A/N: Sorry for the long wait! School and dance practice keep eating up my time. Anyway, this chapter contains a bar fight and...other things. Enjoy! Don't forget to review! You guys seem to read and forget to leave a comment...
Jennyanydots awoke feeling groggier than usual. It was probably since she had been fretting about her problem with Skimbleshanks enough last night that it had taken a toll on her sleep. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with a wide yawn. Glancing around, she observed her parents setting the table for breakfast, and Demeter and Munkustrap still sleeping in each other's hold in the middle of the den. Jenny silently stood up and tip-toed around the pair so she wouldn't wake them up.
Remgail smiled a tacit good morning to his daughter. Annasta smirked and greeted wryly, "Come to join us for the beginning of breakfast for once, eh honey?" Jenny giggled softly as her mother went back to her pan on the stove and turned the heat up. After a few minutes, she laid a few freshly caught mice on the hot pan and added some spices for taste. The aroma of the cooking meat soon filled the den, making Jenny's mouth water.
When the food was almost done, Remgial nudged the young yellow and orange tabby and requested quietly, "Can you please wake up Munk and Demeter? I'm sure they'd want breakfast, too."
Jenny nodded and walked over to the sleeping pair on the floor. She crouched down and prodded the black and gold queen's shoulder. Demeter's eyes fluttered open and she smiled as the smell of mouse entered her nose. Her smile immediately faded as her eyes followed the line of Munk's foreleg down to his paw, which was resting on her shoulder. She glanced helplessly at Jenny for an explanation, but her older friend merely smiled bemusedly. Demeter's eyes widened as she remembered the events of last night and Jenny let out an unpermitted giggle as a blush spread over the black and gold queen's stunned face. Dem gently removed Munk's foreleg from around her shoulders, separated her fingers from his other paw, and shifted herself away from him. When she was far enough away, she stood up with a sigh of relief.
Even in his sleep, Munkstrap noticed the space beside him was inexplicably empty and there was a significant loss of body heat. He reluctantly opened his eyes to discover Demeter had left his side. Looking up, his lips formed a weak smile as he found what he was looking for. "Good morning Dem, Jenny. Is that breakfast I smell?" He queried in a hoarse voice.
"Yeah," the yellow and orange tabby queen replied, "do you want some? We're having fried mouse." Munk nodded as best as he could without disturbing the healing gashes on his cheek.
Annasta served the cooked mice and Demeter took an extra plate to the silver tabby. She ate beside him and fed him the mouse, as he was barely recovered enough to prop himself onto his elbows, let alone lean over and use the fork and knife.
Jennyanydots ate at the table, and breakfast was quiet for the first few minutes or so. Not enjoying the lack of conversation, Remgail looked to his daughter and questioned innocently, "So, any news with you and Skimbleshanks, Jenny?"
The young queen sighed like she was bored already. She picked at her half-eaten mouse to delay answering. After a minute she shrugged, "He came last night to ask me out to the new pub on Friday. I said yes. End of story."
The calico tom raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Is that so?" He commented with interest. In a more serious voice he added, "You know what we think about pubs, right honey?"
"Yes Dad," Jenny answered in a sarcastic monotone, "Pubs are where cats go to have a good time, have a few drinks, and then go home. No big deal."
Annasta made a slight noise of disapproval. She set her jaw and said sternly, "Now, I'm not doubting your or Skimble's judgement, but what happens if one of you gets drunk? Bast forbid someone spikes your drink with one of those terrible drugs everyone seems to have their paws on these days! Would it be a big deal then?"
Jenny averted her gaze and bit her lip at the mention of narcotics. "Drugs…" She mumbled absentmindedly, thinking back to the incident with Macavity and his sleazy friends.
"Something wrong, dear?" The older yellow tabby queen asked gently. She reached a paw across the table to her daughter, who appeared to go into a short trance.
The younger tabby queen started as she felt her mother's paw on hers, and shook her head fervently. "N-no...Nothing's wrong. I'll be careful at the bar, and I know Skimble will protect me. You have nothing to worry about." She replied hastily in an unconvincing voice. Annasta furrowed her brow and was about to press the matter further, but a knock from the den entrance distracted her.
The family turned their heads in the direction of the entrance and Remgail called out, "Come in!"
