((AN: Time for another short Cats story! ^.^ I've been working on this little addition to this collection for a little while, but I stopped when I couldn't quite find ideas for the kittens' everyday names. xP At least that block's been bowled over. Now to continue the little saga of my Demestrap family (the kittens' personalities were becoming fun to write). Plus some plotting for later. :3
Do enjoy!))
The Naming
She knew that she was dreaming. She knew it as soon as she saw how dim her surroundings were, so different from the bright world that she now inhabited. There was already a spike of fear in her heart. The shifting shades of darkness and shadows only served to remind her of a past that she couldn't escape, no matter how much that time and love had healed her.
And then, her subconscious brought up THAT scent. The one that even now made her want to flee in the opposite direction. HIS scent.
Frantically, she tried to look for a way out, a place to hide...but it was wide open, and she was just standing there, vulnerable. The scent came from EVERY direction...there was no running, no hiding. He was coming...he was THERE.
There was a humming chuckle in her ear, coming from behind her. It was a seething sort of sound, and it echoed all around her. Caging her in. Her pulse was in her ears, and she tried to listen to that instead, to drown HIM out. But she couldn't. His calmly-smug voice when he spoke had her chained to the spot.
"You are mine again. You have always been mine."
She screamed out that she wasn't; but she couldn't even hear her own voice. It was as if it was stolen.
She felt her collar pulled against her throat. "They won't help you. They won't hear you. You've been abandoned. AGAIN. By all except ME."
In that bleak hellscape, held down by the force of her conjured fear, she saw the other Jellicle cats of the yard...every one, with their heads and backs turned to her.
Even Bombalurina...Jemima…
And even Munkustrap. Not even the love of her life, the one who saved her, would answer, as loudly as she called.
The collar jerked her back, and she felt imagined pain in her neck. "Now, be a good queen...or they will suffer."
Before her then stood another image. To her horror, her kittens were held down in chains as well, so heavy that their little bodies couldn't move them. They cried for her, and she heard them loudly. She wanted to run to them, but her feet were like lead, and the collar was tightening.
Desperate tears streamed down her eyes as she kept trying, despite the choking sensation, her voiceless breath, his claws wrapping around her body…
"Mum! MUM!" they called...she could hear their pained cries, and she was helplessly being dragged back...away...NO!…
"Mum! Wake up!"
With a gasp, Demeter's eyes shot open.
She had to take a moment to register where she was; she was shaking horribly, and the gold tortie noticed that she actually had cried in her sleep, the tiniest bit of moisture felt on her cheeks from what little breeze wafted in from the holes above the ceiling of her den.
It was still the middle of the night, her surroundings dark; but they were a soothing kind of dark, with the orange glow of the street lamps seen in the corners of her eyes.
Just a dream...of course…
"...Mum?"
The tiny, whispered voice she heard made her body jerk in surprise for a moment, before she lifted her head to find it. There, she came face-to-face with the concerned frown of Whiskafyr, her daughter, first of four kittens born to her and Munkustrap.
The kitten, adorned with her mate's silver-striped coat and her own white bib, tilted her head and pawed at her face. "Are you alright, Mum? You were shaking in your sleep, and crying."
"Was it a bad dream?" asked another kitten who walked up next and looked down; her son Cladandus, who inherited the gold part of her tortie coat, as well as her white.
"Were there monsters?" a third voice inquired from Whiskafyr's other side; her other brother, Grumbuskin, whose coat was black, but splashed with lighter cloudy gray areas. He looked the most worried.
Demeter shook her head to wake herself up more with a groan, and smiled down at her concerned little ones, her little miracles, gifts from her love. "It's...it's quite alright, darlings...I'm fine. I just had a bit of a nightmare, is all...happens to all of us at times."
"Must have been really scary if you were crying," Whiskafyr observed as she sat up on her hind legs to look closer at her mother's eyes.
"Bet I could scare off the monsters!" declared Cladandus as he swiped at the air, chasing some imaginary monsters in the form of the dust motes floating in the sparse light.
