Y1C9

The Yard Guardian

Cassandra woke up from her restless sleep with a loud scream. Her chest heaved up and down as she attempted to control her breathing. She didn't understand why she was having trouble sleeping at night. But she wasn't about to deny it any longer. She pressed a paw to her temple and massaged the side of her head. She hadn't seen her sister in over a month, and she spent all her free time with the dark twins. Plus she was sure Plato had heard her and was now awake, too. The slender burmese started to get up, but at the last moment noticed that it was still dark outside. She pouted and rubbed her eyes to make sure it really was night. There was no change, it was really night and she had to go back into a restless sleep. Stubbornly, she tossed in her bed and fell into a more comfortable position. Then against her will, her eyes grew heavy and she had fallen asleep, again. Eerily, just outside her den, another jellicle stood. She let out a soft breath of air, and her brown eyes scanned Cassandra's den. She seemed to be in a daze or a trance. She stared so intently at the den, the rest of the world seemed to melt away. Another jellicle stepped up behind her, a bit confused. "Jemima, what are you doing up? And here of all places..."
Jemima immediately jumped up and spun around. All of her fur was standing up, and her tail had doubled in size. She clutched her fur near her heart, breathing very heavily. Her heart was beating rapidly, but she couldn't seem to slow it down.
"Alonzo...hey, you scared me to death."
He looked at her nervously,"I'm sorry if I scared you."
She smirked,"It's alright. I just couldn't sleep for some reason, sorry."
"Don't apologize." He made a small gesture, and the two walked down the path together.
He kept looking at the black-scarlett princess, who concentrated particularly on the path in front of her. Just as soon as they entered the square, Alonzo had a strange thought cross his mind.
"Hey Jemmie." She looked at him as they both kept walking. "I was wondering, since we're both up...if you'd liked to sit and watch the stars with me. It's actually a pretty clear night."
Jemima gave him a genuine smile, but just as quickly frowned,"I'd love to Alonzo, but I have something that I really need to take care of."
His ears went back for a moment, but he placed a fake smile on his lips,"It's no big deal, stars aren't really that pretty anyway."
Jemima had halted suddenly,"Alonzo, I think if you go over there and watch the stars you'll be happy."
"What?"
"If you do what I say, you'll be happy that you did it."
"All alone?"
She gave him a stern look,"Have I ever been wrong before?"
He paused to think it over, but he really didn't need to. Ever since she coaxed him two months ago, he hadn't had a single nightmare. Of course, now that he was thinking about it, all of his nightmares came flooding back in his mind.
"Just trust me, okay?"
Alonzo snapped out of his daze and nodded his head,"Hey, what is it that you have to take care of?"
"I'm sorry, sentinel. I just need some advice from a couple of my friends."
"This late at night?"
She nodded her head,"Have a good night Alonzo."
"You, too,"He shot back, not really understanding her smirk. He headed to the tire, and she disappeared down the east path.
She quietly walked down the path and passed some empty dens. To the right was Tumblebrutus and Pouncival's den, and to the left was a pile of junk. However, high up on the junk was a nice little balcony. She finally stopped and turned to her right. The dark twins den was directly in front of her. She just stood there and time seemed to stand still with her. Afer a few minutes of silence, she decided to go inside. Upon entering, she saw a decent sized living room, with a somewhat holey rug, laid down in the center. There were sheets to the right and left of the living room. She assumed that the two sheets covered up two different 'bedroom's'. One for Tantomile, and one for Coricopat. The sheets were just there so they each could have their own privacey. She wandered into the center of their living room, just admiring their den. She knew why she was there, and she knew what she was going to tell the twins. She just didn't know if coming into their den unannounced and telling them this late at night was a good idea.
**Can we help you with something?**
**This had better be important!**
She jumped, and fell down on her butt, frightened to death. She scrambled onto her feet and rapidly turned around. She was faced with the dark twins, who appeared to be more frightening at night. Both twins had their arms folded and their eyes had a creepy glow to them. Jemima was still recovering from when Alonzo scared her.
