| Aftershocks |
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| The black tuxedo tom had been sulking since the ball. No one knew he was sad, at least he was positive no one knew. But after thinking hard about it, and after much self-loathing, he made his decision. He walked out of his temporary den, since he live's with humans. His head was held high, and his face was twisted into determination. He finally decided not to be angry with Plato, or at himself. He was glad that Victoria and Plato were together, well he was working on it. He was, however, glad that Victoria was happy, even if it wasn't with him. He walked into the square, nodding to Alonzo. The brown tabby was laying on the tire staring up at the afternoon sky. It appeared as though Alonzo didn't see him, but the brown tabby raised his paw and waved at Mistoffelees, without tearing his eyes away from the clear blue sky. He smirked at his sentinel, and continued his search for Plato and Victoria. He went through most of the yard, running into just about everyone except the two he was actually searching for. There were a lot of empty and abandoned spots in the yard, that he hadn't checked yet. The most used 'private' place for solitude and other things, was the three big boxes in the northwest corner. So thtat was the first place on his list. As he got closer, though, he could hear two distinctive voices, and just knew it was the right place. Victoria and Plato were both laying out on the ground soaking up the suns rays. She giggled at something the white-ginger tom had said. However, his body tensed at the presence of another tom. "Victoria, we're not alone." "Of course we are silly. This is the most secluded place in the yard, well at least one of them." "That's just not true anymore. I'm sure Admetus could see us, if he was out on his balcony." "Yeah, but I saw him looking out for Tumble, Pounce, Cettie, Leccy, and Jemima. So we are totally alone." "But my body's on high alert. There is someone here with us." "You've been through a lot and I understand that, but you're being paranoid. Why don't you just relax?" Mistoffelees stood still wondering if he should show himself or not. Then the determined look resurfaced and he walked up to them. "I hope I'm not bothering you two." Plato glared at Viccy,"I'm being paranoid?" "If I am, I can just come back another time...I'm real sorry that I disturbed you." Viccy and Plato gave Mistoffelees soft eyes,"No, it's alright." The white queen boldly asked,"You want to lay down with us, you know, sunbathe?" Plato glanced away from the conjourer,"Don't call it that. Toms don't do that." She giggled,"What I meant was lay down and talk with us..." Plato gave a goofy smile,"I suppose that's better." Mistoffelees shook his head,"Sorry, but I'd prefer to stand." "Suit yourself." "So you need to speak to me, or Victoria?" "Actually both." The two white jellicles sat up to stare at the black jellicle. "You have our full attention, Mistoffelees." Misto felt his nerves begin to shake. "I just wanted to say, that I'm happy for you two. And to say, well, congradulations and all that. For becoming mates." There was a long pause of silence, before Plato cut in with laughter. Not long after, Victoria joined in his laughing. "What was funny about that?" Plato gave Victoria a look,"Should I tell him, or do you want to tell him?" **** Plato had run into the shadows, away from the square, after the second Macavity scare. It was of course only Chaos, though none of the jellicles had known that. The white-ginger tom searched around the walkway in fright. He had to focus on something other than Macavity. So he went looking for his father. Old Deuteronomy was sitting at the southwest wall, patiently waiting, for what Plato didn't know. Plato silently approached his father,"Hey dad..." Old Deuteronomy chuckled,"Still having conflicts with that word?" Plato shrugged,"When I left with Macavity, he sort of became a father figure to me. Sorry, I know I shouldn't have compared you to Macavity." Old Deuteronomy still smiled at Plato and dragged his son into his arms. "You didn't come here to talk about sore subjects did you?" "No, not at all." He eventually relaxed in his father's arms,"A few monthes ago, Victoria had asked me to dance the courtship dance with her, and become her mate." "That's great son." PLato shook his head,"Just last month, she came to me, and said she didn't want to dance it with me, and then said something along the lines, that she was being selfish." Old Deuteronomy's brow deepened in thought,"Do you want to dance with her?" "Yes, I do, but just as a friend, I don't want to become her mate, and I think she feels the same way. Tugger told