"Welcome home, Munkustrap."
"Father..." Munkustrap whispered softly, nuzzling Old Deuteronomy's as he had when he was a kitten. "Father, I've missed you so much. I was so scared I'd never see you again..."
The old tom gently stroked the fur on his son's head, looking like he might burst into tears at any moment, while wearing the largest smile that he had in a year. "But you have come home at last..." And for the first time in many years, Old Deuteronomy was at a loss for words, emotion threatening to overwhelm him.
Behind him, Munkustrap was faintly aware of the whispering of the other cats.
"Munkustrap? Who's Munkustrap?" An unfamiliar tom voice, obviously the black and white Alonzo.
"The shrimp..? No way..!" Victor and Admetus were whispering to each other.
"I thought he was dead..." Bombalurina's silky voice, with an uncharacteristic catch in it.
"It couldna be a ghost, could it?" Skimbleshanks' voice shook, but more from wanting, but not daring to belive his eyes rather than fright.
"He's alive?" Jellylorum's soft voice, one of the first Munkustrap had ever heard.
"My little Munkustrap?"
Another familiar voice, one that Munkustrap could not ignore.
Out of all the tribe, the Gumbie Cat was the only one who was not rooted to the spot. She advanced slowly and cautiously, as if Munkustrap were some fragile illusion that would vanish if she actually dared to touch it. Reluctantly tearing himself away from Deuteronomy, Munkustrap turned and gathered the older queen into a hug. "Aunt Jenny..." he whispered softly.
"Heavyside," she sniffed, trying to keep herself together. "Were you trying to give me a heart attack? Dissapearing like that?" But the tone of her voice had no hint of a real scolding in it. After a moment, she took a small step back, but not releasing his hands, and gave him an apraising look. "You've grown." she smiled. "You must be a head taller than me. And your coat looks wonderful, so well-kept! Oh," she wiped a tear away from her eye. "I'm rambling now."
Munkustrap smiled and hugged her again. "I've missed you and your rambling, Aunt Jenny."
Skimbleshanks finally got his feet to work again and quickly moved over to Munkustrap. The two toms touched paws in greeting before Skimble grabbed the younger tom and pulled him into a hug. "Ach, lad! We thought you were as good as dead. How'd yeh survive?"
"I almost didn't." Munk replied. "I was found by a human family. The tom human is an animal doctor."
"A vetranarian." Jenny smiled. "And to think I used to hate the sight of them."
"I should have guessed." Skimble nodded. "I see yeh have a collar like the rest of us kept cats." Munkustrap nodded.
Munkustrap then turned, his eyes stopping on a half-cut pipe that had been built up to act as a lounge-type chair. From it, Rum Tum Tugger sat, smiling. "Welcome home, big brother."
Smiling, Munkustrap took a few steps closer to the pipe. "Tugger."
"Hope you're not expecting a big mushy display from me." Tugger grinned.
Munk's smile grew a bit. "Of course not. That would probably to irrepable damage to your carefully cultivated image that you have painstakingly built up for the sake of the queens."
"Oh, for Heavyside's sake!" Bombalurina rolled her eyes. "Get down there and give him a hug or something." she said, pushing a laughing Tugger off his seat and down onto the ground.
"What the heck." Tugger laughed, hugging Munk. "About time you got back." he said when he stepped away. "This whole responsibility thing was starting to get to me."
Munkustrap looked puzzled. "Responsibility thing?" he asked.
Skimbleshanks nodded. "Aye. As the third son of Old Deuteronomy, when you and Macavity dissapeared he was next in line."
Munkustrap couldn't believe his ears. "Macavity's gone? But... he was looking forward to becoming the Jellicle Protector."
"That's what we thought too." Skimble nodded. "But one day he just wasn't there. There weren't any signs of struggles or fights, so it looked like he simply left. No one knows to where."
Over in the corner of the yard Demeter shifted her wight slightly nervously.
"But, protectin' is something I don't have to worry about any more." Tugger grinned. "Not now that you're back."
