Steel wool does not come from electric sheep... Who knew! *********WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, 1,000 hits!********** I saw the 999th and I wanted to smack my head off the desk xD I'm excited!
Sorry this took a bit longer than expected, I'm a sucker for detail and I thought that since you guys had to wait too long so I made this one a whopping 2,730 words long! :O ~gasp~ You're very welcome ;) TuggerxMisto touchy moment in here! :3
SolemnDreamer: NICE! ~stuffs face~ And I agree! Not enough MistoxTug! ~burns tongue~ Aw- Damn it!
.: Thanks :D I looove new reviewers! Oh, did you see the commercial where- :| shutting up now. Sooooo... You like it? ;)
FantabulousMe : Hope I delievered :D there's another big thing next chappy too :P Iz is excited!
All: QUAXO SHALL BE A HERMIT NO MORE!
Quaxo woke up to Munkustrap's soft breath fanning his face, he was finding it very hard to sleep alone now. He felt OK having time to himself during the day but at night...
He looked over Munkustrap to the window on their left, he didn't like sleeping by the window anymore; he couldn't. The sky was still dark but a small wisp of white light faded into the dark, oceanic depths, Quaxo sighed, he had made it until the morning.
He gingerly unraveled his blanket, it was spotted in blood from the oozing, yet healing, cuts on his body. He didn't mind all too much, Jenny would go crazy when she saw the light marks and clean it like crazy. She's had a lot of practice from all the bloody noses acquired by the kittens over the years, Quaxo being one of them himself.
"Help!" Quaxo jumped at the sudden cry, his head wheeled around the room in search for the cat in need. His frantic gaze rested on landed on Munkustrap.
"Munk, wake up!" he shrieked. Munkustrap shot up in shock, had Macavity returned? He scanned the room before turning his attention to Quaxo who was still shaking his arm roughly. Fear flooded his features.
"What is it!" he panicked. Strangled and inarticulate sounds escaped the young tux before he started to make sense.
"There was- Someone's in trouble! I heard them but- I don't know!" he freaked. Realization dawned on the tabby, it was probably a nightmare.
"Quaxo, I think you might have been dreaming," he sighed in relief, Quaxo really had him scared for a minute.
"No, I heard it! They- they were calling for help," he explained. Munkustrap smiled understandingly, there was only one way to calm the tux's fears.
"Want me to peek out the door and check?" he offered as he tried to suppress a yawn. Quaxo nodded his head fervently; practically pushing him to the door.
Munkustrap opened the door wide and stepped outside, he scanned the clearing until his eyes rested on Alonzo; perched up on the tire, a questioning gaze met his. He listened intently to the silence that flooded the clearing, the only sounds he heard were from the early morning birds that chirped overhead. Munkustrap just raised his hand and returned inside to the wide eyed tux.
"No one's out there," he reassured before collapsing exhaustedly next to the small tom, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep in. Quaxo nodded unconvinced and laid back down to snuggled up securely against Munkustrap's back, ignoring the small, cave-like echo of his own voice crying for help.
Oo oO
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Oo oO
The two toms were jolted awake to the sound of the Rum Tum Tugger barging into the den energetically. He was followed to the door by his usual fan club, who had received word of their friend's emergence from the den. They watched in amusement by the door as Tugger began to rouse the two sleepy toms eagerly, receiving a mouthful of pillow that Munkustrap had whipped at his face from his curled up position on the floor.
"C'mon, Munkus. Don't be like that now," Tugger quipped. "Besides, I'm here for Quaxo, not you." At the sound of his name; Quaxo turned onto his back and, propping himself on his elbows, gave the mane-less Maine coon an unimpressed yet slightly amused stare. It was far too early to be getting up for anyone, let alone the flirt.
"Here," Munkustrap pushed Quaxo forward. "Take him," he joked. Tugger smirked before reaching down to pull the tux into a standing position. Quaxo smiled politely as he took the gloved hand; being almost immediately pulled up off the ground and lowered onto his feet, with no effort on his part.
Quaxo turned back to see that the tabby had made no move to get up. "Aren't you coming?" he asked hesitantly. He had to admit that he depended a lot on Munkustrap since the incident, but he was the only one he trusted to be able to protect him from Macavity. If Macavity came for him while he was outside he could trust Tugger to hide him or help him escape but he didn't expect him to actually protect him, Tugger just wasn't that kind of tom.
The room was silent as Tugger and Quaxo waited for the tabby's reply. Munkustrap rolled over slowly before looking up at the unsure kitten. "Would you like me to?" he asked patiently. The young tom nodded vehemently. Munkustrap glanced at Tugger only to catch a glimpse of disappointment mixed with a tinge of hurt as he stared at a rotting dictionary by the door. Sensing his inquiries; Tugger looked up to meet his brother's stare, the tabby could see the honey eyes snapping closed with embarrassed emotions not meant for other's to read.