"Were there monsters, Mum?" Grumbuskin asked again as he crawled into her paws and curled up, nuzzling under her chin. "I hope not."
Demeter could still remember the details of her dream...but she decided to spare the little ones any more worry. She chuckled and playfully ran her tongue over the black kitten, making him giggle. "I don't really know if there were monsters...dreams tend to be forgotten quickly. Do not worry, loves. I'll be fine. We should go back to sleep."
"Please do," a fourth and final voice yawned from closer down to Demeter's belly: that of her second daughter, the reborn Grizabella, a tortie much like herself. "Can we all get back to sleep?"
"We were just worried about Mum," Whiskafyr pointed out as she came to rejoin her sister in the sleeping spot.
"Yeah," Cladandus shot back and continued to eye the dust motes. "Besides, I'm not sleepy anymore."
"...I'm a bit hungry," said Grumbuskin as he wriggled around to look his mother in the eye. "Can I have some milk, Mum?"
"Ooh, yes, please?" piped up his brother.
Demeter hummed out a sigh. As much as she had loved nursing kittens, her brood was now old enough to be weaned; they'd been eating some solid foods brought to them for a couple of weeks, now. But of course, they would still ask for milk every so often. She wondered when she'd finally run out.
Still...they were trying to go back to sleep...warm milk would soothe their heads. Just this once.
"If you watch your teeth, you may all have some," she nodded and lightly nudged Whiskafyr around to where her brothers were already lying and taking spots. Even Grizabella, with a sleepy hum, decided to nab a spot while she was permitted.
As the gold-flecked queen focused on the sensations of the kittens' purrs and their feeding, her eyes stared off into a random spot of space. But try as she might, she couldn't let the comforting feelings lull her back into her dreams; just like sometimes happened when she had nightmares, her den was feeling a little too dark...normally she would go for a walk over to the guard house and see if sleep would come to her there.
But, she now had four little kittens to think about...as energetic as they could be, would it be good to have a walk with them this late at night? Would they be tired? She wished that she weren't all alone with them right now...as sweet as they all were, and caring, for their innocent and cheerful talking had all but chased away the lingering terrors of her nightmares...she still could not find the will to close her eyes.
"...Mum, I'm out of milk," Grumbuskin was suddenly heard timidly calling.
"Me too...still hungry," Cladandus confirmed as well.
...Actually, I think that may have made my decision.
Demeter's head raised, and she gave a thoughtful hum, looking up at the sky through her ceiling and discerning the time. Can't really go hunting this close to dawn...I imagine the others would be asleep now too, so there won't be much help. There's only one other place that WILL have food. She involuntarily smiled. And it IS about time I showed the kittens to the guardsman.
She turned her body over slowly so that the kittens all had time to roll out of the way, all of them giving her quizzical looks. "Actually, my darlings, I'm no longer all that sleepy either...and when I have bad dreams, I like to take a walk. Would you like to come with me to somewhere you've never seen?"
Whiskafyr gave a big, dramatic gasp, her eyes sparkling. "Like an adventure?"
"Yeah! We've never been very far outside!" said Cladandus with a few excited hops on his feet.
"Aw...can I stay here?" Grizabella asked, making the others look at her, "I'm still sleepy."
Demeter smiled and stood up. "You must all stay together; I can carry you if you want, dear. The rest of you stay close, though. We'll be going straight across the yard, to the other side."
"What's on the other side?" Grumbuskin curiously asked as his other two adventurous siblings "oooh"ed at the thought.
The mother chuckled. "A very nice place. The sun will rise soon, and when it does, we'll meet your Papa there, and his human, who'll have food for us all."
"We'll see Papa too? Okay, I'll go!" Grumbuskin cheerfully chirped as he hopped up from the bedding to join his eager siblings.
Whiskafyr giggled and led the way following their mother as she picked Grizabella up by the scruff. "I can't wait! I've always heard about humans, but I wanna see one!"
