Jellicle Cats & Wild Dogs: The Beginning

by Jellicle Jacquie

The Jellicle Cats are the smallest of the Big Cats, & the Wild Dog Pack is the most diverse of Dog Packs. This is the beginning of a Jellicle Cats & Wild Dogs series.

2. Ch 2: The Kittens & Wolf Pups Meet

Chapter 2: The Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups Meet

Early the very next morning the Wild Wolf Pups were playing hide and seek in their front yard. While playing hide and seek with her younger siblings Jacquie decided it was the perfect time to put her escape plan into action. Jacquie carefully and quietly crept around the tree trunks she hid behind. While her younger siblings continued to play their game of hide and seek, and one of their Uncles was watching the Pups play, neither of them knew that Jacquie was creeping closer and closer to the safety zone of her front yard. Jacquie continued to creep until she crept right past the safety zone; once she was past the safety zone Jacquie continued to use the cover of the tree trunks to hide her little pure white body from her younger siblings', and her Uncle Shep's view. Once she felt she was far enough from her front yard Jacquie quickly dashed away from her front yard, dashing until she reached the edge of the Hunting Grounds. Jacquie took a short break to catch her breath before dashing further into the Hunting Grounds.

While Jacquie traveled further into the Hunting Grounds, Mistoffelees was playing tag with his siblings in their front yard. While the five Jellicle Kittens ran around their front yard their Uncle Rum Tum Tugger kept a close eye – (at least one of his eyes) – on his Nieces and Nephews. But to Tugger's disadvantage, (as well as the disadvantage of every other Jellicle Cat), Mistoffelees had magic on his side. He was working vigorously on his disappearing act earlier that morning, and he had worked on it long enough to plan his escape from his homeland safety zone. Mistoffelees hid behind a large gray boulder; there the Tom Kitten meditated deeply, making his dull black and white fur coat magically transform into a black and white fur coat one with gold-colored sparkles all over it. Mistoffelees looked at his tiny white front paws shimmering with golden sparkles, with two claps of paws Mistoffelees's little body instantly turned clear. He was not with few of any of his siblings, nor the rest of his Pride. Once he had knew his disappearing magic had worked Mistoffelees dashed away from his front yard, dashed past its safety zone, and into the Hunting Grounds. Once he was too tired to dash Mistoffelees rested and caught his breath.

Jacquie, who was on the other edge of the Hunting Grounds, began to explore the large landmass of dry yellow grass. After catching his breath Mistoffelees began to do the same on his side on the dry yellow grassland. Both offspring sniffed the ground and the air, looking around with curiosity. Neither one of the offspring realized that they were walking straight in the same path as the other. They soon discovered this when they heard one another sniffing near by. Curiously but cautiously Jacquie and Mistoffelees crept toward a tall wall of tall yellow grass; listening to one another sniffs and footsteps. Once both offspring were in front of the wall of grass they stuck their tiny black noses through it, and as soon as the two offspring had touched noses they were startled. Jacquie and Mistoffelees both jumped back; the tiny hairs on Mistoffelees's back stood up and Jacquie tucked her tiny tail under her bottom. Mistoffelees unleashed his tiny white claws and Jacquie began to growl.

"Who are you?" Mistoffelees demanded, Jacquie didn't answer at first. "Answer me!" Mistoffelees demanded again.

"Who are you?" Jacquie sassily demanded as she backed away from the tall wall of grass and barked. Afraid, but determined to find the voice, Mistoffelees leapt over the wall of tall grass. Once he had landed in front of Jacquie and saw her face he was puzzled. Jacquie was just as puzzled once she saw Mistoffelees's face. The two offspring sniffed one at another's faces, touching noses for the second time. Mistoffelees was surprised by how cold and wet Jacquie's nose was; it was surprisingly cold for a Jellicle Cat – which was not the kind of creature that Jacquie looked like to the Tom Kitten. To Jacquie, Mistoffelees's now was surprisingly small for a Wild Dog - which was not the kind of creature that Mistoffelees looked like the Girl Wolf Pup. Then Mistoffelees bravely asked Jacquie,

"What are you?"

"Me? I'm a Wolf. What are you?"

"What's a Wolf?"

"I'm a type of, Wild Dog." Jacquie asked nervously.

"Wild Dog?" Mistoffelees nervously asked.

Remembering his Parents' horrifying story, Mistoffelees began to back away.

"Wait! Don't go! I just want to know, that's all." Mistoffelees stopped backing away, frowning at Jacquie. Then he silently nodded his head.

"Yes, that's what I am. And you are a Wild Dog, am I right?" Jacquie silently nodded her head. There was a moment of silence between the two offspring, then Jacquie spoke.

"So, do you look like all Jellicle Cats?" She asked as she slowly and cautiously approached Mistoffelees. The Jellicle Tom Kitten giggled laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jacquie asked with a smile.

"Of course I don't look like all of my family, I just happen to have black and white fur. Some of my family members have many different colors on their fur. What about your family?" Mistoffelees asked as he, too, slowly and cautiously approached Jacquie.

"Some of my family members have red fur, others have black or gray fur. Some are tan, brown and cream-colored all over. I only have white fur, and so do my Brothers and my Sister. Do you have Brothers and Sisters? "

"Yes. I have one big Brother and three little Sisters."

"I have three little Brothers and a little Sister. I'm the oldest." Jacquie said proudly.

"My big Brother, Mungojerrie, he's the oldest."

"Mon-go-Jerry?" Jacquie said to best of her ability.

"Oh, our names may be a bit hard to say at first." Mistoffelees blushed. "I'll have to teach you how to spell his name."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Mistoffelees." Jacquie gave the Jellicle Kitten a puzzled look.

"I'll teach you how to say my name, too. What's your name?"

"Jacquie."

"Jacquie, that's an easy name to say."

"Thank you. I am willing to learn how to say your name, too."

"Great." Mistoffelees smiled, then he taught Jacquie how to say his name.

"Miss – Stof – Fell – Eees, Mist-Off-Lees, Mistoffelees!"

"That's right." The Jellicle Tom Kitten said proudly.

"That's a cool name!" Jacquie laughed, Mistoffelees took a bow.

"Thanks." Soon the two offspring started to have a friendly conversation with one another. Both offspring were having so much fun talking with one another that they had completely forgotten that they were enemies. Neither Jacquie nor Mistoffelees felt threatened by one another, the offspring felt like they had become good friends. Soon Mistoffelees felt like playing a game of tag with his new Wild Wolf friend. He tapped Jacquie's right shoulder,

"Tag! Your it!" He shouted as laughed and dashed away from Jacquie. Jacquie laughed and chased after her Jellicle Kitten friend.

While Jacquie and Mistoffelees played tag together on the Hunting Grounds, their siblings were still playing their games of tag together in their front yards. It did not take the eight offspring long to discover that one of their siblings was missing.

"Where is Jacquie?" The Wild Wolf Pups barked.

"Where is Mistoffelees?" The Jellicle Kittens meowed. It soon became clear to the eight offspring that their fun and games were all over. They had thoughts of telling their Parents and adult family members about their missing siblings, but they knew that it would get them in trouble – and that they would suffer from their missing siblings' punishment.

