Chapter 12 - Butterflies

Slowly, Demeter's eyes opened and looked to the world. She didn't wake up with a start this time. She didn't have a nightmare about being attacked and unable to defend herself. She didn't have a massive headache from not getting enough sleep the night before. This was good…she was finally beginning to cope! It only took…two weeks, and many appeasements from her sister. Though it was chilling to wake up at times and see red fur pressed up against her when she had just had a dream about that poor kitten and…

No, she wasn't going to think about it again. Getting up and stretching, she looked around the den. Bombalurina was gone. 'Probably gone out to look for Tugger again', Demeter reasoned before poking her head out of her den and blinking her eyes to the afternoon sun. Her sleep schedule had been very off lately.

Demeter walked out, looking around her to make sure she was safe. She particularly took to looking above her. She could distinctly remember many times Macavity would hide out above her den and somehow scare her. It wasn't like he pounced on her, or yelled 'BOO!' No, he was far beyond that. Sometimes, he would build scary looking objects that peer around corners, or set up little gizmos to make sharp noises that would make her jump. Upon reflection, she really couldn't figure out why she had spent so much time with the ginger cat to begin with.

Taking a few more glimpses around, she breathed in deeply before trying to find her sister. Bombalurina promised her that she would walk with her around the area adjacent to the junkyard, since Demeter so rarely had a chance to leave the area anymore. She had been looking forward to it, as it gave her something else to do. It was embarrassing being so frightened all the time…

As the gold and black queen walked down to the kitten area, hoping to find her sister (if not calm herself in the company of others), she heard voices ahead. She hardly paid attention to what they were saying until she made out the distinct murmurs of a name she didn't want to think about. Stopping abruptly, she began to listen to the conversation.

"I still don't get it," Alonzo was telling Mistoffelees, who seemed tired of listening to the other black and white of the tribe. The tuxedoed cat pretended he was licking his paws and grooming his fur while Alonzo leaned back against a particularly large pile of thrown out cereal boxes. "I mean, this is Old Deuteronomy we're talking about. He wouldn't just exile someone from the tribe for nothing. I mean, I know it was Macavity, but what could he have done that was so bad, he would exile his own grandson?" He fell silent, much to Mistoffelees (and the hidden Demeter's) delight.

The queen was tired of listening to others question the banishment of the cat she once roamed around with. She could feel the stinging of the other cats' eyes, as their stares seemed to bore into the back of her head. Some stared at her in pity, some in wonderment. And she could feel each and every one of them wanting to ask her about it. But none of them had, not even when she was alone with them. Perhaps Bombalurina told them not to ask her…but no, it was something more than just her sister protecting her again. She couldn't imagine Bombalurina throwing herself into the line of fire this time. (She seemed more distraught over the incident that Demeter at times, but she hid it much better when they were among the other cats.) Perhaps Old Deuteronomy intervened…

When Demeter decided it was safe to cross the path of the two toms, to get to where the kittens were, Alonzo started up the conversation again. Demeter backed up to her hidden spot again. "Maybe…" he began, causing Mistoffelees to sigh. "He was waiting until Macavity was considered a cat to exile him, rather than do it to a kitten."

"What if he wasn't really exiled," Mistoffelees finally said, throwing up his paws adamantly. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe he just left?"

"Oh, no," Alonzo said, smirking in a proud sort of way. "I was there when Munkustrap chased him out. I heard a few words here and there from the meeting the cats had with him. He was exiled. I know it."

"Well," Mistoffelees said, seeming to blush slightly from his failed attempt to get Alonzo off the subject. "Then I don't know what happened."

"Maybe it has something to do with Munkustrap," Alonzo said, smiling to himself. "You know, he's always gotten into fights with him." Mistoffelees just shrugged, trying to get back to his grooming. Alonzo sat back, in thought.

