Thankyou for the kind reviews.
Emily. Always great to hear from you.
CatsRocks. Thankyou very much for the review. Everything you've said will help me improve my writing.
Imajelliclegirl. Glad you like it.
This chapter veers away from Jem, Alonzo and Jelly. Enjoy.
Oh and there's a little bit of swearing in this chapter. I've raised the rating to T because of it and I suck at writing accents.
…
There in the middle of the clearing was his little baby daughter with her arms wrapped around the neck of a pollicle puppy.
A puppy that looked at the cats filing into the clearing in confusion, then simply threw back his head and let that eerie howl echo across the yard once more, as he cried to the moon above…
….
As the howl died down, a silence spread across the clearing.
Jemima stared at her parents and friends, scared at the quiet and worried at what would come next. Her secret was revealed and the dreams she had about raising her friend Toby, shattered.
"Jemima" stammered Munkunstrap, "what? What is all this?"
He scanned the clearing taking in the tins of food, the water bowl and bedding.
He turned at a disturbance behind the crowd of cats, and saw his second, Alonzo run through the gate.
The black and white tom paled upon seeing the massed cats and his brother, "Oh shit."
A comment that was not lost on the tribe protector, "You KNEW about this?" demanded Munkunstrap.
"I. um. I've been helping with it all" admitted Alonzo. "But, it's not that bad, really. There's no danger to Jemim…"
"NO DANGER!" came a screech from the front of the pack. "You exposed my daughter to a, a pollicle, and you say there's no DANGER!"
The crowded cats hurriedly split apart to reveal an extremely upset gold and black queen, advancing on the suddenly frightened tomcat. Demeter was furious as she stalked Alonzo who began to back away. It wasn't until she got close enough to swipe at him that the shock broke and someone grabbed her before she could hit him again.
"She was never alone here. One of us was always with her" said Alonzo, holding his arm where Demeters claws had dug three long furrows in his flesh.
"One of US! Who the fuck is US? Who else has betrayed my family? WHO?" screamed the queen, trying to dodge around the restraining cats to get at her brother-in-law.
"It was me" said Jellylorum with a sigh.
"Jelly?" was the shocked response from Demeter, "but, you, you love my little girl…"
And with that the entire situation got too much for the distraught queen, and she fainted dead away.
"Demeter, Mummy" yelled Munkunstrap and Etcetera as they rushed towards the unconscious queen.
Jelly made to approach, but was stopped by a glare from Munkunstrap. "Don't you touch her. You've done enough."
Jelly cringed back into the arms of her mate Asparagus, who was taking a night off from the train for the ball. "I was only trying to help" she sobbed.
"I know, lass, I know" he reassured her.
"Gus, Gus where are you?" asked Munk.
The patched tomcat came out of the pack and approached the Jellicle protector.
"I need you and Bomba to take Demmy back to the dens. Get Jenny to have a look at her please" requested Munkunstrap. "Skimble" the ginger striped tom looked over, "I need you to clear everyone out."
"Aye sir." Skimble said. "Ok everyone. Tha show's ova. Heed back to tha dens please." The respected cat herded all the remaining cats and kittens out of the clearing, leaving the furious father and worried Jellylorum and Alonzo alone with the small kitten and scared pollicle puppy.
…..
Munkunstrap took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure.
"Right then you two. What the hell is all this?" demanded Munk, sweeping his hand around the clearing.
Alonzo sighed and began to explain.
"Toby, your daughter named the puppy by the way, is the puppy we found a month ago. I tried to follow your orders that night, but I couldn't leave an infant to die. I brought him here the next morning. I brought Jemima down here a couple of days later when it became obvious that she wasn't dealing with having to leave him behind that night. I got Jelly involved when I found that I couldn't look after the pup. He was dying and I couldn't do anything to help. Jelly could, and I convinced her to help us. It's not her fault."
