The next day when she awoke she found Tugger wasn't in the den. So he couldn't face her awake, it seemed. How very cowardly of him, she thought bitterly. Stretching tiredly, she moved to the mirror and fixed herself up carefully before sliding out of the den. She didn't know what she was going to do today, but the scarlet queen was going to take her mind off the tom's little fiasco. She sighed softly as she felt the soft morning light on her face. Well, it seemed the world didn't stop even when hers had. The feeling wasn't unwelcome; it was comforting. But she was still hurting inside, a bad feeling in her breast. She was so unsure of what to do still. . .

Stop thinking about it, that's why you're out here; if you wanted to sit around feeling sorry for yourself you should have just stayed in bed. Bomba's eyebrow arched somewhat as she looked around for any signs of life, spotting Alonzo and Cassandra upon the tire. There we go, good enough distraction. Cassandra was aloof and didn't speak often, but. . . in fact, had they ever properly spoken? Bombalurina couldn't recall a time the two had ever had a conversation. Well, there was a first time for everything, and if the queen truly did not want to speak to her then Alonzo would at least be worthwhile to speak to.

"Hey 'Lonz!" She called happily, sauntering towards the two. Their heads turned in her direction, the patched tom smiling as he saw her, and the sleek queen. . . well, she didn't do anything.

"Hey Bomba. What're you doing awake at this hour?" He gestured towards the sky and the still-rising sun. The light was still pleasantly soft, and it hit the cats with a slight glow that accentuated their features.

"Tugger woke me up as he left the den. The oaf doesn't know how to be gentle." She found joking about him wasn't as hard as she'd previously thought it would be. In fact it made her feel more normal about the whole ordeal. But Alonzo's pleasant expression faltered as she mentioned Tugger, and he held a glance with Cassandra before opening his mouth to speak. Bomba looked hurt and shook her head.

"I already know, Alonzo. I'm simmering in my thoughts at the moment; killing him with a rusty nail seems like a very good option right now."

"If you do I want front row tickets." Alonzo and her both laughed weakly at the forced joking, and Cassandra's eyebrow gained height on her forehead. Bombalurina knew she was probably harboring thoughts similar to her own; Bomba was treating this situation incorrectly. She decided perhaps if she addressed the frustrating queen that look may leave her face.

"So, Cassandra, how are you this morning?" Bombalurina leaned casually against the side of the tire, looking up at the sleek brown cat.

"I am fine. Nothing of interest to you, no doubt." The scarlet queen was taken aback. First of all, she'd forgotten just how. . . cold Cassandra's voice was. It had a pleasant quality to it and a lovely sound, but she held no emotion. Bomba looked up at Alonzo who shrugged. Obviously he'd been trying to get some sort of reaction out of the queen before Bombalurina had interfered.

"Try me, doll. I'm pretty bored right now, a fly could amuse me." She thought she saw the shadow of a smirk twitch at Cassandra's mouth, and Bomba's own twisted into a grin.

"You are an interesting queen." Cassandra observed softly, her voice dark though not menacing. Bomba cocked her head and rose a questioning brow at the queen, but Cassandra didn't do anything but smile mysteriously down at her. It was starting to unnerve her so she licked her lip and turned back to Alonzo.

"She always this talkative?" She asked with a laugh, jerking her head towards the mysterious queen. Alonzo chuckled and shook his head.

"You've caught her on a rare day." He replied jokingly, and they both laughed and looked to where she had been.

She wasn't there.

Bombalurina paused, swallowed, and looked up at the black and white tom who's mouth was currently agape. When she spoke, her voice sounded painful on the sudden silence.

"Well, that's unnerving."

-----On the other side of the junkyard-----

Tugger picked at his teeth carelessly with a claw, not really paying attention to the raving Munkustrap.

"Don't you realize what you've done?! Etcetera's still a kitten you dolt! This could be very, very bad. Jenny's having a- are you listening?" Munkus stared incredulously at his brother who was intent on getting some food out from between his front teeth. In fact, the maned tom's attention wasn't grabbed until Munkus got a good swat in at his ear.

"Ow, hey, I need that." Tugger said sourly before his claw was promptly back in his mouth. That bit of kitty kibble was really starting to tick him off.

"You also need a brain, but you don't have one. Sometimes I wonder how you function." The silver tom snapped back, somehow getting even more frustrated as Tugger let out a grunt of triumph at dislodging the offending bit of food. "But then I realize something! I don't care about cats that are asses!"

Tugger closed one eye and flicked the bit of food at his whining brother. He missed, but that didn't keep Munkus from getting angrier.

"Calm it, Stripes. I know what I'm doing."

"To hell you do."

Tugger eyed him carefully before sighing in mock defeat and putting the back of his paw on his forehead dramatically.

"Okay, I'll bite. What am I doing wrong?"

