A few days passed.
Jenny and Jelly were too busy inside their den caring for an orphaned brother and sister pair named Mungojerrie and Rumpletezer who had turned up in the alley the night before, to pay much attention to the older, healthier and more self-sufficient kittens in their care. Because of this fact Tugger decided to convince the others to run off with him to spend the day by the river bank. It didn't take much convincing before the gang was off through the streets of London for an afternoon not spent surrounded by piles of rubbish.
When they got there, the queens sat in the grass under a tree, while the toms, with the exception of Coricopat who preferred to stay by his sister, splashed and rough-housed in the water. Bombalurina, Demeter, Cassandra and Tantomile talked quietly amongst themselves, only half watching Tugger try and show off by pulling Alonzo onto his shoulders and flipping him into the water. When it was obvious that Bomba was more interested in gossiping with her sister and the other queens, he slapped the water with all his strength, sending water flying all over Bombalurina and Demeter. Both queens hissed in response to the water hitting them with such force.
"TUGGER!" Bombalurina screamed
The muscular Maine Coone smirked "sorry" he said insincerely.
The Scarlett queen groaned and stormed down the hill away from the group, with Demeter in tow.
When they got to the bottom of the hill, the queens stopped and sat back down in the grass.
"He. is. SUCH. an ass sometimes" Bomba growled through her teeth.
Demeter smirked "sometimes?" she asked. Demeter's tolerance for Tugger's self-absorbed antics and egotism was lower than most of the other cats in the tribe.
Bombalurina rolled her eyes "shut up." She responded knowing that Demeter was right.
Demeter laughed and began grooming herself after the shower her and her sister had just gotten minutes before. They both did this for a few minutes before they heard a rustling in a near by bush. Both sisters looked up to see a red and black striped cat with a wild and unkept coat, standing before them. His yellow eyes were sunken in and beady and he had a snaggle tooth protruding over his lip. He was tall, thin yet muscular and couldn't have been much older than them or any of the other cats just up the hill.
"Hello" he said in a soft raspy, yet oddly charming voice.
"Um…hi" Bomba responded, very unsure of the situation.
Demeter just stared, there was something about this cat that disturbed her.
"What are two lovely queens like yourselves doing out her all by your lonesome?" He asked in a sly nonchalant manner.
Demeter growing more and more nervous by the second quickly answered "We're not alone. Our friends are just up the hill. Four of them are toms." She injected that last part as a warning to this strangely disturbing individual.
The ginger tom smirked "I see. I hope they wouldn't mind if I stayed and got to know you a bit."
He spoke as he moved slowly towards the gold and black tabby.
Up the hill…
After Demeter and Bombalurina had stormed off, the toms carried on playing in the river while the remaining queens and Coricopat continued their conversation. Out of nowhere however, both Tantomile and Coricopat perked up and stared off in the direction of where Bomba and Demeter took off, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and stare too.
Tantomile suddenly hissed "We need to go" she said and ran down the hill, Coricopat following close behind.
The remaining cats all looked at each other for a quick second before taking off too. They knew if the mystic twins sensed something, they shouldn't brush it off.
When they reached the bottom of the hill, they saw the a mangy red cat talking to the sisters. Before the twins could say or do anything else, the ginger tom made an advance towards Demeter. Bombalurina, being the strong willed, protective older sister that she is, stepped in front and hissed.
"Don't you touch her." She growled.
Munkustrap watched this take place with shock stricken across his face. Who the hell was this tom? he thought And where did he come from?
Before he could intervene, the tom slashed his long claws across Bomba's neck, leaving four deep gashes. She hit the ground and let out a scream of pain. He swiftly grabbed Demeter and dragged her into the nearby sewage tunnel before anyone could stop him. Without a second thought Munkustrap took off after them, Alonzo in tow. Bombalurina shot up from where she had tumbled into the grass moments before. Clutching her wounded neck, she raced after the toms, just as, if not more determined to rescue her precious sister.
"Bomba wait!" Tugger pleaded, scared that she would wind up more injured than she already was.
The scarlet queen ignored him and continued into the darkness of the sewage tunnel.
"Dem!? Demeter?!" she called out desperately, as if her sister would suddenly appear out of thin air if she screamed her name enough times.
