New chapter for the week. I was finally able to get this up. Hopefully this will be understandable as it is 17 pages long! If you need an understanding, please let me know. Otherwise, enjoy this new chapter!
-KC7743
Chapter 4: Visions, New Friends (?) and Thank You
What felt like forever was just a few short minutes for the three Jellicles to make it to the elevated den on the east corner of the Junkyard. Munk made it to the door first and opened the lock ever so carefully, however, it wouldn't come undone.
"Bast! It must have frozen!" he shouted over the cold wind.
Millie and Racel then moved around him and towards the lock. Racel summoned his staff and held it against the cold wind creating an ice barrier, just as the streams moved around the trio, like a an umbrella to rain. Mille, on the other hand, summoned her staff and gently moved the tourmaline crystal around the lock, removing the ice with a gentle heat of flame. She turned back to the adult silver tom, who was shivering slightly as the cold wind touched his fur lightly. He moved to the door and undid the lock and opened the door.
"Watch your step here" he warned, moving down the elevated entrance stepped with bricks he found several years before.
The younger cats took his advice and looked around at their temporary home. Millie went to the dresser while Racel saw the pictures. Munk sat on the edge of his alpaca wool bed, watching the kits sink in the details. Speaking of sinks, Millie made it to his tub, who coughed after taking a whiff of this morning's bath salts.
"What did you put in the tub Munk? It's very strong" she said, chokingly
"Fir bath salts, it was something that my humans used, and since they are away for a holiday, I decided to take it for now" he explained.
"Humans?" both kits asked, looking at him.
"Yes, didn't you two have humans back in your home of Paisley?" asked Munk.
The two young cats looked at each other nervously and then looked back to the silver tom.
"Would being witches cats count?" asked Millie.
Munk looked at the two kits with wide eyes. He expected just regular jellicles with powers, not real witches cats.
"Umm well….I suppose so. But what do you do as witches cats anyway?" he asked, curious.
"We take parts in rituals in a cult known as Basseteye, a coven that honored the cat goddess Basset. We were worshipped, but in all honesty, we didn't really like it. It felt like we were supposed to be beings that we really weren't. I felt pressured, really" said Racel, nervously.
"I almost got chosen as a sacrifice to the witches gods, but luckily the ceremony got cancelled" said Millie.
"But during the times that you didn't have rituals and things like that, were they there for you at all?" asked Munk.
The two kits shook their heads.
"We've mostly been raised to stay in the forest, thinking that any other human was the same" explained Racel.
"Well I can tell you that not all humans are the same. I know that very well. But," Munk paused to stretch and yawn, "I'm too tired to explain it all right now, so I will explain more tomorrow, if there's breakfast tomorrow that is…" he said sadly.
Racel looked at him questionably as Millie asked, "What do you mean?"
"Prey is scare here in the winter and we can't find much to eat. Some of us find the occasional rat, but we give those to either the kittens or the elderly who can't feed themselves. If the stock area, located close to Jenny's den, was filled then we'd be better off, but it's been empty since October" Munk explained. He then yawned again, "Well, best if I show you to your rooms" he jumped off the side of the bed to the tunnel that held the three rooms. "Racel, you can take the one on the left, Millie, the furthest to the right. I sleep on that alpaca pillow in the living room and I will probably be up before you two so I will see you later, ok? Night" Munk said as he turned to exit.
"Munk?" Millie blurted abruptly
"Yes?" the silver tom froze and turned to look back.
The siblings looked to each other and then to Munk, "Thank you" they said in unison.
Munk felt his heartstrings slightly pulled as he gave a warm smile to his new roommates, "Your welcome and it's my pleasure" he said. He then turned to walk to his comfy bed while Racel and Millie retreated to their own rooms.
Later that night, Munk had the same nightmare as last night, only this time, before the leopard went to the alleyway, a white lioness with a red fire mane and a white bobcat with blue markings tried to fight the panther, only to end up laying in their own blood, dead. But what scared Munk was that the lioness's eyes were like Millie's and the bobcat's eyes were like Racel's. Was this really them, or just an illusion to symbolize them? Thoughts wondered through his mind when he finally opened his eyes.
He looked toward the door to see that it was still dark out, probably the early morning hours. He knew that he had to make it up for sleeping in yesterday. So he quickly filled the bathtub with water, leaving the salts out this time, making it less overpowering for Millie, and took a quick wash. Then, knowing that the kits were sleeping behind heavy doors, he turned on the hairdryer and dried off his fur. This time he grabbed a black cat sweater and a thick brown scarf as he made his way to the door, he paused, thinking that he should let his roommates of his leave. He quickly got out a piece of note papers and wrote,
Millie and Racel,
Went out to do my usual duties, be back by lunch, if there is any. Make yourselves at home as much as you like.