"Me?" Munkustrap exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"
"I don't see why not." the Abyssinian queen purred, softly rubbing up against him, tracing the black stripes that criss-cossed his chest with a finger. "You look like you could handle it. I'm Cassandra, by the way. Pleased to meet you."
"Ummm, yes. Nice to meet you too. And I assume your tom friend is Alonzo over there?" he replied, desperately trying to find a tactful way of disengaging the queen.
Cassandra smiled. "Of course he is." Then she slipped back over to the black and white tom, who was doing his best to look upset but was failing miserably as Cassandra was draping herself all over him.
Munkustrap let out a slight sigh of relief. The last thing he needed on first night home was to get some tom thinking that he was trying to move in on his queen. Moving away from some of the other cats, Munkustrap looked up at Old Deuteronomy. "Is it true? Macavity's gone?"
The Jellicle Leader nodded. "It is just as Skimblesanks said. We all awoke one day to simply find him gone. There was a search, but nothing was discovered. The mantle of Jellicle Protector is rightfully yours, Munkustrap." He got up off the tire and took Munkustrap's paws in his own. "I always knew you were the right one, Munkustrap. Even being the second born, you have always possessed the needed qualities that were lacking in Macavity." Munkustrap looked confused.
"I... I don't understand, Father." he said, shaking his head. "I've never been strong enough..."
Deuteronomy interrupted his son with a gentle smile and wave of his hand. "Physical strength is not the only thing needed to protect. You feel loyalty, duty, honor, possess logic, reason, and compassion even towards those who would not feel it towards you. You have always been strong mentally and in spirit, if not in body. I remember a young tom who almost gave his life to protect another of his tribe. He fought dispite being the weaker of the combatants." He smiled a moment. "Besides, I daresay that physically you're a match for any of the toms here now. You must have spent a good deal of time playing with a human child, I think."
"Casey." Munkustrap said, nodding. "A good human. He's probably the real reason I'm still alive."
Deuteronomy looked thoughtful. "Children are like that sometimes. They amaze you in the most wonderous ways."
Just then, Skimbleshanks jumped onto the tire. "Well, now that we actually have something to celebrate, I think it's time we got back to the Ball!" he said with a smile.
"Excellent idea!" Deuteronomy laughed.
Jellicle Cats come out tonight
Jellicle Cats come one come all.
The Jellicle Moon is shining bright,
Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball!
The Ball had lasted long into the night, much longer than anyone had expected, going nearly until dawn. The reappearance of Munkustrap had a great deal to do with it, the other toms doing what they could to test just how long the silver tabby could go until he was worn down. To their great surprise, not only could he keep up with them this year, but he still had energy to spare at the end of the night when all of the cats were making ready to bed down for the night. "I think you showed them all a thing or two this year." Old Deuteronomy laughed softly as they walked back towards the section of the Junkyard where the cats made their dens. "I knew you had it in you."
Munkustrap smiled. "I just hope I can make you proud as the Protector. Right now that's all I want."
"You'd make me proud if you had returned to us the same way you had left." Deuteronomy replied, gently stroking his son's head. "I'm just happy to see you home and safe."
The sound of soft footsteps made the two toms turn to see Jennyanydots creeping forward. "I... I hope I'm not interrupting..."
"Of course not, Jenny." Old Deuteronomy gestured for the queen to join them. "You are always welcome company."
Jenny smiled and quickly joined the two toms. "I just wanted to say how wonderful it is to have you back, Munkustrap. And... if you need one... well, Bustopher and I have kept your bed the way you left it."
Munkustrap grinned shyly and hugged the Gumbie Cat. "Thanks Aunt Jenny. I didn't want to impose and just assume anything..."
"Heaviside, child!" Jenny laughed, "I raised you from a kit in that car trunk! Don't think I am going to kick you out in the cold. I've always thought of you as my own, and I'm not going to stop just because you're grown."
A pair of bright amber eyes watched the toms and the Gumbie Cat. A smile crossed the queen's lips. "Not bad. Not bad at all."
"You're terrible, Cassandra."
