Mistoffelees had an eidetic (photographic) memory, and it was extremely useful for the purposes of apparition, as it allowed him to return to a place he had already been to without having to look at a photograph. Unfortunately, in this instance, he misjudged the height of Tugger's bed, having intended to have them land there softly. Instead, they both appeared about two feet up, leading to a rather unnerving fall. As soon as it happened, Misto figured his new mate would be furious at him, and was mortified. Unexpectedly, Tugger calmly landed, looked around, and just started laughing.
"It's unbelievable! Fantastic! Well, kit, it looks like you really deserve the title of 'The Magical, Marvellous Mr. Mistoffelees', because that was really, really impressive. You certainly blew my mind. So now I'm going to live up to my reference as a 'curious cat' and ask you, how do you do it?
Somewhat taken aback, Mistoffelees replied, "If you could find out and let me know, that'd be great," he laughed. "I honestly have no idea - it's kind of instinctual, sort of like how all cats know how to right themselves when falling. I don't know how us cats do it - we just do."
He paused for a moment, then continued in a more serious tone, "Speaking of my magic, I should let you know something. You know how Coricopat and Tantomile know everything all the time? They manage that by being able to hear the thoughts of other cats near them. Well, I can do the same thing, but not nearly as well as they can, and I have been known to read thoughts erroneously. I can only do it if I'm concentrating really hard and am not distracted. The reason I've never been able to read you is because I've always been preoccupied with, well, you. I just thought that you should know that if you intend on keeping a thought to yourself, take a walk or make sure you're distracting me - which shouldn't be too hard."
Tugger replied, "I appreciate you telling me, but to be honest, I don't want to have any secrets anyway. I really believe in openness in a pairing... speaking of which, we should get to know each other's histories, don't you think? We've been friends for a long time, but you don't really know my full history, and I," he coughed nervously, "barely know the basics of yours."
Mistoffelees thought the pang of nervousness in Tugger's voice to be a little strange, but passed it off as inconsequential. "I completely agree; do you want to go first? I have a feeling that mine is going to be pretty long-winded."
"No problem, that's fine by me. Okay, well where do I begin...
Munkustrap and I are brothers, as you already know. Another fact about Munkus and I, something that is not well-known amongst the other cats, is that Old Deuteronomy is our father. I'm actually a few minutes older that Munkus, and so, as tradition has it, Old Deuteronomy asked me to be second-in-command and Jellicle Protector. At the time, that kind of responsibility scared me half to death... and Munkus was a better public speaker anyway, so I spoke my mind and told my father that I though my brother would be more effective at the job.
After I made my position known, Old Deuteronomy made a deal with me. Munkustrap would become the official second-in-command and Jellicle Protector, but he would always heed my advice if given seriously. And thus, I became third in the chain of command, while still having a large amount of sway over Munkustrap's decisions.
You see, I didn't always have this reputation for being a player and a flirt. Once you really know me, and you are probably the closest one outside of my brother and father to truly know me for who I am, you find out that I'm a hopeless romantic and quite the academic, the kind of cat that mulls over philosophical questions while at rest. But that's not what other cats expect of a tortoiseshell Maine Coon who, pardon my lack of humbleness, is extremely attractive. Any time I tried to display my true self, the others would laugh and think I was kidding- no one took me seriously. So I manufactured a persona not of my own, but one that would fulfil the others' miserably inaccurate thoughts about me. And thus I attained the reputation that I have today. It's not something I'm proud of, that's for sure. When I walk about the junk yard and entertain my fan club, I don't even feel like me - it's a show, a facade. It's more of an acting performance than anything else.
To make things even worse, I'm gay, though I can be with a queen and get through it if I absolutely have to. The worst part about it is that when I get a true crush, I've got to bury it and never let anyone know. Well, I've had it with that now, so I'm acting on my feelings. I'm pursuing a relationship with you, something I've wanted for years, and if the others have a problem with that, then they can go to hell. I'm going to do what I want to do for a change. And so here I am, being me, and loving you."
"Awww, I love you too, Tug. Forever and always." Mistoffelees kissed his mate, who had sat down beside him while talking. They remained like that for a time, what felt like a few seconds, but was in fact much longer.
Tugger broke the kiss, hugged his mate, and said, "That in itself is enough to bring true happiness to my life. Well, I guess I shouldn't do all the talking." Tugger did his absolute best to hide his dread of what he would tell Misto all too soon, and it seemed to work. He continued, "Weren't you going to tell me about your history?"
"Yes, of course. Well, mine is hazy before two years ago; all I remember is waking up to Munkustrap looking deeply worried. The retrograde amnesia was pretty bad... I didn't know my name, or anything else, for that matter. Who knows who my parents are. Any time I ask Munkustrap, he mumbles something unintelligible and changes the subject. It's kind of frustrating, because it almost seems like he's hiding my history from me."
Tugger wanted to say something, but he held his tongue and let Mistoffelees continue. He had waited for the truth for years; a few minutes would not make one bit of difference.
"Anyways, I was only a year away from being a Tom, and Munkustrap seemed to think I could do okay without supervision, so he let me make my own den on the condition that I checked in with him, you, or whoever was left in charge if neither of you were available, at least twice a day.