Munk
Munk then moved to the door, unlocked it and went out, closing the door behind him.
Two hours later, Racel and Millie appeared from the den area. Both of them noticed that Munk wasn't around. That's when Millie noticed the note and read it out loud.
Millie thought for a moment, and then an idea popped into her head. She smirked at her brother and raised her eyebrows up and down.
Racel looked at her questionably, "Millie, what are you thinking now?" he asked nervously.
"Why don't we go out and hunt to stock up the food den as a way of saying thank you to the Jellicles? We can also find blankets, medicine, and other things that would make this holiday interesting?" she suggested.
Racel looked at her like she had lost all of her marbles, "Millie are you nuts? There's no way we can fill up that storage hall, especially with prey being scarce here" he protested.
"Who said we had to hunt in town? We could head to the country side and hunt. Besides, if we catch deer, they'll have food for weeks. Plus, we can fish, hunt in the barns for rats, maybe even use our powers to copy some eggs, cream, and milk. Plus if we happen to come across a pulling pollicle, we can probably carry everything back here" she explained.
Racel thought about it for a moment, "Hmmm…" he said, "Well, it would make more sense to go country, but this is so far away from any countryside…but it's worth the risk. Alright, but I think it's best if we tell Munk first"- he was cut off by Millie shaking her head.
"Don't you get it? I'm thinking that this can be a surprise thank you gift, to show we need the trust and community connection in order to survive here because it is strong in our culture. Don't you see? But I do think that we can do a cover-up of some kind. Saying that since we are here to relax, we should look around the town and if we get lost, we will use our magic to get here" explained Millie. Racel nodded in response and gave a wicked grin.
"It'll be just like back at home" he said. Millie returned the grin and a laugh.
"Yep, now come on, let's go before daylight is wasted" she motioned towards the door and undid the lock. The two left the den and looked around for Munk, only to be greeted by several same aged faces staring at them.
Millie and Racel looked around and saw that the two flirtatious cats from yesterday have arrived yet again. The silver queen groaned as the perverted tom made his way to her and the multicolored tom started to get really scared as the manned queen came close.
"Hello again angel, I don't think I properly introduced myself. My name is Laronarthur, or Laron for short. And you are?" he said slinking down to be eye level with Millie as he brought his face close to hers.
"Like I am going to tell my name to a fake-cat like you? Tell you what, why don't you get a life, be a normal tom, like everyone else, and then I will tell you my name. Oh wait, but that will be never, since you have no life!" Millie said with acid tone.
The other cats nearby gave off the sounds of Laron being owned by a queen. Laron, on the other hand, pulled his head back, embarrassed that he just got owned. Millie then turned to see the manned queen starting to get close to Racel.
The multicolored tom just slinked away out of the queen's reach.
"Why are you running away handsome? Why not just come over and say hello?" said the queen with lust in her voice.
"P-P-Please, just stay away. I don't want to be raped by another she-cat thank you very much!" shouted Racel as he moved closer to Millie.
The queen looked at him shocked and embarrassed at her doing such a thing "I wasn't going to rape you, I was just doing my normal way of saying hello. I had no idea that you went through things like that. I'm sorry" she said, "I'm Desireena by the way, Desiree for short. And you?"
"R-Racel"
Millie then looked at the group and her ears perked up at what they were originally planning. "Come on Racel, we need to find Munk, remember?"
"Right you are!" he shouted as he ran off into the distance. Millie soon followed behind him, leaving the group of kittens dumbfounded.
Soon the teen cats find Munk on the large tire in the center of the clearing. He looked as if he were sunbathing in the cold. His fur, slightly wet from going through a deep area of snow, shone like the material he was born with as it glistened and shone brightly. He was dozing off slightly as he did not notice his roommates coming toward him, quieter than mice.
"Munk?"
The silver tom's eyes flew open at his name and he quickly turned to see two pairs of eyes shocked and scared, he himself wide eyed and breathing heavily. He calmed down as he realized who it was.
"Everlasting Cat, you two. Don't do that, you could give someone a heart attack, especially old toms like me"
"Oh, Munk, you're not that old, you look about the same age as our mother and she's, what, 32?" Racel said as he looked to Millie, who nodded at that last question.