Demeter sighed and sat where she was. It seemed she couldn't get away from it no matter how hard she tried (though she hadn't tried too hard to begin with.) She felt stupid for knowing Macavity and trying to convince others he was okay.

Then again…he was trying to protect the tribe, as he did say. Maybe he just didn't know his own strength? Try and try to reason as she did, she kept coming to the same memory that made her shudder.

"Demeter!" The queen looked up in shock, two toms looking down on her. Mistoffelees looked proudly over to Alonzo. "I guess you were right…someone was listening," Alonzo said, slightly annoyed. "How did you do that?"

"Oh, uh," the tuxedoed cat took a moment to think of his response. "I…have a better sense of smell than you?" Alonzo shrugged it off, smiling down at the kitten who took a few deep breaths to clear her anxiety. Mistoffelees politely offered a paw to help her up, to which the kitten shyly took it and stood up.

"So, Demeter," Alonzo smiled. Demeter stiffened, fearing he was going to ask her about Macavity. "I haven't seen you around lately. You look…good," he said. The queen slumped down slightly. Cat calls…

"Um, thank you," she said, looking over to Mistoffelees for help, but he shrugged his shoulders. Sure, the two were kittens, but Alonzo seemed to be acting the youngest of them all, smiling slyly to the black and gold queen.

Demeter made to leave, Mistoffelees politely moving out of her way, but Alonzo, (suddenly panicked at his charm going to waste), reached out and grabbed onto the first thing he could get a hold of: her tail. Demeter stiffened, and spun around to see a blushing Alonzo. He quickly let go and put a paw behind his head. "Sorry about that!"

"What do you want?" Demeter asked, her temper quickly rising. She was hardly in the mood…

"I just wanted to…spend time with a sexy kitty," he smiled somewhat goofily. Demeter could see Mistoffelees smack his forehead out of the side of her eye.

"Then go find my sister," Demeter said bluntly. "She's the sexy one." Demeter folded her arms and stared at the cat that was quickly losing favor with this kitten. Mistoffelees backed away a little.

"Sure, Bombalurina's sexy," Alonzo said, shrugging. "But you…are quite appealing yourself." Demeter looked over to Mistoffelees again, but he shrugged, apparently more embarrassed from the cat's cheesy pick up lines than the harlequin himself was.

"I have to go," Demeter said, turning around to her exit route. Alonzo made to grab after her, but Mistoffelees stopped him

"No," the tuxedoed cat said. "She's doesn't seem too happy right now. Just leave her alone." Grudgingly, the black and white let the queen go, feeling slightly foolish

It seemed her small occurrence with Alonzo wasn't the only thing indicating the season. Spring time had come, and it seemed all the kittens were a little anxious to pair off. Of course, there was her sister following Tugger around to hopefully win his attention… But the other kittens seemed to have gotten to an age where cooties no longer existed, and they were quite intrigued by the thought of a tom or queen by their side. However, their childish games hardly ceased.

As Demeter entered the kitten area, it seemed the tiny queens were in the middle of a giggle fest. The tom kittens seemed to be wrestling for attention. Well, at least Tumblebrutus and Pouncival were. Plato was placating himself by poking Etcetera on the tail and running off, before she would turn around and swipe at him in annoyance. Demeter sat and watched the fun and games, hoping to see her sister enter soon.

As she watched, Alonzo and Mistoffelees had entered. Alonzo was definitely trying to get the other queens attention. But for the kittens, his corny pick up lines were working, and he was stealing some attention away from his fellow toms. Demeter watched carefully as Mistoffelees need only smile to get the attention of the kitten queens. But while the other toms seemed jealous, they didn't notice what Demeter did. It wasn't a 'fawning at having been smiled at' attention he was getting. It was, 'Oh, my friend Mistoffelees is in the room, so I should go talk to him,' type of attention. But in the end, attention was attention, whether one was showing off, annoying, charming, or giving friendly smiles. That's what seemed to matter as points to the tom.