"We've got to find Mistoffelees ourselves," Mungojerrie suggested. "Let's go."

"But Jerrie, we can't pass our safety zone." Said Victoria.

"Or leave our cave home without our Parents' permission." Said Electra.

"But we must. Our Brother is missing," said Rumpelteazer. "We have to find him before he gets in trouble. Or worse, before he gets hurt or worse…"

"Calm down, Teazer. We'll find him." Mungojerrie said. His three little Jellicle Sisters followed Mungojerrie past their Bad Land safety zone, and walked right onto the Hunting Grounds. Jacquie and Mistoffelees were still playing their game of tag when Mistoffelees was out of breath. Jacquie approached her Jellicle Kitten friend.

"Are you alright, Mistoffelees?" She asked.

"I, feel, tired," the Jellicle Tom Kitten huffed and puffed. "I'm thirsty. I better go back home and get myself some water."

"Wait, I know where we can get some water."

"Really? Where?"

"In the Forest."

"The F-Forest?" Mistoffelees asked nervously.

"It's my home, I know it pretty well."

"Uh, are there any other Wild Dogs in the Forest, besides your family?"

"There are, but I've never seen them." Jacquie looked at her Kitten friend. Mistoffelees was panting hard – like a Dog – and that made Jacquie feel sorry for him. "I'll show you where the water is, but only if you want follow me into the Forest."

"I'm, not scared of your Forest home, ok. I just don't want to get into trouble, or get hurt, or..."

"Don't worry; I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise, just stay close to me, ok?" Mistoffelees shyly smiled at his Wolf Pup friend and followed her into Dog Wood Forest. Jacquie brought her Jellicle Kitten friend to a huge pond, full of cool, clear, clean water. Mistoffelees cautiously approached the pond. Jacquie placed her little pink tongue into the water and started to drink from the pond water. Mistoffelees slowly placed his tiny black nose onto the surface of the pond. The surface was so cold that it made Mistoffelees's back hairs stand; he jumped up and backed away from the pond.

"What's the matter?"
"That water is so cold."

"It's always been cold."

"Not my water at home. It's a lot warmer."

"Really?"

"And it's brown."

"Brown? Why is your water brown?"

"Well, actually it's a very dark brown, almost black."

"Black?" Jacquie gave Mistoffelees a puzzled look.

"The water that we drink is the same water that we bathe in, and we have soiled around it." Mistoffelees blushed, Jacquie started to blush as well. "We Cats are pretty dirty." Mistoffelees sadly admitted. Jacquie thought otherwise; she found Mistoffelees to be rather clean – especially where there was white fur on his little body. Mistoffelees's face was so pale white to Jacquie that she could barely detect a hint of dirt on it. Mistoffelees slowly approached the edge of the pond again. He looked into the water and saw his own face. Jacquie approached her Tom Kitten friend, looked into the pond and made a funny face. Mistoffelees laughed a squeakily, making Jacquie do the same.

"I can see my face, and I can see your face." Mistoffelees said with excitement.

"Our water is clear enough to see our faces."

"I can't see my face in my water at home. I wish I could."

"Mistoffelees, are you going to try it?"

"Try what?"

"Try the pond water?"

"Oh."

"What does your water taste like?"

"It taste horrible, it taste, like dirt."

"Dirt is pretty nasty tasting, but this water shouldn't taste bad. Try it."

Mistoffelees stuck his little pink tongue into the pond water; once he took a lap of it he was very surprised.

"This water taste good! Really good!"

"I always thought it tasted good." Jacquie said happily.

Mistoffelees continued to drink the pond water until he was full. Suddenly he and Jacquie could hear rumbling noises.

"I think my tummy is rumbling."

"Mine too. What do you Wild Dogs eat?"

"We eat Deer, and Antelope, and Bison, and Caribou."

"You guys eat a lot of good foods. Me and my family eat Rabbits, and Squirrels, and Mice and Rats."

"We eat them, too."

"Do you eat them every day?"

"No, we eat fruits and vegetables, too. My Pack eats more Deer and Caribou than anything. But I'm not old enough to hunt yet."

"Me neither. Jacquie, what are fruits and vegetables?" Jacquie tried to explain to her Kitten friend what fruits and vegetables were by describing some of the fruits and vegetables that her Pack Gatherers brought to her cave home. Mistoffelees remained confused.

"I know! I could show you what strawberries are!"

"Strawberries? What are strawberries?"

"One of many Forest fruits that tastes so good, you should try some."

"Where are they?"

"Follow me." Jacquie took Mistoffelees deeper into her Forest homeland. Both offspring sniffed the air.

"What's that smell?" Mistoffelees asked.

"That would be the sweet smell of strawberries. See that bush over there?" Jacquie pointed to a large, green leafy bush with lots of big red fruits hanging on it. The two offspring approached the bush side by side; Jacquie pulled a strawberry off of the bush and handed it to Mistoffelees. Mistoffelees placed the strawberry onto the Forest floor and sniffed it. Then he took a small bite and chewed a piece of the big red fruit. The strawberry was so sweet that Mistoffelees felt it burn his cheeks a little.

"It's very sweet." He said while continuing to chew on his piece of strawberry.

"That's what makes strawberries taste so good." Jacquie pulled another strawberry off of the bush and munched on it.

While the two creature friends ate strawberries together their siblings continued to search for them. Mistoffelees's siblings were walking through the Hunting Grounds, calling his name as they continued their search for him.

"Mistoffelees! Mistoffelees!" They meowed, but their Brother did not answer. Jacquie's siblings were walking through their Forest homeland howling and barking their big Sister's name.

"Jacquie! Jacquie!" Jacquie did not answer her siblings. The eight offspring began to panic.

"We'll never find our Brother." Electra moaned.

"We'll find him," Mungojerrie said with confidence, "We have to keep on looking." Mungojerrie sniffed the dry, tan-colored Hunting Ground dirt. "Mystro was here!"

"And he was here with another creature, look!" Electra shouted as she pointed to a small pair of paw prints in the dry dirt. The four Jellicle Kittens looked at the paw print pairs with horror. Out of curiosity Electra placed her paw into her big Brother's small paw prints, and then she placed them into the small paw prints of the other creature.

"Those paw prints definitely belong to another creature, look!" Electra showed her siblings the difference between the two paw prints by continuously placing her paws into to the two different pairs.

"We better follow these paw prints." Mungojerrie suggested. The Jellicle Kittens followed the paw prints until they had reached the entrance to Dog Wood Forest.

"That creature took our Brother into the Forest!" Rumpelteazer shouted.

"We have to go after him! Let's go!" Without a moment's hesitation Mungojerrie dashed into Dog Wood Forest.

"Jerrie, wait!" Victoria shouted as she and her big Sisters dashed after their big brother. Rumpelteazer was able to catch up with Mungojerrie, but her two little Sisters were not.

"Hey, wait for me!" Electra begged as she tried to keep up with her siblings; but the poor mentally retarded Kitten was too slow – the slowest runner of her siblings.

"Could you two slow down a little bit, please?" Victoria begged as she tried to keep up with Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer.

