A/N #1: I'm sure we all know how the Jellicle Ball goes...otherwise, you're reading this on a wing and a prayer trying to know which cats are which, heh...anways, I felt I should warn you that it's from one cats perspective, tying to other parts of the story, the last threads to be sewn to bring closure to certain aspects of Demeter's life. This is just one interpretation, yada yada yada. Now, please enjoy, and yell at me for it later! ((smile))
Chapter 31 –Maddened by the Midnight Dance
After the flurry of anticipation the day before, one would think it would carry on into the next day. Oddly enough, the junkyard was very quiet. Everyone was resting, if not sleeping. Conversation was kept very little, as it seemed a spell had swept over the junkyard, causing all the cats to rest, saving themselves to be right for the Jellicle Ball.
If they weren't resting, they were washing themselves, making themselves look gorgeous. This night was a night they all wanted to look their best for. After all, someone was going to be sent to the Heaviside layer, and they wanted to look their best for when they send off whoever it was, or, Everlasting Cat forbid, one of the younger cats be chosen. But no, they were sure that old Gus was ready to leave them soon. And if not him, fate works in mysterious ways. Perhaps the Everlasting Cat will send to them the cat that desperately needed a new life.
This is what most of the cats pondered as they made their toilettes. Everything had to be perfect. For the first time in years, the tribe was full of young, rambunctious cats and kittens, and everyone had reason to celebrate. Love and excitement, beginnings and endings, joy and sadness…all of this was promised tonight, and the Jellicles wanted to be prepared for this.
Once Demeter had washed her fur, she never looked prettier. All her old wounds were gone, or covered by her fur, and her left paw was no longer a victim to her nervous lickings. Even her confidence was high. She felt like things were finally becoming the way it was meant to be. She thought this night to be more important to her than any other cats in the tribe. Of course, she didn't know this for certain, and she certainly wouldn't insult anyone by telling them this, but it gave her appearance a glow that wasn't there before.
The gold queen yawned and leaned against her sister, who's fur was practically glimmering from the bath their owner had given her that morning. (Bombalurina had covered herself in mud to make her owner wash her with some of that nice smelling papaya scented pet shampoo. What queens will do for beauty…) The red queen was already asleep, and Demeter soon followed, as she succumbed to the sleep spell of the day.
The sun had gone down, and it was that mystical time of twilight. Cats who were in their homes emerged from the safety of the four walls and trotted their way through the night, not stopping for anything. The Jellicle Moon had appeared overhead, and those who were sleeping throughout the day were set free of the spell that was cast on them. They woke up, stretched, and waited for their cue from their second-in-command to come out to the night, and enjoy the magic that the Jellicle Moon brought.
Demeter could now appreciate the magic of the night the way she never would have as a kitten, when the enchantment of the festivities held nothing remarkable to her. After all the mediocrity and the extraordinary these cats lived through each day, at least one day they could all feel like the gods they were once revered as. Magic that so rarely filled their lives would come to play tonight.
Demeter walked to where the old tire was, her beautiful sister following. To the human eye, there was nothing majestic about it. But to the Jellicles, this tire on this night was very important to them.
Everyone seemed to be hiding, afraid to be the first ones to step out. And Demeter was certainly not going to be the first to go out and make a fool of herself. But all the other cats seemed to think the same as they peered through the junk and over ledges, their moonlight eyes the only thing giving their position away.
No one spoke…it was too quiet to say any words…not until the first note was sung, would any of them want to say anything. So they all waited patiently, knowing the others were out there. They were all waiting for some odd magic to start up and life to spring back up in the junkyard.
Demeter sniffed the air. She thought she smelled something…familiar. What it was, she wasn't sure. If it were Macavity, she would feel the terror go down her spine. But no…this was different. It was definitely familiar.
Lured by the scent, and forgetting where she was at the moment, Demeter found herself wandering out of her hiding place. Certainly, she didn't smell what she thought she smelled…the scent of a cat who had no right to be there that night. She wasn't welcome anymore.
Demeter became aware of her surroundings again when the light of a passing car woke her senses. She hissed instinctively, before realizing that she had stepped right out to the center of the stage for tonight's events, and sheepishly ran to an old pipe and hid herself, embarrassed.