Grizabella slowly padded inside the den. Her elegant, ebony fur was disheveled and there were bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept a wink last night. Her face was a mixture of concern, anxiety, and fear. Her countenance brightened imperceptibly as her eyes landed on her second-oldest son.
"Good morning, Grizabella. Has something happened? You don't look well." Annasta greeted with a hint of worry to her tone. She motioned to a chair and the troubled queen sat down with a heavy sigh.
The elderly black queen thought for a moment, trying to decide how best to phrase her problem. "I'm relieved to see that Munkustrap is healing nicely under your care. He's only part of the reason I'm here. Macavity has been being…difficult, to say the least. I came to-"
"Difficult how?" Jenny interrupted with her head cocked to the side. A sharp glare from her mother made her mumble an apology.
Grizabella smiled a little as she resumed, "It's alright. Macavity has been going absolutely feral ever since he received his punishment. He's tried to escape numerous times and my mate has had Coricopat and Tantomile place a barrier around our den so he wouldn't. Old Deuteronomy, Rum Tum Tugger and I have moved into a spare one for now. Macavity won't eat, he refuses to sleep, and he keeps muttering about 'needing it', but he never tells us what 'it' is. It's heartbreaking to see my son reduced to this…shadow of himself. I came here to ask if you could let Munkustrap stay here until things calm down a bit. Would that be alright with you?" Her smile was back to a frown by the end of her explanation.
Remgail and Annasta nodded without hesitation. "Of course. It would be our pleasure to house your son for however long you need." The former answered.
The tension on the ebony queen's face released slightly. "Thank you so much. I know you'll take good care of him. I'd better be going. It was nice seeing you." She bid farewell and left the den looking slightly more relaxed.
"Grizabella, wait!" Jenny called out before the elderly queen completely disappeared out the entrance. She backed up and faced Jenny with a furrowed brow, waiting for her to continue. After a few seconds of gathering her thoughts, the words began to tumble out of her mouth. "I think I know why Macavity's been acting this way. A few nights ago Jelly and I saw him with a bunch of toms, the same ones that attacked us last week, and they said they didn't want to sell him drugs anymore. We accidentally came across them while they were talking and Macavity told us that if we tell anyone he's addicted to drugs, he'll hurt Skimble." She finished panting, and the cats around her were all stunned for a moment.
Munkustrap's mother was the first to break the heavy silence. Her countenance resumed its worried expression. "My son…is a drug addict? I can't believe it…Is this why he's been acting so strangely?" She murmured as she made the connections in her mind. Grizabella glanced up with a great sadness in her eyes.
Remgail and Annasta reluctantly nodded their heads. The former explained gently, "Macavity must be going through a withdrawal from whatever drug he was addicted to. This is quite normal behaviour and should last a month or so, if not less. Just don't let him have any more and keep a constant eye on him. I've seen this behaviour in my human's mate before he gave in to temptation and went to prison for stealing drugs. It's not pretty, but Macavity will come out a healthier tom."
The ebony queen smiled grimly at the family of three in front of her. "Thank you again. You've eased my worries a lot, now that I know the reasoning behind Macavity's actions. I understand now. Good day to you all." She said gratefully and left the den.
Jenny's parents congratulated their daughter on her courage to tell the truth, but the young tabby queen was far from proud or happy with herself. Even though her confession had helped Macavity and his family, it had also put Skimble in grave danger. Was Grizabella going to tell her eldest son who told her about his secret problem? She doubted it, but the ginger tom could easily find out just my reading his mother's mind. Jenny hoped he was too preoccupied with his current withdrawal process to bother with Grizabella's memories.
By the time Friday rolled around, there had been no update from Grizabella or her family. Jenny assumed that no progress had been made and therefore Skimbleshanks was still safe. She turned her thoughts towards her tomfriend to get her mind off of her current worries, but this just brought upon a whole new wave of unease. Jenny still wasn't sure if she should tell Skimble the truth about herself. Her sensible conscious knew it was the right thing to do, but the more insecure part of it blatantly protested with feelings of false guilt and conjured up mental scenarios of how Skimble would take it. All of them ended up in a heart-wrenching breakup. The yellow and orange tabby queen convinced herself that if she told her tomfriend who she really was, there would be no more relationship. That was something Jenny refused to let happen.