"Papa says they're big," said Cladandus, "Hope they're not mean or anything."
"Papa's human wouldn't be...would he?" asked a curious Grumbuskin.
Demeter could only shake her head and smile while she carried her sleepy daughter gently in her jaws, and leading them to exit through the front of the car, and into the still night-lit yard. The wide-eyed kittens looked around with a bit of awe at their surroundings, but made sure to keep close to their mother as she strode along at a fair pace for them.
Soon, the mother came to understand a phrase that humans often used to describe trying and finding it hard to keep things in order: "It's like herding cats".
As much as she tried to keep her three runners together, only Grumbuskin tended to want to stay in her shadow, while Whiskafyr and Cladandus raced around the sides of the pathway, stopping to see each and every junk pile that they passed, and continually asking if they could go down one little way or another.
To which, Demeter would just tiredly shake her head and signal for them to keep going straight, without stopping to continuously put Grizabella on the ground.
"This place is so very big!" Whiskafyr declared with constant awe as she looked around, ever slowly moving further ahead of her mother and slower siblings. "I bet it's home to a million cats!"
"I bet it's home to a bajillion!" Cladandus said as he dashed past, just about tripping over her in the process.
"Ow! Don't try to jump over me, Dandy!"
"I wasn't!"
"Was too!"
"Nuh-uh, I was running and didn't see you, it's dark!"
"We can all see in the dark, dummy!"
"Kittens!" Demeter called out, finally having to stop and place her daughter at her feet, "Stop your bickering; you are liable to wake someone!" She tried to calm her own loud, growling voice as the two stopped and gave sheepish looks. "Now stay together; we're almost there."
And so they did stay together...for about all of a few minutes. But as was inevitable for kittens, the rambunctious ones were once again sniffing and looking at every new corner and edge they passed, leaning up on their feet and wanting to climb them or explore every little area, and an anxious Demeter was starting to wonder when her patience would wear to its thinnest.
I never did get to keep my little Sillabub long enough to deal with such energy, she remembered with a long sigh through her nose. This is like being a first-time parent. How on Earth do I keep them all in one place?
At one point, Whiskafyr challenged her brother, after taking a quick run ahead. "I think I see it! I'll race you there!"
"Hah, you won't win!" the little golden tom cackled as he rushed on with her, and the exasperated mother groaned through her blocked jaws.
She set Grizabella down again (who was also fairly grouchy at continually waking and moving). "You two get back here this minute! Do not make me run after you!"
"Ooh, they're gonna get it," Grumbuskin whispered to his tired sister with a little giggle.
"And they'll deserve it," she answered with a huff.
But, thankfully, the kittens didn't run too far ahead; something bigger than them crossed quickly into their path, and they had to skid to a halt, startled.
"It's a monster!" Cladandus yelped and hopped behind his sister. "Run!"
"I thought you said you'd fight one!" Whiskafyr accused as her fur puffed out and she stood on her tip-toes to look threatening.
But the dark figure in front of them only blinked its eyes before letting out a loud giggle. Stepping into the light, they were quite relieved and excited to find that it was Jemima staring them down. "Scared you!"
Whiskafyr's fur settled and she let out a surprised and happy gasp. "Big sister!"
"Knew it was you the whole time," Cladandus grinned, pretending not to have been startled.
The older tortie snickered and leaned down to receive their little head-butts on her brow. "What are you doing out here?"
"They are with me," Demeter said as she then approached, now with the other half of her litter walking along. She stopped to glare down at the runaways. "And they are supposed to stay close."
The kittens in question gave her their sheepish grins. "Sorry, Mum..." Whiskafyr spoke for them both, "We wouldn't have gone too far..."
"Honest to Cat," Cladandus said with a paw in the air.
Jemima giggled again and moved forward to greet Demeter with her own head-bump and a nuzzle. "Looks like you might need help, Deme-Mum."