"That's not entirely correct Munkunstrap" Jelly broke in. "Oh, Alonzo is correct in that he brought me down here but I didn't take much convincing once I saw the two of them together. Jemima loves Toby and she glows when she's here with him. That's why I ended up helping, one of the reasons anyway."
"Be that as it may. It stops NOW!" Munkunstrap snarled.
He stalked over to his daughter and grabbed one of her paws from where it was wrapped around Toby's neck, dragging Jemima away from her friend and towards the gate.
There was a snarl behind him and he was knocked to the ground in a flash of grey and white fur.
Munkunstrap blinked the dust out of his eyes and froze.
An inch from his nose was Toby, hackles raised and growling loudly.
Munk slowly began to inch his way backwards, trying not to be intimidated by the mouth full of very sharp teeth right before his eyes. He was a seasoned fighter but knew he was at a decided disadvantage with the position he was in. He knew he could count on Alonzo to help but even that wouldn't be enough to stop Toby from ripping out his throat. They were just too close.
A cry came from the side "Toby. NO!"
Toby, pricked his ears at his mistresses command, hackles settling.
"Toby. Come" came a second command.
Toby gave one more soft growl and glare at Munkunstrap, then lifted and padded over to Jemima, who'd gotten to her feet after being knocked over in the confusion.
He positioned himself between the protector and the kitten and lay down, not taking his eyes off the silver tabby.
"Umm, Munk" said Alonzo. "I think you should back out slowly. I'll get Jem but I really think you should move out of here."
"Do it. I'll be outside the gate waiting. Come with me Jelly." The two cats backed cautiously away from the scene and out the gate.
"Come on Jem. We need to go sort this out" said Alonzo gently, holding out his paw.
"What's going to happen to Toby? He didn't mean anything. He was only trying to protect me" cried the kitten.
"I don't know honey. I really just don't know."
Toby was ordered back to the blanket and watched as the two individuals he trusted most in all the world left him alone again.
…
The sad little party made their way back to the main clearing.
"Munk" began Alonzo.
"Don't" interrupted Munkunstrap. "I can't look at you at the moment. Just get out of my sight."
"But…"
"JUST GO!" yelled the protector, letting a little of his anger at his brother show.
The black and white tomcat took one look at his brothers furious visage and slunk away.
"Jelly." The tribe nurse looked up at Munk. "I know why you did it. I can even like 'why' you did it, but I can't agree with your decision. I don't hate you for it but I can't deal with it right now. Please go. I wouldn't go near Demeter for a while."
Jelly sighed and trudged off to her den.
"Jemima. Home. Now." Ordered her father. "Go to your room. I'll be there to talk to you shortly."
Jem fled to the old pipe that led to the den she shared with her parents and siblings. Feeling the eyes of the tribe watching her as she crossed the clearing.
Munkunstrap headed over to Jennyanydots den that she shared with her mate Gus and kittens, Plato, Tumblebrutus and Electra, to look for his mate. He entered the old oven and found his mate Demeter sitting with Jenny and a cup of warm tea in her paws.
Demeter put the cup down and rushed over to her mate as he entered the den.
"Is Jem ok. Where is she. What's happened?" came the breathless questions.
"Jem is fine. I've sent her home and told her that we'll be there to talk to her soon. How are you?" asked Munk.
"I'm ok. Jenny said that I just got a little too stressed and fainted" said the queen a little embarrassed.
"Well you had good cause. Now we need to figure out what to do."
"What's there to decide? We get rid of that monster" demanded Demeter.
"It's not that simple. Jemima loves it" said Munk.
"I. DON'T. CARE." said Demeter emphatically. "I will not have my daughter consorting with beasts."
"I don't like it either, but this concerns the entire tribe. I think we'll need to bring my dad in on this one. I don't think I can be impartial on this one" Admitted Munkunstrap.
Jenny spoke up from where she was listening on the couch "that's the smartest thing you've said since we all found out Munk."
"What's going to happen with Alonzo and Jelly?" she asked worried about her friends.