She was the catalyst the others needed. Others now came out to inspect the area, seemingly having smelled the familiar scent, as well. Some even sniffed the air. Demeter, feeling safer that the others were now out, came out again. But the scent was gone, and the curiosity of the other cats died down. That's when Munkustrap, who had also come out to look for himself, was given the silent cue from what ever powers worked their enchantment that night, and he began the first notes. The others emerged slowly…and the celebration begun! The celebration of being a Jellicle…what else was there to be more proud of?
For the first time in a long time, Demeter was happy dancing and singing along with her friends and family of the joys of being a cat: the kittens of the Everlasting Cat! She even joined with her sister when they honored Jennyanydots. (That cat did do a lot for her, after all.)
But she was hardly amused by the Rum Tum Tugger's interruption of the festivities, and stealing the limelight. And she wasn't at all impressed when Tugger decided to bestow some attention on her. (She hissed at him in annoyance.) And it was the last straw, when the maned tom had the audacity to drop her sister! What was wrong with him! She thought he could at least appreciate the friendship he had with Bombalurina enough not to humiliate her in front of all the other cats. Angry with the way Tugger was treating her sister, Demeter left the scene and made her way to a quieter place, close enough to hear the festivities.
The anxious queen wrung her paws. Crowds still made her a little nervous, and her emotions were already getting erratic thanks to one Rum Tum Tugger. However he could possible be related to Munkustrap, she'd never know! Her Munkustrap was kind, sweet, gentle…and only stuck to one queen. Demeter's throat went dry. Hopefully, he stuck to one queen.
The gold cat saw something off in the distance. Thinking it was Old Deuteronomy, Demeter brightened. He arrived earlier than they thought he would! But when her eyes adjusted again to the moonlights rather than the lights of the ball, Demeter ears fell back. "Uh-oh," she said softly to herself, before rushing back to the crowd of cats.
Demeter walked in slowly, eyes scanning over the cats to find the silver tom. But when she finally caught sight of him, as he was shaking his head in disapproval at the tom who was waving his tail to get too much attention, Demeter felt a pull at her own tail, and was hauled into a sitting position next to her sister. "Would you look at him?" she sulked. "That lousy jerk. I didn't do anything to him. It's not my fault he can't commit, but to treat me like I'm less than nothing?"
"Um," Demeter tried to interrupt, but when everything fell silent, she knew it was too late to warn the second in command. Her sister had gotten up, both intrigued and put on edge by the sudden silence. Tugger was pointing at something, making all the cats stand in awe, looking in the direction of whatever it was that could change the vivacious tom's mood so quickly.
That's when she came out.
Mistoffelees, who was probably the most curious about her after seeing what had happened between her and the others, was the first to rush up to her and investigate. But Munkustrap quickly pulled him out of the way. The older cats kept the kittens away, like that old, ragged queen was the plague. Some gasped at seeing who it was, recognizing her finally. Some shook their heads, not knowing what to make of her. Bombalurina stared in disgust. "So that's what she became?" she asked, making a revolted face at the once beautiful queen. She then pawed at her own red fur, as though she were looking into a mirror of the future. "It's…horrific."
Seeing how the others were treating her, especially the fact that not-so-little-anymore Pouncival had scratched her, made Demeter shake her head. For a moment, she saw herself in that position. (Now, she could hardly compare the Jellicle Tribe to Macavity's tribe…but the feeling of being so unwanted, or that they'd do anything to destroy her, swept over her.) And though she knew better, Demeter thought she should be the kind paw she herself had wanted once before.
Sweeping past Munkustrap, knowing full well the tom would rather pull her away, she held out a paw in an attempt to greet the queen, hopefully making her feel wanted by the tribe. And for a moment, she saw a glimmer of hope from the old queen. But all the cats were watching her, and Munkustrap was right behind her. So she pulled away, giving Grizabella a sorrowful look that said, 'I'm sorry', though she didn't know why. The old glamour cat should have been begging them for forgiveness.
Demeter could hear the whispers of the other cats. Of what Grizabella had become. Of how detestable she looked. Of how they didn't even want to touch her, not knowing where she had been. Demeter had to do something, she felt. "You have to understand," she tried to explain, telling the others of what Grizabella's life must have been like after she had left the tribe. When she was done, all were agreed. "Who'd have ever supposed that THAT was Grizabella, the glamour cat?"