As usual, Jellylorum was Jenny's one-queen prep team for her date. While said queen was busy brushing out her friend's fur she reminded her sternly, "Are you going to tell Skimble the truth tonight?"
Jenny shrugged. "You know how it is with me…I don't know. Maybe." She said vapidly.
In the reflection of the mirror, Jelly placed her paws on her hips. Her lips were a tight line and she waved the brush in her paw around as she spoke for extra emphasis. "Why is it so hard for you to tell the truth? It's not like he's going to dump you if you just explain everything to him. Skimble's not that shallow. You, on the other paw…" Her tone took on a sarcastic uncertainty.
"Hey! I am not shallow! I just have self-esteem issues around toms…That make me cover them up with white lies…That I have trouble admitting…I am not shallow!" She repeated with her forelegs crossed over her chest indignantly.
The brown and white tabby queen rolled her eyes and resumed brushing her friend's fur out. "Whatever floats your boat…" Jelly sighed. When she was finished she fastened Jenny's usual collar on.
Jenny fingered the piece of leather around her neck and queried, "Why not my pearls? I'm going on a date; I want to look decent."
Jelly shook her head. "You're going to a bar, remember? Cats will do anything to get their paws on fancy jewelry like yours. It's safer this way." She explained and turned her head to look out the den entrance. The setting sun's rays didn't reach the earth very well. Instead of bathing everything in orange and gold, the sky and ground simply got darker. Jelly turned Jenny around and gently pushed her out the den entrance. "You're done. Go meet Skimble and don't forget what I told you!" She said in farewell as Jenny walked off towards the junkyard gate.
The sky was covered in dark grey clouds, which obscured the sunset effectively. The yellow and orange tabby queen felt uneasy as she glanced up at the menacing clouds. A storm was sure to come tonight. The weather conditions got pushed to the back of her mind when she spotted Skimble leaning on the fence, whistling a tune. The sound ceased when he saw his queenfriend.
"Good evening, Miss Jenny. You look quite the bonnie lass tonight, I must say. Shall we go?" The orange tabby tom greeted with a charming smile.
Jenny felt herself avert her gaze as the feelings of guilt returned. She didn't deserve to have someone as gentletomly as Skimble be her tomfriend when she could barely look him in the eye and tell him the truth. The railway tom merely took her expression as bashfulness. He and Jenny walked down the sidewalk at a brisk pace in hopes of beating the imminent rain.
Along the way, the tabby queen finally pushed her guilt away and found her voice. "What's the bar called, Skimble? How far is it?" She questioned softly.
Skimble pursed his lips and thought for a moment before answering, "It's called 'The Poker Face Pub'. It's about a block away from your workplace. If we can get there, then the rest of the trip will be pretty straightforward. If we get caught in the rain, you can always spend the night at my place; it's closer to the train station than back to the junkyard." His voice quieted on the last phrase as his brain caught up with what his mouth was saying.
"I'm sure my parents won't mind too much. They keep saying how responsible and kind you are. I'm sure they trust you enough to be sure you won't try anything." Jenny replied as she smiled inwardly at Skimble's shyness. He was modest to the point of being humorous, compared to the regular, impatient toms who wanted to get a queen into bed as soon as possible.
The orange tabby tom cleared his throat to draw the attention away from his words. He felt completely embarrassed that he had practically invited Jenny to sleep with him. "Even if it does end up that way, I won't allow myself to go further than a kiss and a cuddle, at most. Coilin would disown me if I actually mated with her and Miss Jenny's parents would most likely forbid me from seeing their daughter…after Remgail beats me to a pulp. With that said, I can't get drunk tonight. It would be very irresponsible of me and dangerous to Miss Jenny." He mentally vowed to himself. Skimble pointed ahead of him. "Why don't you take the lead, Miss Jenny? You must know the route to the vet hospital much better than I do." He offered humbly.
Jenny bit her lip and hastily replied, "Not really, umm…My parents, Jelly, and I are only needed in emergencies, which fortunately don't happen that often, so I don't go there as much as you think. The lead is all yours." In truth, Jenny had no idea where the veterinary hospital that she supposedly "worked at" was. She vaguely had the general area in her mind, but she didn't have a clue as to which streets to take.