me, if I dance it with her, I'd be publically announcing that we are mates. I just don't think I'm ready, no, I'm not ready, and I won't be for a long time." Old Deuteronomy nodded,"You should dance it with her, as a friend. You won't become her mate, and no one will judge you for it." "You can do that?" "Of course, I am the leader, am I not?" Plato jumped out of his father's arms,"Thank you so much." "Does Victoria know about this?" "No, I'm going to surprise her." **** Mistoffelees frantically turned his big smile, into a surprised look."I had no idea." Plato nodded,"The other's know, I'm assuming you didn't because you have been stuck in that den most of the time, since the end of the jellicle ball." The black tuxedo tom agreed with Plato, but kept his eyes on Victoria. Plato knew that Viccy was clueless, but knew that Viccy and Misto would eventually figure it out and become mates. Mistoffelees smile had gotten bigger, if that was even possible. "On second thought, I think I will join you two, and your 'sunbathing.' " **** Alonzo lay contently on the tire staring up at the sky. He still had a sore leg from the fight, but the physical proof that he was in a fight, was gone. Jelly had fretted and pampered both him and Munkustrap, for protecting the tribe against Macavity. Though, he and Munk both told her the same thing, it's their job. Alonzo licked his lips, and then frowned. **Concentrate on something else. Just anything else.** He liesurely raised his paw and traced the outline of a lone cloud in the sky. Things seemed to be going downhill for him, love life wise. He was attempting to look at other queens, differently. But everyone he looked at, he either couldn't see himself with her, or they just didn't think of him that way. There was one queen that he was looking at differently, but it would just confuse him more. It was Jemima, and they would spend time together talking or she would patrol the area with him. Just everytime he tried to get closer to her, or hint at becoming mates instead of just friend, she'd draw away. Her mood, senses, and defenses would change dramatically. She'd either pretend it didn't happen or change the subject, usually to 'guess what Cettie did yesterday', or to,'I saw Munk and Deme kissing the other day.' Being a mystic, Alonzo assumed Jemima knew he had feelings for Demeter. Although, maybe he was wrong, or maybe Jemima knew somethingthat nobody else did. Footsteps approached, and he lost his train of thought. By scent, he determined that it was Old Deuteronomy, Tantomile, and Coricopat. He sat up and gave the three his greeting smile. "Hey Alonzo,"The dark twins spoke. "Good afternoon, son. Did Munkus oversleep, again?" "Oh no, it isn't his day. Today is my sentinel shift. Munk..us, Admetus, and I came up with a better solution, though I think Admetus still stays up all night out on his balcony." Old Deuteronomy chuckled,"A little workaholic, is he?" "I guess that's one way of putting it." "I just came here to tell you that I am going back home." Alonzo frowned,"I'll miss you, everyone here will." "I know, but you will all see me back here at next years jellicle ball." "I know. I'll be looking forward to it." "Good." He turned to the dark twins,"As always, Tantomile, Coricopat, I'm leaving the safety of our tribe in your watchful paws." Coricopat snickered proudly,"You can trust us. We've never let you down before, and never intend to in the future either." Tantomile rolled her eyes at her brother,"Ignore him. We will do our best leader, you can be sure of that." "I know. Well, I'm off." "Before you go." He looked at Tantomile confused,"What is it?" "We know how much you loved your brother, Gus." Old Deuteronomy frowned and his shoulders slouched,"When did it happen? And how?" Coricopat gave Old Deuteronomy a comforting gaze,"It happened a few nights ago. He died peacefully though, leader. He passed away while he was resting." Old Deuteronomy forced a nod,"What about Gussie...Jelly, do they know yet?" "No,"Tantomile whispered,"We four are the only one's who know." The leader blinked his eyes a few times,"Munkustrap, I need to inform him of this." "That's alright father, I'll tell him." Old Deuteronomy faintly gave his son a smile,"Thank you. And I know Gus will return to us, someday." The dark twins bowed their heads. "I must be going, otherwise I won't get there before sundown." "Fairwell, leader. We shall keep you informed of happenings in the yard." "I'm looking forward to it." Then gradually the leader began his long walk back home. **** Lucifer stood at the front of the room, with his arms folded. He shouted over at Otrox, who stubbornly sat down, while the other enforcers stood. "Otrox, get off of