Title: The Protector (13/14)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Character death
Summary: When some Jellicles are cat-napped, Munkustrap has to descend back into Monnik territory, back into his old life, and must confront his biggest fear - the truth escaping.

Roleplays:

If you're not into RPing, feel free to skip this part.

Ourjellicle (o u r j e l l i c l e s . p r o b o a r d s 5 1 . c o m ). is a normal Cats RP set after the Jellicle Ball. Currently, Macavity has taken over the junkyard, but the Jellicles escaped safely. They're enlisting the help of a crew of pirates, though, to reclaim their yard… but that decision may cause more pain than pleasure.

One of These Nights (w w w . s 8 . c r e a t e p h p b b . c o m / o n e o f t h e s e n I g h t / I n d e x . p h p ? m f o r u m (equal sign) o n e o f t h e s e n I g h t) is an AU RP where the Jellicles are human members of a band (named Jellicle). Tugger (taken) is the lead singer, with Bombalurina (taken), Alonzo, and Plato (taken) as other members, and the rest of the Jellicles helping out as friends, stage hands, special effects, etc. Munkustrap (taken by me) is the manager of the band, and his father, Deuteronomy, is a huge music mogul. Macavity (taken) leads the rival band, the Depraved. Most of the characters are still available, though. If you're interested, come on by!

The Protector

A crushing wall of silence fell around Munkustrap, all sound being drowned out by the roaring in his ears. His mouth felt stuffed with cotton, his knees weak. He couldn't… he couldn't…

He couldn't stand it anymore. With a cry of his own, Munkustrap turned and fled, running, just running. The world was a blur of color around him, but he didn't notice any of it. He just needed to move, to run, to get away, as far away as he could, as far from that dresser and that family and that grief…

Everything slammed back into sharp focus when he ran into a cat. Stumbling back, Munkustrap shook his head and whined.

"Hey, watch it!"

Munkustrap looked up. Tugger. Of all the cats he could have run into, he had to run into Tugger.

Tugger scowled at him, fluffing his mane again. As another howl rippled through the yard, he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "The cat's dead. Get over it already!"

Munkustrap shook his head. No… no… they didn't know who they were grieving. How could they not know? How could the Jellicles not be aware that their Protector was dead? Simbol was dead, he was gone, gone, gone, gone…

"'Straps?"

Munkustrap jumped and stared at Tugger again. That was the first time the other cat had spoken his name in months. "Y-yeah?"

Tugger frowned, stepping forward. "You okay? You look… sick."

"I-I…" The world was spinning, and staying on his feet seemed a task too far beyond him right now. Munkustrap swayed and felt strong arms wrap around him, steadying him.

"Munkustrap?"

"He's dead," Munkustrap whispered, looking up at Tugger's concerned face. "Simbol's dead…"

"What?" Tugger frowned. "I thought we were mourning Cattivo…"

"He's dead too!" Munkustrap covered his face with his paws. "They're both dead… I couldn't save either of them…"

"Shh…" Munkustrap jumped again as he felt Tugger hug him, but he soon slumped against the larger cat, nestling into Tugger's thick fur. "C'mon, Munkustrap. Come with Tugger…"

Munkustrap let Tugger lead him away, not sure where they were going… and not really caring. Simbol was dead. What more was there to do?