Skimble shrugged and didn't seem to take notice of her quickened tone. "I see. That's very interesting. What kinds of cases do you usually get called in for?" He queried in earnest.
The yellow and orange tabby queen waved her paw around casually as she answered, "Oh, sometimes we get cases where a cat has been attacked by a pollicle, hit by a car, or abused by humans. It can be quite gruesome sometimes." She breathed an inward sigh of relief. Jenny had gotten off the hook for this one quite easily, but she found it was getting less difficult to fib to Skimble. Her stomach churned with guilt. Honestly, the most gruesome injury she had ever treated was Munk's burn. She had no idea what a mauled cat looked like because no one in the junkyard had ever been attacked by a pollicle. Old Deuteronomy ensured none ever entered the junkyard and he didn't allow anyone to venture outside the fence alone at night.
The railway tom nodded in agreement. "I can relate. I've seen one or two stupid, inattentive cats get run over by a train. Of course they never live through it, but I'm just saying I've seen my fair share of gore. Trains don't stop for anything that blocks their way. It's not like they can, anyway. If you're unlucky enough to be in the path of an oncoming train, you're not going to live to see another day. That doesn't account for the casualties in the fires, though…" He trailed off, appearing to become lost in a distant memory.
"…Fires? What fires?" Jenny prompted, bringing her tomfriend back to the present.
Skimble shook his head and resumed in a saddened tone, "It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes a fire breaks out from a leaky oil tank or explosive cargo. You get a spark from a faulty wire or a light bulb and the whole thing goes up in flames, passenger cars and cargo alike. Part of my job on the Midnight Mail is to make sure there isn't anything that could start a fire on the more fragile train cars."
"Your job is much more important than you give it credit for. They're lucky to have someone like you on board." The yellow and orange tabby queen commented. Skimble merely smiled slightly in acknowledgement. The rest of the trip to the bar was spent in comfortable silence.
Upon arriving at the new pub, Jenny took a moment to take it in. The last time she had been to a bar was when she, Jelly, Demeter, and Macavity had celebrated Demeter's birthday the previous year. The building was clearly recently built and didn't have the shady feel of the cheaper pubs Macavity had taken her and her friends to. This one had a bright red and blue neon sign that read "The Poker Face Pub" on a background of three playing cards. From what she could see through the windows, a lot of humans were drinking, dancing, and sitting around watching the two visible flat-screen TV's bolted to the corners of the ceiling. Others were sitting around at poker tables lining the sides of the already cramped bar, gambling away their wages. Jenny stepped forward to go inside, but suddenly felt a paw on her shoulder that held her back.
"Where do you think you're going? That's not the way we go in." Skimble chuckled as he led his queenfriend down an alley on the side of the building. The young tabby queen was a tad perplexed. Every bar she had ever been to was run exclusively by cats. She had always entered through the front door. Apparently there were also co-bars for both humans and cats.
Skimble let Jenny go once they reached the back door of the pub. A few cats were waiting in line while others hung around, smoking cigarettes. The door was open and two rather burly toms were taking fees from their customers. They each had a belt with a pistol, dagger, and coin pouch around their waists.
Jenny's ears drooped in fear at the sight of them, but Skimble chuckled at her reaction and rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "Don't be scared, I know these guys. They work at the station unloading the heavier cargo in the day and at various bars as ushers at night. They're a jolly pair; you have nothing to worry about." He reassured the worried queen.
The yellow and orange tabby nodded, but she didn't dare come out of Skimble's hold. They waited in line for a few minutes as the cats ahead of them got admitted into the bar. Skimble counted the coins in his waistcoat pocket as the tom in front of them made his way down the staircase and into the basement of the bar. Music and the din of voices poured out of the doorway; it was clear that word got around quickly even though this was only the bar's first night open. Although Jenny couldn't see what lied beyond the stairs to the bowels of the pub, she was sure the party was already well underway.
One of the ushers smiled as Skimble handed him some coins. As his partner counted them, the second brawny tom greeted with a deep laugh, "Hey, look what the pollicle dragged in! Scotchy! How have you been doing these days? We hardly get to see you anymore!" He grabbed Skimble in a headlock and affectionately ruffled his headfur. The much smaller tom squirmed and let out a choked laugh before he was finally released.