The gold tortie couldn't help but chuckle at Jemima's nickname; once it was confessed that she was her daughter, the young one found it a little awkward to refer to her by either her name or "Mum"...so she'd combined the two until she could settle on a moniker. "If you would be so kind," she answered with a long sigh. "I wanted to take them to the guard-house to wait for Munkustrap and his human." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "They may receive their everyday names today...if they behave."
"Oh, how exciting!" grinned the red-flecked youngster. She laughed as she nuzzled her other two siblings in greeting. "I knew something was telling me to come out walking this morning. Fortunate I ran into everyone. But why so early?"
"Couldn't sleep," Whiskafyr answered.
"Mum had a nightmare, too," Cladandus added.
When Jemima's brow rose and she looked at Demeter with concern, she gave a soft chuckle. "It was not as bad as you might think, sweetheart. I was just restless, is all, so I elected to take them with me on a walk. Plus...I'm out of food, anyway."
"No more warm milk," Grumbuskin seemed to sadly groan.
His mother leaned down to comfortingly run her tongue across his head. "It is a part of growing up, my darling. You lot must now eat what we eat."
"Well!" the older kitten chirped, putting on her cheerful smile, "Then why don't you allow me to lead? I know a way to keep them all together."
"Do you now?" Demeter's head tilted with a grin.
Jemima just grinned before turning to face the kittens again, walking through the group. "Alright, everyone, I have a game for us to play! I used to love this one when I was your age."
"Ooh, what game, what game?" Whiskafyr said as she hopped on her feet, while the others gathered behind her curiously.
"It's called 'Follow the Leader'," Jemima stated as she turned, "You have to all form a straight line and follow me everywhere and copy everything I do. You win if you make it all the way to our destination doing just that! If you don't, and you run off and out of the line, you lose, and you are out of the game. Easy! Who wants to go?"
Demeter had to hold back a laugh as all four kittens eagerly formed a line behind Jemima, who started them off on a military-style march, first on all fours, then on twos to keep things interesting (and to see if they were still wobbly). Now why didn't I think of that?
As she followed along behind the group, she observed how the youngster managed to keep them all invested in the game by stepping things up, having them jump on various boxes after her or having them repeat some of her easy dance steps; and they kept all in a row like ducklings. Sometimes Grumbuskin would stumble, but he would just as quickly return to the line and copy the exact move she was doing; and tirelessly, soon enough, they made it to the other side of the yard fence.
"Aaaaand a little two-step...and we've made it!" Jemima grinned as she spun on her feet and gave a flourish. "You've all won! I'm proud of you!"
"And look," Demeter added and nodded her head up to the sight of the sloped roof of the guard-house on the other side of the fence, "That's where your Papa's human works. They'll both be here when the sun rises; which by the look of it should be soon."
"Oooh...I've never seen the sun rise," Whiskafyr rose up on her hind legs and peered out of the fence openings. She gave a little gasp. "Are we going past the fence?"
"We are," the mother grinned. "But we must climb it to get past it. Who wants a ride?"
"That far up?" Grizabella gaped. "Are you crazy?"
Jemima giggled. "It won't look so far up when you grow a bit."
And so, Demeter and the younger queen each took hold of a kitten, first Whiskafyr and Grumbuskin respectively, and then went back for Cladandus and Grizabella in just a few short leaps. By now, even the most energetic of the litter were a little too intimidated by the size of the outside world to go running, and so they followed their mother closely as she walked around the big house with the sloped roof, Jemima taking up the rear.
"What's this place? A castle?" Whiskafyr wondered aloud.
"Naw, castles are much bigger," Cladandus answered with a huff (although he had never really seen one either).
Their older sister giggled, and the kittens' ears perked to her. "It's the guard-house. Where your Papa's human watches over the yard by day. There's a big bed in there too, for all of you to sleep!"
"Yes, a bed," Grizabella groaned.
"Will it have food too?" Grumbuskin asked, looking between the two older cats for an answer.
"It will when they come," Demeter answered with a smile, before taking a leap up to the window and pulling the glass pane away from the wall, allowing them entry.