"We can't stop now, Mystro could be in danger!" Mungojerrie shouted as he and Rumpelteazer continued to dash across the Forest path as fast as they could. Unfortunately – (for the slowest dasher of the Jellicle Kittens) – it did not take long for Electra to get tired. She stopped dashing and began to walk slowly across the Forest floor; breathing heavily the clear, cool, clean air of Dog Wood Forest. Electra stopped and sat in front of a tall tree; there she lay down, folded her ears back in fear and cried. Victoria, however, was determined to catch up to her older siblings – that was until she realized that Electra was no longer with her. Victoria stopped dashing and called her big Sister's name.

"Electra! Electra!" She called, but her Sister did not answer her. "She could be lost! That's not good." Victoria walked down another Forest path searching for her big Sister. Suddenly another thought came to her.

"I could be lost! This really isn't good!" Victoria quietly walked down the Forest path; every now and then she called her older siblings names, but neither of them answered her.

Kelly, Joshua, Sammy and Kyle were also separated in their Forest homeland. Joshua and Sammy were the first to find each other.

"Have you seen Jacquie?" Joshua asked.

"No, and I haven't seen Kelly or Kyle. This is bad."

"Very bad." Let's look for them together." Joshua and Sammy continued their search for their three siblings together. Mean while Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer were still dashing down another one of the Forest's dirt paths.

"Jerrie lets slow down." Rumpelteazer suggested.

"We can't, Mystro could be in trouble, Teazer."

"But Ele and Vici aren't with us, Jerrie. They're missing!"

"What!" Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer stopped dashing immediately. The two Jellicle Kittens were horrified knowing that their only Brother, and now their three little Sisters were missing.

"What do we do know, big Brother?"

"We have to…" Mungojerrie trailed off to sniff the air.

"What's the matter?"

"I smell something."

"What?"

"I don't know, Teazer. Don't you smell it, too?"

Rumpelteazer lifted her head high in the air and sniffed. She, too, could smell that some kind of Forest creatures were nearby. Both of the Jellicle Kittens followed their noses to the smell; soon Joshua and Sammy could smell that there were other kinds of creatures in their Forest homeland. The four offspring followed their noses curiously to one another's scents. Then, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer had appeared from a corner, where they could see the Joshua and Sammy ahead of them.

"Are they Cats?" Rumpelteazer asked her big Brother.

"I'm not sure, Sis. Stay close to me." Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer cautiously approached the two Wolf Pups. Once Joshua and Sammy saw the two Tiger-striped Jellicle Kittens they, too, were wondering what kind of creatures they were seeing.

"Are they stripped Wild Dogs?" Sammy asked her big Brother.

"I have no idea. None of our family members are striped." The two Wolf Pups sniffed the air, watching Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer cautiously approaching them.

"Perhaps they mean us no harm." Mungojerrie thought to himself.

"I sure hope these strange Dogs are friendly." Sammy thought to herself.

"They can't be Dogs, Dogs have spots not stripes." Joshua thought to himself.

"Those two sure do look strange for Cats." Rumpelteazer thought to herself.

Once the four offspring were close enough to touch noses they did, then they gave each other a puzzled look.

"Who are you guys?" Joshua asked.

"My name is Mungojerrie. And this is my little Sister, Rumpelteazer."

"Hi," Rumpelteazer said smiling shyly waving her right paw.

"My name is Joshua, but you can just call me Josh. And this is my little Sister, Sammy."

"Hello," Sammy said with a shy smile. "We're looking for our older Sister. Have you two seen her?"

"What's your Sister's name?" Rumpelteazer asked.

"Jacquie." Sammy answered.

"What does your Sister look like?" Mungojerrie asked.

"Like us." Joshua laughed. "She has white fur, pointy ears, and a small fluffy tail."

"We're looking for some one, too." Rumpelteazer mentioned.

"Really, who?" Sammy asked.

"Our Brother, Mistoffelees. He has black and white fur, a small black tail with a white tip, small white paws, and a small white face. Have you seen him?"

"I don't think so, but we could find help you find him."

"But Joshua, we have to find Jacquie, too." Sammy reminded her big Brother.

"Maybe they had found each other." Rumpelteazer thought aloud. Mungojerrie turned to Joshua; he still could not, for the life of him, figure out if he was a Cat or a Dog. Joshua felt the same way about Mungojerrie. Then he asked the Jellicle Tom Kitten,

"What are you?"

"Me? I'm a Jellicle Kitten…"

"Jerrie!" Rumpelteazer shouted.

"What?" Mungojerrie asked as he turned to his little Sister. At the sound of the word "Kitten", Joshua felt threatened. He had remembered a day when he and his Uncle Tundra – (an Arctic Fox) – had told him what baby Cats were called. Mungojerrie turned back to Joshua and Sammy.

"Are you two Wild Dogs?" He asked with a snarl.

"Get out of our Forest!" Joshua barked. Mungojerrie snarled. The two male offspring began to fight, their little were horrified by their Brothers' battle. The two female offspring yelled and begged their big Brothers to stop, when all four of the offspring were startled by a loud hiss. Mungojerrie and Joshua stopped their fighting and looked with horror they and their little Sisters saw a Giant Red Anaconda slithered toward them. Mungojerrie hissed at the large Snake.

"Teazer, get out of here!" He warned his little Sister, but Rumpelteazer did not move.

"No! I'm not leaving you here, Jerrie!" She hissed at the Giant Red Anaconda Joshua and Sammy both backed away from the Snake in horror. The two Wild Wolf Pups turned and dashed away, leaving the two Jellicle Kittens to fight a creature they had never seen before – and because of that it did not take long for something to go wrong. Both of the Wild Wolf Pups heard the Kittens' yowl with horror. Afraid of the worse Sammy continued to dash away from the scene; but something made Joshua stop and turn around. Although the Jellicle Cats, and their Kittens, were his enemies, Joshua could not help but to think about what his Grandfather had told him once.

Joshua and his Grandfather – a Saint Bernard named Bernard – were sitting and talking together in their backyard. Joshua had asked him if he had ever seen a Jellicle Cat before.

"No, I have not, Grandson. But if I did, I would not intend to fight them."

"Really! Why not?"

"Because, I do not want to start a fight with my Brother or my Sister."

"But the Jellicle Cats are evil, Grandpa."

"Do you truly believe this, Grandson? Even if your Parents say this, do you truly know that the Jellicle Cats are evil creatures?"

"But shouldn't I listen to my Parents, Grandpa?"

"Yes you should always listen to your Parents. But now, listen to me; every single creature on this earth is our Brother and our Sister. We must love one another, care for one another. Not hate one another because we are different."

"I don't understand, Grandpa."

"You will some day, Grandson."

With the mere thought of both Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer in danger, Joshua dashed back to the scene. Once Sammy realized that her big Brother was not behind her she quickly dashed back to the scene as well. Both Wolf Pups were horrified when they saw the two Tiger-striped Jellicle Kittens lying lifeless on the Forest floor. Angry at the Giant Red Anaconda Joshua began to bark as loud as he could. The giant Snake glared at Joshua and slowly slithered toward him and Sammy. Sammy quickly dashed to Mungojerrie, licking his face to wake him. Mungojerrie slowly regained his consciousness.

"What happened?"

"Hurry, we have to get and your Sister out of here."

