Chapter 2: A Temporary Calm


A/N: This story is alternate universe; the Jellicle cats in this story are feral and live in a tribe in the forest, not in a junkyard in town. There are numerous cat tribes in the forest, usually at least a day or two travel (for cats) from each other. Humans in the forest are rare. (Unrelated to this story, but if you want to see how amazing Mistoffelees is, look up kxMPWx76cec on YouTube.)

Also, as an aside, this story was just a relaxation tool for me, so don't expect a complicated, in-depth, long story. It's meant to be a simple but enjoyable story about some special cats. :)


It wouldn't be completely accurate to say that there was a long silence in the cave, but there was no speaking for some time. The muffled sound of rushing water still came from outside along with the scraping and cracking of debris washing past. Breathing inside was a bit heavier and more audible than would generally be normal, at least for most of the inhabitants, and soft whimpering came occasionally from the youngest tom. The crackling of the fire grew a bit less over time as no one added any kindling to it, but it was still present.

Apart from these soft sounds, the first noise to break the otherwise present silence was a low growl from Macavity as he rose to his feet. Pacing the full perimeter of the little cave, he began to examine every crack and crevice.

"Come on, Mac," murmured Tugger, slowly sitting up himself and separating slightly from Munkustrap. "You can't want to go there out right now."

"I want to know that we'll be able to get out eventually," growled Macavity.

"I'm sure that Mistoffelees can open the door again, after the flood has passed," answered Munkustrap.

"You're sure, are you?" snapped Macavity. "In case you missed it, there's no food in here! And how do you know that magical cat's even going to wake up? And when he does, where's he going to get the strength to undo what he did? He might have just killed us all!"

Plato and Tumblebrutus snarled, and Pouncival clutched Mistoffelees' unconscious form to himself, glaring at Macavity.

"Mistoffelees saved our lives!" hissed Tumblebrutus. "We all would have died, if he hadn't blocked the flood!"

"He'll wake up," stated Pouncival firmly. "It's going to take a while, but he'll definitely wake up."

"How long is 'a while'?" scoffed Macavity. "Hours? Days?"

The younger toms looked a little more uncomfortable with that question.

"It ... might be a few days," murmured Pouncival. "Maybe."

"He's only been unconscious for more than a day once," put in Tumblebrutus. "Usually, even when he wears himself out enough to pass out, it's not for more than a day or so."

"A day or so," growled Macavity in a low, dangerous voice. "So we're going to be trapped in a small cave with no food and no water for a day or so?!"

"Macavity," interrupted Munkustrap, looking at his brother firmly. "We're going to be fine. We'll figure something out."

"Like what?" demanded Macavity angrily.

"Tugger," said Munkustrap, turning to his youngest brother. "You should sit with the others and help to hold Mistoffelees."

Tugger blinked in surprise. "What? Why me?"

"He said that you were 'full of life' when you touched him earlier," answered Munkustrap. "What else could he mean but that he absorbed more strength from you than from others?"

"He might have meant I was warm or good-looking or soft or whatever," argued Tugger.

Munkustrap just cocked an eyebrow at him sardonically, and Tugger gave in with a sigh. There was no arguing with an oldest sibling's "look."

"Fine," Tugger grumbled.

Moving around the dying fire, Tugger approached the little tangle of younger toms. These looked up at him uncertainly, but, apparently agreeing with Munkustrap's logic, soon shuffled back a little to give Tugger space to join them. This Tugger did uncomfortably.

Back in his own tribe's home, Tugger was more than used to having young queens and even young toms snuggle against him, far more often than he wanted, to be honest. But Tugger himself wasn't one to snuggle against another. He would nuzzle or rub another cat if he was flirting or just wanting to show affection (rarely) or to offer comfort (less rarely but still not frequently). He had also voluntarily rubbed against Mistoffelees earlier, mainly as a thank you for starting the fire, after being told that that was how the little tom restored his strength, and then again later, when the magical cat was in the process of saving their lives. To do it now though, of his own accord, with strangers and his brothers watching, when the little tom in question was unconscious no less, was mildly disconcerting to Tugger. Nevertheless, if this was going to help them, he'd do it. He had to admit that Munkustrap's argument made sense, though whether it would actually help to speed the little tom's awakening or not was anyone's guess.

Sitting down next to Pouncival, Tugger leaned gently against the little black tom in the other's arms. He nuzzled Mistoffelees' neck softly and began to slowly rub his hand against the thin back. He hadn't really paid attention to the feel of the younger cat when he was holding him earlier, but he was very aware of it now. The little tom was unhealthily thin. Every bone made its presence obvious beneath the soft layer of short fur of the magical tom. Tugger wouldn't be surprised if he had been nearly starving for quite some time. It was no wonder to him now that the others had insisted that Mistoffelees eat more than them. Had he known how much they were going to need him, Tugger would have done the same.