Of course we all know of the tom that recieves the most praise…

"AHHHHH!" Etcetera had taken to screaming at the top of her lungs whenever Tugger came into the area. She only stopped when Plato poked her roughly in the ribs, causing her to turn and frown at the kitten. But Tugger was very pleased with the outcry of love for him, as even the younger toms were looking to each other as though agreeing that they wanted to take after him.

"Please," Tugger said, laughing slightly. "I know…I'm that good." He smiled up at Demeter, who was eying Tugger. She didn't look away or frown in disgust at his obvious assumption that she was staring at him. The only time she actually realized what he was doing was when he went up to the kitten and sat next to her. "Finally decided to admire the Tugger?"

"Why are you referring to yourself in third person?" Demeter asked. "I was wondering where you were." Tugger smiled at her. "Because I was looking for Bombie," she said dryly. Tugger looked at her inquisitively.

"I thought she was with you," he said, looking at the kitten as though she were lying.

"No," Demeter said. "She's with you. She has to be…there's no where else she would rather be!"

"But she's always hanging around you," Tugger said, getting slightly annoyed at her not believing him. "You two are like a two-headed monster." Demeter glared at the tom. "I mean that in the nicest way."

"Well she couldn't very well be with any of the kittens. They're all here!" As Demeter said this, she realized the other kittens had been listening to their entire conversation. (Electra found the two-headed monster comment very amusing.)

"Well, not ALL the kittens are here," Alonzo offered. The two turned their gaze to the tom. "Coricopat and Tantomile are gone, and so is Cassandra. And, well, Munkustrap is probably patrolling. Come to think of it, all the kittens ARE here, technically, since they are cats, kind of…Where did they go?" The harlequin looked up to see that the Maine Coon and the black and gold were no longer in the kitten area.

"YO! Munkustrap!" Tugger came waltzing up behind the cat who had been walking the perimeter of the junkyard. Demeter followed close behind, hardly with the confident strut displayed by every kitten's favorite tom.

Munkustrap looked from one to the other, seeing each was upset in their own ways. Demeter seemed to look slightly frantic, while Tugger looked positively annoyed. But he himself must have had a face of bewilderment, as he could feel his wide open. "What are you two doing together?" he asked, rather than asking what was wrong. The statement in itself seemed blasphemous.

"Is Bombalurina with you?" Demeter asked. "She only spends time with me and Tugger, and if not me and Tugger, then you. She's not with the other kittens. So if she's not with you, then we don't know where she is!" The words had seemingly flown out of her mouth.

After thinking about this for a moment, the silver tabby smiled warmly to the scared queen. "I'm sure she's fine. She doesn't have to have every moment accounted for, does she?" asked the tom.

Demeter bit her lip. She seemed to want to say something, but kept looking over to the tom beside her nervously. Munkustrap looked up at his brother and nodded his head to the side, indicating the cat to leave the two. But Tugger didn't get the subtle implication. Again, Munkustrap twitched his head to the side, but Tugger stared dumbly. Then the Maine Coon tried imitating the movement, as though that would give him an idea of the meaning. "I mean leave," Munkustrap said.

"What?" Tugger asked. "Why? I came here with Demeter for a reason."

"I need to talk to her. Why don't you know what THIS means?" Munkustrap asked, nodding his head to the side again.

"Do you have a crick in your neck?" Tugger asked.

"I don't think he's ever had someone do that to him before," Demeter explained to the silver tabby.

"Just leave us alone for a moment, I need to talk to Demeter about something that doesn't revolve around you," Munkustrap said. Tugger opened his mouth to say something, but Munkustrap quickly told him more forcefully, "Just this once, GO!" Looking over to Demeter, the Maine Coon ruffled his mane then left.

"What if Macavity got her?" Demeter said once the cat was out of ear shot. "He was so angry when he left. What if he has something to do with her disappearing?" Munkustrap just smiled at her gently. She was panicking far too early.

