Tugger's Tale.
By Amanika
Admetus lifted Victoria onto his shoulder, she swung one leg forwards and the other backwards doing the splits upside down, in mid air. Munkustrap watched as Admetus ran his paw down her leg. "The mating dance." he thought, just another of the many things that happened at the annual Jellicle Ball. Admetus had chosen well, he and Victoria, the young white queen, were a good match.
Demeter, his mate prowled over. "I remember a certain young tom who lifted me up like that." She said. Munku let his mind wander back to the mating dance that look place longer ago than he liked to admit, he remembered lifting Demeter over his head and running his paw down her leg in that way. He remembered placing her over the back of her father, (who had since gone to the Heaviside) the same way as Admetus was now doing to Victoria and her father, Skimbleshanks. He smiled and a small purr escaped him, together they watched the rest of the dance.
Later, after the ball was over Munku lay stretched out on the big tyre. He looked over at Victoria and Admetus, curled up together. He smiled as he looked over at all the different Jellicles, some with mates, some (mostly kittens) without, a few of the older kittens had 'would be' mates, like boyfriends of girlfriends, such as Carbucketty who was sleeping happily next to Electra. There was no question of who he would choose when he was of age for the mating dance in a year or so's time.
As Munku looked around at all the different cats, his eyes fell upon his brother, The Rum Tum Tugger. Tugger was sleeping as ever, in a more solitary spot, slightly away from the other cats. Munku thought of the Tugger he knew by day, a sexy (from a queen's point of view) flirtatious cat with a reputation for heartbreak and a constant fan club of young queen kittens. Then he thought of the Tugger that he had known when he was younger. Once again he let his mind drift, this time to when he was a kitten, ten months old to be precise, and the day Tug had been born.
Munku looked at the little scrap of fur curled up against his mother. The newborn kitten was black all over his body except for a short bib under his chin, which was a brownish yellow and scattered with spots like a leopard's. The fur around his head and face was a similar colour, with brown stripes leading down onto his face, which was the same brownish yellow. He had markings the same as his bib around his paws.
His father, Old Deuteronomy, smiled at his firstborn son, "How do you like your new brother?" he asked. Munku studied the tiny kitten for a moment longer and then looked back at his father, "He's nice." He decided. "what's his name?"
"Buzzy."
"Buzzy?" Munku didn't like that name at all.
"Don't worry," Deuteronomy reassured him, "that's the name the humans gave him, and what did tell you about the naming of cats?"
"Er, it's a difficult matter?"
"Besides that?"
"Oh, I know, we have three different names."
"Well done. So you don't have to call him that, you'll call him by his Jellicle name."
"So what's his Jellicle name?"
"Rum Tum Tugger." Munku looked once again at his new brother, "It suits him." he decided.
Munku smiled as he remembered Tug as a very young kitten, the first time he saw him. Then he thought on to when he was older.
Tugger paced up and down, swishing his tail impatiently, Munku walked up to him. "Er, Tugger, what's with the pacing and all that?" The teenage kitten stopped pacing, but his tail still swished in the same way, he ran a paw through the mane that bordered his spotted bib, and had done since he was a month old. "It's the Ball tomorrow."
"So?"
"It's my year to do the mating dance."
"So?"
"Well which queen do I pick?" Munku was at a loss at what to say next, since when did his brother need help with the queens.
"Um, whichever one you really like and want to be your mate." He said, that's what he had done with Demeter at the ball the year before.
"Well that's the problem, I don't know which queen that is."
"Well, if you're not going to pick Bombalurina then you should at least finish it with her."
"I want to pick Bomb, really I do Munk, but does she really want me?"
"Why shouldn't she?"
"I saw her flirting with Alonzo today and he's not even a teenage kitten yet, and yesterday she was chatting up Mungojerrie and on Sunday with Coricopat…"
"Well you flirt with other cats too." Munku cut him off. "I saw Bomby with Alonzo too, but I'm surprised you did, as far as I could see you had your arm round Cassandra." Tugger shuffled his feet,
"Ok," he said, "so we both like to flirt with other cats. That still doesn't help me."