"My Sister! Where is she!" Mungojerrie quickly stood on his feet and looked around the Forest floor. Once he and Sammy saw their siblings, one barking and the other hissing at the Giant Red Anaconda, they both joined in. The Jellicle Kittens pounced, and the Wild Wolf Pups jumped onto the giant Snake's head. The four offspring bit and scratched the Anaconda's face and head. The Giant Red Anaconda soon realized that it was outnumbered; it gave up quickly, shaking all four offspring off of its head and slithering away as fast as it could. The Wild Wolf Pups barked, and the Jellicle Kittens hissed until the giant Snake was out of their sight. Once the Snake was gone the four offspring gave each other puzzled glances.

"You two came back?" Mungojerrie asked.

"Why?" Rumpelteazer asked.

"I, I had to come back." Joshua explained what his Grandfather had told him about helping other creatures, including his enemy. The Jellicle Kittens were confused, and so was Sammy. "I don't know how else to explain it. I just couldn't let that Snake eat you two up."

"So, does this make us your friends?" Sammy asked. Joshua looked at Rumpelteazer and smiled.

"You stood by my side when that creature was hissing at me. And you helped Teazer me beat it up; I guess this does make us friends." Mungojerrie said with a wide smile. The four offspring smiled at one another, then they started to giggle. Mungojerrie tapped his little Sister's shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" He shouted as he dashed away from his Rumpelteazer and his Wild Wolf Pup friends.

"No fair!" Rumpelteazer shouted. Then she turned to her Wolf Pup friends and smiled.

"You can't catch me!" Joshua shouted as he dashed away from Rumpelteazer. Rumpelteazer chased Joshua around, making Sammy laugh until Rumpelteazer had tagged her.

"Now you're it!" She shouted.

"Not for long!" Sammy shouted as she chased her brother and Jellicle Kitten friends.

While the four offspring were playing together, Victoria was lying in front of a tall tree trunk deep in the Forest. In front of the tree trunk Victoria felt cool, shaded from the hot sun. She cleaned herself by spreading her tiny pink tongue across all of the parts of her little furry white body. While Victoria was cleaning herself Kyle was exploring his homeland trees. He loved to look up at the green tree leaves, with his eyes and mouth wide open and in awe at how tall they were. It didn't take him long to find Victoria – (with her bright pure white fur) – right in front of a dark tan tree trunk. Curiously Kyle approached Victoria, sniffing the air and wagging his tail. Soon Victoria could smell that another creature was approaching her. She stopped cleaning herself and sniffed the air. Then she turned and saw Kyle walking toward her. Victoria and Kyle both could see that they were about the same size, and they were the same color – pure white. The two offspring slowly approached one another until they were close enough to touch noses. Startled, Victoria's back hairs stood up. She backed away from Kyle.

"Your nose is cold, and wet." Victoria said as she shivered.

"Your nose is very small." Kyle said shyly. "What are you?"

"I'm," Victoria paused and started to think about answering Kyle's question.

"Should I tell him what I am? What is he? He could be a, a Wild Dog!" Victoria thought. She slowly backed further and further away from Kyle.

"Where are you going?" Kyle asked as he slowly walked toward Victoria, sniffing and wagging his tail.

"I, I have to go, now." Victoria turned and dashed away from Kyle.

"Wait!" Kyle called to the Jellicle Feline Kitten, dashing behind her. Victoria dashed as fast as she could with the Boy Wild Wolf Pup close behind her. Soon Kyle had noticed a big gap ahead of Victoria. "Slow down!" He shouted, but Victoria did not stop dashing. "Please! You're going to fall!"

"Fall?" Victoria looked back; still dashing away from Kyle she had no idea how close to the gap ahead of her until it was too late. Victoria fell down the long gap, right onto the hard dirt below. Kyle dashed to edge of the gap as fast as he could. Once he was there he was afraid to look down; but he summoned to courage to do it for the Jellicle Feline Kitten.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Victoria struggled to stand up. The burning pain in her chest was so intense that it made her cry. "Don't cry, I'm going to help you, ok!" Kyle shouted.

"How can I get her back up here?" Kyle lookedaround for a long stick or a strong vine to help get Victoria from the short cliff back onto higher ground.

Once Kyle had found the perfect green vine he yanked it off of the tree and dashed back to the edge of the short cliff. Victoria slowly sat up and turned to find the green vine coming toward the Forest floor. At first she was horrified, thinking the vine was a snake. Then she looked up and saw Kyle holding it the vine in his mouth.

"Climb up the vine." Kyle said with the end of it in his mouth. Victoria crept toward the green vine, unleashed her little white claws and climbed up the vine and onto the short cliff. Once she was on higher ground, Victoria shyly thanked Kyle for rescuing her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't dash fast enough, or you wouldn't have fallen down there." Kyle said bashfully.

"It's ok; I'm out of there now."

"But I'm so slow. If I wasn't so slow I could have stopped you from dashing too far."

"But I'm safe now."

"I know, but…"

"It's ok, really. Thank you." Victoria and Kyle shyly smiled at one another.

"What's your name?"

"Victoria."

"That's a pretty name." Victoria giggled.

"Thank you." She said with a shy smile. "What's your name?"

"Kyle."

"Kyle, that's a cute name."

Kyle burst into laughter, Victoria laughed with him. Then the Jellicle Kitten asked Kyle a brave question.

"Are you, a Wild Dog?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well, you had asked me what I was before and I was afraid to tell you. But since you had rescued me, I think I can tell what I am. Do you promise not to dash away from me when I say what I am?"

"I promise. What kind of creature are you?"

"I'm a Kitten."

"A Kitten?"

"You know, a Jellicle Cat."

"Jellicle Cat?"

Kyle, (like Electra), was a very slow learner. Although he was told millions of times what a Kitten was by his Pack, (because he asked the elders of his Pack millions of times), Kyle would always forget what the answer was. Victoria blushed, putting her head down and shaking it.

"Are you what a Jellicle Cat looks like?"

"Well, I am the only Jellicle Cat of my Pride that is pure white. Many of my family have many different colors on their fur. Like my Sister, Electra…" Victoria trailed off, remembering that her big Sister was not with her.

"What's the matter, Victoria?"

"My Sister, she's missing!"

"Who is your Sister?"

"Well, actually both of my Sisters are missing, and my Brothers. I had tried to catch up with my big Brother and Sister, but I slowed down. Then I lost my other big Sister, and I am still looking for one of my big Brothers." Victoria started to sob; Kyle placed his right front paw on her shoulder.

"Don't cry. I lost my big Brothers and Sisters, too. I'll help you find your Sister, first."

"But you need to find your Brothers and Sisters, too." Victoria worried.

"We could find them together." Kyle happily suggested.

"Ok."

Kyle and Victoria searched for their siblings together. While the two offspring searched for their siblings, Electra was sitting in front another tree trunk. Electra was crying and sobbing, trembling with fear for herself and her missing siblings.

"I'll never find them," she sobbed. Electra cried aloud, loud enough for Kelly's sensitive ears to hear from a distance.

"That almost sounds like Kyle, but it can't be." He thought as he followed his ears to Electra's crying. Soon he could tell that the crying was not coming from his baby Brother. "Who is that crying so loudly?"

