From family to mates

by Actress of Broadway

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were not always everyone's favorite troublemakers. In the past, they went by different names and were siblings…who fell in love with each other.

Family/Mates: From family to mates

By Actress of Broadway

I don't own CATS, just the new cats and the new names for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

Do not kill me for this. It was an idea that I came up with when I was trying to figure out whether they are siblings or mates. You can flame this as much as you want but this is staying up until the administrators themselves take it down.

Another thing; if you get confused with the new names, don't leave just because of that.

In a high-society house, a crash was heard. A human female screamed. Two young cats with tiger-like fur escaped through the window, laughing their heads. They kept running until they reached a shed where they ducked behind it. Catching their breath, they laughed and five-highed each other. The female, who had a white background with orange and black stripes all over her body, said to her brother, "That was great! How many times have we broken that Ming vase?"

Her brother, whose orange and black stripes were too thick to clearly see his white background, said, "I don't know, Misnabrata. I lost count."

The female called Misnabrata giggled but then settled down. "Let's be serious, Pogerflarade. We really should stop causing trouble for the humans."

Pogerflarade looked at his sister doubtfully. Misnabrata tried to keep a straight face but was failing. They both tried to keep their laughing in until they both said, "Like that's going to happen!"

With that, the laughing started again. With them enjoying their accomplishment of trouble, they didn't notice an older female who had tiger-like fur like them coming up behind them until she said, "Having fun, Misnabrata, Pogerflarade?"

They winced a little and turned around to face the older female. "Hi, Mother," was all they could utter.

Their mother, who was called Conpreness, shook her head. "What am I going to do about you two? This is about the tenth time you two have broken something this month! Keep this sort of trouble up and the humans will throw you out!"

Misnabrata just sniggered at her mother's remark. "Be real, Mother. The humans will never throw us out."

Pogerflarade agreed. "Humans are not that cruel to kittens like us."

Misnabrata tensed up at her brother's remark because she didn't consider herself a kitten anymore, despite the fact that her brother still called himself a kitten. He was already of age and she was just a couple weeks from becoming a fully grown cat. Conpreness nodded. "That is true. You two are still young."

Misnabrata said quietly, "We are not."

Pogerflarade heard what she said and knew where she was going with that comment. Their mother also heard what she said. "Yes, you are, Misnabrata. You are both still kittens …"

"No we are not!" Misnabrata snapped. "I especially am not a kitten anymore! I am almost of age but no one seems to notice that! Everyone still treats me the same way they treat the younglings! And I'm sick of it!" With that, she ran to the wall, jumped up on it, and took off.

Conpreness sighed. "I don't know what's going on with her lately. She's been so rebellious." She chuckled. "She reminds me of what the humans call 'teenagers.'"

Pogerflarade sniggered. "Want me to go find her?" Seeing Conpreness nod, he jumped up on the wall and ran in the direction he saw his sister take off.

---

Misnabrata continued to walk on the wall until she saw a dark brown cat with black stripes all over his body walking along the sidewalk. She jumped down behind him and said, "Hi, Jonathon."

Jonathon turned around and said, "Hi, Misnabrata. What's the matter? You seem mad."

Misnabrata scoffed and stuck her nose up in the direction of her home. "My brother and Mother continue to treat me like the younglings in our tribe. They seem to forget that I am almost of age. They just see me as a young kitten, which I am not!"

Jonathon said, "If it's any consolation, I don't see you as a kitten. I see you as a fully grown cat."

Misnabrata felt her face get hot and said, "Thank you…but there's something you're forgetting. A cat is considered fully grown when she gets a mate."

Jonathon looked at her with a look of mischief in his eyes. "But that's going to happen very soon, right? Do you have your eye on a certain tom?"

Misnabrata fidgeted a little. "Well … yes, I do."

Jonathon started to get a little excited because he planned to approach her at her coming of age Ball. He had his eye on her ever since she played a little trick on him when they were young. Hoping that she would say it was him, he asked, "Who is it?"

To his surprise, Misnabrata looked ashamed. "Well …" was all she could say.

Jonathon had to know so he asked, "Is it someone in our tribe?" Misnabrata nodded. "Someone I know?" She nodded again. "Someone close to you?" She nodded again. "Well then, who is it?"

Misnabrata was about to tell him to back off when Pogerflarade came up to them. "There you are, Misnabrata. Mother wants to talk to you."

Misnabrata gave her brother an attitude look. "I'm sorry. I had to leave."

Pogerflarade remarked, "Yes, I know. You always leave when you're losing the fight."

Misnabrata looked insulted. "I do not!"

Pogerflarade nodded his head. "Yes, you do! Every time you and Mother have a fight, you always run off when it is evident that you are losing the argument!"

Misnabrata knew that she was losing again and started to leave. But Pogerflarade grabbed her tail, making her stop. "See? You're doing it again."