Well…that was hardly what she meant to accomplish. Especially with the harsh way Bombalurina spoke the queen's name…
As the others wished her away by their sheer, combined will not to touch the queen, Demeter watched her disappear into the night, longing to go after her. But what could she do? She felt it was out of her paws. She had already tried, but look where that got them? Perhaps, now it was up to the old queen herself. Because Demeter needed convincing as well.
"Forget about her," Jennyanydots chirped. "Look who's here!" Demeter turned to see that it was Bustober Jones, who had decided to join them after all. All the other cats had regained their lost cheeriness. She looked at them, seeing that Munkustrap and Bombalurina had quickly bounced back from their shock. While everyone gathered around to greet the fat cat, Demeter snuck off to where Grizabella had gone.
She followed the queen's scent carefully. But when she had lost it, Demeter shook her head. "For a cat with a limp," said a voice, "She sure does walk fast when she wants to, doesn't she?" Demeter looked up to see Tugger was lounging in an old chair.
"You're not with the others?" Demeter asked, forgetting her anger with the tom for the moment.
"Yeah," Tugger said sarcastically. "Like I want to celebrate twenty five pounds of Felinity that thinks he's better than me." He looked off into the direction the cat walked off to. "I didn't think she would come this way," he explained.
"You didn't say anything to her, did you?" Demeter found herself demanding. "I think she had enough from the rest of the tribe."
"I wouldn't want to talk to her," the cat countered. "I just watched her as she picked up her pace and hobbled somewhere else. She didn't know I was here," he said bitterly. "She wouldn't recognize her 'son's' presence, anyway." Demeter looked over to where the cat disappeared to. "What are you doing, anyway?" he demanded.
"What?" Demeter asked, looking up.
"Running after her?" he reminded her. "Let her rot." Seeing how upset he was by her actions, Demeter didn't want to become the reason for an angry Tugger. So without another word, she left the tom to his thoughts.
As she walked back to the tribe, she heard a loud crash, which made her jump, and she raced out to where the other cats had been. "Macavity!" she yelled before she could stop herself, and all the cats scattered.
In the distance, she could hear Munkustrap's voice yelling after her, "Wait! It might not be Macavity!" But that was hardly any consolation as all the cats had their fun ruined by the scare.
Demeter panted and was shaking when Bombalurina and Mistoffelees found her. "Are you okay?" the tuxedoed tom asked as her sister drew her into a protective hug. Demeter nodded, trying her hardest to pretend it didn't bother her, but her nerves were on end. She wasn't quite as healed as she thought she was…
"I'm fine!" she assured them, pushing her sister off, and patting down her raised fur.
Then Victoria came over with Jemima, tapping Mistoffelees on the shoulder. "My favorite toy is missing," Victoria said to him frantically, as she had apparently chosen to hide in her den.
"And so is my crystal kitty bowl I found," Jemima pouted. All eyes went to her. "It was in the junk," she explained, pointing to some random direction. When the cats kept staring, Jemima pouted. "Well, do you think a kitten can't have nice things?"
Other cats found each other, many having heard the complaints of others and realizing that their items had gone missing as well. That's when Alonzo found the congregation of cats. "What's going on here?" he asked, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"He's here! He's here!" Etcetera cried, pouting at having lost her favorite blanket, and sniffling sadly. "Macavity stole all our things!"
Alonzo rolled his eyes. "No he didn't. We looked all around! He's no where around here." Demeter sighed with relief, along with a few sighs of relief from the older cats.
Just then, Munkustrap came over a pile of junk and cleared his throat to get their attention. All eyes went up to the silver tom, who looked slightly annoyed. "Come back here. I want to show you all something." All the cats got up, Bombalurina staying close to Demeter, as he took the cats to where their celebration had been brought to a halt. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were in the center, having their own celebration. And surely, the satchels on the ground most likely contained the missing objects. All the cats shook their heads at the gleeful, giggling brother and sister who were happy to get their paws in the thievery game again.