Kelly stopped to sniff the air; the scent was close, and it was not that of a Wolf Pup. Kelly continued to curiously follow his nose and ears, soon finding the purple Jellicle Feline Kitten sitting in front of a Forest tree trunk. Electra continued to sob until she could smell Kelly's scent, coming closer and closer to her. She lifted her head and shyly looked at the Boy Wolf Pup.

"Hi," Kelly said with a smile, wagging his little tail. Electra did not say a word. She rubbed her eyes with her front paws and put her head down. Kelly slowly approached Electra, placing his left paw on her back gently rubbing it. "Why are you crying?" He asked. Electra sniffed a few times, continuing to wipe her eyes. Kelly patiently waited for shy and freighted the Jellicle Kitten to speak. Too shy to look at Kelly, Electra looked at the Forest floor speaking slowly and shyly to him.

"I'm lost. I can't find my Brothers and Sisters. And if I don't find my Brothers and Sisters I'll be in big trouble and lost forever. And they could be in big trouble and lost forever, too…" Electra began to cry even louder, making Kelly feel as if he had only made the Feline Kitten feel worse. Kelly continued to gently rub Electra's back and speak softly to – (and patiently) – with her.

"I'll help you find your Brothers and Sisters."

"You will?" Electra asked shyly. Kelly smiled at his new Kitten friend.

"Of course, but we have to calm down first, ok?"

"Ok." Electra nodded, and slowly she stopped her crying. "My nose is runny." She said, blushing as she put her front paws in front of her nose.

"Wait right here."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get a leaf for your nose."

"A leaf? What's a leaf?"

"I'll show you." Kelly walked to a small bush with large droopy leaves hanging on it. He pulled off one of the leaves and gave it to Electra. Electra took the large green leaf with her paws and gave Kelly a puzzled look.

"What do I do with it?"

"You blow your nose with it."

"Blow my nose?"

"Yes."

"Mommy and Daddy always wipe my nose with their paws."

"My Mommy and Daddy used to do that, too. But after a while I thought it was gross, and I knew they always thought it was gross, too. I decided to use leaves like the one you're holding now to blow my own nose. Actually, it was an accident that helped me teach myself how to blow my nose." Kelly explained to Electra how sneezing had helped him to teach himself how to blow his nose. Then he explained to his Jellicle Kitten how to blow her nose. Electra blew her nose a few times into the big green leaf.

"This is really gross!" She shouted, Kelly laughed.

"Unfortunately I don't know how to make blowing noses any less gross than wiping runny noses with paws," Kelly then taught Electra how to wipe her nose. Once she was done Kelly had his Kitten friend place the leaf on the Forest floor. Then walking a few inches away from her Kelly started to dig.

"What are you doing?" Electra asked, curiously walking towards Kelly.

"I'm digging a hole. I can't leave a leaf with nose juice on it on the Forest floor. It would be pretty disgusting."

"Nose juice?" Electra laughed as she continued to walk towards Kelly. Suddenly a small patch of dirt was flung into her face. Electra let out a small yowl; Kelly jumped up into the air landing on the other side of his hole.

"What happened?"

"My eye," Electra cried as she rubbed her left eye with her right paw.

"Let me see, did I get dirt into it?"

"Something went into my eye."

"I better take you to a nearby pond."

"I don't like it when water is put into my eyes." Electra sobbed.

"I promise to be careful, ok?"

"What about the leaf?"

"We'll worry about it later. Let's take care of your eye first."

"Ok." Electra trusted Kelly to do what he could to help her take care of her injured eye. Kelly walked Electra to a nearby pond. There he took one of the tall, soft brown cattail plants, tore it apart and molded the soft insides together form a small sponge. Kelly dipped the sponge onto the surface of the pond water until the tip was soaked. Then he walked to Electra with the sponge in his left paw.

"I'm going to dab this around your eye." he explained.

"Dab!" Electra started to panic.

"I'm going to pat this sponge around your eye gently, and then I'm going to rub it a little. I'll be cleaning the dirt around your eye first, then try and get the dirt inside of it out. I need you to take your paw off of your eye, ok?" Trusting her intelligent Wolf Pup friend Electra took her paw off of her eye and let Kelly dab around it with the cattail sponge. Then he gently and slowly rubbed the sponge until all of the dirt came out of Electra's right eye. "Do you fell better, now?"

"Much better. My eye doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's good."

"Thank you." Electra said shyly.

"No problem. Oh boy!"

"What's wrong?"

"All this time and I never introduced myself. My name is Kelly."

"My name is Electra. Are you a Cat?"

"No. I'm a…" Kelly trailed off, wondering if it was a good idea to tell Electra what he was.

"Well, she already gave away what she is." He thought to himself.

Kelly took a deep breath,

"I'm a Wolf."

"What's a Wolf?"

"I'm a, a Wild Dog." Kelly said nervously, Electra was shocked and terrified. She started to back away from Kelly with her eyes and mouth wide open. "Wait! Don't go!" Kelly cried.

"My Mommy and Daddy said that Wild Dogs are, they're bad!"

"My Mommy and Daddy said that Jellicle Cats are bad. But you're not a bad Jellicle Cat."

"You're not bad Wolf, either. Are you my friend?"

"I'll be your friend. Are you my friend?"

"If you'll be my friend."

"Sounds fair."

"So, you are my friend?"

"Of course,"

"Yeah!" Electra cheered. Both offspring giggled together; then Electra started to tickle Kelly's tummy. The Wild Wolf Pup squealed with laughter.

"Stop that! That tickles!" He laughed, Electra continued to laugh and tickle Kelly until his little furry pure white face turned red. Just as Electra took her front paws off of his tummy Kelly placed his under her tiny purple and black striped tummy. Electra squealed even louder than Kelly, helplessly giggling as Kelly continued to tickle her until her little furry peach face turned red.

While the Jellicle Kittens and Wild Wolf Pups were playing together, their "watchful" Uncles soon realized that they were missing from their front yards. The Jellicle Cats Pride and the Wild Dog Pack began to panic. Rum Tum Tugger tired to explain his laziness when looking after the Kittens, but the Jellicle adults did not except it – especially not his Sister-in-Law, Demeter.

"You lost the Kittens?" She screeched.

"I didn't mean it! Honestly!"

While Macavity and Munkustrap tried to calm the Pride down, Coricopat and Tantomile had a telepathic conversation with one another about how they were going to gather the Kittens and bring them back home.

"Cori, we must take this into our own paws. We must gather the Kittens and bring them back home."

"Hopefully we will do this before the others meet up with those Wild Dogs and start a pointless battle with them. What about the Wild Dog offspring?"

"Lets let them live for now, at least that shouldn't start too much of a commotion. We must be swift and quick in gathering the Kittens, only using our fighting energy when needed."

"Agreed."

