During the Ball
Goldpen, thank you! Always cool to meet a follow theatre geek. :) the1andonlyofo, that sounds pretty awesome. Any chance of getting pictures of the completed costumes? I love seeing those! HGP, you're right… Skimble should have known better. XD
A big thank-you to CrazyIndigoChild for beta-reading!
8. Jellicle Cats, Come Out Tonight
(This chapter takes place during "The Jellicle Ball".)
This is turning out to be the most exhausting Ball I can remember, Tugger mused. Not that he wasn't used to making a spectacle of himself at the Ball, but to be trying to do it with two very different and upsetting interruptions—the second Macavity scare, again turning out to be nothing, and the arrival of the much-detested Grizabella—was starting to take a toll on his energy.
There was also the matter of stealing away Mistoffelees whenever he could to enjoy some private time, but that sort of exhaustion he could easily deal with. He loved his seven little furballs, he really did, but mating was difficult when the little ones could burst in at any moment to say they couldn't sleep, had a bad dream, were hungry, or that a sibling was pulling their tails.
It was nice to finally rest—especially now that everyone had calmed down and that the main event of the Ball was underway, namely the dancing before the mating dance itself was meant to take place. Soon it would be Victoria and Plato's turn to dance alone, but until then, the floor was open for anyone to dance.
As such, Tugger sat back with some of the other toms, and purred to himself as he watched Mistoffelees dance, accompanied by Tumblebrutus and Pouncival. He would have been perfectly content to have the other two leave so he could watch his mate dance on his own, enjoying the view of his lovely body twisting and arching with effortless grace.
He was more than a little miffed, then, when the view (and the dance) was interrupted by none other than Bombalurina herself.
Anything leading up to the mating dance was meant as a prelude of sorts, a chance for Jellicles, mated or otherwise, to display a bit of sensuality, to get each other worked up for the mating dance. In previous years, Tugger would have watched and leered and enjoyed the sights (and as much as she had become a bit of a thorn, he had to admit he used to love watching Bombalurina dance), eventually joining in, but now he only had eyes for his Mistoffelees.
And this interruption wouldn't do at all. He didn't miss his mate's irritated huff as he walked away, as a few queens joined in Bombalurina's impromptu dance. She'd made a bit of a mistake, though, Tugger mused with a grin. Because if anyone was skilled at interrupted a song or dance, it was him.
It was easy to flag down a few eager toms of his own, leading them to each pair off with a queen. The red queen herself didn't seem to think anything was amiss, until Tugger none-too-subtly picked her up and carried her away despite her sudden protests, clearing the area for Mistoffelees and Tumblebrutus to return and dance.
He could only give Bombalurina a cheeky grin as she glared at him, and turned to finish watching his mate dance.
It was only a bit later that, for the first time during the night, Tugger settled back against a junkpile and relaxed. Ironically, mating was not on his mind right now, even though the Jellicles had retreated into a circle to allow Victoria and Plato to begin their formal mating dance.
Victoria was a beautiful queen; not the type he'd ever consider taking as a mate himself, but he'd been more than pleased to be the focus of her crush. And the same went with Plato, though the young tom's fascination with Tugger had dissipated as soon as he'd decided to pursue Victoria. The queens were growing up, and soon enough his fan club would have to fade away, especially since half of the queens of the new Jellicle generation were his own daughters. What would they think of him?
There was almost a pang of sadness now, as he watched the mating dance unfold and thought of his kittens. Tourmaline would be a fully-grown queen by the next Ball, and if Mistoffelees' prediction was correct about her growing affection with Verismo, then she might be taking a mate of her own by this time next year. All of their kittens would be fully-grown by then, even tiny little Mandragora. What if their lastborn had a mate by then? What if they all did?
And then Tugger shuddered suddenly, hoping he would be able to get Josephine to tone down her show-cat ways before young toms started to take notice of her. As Mistoffelees kept reminding him, she was much too much like her father for comfort. And of course, he would also have to deal with Aloysius copying his dance moves. What seemed perfectly fine when Tugger did it now seemed unacceptable when he saw it in one of his own kittens.
Mistoffelees was right; their kittens were growing up, and so was he.
When Victoria and Plato officially finished dancing their union, the gathered Jellicles began to mingle, branching off into pairs and either preparing to mate or cuddling with one another. Tugger craned his neck to spot Mistoffelees, and saw him engaged in a friendly platonic cuddle with Electra. He pouted, wishing it was him nuzzling the small tom, even if they weren't actually mating.
"Oh, don't look so mournful," Jenny said. As promised, the older queen crawled over to him, and Tugger obliged by laying himself out on the ground. Jenny sighed contently as she snuggled into his mane.
"You're quite warm and cozy," she remarked. "Misto is a lucky tom."
"Please, Jenny," Tugger cringed. "Don't make this more awkward than it already is."
Jenny gave a prim giggle, but obliged him by quieting down, which made the situation slightly better. Last year, he'd alternated between lying with Bombalurina, and then Admetus, just for a change of pace.
He couldn't see Mistoffelees anymore from where he lay, but he pictured his mate lying somewhere in the throng of Jellicle, beautiful and sensual as always. Mistoffelees was small, and delicate-looking, but he was one of the strongest Jellicles Tugger had ever known. Also one of the cheekiest, and that suited him just fine; he didn't think he could ever spend his life with someone who couldn't stand up to him, and bite back when needed.
Of all the Jellicles to 'grow up' with (and to grow old with) he couldn't think of any he'd rather be with than Mistoffelees.
Holy cow, the sap.
At least this explains the rather odd pairing of Tugger/Jenny at the mating dance. I hope Skimble made it up to Jenny later.