"I'm not sure yet. Alonzo is demoted effective immediately. If I can't trust him with his own niece then I can't trust him with the tribes' safety. Admentus can take over his duties" he said. "Jelly I'm going to leave to Demeter." The queen under his arm glowered as she began to think about her ex-friend.
"Just take it easy please Demeter. Her heart is in the right place and I'm sure she didn't mean any harm" pleaded Jenny for her friend and nursing partner.
"I'll consider it" was the flat response.
Munkunstrap led his mate out of the den and out to another isolated corner of the junkyard that contained the den of his father and the patriarch of the tribe, Old Deuteronomy.
He knocked on the wooden doorframe of the old human cubby house, that someone had thrown away, "Father? Are you there?"
"Come in was the reply" and the two mates entered the den.
….
"…and that's the entire story dad. What should I do?" finished Munkunstrap.
"Get rid of the monster" Mumbled Demeter.
Old Deut (A/N I'm going to shorten his name it's a mouthful) glanced at the still upset queen and then back up to Munk. "Is 'Toby?' dangerous?"
"Yes. Absolutely." replied Munkunstrap. "I tried to take Jem away and was attacked." He cleared his throat a little "if it wasn't for Jemima calling him off I'd have probably been killed."
Demeter gasped "you never told me that."
"I didn't want to worry you love" said Munkunstrap, nuzzling his mate lightly.
Old Deut cleared his throat. "Well in that case, I fear we have no choice. Toby must leave. Now the question is. Do we destroy him or take him away."
"Destroy him" was the immediate reply from Demeter.
Munk calmed his mate down with a touch. "I can't bring myself to kill him. Even when he attacked me it was only to protect Jemima, but I can't risk it happening again if she's out playing with other kittens or even the adults. I say to banish him."
Old Deut, hmmed and thought. "I think I must agree with you my son. I know a little more about the pollicles than you do and it's very possible that all Toby wanted to do was help the one he has bonded with. Now, what to do? I think we need a little more information about him before we can decide on how to do this."
He reached up behind him and pulled down a book.
"After you reported to me last month when Toby's mother died and said that you'd never seen that type of Pollicle before I decided to do some research. I had Rumpleteaser and Mungojerrie borrow this book from the humans library for me, don't worry it will be going back, so that I could find out about the animal."
He showed them the title of the book RSPCA Great Big Book of Dogs,"now then from your description I believe this is the pollicle that died." He showed them an entry titled Huskies.
"That's it" said Munk after looking at the pictures.
"It says here that Huskies are kind of like the Jellicles of the pollicle world. They have a great affinity for the moon and are great protectors and companions. They come from the northern area of a place called Canada and Alaska where the humans use them to pull sleds. Apparently they are very intelligent and gentle, but can be vicious if someone they love is in danger, which is why I think you were attacked. The description goes on to say that they have a nearly mystical demeanour which reminds me of what the humans sometimes write about us."
The patriarch looked at the pages open in front of him for a minute, and then looked up at his son.
"I have made my decision. Toby will be drugged and taken to the shelter up on the outskirts of town. Jemima will be allowed to visit in the company of an adult until such time as Toby is adopted by a human. I have no doubt that it will not take long."
"Alonzo is banished from the junkyard for two weeks; no Jellicle is to have any contact with him during this time. Jellylorum is confined to her den for the same period for bringing the tribe into danger."
"Jelly can administer the sedative to Toby but will not have any other contact outside her family or medical emergencies."
"That is my judgement."
Munkunstrap and Demeter left the den and made their way back to the main clearing.
"Can you go and sit with Jem please my love" asked Munk. "I need to go and tell Jelly and escort Alonzo out. Cassandra is not going to like this at all."
"Sure. I want to check up on her. Good luck" murmured the queen knowing how much it hurt her mate when he had to perform these, the most distasteful of his duties.
The two cats separated. One to console her daughter, and the other to confront his friends.
