A/N: This was a later update than I intended. I have kitten-sitting duties, and that takes up alot of my usual writing time. As if it wasn't hard enough getting through writer's block -sigh-. Thank you all for your reviews! I expected 2! I'm happy! And would be happy if it continued! -smile-

Chapter 7 – Blasphemy in Effigy

Demeter was resting against her sister, purring softly. Mistoffelees was lying down on his back, his paws stretching up to the sky, pawing at the stars as though they were just out of reach. Cassandra was lying on one side, propped up on one elbow, looking elegant as her tail swished up and down. The fire crackled in the middle, creating shadows on each cat's face, making it hard to read their expressions.

"Why Munkustrap?" Cassandra asked, staring hard at Demeter.

"Why?" Demeter echoed, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Cassandra began, "It just seemed you gravitated right towards him. I mean, it's not difficult to see why." Demeter felt the growl in her throat. "I mean that he's pretty important in the tribe..."

"Among other meanings," Bombalurina smiled, nudging her sister. "Admit it." Both queens glared at the red queen. So she dutifully changed the subject. "Oh, come on, Cassie. Don't you have something you do when you get into a tribe to ensure your stay?"

Cassandra growled to herself, licking her paw. She didn't like that Bombalurina had begun calling her by her nick-name. Mistoffelees got up and looked over to the darker queen. "You're not going to tell them?" No answer. He then turned to the sisters. "Well, when I join a tribe, I don't go through any elaborate schemes. I'm just...magnetic."

Silence.

"You mean, literally?" Bombalurina asked. "If I took my collar off, would it be pulled towards you?" she smiled.

"No," he frowned. "My personality! I'm just very friendly."

"Aha!" Bombalurina said, sitting up straight, causing Demeter to fall to the side. "So you befriend a lot of the cats! Mostly the kittens, I bet. Oh, and I bet you use your magic to show off, and make them like you. Well, maybe not all of them. I didn't know too much about your magical powers before the Jellicle ball, but…" Bombalurina drifted on her theory, but the blush from Mistoffelees proved her point. "See? You do have a scheme!" By now, Demeter had lifted herself up and was staring daggers at her sister for making her topple over.

"You are all crazy." All eyes turned to Cassandra. "You are so busy forging relationships that are going to hurt more in the end. Why? Wouldn't you rather remain aloof? Stay away from others? You have your tribe and you protect yourself at the same time."

"You haven't even done that," Demeter said, astonished at what she was hearing.

"You have Alonzo!" Bombalurina pointed out.

"About as much as he has any other queen he comes across," Cassandra corrected. "We have our relationship, but we have our space. He has other queens to turn to, to flirt with. And the best thing is, he won't even miss me when I'm gone."

"I doubt that," Mistoffelees said. "He's fonder of you than you think." Cassandra looked uneasy. "And besides…you would go crazy if you really spent your time alone. You don't have to tell us that just because you think it would be easier on you. It's never easy, Cassie."

"Yeah," Bombalurina said sadly. "No matter how many times you tell yourself that. You try to disconnect, and you hurt yourself. You try to be close, and you hurt yourself and someone else. We just keep…hurting."

Cassandra tried to smile. "He won't miss me. I'll make sure of it." The others looked to one another, but she said nothing more on the subject.

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It was a two weeks until they would meet again. It was both a relief and an aggravation that they weren't speaking to one another. Something always seemed to come up between the four of them. Bombalurina had a date with Tugger, and didn't think it smart to pass it up. Cassandra was feeling ill, probably from the anxiety of having to now balance her two lives with a "support group". Mistoffelees had prior engagement with his kitten friends, as he entertained them with his seemingly clumsy magic. And Demeter…well, her cancellation of talk by the fireside was often the same reason…

With her Jellicle companions - including her sister - gone, she walked about the junkyard either alone or in conversation with someone about the kittens. She took note of how many times a day someone asked her, "How are you feeling?" or "You look wonderful." At one point, she even got a, "Have you gained weight?" from Pouncival, which earned him a quick smack on the head from Skimbleshanks.