"She's only been gone for a little while, and we don't know how long. She's a grown queen, Demeter. She has a good sense of direction, and she knows how to handle herself. What's more, I don't sense that cat around here anywhere. But I'll keep a look out for her," he added, seeing the queen fidgeting in her spot, wanting to say something. "She's my friend, Demeter. I won't just let her disappear without a trace."

Feeling slightly placated, the queen nodded to the tom. He smiled at her, before looking around for his brother, who seemed to have disappeared. It wasn't long before he figured out where the other cat went. Screaming Bombalurina's name at the top of his lungs, the Maine Coon was searching by himself for the cat he often times regarded as just another queen on his side.

It had been days since the red queen had gone missing, and Demeter felt like crying. She would go out during the days, and look for her sister. But she turned up with nothing each time, not even an idea where she went. She sniffed the air trying to find her scent, but still could turn up nothing. And as she walked aimlessly around the junkyard, she didn't realize where she was going. Though she had meant to go meet up with her peers, she found herself instead going to a place she would otherwise wish to forget…

It was here she found out she had been abandoned. Though she could vaguely remember the details, the memory somehow came back to her. Perhaps the circumstances being what they were, or recent events, made her come back to this odd place that seemed so dark and scary to her when she was a kitten. She could vaguely remember Macavity being there…right at the spot she was staring at. She then placed herself on the spot she remembered herself to be. My, the place looked small compared to her memory. Things hardly towered over her, but there was an odd haunting feeling coming over her.

A memory came flooding back to her when she looked up and saw black marks from where something had been thrown against, but faded just as quickly, leaving her less enlightened than she was before. But the same feeling was associated with that memory she couldn't remember: fear. She was so tired of being afraid…it seems it stemmed from farther back than she realized.

"It's not safe here." Startled, the kitten jumped and spun around, finding the twins behind her. After taking a moment to catch her breath and come back from her journey to young kitten-hood, she faced the two with a rather brave face.

"Why isn't it safe here?" she said gruffly, annoyed at having been brought back so abruptly.

"We come by here a lot," the one named Tantomile said.

"Go back to the kittens. You'll be safe there," the one named Coricopat finished.

"That hardly explained anything," Demeter said. In reality, it explained nothing, but the twins seemed to have dubbed it sufficient enough, and with their intimidating presence, Demeter dared not speak up again against them. She turned around and like a good little kitten, walked over to the kitten area.

Feeling less secure and suddenly exhausted, she hardly noticed who was in the kitten area when she went inside. The search for her sister would have to take place after she rested her tiny frame. Sighing to herself, she only vaguely noticed the kittens in the room. Then she looked up, and saw a sight that for some reason made her heart skip a beat.

Munkustrap was lazily watching the kittens play with each other. But as Demeter watched him, she suddenly felt a new energy take over. There seemed to be something wrong with her stomach as it tightened in knots, and her throat was suddenly dry. Why was her heart beating so fast? He may not have been a cat yet, but he most certainly wasn't a kitten anymore. And at that time, he looked much older than she had before noticed. She always knew he was more mature than any of the other kittens, but she never really took care to notice it. Demeter was left to wonder why all the blood seemed to rush to her face at that moment.

The cat looked up, the license on his collar jingling as it swayed back and forth. He smiled warmly to Demeter (who he realized was watching him) before laying his tired head down on his paws again. Suddenly Demeter felt like she was going to scream, and could barely contain herself as her heart beat a mile a minute. She wanted to act like the kittens when Tugger came into the room! What was wrong with her? "Munkustrap!" she said louder than she meant to. When the tired tom looked over to her, his green eyes meeting her blue eyes, she couldn't help but look away.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her, getting up from his spot and walking over to her. The queen felt the urge to take off and run, but she forced herself to stay in place as the tom came closer. Why would she want to run from Munkustrap? That was silly, she's known him all her life! The silver tabby sat next to her, concern on his face. "Did something scare you?"