The first usher glanced up as he pocketed the coins. He smirked knowingly as he recognized Skimble. "I think I know why. You've got a belle fille with you tonight! May we ask your name, mademoiselle?" He asked in a thick French accent.
Jenny smiled timidly as she introduced herself. "My name is Jennyanydots. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The French tom and his buddy patted Skimble on the back and stepped aside to let the pair of lovers through. What was meant to be an encouraging pat made the orange tabby tom stumble forward and almost fall down the stairs. He caught himself on the stair rail. "Give her a good baiser for us, oui?" The Francophone tom shouted after Skimble. Both ushers then turned their attention to the next cat in line. Skimble smiled as he smoothed his waistcoat and ran his fingers through his headfur to make it look decent again.
The yellow and orange queen cocked her head as she and her tomfriend made their way into the pub. The set-up was much the same as upstairs, only cat-sized. The noise also became much louder. "What did he mean, Skimble? I don't speak French!" Jenny queried in a half-yell. Even though the aforementioned tom was right beside her, the noise from the music and voices made talking in a normal volume impossible.
Skimble scratched his headfur and if it weren't for the dim lighting, Jenny would have seen him blush. He cupped Jenny's ear and spoke into it so he wouldn't have to yell, "He said he wanted me to kiss you."
Jenny raised an eyebrow and shook her head with a giggle. "If it's not violence with you toms, it's comments about queens!" The orange tabby tom merely shrugged and led her through the crowd to the bar at the opposite end of the room. There they sat down on a couple of stools and Skimble ordered their drinks. He ordered a Scotch and Jenny ordered a whiskey.
As the bartender prepared their beverages Jenny furrowed her brow and turned to her tomfriend. "Why did one of them call you 'Scotchy'?" She asked.
The orange tabby tom laughed, but Jenny could only see his chest vibrate with the action. The sound was drowned out. Skimble leaned in towards Jenny and told her, "For two reasons: My favourite drink is a good Scotch and I'm notorious for getting drunk off my ass at the local pub." When he saw her concerned expression he added seriously, "I won't get tipsy tonight, I've got you to worry about. I promise, Miss Jenny." His queenfriend smiled and nuzzled him appreciatively.
The bartender handed the pair their drinks and Skimble fished another two coins from his pocket. The tom manning the bar nodded and slipped them into a pouch around his waist. As Jenny sipped her whiskey, she took in the crowd of felines around her. Most were sweating due to the considerable increase in body heat that such close quarters tend to create. They were dancing in the middle of the room and some were playing cards and smoking around the tables along the sides of the space. She looked back to the dance floor, but quickly averted her eyes to focus on her drink. They were dancing quite sensually, and it made her shudder. Not only that, but others were shamelessly making out in public. She would never do either unless something seriously impaired her sense of judgment. Jenny stared accusingly at her whiskey for a moment, took one more sip, and pushed it away. She only got to take one more sip anyway because Skimble downed his drink in one gulp and closed his paw around her arm.
"Care to dance, Miss Jenny?" The orange tabby tom purred to his queenfriend. She giggled in confirmation and Skimble towed her to the dance floor. They didn't have much of a choice but to dance close together since the multitude of cats was so dense. Skimble wound his arms around Jenny's petite waist as she did the same with his neck. She rested her head on his warm chest as they moved in unison to the music. A slower song was on, but that didn't stop the other pairs of queens and toms from getting any less erotic. Some even broke off from the crowd and disappeared behind the doors on either side of the bar.
Jenny followed one pair with her eyes as they went through one of the doors. She glanced up at Skimble and inquired, "What are they doing behind those doors?"
In response the orange tabby tom pressed Jenny much closer by considerably tightening his grip. Jenny's breath hitched in her throat as the message became clear and Skimble loosened his hold. She couldn't suppress the involuntary shiver of pleasure that followed, though. Behind those doors were one-night stands that she would rather not go into detail thinking about. The pair continued dancing and Jenny caught the eye of a cream and black-patched tom who was sitting at one of the poker tables. He took a swing of the beer bottle he held in his paw. She immediately averted her gaze, but looked back at him a few seconds later to see that he was still staring at her. Jenny shifted uneasily and Skimble glanced down at her with a creased brow.