…
The next day was wet and cold. Perfect weather for the distasteful task that stood before the Jellicles that day.
Jellylorum headed down to the clearing occupied by Toby, accompanied by Munk, Admentus, Skimble and Gus who were holding a stretcher.
"Just wait here please. I'll go administer the drug and Toby should be asleep in about 10 minutes" said Jelly as she entered the gates.
The four toms sat around outside the gate quietly chatting about the situation before being called in by Jelly. "You can come in now."
The four toms entered the clearing and saw Jelly kneeling on the ground next to a comatose puppy.
They placed Toby onto the stretcher and headed off to the animal shelter. Arriving just before dawn they laid him down on the steps and covered him from the rain with the blanket that he'd been using as his bed.
Jelly was the last to leave. Finally placing a paw on Toby's head and turning to go. She looked into Munkunstraps face.
"It's for the best isn't it?" she asked.
"Yes. This way Toby will be happy amongst his own kind and we won't have to worry about a large dangerous and unpredictable animal in the junkyard." replied Munkunstrap.
"Oh? Are we getting rid of Tugger too?" joked Jelly trying to lighten the mood.
Munkunstrap laughed grateful for the humour, "You never know Jelly. You never know…"
….
Six weeks later, Jemima was bouncing on her parents bed waiting impatiently to go and see Toby, just like her grandfather had said.
"Come on daddy. It's getting late and he won't be in the yard" pleaded the kitten.
"I'm coming Jem. Keep your fur on" replied Munkunstrap.
"We're off love" he called to Demeter as the kitten pulled him out of the den.
Demeter just grumbled to herself in response, still not happy with her daughter consorting with monsters even if it was through a chain link fence.
Outside the junkyard the father/daughter pair ran along happily. Jemima because she could spend time with Toby and Munkunstrap because his daughter had forgiven him and bounced back. He was extremely proud of his little girl who could be unbelievably mature at times.
Jemima was telling her father about something strange that had happened when she was ending her visit to Toby with Alonzo the day before.
"When we left I sworn I heard Toby say mother" related the young queen.
"You must have been imagining things Jemima" said Munkunstrap "you know that pollicles can't talk."
"That's what uncle Alonzo said, but I'm sure I heard him" replied Jem.
"Well we'll listen really hard today and see if we can both hear him" assured Munk "and here we are."
They approached the fence surrounding the shelter and started looking for Jemima's friend.
"I don't see him anywhere daddy" complained Jemima.
"I don't either honey. Let's go and have a look around. He might just not be in sight."
The two cats walked around the fence perimeter trying to see if Toby was in any of the runs.
"He's not there daddy. Where is he?" Jemima was beginning to panic.
"I don't know" replied Munk. "We'll keep looking."
They headed around to the front of the shelter where several of the human cars were parked. As they approached the doors, they began to open. Munkunstrap quickly pulled his daughter into a bush to hide. The last thing they needed was to be picked up as strays.
Three humans walked out of the shelter talking. Munk recognised two of them as workers at the shelter but didn't know the third.
"Thanks for calling me Peter" said the man that Munk didn't recognise. "This little guy will fit right in with the team."
"That's ok Liam. I'm just glad he's going to somewhere he'll be well looked after. I still can't believe someone abandoned such a handsome young fellow" said the worker identified as Peter.
Liam turned and opened one of the cars and put a bundle down on the seat that the two cats hadn't noticed him holding.
Jemima gasped. It was Toby. He was being adopted.
Liam finished fastening Toby into a harness on the seat and closed the door. He then started up the car engine and backed out of the carpark.
The last thing the crying kitten saw was her pollicle friend Toby looking out the window of the car as he was taken from her life, forever.
"I didn't even get to say goodbye" she sobbed…
…..
Well that's it for another Chapter.
I'm on a roll and I'll probably do the next one tonight. It's all coming together and I think I'll wrap it up in one or two more.
Please read and review and let me know what you think.