your arse, and join the others!" Otrox snarled,"Why should I? It wasn't all our fault. Macavity should've known better than to go after the jellicle leader." "That leader was a foolish old tom,"Rhade commented dryly. "Careful Rhade,"Lucious warned,"That old fool is Macavity's father." Rhade chuckled,"You've got to be kidding me." Just as Lucious shook his head, Lucifer stomped his foot onto the ground,"Enough!" Lucious tsked his twin brother,"Temper Luce." Lucifer took an uneasy breath before he spoke again. "Macavity put me in chagre of you failures for a reason. Now all of you are going to retrain, including me." All the enforcer's turned to the lone enforecer, who wasn't up and ready. "No, I'm comfy sitting right where I am." Otrox was sitting off to the side of their training grounds room. He was in no mood to train, believing that he was trained well enough. Both Lucious and Rhade foled their arms as the waited patiently. Angrily, Lucifer marched over to Otrox, his tail swaying, dangerously. "Your whole problem with authority, is really cute, it is. But if you don't get onto your feet and do what I say, I'll hand you over to Chaos." "It's his day off." "I know that, but I also know how much he loves to torture others. He would just love to abandon his day off, to give you an attitude adjustment." Otrox's defiant smirk dropped and he finally stood on his feet. Slowly, he joined the other enforcer's to the front of the room. They were in the enforcer's training grounds, and it was a very big room. The enforcer's training grounds carried many different types of equipment. Many of the machines were used to train new recruits, and to keep the current enforcer's in shape. The grounds were sort of like what the human's call a 'gym'. It was even open on day per week to anybody who wasn't an enforcer. Although Macavity was an evil tom, he still liked to see his clients or members good-looking and fit. Lucifer headed towards the ring, with all the rest following him. Otrox grumbled loud enough for them to hear it. Lucifer, Lucious, and Rhade turned to him. Lucifer had a cross look on his face,"I am THIS close, Otrox, to killing you myself." "As if you'd even get one punch in." Lucifer went at him, fists flying, but Otrox easily dodged him. "Now just listen to what I have to say." Lucifer growled as he attempted to tackle him. Otrox had leaped over him with eas, catching him off-guard. Unprepared, Lucifer staggered to catch his balance, but ultimately fell to the ground. Rhade and Lucious just patiently waited for the two of them to settle down. Lucious often wondered how the two became friends. Well, one usually didn't have friends in the empire, especially enforcers, it was more like and equal, someone who is just like you with the same stregth in battle, or just a well talked to acquaintence. Still, Otrox was easily bored and impatient, while Lucifer was quick to jump to conclusions and easily angered. Otrox folded his arms,"Are you ready to listen to me, now?" Lucifer stood up,"What is it?" "Why the ring? Let's instead go on the bean, it'll be more fun that way." The beam was a long balance beam, so to speak. Two enforcer's would go on it, on at each end, and fight. The first one to lose their balance or get knocked off was the loser. Lucifer mirked,"Alright, Rhade and I will go first. Then you an Lucious will fight next." **** The quad sat comfortably in their living space in their den. They were curled up on the couch each holding each other's paws. Both Bill and Buck were sitting on the chair, opposite the couch, but would every once in awhile fight over the chair. Victor was standing up behind the chair, and would break up his brother's squabble over it. Sillabub was laying against the couch under her parents feet. Next to the chair, on the floor Victoria sat. The tiger twins were assumed to be terrorizing and trashing the quad's bedroom. Their final chil, George, was standing up in the corner, alone and away from the rest. Bill looked to Victor,"Does the ball just get better and better each year?" Victor smirked,"Oh yeah! You'll constantly look forward to the next ball, and the next." Buck made a whooping noise,"I wish it was the jellicle ball, again!" Sillabub stuck her tongue out,"That would be so cool, Buck." "I know." Bill snorted at Buck's cocky expression,"WE should have our own ball, just us. That would be fun wouldn't it?" "Yeah!" A bunch of them murmured. Victoria was one of the jellicles who agreed with Bill, but she suddenly frowned,"But...we wouldn't be able to organize something like that." "Aww...Victoria, You ruined their dream." She pouted,"I'm not the only one to blame. You ruined their dreams by saying what you