Pressing a hand gently to the white chest of the tuxedo cat, Tugger felt the faint fluttering of his heart. His breathing was so light as to be almost non-existent, and even his heartbeat, although clearly present, felt weak to Tugger. It was a little worrying. What if Macavity was right? What if Mistoffelees didn't wake up? Would they all die in this stone tomb, slowing starving to death? Tugger shook his head, attempting to banish those thoughts. He wasn't going to think of anything of the sort. Besides, he and his brothers were all healthy and well-fed, so they'd last for quite some time. The younger toms wouldn't, seeing how thin they all were, but Tugger and his brothers would be alright.

Tugger almost growled to himself as he realized the sort of thoughts that were filling his head. They were all going to be alright. None of them, not even the youngsters, were going to starve in here. They'd wait for the flood to pass, and then they would all get out of here alive. He again nuzzled the little black cat, realizing suddenly that he had himself begun purring softly, subconsciously attempting to calm himself. He stopped, hoping that the others hadn't noticed. If they did, no one said anything.

Macavity continued his exploration and soon began digging at the back of the cave, opposite the former opening. Tugger's ears perked as he looked at his older brother.

"Find something?" he asked.

"There's a little opening," answered Macavity, still scratching at the dirt. "It goes up. I can't tell how wide it is yet."

"Macavity, you may want to save your energy," said Munkustrap. "As the others said, we might be in here for some time before Mistoffelees wakes. When he does, and when he opens the cave, we'll all be happier if you the have strength to hunt."

Macavity hissed. "Hunt for yourself. If I get out of here, you're all on your own!"

The younger toms looked at him in surprise at that and then glanced at Tugger and Munkustrap to see their reactions. Tugger just shook his head with a grin.

"Ignore him," he whispered. "He doesn't mean it."

As the excavation at the far end of the cave continued, Munkustrap busied himself with the stuttering fire. He carefully rearranged the mostly burnt sticks of the little fire to keep it going for now and then began to rearrange and even break the remaining unused sticks. Tumblebrutus looked at him in curiosity.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Munkustrap glanced up at him as he continued his work. "If the fire dies, we'll have no light," he explained. "If we try to keep the fire going enough to provide warmth, it'll be dead within an hour or two, but if we ration the wood to just keep it barely burning, we'll have enough light to see by for quite some time."

"And we'll just all huddle together for warmth tonight?" smirked Tugger teasingly. "You really think Macavity will be willing to do that?"

A muffled snarl from the back wall was the immediate answer. "I'll freeze first!"

Munkustrap shook his head dismissively. "We'll do whatever is needed," he answered calmly. "With no wind in here and no opening to the outside, it'll stay relatively warm anyway. Macavity won't freeze, and the rest of us will be as warm as we want to be."

The scrabbling sounds and frustrated growls grew momentarily before Macavity drew back from the little opening he'd found with a short yowl of anger. "It's too small for me," he hissed. Turning, he looked sharply over the young toms. "You," he snapped, looking at Pouncival. "Come here and see if you fit."

Pouncival's eyes widened, and he cowered back, still gripping Mistoffelees. He looked around at the others fearfully, and Tumblebrutus and Plato moved closer to support him. Munkstrap sighed.

"Leave him alone, Macavity," he said.

Ignoring his brother, Macavity stalked toward the younger ones. Pouncival started back in fear, and Plato moved between him and Macavity, but the other just growled. Before he reached them however, Munkustrap stepped quickly in front of Macavity. Standing almost chest to chest with his younger but slightly taller brother, Munkustrap spoke in a low, firm voice.

"Leave them alone."

Macavity growled again and made to move past him, but Munkustrap's hand shot out gripping his brother's shoulder.

"Macavity," Munkustrap said, almost growling himself.

The two toms stood for a moment, glaring at each other in a clear battle of wills, as the others in the cave watched intently. Macavity's eyes blazed with anger and frustration, and his lips curled back to show his yellowed teeth in a vicious, silent snarl. Munkustrap however stood firmly, his eyes never leaving those of the ginger tom in front of him and his muscles never relaxing in the slightest. It was obvious that he was ready to fight the other if needed.

After a long, painfully intense silence, Macavity slapped his brother's hand away with a snarl and turned to stalk to the back wall of the cave again. Once more, he began his exploration of every plane and shadow of the walls of the cave. Munkustrap took a deep breath, watching his brother with a look of pity now, but then turned back himself to the little pile of sticks. He had already finished his work with them, but he busied himself with silently reorganizing them anyway, not looking at any of the others.

Tugger just swallowed and said nothing, continuing to rub Mistoffelees' fur gently. He knew that Macavity was driving himself crazy with being trapped in here, and he was afraid that a fight of some sort might be inevitable, if they didn't find at least a crack or tunnel to the outside soon. All he could do was hope that Munkustrap would be able to keep him from doing anything rash. If it came down to it, Tugger knew that he'd join Munk in trying to subdue Macavity, but he also knew that the larger tom could take on both of them. He truly hoped that it wouldn't come to that. They all needed to stay calm right now and wait for Mistoffelees to wake up. The last thing that they needed was to fight amongst themselves.