"No! No…" Obviously something had scared her earlier, but she didn't much like being treated like a kitten that just woke up screaming from a nightmare (though she often was that very kitten.) "It's not that! I just…it's…uh…" Think, Demeter, think!

"You miss Bombalurina?" he asked, trying to catch her gaze as though to placate her. Her body stiffened from both the fact that the cat was sitting so close to her and the realization that she had momentarily forgotten that her beloved sister was missing! How could she? A sister shouldn't forget about her sibling at a time like this…

"She'll be back," the tom continued, putting a paw on his shoulder, apparently misreading her body language. She felt like she needed to be yelled at, not comforted! "I know nothing has happened to her. She's probably enjoying a few days away from the tribe."

"Uh," Demeter couldn't move. She couldn't look at the tom. He was close enough to inhale his scent! What could she do? "Th-thanks Munkustrap!" She got up stiffly, looking forward at the kittens. "I should go! I'm bothering you!" Her eyesight kept straight on Jemima pulling Tumblebrutus' tail.

"No, you're fine," Munkustrap said, yawning slightly. "I actually wouldn't mind if you stayed here a while. I need to watch the kittens, but I'm falling asleep." Demeter felt a sudden sense of elation at being needed by her silver friend. She nodded to him, without looking him in the eyes, and the oblivious tom smiled a thank you to her before going to where he was laying before and quickly falling asleep. (She's sure he wanted to be there if the kittens desperately needed him.)

But why was he so tired? She knows she hadn't seen him a lot these past few days, though much of that might have been due to her looking for her sister. But even when she came back home, Munkustrap was oddly enough not that steadfast presence he usually was…

Suddenly it hit her. He had been going out to search for Bombalurina as well! Of course! Something that would worry Tugger and her so much must be important enough for him to worry about it too, no matter how many times he tried to tell them both everything was okay.

The gold and black queen suddenly felt a mix of emotion that she couldn't quite place, and before she could control herself, she walked over to where the sleeping tom lay. Quickly peeking over to make sure the kittens weren't watching, she nuzzled him ever so gently. The tom twitched an ear, and purred softly, but otherwise did not stir. Demeter felt very warm for the moment, though she wouldn't find out until later what this warm feeling was…

"Hey, kittens," Demeter said softly as Pouncival was just about to jump on Victoria's back. "We need to play quietly. Munkustrap is tired and he needs his sleep. Okay?" The toms looked a little annoyed, but the queens nodded in agreement. Little Jemima took the chance to go up to their steadfast protector and nuzzle him, laying down next to him. He opened his eyes drowsily, before putting an arm around the kitten and falling back asleep. Demeter smiled as the rest of the younger queen kittens followed suit, curling around the tired tabby and resting against his fur.

Two days later, Bombalurina returned, much to the relief and joy of all the cats, (especially the toms.) She was sporting a brand new collar.

And while Demeter was happy for her sister, she also felt her slipping away…

Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah -

This chapter not only took forever due to writers block, but it's also longer than my seven page limit, (8 pages). MAN it was hard to get back into story mode after those tests in school... But I'm so happy! Five reviews for my last chapter! And I worked hard on that chapter too! ((is content and can die happy))
By the way, did anyone notice the mistake I made with the Rumpus Cat in chapter 10? I caught it after I posted 11, but decided to leave it there to see if anyone noticed...

Krissy4:((hands you tylenol)) You're so cute, always being diligent about reviewing! A very nice attribute! You deserve a gift... Um... Well... A pat on the back? Meh-heh... gives you a cookie
Enkeli-Kitsu: That's a beautiful name then! And about the kitten, heh, funny story...I changed what happened to him last minute and was going to leave it be, but you asking about it gave me an idea...
Satin-n-Crimson: It's good to have you back! We all missed you very much! Was that a good wow or a bad wow? Lol!

And thanks to Demo and Ice Goddess for reviewing! Please give your critiques and what-not! I await your reviews!