One by one, the kittens were again picked up and carried inside (although Cladandus tried on his own to climb on the boxes toward the window and managed to only catch the edge of the first).
Whiskafyr took a cursory look around, noticing all the different shapes inside the enclosure of the building. The big plush cat bed, as promised, lay beneath the window from whence they came. Across from it was a huge desk and chair, which she could only hope to jump to when she grew up. The actual door was to the left of that, and the human seemed to keep lots of other things littered around and on the desk. It was simple, but it was cozy.
"This is nice," Grizabella hummed as she joined her sister in looking around for a moment, "So quiet and dark."
"A bit creepy," muttered Cladandus as he stayed inside the bed and tested out the softness with his tiny claws. "'Cept it smells like Papa."
"That is why I like it so much," Demeter said with a smile as she too nestled into the cat bed, watching as the kittens waddled up to join her. She then looked up at Jemima, who was still sitting on the windowsill. "Do you want to join us, dear?"
The younger queen shook her head. "Nah...I'm not tired yet. But I'll still be nearby, sitting on the roof; I wanna see the guardsman's reaction to you and the kittens," she giggled. "Also to be close by in case you need more help."
"Ah," the golden tortie chuckled with a warm smile. "Then we are in good paws, I think. Have a good night, then."
"No worries, I will, and so will you," she said with her perky smile back, also grinning down at the little ones as they waved goodbye. In a flash, she was back out the window, having closed it again behind them and leaving a small amount of space for a bit of extra air.
Once they were alone, Demeter's jaws grew wide with a yawn, and a couple of the young ones mimicked it. "Let us get a little more shut-eye, my dears. The sun will rise in a little while, and I want us to be bright-eyed when it does."
"Yes, Mum," Whiskafyr agreed as she turned into a few circles before finding her comfort spot against the side of her parent and closed her eyes. Grizabella had already claimed a sleeping spot beside Demeter's elbow, and the two little toms were the last inside, Grumbuskin taking the spot between his sisters and Cladandus simply falling over into his mother's paws.
She watched her little ones fall asleep again for a moment more, before leaning her head down beside them and feeling her eyes growing heavy, surrounded by the scent of her love on the bed, as always comforted by it.
Now if only the nightmares would just STAY away.
Demeter's plea would be answered for the rest of her sleep that lazy dawn, as it was more or less short and peaceful, and as always she was lulled by the scent of Munkustrap all around her in the cat bed. It helped as well to hear her kittens purring while they slept against her, four little rumbles felt through her body like a healing wave, assuring her that her nightmares wouldn't come to pass.
She was stirred awake by them moving around her in the bed, and as she opened one eye to make sure all of them were there, their heads and ears were perked up to the sounds of talking outside. The tortie mother could easily pick up the guardsman's gentle but gravely voice greeting Jemima as she was still perched there by the door.
The little ones were all bunching up beneath Demeter as she sat up, looking up at her with questions in their eyes. "Mum, I hear a big voice outside," Whiskafyr spoke for all of them, "Is that the human?"
Her smile seemed to calm them a little. "Indeed it is...that would be the guardsman. He may look very big to you when he comes in, but I assure you that he is very kind. Now, gather around," she hummed as she briefly stood up and stretched out, "I should make you all look presentable."
"I can do that myself!" Cladandus announced and ran his paws over his head, "See?"
The resulting fuzzy look made Demeter giggle. "You have to lick your paws first, dear. Come, you first," she grinned as she nabbed the gold kitten in her paws and pulled him in for a quick bath, to his mewling displeasure. His siblings at least seemed to get the hang of grooming early (especially, not to the mother's surprise, Grizabella), but Whiskafyr also seemed to lack the patience to properly clean, which made her the next one to be nabbed and her uneven, unkempt fur corrected.
Not a second later, though, there came the sound of boots at the front of the door, followed by the click of the lock coming undone. The kittens were all in different states of excitement, bounding on their feet though staying closely by Demeter's side, as it opened to admit two cats and one very big human.
