HAT: Sorry that it's been so long, but there are a lot of stories and I got the flu (not anymore), then I lost quite a bit of inspiration because Snow Miser and Heat Miser have been taking over my brain for weeks (not exaggerating) so... yeah.

Disclaimer: Much to my dismay I don't own Cats... though I own Lyon, Sashimi, Tyger, the plot, and other OCs I throw in there... YAY! Oh, and don't worry, the Jellicles'll come in soon! He's gonna meet Skimble in a few chapters... I think...

Lyon sits on top of a pile of luggage, mind running rampant. He doesn't understand. He's been trying to conjure an image of his brother all day, but nothing comes to mind. No voice, eyes, personality, or anything. He knows that he's had a brother, but to think that he'd forgotten everything about him is incomprehensible. He tears his claws through his head fur in frustration and a small sense of grief. He just lost everything between his first memory as a kitten to his last memory of his brother. Absolutely everything until Sashimi found him.

"Lyon?"

He straightens up any his eyes immediately lock onto his mentor. "Y-yes?"

He hadn't expected her to be back from her meeting with the other Railway Cats so soon. It was supposed to be all day, but apparently that is not the case.

His blue-gray eyes can see that she wants to question him, but, much to his relief, she discards whatever questions she has and walks forward, taking a strand of his head fur. "I suppose your beautiful long head fur would have to get cut at some point."

He winces and puts his arms protectively over his head. Every since getting on the train he's kept his head fur growing and it was down to his shoulders, swept back to stay out of his eyes sometimes and other times flopping to the side of his face. Sashimi had once asked if he wanted it cut, but he vigorously refused and she agreed that he had wonderful head fur. To think of cutting his head fur is nearly unthinkable.

"I don't wanna," he insists, much like a kitten (kit-kid/older child, kitten- baby/very young child).

"Don't worry," she coos, her fingers running gently through his head fur. "I won't make you look bad and will only take off enough so that it's even... okay?"

He nods. "Okay..."

Her fingers run through his head fur and her claws cut at his head fur. He watches in dismay as the gray and black fur falls to the ground and then closes his eyes to keep from seeing it anymore. He decides to focus on the feeling of her fingers running through his head fur and how nice it feels instead of how it sounds when she cuts some fur off. Suddenly she stops and his head feels much lighter. He's afraid to open his eyes because he knows there's a mirror in front of him and he doesn't want to see his short head fur.

"Come on, it looks nice," Sashimi insists and when he doesn't move she sighs. "You have to open your eyes eventually."

He cracks open his eyes and then looks in the mirror and blinks. He looks older than he last remembered and with the head fur cut he looks older than that. His head fur flops to the right side of his face and the rest of it is swept back. He touches the short stands and murmurs something along the lines of "so short, but I like it" before he focuses on his eyes. He's startled at how dull they look. He's seen so many kits his age with bright, vibrant eyes, but his eyes don't have that vibrancy. They look haunted and scared and void of hope.

"Are those really my eyes?" he asks before looking up at Sashimi.

She nods sadly. "Yes."

He looks back at his eyes and then at her. "How do I change them?"

"By taking care of your troubles... what's been bothering you?"

Lyon immediately starts to clam up and bites his bottom lip. "N-nothing," he mutters, unable to look up from the ground.

She sighs and puts down the mirror and sits beside him, tail now around her apprentice. "I'm your mentor. You can talk to me about anything and I'll help you through it."

After several minutes of silent contemplation Lyon sighs. "My brother..."

"What about him?"

"I... I don't remember him."

The yellow-orange queen blinks. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't remember anything about him. I don't remember what he looks like, what his name is, what we did, nothing. Everything from before I met you is just... gone." His mentor is silent and then blue-gray eyes lookup at her. "How can you help me through that?"

"I honestly don't know, but... we'll get through it. It's best to think about the present rather than worrying about the future or dwelling on the past."

"I don't have a past to dwell on," he protests.

"You're still dwelling over it even if you don't remember," she points out.

Lyon sighs. "Okay, I get it..."

"Good. Now, let's get your mind off of it and get ready for work."

"Okay," he says, getting up. "I guess I'll have to clean the fur?"

"Of course," she says with a smile before flicking his nose with her tail. "How about this? Next time I meet with the Head Cat, you come with me? I hear he's got an apprentice now that's about your age."

Lyon smiles, remembering hearing about the Head Railway Cat during his first week on the train. "Okay!"

He jumps up and grabs the broom and pan to clean up while she goes to deal with paperwork. He shivers at the thought of having to do paperwork again. The only real downside he can see in being a Railway Cat. He decides to focus on the task at hand and finds it much more of a relief than if he thought about anything else. Still, there's the night to worry about...

HAT: Welp... This is rushed isn't it?

Jasper: Just a little bit.

HAT: *shoves Jasper out* You're not in this story!

Gus: That wasn't very nice.

HAT: *shrugs* Who said I'm always nice?

Gus: *chuckles and rolls eyes* No one that knows you well enough.

HAT: *hugs Gus* Yep! I joke on everyone!

Gus: You're a clown.

HAT: Have you been talking to my dad?

Gus: Isn't there something that needs to be done?

HAT: Oh yeah! Could you please tell them what to do?

Gus: Review.