Munk raised his eyebrows at the fact that their mother was just 3 years younger than him, but due to the time being, he will ask later about their mother, as well as the dream. "Anyway, what brings you two here? Wondering where any food is?" he asked, a little sad on that last part.
Racel was the one who spoke of the fake plan, "Actually, since you are our guardian as of right now, would you mind if Millie and I went around London to get a better understanding of our temporary home? It be best to know your surroundings if your lost and don't know where to turn" he explained.
Munk looked at the two, "hm..Well….." he paused for a while, "alright, but as long as you two are back before…..I'll say midnight since you two are older than some of the other kits. But no fighting, since Macavity is on the loose I don't want you two making a statement for yourselves and get yourselves caught. Capishe?" he said. The kits nodded with big grins, thinking that Midnight was more than enough time to get what they plan to get.
"Thanks Munk! See ya later!" the two shouted as they ran for the gates.
"Alonzo! Can you open the gates please?" shouted Millie to the black and white tom.
"Sure no problem!" he said as he moved the string holding the gates.
"Thanks, see ya!" the kits shouted again as they ran out to the center of the city to find a way to the country side outside of London.
By late morning, the kits were in the forests where green still existed. They managed to find an old hay truck and jump aboard because where there's hay, there's a farm. Luckily, none of the junkyard cats were nearby to see them leave, not wanting to spoil the surprise. And also lucky is the fact that the farm the kits were at was just on the outskirts of London, not that far from the junkyard at all. Apparently the owners were also holding a garage sale that was close to opening so that was a double score. Not just that, but the owners were also vets from the town shelter, so there was bound to be medicine in the household somewhere. The two hunters gathered in the nearby pines to sort out a game plan of what to do.
Millie was able to take a quick sweep of the barn, chicken house, and milking area.
"Ok so here's the plan. I think we should start with the fishing right here by the river so we can get that over with. Next, I think we should try the garage just to see if anybody is there, then we head in the house and infiltrate the animal medicine, creating exact replicas of the medicine so it looks like nothing happened. After that, the chicken house is right outside the office window where we can sneak away one of the eggs and copy it. Finally, the milking shed. There's a strange cabinet that's cold smelling of milk and cream so we'll infiltrate that and copy those items. The barn is full of rats so we can easily do the peanut butter trap, if we find bread and peanut butter that is. Anyway, after that I suggest to head to a nearby field to hunt for at least 10 fat deer and skin them on spot so the hides could be made into extra bedding and rugs. After that, if we time this right, we should be back in time by nightfall, but since it is still early, we still have time to do as much fishing as we can. So, let's get started"
"Wait a minute" said Racel, "what are we going to carry all of this in?"
"Our staffs of course, don't you remember that they can be used as storage containers when necessary?" said Millie morphing her staff to a bow and arrow.
"Oh right! Duh!" Racel said as he slapped his forehead, morphing his staff too.
"I'll take an area further north of here while you take this spot, alright?" Millie said as she started walking.
"Sounds good to me!" Racel shouted as he observed the river for signs of movement.
All throughout the day, the duo has been fishing, rummaging, searching, sneaking, and trapping anything that they could find so the tribe could survive. All in All the duo was able to grab medicine, old cloths and blankets from the garage sale along with a few games and knick-knacks to keep the younger ones occupied. They were able to copy all the medical supplies needed for the winter, milk, cream, eggs, and a few other food items like canned sardines and, above all things, kitty treats, catnip, and cat grass. As for the rats, they were all placed in a bed sheet and set inside Racel's staff for storage. Once they were finished at the house, they moved to a field by midafternoon, around 3 pm. They were able to find a heard and kill overall 15 deer where the food and hides were stored in Millie's staff.
Soon the sun started to set and the two managed to stop a cat and sneak into the back as they headed for London. Once at the center of the city, they decided to check out some parts of the town until night fall, which didn't take very long. The two started to head back to the junkyard, at 9 at night while it was dark, excited to see what the reactions would be when the stockden is filled.
"To be honest, I'm a little nervous. What if they think that we stole all this?" said Millie, starting to second guess her idea.
"Nah, they won't. And besides, if anything I can make an exact copy of you or me and that will be proof of it all. Now, let's go put some smiles on their faces" motioned Racel as they neared the junkyard.
"Alonzo! We're back!" shouted Racel.
The black and white tom peeked over the edge of the fence, "About time you two got back! We've been worried!" he shouted.
The kits looked at each other nervously, thinking that they were caught. But then the gate opened and Alonzo jumped down in front of them.
"So, what do you think of London?" he asked.
"Pretty interesting I can tell you that. I love the shops and the lights down here" said Millie.