The guardsman would be busily putting away his coat and boots before he'd notice the cat bed, and in the interim, the kittens' happy eyes fell on Munkustrap as he padded over with a wide smile of his own. "Well! Look who's all here!"
"Papa!" the youngsters exclaimed in unison as they all rushed forward to bump and rub his lowered head, making him laugh heartily.
When he looked up to lock eyes with Demeter, she had a tired, though loving look in her half-lidded gaze. "I imagine Jemima told you about us being here."
"She did," he smiled as he moved closer and greeted her with a tender nuzzle. "If very quickly. But it is still a wonderful surprise."
"We got here all by ourselves!" Cladandus declared proudly.
"Well, Big Sister helped get us over the fence," Grumbuskin piped in.
"While Mum tried to keep those two in line," Grizabella had to add about the gold and silver tabby kittens with a huff, earning her a bit of a glare from them.
Munkustrap chuckled as he settled in with Demeter and laid beside her. "Well, it seems like you had quite the adventure then, my kits." He then looked up at his mate, with a little more concern in his gaze. "Is everything alright?"
She smiled back; he always could sense if there was a little trouble, even when she tried to hide it. She nodded truthfully. "I had a bit of a nightmare, and the kittens woke me out of it...but they were also hungry, and now that I am finally out of milk, I decided a trip here was in order for all of us. Thank Cat that Jemima was out there to help. These curious rascals are hard to keep together at times."
The silver tabby nodded. "As all kittens would be at some point. But, I am glad to see all of you." He pulled her close and groomed the top of her head. "It is just as well...my human has been waiting long enough to see the little ones."
It was then, as the large man was sidling over to his desk, his eyes fell on the cat bed. "Well, look who's come t' visit, eh? Been missin' ya for a while there, y' pretty little thing..."
Then, as he approached, he stopped and gasped loudly upon seeing the four little faces staring shyly from between the adult cats. "Ohhh, Gor' bless! Peter an' Demeter an' family, eh?" He knelt down for a better look, extending his hand for all of them to sniff as he beamed with excitement. "What a positively adorable brood! Why, we have one tha' looks jus' like you, proud father!" he laughed heartily while he rubbed Munkustrap's head with a large palm. "Takes me right back t' when you were that young...an' here's a pretty tortie, jus' like yer dear wife...an' a black, an' a ginger. What a lovely sight indeed...my congratulations t' you both," he concluded with a friendly grin as Demeter trilled and bumped against his hand.
The four kittens were more or less frozen in states of either awe or intimidation...but once they heard his voice and saw how his parents were around him, they began to relax, and even to approach and paw at his hand, noticing the delightful smells that were trapped under his fingernails. Their mother did say that he would bring food...this prompted them to start mewling at him questioningly.
He boomed a hearty chuckle. "Ahh, yes, almos' forgot...better get t' work before I get too distracted with th' new arrivals. Firs' things first, food. I reckon you are all old enough t' start eatin' solids, eh? Certain as y' came all th' way here. With yer mum's permission, of course."
As he stood up and started rummaging through his pack, Munkustrap stood as well, gesturing for the kittens to follow him. "You will all love this. The guardsman likes to prepare food for all of us, and he makes the most delectable things. Of course," he pointed out, "That is not the only thing we do for food around here...after all, humans can only be trusted for so long. Now that you are all old enough, you will also be learning to hunt as you grow."
"Ooh, like catching mice and things?" Whiskafyr excitedly hopped. "I can't wait!"
"Yeah; I can already catch monster bugs," Cladandus boasted.
"Is hunting hard?" Grizabella asked, looking up at her father. "It sounds like you'd get quite dirty doing it."
"Well, like anything, it takes practice, dear," Munkustrap smiled and ruffled her head. "I'm sure if you stick to it, you'll be quite good at it...and besides that, you can always clean up when you do get dirty, and you will. That is life, after all."
