(Yay updating! And -gasp- A plot! xD)
Chapter Seven: Do no Harm
Rumpelteazer sighed as she packed up a few of her favorite belongings. She couldn't stand the waiting any more, so she decided to leave. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Rumpelteazer was ready to leave. She'd packed up only what she needed- some food, a blanket, and her favorite things. While she didn't really need keepsakes, leaving home without them would be too hard for her. As she left the Hall, she realized the irony of it all- her leaving in the first place was what had caused the instability between herself and Mungojerrie in the first place.
"Oh well," She mumbled to herself as she wriggled her way out of the junkyard via a hole in the fence. "You're always runnin'. That's how you make things better." It was a quiet night and her words seemed to echo hundreds of times. She shook of the momentary shock and began down the street adjacent to the junkyard. As she walked, she became lost in thought. Until a door swung open, it was rather peaceful. The human that stepped out threw something out.
"Out you go, Jacob." Rumpelteazer tensed up. Another cat, or quite possibly a dog. She didn't enjoy company much, so she began to move closer to the building. Unfortunately, the something noticed her.
"Rumpelteazer?" She exhaled loudly.
"Mistoffelees. What are you doin' here? And 'Jacob'?" She questioned, highly amused.
"Well, I kind of got adopted." He said, his nose twitching slightly. Rumpelteazer began laughing loudly.
"It's not funny. What do your humans call you?" He questioned bitterly, trotting along beside her.
"I don't have humans." She replied, sniffing after ceasing her laughter.
"Then what are you doing here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oi'm, ah, visitin'. Family." She lied quickly.
"Oh. Shouldn't Mungojerrie be with you?" He further questioned.
"No… we're not related." She said slowly, her nose twitching.
"I thought you were…"
"Well, we aren't." She said tartly, hoping up on a dumpster. "Oi've gotta go."
"Alright… see you around, I guess." He shrugged, turning around to head back to the junkyard.
ooo
"You got lucky." Demeter sneered as she exited the council's room, closely followed by a smirking Griddlebone.
"Sour?" She asked, flicking her tail carefully. Demeter's paws formed fists and she was about to lunge at her, but she felt a paw on her shoulder. It was Bombalurina. Demeter sank back into her friend and tried to calm down as Griddlebone left, laughing quietly. Demeter followed Bombalurina into Munkustrap's den, throwing herself on her bed as they entered. She felt like crying, yet didn't want to. Not now, not here, and most defiantly not in front of Bombalurina.
"You know, you got lucky too." She said, rubbing her friend's shoulders.
"I don't feel lucky. Help me pack." She said sadly, sitting up straight. She looked at her golden paws and ran one through her headfur before standing up and grabbing a cloth bag off a shelf.
"It could be worse." Bombalurina offered, folding her bedding and pillow carefully and slipping them into the bag.
"Yeah, I could be sentenced to death." She said sarcastically, wrapping her things in old bits of soft cloth.
"It won't be so bad." Her friend replied as she finished packing Demeter's things.
"Yes, it will. I don't know how I'll live. Or where, for that matter." She said sadly, tying the two bags shut.
"With me." Bombalurina offered.
"Oh, no… Tugger would be so…"
"I never said with Tugger. Come help me pack my things." She said, smiling over her shoulder. Demeter felt a twinge of hope as they left to go get her friend's things.
ooo
"Jemima, be a dear and go get the rest of the council to greet the guests." Jellylorum mumbled, pushing her daughter on the back.
"Make Etcy do it, I want to be here." She complained, pouting slightly.
"Just go." She hissed, sending Jemima running off to get everyone. She was back with them within minutes.
"Are they here yet?" She panted between breaths, doubling over for lack of air.
"Not yet. Good nightfall, Deuteronomy, Father." She greeted them. The rest of the remainder of the council followed shortly.
"When are they due to arrive?" Cassandra asked slowly, taking a seat on the carpeted floor next to Old Deuteronomy. The others settled down in a circle.
"Soon." Deuteronomy replied, stretching slightly.
"Who'd you send to greet them?" Jemima asked, bubbling with curiosity.
"Sillabub went, I believe." Deuteronomy said with a nod.
"I hope she gets back soon." The kitten replied, bouncing slightly.
"Why are you so excited?" Her sister questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"I like meeting new people." She said with a smile. There was a tense silence as they waited for Sillabub to return. Finally the little yellow queen slipped through the drainpipe, followed closely by four others.
"I thought there were nine of you?" Deuteronomy questioned a middle-aged Persian queen.
"There were. I'm afraid some were so weak that they could not make it." She replied stonily as she hugged him. "It's good to see you again, Deuteronomy."
"Ah, who is this?" Alonzo questioned his mate, who shrugged.
"Forgive me, where are my manners? I am Myopia, the leader of the LaFaye tribe." She said, bowing slightly to Alonzo.
"Alonzo. It's good to have you." He said blankly. They'd been taught protocols for these situations when they were young.
"I suppose I should introduce the remainder of my tribe, as well. This is Xertz, none of his family made it, I'm afraid." She said, introducing a small yellow tom with bright green eyes. He nodded, but made no other sign of greeting.
"He can stay with me, I have the room." Tugger said slowly, swallowing hard. Munkustrap looked up at him. He shook his head and Myopia continued.
"This is Zyrestic. None of her family made it either." She said slowly, shaking her head. The tall brown queen also nodded, her eyes starring fixedly straight ahead.
"I have room, too. If she wouldn't mind bunking with me." Munkustrap offered lamely. Zyrestic nodded again, more slowly this time.