But it was true. Her body was beginning to round out in subtle ways, tell tale signs of the kittens growing within her. After getting slightly self conscious of what the young tom had said, she went to Jennyanydots, who assured her it was perfectly normal. They then got into a discussion about everyone around her, and how they were treating her. "That's normal too, dear," Jennyanydots smiled. "They start treating you like a ticking time bomb. It'll calm down after a while. They mean well."

"Yeah," Demeter sighed. "And I'm sure Munku does, too. He tells me the most ridiculous things not to do! No heavy lifting, no climbing, no…walking after midnight, for some reason. What is he frightened of? Vampires?"

"He worries," the Gumbie Cat smiled. "When I was pregnant with Electra and Etcetera, Skimbleshanks went through all these lengths to get me to sleep all the time. He wanted me to conserve my energy."

"Don't you sleep all the time anyway?"

"Only until the day is done," the queen said. She didn't look offended, but the sniff from the Gumbie Cat told her to change subjects.

"Does it even matter?" Demeter asked. "I'm sleepy enough as it is. That's…normal too, right?"

"Yes, dear, you're perfectly normal."

'I wish I was,' Demeter thought, but smiled for the Gumbie Cat. "I should go. I think I'm going to go take a cat nap."

"Alright dear." Jennyanydots saw her off, as the gold queen began to walk back to her den. She looked suddenly to her right when she thought she saw something watching her. There was nothing there. She wasn't sure if she should write it off as just her imagination. Uneasy, she continued on her way.

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"You look good," Mistoffelees noted as they sat by the fire, looking Demeter over and smiling kindly. "You have that motherly glow about you."

"Its annoyance," Demeter corrected. "At everyone making such a fuss over me, and telling me things like that."

"Okay," Mistoffelees said warily. To her sister, he whispered, "Mood swings already?"

"I heard that," Demeter growled. Cassandra laughed lightly. Demeter scoffed when she saw Bombalurina nod. She shoved her sister playfully, to which the red queen shoved back, and they ended up in a small brawl. Cassandra said nothing, but watched in amazement to see who would win, and Mistoffelees tried to yell over the two faux cat fighting queens that Demeter shouldn't be 'fighting' in her condition. After a while, the two sisters ended up on their backs, panting from "fight".

"Was it a tie?" Cassandra asked.

"I don't know," Mistoffelees shrugged.

Demeter looked up at the stars above her as she caught her breath. "Why do we never look at the stars anymore?"

"The moon gets in the way," Mistoffelees explained. "We hold the moon in reverence. We can't help it."

"Why?" Demeter asked.

"Oh," Mistoffelees held his head. "I hate that question. Out of all the questions, it's the most difficult to answer."

Demeter grinned. "How many years did it take you to figure that out?"

"I think just talking to any kitten should make someone realize that."

"What I meant to say was," Demeter pressed on, still looking up to the stars. "Is why do we revere the Jellicle moon when it's cursed us? I can't remember how many times I stood, glaring at the moon, wanting to scream at it, and couldn't, because I felt like it was…I don't know how to describe it."

"Blasphemous?" Cassandra offered.

"Yes! That!"

"So you've never done that because you felt you would be cursing the Everlasting Cat?" Cassandra asked. "What a curious queen you are."

"I never said I hadn't done it," she corrected. "I just had to be angry enough."

"Well," Bombalurina said, pawing at the stars as she had seen Mistoffelees do many times. "I vote we stop looking up to the Everlasting Cat." All the cats shot up from whatever position they were in and turned to Bombalurina, who was suddenly frazzled by the amount of attention she was getting. "It was a suggestion! I would never hold anyone to that! Not even myself…"

"Yeah," Mistoffelees said, patting down the sudden sparkles in his coat. "I don't know how I could take that. But…you have an interesting point." Mistoffelees stood up and looked up to the moon, holding a paw out to it. "Instead of cursing the moon whenever we feel like we've been abandoned…why don't we instead…" He turned, so the moon was hitting his backside, and he was now looking to a sky dotted with its own sparkles, "Pray to the stars?"

Demeter still felt uneasy about that. She didn't think it good to anger whatever power the Jellicle moon had, and it's supposed diety, the Everlasting Cat. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"What good has praying to the moon done for any of us?" He asked.

