Skimbleshanks, Coricopat, Admetus, Victor, Tugger and Macavity searched the sewers for the next three hours hoping to find Munkustrap, or at least his body for a proper Jellicle burial.. The darkness and slippery walkways made going difficult, and progress was slow. Eventually, they were forced to give up. Skimble stood at the bottom of the ladder as the other toms climbed back up to the surface of the Junkyard. He was about to climb up when he noticed something... Something red. Stepping off the ladder, he knelt down next to a smear of blood on the edge of the walkway. The Railcat hissed as he balled his hand into a fist. The rushing water of the sewer had caught Munkustrap's body. There would be no way to find it now.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Demeter said softly, her voice still shaking from crying.
She was standing in front of the Jellicle Leader inside Jennyanydots' and Bustopher's den. The two other Jellicles were standing a short distance away, Bustopher still comforting his mate.
Deuteronmy nodded slowly. "I have something for you, Demeter." he said. "It's something from Munkustrap."
"From Munkustrap?" Demeter wasn't sure what to say.
The old tom nodded. He reached under Munkustrap's bed and pulled out a small box and handed it to the calico queen. "Open it." he urged quietly.
Her hand shaking a little, Demeter opened the box, her eyes widening a little at what she found inside. It was a collar, one that the two of them had seen one day as they were walking past a human store. The collar was made from black leather, and was decorated with small silver spikes and amber rinestones. In her mind Demeter remembered talking to Munkustrap about it...
Oh! Look at that collar, Munk! Isn't it beautiful?
It kind of looks like the one Tugger got for Bombalurina. Well, except that the stones on it are amber instead of red.
Munk, there's a world of difference between this one and hers. You toms just don't understand fashion, do you?
Ummm, look at me, Demeter. Basic gray?
*giggles* Yeah, yeah, I can see your point.
But you're right. It would look nice on you.
*sigh* But I'd never be able to get it. You need humans to get those sorts of things.
How Tugger ever got humans, I'll never know...
Humans like exotic looking cats.
The conversation had continued, but nothing more had been said about the collar. Honestly, she had almost forgotten about it aside from the times Bombalurina would admire her own. Demeter looked up. "But, Munk never had humans. How did he get this?"
"I have humans, dear." Jenny finally looked up and separated from Bustopher. "We convenced them to get it. He wanted to give it to you when we finally had a birthday celebrations for all of you kits who are turning a year in a couple of months."
"But, considering the cercumstances, I thought it would be better to give it to you now." Deuteronomy said quietly. "Demeter, I know that right now is going to be rough for you." Demeter nodded slowly. After all, she knew that Munk's death was at her feet. How Jennyanydots, Bustopher and Old Deuteronomy could even stand to look at her right now was a mystery to her. The Jellicle Leader gently took the box from Demeter's trembling grasp so that he could take her hands in his own. "Munkustrap cared a great deal about you, Demeter. I know for a fact that he was more than willing to sacrifice his own life for yours. He would want you to be happy now. Please, do that for him."
Demeter nodded. There was no way she would have been able to say anything at that moment. Tears would have come first. She started a little as she felt Jenny's hand on the back of her neck, gently brushing some fur into place. "He was so happy when he knew that he was going to be able to give this to you." she said quietly as she put the collar on the young queen. "It was the brightest I had seen his face in a long while."
Her hand gently came up to feel the collar. Her birthday present from Munkustrap. Now a link she'd have to him forever. Tears welled up in Demeter's eyes. Old Deuteronomy saw and stood up, taking Demeter in his arms, simply letting her cry.
Munkustrap was faintly aware of a gentle rocking motion, like he was being carried. His eyes were nearly swollen shut, but he could make out a human face looking over at him.
"He's gonna be alright, isn't he Mommy?"
"I don't know, dear. He's badly hurt and he's not a very healthy cat."
Am so healthy... just... tired... sore...
He felt himself being placed onto something soft. Soft and warm. Then he felt a hand gently roaming over him. Munkustrap flinched at the touch, causing it to withdraw briefly. "Poor cat. You've probably never been around people, have you? You just lay still and let me make sure you're not going to have any of these cuts get infected."
What felt like a warm, damp cloth gently washed over his aching body. Munkustrap winced a few times, and every time he did, the human woman would pause and gently speak and stroke him in a, well, in a rather reassuring way.