did, Victor." She paused to focus on Victor,"Besides you sounded pretty excited about the idea, too." Victor nodded,"It would be interesting, but we'd eventually get mates, it would just be weird. Not to mention we'd never pull it off." Jenny, Jelly, Skimble, and Gussie were carefully listening to their conversation. Gussie turned to his mates,"Would you just listen to them bicker." "It''s quite humorous, isn't it Gussie?" "I agree with you completely, Jenny." Jelly chuckled,"Victor is of course right. They could never organize and pul something like that off." Skimble joined in Jelly's laughter,"Can ye even imagine any of our kitts actin' like adults?" The quad lightly chuckled. "Oh wow. That was a good one Skimble." "Thought ye might enjoy that Gussie." Bill and Buck glared at their parents, but the group was interrupted by the tiger twins. Rumpleteazer came at full sprint, screaming. Directly behind her, Mungojerrie was following with a devious grin spread on his face. She ran behind the couch, in hope that she'd be safe with her parents. However, Jerrie didn't appear to stop, he didn't even slow down. "Wait, Jerrie!" His parents warned him. He didn't listen as he jumped over the couch and pounced onto Rumpleteazer. She squealed in delight,"Okay, yew win, yew win." He rolled off of her laughing. He then sensed the tension in the air,"We intruded on somethin' important, didn' we?" That's the moment Bill and Buck jumped up with their voices raised,"We're older than we once were!" "And we can prove it! You'll see, we can act like adults." The oters, even their parents, gazed at them with wide eyes. Buck snapped his head towards the tigers,"Teazer, Jerrie come on, we're leaving." The two shrugged their shoulders and headed outside with Bill. Buck shouted,"Victor, George, we'll be needing your help with this, alright." Victor noticed that it was a question, but a command. He nodded, then Buck went outside as well. Victoria grinned,"They do seem pretty confident.But they aren't adults yet, just barely teenagers." "They're more adult than you, well Buck is." "Buck? Sillabub, I just danced the courtshipe dance, I'm thought upon as an adult now." Sillabub gave her a confused stare,"But I thought that you just became a teenager..." Jenny bent over and nudged her daughter,"You are technically right, Sillabub. But the elders and the leader will treat her more like an adult. You do have to realize Victoria, that you are not an adult yet." "I know, but I was right." "No, you're not,"Sillabub pouted,"Buck might not act like it, ever, but he's older than you." Viccy frowned,"At least I'm older than Bill." The quad smiled at their two youngest girls, but would see what their two oldest boys were up to as well. Victor was now sitting comfortably in the chair, but George hadn't moved. George was still standing in the corner, arms crossed and a displeased expression on his face. His glaring eyes were apparently directed at his four parents. Finally, he silence stopped,"So you weren't going to tell us about this new edition?" "We did tell you, son." "No you didn't. You just let all of your children find out on their own at the jellicle ball." Skimble queezed Gussie's shoulder. The brown tabby was getting upset, but Skimbles golden paw, drew away some of the tension. Skimble gave George a short glance,"What does it matter when or if we told you?" "It matters because we're your children too, not just the one Jelly's carrying!!" Skimble glared, tightening his grip on Jelly, but Jelly intruded him,"We should have told you, George, all of you, really. But it wouldn't change the fact that I am going to have this child." George raised his brow in confusion,"What do you mean?" "Don't play dumb with me, dear. Both you and Victor don't want another sibling." "Don't drage me into this, mother." Jelly eyed her oldest, and Victor pouted,"It's not our business or choice to what you four do or want." Gussie nodded,"That's right." George stubborn as always, peirced his eyes at them,"So you own children's opinions don't matter...? If they don't, then why in heavyside would you want to bring another child into this world?" George growled as he stormed out of the den. "So there's another Sillabub in your tummy?" Sillabub asked. Jelly sighed and crawled deeper into her quads embrace. Victor frowned on his way out the door,"I'll go calm George down." "I don't want another Sillabub." Their youngest whined,"Then you'll mistake that one for me or me for that Sillabub!" She began to cry as she bolted out the door. "Sillabub, wait!" Victoria ran after her sister, out of the den. Skimble, Gussie, and Jenny were holding Jelly. They could feel the wetness of her tears, and the trembles of her