Gristen and Lorien held onto one another, hardly daring to breath as they waited. But no sounds were heard besides the occasional scurry of rats. Darkness had set in and the moon was beginning to rise. Lorian whimpered quietly and Gristen stroked her head. "I'm...I'm sure sis will come to get us soon." He mumbled, biting his lower lip to stop it from quivering.
"Oi! Git out of me 'ouse!" a group of cockroaches scurried up to the twins. Each one had a yellow or red sash and a small knife or fork.
Lorian squeaked and inched away from them out of instinct and shivered.
Upon seeing his sister's fear, Gristen turned to the tiny creatures and bared his naturally sharp fangs and gave his best hiss. This sound sent the insects away with such speed they began to run around and into one another before all of them finally dispersed.
Soft chattering was heard beyond where the twins could see. Lorian strained her ears to listen but the words were spoken too softly.
Suddenly a smiling queen popped her head into the space the twins occupied, "Hello Dears!"
Lorian and Gristen instinctively backed up. Gristen held his sister even tighter and somewhat behind him.
"Oh come now, calm down." She smiled warmly and the two couldn't help but relax. "That's it, I wont hurt you." The queen coaxed them out of their little hiding space with kind cooed words.
"What's going on Jenny?" Came another voice. Upon hearing the toms voice Gristen and Lorian shrank against the queen's side. A big Silver Tabby looked down at them from the trunk of the car they had been hiding under.
"A bit jumpy aren't they?" the silver tabby asked to no one in general as he slid gracefully off of the trunk. He was a sturdy tom, tall and muscular. He wasn't extraordinarily large but he loomed over the young kittens none the less.
"You leave them alone Munkustrap!" The older queen named Jenny scolded him and knelt infront of Gristen and Lorian. "Now Dears, where did you come from?"
Lorian was shaking a bit as she gulped and spoke, "The alleyway by the deli on West Lincoln, Ma'am..." The tiny queen wrung her tail nervously as she felt both of the adults looking them over, deciding whether or not they were a threat.
"Alley cats?" The tabby stated, eyebrows raised. They were a sight to see, covered in grime and gunk. "Are you two little ones by yourselves?" He knelt to be closer to their level.
"N-no." Gristen said, hands still on his sisters shoulders. "We were running from a scary tom." Lorian nodded quickly, shaking once again at the memory.
"She...She told us to run...So we hid...We don't know where she is!" Tears weld up in the little queens eyes as Gristen held her, trying hard not to let his own tears fall.
"Now now, Munkustrap, leave them be. Let's get you two washed up, I'm sure your sister will be arriving shortly and my what she might say when she see's you like this!" Quickly the older queen began gently nudging them towards her den.
The twins scurried quickly ahead of Jenny and were steered itno a large van that served as a den. "Whoa... this is huge!" Gristen commented but his awe was soon dampened, literally, when the older queen thrust both kittens into a bath.
The twins yelped and flailed for a moment before the heat of the bath reached them. Almost simultaneously, both Lorian and Gristen settled down and sunk chin deep into the warm bath.
The queen chuckled to herself as she set about gently scrubbing the much from the kitten's coats. "The names Jennyanydots, but call me Jenny." She said, finishing with Lorian and starting on Gristen. "What might I call you two."
"I'm Lorian, my brother is Gristen." Lorian sighed, leaning her head back against the side of the tub. Gristen was currently dunked under to wash the soap from his head. Jenny smiled as she took the kits from the warm comfort of the water and started fluffing them with a big soft towel. After combing out their puffed up fur she stepped back. "There, isn't that better?"
Lorian and Gristen exchanged a lok and both began giggling at once, "I've never been so clean in my live!" Gristen chimed merrily as he fluffed up his own ginger and red coat.
His sister soon followed suit and both began chasing eachother around in a harmless game of tag.
The elderly queen smiled warmly as she watched them, "It's good to meet the both of you!"
"Nice to meet you too!" They said, suddenly stopping their game and nodding their heads. They may have been alley cats, but they seemed to have manners.
"Come along, Munkus I'm sure still has some questions and we might as well let him ask you." Jenny said opening the door to her den and letting the two kits out, quickly following.