Like a human Aunt Jenny....
"How do you think he ended up in the water, Mommy?" the human kit asked.
"It looks like he might have fallen into the sewers, dear." the human queen answered. "Well, that's what it smells like. He's going to need a bath to get that smell off of him."
There was a sound from a short distance away, it sounded like a door opening and closing. A moment later, Munkustrap heard someone enter the room. It was another human, but whoever it was wansn't near enough for him to see. "What's going on?" The voice belonged to a human tom. "Clara, I thought we had this talk. No pets. I'm around them all day, I don't need one to look after when I get home from the clinic..."
"David," the human queen cut off her mate, "Casey and I found him floating in a ditch. We couldn't just leave him there. Anyway, I wasn't planning on keeping him. I was going to take him to the shelter as soon as I made sure he was alright."
The human tom, David, sighed. "Clara, you know Casey is going to get attached if we keep him here..."
"You're a vet, David. Don't you at least feel some sort of obligation to a hurt animal?"
"That's low..."
"Well? You could at least take a look at him. Make Casey feel better."
"Alright... But don't get your hopes up. I don't want a cat running around the house." he grumbled as he bent over Munkustrap. Munkustrap tried to focus on the human's face, but it was so blurry... "God, this cat should be dead, Clara... Look at him! He looks like he was just beaten to within an inch of his life."
"We did think he fell into the sewers." the human queen replied.
Clara... That's what her name was... The tom was David, and the kit was Casey.
What increadibly Sensible, Everyday Names...
David shook his head. "He didn't get anything but the smell from the sewers. This cat was in some sort of fight. And look at the rest of him... Dull coat, visible ribs... If this cat were a human, he'd be one of those kids in the third-world aid commercials."
"What? Is he sick or something?" Clara asked.
"No, malnurished. He was probably the runt of the litter or something." David replied.
Runt? He hadn't been called that in a long time...
"Are we gonna help him, Daddy?" Casey's voice came from somewhere behind him.
"Great..." David muttered. "Casey, you know I want to help animals, but we really don't need a cat in the house."
"But Mommy's going to take him to the shelter if we don't keep him!"
"And he'll be avalible to go to a good home at the shelter, son." David said. Not that his words were having much of an effect on the human kit.
"But you said that people didn't adopt sick animals from the shelter." Casey was obviously getting upset. "You said they only liked puppies and kittens and that other animals get put to sleep."
"Yes, some animals get put to sleep, but it doesn't hurt them, Casey."
"But they still die!"
Die?
Woah! Wait a second! Munkustrap's mind jerked awake.
You are not taking me anywhere that I'm getting killed!
"Please, Daddy! Let him stay! I don't have anyone to play with here since Josh moved."
The human queen moved closer to her mate. "For pete's sake, David. It's just one cat. It'll help Casey learn some responsibility if he has to take care of it."
"Isn't that what you said about the gerbil?"
Clara's voice lowered. "David, we are keeping the cat. Casey doesn't have many friends, and he'll at least have something to play with if we keep him."
Her voice didn't leave much room for compromise.
So Munkustrap now had humans.
It was a while before Munkustrap was able to get back on his feet. Apparently he had broken a few ribs in his journey through the sewers, and it was too uncomfortable to move around with his body taped up. But Casey, the human kit, did seem to be taking an active interest in making sure that he wasn't too bored in the meantime.
From what Munkustrap knew of humans, he guessed that Casey was about seven or eight. But unlike other human kits he had seen, Casey knew how to treat cats correctly. He was always very careful when he picked Munkustrap up, making sure to support his entire body, and he carefully brushed Munkustrap every day. After it was clear that Munkustrap's novelty was not the reason for the attention, the gray tom actually started to let himself enjoy the gentle regimine. The only thing that Munkustrap didn't care for was the name the humans insisted on him being called.
Smokey.
How common.
But he couldn't speak human, and they couldn't understand Jellicle, so there was little he could do about it. So he just learnt to endure it, remembering that Aunt Jenny had the same complaint about her humans.
A few days after ariving at the human home, Munkustrap smelled something near his bed in the laundry room. Opening his eyes (thankfully the swelling had gone down), he saw a metal dish nearby with Casey sitting next to it. "Hey Smokey!" the kit said happily. "Daddy said that you can probably eat solid food again, so Mommy and I went to the market today and got you some really good stuff."