Misnabrata took her tail back and crossed her arms, sulking. Pogerflarade rolled his eyes at his sister and said to Jonathon, "I couldn't help but overhear the conversation between you two."

Jonathon regarded Pogerflarade with fake happiness. He never got along with the troublemaker. In fact, he only acted like he liked Pogerflarade when Misnabrata was around because he knew how close they were. Swallowing his pride (which was extremely hard), he said, "Yes … Misnabrata was just about to tell me which tom she has her eye on."

Pogerflarade looked at his sister and saw that she looked ashamed again. He said, "What's the matter, Misnabrata? You can tell us who this tom is. You can especially tell me and I can give him a few hints about your feelings for him. So tell us who he is."

Misnabrata fidgeted a little and finally said, "I … I can't. It's … too embarrassing."

Jonathon got a little suspicious and so did Pogerflarade. Jonathon approached her and said, "You can tell us." He tried to touch her but she took off down the road. Pogerflarade looked after his sister and said, "I wonder what's going on with her. She's always like that whenever the subject of her getting a mate comes up."

Jonathon's hair on the back of his neck stood up a little. "Well, if makes her uncomfortable, don't bring it up!" he snapped.

Pogerflarade looked at the brown tabby and tensed up. "I don't mean to make her feel uncomfortable. It's Mother who always brings up the subject. Besides, she's my sister; I would never do anything to make her feel like that!"

Jonathon looked at Pogerflarade in confusion. He had never seen the tiger-coated tom act like this. But he still said, "You better not make her feel bad! If you do, I'll see to it that you'll get what you deserve!"

Pogerflarade scoffed and scratched Jonathon just an inch away from his face. Jonathon backed up as Pogerflarade said, "You can't do anything to me. I'm bigger, stronger, and much faster than you. Oh, and by the way…I would never make my sister feel bad intentionally. She's much too special to me to make me do anything like that to her." With that, he headed back to his home with Jonathon wondering what just happened.

---

Back at the shed behind the house, Misnabrata opened up a busted window and climbed in. She walked through the shed until she reached an empty paint can. Sneaking a peak over her shoulder and seeing no one there, she reached into the can and pulled out a busted picture frame. She found it in the trash a while ago and, by watching the humans, used it to hold a drawing of the tom she had her eye on.

Clutching the frame, she sat down against the can. She stared at the drawing for a while and sighed. "Oh, if only I could tell you how I feel. But then … you would probably hate me … and everyone else … will shun as long as I harbor these feelings for you."

She rubbed the picture with her face and continued to look at the drawing, which was of … her brother. A while ago, she realized that she had feelings for her brother that only mates felt for each other. She burst to tell him her feelings but she was too afraid of his response. She also knew that their tribe would never accept her if they learned the truth. Sighing deeply, she put the drawing away and left the shack.

When she emerged from the shack, she saw her brother jump on top of the wall. Pogerflarade saw her, jumped down to the ground, and went up to her. "There you are! I'm starting to think that Mother needs to get you a leash so we can keep an eye on you."

Misnabrata was greatly insulted by his comment. "Are you calling me a Pollicle? Is that what you're saying?"

Pogerflarade sniggered. Misnabrata took a swipe at him but he dodged the swipe and took off across the yard. Still greatly insulted by his comment, his sister took off after him. They continued to chase each other until Pogerflarade tripped over a root. Misnabrata took it as a sign of surrender and ran even faster to him. Pogerflarade turned on his back and tried to warn her. "Misnabrata, stop! There's a root there!"

But Misnabrata didn't listen and continue to run to him. She did trip on the root and she did fall. But she fell right on top of her brother. With her on top, Pogerflarade felt a little embarrassed. Misnabrata raised her head and looked into her brother's eyes. They stayed in that position for a while until Pogerflarade finally said, "Um … may I get up … please?"

Misnabrata felt her face get hot but she still got off of him. She felt greatly embarrassed but a little happy at the same time. Yet she knew that she couldn't show that she was happy. Pogerflarade got up and said, "Are you OK?"

Misnabrata just nodded. Pogerflarade nodded as well and went on his way. The young female stayed where she was for a while, thinking about what just happened. She also wondered about her brother's reaction. How he acted just a few seconds ago was not how he would normally react in that type of situation. If any other female had fallen on him, he would have either pushed her off or told her immediately to get off. But, with her, he just froze. That caused great confusion in Misnabrata's heart. She stayed there until her mother found her later that afternoon. "Misnabrata, what's the matter?"

Misnabrata quickly stood up and put on a smile. "Nothing's wrong, Mother. I was just … thinking about a lot of things."

Conpreness didn't believe the young female and was about to ask her to tell the truth when a smash was heard in the house. A female screamed and Pogerflarade jumped out of the second-story window, laughing. Misnabrata looked at him and sighed. Conpreness heard this and asked, "Are you sure you're all right?"