The two kits playfully tackled one another as they made their to a large tire. "They seem to have recovered nicely Jen-" The big tabby's eyes widened, stopping as he got a good look at the kittens. His eyes followed the to-familiar patterns of ginger and black, all the more vibrant after the bath.
Gristen and Lorian froze as they saw his look, Gristen currently on his back and Lorian pinning him to the ground. Ears slowly laid back worried and somewhat afraid.
Munkustrap exchanged a charged glance with Jenny. The older queen took a moment before the information registered and she threw her hands over her moutj, "Where di you say you were from?" The silver tabby asked as he crossed his thick arms over his chest.
The twins gulped in unison and Lorian slowly let Gristen up, "w-we told you... why what's wrong?" Lorian asked as she took her brother's paw.
"B-Behind the deli..." Gristen stuttered, holding his sisters hand tight.
"Munkus..." Jenny began, looking up at him. "Let's not jump to conclusions..." The look he gave her silenced her quickly.
"And who did you say you were running from?" Munkus asked.
"We-we don't know. He was big...Scary and, and he wanted something!" Lorian whimpered, she didn't like the look this Munkus had. "Please mister...If you don't want us here we'll leave as soon as our sister finds us."
Munkustrap leaned down so he could be eye level with the twins without kneeling, "What did this 'scary tom' look like?" He was very happy to have such a firm mask that didn't falter when he was on the verge of screaming for answers.
Lorian and Gristen exchanged a frightened glance before Lorian spoke. "Well he was real tall and thin with hollowed eyes" She seemed to be grasping for the right words and barely reaching them.
Gristen shook his head and squeezed hsi sister's paw tighter, "Sunken eyes... not hollow"
Jenny threw her arms into the air, "Great!"
Munkus closed his eyes for a long moment as he thought things through. Great. Macavity had been chasing these two kits. And it was far to obvious why. But did the kits know? "What did he want?" He asked, opening his eyes again.
"W...Well...He kept looking at us..." Gristen said.
"He said we were his. Like...Like we were his property." Lorian shrank into her brothers side, remembering the look in those yellow eyes.
"Oh Munkustrap, we can't just let him get his horrid claws on them!" Jenny said, putting a comforting paw on their heads.
Munkustrap pinched the bridge of his nose hard and leaned back, thinking. His mind was working over time to think of something.
The twins looked at eachother, "What about Scarlottin?" they cried in unison and large tears formed in their eyes.
Jenny scurried over to the twins and scooped both into a bear hug. "Aww.. now now dears!" She did her best to comfort the blubbering balls of fur as she watched their protector pace thoughtfully.
Munkustrap pinched ht ebridge of his nose in a practiced habit and paced back and forth. His mind was racing and bits of information were cming together slowly. "Jennyanydots... May I speak with you?"
The elder queen nodded and gave the kits a quick squeeze before standing and following Munkustrap out of earshot of the twins.
With a deep sigh Munkustrap crossed his arms over his chest, "If Macavity..." He licked his lips as if the name left a horrid taste in his mouth, "if he did get his paws on their sister... there's only two places she would be. Scralottin is either dead... or in my brother's... 'care'." He choose his words carefully.
Jenny nodded, ears drooping. "Either way...These kits are defensless. Munkustrap, we can't just leave them." She knew that the fact that they were the Hidden Paws kittens left them the main target. But perhaps they could protect them, keep them hidden.
"Jenny..." He said, looking out over the junkyard with his back to the older queen. "They're targets, he'll be searching for them." With a sigh, he turned around. "But, you're right. That makes it even more important that they're safe. He can't get ahold of them."
"Oh thank you Jenny! Thank you!" Lorian said jumping from one pillow to the next. Gristen giggled and tackled into his sister.
Jenny smiled before patting their heads. "Now now, I'm sure you're tired from...what happened. So calm yourselves." Curling up beside them she stroked their headfur and hummed her own lullaby. It was very different than that of their mothers, but it was also soothing, maybe not as much, but enough. Soon they yawned and closed their eyes.
Munkus sat on the tire and rubbed the back of his neck. This was going to be tough. He had a feeling that things weren't going to quiet back down.