The Mystical Twins quietly and secretly left their cave home, passed their homeland safety zone, dashed across the Hunting Grounds and into Dogwood Forest. Once they were in the forest the Mystical Twins began their search for the Jellicle Nieces and Nephews. Immediately the Jellicle Twins split up in search of the Kittens; the first pair of Kittens that Tantomile had found was her oldest Niece and Nephew. The two Tiger-striped Kittens, as well as their Wolf Pup friends, were completely oblivious that Tantomile was nearby. The four offspring were too busy having fun in the pond. Tantomile waited for the right moment; she leapt from the bushes, dashed into the water, grabbed Rumpelteazer first then dashed right back behind the bushes. Tantomile was so fast that neither Mungojerrie, Sammy nor Joshua saw or heard her. Rumpelteazer's little heart was pounding hard and fast, she was too horrified to cry for help. Then she heard her Aunt Tantomile purr.

"Aunty Tanto?"

"It's me, dear. Stay right here, I'll be back." Tantomile went after her Nephew next. Tantomile leapt from the bushes again, dashed toward Mungojerrie and grabbed him off the Forest floor. At that moment both Wild Wolf Pups saw the adult Jellicle Feline.

"Hey! Put our friend down!" Joshua shouted. Tantomile quickly dashed behind the bushes. She placed Mungojerrie on the Forest floor, right next to Rumpelteazer.

"I want you two to stay right here."

"Aunty Tanto, don't hurt them." Rumpelteazer begged.

"They're our friends. Please, don't hurt them." Mungojerrie pleaded.

Not even Tantomile could predict her little Niece and Nephew would say such things. Both she and Coricopat knew that their Nieces and Nephews were around the offspring of their enemy, but they had no idea that the Kittens and the Pups were becoming friends. At that point Tantomile knew she had and Coricopat had to act quickly.

"Hey, Jerrie! Teazer!" Joshua called as he slowly approached the bushes.

"Are you still back there?" Sammy asked as she followed behind her Brother.

Tantomile ordered Mungojerrie to get on her back, and she picked up Rumpelteazer as she dashed away from the bushes. Hearing her pounding paws, and Mungojerrie shout his good-byes, the Wild Wolf Pups dashed between the bushes.

"Hey! Put them down!" Joshua ordered as he dashed after Tantomile and his Jellicle Kitten friends. Sammy followed after him, just as determined to catch up with the adult Jellicle Feline – but it was no use, Tantomile was long out of their sight. Mean while, Electra and Kelly were still tickling one another; when their fun and laughter was interrupted by a long, loud hiss. Coricopat was standing right in front of Kelly, bearing his long, sharp, bright yellow teeth at the Boy Wolf Pup. Electra bravely dashed in front of Kelly.

"Don't hurt him, Uncle Cori!" She pleaded. "Kelly's my friend. He helped me…" Coricopat quickly picked up his Niece and started to dash away from her Pup friend.

"Bye, Kelly! I'm going home, now. Good bye!"

Kelly was frozen with fear, to afraid say good bye, or to move. Coricopat quickly caught up with Tantomile, he placed Electra on his Mate's back and quickly dashed back for his other Niece and Nephew. Once he found Victoria he quickly snatched her away from her game of tag with Kyle.

"I have to go home, now. Bye, Kyle!" Victoria quickly said as her Uncle Coricopat dashed away from her Pup friend. Kyle started to whine and cry.

"Wait! Don't go! Come back!" He begged as he tried to catch up with the adult Jellicle Tom. Coricopat dashed all the way back the Hunting Grounds. From there he started to walk back to the Jellicle Lands when Tantomile approached him. She took Victoria, dashing her back to her cave home while Coricopat dashed back into Dogwood Forest in search of Mistoffelees.

The black and white Jellicle Kitten was playing tag with his Wolf Pup friend on the Hunting Grounds. Soon the two offspring heard a loud roar.

"What was that!" Jacquie asked, swiveling her ears with curiosity.

"That was my Daddy. I have to go…"

Suddenly Mistoffelees and Jacquie were startled by another loud roar, a roar that was very close.

"I think I better go home, now." Jacquie said sadly and with fear. Suddenly Jacquie saw a big, bright red and yellow cat-like figure dashing toward her. Demeter stopped and hissed at the sight of Jacquie. Jacquie backed away, folding her ears back and staring wide-eyed at the adult Jellicle Feline.

"Mommy, she won't me she's my friend…" Suddenly Mistoffelees was lifted off of the Hunting Ground dirt. Demeter turned and started to dash away from Jacquie.

"Hey, where are you going with my friend!" She demanded as she dashed after Demeter.

"I'm going home, now! Bye friend!" Mistoffelees shouted, but Jacquie could barely hear her Jellicle Kitten friend. Jacquie bravely dashed after her Jellicle Kitten friend, and his (fully grown) Mother. Jacquie had no one else on her mind except for Mistoffelees, and nothing else on her mind but making sure that he was safe – something that Mistoffelees could only hope for her. Suddenly, another adult Jellicle dashed right in front of Jacquie. The Girl Wild Wolf Pup came face-to-face with the Jellicle Pride Leader, Macavity. Although Macavity was a hideous sight himself Jacquie was not afraid of him. The Pride Leader hissed at the little Girl Wolf Pup; Jacquie did not budge, the only creature on her mind was her Jellicle Tom friend.

"Where is my friend!" Jacquie demanded. Macavity did not answer; he just gave a silent evil grin as he swung his front right paw at Jacquie. Jacquie ducked, then bit his left paw as fast and hard as she could. The tiny pinch of her tiny sharp teeth made Macavity yowl with pain and disgust.

"You little mutt, you're going to pay for that!" He roared as he chased madly after Jacquie. Jacquie dashed away from the adult Jellicle Tom, yelping and howling for help across the Hunting Grounds. Macavity snapped at the Wolf Pup's heels; many times Jacquie was tripped up, but she did not stumble. Then Macavity lifted his right front paw, quickly unleashing his overgrown claws, digging into Jacquie's right hind side. Jacquie let out a loud yelp and started to cry. Macavity laughed and gave Jacquie an evil grin. "Prepare to die, mutt offspring!" He shouted. Jacquie was motionless; she watched as Macavity opened his jaws as wide as he could, bearing his long, sharp, bright yellow teeth. Macavity slowly put his open mouth down towards Jacquie's tiny head. Just as the Girl Wolf Pup was inches away from death, when the Jellicle Tom was startled by a loud bark. Before he could even close his mouth Macavity was head butted by a male adult Wild Dog. The force of the head butt sent Macavity jumping feet into the air, and back from Jacquie. Macavity fell flat on his face and chest. Jacquie dashed to her Father's side.

"Daddy!" She happily shouted as she hugged Alpha. Alpha tired to push Jacquie back with his front paws.

"Dash home now, go!" He ordered, but Jacquie was too afraid to let her Father go. Soon Beta came dashing to Alpha's side. "Beta, take Jacquie home." He said quickly as he saw Macavity struggling to stand. Beta quickly took Jacquie off of her Father's leg and dashed out of Hunting Grounds. Jacquie screamed for her Father to come with her and her Mother, but Alpha stayed behind his family. Alpha turned and waited anxiously as Macavity continued his struggle to stand. Alpha readied himself to fight, when it occurred to him that the Jellicle Tom was in too much pain to fight. What Alpha did not realize, as he was dashing back to his cave, was that in badly injuring Macavity he had also badly injured himself.

Once he was on all four of his paws Macavity looked up, glaring in the direction where Alpha was standing only to find him gone.

"He got away!" Macavity screamed to himself.