sobs. Skimble and Gussie were giving each other a worried stare. Jenny sighed deeply,"I guess we need to have a chat with all of our kitts, one on one." "Will...Will that work?" "Maybe, maybe not, but it will at least make things easier." **** Munkustrap sat just outside his den with Demeter laying in his lap. She had her paws wrapped around his head. Her eyes kept roaming his face and down his entire body. Munkustrap gave a small chuckle,"There is not much more for you to pay attention to. Jelly healed most of me." "Most of you?" "Yes, any other injuries I might have had, you took care of me." She smirked,"I wouldn't be a good mate if I didn't." He frowned,"You are the best mate I could ever have. Why would you even doubt it?" Demeter sighed,"I never said that..." "You didn't have to. I could sense how you're feeling." She looked down at him nervously. He lowered his voice,"Deme, I love you so much. You know that right?" Deme nodded,"Yes, and I love you, too." He cupped her cheek,"Then please, Deme, tell me what is bothering you." She staggered up, out of his lap,"Nothing." She started to back up, but bumped into something,"Nothin is wrong." She looked behind her and jumped in surprise,"ALONZO! You startled me..." He frowned,"I'm sorry Lady Demeter...Munkustrap." The silver tabby stood up, with a displeased look on his face. "Alonzo...you-" "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but dad has gone back to him humans." The tabby nodded, but frowned at Alonzo's next words. "And I bring bad news." Munkustrap prepared for the worst, swallowing hard,"Wha-What is it?" Alonzo gave both Munk and Deme a sympathetic look,"It's...uncle Gus has gone to the heavyside layer." "Oh Munk,"Deme was immediately by her mates side,"I'm sorry. I know how much you looked up to him." He nodded,"He will be missed, but we'll all be reunited with him again soon." Alonzo bowed, and then turned on his heel to leave,"I just thought you should've known now. I'll leave you two alone now." Munkustrap cleared his throat and pushed Demeter towards Alonzo. She gave Munk a small glare,"Alonzo, wait." He stopped and slowly turned to face them. He bit his lip and rolled his fists. **Please leave me alone. I need to get away from you two...** Still, he didn't let them know that he was bothhered or upset. Munk held Deme's paw,"Well, about the jellicle ball..." Alonzo shrugged,"What about it?" Munk smiled,"After I passed out, I heard you gave Macavity quite a fight. You held your own so he wouldn't harm me." "It's part of the job of being a sentinel." "And, when Munk and Macavity held me, you stepped in and saved me. You got me to safety." Alonzo began to explain the roles of a sentinel, but Munk cut in,"Don't even say it's because of your sentinel job. The dark twins told me that you pleaded with Macavity to spare my life. And...and..y-you were willing to give up your own life for mine?" Alonzo frowned,"Well your my brother. Besides this tribe needs you." Munk had the same frown, and Demeter carefully observed the two tabbys. "Alonzo! I can't beleive you did that!" Alonzo winced, at his brothers harsh words, and his ears went backwards. "I can't even begin to imagine my life and this tribe without you in it... Promise me that you'll never die on me." Alonzo gave Munk a half-smile,"I won't, promise." Deme smiled,"We wanted to thank you properly for saving us from Macavity." "You don't-" Alonzo trailed off once he saw Munk's glare. The silver tabby and his mate went up to Alonzo. Demeter shyly leaned into Alonzo and kissed him on the cheek,"Thank you, Lon." He blushed at the name, he wanted to hate her, but he was sure that he loved her more. **Self control...Don't do anything stupid.** Lon, was the nickname, and more so pet name that Munk gave him. Alonzo always said that would be what his mate would call him whenever he got one. Munkustrap had his paw on Alonzo's shoulder, and leaned into him next. Alonzo's heart beat sped up at the unusual feeling. Munkustrap kissed the other side of Alonzo's cheek,"Thank you, Lon. I'm holding you to that promise. I-I owe you my life." "No you don't. You'd help me if I was in trouble. I'd do it all over again, if I had to Munk." Munk nodded,"I know, and I hope you know that I would die for you as well." "Don't! I'm important to the tribe, but it would survive without me. It needs you more than it needs me." "Alonzo..." The brown tabby shook his head, and then gave Demeter a gentle kiss on the lips,"I'm glad that both of you are okay and safe. I have to go back to the tribe. I'm sure I'll see you both later today." He left in a real hurry, and the two stared ahead of them, oddly. Demeter looked to Munk and regripped hi paw in hers,"Munk?" He