"Pouncival," came Tumblebrutus' voice. "Could you try checking out the opening he's found?"

Tugger looked at the brothers in surprise, and both Munkustrap and Macavity stopped what they were doing to stare as well. Pouncival just looked around at them uncertainly.

"I'll come with you," continued Tumblebrutus. "I may not be able to fit, but I'll stay as close as I can, and you don't have to go any further than you want."

"B-b-but what if it goes into the flood?" squeaked Pouncival. "I'll drown!"

"It won't," Tumble assured him. "If it's dry on this end, then the other end must be above the flood."

Or there's no opening at the other end, though Tugger, but he wisely kept this thought to himself.

Pouncival swallowed nervously. "But ... Mistoffelees?"

"I'll take him," said Tugger.

Pouncival still hesitated, but he didn't object as Tugger gently lifted the little tom from Pouncival's arms, enveloping him in a warm hug and settling him on Tugger's own lap. After another nervous look at his brother and an encouraging nod from the latter, Pouncival finally rose and walked to the back of the cave with Tumblebrutus at his side.

The little opening was at the floor, and even with the dirt dug away by Macavity, Pouncival had to lie on his stomach to shimmy into it.

"I'm right here," soothed Tumblebrutus when Pouncival gave a slight whimper, halfway inside the little passage. "I'll pull you out, if I have to."

Pouncival took a few audible breaths, then squirmed further into the dark hole. When he was far enough in that only his feet were visible, he stopped. They could hear scratching and scrabbling from inside. After a short time, he began squirming back again, but he suddenly gasped.

"Tumble!" he practically screeched. "I'm stuck! I can't move!"

Instantly, Tumblebrutus grasped his brother's feet and pulled, and Munkustrap leapt to his feet to help. Munk wasn't needed however, as Pouncival was quickly drawn from the hole by his brother's strength alone. Once out, he gave a loud sneeze and brushed his ears to remove the dirt. Tumblebrutus immediately began to help him, licking the dust and dirt from his brother's coat.

"It's blocked," said Pouncival. "It gets really tight in there, and I couldn't even reach a paw too far. Not even Mistoffelees could fit through there."

Macavity growled in frustration and turned away. Munkustrap stepped forward and offered a hand to Pouncival to help him stand.

"Thank you for trying," he smiled. "That was brave of you."

Pouncival and Tumblebrutus both seemed a little taken aback by that, but Tugger saw that Pouncival's eyes shone momentarily with pride as a little smile played about his lips. It faded quickly, however, as he moved back to sit next to Tugger, looking at Mistoffelees with worry. Tumblebrutus came back also and continued to groom his brother as the other nuzzled against Mistoffelees, closing his eyes. Being so close, Tugger heard as Pouncival whispered into the unconscious tom's ear.

"Please wake up soon," Pouncival breathed. "Please!"

Tugger had loosened his own grip on the little tuxedo tom, in case Pouncival wanted to take him back into his own arms, but Pouncival seemed content to leave Mistoffelees propped up on Tugger's lap. He just wrapped his arms around his friend, burying his head in the other's shoulder, not seeming to care that he was pressed against Tugger as well. For his part, Tugger just sat there, hoping that he was actually helping in some way.

The hours passed, and the sticks were slowly added to the fire, one by one. Macavity seemed a little calmer after Pouncival's attempt in the hole, even though it hadn't yielded any favorable results. At least they had an answer now, rather than just wondering whether an exit was staring them in the face. The large tom continued to scour every inch of the cave, going over it all more than once, but he didn't growl or hiss now. Watching him, Tugger guessed that his brother was merely trying to distract himself, likely focusing on this clearly fruitless task in an effort to keep himself sane. Fortunately for everyone, it seemed to be working.

Munkustrap sighed as Pouncival yawned for the second time.

"We should try to get some sleep," he said. "It's likely night outside."

"Won't the fire go out?" asked Tumblebrutus. "Should we take turns staying awake?"

"Macavity," called Munkustrap. The other paused and glanced at him. "Would you keep the fire alive?" he asked. "You can see that I'm trying to make the sticks last as long as possible; we only want to keep a tiny flame going. I'm guessing that you don't plan to sleep, so would you be willing to do this?"

Macavity growled quietly.

"You can wake me, if you do decide to sleep," continued Munkustrap.

The ginger tom looked at him for a long moment, then huffed. "Fine," was all he said before turning back to the cave wall.

Munkustrap smiled. Turning back to the younger toms then, he asked, "Do you mind if I join you all to sleep? I would just take Tugger as my personal heater, but I would like him to stay with Mistoffelees as long as possible."

"Of course," stammered Tumblebrutus, sounding only a little nervous. "That's fine."

It was a little awkward, maneuvering themselves to keep warm with friends and still-somewhat-strangers together while keeping their unconscious friend close but not crushed. They did manage it somehow, and Tugger found himself drifting off to sleep more comfortably than he had the night before.