"Is something wrong?" Skimble asked in concern.
Jenny pointed to the table where the cream and black tom sat, but immediately lowered her paw when she realized he wasn't there anymore. "I swear there was just a tom at that table who was staring at me…" She said with a perplexed voice.
Skimble turned around as he felt someone tap him on the shoulder from behind. He released Jenny and the pair turned around to face the cat. It was the cream and black-patched tom. Upon closer inspection, Jenny observed that he was quite leaner than Skimble and had slanted, electrifying blue eyes. He was clearly a Siamese mix, and dashing to boot.
The tom dipped his head respectfully before greeting smoothly in an Irish accent, "I couldn't help but notice you two were the only remotely modest pair in this whole pub. I myself am looking for a decent queen. Do you mind if I dance with her, Skimble?" Apparently the two toms were familiar with each other.
The orange tabby tom's ears flattened against his skull as he protectively placed an arm around Jenny's shoulders. "Yes, I do mind. Miss Jenny is my queenfriend. Please leave us be or there will be trouble, Anubis." He sneered at the intruding tom.
The cream and black tom didn't stop smirking as he continued sarcastically, "C'mon, don't you think Jenny here deserves an obviously better-looking, stronger, and more accomplished tom instead of a pansy like you?"
Jenny was starting to feel angry just like her tomfriend. "Who do you think you are? How dare you insult Skimble!" She snarled fiercely. This just seemed to make Anubis smile more. Jenny felt Skimble inexplicably freeze in place beside her.
"I work with your tomfriend on the Midnight Mail, my fair maiden. We're good pals, so it's all cool. I'm also at a higher rank than he is. Come dance with me?" The cream and black-patched tom purred seductively. He reached a paw out to caress Jenny's cheek and no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't look or flinch away. It was almost as if he was hypnotizing her. She quivered with pleasure as Anubis' fingers trailed down her neck and collarbone and he stepped forward to sensually trace her cleavage. It was only when Jenny felt his lips passionately capture hers that she was vaguely aware that Skimble came out of his trance. She heard a feral snarl and suddenly Anubis was sent reeling backwards.
"Don't touch her! Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of, you sleazy Conjurer!" The orange tabby tom bellowed as he went to attack Anubis again. The cream and black tom quickly recovered, but not before Skimble slugged him across the face once more. Anubis stumbled back, but remained standing. He was prepared for the next blow and deflected the tabby tom's punch with his beer bottle. Flesh met glass and the bottle shattered at the impact. Skimble yelped in pain and retreated to gingerly hold his bleeding right paw. When he looked up again, Anubis was nowhere to be seen.
Jenny was left dazed by what she now knew to be a hypnosis spell. Anubis was gone and Skimble was whimpering, holding a paw dripping with blood. Glass shards were strewn about on the floor. Cats had ceased dancing to give the fighting toms some space. Most were staring at her and Skimble in horror or fear. Jenny pulled the orange tabby tom away and rushed to the front of the room, where the bar was. She pushed one of the doors marked "washrooms" open and strode down the hall, ignoring the erotic couples along the way. She pulled open the door to the washroom for queens, ignoring Skimble's vehement protests. Luckily, there was no one there. Jenny stuck his injured paw under the cold water in the sink, and he forced himself to keep it there despite the sharp, stinging pain.
As the water kept the blood away, the yellow and orange tabby queen quickly plucked the surprisingly few shards of broken glass out and threw them in the trash. Skimble bit down on his free paw to suppress a yowl at each one. When all the glass was out, Jenny removed a roll of toilet paper and used that to staunch the flow of blood. The first five rounds immediately got soaked with the red fluid, but as the more times she pressed the thin paper to the wound, the more time it took for the blood to consume the toilet paper. After about fifteen minutes, the bleeding was under control and had significantly decreased. Jenny had gone through the whole roll by that point, and the inside of the trash can was red instead of black.
"Stay out in the hall; I'll go ask the bartender for a first-aid kit." Jenny said as she and her tomfriend left the bathroom.
Skimble chuckled and asked, "Why didn't you do that in the first place?"
"I wanted to get the wound under control first. I'll be right back." The yellow and orange tabby queen stated with no humor in her voice. She disappeared down the hall and came back a few minutes later with a small, white box marked with a red cross. She took out the gauze and disinfectant and sprayed it on the wound. Skimble hissed loudly in pain, but let Jenny hold his paw as she bandaged it.