"Ok, lets go," he smiled enthusiastically as he reluctantly go to his feet. Quaxo smiled contentedly and Tugger readopted his eager and energetic attitude; leading them out the den and into the waiting sights of the eager Jellicles.
"Give him some space, kits!" Tugger's voice flowed coolly, Etcetera swooning over the God that is the Rum Tum Tugger. She was going to be his mate, you know. He was secretly waiting for the young kit to come of age so that he could make her his queen. At least, in her mind anyway.
Quaxo's optimism evaporated the moment the coon exited the den and his eyes met the eager faces of the Jellicles. Did they all know? What if they thought it was all his fault. What if they stared? He picked nervously at the dressing on his chest that Jenny had changed only hours before while he slept. He poked at the thought that Jenny could touch him in his sleep and he wouldn't be too bothered yet whenever he rolled into Munkustrap he would wake up in a cold sweat.
He shifted so that he was hidden from view. "I don't know if this is a good idea, Munk," he whispered nervously.
"It's a great idea, Heavyside knows you need the space and fresh air."
"Yes, but-"
"What's the hold up?" Tugger asked at the realization that no one was following him out. The two toms just shook their head dismissively; making their way to the exit. This is what foxes must feel like, Quaxo thought, getting smoked out of their dens and their only escape being crowded by hounds ready to tear them to shreds.
With some encouragement and being dragged out the door (metaphorically), he was once again met with the bright, burning energy of the late autumn sun. When his eyes adjusted, he was met with the faces of the entire Jellicle clan. He shifted uneasily under the attention but was somewhat relieved to see kind, caring expressions as opposed to judgement stares, though the face could only tell so much.
Quaxo smiled shyly to the accepting crowd; they nodded happily as if to welcome him back into their clan, as if he'd been gone for a while now. To the tuxed tom, this experience was mortifying! Everyone here knew of his shame and they just stood there; eying his bandages and scrutinizing the matted fur he no longer had the heart to clean, it would never be clean anyways. Their respect for him gone and overtaken with pity. This is how he saw the as world now, this is how he was going to live out the rest of his life; a pitied tom who was defiled by his own father. Ruined.
Eventually, everyone got the hint and decided to give the tom some space. Suddenly, the silver tabby smacked his forehead heatedly.
"I have to go talk to Old Deuteronomy! I'll be back as soon as I can," he explained before running off towards the Jellicle leader's den. Feeling a little too exposed, Quaxo turned to Tugger expectantly.
"So what did you have planned exactly?" he asked curiously.
"Nothing really, I kinda thought you just needed the exercise. Wanna go chill with your friends?" Tugger leaned against the side of a cracked armoire and pointed to the kits rolling around in the clearing. The tux half-shrugged uncertainly, he didn't really know what to do with himself; anything that didn't have him standing there like an idiot should suffice. Tugger's brow furrowed in thought, the kittens would be too rough for him; although they usually went easy with the tux in respect for his naturally small and fragile disposition, he didn't think anything physically demanding would be a good idea.
"Wanna go to the pond?" he suggested. The tux nodded thoughtfully; a quiet, relaxing lounge by the pond sounded nice, as long as he didn't get wet. The coon smiled and together they walked past the kits towards the oddly clear waters of the pond. Quaxo couldn't help but steal a glance at the kittens, especially his best friend Tumble, sighing heavily for he knew that Tumble would probably never hang out with him again. Tumble was part of the in-crowd of kits; he would always choose his place among the circle over him, no matter how nice he knew the brown patched tom was.
The pond was just as they thought, completely deserted and serene. The picture of Eden in the fall itself; sprinkled with leaves from nearby maples and full of calm. They took their places on the dark, heated rocks beside the chilly pool. Both lavishing the warmth for a good five minutes in comfortable silence.
"What does it feel like?" Tugger asked in the thick silence, breaking the tux's light dozing. Quaxo tilted his head to glance at the coon who watched him from the corner of his eye as he lay flat on his back.
"Disgusting. Humiliating. Self-loathing. Like everyone's looking for that break in you, looking at the grime you can't wash off no matter how hard you try... I can't even bear cleaning myself anymore, it just makes me sick," he admitted quietly so that only the coon could hear if he was listening close enough, he didn't want to break the perfect balance of the picturesque haven. Tugger simply nodded in comprehension, what could he say to that!
"Tuggie!" Etcetera shrieked from the entrance of the cove. The two toms' looked towards the young kitten, seeing the chattering group that followed the now bouncing queen as she pranced to her beloved Tugger. They both sat up as she drew closer.
"Hey, kitten," Tugger greeted smoothly, the patched kitten blushing lightly.
"Whatcha doin'?" she asked; rocking on her heels as she swung her body back and forth in an attempt to release some of her pent up energy.
"I'm just sitting by the pond with Quaxo here-" he motioned to the area with his free paw; the other supporting his weight.