"I loved the food stands" asked Racel.
"Great, well if you want we can show you more next time" said the black and white tom.
"Do you know where Munk is? There's something we want to ask him" asked Millie.
"Yeah, he's over at the stockden, but I'd be careful. We ran out of supplies this afternoon and he was scolded for not helping the tribe so be careful" he said as he made his way back to his post.
Millie and Racel quickly made their way to the area where Munk was staring solonmingly at the empty den. It seemed like he was giving up hope of finding more prey for the clan to survive, especially after today's scolding from his father. He sighed as he turned his back and started walking.
The kits were hiding right above him wearing grins as they shouted, "MUNKUSTRAP!" making the tom jump in the air and his fur stand on end as he turned to the source of two laughing kits. He growled lightly and fixed his fur as he then grinned wildly, ran up to the cats and started to tussle with them, laughing as they did. After a good 15 minutes, the group ended breathing heavily, catching their breaths.
"So" said Munk, "what are you doing in this part of the junkyard?"
The kits exchanged smiles as they looked at Munk, "We have a surprise for the clan. Think you can gather them here?" replied Millie.
Munk looked at them strangely but gathered the clan to the stock area where Millie and Racel were working on their speeches. Soon the entire clan gathered, slightly shivering, awaiting the reason why they were called. Millie stood in front of the doorways and spoke first.
"Jellicles of the Junkyard, first off, for those of you who do not know us, I am Millie and this is my brother Racel" she pointed to her brother, who waved to the crowd, "As news was heard, Racel and I will be staying here for a while and, as we were taught, it's polite to do something in return for something someone did to you. For you, it was housing us and giving us safety. We thank you all for your kindness and hospitality and in return for this," Racel then opened the doorway and walked in to the empty room, "The two of us decided to stock you guys up for the winter!"
Racel's staff glowed brightly as the cloths, fish, rats and deer hides filled part of the room up to the ceiling.
Millie's staff began to glow as the milk, cream, eggs and deer meat filled the other half, leaving the knick knacks out for the kittens and curious adult. She then summoned the medicine bag and handed it to a stunned Jenny as tears welled up in her eyes with a smile that pulls all heart strings.
"We know this winter will be hard to overcome, so it's best that you are prepared" Millie said as she handed the bag to Jenny, receiving a relieving hug in return.
All the Jellicles were shocked and happy to see that they were going to survive. Munk was stunned too, but he kept his cool as he walked up to the kits, suspiciousness filling his eyes.
"Just where did you get all this?" he asked, eyes narrowed slightly.
"Remember when we said that we were heading out to see London? Well, the truth is, is that we actually left for the countryside to hunt for all this. We didn't steal any of this so you know, we can actually copy certain items and make them better than the original" explained Racel with a smile on his face.
All the Jellicles then cheered with praise and tears, knowing that they were going to survive the harsh winter storm without worry for anyone. The kittens approached the games and toys that the two siblings brought back with them and started to play. Some of the queens gathered up pieces of fish, some of the meat and a few pieces of clothing to take back to their dens. The toms just watched with happiness, some even dancing with happiness.
Racel then went inside and pulled out one large bass and looked around for the queen that was said to be pregnant. Once he found her, he went up and bowed to the snow white queen.
"Miss Victoria I presume?" asked Racel. Vicky then nodded and looked wide eyed at the fish. "This is the biggest catch we caught, and it's meant for the pregnant mother to help in providing healthy kits for her family. So, here you are" he Racel said as he handed the fish to a small black and white tom that looked like a cross between Misto and Victoria. His sea green eyes scanned Racel when he wasn't looking and blushed like mad when he was handed the fish. Racel took notice and looked at him with shocked eyes. He was a gorgeous cat with a lithe body smelled of flowers and rabbit fur, obviously a magician's son. The two toms looked into each other's eyes for a minute, until Racel broke the contact. He smiled at him, giving the tom a passing nod as he returned to his sister.
Once all the food was spread about and everyone had full bellies, Munk, Racel and Millie returned to the bachelor pad with smiles all around. It was then that Munk grabbed the two kits and hugged them close as tears finally flowed from the corners of his eyes and he sobbed quietly into their shoulders, knowing that a huge burden had been removed from his own shoulders.
"Thank you, both of you. I can't express my thanks enough for what you did for my tribe. There must be a way to repay you both" he said between his quiet sobs.
The kits returned the hug, happy that they could help as tears flowed down their cheeks as well.
