and lean, like his father. He looked up to his Uncle Pounce, and was always in some sort of mischief, usually including his uncle.
"Mama, are you gonna come too?", came the little voice of Buck, the youngest. He was little and very hyper, and got his name because of the way he was bucking his back legs as soon as he was born. He was a small brown kitten, with white and black stripes, and his face was mostly white. He was the shy one of the three, and stayed close to his mother a lot.
"Of course! It'll be just one big family outing!", Etcetera said, motioning the kittens to get ready for their morning baths. *~*~*~*
Tumble walked with Etcetera, her paw in his, through the Junkyard, their three kittens following shortly behind.
"Look Mama!! It's Grandma!!", Lorenzo said, spotting Jellylorum. The kits took off towards their grandmother, and nearly knocked her over as the hugged her.
"Good morning, my kits!", Jelly said, smiling big. She waved to her daughter and son-in-law, and asked where they were headed.
"We're going to see Uncle Pounce and Aunt Leccy!", Mina said, bouncing around her brothers.
"Well, last I heard, they were doing fine, and getting ready for their kits. Send them my love", Jelly said, nudging her grandchildren back over to their parents. Just then, they saw their friends, Scarlet and Niko, bounding over to them.
"HEY!!!" Mina said, pouncing on Scarlet
"Can we go see Uncle Pounce and Aunt Leccy with you??", Niko asked Tumble "That's fine with me", he replied to the boy.
"…and then, he looked over at me, and SMILED!!! I almost lost it right there…", Mina was explaining to Scarlet, taking about her encounter with Tugger (A/N: like mother, like daughter, huh?). Scarlet let out an excited squeal, thinking about the handsome Tom.
Etcetera and Tumble shared a smile, the memories of their own kittenhood flooding their memories. They turned to the kittens, and Tumble ran at Mina, grabbing her, and lifting her over his shoulder, as she giggled and squealed with delight. Buck latched onto his mother's leg, and Lorenzo puffed his chest out, pretending to be Tugger, trying to impress Scarlet. As the happy family (and co.) rounded the corner to the den of Pouncival and Electra, they saw half of the tribe waiting outside. Etcetera gently pushed her son out of her way, and ran inside, only to find Electra delivering the last of her kittens. Etcetera counted the kittens and saw that Electra had delivered six healthy, and very strong winded, kittens. Jemima was holding her sister's hand, and their mother, Jennyanydots, was holding the last kitten, cleaning it off. Etcetera ran to her friend, and hugged her, smiling big.
"Oh Leccy, congratulations!! They're beautiful!!", Etcetera said, looking from her friend to the newborn kittens. Two of the kittens were raven colored, with red markings a lot like their mothers and one kitten was the spitting image of Pouncival. There was also a calico, and two orange tabbies.
"Well, Oi'll be!! 'at one looks loike me!!", came the high-pitched, excited voice of Rumpleteazer, pointing at the calico. Electra smiled softly and looked at her friends gathered there, just to be with her in her happy moment.
*~*~*~*
Munkustrap walked over to where his brother and father were sitting, smiling big, informing them of the six kittens Electra had delivered. Old Deuteronomy smiled and looked to the sky.
"This year has been a happy one! Twelve new additions to the tribe, and all of them healthy!", he said sitting back down.
"I believe something troubles you, even through all this happiness", Tugger said to his aging father. Old Deuteronomy sighed, and looked at his sons.
"The time is coming for someone else to take my place. Someone who is loving and kind and wise.", the aging cat started slowly. The two Toms nodded, for they knew this as well.
"This someone", Deuteronomy continued, "Is one of you"
Tugger and Munkustrap blinked, looking at each other. Then they both kneeled, taking their fathers' paws.
"Whichever of us is chosen, Father, we will not let you, or the tribe, down", Munkustrap said, smiling at his father.
"I know, my sons. I know"