"Um," Grumbuskin shyly piped up, "What if I don't like hunting? Can't I still just eat what the humans give me?"
Munkustrap gave him a comforting smile. "If you don't like hunting, that is fine too, son. Quite a few of the cats prefer to have humans give them food...which, if you don't know a human like the guardsman, is a skill on its own. But, I still urge you to give hunting a try...I want you to develop what skills you can, and see what ones you like to use, as you grow up."
The little smoky black kitten grinned back happily. "I can do that, Papa."
It was then that the guardsman finished grabbing his food mixes, spooning them in a double-bowl for the adults, and one large plate for the kittens to share (with another container set aside for Jemima). They could already smell the meats, and they were soon all mewling at his large feet as he placed the food down, careful as to where he stepped. As they finally started to fill their empty bellies, he took the opportunity to lightly scratch each of them on the back with his large, calloused fingers.
"Now, no fighting over that, eh? Plenty ta go around," the human chuckled as he stood up with a light crackle in his back and went back to his desk. "Right, duty calls...ah, better call Brit, she's gotta see your lovely kittens too, y'know," he smirked at his companion. "'Bout time they had names, like the rest of the family."
As she ate her own fill, Demeter watched the kittens, happy that they all took to the guardsman with enthusiasm and trust. She couldn't help but catch her mate's eye with a wry grin, and he swallowed his bite. "What's the smile for?" he teased.
"You, being the most wonderful father a cat could ask for," she hummed, giving his cheek a little head-bump.
"Ahhh, hush," he chuckled, feeling a bit flustered as he nuzzled back. "I am only happy to be of help."
About an hour or two later, once the kittens had their fill of food and the family was settled into the bed to finish out the rest of the morning's sleep, they were again awakened by the clamor of more human feet entering the guard-house, this pair of shoes a little more excited than the first.
The parents each opened an eye to see the guardsman's daughter, a university-aged young woman that he called Brit (short for "Brittany", of course), babbling excitedly about meeting the little ones, though she was on a short break between classes and would have to go back soon.
"We knew this moment was coming," Demeter murmured tiredly across to her mate.
"Yes; but we will be able to return to napping soon anyway. I honestly couldn't wait to see her reaction to them," the silver tabby admitted.
The tortie chuckled. "Nor I."
The kittens all wearily blinked their eyes open as well, only to widen them in surprise at the view of another human poking fingers into their nest. But, this one seemed as polite as the first, if more energetic, and they too welcomed her touch. As she and her father gathered around the family of cats, they started rattling off names that they'd thought of for a good while.
Whiskafyr was instantly chosen for the name "Persephone"...only the cats knew that she was the first born, but that her appearance was uncannily alike to her father's was the deciding factor for the humans.
Brit was trying to decide which of the boys to name after other Greek gods (Apollo was a popular choice for the sun-gold Cladandus and Hephaestus for the soot-black Grumbuskin), but a laughing guardsman interjected that at least one should have a normal name similar to Peter for Munkustrap. They decided on two, to even things out. Thus Cladandus stayed Apollo and Grumbuskin was dubbed Victor. Grizabella, after some brain-storming, was named Diana...a fairly commonplace name that still had mythical origins.
"The one that doesn't like the idea of hunting, named after the Roman huntress," Demeter whispered in a laugh.
Munkustrap smirked back. "She may learn to like it in time."
The kittens excitedly played around with their new names...soon enough they would choose by which ones they preferred to be called. It was a proud morning for the two parents...the kittens were still very young, but their permanent introduction to solid food and the reception of their everyday names both marked the next stage of their lives, towards finding their independence. Soon they would mostly stay in the areas of the yard meant for youngsters to play, make life-long friends and families with the others, and learn what it means to truly be a Jellicle Cat.
Now, it should be said that the cats of the tribe (most of them anyway) were quite efficient hunters. There was seldom a small creature that scurried or flew that would escape their senses, and thus their claws and teeth.
