Title: Conjuring Pain

Author: Ailendolin

Rating: T (PG-13) … just to be sure.

Disclaimer:I do not own Cats and do not make any money with this story. I only own the little plot bunny.

Summary: Everyone thinks to be able to conjure would be great, but Quaxo cannot confirm that. To him magic only means pain, loss and loneliness. It started ruining his life since he was a kitten. Will his broken spirit be mended when Tugger and Munk stumble upon him?

Word Count: 1448

Warning: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, but mainly Fluff – a lot of it.

Author's Notes: Happy Easter, everyone! I thought this was a good occasion to upload chapter 09 for you guys. It took me quite a while to get it finished and I'm still not really satisfied with the way it turned out, but oh well. I hope you enjoy it anyway. That said, work on the next chapter won't start until next Friday since I've got an exam to study for. But, the good news is, next Saturday I'm going see Cats once again live and hopefully I'll get lots of inspiration for this story ^^

Chapter 09: Dream Telling

That evening, after taking Tumblebrutus home, Tugger came back to the wardrobe with more mashed mice from Jenny. While Quaxo ate hungrily he turned to Munkustrap.

"I stopped by Alonzo's den," he informed the tabby. "He wanted me to tell you that they have everything under control and that you don't have to worry about the safety of the junkyard."

Munkustrap winced. "I haven't even thought about my duties today," he admitted and sighed heavily. "I'm a terrible protector."

Tugger laughed. "You're not. Right, Quaxo? You feel safe around Munk here, don't you?"

The kitten looked up at them, head tilted to the side in confusion. "Of course," he said matter-of-factly.

Tugger smirked at his brother. "See? You do a brilliant job." When Munkustrap only rolled his eyes he added in a more serious tone, "No, really. You're doing great. We all understand that you have to reorganize your life now that you're sharing it with the fluffy fur ball here. Alonzo said you can take all the time you need before you start up your guard duty again. He just asks you to be present at the meetings."

"The next one is tomorrow at sundown, right?" Munkustrap asked. When Tugger confirmed that with a nod the tabby looked concernedly at Quaxo who was currently licking his bowl clean. "I'll need someone to stay with him."

Tugger pointed happily at himself.

"You?" Munkustrap asked playfully.

Tugger mock-glared at him. "I am wounded, Munk," he said theatrically. "Deeply wounded."

Munkustrap laughed. "Alright, alright. You have the job."

"Yes!" Tugger exclaimed with a happy grin.

They both turned around when Quaxo yawned widely.

"All that playing around tired you out, hm?" Munkustrap said affectionately.

"I'm not tired," Quaxo insisted. He yawned once more, causing the older cats to chuckle.

"Of course not," Tugger said solemnly.

"Come on, off to bed with you, little one." Munkustrap smiled when Quaxo pouted. "Tomorrow is another big day for you."

"Why?" Quaxo asked while he crawled obediently towards the blankets and pillows.

"Because," Munkustrap explained, "we're going to see Jenny and Jelly again. They have to take another look at your paws."

Quaxo shuddered and looked pitifully up at them. "Do we really have to?"

"Oh yes," Tugger said. "You want your paws to get better, don't you?"

"Yes," Quaxo admitted reluctantly. "But they don't really hurt that much anymore," he added in a hopeful voice.

Tugger laughed. "And Jenny and Jelly will make sure they stay that way. No getting out of that one, kiddo. Sorry."

Quaxo snuggled deeper into the blankets and stared at his bandaged paws sullenly.

"Maybe you can play with Tumble a little bit when your paws have been looked at," Munkustrap suggested in hope of cheering the kitten up. "He lives with Jenny, you know?"

"He does?" Quaxo asked. "I'd rather live with you," he declared a moment later with a serious expression on his face.

"I'm sure you do," Tugger said with a smile. "Now, time for sleep, fur ball."

"Night," Quaxo mumbled and closed his eyes. After a minute of lying still he opened them again and moved closer to Munkustrap. He buried his face into the tabby's chest fur and sighed happily before he fell asleep.

Munkustrap and Tugger shared a look.

"You know, he will probably ruin your mane when you look after him tomorrow," Munkustrap said with a teasing grin.

Tugger tried to look unimpressed. "There are numerous queens out there who would give their right leg to groom it perfect again."

