(More disclaimers? Still don't own cats. Big whoop! Ooh, quick note. The kittens call Gus 'Mor Far' which means mother's father. They call Jellylorum "Morra" which is an affectionate term for mother.)
Nine of Spades: Life in Shards
The night Griddlebone set off for the Junkyard happened to be the night her sister was on watch duty. It was lucky for her, really, as Jellylorum was the only Jellicle that would give her a second chance. No, a third chance, she reflected sadly as she recalled the days shortly after the birth of her second litter. A blissful few days they had been, too. However, Macavity, being the cat he was, had ruined that for her. Well, he would not ruin it again.
She walked in peace for a while longer before cold, bitter realization hit her. His plan! Macavity's underhand blow at destroying the Jellicles again. She bit her lower lip in deep thought, which may have hurt mentally more than physically. She could not tell Jellylorum of the plan, for Macavity lay magic on all his secrets, to keep them as such. Her son could not break the magic, either, for it was his ancestor's. She padded along the street in silence for a good long while, waiting for something to hit her. The best solution she came up with was to leave the Jellicles to their own devices. She had faith in them.
The last of those thoughts stopped her in her tracks. Faith? Since when had she had faith in the Jellicles? Sure, last time she was part of the tribe, she'd had faith, but as soon as Macavity came to fetch her it left again, right? But then again, when Macavity planned to interrupt the Jellicle Ball last moon, she'd had faith that they would pull through. The emotions had confused her then, but now they seemed to untangle themselves. Just because Macavity took her back didn't mean she had stopped being a Jellicle. She had been part of the tribe for the last few moons, and her faith never really ended.
After her moment, Griddlebone had a much more shallow thought: now, at least, she had a pitch to give Jellylorum when she reached the Junkyard.
Jellylorum sat under a bit of old rug on the rock on the cliff that overlooked the junkyard. She sorely wished to return to her family and go to sleep. Her kits were probably driving her father and mate up the wall at the very moment, demanding that she sing to them before they would sleep.
"They never really grow up…" She reflected to herself sadly.
"I know exactly how you feel." The familiar yet unpleasant voice made her jump. She whipped around, dropping the old rug.
"Griddlebone! What are you-?" She was interrupted as her younger sister practically pounced on her. Just like when they were young, Jellylorum noticed.
"Oh, I'm so glad it was you out here, Lorie… it could have been anyone…" Griddlebone, at least, knew that this part was complete rubbish: The watch schedule never changed.
"What do you want, Griddlebone?" She asked, pushing the little white queen off of her.
"To live here! With you, or Mistofeeles and Victoria!" She pleaded, putting her paws together in front of her chest.
"Why the sudden change in heart?" Jellylorum asked bitterly, turning back to face the rest of the Junkyard.
"It's not sudden! I was…" Jellylorum turned to look at her again, eyebrows raised in questioning. "Last time, I didn't leave!" She spat finally, as if it were hard to recount what had happened 'last time'.
"Yes, you did…" Jellylorum pointed out to her. "After all, you were there one day, gone the next." Griddlebone nodded, but continued.
"Not of my own accord, anyway. I was… kitnapped! He took me, Lorrie, understand…? Please…?" She asked, exhaling quickly and avoiding eye contact with her older sister.
"Oh, Griddlebone… why didn't you send for help?" Jellylorum said with a sigh as she offered the corner of the rug to her sister, who slid in with her.
"I did, nobody believed me… except the gold queen-"
"Demeter."
"-right, Demeter. She did, I could tell. But she was to afraid to speak out…" Griddlebone finished, finally slightly warm.
"I'm so sorry- you're soaked!" She said as Griddlebone's tail brushed hers.
"Well, yeah. I was only walking for a day." She replied tartly.
"Let's go to the Hall, best to let Jenny take care of you…" They began to move toward the hall.
"Can- can you ask Munkustrap and his family to stay away from me for awhile…?" She stumbled over the words.
"Why?" Jellylorum asked her, slightly shocked.
"The scent, it runs in the family." She said with a cringe. Her cheek still smarted from Macavity's paw, if only mentally. Jellylorum nodded.