Misnabrata nodded as Pogerflarade started to come up to them. Conpreness walked over to the wall and jumped on top of it while Misnabrata went up to her brother. "Did you just break something?"

Pogerflarade said, "What if I did?"

Misnabrata gave him a little shove. "We're supposed to cause trouble for the humans together, not alone!"

Pogerflarade shrugged. "Well, I was going to ask you to come make trouble with me but you looked like you wanted to be alone. You looked very confused. Are you OK?"

He put his hand on her shoulder. Getting a little nervous, Misnabrata turned her head away from her brother and said, "Yes … yes, I'm OK."

Pogerflarade turned Misnabrata's head back toward his but kept his hand on her chin. "You seem to forget … I'm your big brother…and entitled to know what is bothering so I may try to fix it. Now … will you tell me what's wrong?"

Misnabrata looked up into her brother's eyes and knew that he was being truthful. She was about to tell him what was on her mind when they heard a car screech to a halt and a dull thud. There was a murmur among the humans as Pogerflarade went to the wall and got up to see what was going on. Misnabrata joined him but he quickly covered her eyes. "Trust me, you don't want to look."

Misnabrata struggled with her brother until she finally got a glance. She saw their mother under the car in a crumbled position. Pogerflarade jumped down to the ground with Misnabrata in his arms. She started to cry but her brother held her tightly. "It's all right. I'm here. I'm not leaving you."

Misnabrata cried for a little while longer but then she settled down. She hugged Pogerflarade tightly. In their world, they didn't know that they were watched by Jonathon. He did go there originally to offer comfort to Misnabrata but noticed how close the two siblings seemed. "Hmm … they're closer than I thought. That's not natural," he murmured as he walked on the wall away from the siblings.

---

A week later, Misnabrata was still depressed. The tribe had already given Conpreness a funeral a few days ago. Misnabrata had stayed behind the shed ever since then. Pogerflarade had tried to cheer her with opportunities of causing trouble but she always refused.

Finally Pogerflarade lost his patience and said to his sister, "Look, I know that Mother's death has affected you. But you seem to forget that it's affected me as well."

Misnabrata stood up and looked at her brother. "Has Mother's death really affected you? You're going on as if nothing happened. You're acting like Mother never existed!"

Pogerflarade got insulted. "Of course Mother existed! I'm just not allowing my sadness to weigh me down everyday like you're doing."

Misnabrata knew that he was right but she stayed where she was instead of walking away like she would have normally done. Pogerflarade smirked and said, "Now let's turn this to a better subject. It's your coming of age Ball next. Are you going to tell me who you have your eye on or is it still too embarrassing?"

Misnabrata fidgeted, wondering what she should do, when she came to a decision. "I'll tell you. Or rather, I'll show you. But you must not hate me for this."

Pogerflarade laughed a little. "Why would I ever hate you? Tell me. Who is it?"

Misnabrata quickly went to him and hugged him tightly. Pogerflarade felt his face get hot and asked, "Misnabrata … what are you doing?"

Misnabrata smiled. "I'm showing you who I have my eye on."

Pogerflarade realized what she was getting at and it surprised him. "You mean … I'M the one you want? But I'm your brother. How could you harbor these feelings for me?"

Misnabrata hushed him and kissed him. Pogerflarade was stunned at this and he froze. She expected him push her away but he didn't. Instead, to her surprise, he kissed her back. Greatly surprised, she pulled back. Her brother asked, "What's wrong?"

Misnabrata touched her lips. "You … kissed me."

Pogerflarade just nodded as he teasingly batted her ears. "That's right. Did it bother you?"

Misnabrata shook her head. "No. It's just … I didn't expect you to do that. I thought … you would have pushed me away."

Pogerflarade chuckled as he rubbed his sister's face affectionately. "Why would I push away the female I have my eye on?"

Misnabrata's eyes grew wide. "What? You mean … you …?"

Pogerflarade nodded. "For the longest time."

Misnabrata chuckled. "But … I thought you had a lot of females."

Pogerflarade shook his head. "They were just play mates. I never liked them that way. You're the only female in my heart."

Misnabrata couldn't help smiling. Pogerflarade smiled as well as he leaned in close to his sister. But she backed away a little. "You know our tribe will never accept this. It goes against everything our ancestors have taught us."

Pogerflarade nodded as he got close again. They were about to kiss when they heard a tom scream. They looked and saw Jonathon standing there with his jaw hanging. He looked disgusted as he struggled to say something. Finally Pogerflarade scratched his arm gently to get him out of his trance. Waking up, Jonathon said, "Have you two lost your minds?"

Misnabrata said, "No, we haven't."