As though on cue, all the cats turned and looked at Demeter, the reason the two cats were in the tribe to begin with. Feeling her face flush, Demeter shrugged. "It's what they do!" she said in her own defense. Munkustrap sighed, shaking his head, before nodding to Alonzo, sneaking up behind the two. Alonzo grabbed one bag, Munkustrap the other.
Then the cats rounded on the two, who suddenly realized they were not alone anymore. With a small squeak from Rumpleteazer, Jennyanydots started scolding the two. "Stealing from your own tribe mates. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it! Back in my day, we respected our elders…" and so on, as everyone instinctively tuned out the Gumby Cat.
The twins turned to run, but Demeter and Mistoffelees blocked their way. "Ah, come on," Mungojerrie muttered, as they turned to run in the opposite direction. Munkustrap and Alonzo held up the evidence against the twins. The siblings then jumped up on the old car, and turned around. They tried to catch the satchels that the two protectors threw at them, but failed miserably. The two pouted, and for a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the horrified squeak of Jemima, who must have been worried about her crystal kitty bowl. "What?" Mungojerrie asked as the cats in the tribe glared at him. "You can't take a joke?" Rumpleteazer bit her lip as not to laugh.
There was a short silence as all the cats glared at them. Then Munkustrap turned to the others and smiled a mischievously. "Now, let's teach them a lesson!" All the cats grinned as the twins looked around nervously and cowered. For a moment, Demeter would have considered worrying about her two pleading friends, were it not for Mistoffelees, of all cats, saving them.
"Old Deuteronomy?" asked the tuxedoed cat. Munkustrap spun around, looking to the young tom, and then to the mystical twins.
"I believe it is Old Deuteronomy," they confirmed. With that, the two cat burglars sighed with relief as everyone was too busy greeting the old cat once Mistoffelees had gently ushered him in. Even the Rum Tum Tugger came out of his stupor to greet his father, and to everyone's surprise, paid his respects by bowing to him. Old Deuteronomy was positively glowing. Demeter smiled. Though he was much older than he once was, the old tom never looked prouder. And all the cats were proud to have their Jellicle leader there with them.
For a while, everything went, in a sense, without a hitch. Though, Demeter was sure Munkustrap didn't consider it as such, when all the cats in unison didn't understand that they were trying to impress Old Deuteronomy with a play, and not show off their horrible acting skills. Demeter thought it was very ironic that Etcetera and Pouncival were meant to be the first peke and pollicle, but they switched with a very proud Rumpleteazer and Mungojerrie, just to annoy the silver tom, their director. (And they didn't quite know how to bark on cue…)
After she ruffled her fur in her peke costume, Demeter thought she smelt something. But the thought left her head when Old Deuteronomy began talking to them, and they all gave him their undivided attention. He was cut off, however, by a loud noise. "Macavity!" Demeter said instinctively, but she was sure this time she was right. All the cats still trusted her judgment, as they scattered at this new scare.
This time, Demeter stayed near her sister, cowering at her feet, trying to calm herself. (She really had to take stress management lessons or something. Maybe she could be given a sedative...) Really, she hated being known as the "nervous one". Maybe she could make the others describe her as something different, like 'alert', or 'watchful'… All the while she reminded herself that she was surrounded by friends and family, and that no harm could come to her.
"Come on," Bombalurina said, a little shaken herself. "They're calling us out to the ball. Munku and Alonzo are out there, so you know everything's okay!" With this reassurance, Demeter tried to put the thoughts from her mind as she was greeted by singing, dancing, and the Jellicle Moon overhead.
Demeter had to admit it was funny to watch her sister interrupt the toms' passionate dancing with her sexy dance, and even joined her for a while. But once all the fun and games were over, came a part of the ball Demeter didn't realize was coming…the mating dance.
For a while, Demeter envied how Victoria and Plato were dancing so beautifully. But before she could put much more thought into that, she felt someone watching her, and turned to see Munkustrap sitting beside his grandfather. The silver tom was grinning, doing nothing to hide his intent look. She couldn't place what that grin meant, exactly. What was he thinking about? Returning a grin, she forced herself to look away, as the other cats were now congregating, performing the last bits of the dance. She, of course, performed it alone, not really bothering to see who paired up with who. She could almost feel Munkustrap eyes staring at her, and wished to the Everlasting Cat he would stop. It was making her nervous… in a different way.