"And my only daughter, Aubade." She finished, gesturing to the last cat. She looked very much like her mother, with short, fluffy gray hair and stunning yellow eyes. She nodded as well, equally quiet. "I'd prefer to have her in the same den as me." Myopia added. Deuteronomy nodded. "We'll have a storage room cleaned out for you. Please, make yourselves at home. Consider yourselves part of our tribe." Myopia hugged Deuteronomy again. Her followers merely nodded and filed out of the main room after the two.
"Well, that was odd." Cassandra finally said after a few quiet moments.
"They're odd people." Sillabub said with a frown.
"Nothing at all like Iony." Alonzo pointed out.
"Post Traumatic Shock Syndrome." Jemima said, standing up.
"Wassit?" Her sister questioned, turning to look at her.
"They're… shell-shocked. I mean, they lost their entire tribe." She explained slowly, twitching slightly.
"Demeter said-" Cassandra bit her lip and turned away from them, realizing she'd slipped up. There was a tense pause.
"I'm gonna go clean up my den." Munkustrap finally said, padding away.
"Way to go, Cassy." The brown muttered to herself as she stood up.
ooo
"Hey, Mungojerrie?" The tom jumped at the sound of a queen's voice. Was it Rumpelteazer? He skittered to the door, threw it open, and…
Demeter.
"Oh, hi… Demeter. Did you need somethin'?" He asked, moving back into his mess of a den. She followed him in casually, letting the flap fall behind her. She sat down on his bed, watching him as he moved around, trying to clean things up.
"Actually, yes. I heard about Rumpelteazer." She said rather bluntly, crossing her legs and leaning back on her elbows.
"Oh, yeah… believe it or not, I'd ratha not talk about that." He said, turning around.
"I just want to talk about it… you know, did you hear about the trial?" She said, glancing away from him.
"Oh, yeah… I did… Do'ya mind if I sit?" He asked awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot.
"It's your den." She laughed quietly, moving aside so he could sit down.
"Roight… roight… So, what did you want?" He asked awkwardly as he sat down next to her.
"Well, I need somewhere to stay…" She said, her nose twitching.
"You can stay here, Oi guess." He said quickly, shifting on the bed.
"But for now, we'll just…" She murmured, leaning forward and closing the distance between their faces.
ooo
Rumpelteazer jumped out of the dumpster she had been staying in, shaking bits of trash off her fur. She was cold, she was sick, and she was alone. Tears seared her cheeks as she jumped back onto the cold, hard ground and she felt her legs give way. She lay there on the concrete for a second before she tried to stand up. Taking a few steps, she summoned the strength to stagger home. As she reached the Hall, the warmth pushed her forward. She'd be home soon, and she could talk it over with Mungojerrie. She hurried through the Main Hall, ignoring the talk about her, and pushed onto the grand staircase. Finally she found herself in front of her old den, paw to the door. She felt rather faint, and nervous. Random thoughts flew through her head as she pushed the door open. Would he be happy to see her? Relieved? Living life normally? Disappointed to see her?
Or might he be snogging Demeter on his bed? She put a paw to her face, suddenly dizzy. The couple finally noticed her presence and they broke apart. Rumpelteazer blacked out, collapsing to the floor.
As she woke up, she heard hushed voices around her, talking about her.
"Is she, like, dead?" Demeter.
"No, she's foine. Why are you here?" Mungojerrie. She reached toward him without thinking.
"She's not dead!" Demeter exclaimed happily. "Come on, Bomba, you owe me a mouse."
"Wha' are they…?" Rumpelteazer asked quietly, sitting up.
"Don't strain yourself, Teaza." She moved to hug him, but suddenly she remembered what she'd seen and sat bolt upright. Demeter and Bombalurina had gone.
"Don't call me that." She demanded, swinging her legs over the side of the book she'd been sleeping on to stand up.
"Teaza, you really shouldn't…" He said, grabbing her shoulder.
"Don't call me that." She said a little bit louder, throwing her arms up in the air.
"Look, Teaza, I don't know why you're so worked up abou'…" She growled as she went to her things, which had been unpacked.
"What are ya, an idiot?" She seethed, grabbing a blanket to wrap her things up in.
"You mean Demeter?" He said quietly, sitting down on his bed and burying his face in his paws.
"Yes, I mean Demeter." She mumbled, turning around to face him.
"Look, we jus' got together, and I know you don't loike her… but…" Rumpelteazer stumbled backwards as if she'd been slapped. Why was he brushing this off like it was nothing? The answer hit her hard- because they were just friends, and she was nothing more to him. But then why did it hurt her so much? Because she loved him, and not in that brotherly way she thought she had. She licked her lips slowly before opening her mouth to speak.
"Look, Jer, it was a mistake for me ta come back. I shouldn'ta. And I suppose I'll leave again, because, I don't think I can stand seein' ya with her every day, because… because.." She stuttered, wiping a tear from her cheek quickly as she turned around. "Oi'm in love with you. And I always have been, jus' didn't realize it before. So that's why I'm leaving." He was silent for a painful moment before standing up.
"Please don't leave, Teaza… I really was worried abou' you while you were gone. I couldn't stop thinkin' abou' you and why you left… I thought you were mad at me." He said slowly, breaking eye contact with her. "Even if ya do leave, stay here til ya get better, you're sick." He said, placing a paw on her cheek gingerly. They were so close together, Rumpelteazer realized, and she really shouldn't… but she did. She kissed him, just wanting to be with him for a miniute before he broke her heart. As they broke apart she began crying silently, leaning on him. To her it seemed as if he hugged her forever.