When I found an area where I wanted my den, I paced a couple times, thinking of what I could use to build it. I tripped over a can while pacing, and out of frustration, reflexively flattened it and threw it aside... Except I didn't touch it. I knew I had magic, but not that strong... I had always figured I could only make sparks and other little displays. When I discovered this new talent, the idea of building a den of cans came to me. So I levitated and crushed them all together until I formed a little house of my own. When I was done, I found some blankets and formed a bed not too dissimilar from yours.
Over the following weeks, I learned about different magical abilities I had. I discovered that if I concentrated, I could hear the thoughts of others. I found out that my eyes changed from royal blue to emerald green when I sensed danger. And to boot, I always know if someone's watching me.
A couple weeks after my arrival, you introduced yourself to me. That was the beginning of a great friendship, and now we have something even better. I love you so much."
Tugger hugged Misto, whose head rested in the larger cat's mane. "I love you, too."
After a short pause, Tugger said, "I've been burning to say something for years, but it seemed better to conceal it... until yesterday. Listen, I might be able to fill some of the gaps in your memory. Munkus knows more about your past than he lets on, and as a matter of fact, so do I. When you first joined our tribe, Old Deuteronomy, Munkustrap, and I were all informed of your background by Coricopat and Tantomile, who managed to access your subconscious; coupled with your mumbled words of unconsciousness, we learned quite a lot. When we found out the seriousness of the matter, the five of us made a pact to never tell you any of it, because it would do more harm than good.
You've been a Tom for a year now, and I think you have the right to know your past. Before I tell you anything, though, please remember one thing: no matter what your genetics are, and no matter how evil your parents were, you're a good cat. You're a Jellicle, and we all respect you deeply, no matter where your history lies.
I don't know who your mother was, but your father... well, your father was Macavity. And when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Macavity is one of the best magicians in existence, and he must have passed those talents onto you.
Please understand, Macavity wasn't always a 'monster of depravity'. In fact, he was once a Jellicle, too, and is actually my older half-brother, technically making me your half-uncle, a 6.25% blood relationship. As Macavity got older, his mind was poisoned with horrendous thoughts; we still don't fully understand what twisted him. After he had been corrupted, he had one son, and he named him after a character in an ancient work called Doctor Faust, written by Marlowe in the 18th century. The character's name was Mephistopheles, a demon who guided Faust and collected his soul after he made a deal with the devil.
When we found you, you mumbled quite a bit of history to us, including these facts, but soon forgot them altogether - and that was probably for the best. We thought that renaming you entirely would, in a way, strip you of your identity, but we didn't want you to have a name so tied to Macavity. As a result, we coupled your previous name with the fact that you were a bit of a mystery, thus Mist-, with a variation of the end of your name, -offelees. And thus you became known as Mr. Mistoffelees. Your nickname to Macavity was Mephisto, but to us, it became Misto.
You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all this and not keeping the pact I made with Munkustrap, Old Deuteronomy, Coricopat, and Tantomile, the four others that know the whole truth. Well, it's because of the fact that you said you saw Macavity in your window that night when you came to me, soaking wet, in the middle of that storm. The thing is, though you don't realize it, you've only ever heard about Macavity. You've never seen him since the amnesia that has affected you. I think that you really did see him, and you recognized him from a remnant memory stimulated by his actual appearance. You see, in amnesia, these things don't just pop up while you're awake, sleepy haze or not. Amnesia either deletes those memories, or buries them so deep that even your subconscious mind would have trouble finding them again.
Now, in the off-chance that this is a false alarm, I don't want Munkustrap or Old Deuteronomy to get paranoid for nothing. That's why I'm going to call in a favour from Coricopat and Tantomile for them to spend the next 24 hours 'tuned in' to Macavity's presence. If he really was here, he's far too obsessive to not come back again today, once we're asleep. He won't approach us tonight, but will only watch; he'd want time to plan before he'd attempt contact.
Are you up to visiting the twins now, or do you need some time to digest all this? I realize it must come as an awful shock, and I really am sorry for that. But you needed to know because of what you saw, and you have a right to the truth anyway."
Mistoffelees' eyes had grown wider as Tugger divulged the information. He was definitely right that this came as a huge shock; being related to Macavity was a disturbing fact unto itself, regardless of the other facts that only enhanced the disturbing nature of his history. He buried his head into Tugger's mane and said, "Wow... I can hardly believe it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at you... the secret was kept to protect me, and I realize and completely agree with that. It's just, well, it basically shatters my reality."
"Don't let it. I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you'll make an effort to remember that your past is past, and doesn't change who you are now or how much other cats respect you. We all adore you, and the kittens will always love you for who you are, and especially your fireworks shows." Tugger smiled genuinely, and then continued, "Don't let all this turn your world upside down, okay?"
Mistoffelees took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I promise. It's really shaken me up a bit, but I think I'm okay... and I'll just keep fretting anyway, so we might as well go see Coricopat and Tantomile now."
I'll be adding the next chapter pretty soon; subscribe to the story to be notified when I do.