"It's not like he ever listens," Bombalurina said, stirring excitedly in her place.

"And there's only one of it," Cassandra agreed. "There are so many stars. Maybe…you never know."

Demeter thought this conversation had gone insane the moment she brought up anything religious. As a Jellicle, she felt strongly bound to the moon. But the idea of sharing some of that faith to the stars…was almost relieving. "Alright."

The cats went quiet as they stared up at the dotted night sky. But she couldn't think of anything to pray for. Her mind was numb from every appearance she had to keep up, and every lie she had to remember. She supposed when the time came, she could pray to the them, now that she had her fellow Jellicles to back her up.

"Stupid moon." Everyone looked to Bombalurina, eyes wide. "Oh, I've always wanted to say that out loud. Look at it! Looking down on us like that…Everyone celebrates the Jellicle moon like it's something wonderful! It's just a reminder, telling us we have nothing!" She hissed at the moon just for show.

"Yeah," Demeter agreed, feeling petrified to finally get something off her chest. "And the Everlasting Cat? What's that all about? I swear, the next time I hear someone talk about him as though he were some great savior or god, I'll…"

Cassandra huffed, as the others heard the sound of excitement in her voice, not odd for other cats, but definitely odd for her. "He's never been there when we needed him!"

"He always left us alone," Bombalurina said, getting up, as the others slowly followed. "And we can't do anything about it!" She found herself directing her aim at Mistoffelees.

"Well, don't yell at me!" He defended. "Yell at that!" He redirected her to the moon. "Pretend it's the Jellicle Moon. Tell it off while you don't have to be afraid of anyone listening."

Demeter looked to her sister, who smiled. It was an idea. Demeter encouraged her sister to go first. "Alright," said the red queen, stepping past the fire so that the warmth of it remained on her back. "You promised us a different Jellicle life! What if we're not happy with the ones we have now? I'm tired of having a million broken hearts just to save myself! What kind of life is that?"

"You claim you love us," Cassandra joined in, hardly as loud as Bombalurina was, but with more hiss to her words, "But we're endlessly masquerading to the ones we pretend we trust! How are we supposed to follow something that's so intangible?"

"But it's the only thing that's there that we can truly have for our entire lives," Mistoffelees pointed out.

"What a way to make someone love you," Demeter said to the moon. "I just wanted to be normal! I don't want to leave anymore!" They were covered in its glow as though it were embracing them. But Demeter felt like it was trapping them, instead. It was reminding them that they were forever followed by its light, and it would be watching them for as long as their lives lasted, and if they somehow received another Jellicle life, it would follow them then, as well.

Demeter suddenly felt dizzy, and toppled backwards. Mistoffelees quickly caught her before she fell back into the fire, and the other two queens raced to her side. "I'm fine," Demeter said quickly, her eyes wide in fright. "No, I'm fine, really…the blood rushed to my head or something." Her heart was racing.

"We'll finish this another night," Bombalurina promised.

"No!" Demeter said quickly. She didn't know why, but she almost felt like that was punishment for her sacrilege. "I'm fine. I don't think…I want to do that anymore."

The others were quiet. Cassandra stepped up to the queen. "How about a moonless night?"

The others laughed. Demeter laughed nervously in return. They then looked up to the stars again. It had never occurred to them before to pray to a lesser god. The moon always seemed to overshadow the stars before. But now, the moon was nothing in comparison to the multitude of stars.

She watched her mother uneasily as she looked up to the sky. It looked like her heart was breaking. Demeter could understand. She and her sister felt it to. It was the night of the Jellicle Moon. Not their first, but certainly a memorable one. They had no tribe at the time, and they could hear the invitation to the Jellicle Ball from some tribe that pretended they, too, were Jellicles. Whatever magic that tribe had that could grant them rebirth was off limits to them.

They had no proof of this. There was no reason to believe it outside of their own minds. So they lay in wait, tormented by the moon as it taunted them, dared them to come out and reveal themselves, only to be passed up for the chance to journey to the Heaviside.