"All we really want is to find our mother and bring her to safety. But for the time being, staying here where it's warm and safe is the best that we can have" said Millie, smiling into Munk's shoulder.
"And some friends too, with no sensual queens who act like they want to rape you to scare you" said Racel.
"Or toms who think they're the sexiest thing alive and want nothing more than to get you to the bed to have 'fun', ugggh" groaned Millie.
Munk pulled back with a confused look, "The kittens have been doing this to you guys?"
"Only two kits have, Desiree and Laron, they've been harassing us ever since we came here" explained Millie as Racel started to shake.
"Hmmmm" said Munk firmly, "Looks like my nephew and niece have messed with the wrong kits. I'll have to tell their parents about this. Just leave those two to me, they won't bother you two"
The kits looked at Munk with shock, "You're their uncle?" they said in unison.
"Yes, Desiree's father is Rum Tum Tugger, as you probably know. And Tugger is my older brother. Tugger's mate, Rumpleteazer is the sister of Mungojerrie, Laron's father. So the kits are cousins, making them my nephew and niece" explained Munk kindly.
The two kits nodded and smiled, "Thanks Munk for taking that burden off our shoulders" said Millie.
"No problem. Now, I think it's best to- Oh! Before I forget, back in Paisley, do you normally see visions in dreams?" asked Munk.
"Vision's in dreams? Like what?" asked Racel.
Munk then explained his dream from the past two nights as the kits looked in shock and horror over what he just explained.
Munk looked at them worriedly, "What is it, what's wrong?"
Millie was too shocked to explain as tears began to form and she shivered violently. Racel held her close as he rubbed her back to soothe her. He turned his face to Munk.
"Our mother's spirit cat, an entity of a cat that once lived before that now gives us our jellicle powers, IS a leopard with red and blue spots. My spirit cat is the bobcat that you described, and Millie's cat is the white lioness with the fire mane. And if this vision you saw is true, then the two of us will die, while our mother lies dying when the silver tiger faces death…panther… Matchitehew. Munk, what you saw was a Paisley vision of a prophecy. The full prophecy will come in time, but should you have the dream again, notify us immediately. Understand?" said Racel, his voice firm.
Munk nodded in understanding as he took in all the details, looking to the floor as he did, eyes darting from side to side at times, not sure what to think.
Once Millie calmed down, about 15 minutes later, the two kits went off to their rooms. Munk jumped onto his pillow and had his head to the ceiling, trying to make sense of what he had been seeing. Of all the cats to see this vision, why him? What did he have to do with this vision? Why was he shown this? So many questions ran through his head when he heard footsteps coming from the den area. He looked up to see Millie at the entrance to the tunnel.
"Millie? What's wrong?" he asked, sitting up.
"I….I can't sleep. The vision you told me about is still in my mind and I can't get it out. I….I'm just scared" she said, head looking down in embarrassment, being a slightly proud cat.
Munk smiled thoughtfully and patted his bed, motioning her to come over to him. She took the offer and climbed up. The silver tom then hugged the smaller silver queen, resting his head on top of hers. She wrapped her arms around him tightly as she quietly cried into his fur, feeling secure and safe, as if she was in her own father's arms.
"It's ok Millie, I will make sure that nothing happens to you or Racel. This is a promise I plan to keep" he assured her as her crying slowed, "I also promise to find your mother and bring the three of you back together. No kit deserves to be motherless, or parentless for that"
"Munk?" asked Millie.
"Yes?"
"I know this sounds silly but, do you mind if I sleep with you tonight?" she asked, a light but unnoticeable embarrassed blush appearing on her face.
Munk chuckled lightly as he licked her ear a little, making her feel a little more at ease, "Sure. But just remember that I have to be up in the morning to do my protector duties so if I am not here when you wake up, just know that I will be back later in the day. Alright?" he said.
Millie nodded. Munk then scooted over a little so Millie can have some room and had her close to him, making her feel safe. The little queen rubbed her head against his chest as she started to drift off to sleep. He smiled and petted her head fur as she purred lightly. He then looked to the ceiling and sent a small mental prayer.
Everlasting Cat, please place your loving paw on these two kits who have struggled long enough. May your forgiveness lift them up and give them strength so they can fight for the ones they love. Most of all, please help them stay strong for their clan, this clan, and each other, in the name of feline, fearless, faithful and true, bless you.
He then laid his head on the pillow as Millie's soft breathing lulled him to sleep.
So that's it for now! Hopefully you guys like it so far. R&R and please ask questions if you are confused. Hopefully you all have enjoyed this so far and expect more coming up! Until then, adieu!
-KC7743 3