A/N: Eeep...sorry about that lack of updates! I hope everyone likes this chapter, thanks for sticking with me and reviewing! This isn't the longest sort of chapter, either...but on Thursday I start study leave so I'll have more time to write!
As usual, Cassandra was alone in her den. She held in her paws the decorated mirror she had claimed Jemima stole from her. Staring into her own large blue eyes, she sighed. She had thought that making Alonzo and Jemima miserable would make her feel better, but it didn't.
'They deserve it, both of them,' she thought, trying to convince herself. 'They deserved to be punished for what they did to me. But…I never expected it to go so far.' She dropped the mirror onto the floor and put her head between her paws. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she felt guilty. She hadn't thought it would be such a big deal. In fact, she hadn't considered the after-effects of this revenge at all. She had been angry and sad, and she'd wanted to hurt them. But now nearly the whole tribe hated Alonzo and Jemima. Cassandra felt that the punishment was worse than the crime, for most of the cats would not even speak to the two, let alone trust or accept them. In fact, most of them were of the opinion that they should be forced to leave the tribe. The Jellicle Cats had their morals, and stealing from another cat was one of the worse things in everyone's eyes.
Cassandra sighed again. There was nothing she could do now. If she admitted what she'd done, there was no question that she would be banished. Unlike Jemima and Alonzo, she was not a favourite with the other cats, and what she had done was sneaky and deceitful. They might even say it was cruel. And, Cassandra realised, they would be right. However faithless Alonzo had been to her, and however much emotional pain she had been through, there was no excuse for acting this way towards them.
'I shouldn't have done it,' she muttered to herself unhappily. 'It was enough that they had done wrong. They tried to apologise, I know, but I wouldn't accept it. I'm a Jellicle! Jellicles forgive, not seek revenge. They were in the wrong, but by doing this I put myself in the wrong. While my pain fades over time, theirs could easily be for the rest of their lives. And now…I can't do anything about it.' She curled up and tried to sleep, but her conscience wouldn't let her. Eventually, she got up and went to walk around the Junkyard. It was silent, for at this time of day most of the cats were either in their human homes or sleeping in the sun. She walked along the roof of the car and jumped to a long wooden beam. Halfway across, she froze. There they were, the epitome of her guilt, climbing out of the huge, dented bass drum. The old, familiar resentment rose in her chest, but she bit it back. Crouching, her brown fur camouflaged with the wood, she watched as they began taking small possessions out of the drum, which had been their shared den for a few weeks. Jemima put them in a blanket, and Alonzo dragged it swiftly away. Puzzled, Cassandra frowned in thought. What were they doing?
Soon the den was empty, and the stuff had all been transported to the large gap under the tyre, which was the traditional den of the Jellicle protector and his mate. Then Alonzo and Jemima began running towards the gap in the fence, which served as one of the many entrances to the Junkyard. As they jumped through, it dawned on Cassandra what had happened.
"They're leaving!" She accidentally spoke aloud in her surprise and dismay, jumped at the sound of her voice, but nobody heard her. This was awful! They must have left because they couldn't stand being shunned in their own home. And it was all her fault. Cassandra ran back to her den before anyone could catch her self-pitying tears.
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"I know there are other tribes in London," Alonzo said, concealing his emotions easily from years of the kittenish certainty that "real toms don't cry". He and Jemima walked together down the street away from the Junkyard as he continued. "At least, other cats call them gangs. I don't really want to go to any other East End gangs, apart from the Jellicles they're all ruffians. But I don't know gangs from the other areas, and we don't know if they're safe." Jemima sighed miserably.
"I wish you could come with me to my human's place," She said. "But I know they wouldn't let you. No offence, but in a human's eyes you're a stray tom. Mine are nice, but I know they wouldn't let you near me."
Alonzo shrugged. "I don't mind. But we do need a gang too, you know. Without a gang to run with we're social outcasts…and that just isn't safe in Macavity's city." Jemima nodded in agreement.
"But we can't leave the East End, Lonz!" She protested. "I can't join a gang too far away from my humans. I'd have to be away from them for days, and the gang too, and it just wouldn't work."
"I understand…but what can we do?" Alonzo asked. Jemima frowned and fell silent. They kept walking, and soon found themselves near the docks. Alonzo was wondering whether to break the silence when Jemima suddenly spoke, her eyes bright with excitement.
"I've got it!" She exclaimed. "You mentioned social outcasts before. There's plenty of them, particularly around here. There's kittens that pick the shoreline for junk that they can trade for food. If we form a gang in the docks, we'll all have protection." Alonzo grinned.
"That's a brilliant idea," He said, nuzzling her. "Lots of kittens get abandoned and don't know where to go. They might as well join our gang as those rough ones." Jemima smiled valiantly, though Alonzo noted the strained look around those beautiful dark eyes. She felt the loss of her tribesmates keenly, perhaps even more than Alonzo did. She'd always been surrounded by friends and protected from trouble. Over the past week she'd grown up a lot, and soon, Alonzo knew, her rather kittenish charm would be gone. Though he deeply regretted that she'd had to lose her innocence in such a way, he felt sure Jemima wasn't the sort who would break under stress. She had been babied for most of her life, but he looked forward to the mature and reliable queen he knew would emerge from the troubles.