felt a single tear run down his face,"I have the strangest feeling." Demeter nodded in agreement,"Me too." He glanced back, even though Alonzo had completely disappeared. "There's.." He shook his head,"Alonzo is troubled by something." **** Macavity sat at his desk, with Griddlebone sitting on top of the desk in front of him. He playfully attacked her belly and she toppled over, giggling. Exotica was pacing in front of them, totally oblivious to their antics. However, when Griddlebone fell off the desk in a fit of laughter, Exotica had reacted and caught her. She was still laughing when she gazed up at Exotica. "You should be more careful Quee...Gridds,"Exotica caught herself. Macavity smiled at her,"You should relax and have more fun Xottie." Exotica frowned,"I can't I have things on my mind." Macavity then stood up tsk-ing the burmese,"I told you those things for you to think over, not worry about." She thought over what the ginger tom had said, but it really didn't register. "I mean no offense, Maccy, but the second thing you informed me about, I didn't beleive you." "Didn't?" She nodded,"From what I see in the yard, I now beleive that you are right." He was now mildly interested, and walked over to her. He wrapped a free arm around Griddlebone and nuzzled her neck. she smiled and gave him a pleased meow. His focus was then back on Exotica,"What do you see?" Exotica smirked,"I've been practicing on developing my power. I don't know how good it will work, or how long, but I thnk I can show you now...instead of telling you." Macavity, and even Griddlebone gave Exotica a smle. "I'm impressed,"Macavity purred,"So how does this work?" Exotica raised her paw,"Just hold still." Her paw rested on his cheek, and he was flown from reality. He was now seeing everything that she was seeing in the yard. Griddlebone stood looking at the two in silence. She wasn't seeing what they were, and figured that they needed some peace and quiet to concentrate. The two looked to be in sync, even their breath was the same. Exotica gasped in surprise, and even Macavity's mouth dropped in surprise. **It was just a hunch, but it seems that I was right.** **It has yet to happen though, Maccy.** **Indeed, Xottie, but it will be interesting to see how things turn out.** She nodded,**It will. Do you suppose they'll need a push?** **I wouldn't be surprised.** Suddenly, Exotica's power began to survey other parts of the junkyard, stopping at another group of jellicles. Macavity had seen the scen and instantly pulled away from Exotica's touch. He covered his face trying to forget what he had seen. It didn't make sense to him. He had never felt that before, and all it did was confuse him. Griddlebone tugged on Macavity's arm,"Is everything alright? Macavity?" He finally looked at her,"Yes of course. Everything is fine. You sound concerned." "Me?..."She trailed away as she observed Exotica. He, too, looked at Exotica, and seemed perplexed. She was still seeing into the junkyard, that was obvious, but something seemed different. Ever so suddenly, she let out an exhausted moan and fell forward, eyes closed. Macavity and Griddlebone caught her in their arms. "Xottie? Xottie?" "Maccy, it's no use, she's out. W-Will she be alright?" "Yes, she must have overdone herself. She just needs some rest." He gathered her into his arms,"She should be okay in a few hours. I'll take her back to her room, then I'll be back." "You'd better. Otherwise, I'll start to think that you're ignoring me." He smirked,"Oh I'll be back to give you some quality time." **** Admetus sat poised and alert as he kept an eye on the stray's. Tumble, and Pounce were chasing Leccy around the area. Jemmie was alone on the otherside, unseen by them, except Admetus. They were located near the east entrance. Every once in awhile Admetus would look over to watch Jemima. He knew that she needed some time alone, and when she was ready she would come around the corner and play with the others. Then there was Cettie, and even Admetus couldn't help but smile. She was pacing about in front of him, with a goofy grin on her face, and was acting like a guardian in a mocking way. Not a rude or insulting way, but in a playful and almost flattering way. Leccy screamed, and Admetus immediately looked up. He knew she wasn't in real danger, but it was just a natural reaction. Tumble had cut the tortie's escape off, and Pounce had successfully pounced on top of her. "Got ya!" Pounce laughed. The tortie stuggled under his weight. Granted, Pounce was one of the smallest toms in the tribe, but even so, Leccy was having difficulty underneath him. However, she twisted far enough where she could get out. As soon as she thought she'd