Munkustrap looked down to see some meatish-looking glop that looked like at one time had been in a can.
Appitizing...
But it smelled good...
Carefully turning himself over to get his feet under him, Munkustrap slowly pulled himself out his bed and to the dish. He sniffed at the meaty stuff and, after deciding that it most probably was (or had been at one point in it's existance) meat, took a small bite. It tasted a bit odd, not like any meat he'd ever had before, but it wasn't the worst stuff he'd ever had.
And he was hungry...
So he took another bite and eventually made his way through the entire bowl. "Mommy! He's eating it!" Casey said as he walked back to his mother.
"That's good, dear." Clara replied. "Daddy said that food would help him get over some of that malnurishment. That means he'll get bigger and grow up to be a big cat."
Munkustrap looked up at the two humans. What in Heaviside were they talking about? He was full grown as far a Jellicles went. The only way he could grow was the way the Uncle Bustopher did: Out.
Nearly a year passed...
Munkustrap's life was that of an indoor housecat...
Which he hated...
He had to get back to the Junkyard...
The Jellicle Ball was soon...
Casey picked Munkustrap up and carried him over to the sofa in the family room. The human kit pulled out a book and opened the front cover. Munkustrap looked in, curious. And a little surprised to see a picture of himself on the front page! It had obviously been taken when he first came to the humans' home, bandages were still around his body, and the bruises and cuts on his body were just healing. He looked up at Casey, wondering what the human kit wanted to do.
"Mommy and I made a scrapbook for you, Smokey!" the kit said with a smile on his face. "We wanted to keep a record of you getting better."
Interesting...
But it was nice to think that... his... humans thought enough of him to do that. As nice a them giving him the black collar that was decorated with small silver studs. That was David's idea. Munkustrap had grown on the human tom, and David had insisted that he get a collar. "In case he ever gets out. Then Animal Control will know where he lives and he won't go to the shelter." Munkustrap still didn't quite know what that ment, but he was glad that he'd never have to go to the shelter.
Munkustrap settled down on Casey's lap and, as the kit gently scratched behind his ears, watched as Casey slowly turned the pages and talked about each of the pictures. Munkustrap really wasn't paying too much attention. He was enjoying the ear skritch too much and had learned that humans generally didn't know whether or not he was paying attention anyway. But then, when Casey got to the last page, something caught his eye.
A picture, one he remembered having taken.
But the cat... The cat...
Didn't look like him at all...
Munkustrap jumped into the center of Casey's lap to get a better look at the picture. The cat he saw in it wasn't really gray, the color was closer to a silver, the black lines that had before only been hinted at on his coat standing out boldly against it. Munkustrap shook his head and jumped out of Casey's lap. Something was wrong... Jumping to the floor, he ran upstairs where he knew that there was a mirror in the spare guestroom.
When he reached the room he looked in the mirror only to have that same strange tom looking back at him. But this time, he couldn't deny that it was him looking back at himself. His coat had lightened and lay sleek next to his body. His headfur had lost the shape it had held when he was younger, looking more like his father's save for the the fact that his father had long fur all around his face. But what Munkustrap couldn't belive was that he had actually grown! Just like Clara had said he would! He was now at least as tall as Skimbleshanks, if not taller, and his new larger frame had filled out through hours of play with Casey so that muscles could be seen easily moving under his coat.
Sitting down, Munkustrap thought what this ment. It ment that when he finally got back to the Junkyard, no one would recognize him. Heaviside! If he hadn't recognized himself, then how could he expect anyone else to?
The Jellicle Ball was only a few hours away. Munkustrap was pacing furiously by the door. If one of the humans opened it, he could be out in a heartbeat. "Smokey, get away from there!" Clara said, gently tapping his tail end with her broom. "You know you can't go outside!"
"You know, dear, it probably wouldn't hurt him." David said from the kitchen table. "He obviously lived outside before we took him in, and he knows he can get food here, so he'll most likely come back in a little while when he gets hungry." Munkustrap meowed in agreement. Clara didn't look too sure.
But she opened the door, letting Munkustrap into the night.