"DEMETER!" she screamed again, scared that something unimaginable was happening to her right that instant.
"Bomba up here" she heard Alonzo's voice call out.
She ran further into the tunnel until she had reached the toms.
"Did you find her?" she asked, even though it was obvious they hadn't.
They shook their heads. Just then a scream rang out. The three cats exchanged panicked glances before racing off again. Demeter's screams and sobs rang out throughout the tunnels, giving the search party something to follow. Soon however, they once again went silent. The trio stopped. Tears welled in Bomba's eyes.
"DEMETER!" she screamed again hopelessly. Suddenly there was a flash of light up ahead that lasted less than a second before all went dark again.
"B-B-Bomba" they heard a small voice whimper.
Bombalurina gasped "Dem where are you?!"
"O-o-o-over here." Demeter answered. The Terror and pain in her voice was as plain as day.
Bombalurina raced ahead of Munkustrap and Alonzo to where Demeter laid curled up on the cold damp floor of the sewer pipe, shaking like a leaf.
"Oh Dem I thought I'd lost you." Her sister cried, kneeling down and embracing the traumatized young queen.
"where did he go?" Munk asked cautiously looking around.
"I don't know. There was a flash of light and the he was just…gone."
It was baffeling to the group of cats but they didn't question it much longer. He wasn't around anymore and that was a good thing.
Demeter clung to Bomba, as if she would disappear if she let go. Bomba pulled her sister up, ignoring the severe sharp pain that came from where Demeter's arm brushing up against the slashes the ginger tom had left on her neck. Munkustrap slung Demeter's other arm around his neck, and the group headed back to the entrance of the tunnel, where the others were anxiously waiting. They all breathed sighs of relief once they saw Bombalurina and the toms emerge with Demeter. The sunlight, made fresh scratches and gashes visible on Demeter's grime covered gold and black coat.
"We need to go!" Munkustrap demanded before anyone could say anything. The pack took off once again though city and down various alley ways until they reached the junkyard. Once they reached the gates, Alonzo and the others took off towards Jenny and Jelly's den to alert them of the recent events. Bombalurina and Munkustrap continued to support Demeter as she limped on.
When they got closer to the caretaker's den, Jellyorum appeared with Jenny ,Skimble and Asparagus behind her, panic and stress clear on all their faces.
"Get her Skimble" Jenny demanded. The orange tabby tom obeyed and quickly scooped the injured queen up from Munk and Bomba and brought her inside. Jellyorum wanted to chew them and the other young adult cats out for leaving the yard without so much as a word of warning to anyone, however seeing the distress plastered across Bomba and Munk's face made her decide it wouldn't be helpful at the moment. Instead she instructed Skimble to place Demeter down on her bed in the back room, before having Bombalurina sit on her bed, so that the wounds on her neck could be tended to. After Demeter was laid down, Jellyorum quickly gathered supplies and began disinfecting the wounds that covered her adopted daughter's body. The Sting from the Disinfectant made the prior events of that day become once again fresh in Demeter's mind. She began thrashing and screaming, making it impossible for Jelly to care for her. She shot Jenny a desperate look. Jenny nodded and got up from the place where she sat caring for Bombalurina's wounds and disappeared into the main room. When she returned, she was holding a small jar of dark liquid. She handed it to Jelly, and before Demeter could refuse, Jellyorum forced the dark liquid down her throat. Before long, Demeter's screams and cries died out and she began falling asleep. Bombalurina watched this take place with slight shock and horror.
"Sleep is what's best for her right now dear." Jellyorum explained, reading the look on Bomba's face. She tenderly stroked Demeter's head fur and when she was sure Demeter was no longer awake, she continued to care for her injuries.
Bomablurina paused a moment before nodding.
After Jenny finished cleaning and bandaging Bomba's neck wounds, she gently pushed her down onto her bed. "You should rest now too dear." She said gently, placing a blanket over her. Sleeping was the last thing Bomba wanted to do. She was worried that Tom had somehow followed them back to the yard and he was waiting to attack again. Nevertheless she didn't argue with Jenny, and obediently cuddled down into her bed. Jenny Kissed the red queen on the forehead before turning out the light and leaving the room. That was the day that the last of Bomablurina and Demeter's kittenly innocence left them.