"Jenny, please just take care of her… quietly? I have to talk to the elders…" Jellylorum pleaded, her rain-soaked little sister standing pitifully next to her. Jenny finally agreed with a heavy sigh and took Griddlebone into her den. Jellylorum ran back up the staircase to her den. She slipped into the old file cabinet, sans drawers. There was general mayhem inside.
"Mor Far, Etcy won't let me play with the mouse. Tell her I can play with it!"
"Electra, dear, let Etcetera play with her mouse. You can play with this puppet. You always wanted to be a puppeteer, right?" Gus offered lamely, the three kittens crawling all over him.
"Etcy, Lecy, Jemmy! Get off your Mor Far, he's tired." Jellylorum said warily, pulling herself into the den.
"Morra, Morra!" They called, moving the mob slightly to the right to engulf Jellylorum, who looked at her mate with pleading eyes.
"Come to bed, kits." Skimbleshanks called in attempt to move the mob into their bed. They obeyed with some reluctance. "Now, sing to them before they get up again." Skimbleshanks pleaded to Jellylorum, who did just so.
As she finished and Skimble went to bed, she curled up with her father, who just so happened to be one of the tribe elders.
"Far, what would you do if Griddlebone returned?" She asked after some general conversation, to make the topic sound hypothetical.
"I suppose it would matter why she returned…" He pondered, trailing off. "Why? Do you want to tell me something, kit?" She bit her lip, partly at his ability to read her so well and partly at being called a kitten.
"Tonight, while I was on watch duty, Griddlebone came back." She admitted.
"Why did she return?" He inquired. She hesitated.
"Macavity kidnapped her, and she's only just now been able to escape. She seemed a little bit jumpy… not as much as Demeter… but…" She trailed off, thinking back to her behavior and request.
"Then, I say it is alright for her to live with the tribe, since she never left it. I'd advise that you go tell her, where ever you have stowed her away." Jellylorum beamed in a most kitten-like fashion and then bounded off to Jenny's.
"Griddlebone! Guess what?" Jelly asked as she skidded to a halt by her sister.
"What?" She humored her sister warily.
"You're still part of the tribe!" Jellylorum said in a chipper voice. "Come on, let's go see Victoria and Mistofeeles." Griddlebone smiled.
"I miss them…" She said in a dreamy sort of voice.
"Well, we've no time to loose." Jellylorum pointed out, dragging her out of the oven.
"Mistofeeles? Have you seen my… oh." Victoria greeted Jellylorum. She had never been particularly fond of her aunt, but accepted short visits from her every now and then.
"Seen your what? Oh…" Mistofeeles greeted in a similar fashion.
"Well, hello to you too. I actually brought someone you might be interested in along." She greeted them bitterly, pulling her sister into the room. There was an awkward silence and Jellylorum took the chance to slip out of the room. The silence continued.
"Well… ah…" Griddlebone murmured, moving into their den. It was neater than Jenny's was, with two beds and a wall that led to another room, apparently. Unlike the other dens she'd seen, it wasn't an old appliance or piece of furniture, but carved into the junkpile and walled with bits of wood. She admired the handiwork briefly before her daughter spoke, slowly, cautiously.
"What are you doing here? You're not part of this tribe anymore." She said, moving in front of her brother protectively.
"Actually, I am. I was never not part of the tribe." She said, eyeing the drawings on a shelf. Some of them were of her, she noticed.
"What…?" Victoria asked, shooing Mistofeeles into the other room.
"I was taken by force. I didn't decide to go back with your fa- Macavity." She said correcting herself quickly.
"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Victoria screeched.
"You believed Demeter! How is she any different?" Griddlebone pleaded, backing up slightly. Victoria paused, although there was still a vague look of loathing in her eyes. Finally, she sighed.
"Mistofeeles..." He emerged from behind the wall, still hanging behind his sister. "It's alright." She comforted, ruffling his head fur. He sighed.
"Well?" He finally spoke, after another long, awkward pause.
"Well what?" Griddlebone asked as kindly as she could manage.
"What do you want?" He demanded, eyeing his mother warily.
"I want… to… ah… live with you?" She questioned, squirming slightly. Victoria and Mistofeeles exchanged a glance.
"Alright… but only for now." Victoria agreed reluctantly. "Why don't you go get a bed from the Library? You can sleep in the back room."
Griddlebone left the room happy.