"Hey Misto! Could you show us some magic?" Electra called as she skipped over, followed by a calm Jemima who seemed to watch him with careful intent to make sure he didn't feel uncomfortable at her approach. His guess was that she had been the only one to take Jenny's 'be careful' instructions. He always liked her, she was probably the only kitten, aside from Tumblebrutus, who he could comfortably be around without fear of being glomped.
He soon realized that all the kittens plus Tugger were looking to him expectantly, Tugger seeming to be more 'if you feel up to it' whereas the kittens had their pouts out and in full swing with silent begging. He thought for a moment, he hadn't used his magic in a while. Oddly, he hasn't been feeling the usual pressure and unease he usually got from not using his magic after a couple days. I had been over a week since he last remembered doing anything-
"Pretty please..." Etcetera prompted, cutting him off. Surely a couple magic tricks couldn't harm, if anything it might serve him some good.
"Uh, sure," he agreed. The kittens broke out in excited chatter, indistinct requests for tricks being thrown haphazardly at him.
"Why..." Tugger's voice cut clearly through the muddle of noise, a skill he had acquired from practice with keeping the peace in his fan club. "...Don't we move away from the water," he suggested. Little bundles of fur nodded in agreement before they ran up the path to the clearing.
"That's... impressive," the tux noted. The coon chuckled lightly.
"I'll have to teach you one day," he laughed. Quaxo sent him a slightly confused glance. "It seems as though we share a fan club now, it would be a good idea to teach you how to survive in the clutches of the short attention spanned kittens," he laughed again. The younger tom's eyes widened, he was sharing a fan club with the Rum Tum Tugger and he didn't care? Amazing.
In the clearing, Quaxo started off with a couple illusions that really didn't require him to do anything 'magical'; it was a filler for the kittens. Nevertheless, they were impressed with the small pieces, even some of the older cats had decided to watch the show. He started to feel a bit normal; a small, generous feeling of familiarity filled the emptiness in the pit of his stomach.
Then it happened.
He had decided to actually make use of his magic, after all it was a magic performance, and had started with something he had been working on before. He had the kittens gather a bunch of loose, small items from the nearby junk piles and made a small, human-like statue. He placed his hands on it's shoulders and allowed the energy from his paws to flow into the dummy. His paws crackled and sparked unusually and the statuette hissed in response as the material began to burn. Something was off. Before he could catch it, before he had time to cut off his supply; he withdrew his searing paws from the puppet and watched as a bright stream of energy leapt from his fingertips into the young crowd.
He tried to neutralize it before it got out of hand but he couldn't reach it in time to stop it from striking one of the kittens. Faster than the wave of his obstinate blow, he was kneeling by the kitten's side; tending to the ugly mark on Electra's calf. Her cries of pain attracted the adults and a panicked crowd gathered around them. He pressed his paw on the burn; causing the young queen to wail, though she quieted quickly when the soothing flow from his once afflicting paws numbed the hot pain in her leg.
Jellylorum came in shrieking and shoved Mistoffelees to the side, she looked over the tortoise shell kitten and saw the ugly, oozing mark on the outside of her leg.
"What did you do!" She shrieked at the tom. Her panic and disorder quickly spread throughout the group, loud and sometimes angry chatter broke loose.
"It was an accident, I swear. Just let me fix it-" he tried, the aging queen would have it. No one would listen. The crowd quickly became too much to handle, he could feel a weight of panic set in his chest and spread like wild fire. He clambered to his feet and tried to push through the thick wall of cats, just slipping through their grasps. He was about to scream when a strong hand latched into his shoulder but was quickly cut off when he was spun around to face the Rum Tum Tugger.
"Are you OK? What happened?" Tugger had to yell over the white noise. His expression changed when he took in the tux's physical state. The dark, ebony fur was patched with sparkles, his white socks on his arm and one un-bandaged leg were streaked with thick black sparkling lines, and his tail remained unaffected by the recent use of magic. Mistoffelees stared at him with large, fear stricken eyes before he tore his shoulder from the coon's grasp and sprinted into the depths of the junkyard.
For a cat who had been bedridden for over a week, he could run very fast. Tugger realized his mistake in letting him off on his own and started to sprint after him, only to find his scent trail gone and an empty, silent path. He kicked a loose piece of sheet metal in terrified aggravation before dashing off to find Munkustrap. He's not going to be happy about this.
Gasp! What shall happen to our cutie patootie Misto? I'm not telling! HA! You're just going to have to wait xD
Aww, I actually really love the relationship between Quaxo and Munku :3 It's soo cute! And Tugger's a bit too mature but I love him too 33 I'm really proud of this chapter for some-odd reason, I can't wait for another shot of BIGness in the next chappy :]
Hmmmmmm, would this count as a cliff-hanger?
I also have a community going called "Under-reviewed CATS fics". I would appreciate if you could send me some nominees or read and review some of the stories in there :) Just trying to spread the CATS love :3
Reviews are kick-a$$!