"I can't believe I let that mutt get away!" He screamed, spouting tiny drops of blood from the roof of his mouth; and from the jagged, bloody spot where there was a missing front tooth. And while Alpha, still oblivious of his bad injury, was able to dash to his cave Macavity had to slowly walk back to his homeland. Although he was in much pain Macavity held his head high as he walked toward his homeland. He started to laugh aloud, ignoring his mouth pain.

"You may have gotten away this time, you mutts, but next time I will kill you!"

Less than half way to his homeland Macavity was met by five of his Pride's Family (Pride) Protectors.

"Sire!" Tumblebrutus and Jonathan called as they approached their Pride Leader.

"I'm fine everyone. Thank you for coming to my aid."

"Let's get you home." Said Carbucketty – a butter-yellow and white striped Jellicle Tom with shaggy and spiky fur. The Pride Protectors gathered around their Pride Leader, assisting him back to their Jellicle homeland.

The Jellicle Cat cave was nosier than usual. The Jellicle Kittens were crying – (mostly because their Brother Mistoffelees was crying aloud), their Parents were doing the best they could to comfort them, and the rest of the adult Pride members were growling and snarling with anger. Soon Macavity entered the cave; all of the adult Jellicles – with the exception of Munkustrap and Demeter – dashed to him. Macavity lifted his front paws to stop and silence his Pride.

As he spoke, Mistoffelees could hear his deep voice loud and clear in his room. Mistoffelees was very upset, especially at his Pride Leader for freighting away his new Wolf Pup friend. The little angry Jellicle Tom dashed out of his room, his Parents called after him but he did not stop. Mistoffelees dashed right through the crowd of adult Jellicle legs, stopping right in front of Macavity. Mistoffelees hissed as loud as he could, immediately getting the Pride Leader's attention. Macavity glared at the Tom Kitten's bright red frowning face.

"Where is Jacquie!" He demanded.

"I have no idea who you speak of…"

"Yes you do!" Mistoffelees shouted, hot tears streaming down his warm face. "Where is she! Where is my friend!"

Macavity snarled at Mistoffelees. Demeter quickly pushed her way through her family to reach her youngest Son. Macavity let out a soft hiss, warning Demeter not to touch her Son just yet. Demeter sighed, sitting closely to her Son.

"Who is Jacquie?" She asked.

"She better not be that mutt I had to chase." Hearing the mere word "mutt" made the adult Pride members' hairs stand.

"Jacquie is not a mutt," Mistoffelees said shyly.

"Then who is she, Son?" Demeter asked.

"My friend," Mistoffelees said quietly.

"She is Wild Dog, is she?" Mistoffelees was too scared to answer his Mother's question.

"Answer your Mother, Mistoffelees." Macavity ordered. Demeter felt her back hairs stand at her Pride Leader's sternness.

"Give my Son some time." She thought to herself, her eyes only on the back of Mistoffelees.

Mistoffelees took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but no words came out. Then he quickly summoned the courage to speak up.

"Jacquie is my friend. She is not a mutt, but, she is not a Cat either."

"She is not?" Macavity asked, letting a soft low-pitched hiss escape his mouth. Munkustrap stepped in front of his Pride members, watching his Mate and Son anxiously. "If Jacquie is not a Cat, then what kind of creature is she?" Macavity asked. Mistoffelees found himself too afraid to answer that question, the question that would make his whole family mad at him. He was too afraid to tell the truth, with all Jellicle eyes on him. Mistoffelees took another deep breath and told his whole Pride the truth. The whole Pride – with the exception of snarls coming from the Pride Leader – was silenced with shock. Every single Jellicle was shocked, angered, and afraid, especially Mistoffelees' Parents. Macavity was enraged.

"No Pride member of mine will befriend any mutt! Especially not my youngest members!"

Macavity took a few deep breaths to cool off his anger before asking Mistoffelees about his siblings. Mistoffelees shook his head and shrugged his tiny shoulders. Macavity looked at Munkustrap and Demeter. The two Jellicle Parents did not want to gather their Kittens for questioning, but they knew that they had to; it was a "silent order". Macavity had the Jellicle Parents walk their Kittens into his room, sitting then in a line from oldest to youngest right in front of him. Munkustrap and Demeter sat close behind their Kittens, anxiously awaiting their Pride Leader to question them.

"Did you Kittens wonder far from home?" Macavity started.

"We were only looking for our Brother, Mystro, Sire." Mungojerrie bravely answered.

"Where did you Kittens go to look for him?" Mungojerrie put his head down and spoke shyly.

"We went to the Hunting Grounds, and then," he stopped himself. The striped Tom Kitten looked into Macavity's calm, but fiery black eyes.

"Where else did you go?" Macavity asked, trying not to sound scary or angry to the Kittens. Mungojerrie took a deep breath.

"Please don't be mad, Sire. We were only looking for Mystro."

"And if we didn't go further than the Hunting Grounds we may have never found him." Rumpelteazer said. Munkustrap and Demeter were nervous. The three adult Jellicles already knew that their Kittens had wandered into Dogwood Forest; the mere thought of their offspring meeting the adults of their enemy sent chills down their spines. Macavity smiled at the Kittens, then at their Parents. Munkustrap and Demeter returned a nervous smile.

"Listen very carefully, Kittens. Family is very important,"

"We know, Sire. That's why…"

"Mungo!" Munkustrap scolded, Macavity lifted his right front paw to silence the Jellicle Father.

"Let your Son speak, Munku. Go on, Mungo."

"I was saying, that's why we were looking for Mystro. He's our Brother, and he is really important to us. And, that's why we had to go to the Forest, we just couldn't find him in the Hunting Grounds." Mungojerrie put his head down, feeling quite a bit of shame for leaving his homeland and entering the homeland of his enemy.

"We're very sorry for disobeying you, Sire." Victoria said, then she turned to her Parents. "Mommy, Daddy, we're all sorry for disobeying you, too." Munkustrap and Demeter smiled at their Kittens as they all apologized.

"You're both right. In fact, all of you Kittens were right to look for your Brother. However, it is also important that the family is safe and sticks together. Especially you Kittens, you are very young and venerable."

"Sire, what does venerable mean?" Electra asked.

"It means that you could be easily harmed, or worse." Munkustrap answered.

"Who knows what creatures may have found either of you in the Forest? We may have never seen any of you again, that's how dangerous it is." The Jellicle gasped, looking at one another, their Parents, and their Pride Leader.

"I understand, now. You don't want any of us to get hurt." Electra said.

"Or lost," Victoria added.

"That's right. Now, give me a hug." Macavity held his front legs and paws open. The Jellicle Kittens dashed to their Pride Leader, hugging him and nuzzling his large black nose. While he was receiving hugs and nose nuzzles Macavity could smell the scent of Wild Dogs on the Kittens.

The Jellicle Kittens left their Pride Leader, dashing to their Mother and following her out of his room. Munkustrap was going to follow after his Mate when Macavity had called him. Munkustrap stood in front of the Pride Leader.

"Yes, Sire?"

"Munku, we need to talk." Macavity gave the Jellicle Father a serious look. Munkustrap could see in his Pride Leader's expression that he was angry and concerned. He could tell that whatever Macavity was going to tell him was about his Kittens – the Future of the Jellicle Pride.