When it was all done, the orange tabby inspected his paw. It was perfectly wrapped and he felt nothing more than a pulsating throb. He nuzzled his queenfriend gratefully. "Thank you Miss Jenny. I'm so sorry about Anubis. We obviously aren't the best of friends. He used a spell on me, so I couldn't move. Did he do anything to you?"
Jenny had been so concerned over Skimble that she had completely forgotten about herself. Anubis had not hurt her physically, but he rattled her mentally. Never before had she met someone as selfish, lustful, and dangerous as him. "I'm fine, he didn't hurt me." She replied unconvincingly. A notion came up from the back of her mind. Anubis had taken her first kiss. Jenny felt the anger boil up inside of her again, but it manifested itself into tears and sobs. "He stole my first kiss…I know I shouldn't be so upset, but it's something I'll never be able to repeat…Kisses are very important to queens and my first one was wasted..."
"Oh no…Next time I see Anubis at work, I'll make sure to give him a good punch for the both of us." Skimble promised as he pulled Jenny into a hug. He guided her out of the hallway and back into the crowd. It was as if the fight had never happened, except for the spilled beer and pieces of glass everyone avoided. Skimble led his queenfriend out of the pub, only to be met with a torrential downpour. As if to make the storm's arrival official, thunder boomed and lighting flashed across the sky. Cats and humans alike who were caught in the rain quickly dove for cover under the eaves of shops or houses. The pair walked briskly to the train station, as Skimble had offered earlier. He ushered Jenny into the cargo car that was his den. There, Jenny changed his gauze once again because the rain had soaked through it. She lit a fire in Skimble's small furnace and the tabby tom threw some old newspapers in as extra kindling.
Jenny and Skimble sat in front of the glowing furnace, warming themselves up. The former couldn't stop shivering, so the orange tabby tom got up and retrieved two of the thickest blankets from his nest, along with a couple of pillows. He tucked both around Jenny's shoulders and removed his waistcoat to hang it on the back of his chair to dry.
"Don't you want one, too?" The yellow and orange tabby queen asked, gesturing to one of her blankets. It was the first thing she had said since they had left the bar.
Skimble shook his head. "You need it more than I do." He smiled, but Jenny could plainly see he was trying hard not to give into the cold and shiver uncontrollably.
Jenny narrowed her eyes at her tomfriend. "I'm not blind, Skimble. I can see you're shivering more than a leaf in the wind. Please?" She said sternly, offering him a blanket.
The orange tabby tom sighed in annoyance, but once he had the blanket, he wrapped it as tightly as he could around himself and purred gratefully. Skimble stood up again to turn off the light and get another blanket, but this time he spread it out on the floor in front of the furnace, took a pillow, and made himself comfortable on the makeshift cot. He beckoned to Jenny to lie down beside him. Jenny willingly accepted and she cuddled up next to him, happy to have another heat source. For a few moments, nothing could be heard except for their breathing, the rain on the roof of the shed, and the crackling of the fire.
Jenny felt Skimble shift beside her as he pulled his blanket to cover them both. He didn't retract his paw after he had tucked the fabric around Jenny's shoulders, though. Skimble simply held her and slid his opposite arm under her head to create another cushion for her. When she didn't protest after a minute or so he whispered, "Jenny?"
The yellow and orange tabby queen partially turned over to look at Skimble. She was about to comment that he hadn't said the word 'Miss' before her name and she found that amusing, but he silenced any words with an innocent, gentle kiss on her lips. It lasted one moment, and then two, before he pulled away. A wave of bliss swept through Jenny's body as she felt a smile creep across her face. Skimble's teeth glimmered in the firelight above her as it illuminated half of his face in a soft glow that matched his fur. He was smiling tenderly down at her. "Goodnight." The orange tabby tom murmured as he settled himself down again and closed his eyes to go to sleep. Jenny let her own eyes droop shut and she sighed in contentment as she snuggled closer to Skimble. The stressful events at the pub dissipated from her mind, and nothing was left but a feeling of peaceful serenity as she fell asleep to the even breathing and heartbeat of the tom beside her.