The Abysinian looked back over her shoulder into the den the three young queens shared. "Hmph, no worse than you, Bomby. You've been stringing both Admetus and Victor along for a while. We both know it's Tugger you're interested in." She turned back to the clearing ahead of her. "Still, you have to admit... That silver tabby is quite something to look at."
"I wouldn't have thought it was the same tom, honestly." Bombalurina said, creeping up next to her friend. "You never saw him before. Skinnier than Carbucketty, shorter than Etcetera and colored like a pile of ashes." She flashed a wicked smile. "But you're right, though. Look at the arms on him!"
"I was looking a bit lower."
"Oh-ho! Naughty girl!"
Cassandra just laughed. "He doesn't seem too interested though." she said, calming down. "He's not..?"
"Not as far as I know." Bombalurina replied. "Personally, I think he just is a one-queen kind of tom."
Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "And who might the lucky queen be?" she asked. Bombalurina tilted her head in the direction of the back of the den. Demeter was laying on a pile of old pillows, lazily batting at an old tassle attatched to the corner of one of them. "Demeter? But I thought she liked..?"
Bombalurina shrugged. "Wasn't much of a secret, that Munk liked Demeter. She was the only one who ever really talked to him. But big brother had the flash and was the tribe playboy before he dissapeared. They went to the Ball together. Munk was devistated. He was almost a no-show."
"That was the time he dissapeared?"
"Right. Some stray attacked Demi and Munk was first on the scene. The stray tossed him in the sewer before any of the other toms could do anything to save him."
Cassandra leaned in and spoke in a low whisper. "What do you think's going to happen now?"
"I'm not sure." Bombalurina answered. "Now that Macavity's gone, Demeter's not attatched. She might go for him, or she might not."
Tossing a glance to the back of the den, Cassandra made sure Demeter wasn't listening. "Did you notice Demeter last night?" she asked.
Bombalurina shook her head. "No, why?"
"Because she wasn't there." Cassandra replied. "She left right after Munkustrap showed up. She was the only one who didn't go to greet him."
*BANG!*
Munkustrap was jerked awake by a sudden crash on the top of the old Ford. "What in Heaviside's name?" He quickly opened the trunk and looked around, but to his amazement, didn't see anyone there. Creeping out, he sat on the rear bumper of the car and carefully scanned the yard. It was still early in the morning, most of the other cats were still asleep from the night before. Across the yard, he saw the orange Skimbleshanks walking towards the train station, Jellylorum waving good-bye. "Were are you off to today?" He called out.
"Carlisle." The railcat answered. "Not a long trip. Be back before too long." he smiled. Turning back to his mate he gave her a gentle nuzzle. "Heaviside knows I hate to be away from this lovely thing for long. Some other tom might try to snatch her up." Jellylorum laughed and returned the nuzzle.
"Flattery will get you everywhere." Suddenly, Jellylorum called out: "Munkustrap! Look out!"
Munkustrap barely had enough time to turn around before he found himself slammed to the dirt. Several things landed on top of him, each scrambling in different directions to get off of him. "Owwwww....." Munkustrap groaned, sitting up and shaking his head. Through the ringing of his ears, he could hear the sound of feet scrambling back up the trunk. A moment later he felt Jellylorum and Skimble behind him, helping him get to his feet.
"Are yeh alright, lad?" Skimble asked. "Yeh looked like yeh hit pretty hard."
Munkustrap nodded. "What hit me?"
"Four rather naughty little things." Jellylorum answered, holding four tails in her hand. Attatched to each was a kitten, each of them looking rather nervous. They kept looking from Munkustrap to Skimble to Jelly trying to figure out which was the one they had to be most afraid of. Eventually they decided it was going to be either Munk or Jelly, and each cramed themselves behind Skimble, trying to get out of sight. "Don't think he's going to get you out of this one." Jellylorum said, her tone strict. "Come out from there and apologize to Munkustrap. No wonder he was up so early. I didn't think the four of you could possibly make enough noise to wake the poor dear up after his first night back, but once again you have proved me wrong."