She could almost feel his presence beside her. A gentle touch. A warm embrace. Bringing her close to him, as he nuzzled her sweetly. Demeter felt embarrassed for these thoughts. Though no one could ever know what they were, she felt like she might as well have been yelling it out for everyone to hear. Ridiculously, she guarded her thoughts with all her might, as she lay there among the heap of cats, who were succumbing to the gentleness of the night.
She shot up along with everyone else. Grizabella was there again, though no one knew where. (Everlasting Cat, that cat was persistent!) She wanted so much to be part of the group again, but Alonzo had quickly chased her away as the other cats decided to ignore the interruption and begin to dance with a new vigor and pride that they didn't realize they had in them. And after they were done with their insane dancing, as the Jellicle Moon had finished driving them to dance so heatedly, they all circled around their leader, each panting for breath and very tired, and paid him the homage he deserved, as he was too old to dance with them all.
"She's back," someone said, and all the cats turned around to see the fallen beauty, hissing at her, racing past her, drawing kittens away from her. She had picked a bad time to return, as their emotions were no longer held back due to their exhaustion. And that Pouncival, bumping into her as though she didn't deserve their respect… Seeing a shadow of her past, Demeter raced up to help the old queen. But the vision of herself in place of the old cat shifted back to reality, and she saw the face aged before it's time. Bombalurina put a paw on Demeter's shoulder as she stood there, frozen, unable to even think of what to do. "Get her out of here," Munkustrap whispered to the red queen, as she was swept away like a kitten.
Some of the kittens sat and watched in hiding as the old queen made a spectacle of herself, reliving her old days. "You should turn your face from her," Bombalurina called up to them, and the kittens, not knowing what to do, stayed and listened to the old cat's plea. The red queen sighed, "And you should, too," Bombalurina said to her sister.
"What were you going to do?" she asked, irritated at her younger sister. Demeter tensed up. Her actions were getting her in trouble... "Were you going to try and accept her back in the tribe? Do you really think she deserves it? After what she did to us? All of us? Do you think you have any right?"
"I just…" Demeter began, shaking her head. She couldn't look at her sister. If Bombalurina was as mad as Tugger had been at her, she didn't want to upset her sister more. She had to try to make her understand. "I thought…if I could just reach out and be the kind touch she feels…But I couldn't do it. What she has done is nothing to what she has become. There is so much I want to do, and so much I won't because I'm too scared or too angry to do it. I just wanted to be the one to reach out to her…to be that gentle touch that would tell her that everything will finally be okay. But I couldn't do it!" She looked up to her sister. Demeter knew from experience the need to feel one familiar, gentle touch, and never getting it. And now she felt dirty…she had become that which she hated. "When did I become like this?"
There was silence. Demeter stared to her sister, hearing the footfalls of cats as they shuffled about the junk piles, waiting for their moment to shine again. She then looked down to her paws once more. Then Bombalurina spoke. "We have a lot more history with her than anyone else," she reasoned, her voice gentler this time. "We have reason to utterly despise her. For you to even try to reach out to her, after everything that's happened to you…makes you better than me any day." Demeter looked up, ready to protest what the queen had said, but the red queen shook her head, tried to smile, and walked off to see if the glamour cat had rid herself of their presence.
A/N #2: I felt very religious writing some parts of this chapter...Maybe it's just me.
Satin: I knew that no matter what, you would like that chapter. You love the Munku/Dem fluff. I should dedicate all Munku/Dem fluff to you!
Demo: Cassandra can just be scary to people in general. I always thought she was kinda flirty to Munku, but he never noticed. And to you, my 100th reviewer, I thank thee!
Chimalmaht: To read this slowly but surely to here, that's over 200 pages on Word (at the moment.) Congrats, you read a novel! And Demeter reluctantly accepts your apology for 'shnurging' Munku. ((I still am not sure it's legal, lol))
TigerLily: you returned! I was surprised! Pleasantly so! I'm sorry I somehow confused you, though! How did I manage that? I mean, not that I don't confuse people on a regular basis, but... I just confused myself. Anyways...
And thanks to Vicky and Sarabi for reviewing! So many reviews this time! Maybe I should be late in my updates more, so that more people will have caught up and review! ((wink))