But, still, every so often, there would be one that had the luck to travel under the notice of even the most highly-sensitive of the protectors.
That early morning, it happened to be a rat.
The clever brown creature, after having gathered what information it could, quickly found a way back from whence it had come, knowing that most cats were asleep at the dawn hours and that it was the easiest time to sneak around. This rat hadn't come to the junkyard for food, as would most...it was risking its life for merely what it could hear to bring back to its Master.
Efficiently tracing a path through the junk piles, under the fence, and into the streets, the creature scurried quickly into an opening that led to the underground. Free of the dangers from above, it navigated through sound and smell, traversing the veritable labyrinth of the sewers and a portion of the subway.
Soon, it would come upon the darkest parts of the alleys and the city streets, where it would have to move above the ground again for a time, though it was more protected there.
There were cats in the alleys that would catch sight of the rat and follow it, only to stop and shudder. The scent on it, if not familiar, gave off a dangerous aura to those cats, and they let it be for prey that wouldn't be as ominous.
Soon, the rat found a private entryway for its kind that it used to travel yet another maze, and toward one particular office, where it stopped to listen inside for any sounds the occupant inside made. Though the Master would welcome the news, the rat was still naturally cautious. After all, the Master was still a cat.
After a moment, the rodent waddled carefully to the door and rose on its hind legs to scratch out a very quiet (but discernible to one who listened for it) series of sounds. There was a pause, and then a secret panel opened next to the door to allow it inside.
The office, decorated with as many opulent things as the Master could get his paws on (however he did), as usual was kept at about half-light, enough to make it deceptively cozy for that part of the city. The large ginger cat, wearing a dirty royal violet cape and equally-dark blue vest, swished his messy tail absently as he faced and perused a bookshelf, waiting for his visitor to come to him.
The rat climbed the old, gnarled wooden leg of the desk next to the bookshelf and sat up with a curious squeak to get the cat's attention. He turned, and the shadows seemed to always play menacingly on his face, however it looked into the light. Eyes of fiery orange regarded the rat almost sleepily, his brow raised.
"Ah...one of you actually managed to return," Macavity hummed as he paced in an unhurried manner back to his chair. "Impressive, my little friend. I shall have to promote you. But yes...it has been a while since I've managed to obtain any information about those Jellicles. A good day indeed. Now, to business," he sat down and invited the creature with an outstretched paw, letting it come up his arm to his ear, "Do tell me what you've found out."
The rat proceeded to whisper in his ear all that it had managed to catch in the last day, when it wasn't busy hiding from the hunting patrols at various points. When it finished, Macavity slowly let the rat down to the table again, and there was a lower, almost hissing note to his next word.
"...Really."
He growled shortly, his claws lightly gouging more rake-marks into the desk among countless others. "Kittens." Lightly, he reached up to touch the side of his face, where he swore he could still feel the scratches from a set of claws that were laid into him in defiance weeks ago...claws that once would have never come undone around him.
"Well...it was inevitable, I imagine...I knew I could smell the heat on her that night. Of course, to add insult to injury, that little harlot had to cozy up to Father's golden boy."
After a moment of thought, he smirked. "Still...perhaps this is an opportunity. Now...there is an extra weakness. Something that she would do anything to protect."
He slowly got up from his chair, holding his paws behind his back as he paced. "And of course...who is to say what the tribe would do...if they knew what she really was...?"
Macavity let out another hum. "This will have to be handled delicately, of course. There is still that little...order on my head. But if this goes well, I can parlay without them even laying a single sliver of a claw on me."
He then turned back to regard the rat still sitting curiously on the desk, and waved his paw. "You may go back to your brethren, tell them you survived. But be on guard, my friend. Your surviving means you've become very useful...and I may need you again swiftly."
The rat quickly and graciously took the order, leaping straight from the desk and scurrying as fast as possible back through its secret passage and into parts unknown. Macavity watched it for a moment more, before returning back to his bookshelf. But, he'd long forgotten looking for anything to read.
He had thinking to do.