"Don't worry about it" Munku reassured him "you'll know just who to pick when the time comes."
Munku shifted his thoughts to the night of that year's ball and the mating dance as he remembered it.
Tugger stood in the centre of the ring of cats, he looked over at the group of young queens and once more ran a paw through his mane. Munku glanced worriedly at his brother, thinking of their conversation the day before. There were not many queens who were of age for this year's mating dance, but all who were there waited with bated breath. Bombalurina, his current girlfriend, looked at him, he quickly averted his gaze to Cassandra, a young Siamese. Then looked again at the others, Tantomile? No, she and her twin Coricopat were too closely bonded to have mates. Jellylorum, the oldest queen waiting to be chosen? No, it would break Plato's (her boyfriend) heart. Rumpelteazer? Too young. There was only one queen left he hadn't considered.
Grizabella, the most beautiful cat in the tribe, her silver-grey fur shone in the moonlight. As he took a step towards her, a cooling breeze blew through the still night, ruffling his mane ever so slightly. He looked her straight in the eyes, to his surprise she immediately dropped her gaze to the ground and turned her head away from him. He looked at her, pleading with his eyes and took her paw.
She pulled away and turned in the opposite direction, then she began to walk slowly, away from the other cats, away from the tribe, and out of the Junkyard. As she reached the exit she turned and looked straight at Tug, he looked back at her with confusion in his eyes. As she turned and left the Junkyard, the confusion changed to a mixture of anger, rage and sorrow. Tugger pushed his way quickly out of the ring of cats and ran off, he did not pursue Grizabella, but instead headed down a pipe in the opposite direction.
Munku blinked a tear from his eye as he remembered this. No wonder Tugger had been so hard towards Grizabella, when she returned that night for the first time in five years. Munku wondered if his brother had forgiven her, or weather the anger and sorrow she had left him with still burned deep. He sighed to himself as he remembered the last of the night's happenings.
The ball had finished quickly after this, and for the first time in as long as any cat could remember, no one went to the Heaviside! Still, most of the cats in the tribe at that time had been in the prime of their youth and there had been no strong candidates for the Jellicle choice, so perhaps, as Old Deuteronomy has said, it was meant to be.
Tug didn't return until the next morning, he never mentioned that ball again. Nor did he ever ask to take another chance at the mating dance, and no one suggested it either. Somehow this seemed to suit him, he could flirt with all the queens he liked, and not be unfaithful to his mate.
Bombalurina never participated in another mating dance either, she stayed going out with Tug but on a much more on-off relationship, as both flirted with other cats as much as they pleased. At the mating dances of other balls when all the cats had to have a partner, all of the older Jellicles went with their mates and the kittens paired up with each other, Tugger and Bomby sometimes went together and sometimes went with younger cats. But either way, both seemed contented.
Munku once again looked over at Tugger and noticed he was no longer asleep, his eyes were fixed on Exotica, who had only joined the tribe a few weeks ago. Munku smiled to himself, still the same flirtatious cat who had broken the hearts of every queen in the tribe. He watched as Tug winked at Exotica, perhaps someone should have warned her about him. No, let him have his fun, Exotica would learn about Tugger soon enough anyway. Munku closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.
Tug smiled to himself as Exotica pretended not to have noticed him. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the Jellicle moon. For a moment, not for the first time, as he gazed up at it he thought he saw a glimmer of those same eyes he had looked into that night, five years ago. Just then he sensed a movement behind him; he rolled back over to find Exotica in front of him. "Hi." She said, he ran a paw through his mane and grinned
"Hi gorgeous."
All rights to 'CATS' belong to Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Really Useful group etc. this story was created purely for fun by a fan.