Animal Instincts, Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Calico Confusion


Meanwhile, a certain pair of calicos were quietly going about their business.

"Heeheehee!" giggled a distinctly female voice.

"SSHHH!" responded her partner in an annoyed hiss.

"Sorry," was the whispered apology.

The two crept along the linoleum of the kitchen of Victoria Grove, their human's house. Ever so gently, the male eased open the pantry door. His ears were pricked, alert for any trace of the slightest sound.

Eeeeek!

A faint squeak ensued from the door. The duo waited with bated breath, but no thundering feet were heard. They squeezed themselves through the opening and clambered onto the bottom shelf.

"Here's some corned beef - mmm, how 'bout some chocolate biscuits? Perhaps some - OH NO!"

The male calico grabbed his stash, the female grabbed any old tin, shot out the pantry door and skidded across the linoleum.

"HORRIBLE CATS!"

A large female, the household cook, brandished a broom at the pair's retreating backs.

When they were a safe distance from the angry cook, the duo sat down in an unused old drainpipe to examine their finds.

"I managed to grab the corned beef, but I dropped the chocolate biscuits," said Mungojerrie resentfully.

"Well I managed to grab - " Rumpleteazer examined her tin. "Beetroot. D'you know what that is?"

"No idea," said Mungojerrie. "Maybe Old Deuteronomy will know."

Rumpleteazer looked up and almost screamed. She scrambled further back into the drainpipe.

"Macavity," she whispered, barely daring to breathe as the wiry ginger tom walked past their hiding place.

"And - Rubena?" said Mungojerrie in confusion. He wrinkled his forehead in thought. "We'd best get back to the Junkyard and let Old Deuteronomy know about this," he said decisively.


Rubena had postponed her excursion to see Old Deuteronomy, in favour of more dance lessons, this time from - of all cats - Rum Tum Tugger.

"Okay, now paws out at a ninety degree angle - good! Now wiggle the hips and head like this. No, more. Much better," Tugger complemented the swaying Rubena.

"I feel pretty silly," she admitted, wiping sweaty palms on her thighs. The tired tigress jogged over to the spring for a drink.

"You don't look silly," he assured her. "You look like a Jellicle."

Rubena smiled happily at him. She went through the latest dance she'd learnt, the Jellicle Ball sequence.

"Excellent! You're coming along nicely." Rubena's head whipped around, to see Coricopat, Alyzria and Munkustrap walking towards her.

Tugger observed the sky overhead.

"Gotta go, I've got a date with Demi," he said, winking at them as he rushed off.

Munkustrap rolled his eyes. "Only Tugger," he sighed, watching the retreating tom wrap a muscled arm around the smitten Demeter.

Coricopat had a sudden thought.

"Rubena, you haven't seen The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball, have you?"

The tigress shook her head in bewilderment.

"It's the dance that opens the ball. Mistoffelees and Victoria perform it usually, but Victoria isn't here."

"Does it have to be a male and female dancer?" Rubena asked.

"No," replied Coricopat, wondering what the tigress was up to.

"Alyzria, why don't you and Munkustrap show us?" she asked.

The Siamese narrowed her eyes at the striped Queen, and blushed faintly.

"Sure, if you want?" said Alyzria, trying to sound nonchalant. Munkustrap nodded.

The Siamese moved out into a clear space, while Munkustrap crouched near the drainpipe. Alyzria stretched, then slowly began to perform the beautifully choreographed dance. Rubena watched with interest, as Munkustrap ran forward and continued the ballet-like dance.

"Jellicle cats come out tonight, Jellicle cats come one come all. The Jellicle moon is shining bright, Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball," he sang in a clear tenor.

Coricopat and Rubena applauded loudly, whereupon Alyzria blushed again.

"Have you a fever?" inquired Munkustrap, concerned. Alyzria put her paws to her cheeks and felt the heat which had spread over her skin.

"I-I must go!" she stammered, jogging gracefully away from the group.

Munkustrap's eyes followed her retreating back, bewildered and mystified.

"What was all that about?"


That evening found Rubena strolling around the Junkyard, for no paricular reason. It was one of those few times she was alone these days. Munkustrap had gone to find Alyzria, still worried about her "fever".

Suddenly, an angry hiss sounded from behind Rubena's back. Immediately, the tigress spun around, crouched in a fighting position and with unsheathed claws. A rustling sound came from under a large orange sheet of plastic, and two figures, a male and a female, emerged.

Rubena relaxed when she recognised Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. A wide grin spread over her face.

"Hey, you two. How's your `trade' going?"

To her surprise, the two calicos were grim-faced. She backed off slightly in confusion.

"I could ask you the same thing," Mungojerrie hissed angrily.

"What?"

"We saw the two of you together," growled Rumpleteazer. "We told Old Deut, and the whole tribe should know by now."

Rubena noticed that the pair's cockney accents had weakened substantially.

"Who did you see me together with? Coricopat? I didn't realise there was anything wrong w-"

"Don't play dumb," Rumpleteazer cut her off. "I'm talking about a certain scruffy ginger with a reputation even worse that ours!"

"In Victoria Grove," Mungojerrie added.

Rubena's surprised look didn't seem to have much effect.

"I haven't left the Junkyard since first I arrived," she informed the snarling duo. "And I've never even been in Victoria Grove!"

"Then who was the lady walking alongside our good Macavity this afternoon? You're pretty distinctive, you know," Rumpleteazer sneered.

Suddenly, things became a lot clearer to the honey-coloured tigress.

"You saw her?"

Now it was Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer's turn to look confused.

"What do you mean?" Mungojerrie asked suspiciously.

Rubena felt very uncomfortable.

"Uh, well, the cat you saw was..."

"...not Rubena," a winded voice puffed behind them.

The tigress jumped in fright. She hadn't heard Alyzria coming up behind her.

"Can you explain this, 'Lyz?" Rumpleteazer inquired.

Alyzria didn't answer immediately, she had to catch her breath first.

"The cat you saw was Rubena's twin sister. Apparently she's plotting a bit of revenge against Rubena for a little skirmish they had just before Rubena arrived. She dropped in on us this morning with Macavity."

The calico duo had no immediate response. Instead, they just stared at Rubena in utter susprise. Then Rumpleteazer walked up to the tigress, looking very embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry... I guess we were a bit quick to react..."

Rubena shook her head.

"How were you supposed to know? The only genetic difference between the two of us is that Cal -that's my twin- has slightly more reddish fur than I do. It's a lot easier to tell us apart by our different assortments of scars."

With that, she gestured towards her torso, with the same rueful look she always wore when she thought about the injury which had caused that paricular blemish.

Alyzria gave her friend a worried look.

"By now, the whole tribe will be thinking you're a phoney. We'd best find Old D."

Rubena stretched and yawned.

"The damage is done. Tomorrow's another day, and Old Deutoronomy will be asleep by now. I just hope the twins won't hate me."

Why do I get the feeling she's more worried about Coricopat's feelings towards the situation? Alyzria thought suspiciously. She quickly shoved the thought aside, telling herself she was being ridiculous.


Chapter 12