"Everything!" Munkus stared at Tugger as if he'd grown another tail, letting out a frustrated snort. "You've had sex with a minor, of all things. Which wouldn't be a problem if she were a bit more mature mentally, but you choose the one who's nearly as mental as you-" Tugger tried to insert an angry word here, but Munkus was on a roll. "-and you're going to lose Bomba if you're not careful. You do realize most toms would cling to her if they ever had her, right?"

Tugger shrugged and reclined on his seat comfortably, his paws behind his head.

"Who's to say she'll ever find out?"

"Demeter's her best friend."

". . .So?" Tugger furrowed his brow at his brother, not catching what he was saying.

"She's the one who told me. Do you honestly think she'd deprive her best friend of that information?"

"Oh shit." Tugger put his paws over his face and sighed loudly, and Munkus was secretly quite pleased he'd managed to get a proper reaction out of the tom now, but he knew he shouldn't be smug.

"So what do I do now? Say sorry?" Tugger asked sarcastically, looking over to his brother for guidance. Tugger always managed to do something like this, it seemed. He screwed up and headed to Munkustrap to fix all his petty problems. Everyone was starting to do this lately, it was stressful.

"It's past that. You better hope she's forgiving." They both knew better. Bomba got what was hers and protected it like a mother bear with her young, but she didn't like being made into the fool. Tugger was basically screwed, is what Munkus was giving him. Some help he was.

"How do you know if you love someone?" Tugger asked curiously, tilting his head at the silver tabby. Munkus looked slightly taken aback, but his expression hardened and he shook his head.

"You don't seem to love anyone. When you love someone you want to please them, not cheat on them."

Tugger looked thoughtful, which was a dangerous state for him to be in. It was that mind of his that had him in trouble; that and a very wild imagination and a libido in bad need of being controlled. Sometimes Munkus wondered how they were related, or if they ever were at all. But Deuteronomy had assured him they were, when he was younger; he always thought it was safe to assume Tugger was the one with a whore for a mother; Munkus must have more pride in his lineage. He turned his back on Tugger and stared up at the rising sun, pondering as his tail lazily moving from side to side.

"Just say sorry and hope she's in a mood to forgive you. She really wouldn't want to give you up. She must see you as a prize, though I have no clue where she got that absurd idea." He turned when he was finished, but Tugger wasn't there anymore. Then Munkus realized he hadn't managed to make Tugger properly realize what kind of mistake he'd made with Etcetera.

"Damn you Tugger!"

Tugger snickered at his brother's cry, but sobered quickly. He really was in something deep this time. This was just lovely, especially if one appreciated sarcasm. How did he manage to get into these issues? Oh, right. He was Tugger. That's just how it worked, according to everyone else. Well, he had feelings too. Not all of him was a sex driven maniac. Just. . . that side liked to take over is all. He really needed to learn how to think in those situations. He didn't particularly want to lose Bomba either, but he wasn't sure why. He idly wondered if he really liked her or just her body. Though she was good at- never mind, that's one of those things that got him in trouble and he wasn't about to do it all over again.

He carelessly swaggered through the 'yard, not aiming to get anywhere. Then he ran into Cassandra. He flashed his winning grin at her; he hadn't forgotten her at the Jellicle Ball, though after his song she'd slunk back into her shell. It didn't seem to have any affect on her though, she her deep blue eyes stared at him unemotionally. Tugger grew uncomfortable. She was one of those queens that had eyes that suggested she knew everything about him and what he was thinking. It was starting to bug him more than the kitty kibble in his teeth had.

"Can I help you?" He asked, a little more rudely than intended. Cassandra cocked her head, finally blinking (which relieved him more than he cared to show; he was beginning to worry that she wasn't real) at him and frowned.

"Why do you hurt others?"

She knew?! Did everything know already? Tugger was inwardly frustrated with how quickly gossip traveled through the tribe. Everyone must know by now, he realized. Everyone would be after his hide for what he'd done. Well that was just shitty. His luck wasn't with him lately; he really needed to find one of them four leaf clovers or whatever.

"It's none of your business what I do, sweetie. Now, if you please. . ." He gestured for her to get out of his way but the sleek queen didn't move.

"Do you ever know what you do?" She asked softly. She was reminding him exceedingly of Tantomile and Coricopat, and he never really cared for them either. They always seemed to call him out on his faults more accurately than others did, and tried to 'help' him. Considering the fact he was pretty sure they were screwing each other, he wasn't very interested in their help. They were probably hypocrites anyway (ignoring the fact he called everyone a hypocrite) so he'd learned early on just to shrug off everything they said. Plus it bugged the hell out of them when he did, and that was always worth a laugh.

"No, not really. But I know what I'm doing right now." He grabbed her shoulders and gently moved her out of his way so he could continue his forward strut. Hooking his thumbs into his belt, he was somewhat troubled. Half the time he really didn't know what he was doing; it was an odd state to be in. But he never complained, it was just part of his charm. . . right?

Cassandra stared after him, pursing her lips. How had Bombalurina ended up with this insensitive tom? It shouldn't be any of her business, she knew, but she couldn't help it.

She wanted to know.