Pogerflarade said, "Though I can't say the same for you. What's your problem?"

Jonathon coughed and gagged. "You two are brother and sister! And you two are kissing? Have you no respect for family?"

Pogerflarade smirked. "Of course we do. Why do you think we fell for each other?"

Jonathon shuddered. Looking at Misnabrata, his fur stood up and he gave her a little hiss. Pogerflarade scratched his face and said, "Never hiss at her in front of me."

Jonathon was about to say something but then remembered another thing. He just chuckled and said, "Do you really think you can keep your passion a secret from the tribe? Even if you kill me, everyone will find out eventually."

Pogerflarade knew that Jonathon was right. He started to go to him to kill him but Misnabrata held him back. "No! Don't kill him! Don't do this! Let him go. I don't want to see you in pain."

Pogerflarade hissed at Jonathon but stayed put. Jonathon chuckled. "I wonder what our leaders will say when they find out that two siblings started to act as mates just after their Mother's death. I suppose there's only one way to find out." With that, he ran to the wall and jumped over it.

Pogerflarade hissed and turned to his sister. "Why did you stop me? Now that he knows, he will tell everyone."

Misnabrata nodded as she rubbed his arm. "I know. But I couldn't let you become a murderer." Then, remembering what Jonathon said, she asked frantically, "What are we going to do? If our leaders find out, they will surely kill us for this crime!"

Pogerflarade held Misnabrata, settling her down. "They will not kill us … because they won't find us."

Misnabrata looked up at her brother. "What do you mean?"

Pogerflarade looked at her seriously. "We're leaving."

Misnabrata was shocked. "Pogerflarade … are you sure? Do you really want to leave home just like that?"

Pogerflarade nodded. "There's nothing left for us here. Mother is dead, we never knew our Father, and our tribe will shun us as long as we love each other. It's the only choice we have." Taking her hand, he asked, "Are you all right with leaving like this?"

Misnabrata smiled and squeezed his hand. "As long as I'm with you, I'm fine." With that, they made their escape through a hole in the wall behind them.

A while later, Jonathon returned with the leaders of their tribe, a pure gray cat, an orange cat with no visible ears, and a one-eyed tan cat. He showed them where the two siblings were when he left but they were no longer there. Instead, they were on a railway car heading for the next town.

When they finally arrived, they were greeted by an orange tabby. "Hello there!" the adult tom said to them. "Welcome!"

The two siblings nodded their hello. The orange tabby said, "My name is Skimbleshanks. And yours would be …?"

The siblings hesitated since they knew that they couldn't reveal their original names in cause of being found by their tribe. Finally Pogerflarade said, "I'm Mungojerrie. And this is my mate …"

Misnabrata said, "I'm Rumpleteazer."

Skimbleshanks was surprised to hear that they were mates. "You two are mates, huh? Hmm … I would have guessed brother and sister since you look so much alike."

Pogerflarade, or rather Mungojerrie, said, "We get that a lot. But no; we're not related."

Misnabrata, now Rumpleteazer, nodded. Skimbleshanks said, "Well, enjoy your stay in our lovely town!" With that, he went to greet the human passengers who were coming out of the cars.

Misnabrata looked at her brother and said, "Pogerflarade?"

Pogerflarade said, "No more using that name … or your name. We shall now go by the names that we told Skimbleshanks."

Resigned to her fate, Rumpleteazer nodded. "You're right. But … Mungojerrie … how shall we survive in this city? We don't have anything that can help us survive."

Mungojerrie smirked as he took Rumpleteazer's hand. "We shall worry about that later. For now, let's just look around this new place."

They were heading for the door when they heard Skimbleshanks call out, "I hope you will attend the Jellicle Ball next week! It's in the local junkyard!"

Rumpleteazer nodded and said, "We'll attend!" After waving good-bye, the two siblings/mates made their way out of the train station.

---

From that day forward, everything was different for the two siblings. They almost forgot their original names but always kept them in the back of their minds. They were known to everyone as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer and that was what they called each other as well.

They moved into a place called Victoria Grove and caused even more trouble than before because they no longer had their mother always watching them. Though it often pained them to think of their mother, they knew that she was watching over them.

Mungojerrie got a job with a local cat criminal named Macavity. Macavity didn't let Rumpleteazer join because she was too small and not strong enough for what she would have to do.

Mungojerrie kept to himself and didn't really make many friends with the toms in the tribe. Rumpleteazer, however, made friends with the other female kittens, Victoria, Electra, Etcetera, and Jemima.

The two siblings never revealed to their new friends and leaders who they were and that they were actually brother and sister. They didn't want to be looked down upon like what their old tribe would have done. They lived as mates and grew very close.

In their minds, the day they arrived was the day their old selves, Misnabrata and Pogerflarade, died. They were completely reborn as everyone's favorite troublemakers, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.