"If you say so," Munkustrap said with a wink. He settled down carefully, trying to get comfortable. "But you do realize that if you let Quaxo touch your mane the other kittens will most certainly get wind of it and pester you until the end of your days?"

Tugger glared at him. "Bloody kittens," he muttered and, throwing one last grin over his shoulder, he left Munkustrap's den.

Munkustrap chuckled quietly. He nuzzled Quaxo's head once before he, too, closed his eyes and succumbed to sleep.

CATS

It was sometime around midnight that something startled Munkustrap awake. His dark grey eyes opened and scanned the entrance of the wardrobe for any attackers but found the den as secure as it had been when Tugger had left a few hours ago.

Next to him, Quaxo suddenly trembled, and at once Munkustrap's attention was solely focused on the small kitten. Quaxo had turned away from him at some point during the night and all the tabby could see was his shaking back. Munkustrap moved over so he could get a look at Quaxo's face which was partially hidden by the bandaged paws.

One look at Quaxo's curled-up position and scrunched-up face told Munkustrap everything he needed to know. The little kitten was having a nightmare, and when, a moment later, Quaxo whimpered a scared, "Mommy!" the tabby closed his eyes briefly in sympathy. This was what he had feared from the beginning on, that Quaxo would most likely be troubled by nightmares, but he had underestimated the effect it would have on himself. It pained him more than anything to see the little tux that distressed and without thinking about it he gently touched Quaxo's shoulder.

For a moment he thought that Quaxo's usually matted black fur glittered unnaturally in the dark but then Quaxo opened his eyes and stared at him wildly and Munkustrap could do nothing more than nuzzle the kitten's head reassuringly and mumble, "Everything's alright. It was just a bad dream."

Quaxo's whole body was tense for a moment but then he buried his head in Munkustrap's grey chest fur and held on for dear life. He did not sob or cry. The shaking, however, did not stop.

"Shh," Munkustrap whispered again and again, until Quaxo finally calmed down enough to cease the death grip he had on the tabby. He looked down at his paws, embarrassed, but could not bring himself to let go completely. Munkustrap smiled sadly at him. "Want to tell me about your dream?"

Quaxo shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Munkustrap asked. "Sometimes, it helps when you tell someone about the things that scare you."

"To be afraid is a weakness," Quaxo said in a monotone voice, as if reciting the sentence. He did not look Munkustrap in the eyes.

The tabby sighed. "Who told you that? Your mother?" When Quaxo nodded he went on, "You know, that's not true. Everyone is afraid of something and sometimes, it's good to be scared of things. Like Pollicles."

Quaxo stiffened in his arms. "Are you afraid of something?" he whispered.

"I'm scared of a lot of things," Munkustrap admitted. "I'm afraid that someone of the tribe will get hurt because I'm not doing my duty, or that something will happen to you and I'll lose you."

Silence reigned in the wardrobe for a moment until Quaxo said quietly, "I dreamt of the night m-my Mommy left me. There – There was a Pollicle and, and she ran away and the dog ran after her and it almost had her. I was so scared."

"What happened then?" Munkustrap asked gently.

Quaxo shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. Everything w-went bright and then the dog was gone and she took me and brought me to the b-box."

"Where I found you later," Munkustrap surmised and Quaxo nodded. Suddenly he let go of Munkustrap and stared at his paws with wide eyes before curling around them. Munkustrap looked at him worriedly. "What's wrong, Quaxo?"

"My paws hurt again," Quaxo said and he looked at Munkustrap with confused eyes that quickly filled with tears.

Munkustrap lay down next to him and carefully examined both front paws. He was relieved to see no blood coming through the bandage. "We'll go to Jenny first thing in the morning," he promised Quaxo. The kitten nodded and shifted closer to Munkustrap.

"Do you remember how you hurt your paws?" the tabby asked after a while when it became clear that Quaxo had trouble getting back to sleep.

The little tux shook his head. "I don't know. They just hurt really badly suddenly. I'm sorry."

Munkustrap nudged his head affectionately. "You don't have to be sorry you don't remember. It's okay. The only thing that matters is that we get your paws healed so that you can play with Tumblebrutus and the others properly."

Quaxo smiled shyly at him. "I'd like that."

"Me too," Munkustrap said, smiling back at him.

The den became quiet and slowly, after some time, Quaxo's breathing evened out. It was only then that Munkustrap allowed himself to fall into a restless sleep filled with bright lights and the smell of burnt fur.

TBC