Slowly the four kittens crept forward. The first two got pushed ahead by the other two. One was a small tom kitten, gray and brown with a patch over his left eye with a strip across his nose. The second was another tom kit, this one with a large brown patch over his right eye. The two others were both queen kits, one white with a speckled gray coat that was marked with orange, gray and black stripes and the last was another dark kitten with orange, black and brown stripes. All four of them were looking at their toes, at each other's toes, or anything to keep from having to look at one of the older cats. "Now, go on." Skimble said firmly. "Say you're sorry."
"I'm sorry." the four kittens muttered rather unintelligably.
Jellylorum rolled her eyes. "Oh, come now. That's not much of an apology."
"It's alright, Jelly." Munkustrap interjected. "I'm sure it was just an accident, and anyway, there's no real harm done." He smiled at the kittens, rubbing his still sore head. "Anyway, I haven't even met these four. They weren't at the Ball last night."
"Mom wouldn't let us go." the orange and gray queen kit pouted. "She said it was going to be too late for us."
"And it was." Jellylorum retorted. "All hours of the night. You can go next year."
A look of amusement crossed Munkustrap's face. "Mom?" he turned to Skimble. "And would that make you 'Dad?'"
Skimble grinned proudly. "Aye, that it would. Only a few months old, these four. Too young for the Ball this year. Line up, the lot of yeh." he instructed the four kittens, who promptly did (anything to get out of trouble - for the moment). "This is Etcetera," he said patting the orange and gray striped kitten on the head, "and this is Electra." The brown and orange kitten shyly touched paws with Munkustrap, who gave the two sisters a gentle smile. "And these two troublemakers are Carbucketty and Bill Bailey." he said, patting the two tom kittens on the heads.
"And you're Munkustrap." Carbucketty grinned, gently batting at Munkustrap's ankles. "You're Tugger's big brother."
"Well, I'm just a little older than him." Munkustrap smiled.
Bill Bailey ran around to Munkustrap's backside. "I think he'll be a better Protector than Tugger or Macavity." he said.
"Nuh-uh!" the girls replied, in unison. "Tugger's the best!"
"Yeah, but I bet Munkustrap has better things to think about than stupid girls." Bill Bailey stuck his toungue out as he poked his head between Munkustrap's legs. "He probably thinks about real tom stuff." Munkustrap just laughed and stepped over the small tom kit.
"I'm sure Tugger did the best he could." he said with a smile. Actually, the kitten's assessment probably wasn't all that far off, Munkustrap thought with a smile.
Skimbleshanks nodded as the kittens started a wrestling match beside the adults. "I'll give him credit. The lad did what he could. But he's not the Protector-type. Like Bill Bailey said, he's a wee bit more interested in the queens. Wound up giving them a bit more protecting then they needed at times."
Munkustrap laughed. "Well, I hope I can live up to the legacy left to me by my predecessor."
"You'll do just fine." Jellylorum smiled. "You only ever lacked one thing - physical strength - and I daresay that you probably have enough of that now." Munkustrap blushed. He wasn't used to cats commenting positively on his appearence.
Humans were one thing... Cats were another.
"Demeter!" Bombalurina called after the calico queen. "Where are you off to?" she asked. Demeter jumped when she heard her name called, but turned to face her sister.
"Nowhere in particular." she said, her eyes darting about somewhat nervously. A thing that didn't escape the red queen.
"Nowhere in particular?" she asked. "Well, then why not come with me? I was just heading over in the direction of Jenny's car to see how Munkustrap was today. Seeing as how you didn't welcome him back last night it'll give you a chance." The red queen smiled slyly. "Come on, it'll give us a chance to size him up better. You should have seen him moving last night..." Bomby gave Demeter a wink.
Demeter wrinkled her nose up. "Come on, Bomby. I can't think of Munkustrap like that! He's like a little brother to me for Heaviside's sake! You don't spend your childhood watching out for someone like that and then just turn around and look at them like... well, like a tom. I mean, everytime I see him it's still as the kitten he was a year ago. You or Cassandra can fight over him if you want." she said, turning back in the direction she had been heading.