Munkustrap ran happily towards the Junkyard. As a Jellicle, he could find his way blind when he was lost, so the Junkyard simply called to him. Entering the Junkyard, he listened for sounds of cats celebrating. There was sound, but it was a somber sound. Munkustrap was confused, the Jellicle Ball of the year before had been full of life and energy. He crept quietly towards the center of the Junkyard, not wanting to interrupt anyone's song. Keeping himself to the shadows, he saw the tribe.
He recognized most of the cats. The kits he had grown up with had chaged about as much as he had. Demeter and Bombalurina had grown into beautiful young queens, Tugger's scraggily beginings of a mane had grown out and looked rather impressive now. Coricopat and Tantomile's air of mystery had grown even more if that was even possible. Victor and Admetus looked relitively the same, but larger and stronger. There were two cats that Munkustrap didn't recognize. One was a black and white patched tom who lingered near an Abyssinian queen. Macavity was nowhere to be seen...
Munkustrap was still puzzled. Over the whole tribe was a feeling of sadness.
And where was Father?
Skimbleshanks hopped up onto the tire as the twins caught something in the air. Munkustrap froze, he wasn't sure what he should do if they had found him. Instead the words that came from Tantomile were the familiar "I belive it is Old Deuteronomy." At their words, the black and white tom rushed off to greet the Jellicle Leader, and Tugger and Skimble looked at each other and began the song to greet him.
"Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time;
He's a Cat who has lived many lives in succession.
He was famous in proverb and famous in rhyme
A long while before Queen Victoria's accession."
Tugger than stepped in with a rich and smooth voice that Munkustrap couldn't help but smile at. He must surely be attracting queens now.
"Old Deuteronomy's buried nine wives
And more - I am tempted to say, nintey-nine;
And his numerous progeny prospers and thrives
And the village is proud of him in his delcline."
Skimble then continued.
"At the sight of that placed and bland physiognomy,
When he sits on the sun on the vicarage wall,
The Oldest Inhabitant croaks:"
Then they sang together.
"Well, of all...
Things... Can it be... really! ... No! ... Yes!...
Ho! hi!
Oh, my eye!
My mind may be wandering, but I confess
I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!"
Then the black and white led Old Deuteronomy into the Junkyard and to the tire. Munkustrap gasped. His father looked so old! Surely that couldn't be just from a year's aging!
The other cats had continued their singing and Old Deuteronomy looked like he was making an attempt to look festive, but he was failing.
"My legs may be tottery, I must go slow
And be careful of Old Deuteronomy!"
The cats fell silent. They weren't sure what to do. Their Jellicle Protector wasn't there to lead them into the next dance, and the Jellicle Leader looked strained.
Quietly, Munkustrap climbed a little ways onto a pile of junk so that he could see the rest of the tribe. He knew inwardly that he had to be the cause of his father's state in some way. When he reached the desired hight, he stopped and quietly continued the song that Skimble and Tugger had begun.
"Old Deuteronomy sits in the street,
He sits in the High Street on market day;
The bullocks may bellow, the sheep they may bleat,
But the dogs and herdsmen will turn them away."
The tribe froze, and then slowly turned at the sound of the new voice. A gentle but stong voice that they traced up the junk pile the the strange silver tom. Munkustrap slowly moved down until he was on the ground, then started to slowly approach the group.
"The cars and the lorries run over the kerb,
And the villagers put up a notice: ROAD CLOSED-
So that nothing untoward may chance to disturb
Deuteronomy's rest when he feels so disposed
Or when he's engaged in domestic economy:
And the Oldest Inabitant croaks: 'Well, of all...
Things... Can it be... really!... No!... Yes!...
Ho! hi!
Oh, my eye!
My mind may be wondering, but I confess
I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!"
Munkustrap cautiously moved closer to Old Duteronomy, when the black and white stepped protectively between them. Drawing himself to his full hight, Munk easily looked down on the other tom, but made no move to use any force. The black and white looked back at Old Deuteronomy, not sure what to do. The rest of the tribe was similarly afflicted. Old Deuteronomy looked at the black and white. "It's alright, Alonzo. He means no harm." Alonzo didn't look too convinced but obeyed.
Munkustrap approached the tire slowly, a year is a long time...
Then, slowly, a smile spread over Old Deuteronomy's face and tears started to form at the corners of his eyes. He threw open his arms and Munkustrap joyously embraced his father. He nuzzled his father, taking in the comforting scent that he had missed so much.
"Welcome home, Munkustrap."