I looked out at the Yard; Electra and Pouncival were currently participating in the mating dance as the other cats paired off. Demeter was curled by my side, for Jellicle leaders were not to participate in the mating ceremony. It was unclear to me why that was, but it was just one of those things that you didn't question. I butted my head against hers, giving her an affectionate nuzzle before turning my attention back out at the dance. The cats were gathering, forming a massive heap with their bodies as they took to sleep. Demeter rested her head on my shoulder as I looked down at the tribe... my tribe. This was it – I was in charge of them, all of them. It still felt surreal. Like I wasn't in my body, but merely watching someone else in my place; the realization of what I have taken on didn't fully sink in yet.
I looked out between the junk piles; the three have yet to return with Old Deuteronomy. I was beginning to worry. The Ball was to end at sunrise and before then, someone was to be sent to Heaviside. What if they didn't make it back in time, was I just to send Gus in his place – and if so, what was I to do with Deuteronomy's body when it arrived? Could I still send it? Granted, it's said that only one Jellicle from each tribe would see the Heaviside Layer, but is it still counted as seeing when you're already dead?
A shiver ran down my spine, I still couldn't quite think of my father as dead and be comfortable with it. It was just too soon, and it seemed like the tribe felt the same way. There have been times where everything stops, and a silence falls over everyone. It's was never an awkward silence, but placid; like how Old Deuteronomy is... was... would always be remembered as. Yes… that sounded so much better. I paid a glance at the trunk of the car where Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer were now sitting. She had a point; Old Deuteronomy could very well return to us. I now saw it as 'crucial' to send him to Heaviside; it was no longer a suggestion that sounded good, it was a goal that shall be met.
I saw Victoria stand up, beginning to dance again and inviting others to join in; it was the Ball after all. Bless her; she knows that Deuteronomy wouldn't have wanted us to sit around, we should celebrate. I probably should have done that and not her, but I wasn't quite sure if Jellicle Leaders were allowed to participate in the Ball. As far as I could remember, my father was much too old to dance with the rest of us; so he'd sitout and watched us instead. I never really wondered if it was because the leaders were prohibited from dancing so they could concentrate on their task or if it was simply because of his age. I'd have to get Mungojerrie to visit a neighboring tribe and ask them, since I failed to do so every time I had the chance. I learnt about every aspect of the yard, its ins and its outs; but I never seemed to learn about reigning over it. Perhaps, father didn't either when he became leader… I should have asked.
Coricopat and Tantomile remained standing while the others sat down, taking a short break as the dawn began to appear in the sky. I followed their line of vision as well as I could, having to come down off of the tire to see it better. The Rum Tum Tugger walked out from behind the piles; Etcetera gave a small squeak of excitement but was soon hushed. He gave me an apologetic smirk, I was expecting them back much sooner and the fact that they took so long as not acceptable in my eyes, considering they knew the importance of their task.
"So, sorry, Munks," Tugger said as he walked up to me, completely disregarding that as leader, I now was entitled to some respect. "But you wouldn't have believed it if you were there with us. Okay, so there we are, we found the body, alright. I mean, it's dad, I love him and all but it's not like he's a hard target to miss. So, we get him, start walking down the street and some cat come out. He just appears, out of no wheres. Kind of like what Mistoffelees would do," he added, pointing at the tuxedoed tom and winking at him. That was one of the many things that made different Tugger from Dad, Tugger tended to go into long winded speeches. "So, I'm like, 'Yeah, it is. What's it to you?' He asks me what happened with him and I explain it as good as I can. Turns out that dad once helped him and he's wondering if he can pay some last respects and, you know, come see him off with us. So, I'm like, 'Sure you can, I don't see why not'. I hope you don't mind, by the way, that I agreed to him." I nodded my head and gestured to him to continue, worriedsince there were no signs of Alonzo, Skimbleshanks or even Old Deuteronomy. "So, like I said," Tugger continued, "I said that he could come along with us, and we're going down the street – same deal. And well... just look for yourself"
Tugger pointed behind him with his thumb, into the gap between the piles that he just came through. All the other cats in my tribe watched as I walked towards it, peering in behind it. I could make out the white parts on Alonzo and Skimbleshanks bright orange fur, there was a gap between them that I could only assume was filled with the body of our past leader. As they approached, I began to notice a few cats walking behind them. Those 'few' soon became 'many', as if there was a whole other tribe following them. I stepped back a little, allowing them to walk in and join the others. Deuteronomy helped all of them; each and every single one while still helping his own tribe? "I had no idea."