Alpha, Beta, and their Pups were sitting together in their room. Alpha had large pieces of green leaf patched to his forehead, where Macavity's front tooth had made a big, deep scar. The Wild Wolf Parents sat in front of their Pups, scolding them fore discovering that they had played with the offspring of their enemy.

"You Pups know that the Jellicle Cats are dangerous creatures." Alpha said sternly.

"Vici wasn't dangerous." Kyle said with a smile. "She and I had fun together."

"So did me, Sammy, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer." Joshua said.

"Mungojerrie?" Alpha said puzzled.

"Rumpelteazer?" Beta said, just as confused as her Mate at such long, strange names.

Alpha sighed, he gathered his Pups close to him and Beta. The two Wild Wolf Parents hugged and kissed their Pups, the Pups returned the hugs and kisses.

"The five of you must be careful. We do not want any of you to wonder far from home anymore, understood?

"Yes, Daddy."

"And I do not want to hear anything more about the Kittens. Understood?"

"But Daddy…" the Pups complained, only to be hushed by their Father.

"I mean it. I'm sure you Pups and those Kittens did play together and fun. But what if their Parents had come?"

"But they did, Daddy." Kyle said, (mistaking Coricopat for one of Victoria's Parents). "I'm not sure if they were Vici's Mother or her Father, but they took Vici away from me." Kyle started to sob. Sammy gave her baby Brother a hug and a kiss.

"It's ok, don't cry, Kyle." She soothed. Kyle wiped his eyes with his front paws.

"All we were doing was playing tag. Why did Vici have to leave so soon?" Kyle's older siblings gave him hugs and kisses, saying soothing words to calm him.

"Perhaps those Cats felt unsafe near my Son. What a shame! How could they traumatize him so!" Beta thought to herself.

Alpha and Beta exchanged a glance,

"It's time for your nap." Alpha and Beta wrapped their large warm bodies around their Pups. One by one four of the five Wolf Pups fell asleep. Jacquie remained awake, nervously tapping her tiny black paws on her room floor.

"What's the matter, dear?" Beta asked.

"I'm not sleepy."

"Why not?" Jacquie looked at her Father. Alpha gave Jacquie a gentle smile. Jacquie looked at the room floor, too scared to say what, and who she was thinking about. Beta nuzzled her Daughter's nose; Jacquie could feel herself ready to cry.

"Can I tell you outside, Mommy? Only you, please."

"Of course, dear." Beta stood, leaving an open gap for her daughter to walk through. Jacquie and Beta walked outside of their cave into their front yard. Beta laid her stomach on the cool green grass. Jacquie started to chase a white Butterfly when her Mother called. Jacquie dashed right in front of Beta. "What's the matter, dear?" She asked. Jacquie put her head down.

"Do you promise not to tell Daddy?"

"Ok,"

"Or anyone else?"

"I promise."

Jacquie took a deep breath, sat on the cool green front yard grass, and told her Mother about her new friend. Beta listened to her oldest Daughter; attentive to all of the details from when her Daughter met the Jellicle Kitten, to how she had "lost" him.

"I barely knew Mistoffelees, but I miss him, Mommy." Jacquie whimpered. Beta wrapped her front legs around her Daughter.

"I'm glad that you were able to have fun. I am also glad that the adult Cat did not harm you."

"Mommy, are you glad that Mistoffelees and I are friends?" Beta could not answer her Daughter's question right away; it was going to take some thought.

"I'm, I'm glad that the Kitten did not harm you, Jacquie,"

"Are you glad that he and I are friends, now?"

"Jacquie, I'm glad that you were able to play, with the Kitten, without getting hurt. Now…"

"Mommy, Mistoffelees is my friend. He'd never hurt me, Mommy, never."

"I'm sure he wouldn't hurt you,"

"At least not for now."

"Do you not like him because he is a Cat?"

"It's not that I don't like him, I fear his kind."

"You shouldn't be afraid of Mistoffelees, he's my best friend. He's as big as me, and he's very funny." Jacquie giggled, her Mother smiled. "He's really nice, and fun to be with, I wonder if I'll ever see him again." Beta sighed.

"Those evil creatures traumatized my Daughter. Not only her but their own Son. How could they be so cruel!"

Jacquie gave her Mother a hug, Beta started to clean her Daughter to calm herself.

After speaking with his Kittens – (about the dangers of Dogwood Forest and the Wild Dogs) – Munkustrap took them into the front yard to play. The Jellicle Tom happily watched his Kittens play with their Uncles, Pouncival, Tumblebrutus, Carbucketty and Crackerbarrel – and their Aunts, Violet, Etcetera, Jemima and Bombalurina. It did not take long for Munkustrap to notice that only four of his Kittens were playing together.

"Where is Mistoffelees?"

Munkustrap looked around the front yard; he found his youngest Son lying by a small boulder all by himself. As Munkustrap approached his Son he could see his sad face. Mistoffelees nervously tapped his tiny front paws on the front yard ground as his Father approached him. Munkustrap laid right in front of Mistoffelees; he smiled as his Mistoffelees looked him in the eyes.

"What's the matter, Son?" Mistoffelees wiped his eyes with his tiny white paws. He looked away from his Father, staring at the dust fogging the horizon of his backyard. Munkustrap curled his large warm body around his youngest Son.

"It's not fair." Mistoffelees said.

"What's not fair, Son?" Mistofelees sighed.

"Daddy, I miss Jacquie. She and I are good friends."

"Oh, Mystro."

"Daddy, it's true. Jacquie is different from other Wild Dogs."

"How?" Munkustrap accidentally asked, meaning to keep his thought to himself. Mistoffelees stood in front of his Father.

"Daddy, if you had a friend like Jacquie, and your Mommy took you away from her, wouldn't you be sad?"

"Mistoffelees," Munkustrap took a deep breath. "If I were taken away from a Wild Dog it was for a good reason…"

"But Jacquie isn't evil, Daddy. She's really nice. She's my friend, and I'm sure she would be your friend, too."

"Maybe." Munkustrap placed his large right paw on Mistoffelees's head; rubbing it gently first, then giving his Son a nuggie. Mistoffelees laughed and playfully fought with his Father.

As the day went on the creature family Leaders took sometime to themselves to collect their own thoughts, as well as the thoughts of their offspring.

Alpha sighed heavily; although he felt some hope that his Pups would be able to play with other creatures' offspring, he still did not want his Pups anywhere near the offspring of his and every Wild Dogs' enemy. Mean while, Macavity had fears that his Jellicle Nieces and Nephews were being influenced and brainwashed by the Wild Dogs – adult and offspring alike.

"I cannot allow such terrible brainwashing to continue. Our Kittens will not commit treason, they will not stoop down to the mutts' level! Every single mutt must be killed, including their own offspring!..."

Macavity paced around his front yard, thinking up strategies, and reasonable punishments for the Kittens wandering from their homeland. Alpha decided to keep a close eye on his Pups himself; even though he was quite a busy Pack Leader. Both creature Family Leaders would make sure that their offspring would not enter their enemies' territory, nor meet the offspring or adults of their enemy anymore – and at any costs.