It wasn't easy ignoring the call. For a normal cat, they missed the fun and games. For a Jellicle, they felt like they were having their hearts ripped out. "Let's go," Bombalurina said, jumping up and down. She had to do something to get that energy out.

"No," their mother said. "A tribe would shun us. Or worse. We don't even know them. Come, my kittens, let's go to sleep."

It should have felt a blessing for them when that night was over. But instead, they felt defeated. It was the first time Demeter felt abandoned, even though all her family was right there.

She sat alone, looking up at the stars. In her mind, she was formulating a plan for how to pray to the stars without the moon knowing. It was absolute insanity, but it kept her occupied. She didn't want to have to think of anything. Not what she was, not all her troubles, not her kittens, not even…

"Dem!"

…her mate...

"Dem." The queen turned to see Munkustrap coming up to her. "What are you doing up here?" She was on top of Munkustrap's favorite watch point that he used a lot during the day, when the other toms were supposed to be guarding the tribe's territory. It would otherwise be ridiculous to think he wouldn't find her there, but for the fact that he was supposed to be guarding the rest of the junkyard. "You're here all alone. And it's a pretty rough climb. You sure you should be up here?"

His face was full of concern, but it hardly mattered to her at the time. "I just wanted to be alone," she replied curtly, looking up to the sky again, hoping he would get the drift.

"What's wrong?" Nope…it was too much to hope he would leave her alone even for one moment. "Are any of the other cats bothering you?"

'YOU'RE bothering me,' she thought to herself. "No, why?"

"Oh," he said. Unfortunately for her, he sat down next to her. "I was a little worried. Tantomile and Coricopat seem very interested in you lately, and that's never a good sign."

Demeter's ears perked up in attention, and she momentarily pushed aside the hostility she felt for her mate and looked over to him. "How do you mean?"

"They've been asking me how you're doing," he said, sitting straight and trying to make use of his observation point, though it was hard to see anything in the dark. "So I started keeping an eye out for them. They've been watching you. And I don't trust it."

"I don't either," Demeter admitted, frowning in thought. How had she missed that? She was getting sloppy in her craftiness. But again, she had never had quite so much attention put on her that wasn't bad attention. In any other circumstance, she would be gone by now. "Have you talked to them about it?"

"About what?" Munkustrap shrugged. "I can't very well go up to them and tell them to stop looking at my mate on the grounds that they creep me out."

Demeter twitched an ear. Perhaps it was better he hadn't confronted them. They were never normal cats, and with this new information about their sudden interest in her, she feared that they somehow knew what she was. She had to deal with it herself. "That's fine, Munku. I'm sure it's nothing. They're probably just wondering what the kits are going to be."

"That doesn't make me feel any more comfortable, either." Demeter laughed it off. She then looked up to the moon again. "What are you doing up here, anyway? Trying to have a conversation with the Everlasting Cat?" Her tail twitched at the end.

"Munku…darling…a queen needs to think about things, too." She was again annoyed by the tom's presence, whether he gave her valuable information or not. But she didn't need to insult him to make him go away. She had the perfect excuse come to her in the form of a sudden urge.

"Uh…Munku?" she turned and gave him a pout.

He gave her a look. "You want something, Dem?"

"You know how you say you'll do anything for me now that I'm with kittens? Well, do you know where you could get rabbit with onion sauce?" Munkustrap looked at her, surprised.

"Have you ever even had rabbit?"

"Mm, I think once with Tugger, when he refused it because there wasn't any fi—OH! You know what else sounds good? Cream. In a dish; it's yucky in a bowl. Oh, and throw in some caviar. And mouse cakes…Jenny makes those right? With salmon paste on top of it! Well, nix the cream, actually. Instead, I want--"

"HOLD ON!" Munkustrap said, a silly grin on his face as he tried to remember all that. "Let me just get you down from here and on sturdier ground, then I'll attend to your cravings."

Demeter continued to change the list as she walked down with the silver tabby helping her. By the end of the night, and the multitudes of changes to her diet list, Demeter could have given Tugger a run for his money on the title of having "disobliging ways," were it not for the excuse of her pregnancy.