"Lot of cats, eh, Munks," Tugger said, clamping me reassuringly on the shoulder before beginning to mingle with the others. I wasn't very reassured. I suddenly felt like that cartoon lion cub who wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, and when he placed his paw in his dad's footprint; it suddenly seemed very small. Almost as if he couldn't measure up to all the great things that his father did. That's exactly how it felt to me. I thought that he was just a good leader, never mind a Samaritan. Perhaps that was why he always asked Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer to find out what was going on around the city, he wanted to help the cats who needed it. Suddenly, it felt as if there was a lot in my dish.
I walked through the crowd of cats; it was more like a sea of them, really. They had left a path big enough for me to walk down; surprising, since there wasn't much room left in the clearing as is. Alonzo and Skimbleshanks were quietly waiting for me at the base of the tire, still supporting the weight that Old Deuteronomy had acquired over the years. I climbed the shoebox steps once again, turning to the two and nodded. Luckily, there were only three steps to go up; anymore and they might have dropped him. It took some awkward movements to manage it, but they got Deuteronomy on the Tire, at my feet.
I suddenly realized something else that I should have asked my father when he was still living; how in the world do you get the Heaviside Tire to work? I've seen it be done a few times, and it didn't seem hard… but when you're to do it yourself, it's quite confusing. Was there a special word like 'Abracadabra' or 'Open Sesame' that was to activate it? Maybe it was a certain movement of the paw or... something sneaky like you tail had to be at a forty-five degree angle and you were to wiggle your nose... No, that was just crazy. I look down at my dad, feeling as if I was failing as a leader; failing the whole tribe; failing him. "Please," I mouthed, "Please, please, take him. He's a good tom... he helped all of us, maybe even more then just us. You'd know... because I don't." I felt something jerk below me and stumbled to catch my balance. I went to all fours, grabbing onto the side of the Tire as it began to rise up. It was working... almost; the gates to Heaviside didn't appear to be open. I tried waving my arms in the air, I felt ridiculous, but it was the only thing I could think of doing. It seemed to have worked, for a light fell down upon Old Deuteronomy. It stayed there for a moment, maybe it stayed there for a whole year; I lost track of time. His body slowly began to twitch slightly and I feared that he wasn't really dead. Sure enough, he was still passed and his body effortlessly rose into the air. I watched in stunned silence, seeing him become engulfed in clouds and disappear in the sky.
"Life to the Everlasting Cat." I looked down; I haven't even realized that the others had begun to sing. I certainly wasn't being as attentive as I should be. I breathed a sigh of relief, it was over; dad was gone; for now. He would be coming back to a different Jellicle life, and hopefully it would be in our tribe. My tribe. I nodded to them, those whom I knew and didn't, signaling that everything was done, that there was no reason for them to stay unless they were looking for a place to sleep and, perhaps, a tribe to join. That would all have to wait, though. I stepped down, placing my paw on Demeter's back – only stopping here and there to bid farewell to the others – and led her away from the crowd and back to our den; in hopes of, what felt like, some much needed sleep.
A/N: There we go, 'tis done. I'm toying with the idea of a possible sequel but... I'm not sure about it yet. If I decide to do it, you'll see it here. If not, then I didn't do it. Easy as that... And school tomorrow – am I the only one who's excited about it?
Mystitat – Indeed, I did mean 'suit' and indeed I was having fun with her being pregnant.
And thank you to everyone else! Fresh baked brownies, all around!