get out, Tumblle came over, and layed down on top of her. "This looks to be the best place to rest." Leccy let out a hot breath of air,"This isn't funny you guy." Tumble and Pounce smirked as they exchanged glances. She caught their faces,"Oh no! What do you think you two are going to do? What are you up to?" "TICKLE ATTACK!" Pounce hollered. Pounce and Tumble's paws focused on Leccy's hips and mid-section. Leccy scream and yelled in protest, but they reall couldn't hear her scream of protest over her boisterous laughter. Cettie watched the group with mild interest, with her tongue hanging out. She giggled at the scene, but made no move to go help her friend out. She only watched them a bit longer, and then went back to pacing. She was pretending to be alert to the rest of the world around her, but Admetus knew that she was easily distracted. The white tabby turned to Admetus and cocked her head. She appeared to be looking at the way he was sitting, and then she nodded her head and walked away. He frowned in confusion, but went about his business. Often, when he would get bored he would match the other's up. He'd observe the other jellicles, and guess who would become mates, by who get's along and how each of them interact with each other. He knows that he'll probably be wrong, but it keeps him busy and of course mildly amused. The only two he couldn't seem to pair with anyone were the dark twins. Or course, he didn't pair himself with anyone either. He usually paired Cettie and Leccy with Tumble and Pounce or with Bill Bailey, and Carbuckety. He took his eyes off of the three kittens rolling around on the ground to observe Jemima. She was gracefully sitting down with a sad smile on her face. Then just as suddenly, she stood up and walked in the middle of the path. She twirled around, and then brought her paws down in front of her. Her tail curled as she kicked her leg up, and then bent backwards. Afterwards, she bent forward to caress the frontside of her leg, up to her hip, then brest, and then above her head. She arched her back with the same sad smile on her face. Admetus sat there watching, when he realized what she was doing. She stood there in her pose for awhile, but finally dropped her paw, with a few tears running down her face. The silver guardian didn't know waht to do, but suspected that she might need someone to talk to her. He got up to comfort the black calico, but Cettie's squeal caught his attention. "HEY!" She pointed in the distance. She was leaning over the high balcony,"I can see Victor and George, by the quad's den." "Be careful Cettie." Leccy was helped to her feet by Tumble and Pounce,"I would listen to him if I were you Cettie, I think you should just come down from there." She shook her head,"This is what Admetus does. He says that it's fun." He grimly shook his head,"Cettie-" "Oh! It looks like George is really mad,"She leaned over more to see them better. Yet, she fell over the edge, screaming. "Sorry,"Admetus shouted as he pushed the other three jellicles aside. He held his arms out and caught the white tabby. Her wide and scared eyes looked up at Admetus,"You're right...now that's what I call fun." He smirked,"Okay, but let's just leave the guardian job up to me, Alonzo, and Munkustrap from now on." She pouted,"Deal." **** Bombalurina had joined Munk and Deme shortly after Alonzo had left. They both seemed to be a little dazed and confused, but the were greatful for the distraction. She had an arm wrapped lazily around Deme, which Munk didn't seem to mind too much. Deme had immediately stopped talking, when Tugger strutted out of his den. He gave Munk his usual hello, smirked at Deme, but once he came across Bomba, he glared. He muttered something under his breath as he walked away. Deme chuckled, and Munk gave Bomba a hard glance,"What was that all about, Bomba?" She had the brightest smile,"I took your advice, Demeter..." Demeter raised a brow,"What are you talking about?" Bomb snickered,"You told me to get back at Tugger, for what he did to me, at the ball." "You did?" Munk thought it over,"When? I never saw you getting back at him. All I saw was you dancing with him." She nodded,"That's all anybody saw, but that was just the beginning." She rested her free paw on Deme's thigh,"You see I had to get him to think that he might've had a second chance with me. So after the ball, after everyone went back to their dens, I was left alone with Tugger. He made a move and then I dumped him flat on his butt!" She smiled to herself,"Only regret is that I didn't get to do it in front of the entire tribe." "That's harsh." Munk shook his head,"It's Tugger. He'll get over it." **FIN -Illustrations for Year One, By: Extwo |