Bombalurina stepped lightly on her sister's tail. Just enough to keep her from moving. "Well, dear, I have news for you.
A - Munkustrap is a tom.
B - He certainly isn't a kitten anymore.
C - He isn't interested in Cassandra or me.
D - You at least owe him a thank your for saving your virtue and possibly your life a year ago."
Turning around, Demeter jerked her tail out from under Bombalurina's paw. "Thank you for the excellent summery of events, Bomby." she glared at her sister, "But I need to get going."
"In such a hurry to get to 'Nowhere?'" Bombalurina asked, a cooly amused look on her face. Demeter paused just long enough to give Bombalurina another cold look before running off. The red queen arched an eyebrow. There was something going on with Demeter in the middle of it. She would have to keep an eye out for her sister for a while.
"Bombalurina?" It was Bombalurina's turn to see who was calling her name. She smiled slightly when she saw Munkustrap walking towards her. He smiled in greeting to the other Jellicle and sat down next to her. "How are you doing today?" he asked.
"Pretty good." she replied. "And how about you? First morning back in the Junkyard? How is it?"
"It's wonderful to be back." Munkustrap answered. "I've met Skimbleshanks' and Jellylorum's kittens, convinced Alonzo that I had no intentions of trying to steal Cassandra, organized a new way of doing periodic patrols of the Junkyard with a minimum of toms, and found myself a little den of my own."
"Your own den? I thought you were staying with Jenny and Bustopher?"
Munkustrap shrugged. "Well, they deserve their privacy." he paused a moment and then laughed. "Honestly, my old bed is just too small now. I needed something a little bigger. Never thought I'd actually have that problem."
Bombalurina couldn't help but laugh with him. He's as infectious as Old Deuteronomy... she thought with a smile. What in Heaviside's Name was Demeter thinking? "Well, if there's anything I can do to help you get settled back in, you just let me know."
"Now that you mention it," Munkustrap said, shifting a little akwardly, "I was going to ask if you've seen Demeter. I caught a glimpse of her last night but I never got the chance to talk to her."
"Errrrr... Demeter..." Bombalurina stalled. "Ummmm.... let me think...." Then she flipped the conversation quickly and asked with a sly smile, "What do you need to talk to her about?" The red queen noted to some small satisfation that the inquirey brought a blush to Munkustrap's face. His lighter coat certainly wasn't helping him out here.
"Well, I had gotten her a present before my little... accident. Aunt Jenny said that she, Uncle Bustopher and Father gave it to her for me. I just wanted to know how she liked it."
Bombalurina thought for a moment. "Let's see... As far as I can remember she absolutely loved it. You showed fantastic fashion sense for a tom, Munk."
Munkustrap gave a short laugh. "It helps when they tell you what they like and then they just never think they'll get it."
"A big tom who'll admit to getting help from a queen." Bombalurina smiled, this time a little more gently. "Don't worry, Munk. Next time I see Dem I'll let her know that you'd like to talk to her."
"Thanks, Bombalurina." Munkustrap smiled. "Now I must be off. I've got a playdate with some kittens."
"Roped into baby-sitting?"
"Just the tom-kits." Munkustrap grinned. "Tugger has Electra and Etcetera permanetly attached to his legs." Bombalurina groaned and shook her head.
"It'll serve him right when he starts drowning in them."
Munkustrap just laughed at her comment and headed back towards the centeral Junkyard where Bill Bailey and Carbucketty would be waiting for him. Bombalurina pulled herself up into a pipe and thought.
Demeter had gotten Munkustrap's gift. For the first few months she had it, she hadn't even taken it off aside from when she was asleep. But lately... Lately the golden queen hadn't been wearing it. Details were starting to nag at Bombalurina. Tantomile had casually mentioned Demeter's nerves the at Munkustrap's return. At first the red queen dismissed it, they had all been emotional. But after Cassandra mentioned that Demeter had actually left the Ball, and today catching her sneaking out of the Junkyard... A frown crept over her face. Something was wrong...