She swallowed hard,"It's Cassandra."
They dropped their arms and locked eyes.
Meanwhile, Alonzo was sitting on the tire alone. He had been looking up at the stars, just as Jemima had instructed him, but he felt the same. He didn't understand the small princess. In fact, most of the tribe didn't understand Jemima. Even the dark twins explained Jemima as a mystery.
**Am I just supposed to sit here, looking at the stars? Does she want me to make a wish on one of the stars? What?**
He didn't move, just sat there in stillness. It was a pretty warm night, and there was no wind or breeze at all. Even though he didn't feel any happier, he did admit that the stars were very gorgeous. Just then his entire body tensed, from his ears to the tip of his tail. He was on high alert, since he was the on duty sentinel. And the fact that nothing usually happens at night. He didn't pop out his claws, hiss or growl, just in ccase it was another jellicle who couldn't sleep. He sniffed the air and almost wished that he hadn't. It was definately Demeter's scent, right behind him. Hesitantly, he turned around and gave her a fake smile. "Can't sleep either?"
She gave him a puzzling stare,"I'm not your first visitor?"
Alonzo patted the tire beside him, hoping that she'd sit next to him. He was surprised by his own actions,"Jemima couldn't sleep, either. In fact, I think she's still up. She still hasn't returned to her den."
Demeter gave him a soft smile, and then sat down beside him. The two just sat there in silence, not an unpleasant or awkward silence, but an incredibly comfortable silence. After awhile, Demeter sighed and Alonzo gazed at her. He began to get a little nervous, but his conversation with Jemima from before entered his mind.
"So Deme, ..."He quickly shook his head,"Demeter, that stars they're beautiful, aren't they?"
She smiled and proceeded to look up at them. The first one she spotted, appeared to sparkle brighter than any of the others. Her smile had matched the star's brightness. Alonzo hadn't taken his eyes off of her, and a loving and happy smile was placed on his face.
**What am I thinking??**
He shook his head off of Demeter and looked up at the stars, determined.
**She's my brother's mate, his beloved! I love her too, but he got to her first. That's just how it is, get over it!!**
His body stiffened again, but this time for a different reason. Demeter had leaned in closer to Alonzo's body. She pointed to a cluster of stars and he instantly followed the point, so he wouldn't look at Demeter.
"Those stars, over there...Doesn't it look like a flower?"
He nodded,"A rose."
She gasped in delight,"Stars are romantic in itself, but wouldn't that just be perfect? Roses are romantic, too!"
He had a hard time swallowing, but still refused to look down at her,"Yes,"he croaked.
He then cleared his throat a few times,"Yes. This night is very romantic. It's a shame that it was wasted on us, and that Munkustrap had to miss this."
She looked away sadly,"Yeah, Munk would have loved this." She paused to yawn,"But he's asleep, and I really didn't want to wake him."
"You should go back to sleep, too, you're exhausted."
She stubbornly shook her head, but was already drifting off to sleep. After another comfortable moment of silence, Demeter had completely fallen asleep. Her head was resting against Alonzo's shoulder. He was completely nervous, being that close to her, but deep down he was loving that moment. He was a lot happier, just as Jemima predicted, which made him wonder about Jemima. He waited a few more moments, not really wanting to end his moment with Demeter. Since she already had a beloved, he finally acknowledged that he had to move on. So smoothly and as quietly as possible he lifted Demeter up, 'bridal style', and headed back to Munk's den. Surprisingly, he did that without waking her back up.
                                                                                                      ****
The sun had risen over the junkyard. All of the patrols were finished, but Munkustrap was not the first one up. Oddly enough, many of the kittens and teens were already up playing in the square. Alonzo figured that since the jellicle ball was coming up, all of them were just getting very excited. Honestly, all the jeelicles, not just the young ones, were getting excited. Tugger entered the square alongside Alonzo, next.
He glanced down at Alonzo, quizically,"Isn't Munkus supposed to be on duty now?"
He gave out a nervous chuckle,"He's not up, yet. Well I don't think he is."
Tugger was sure that Alonzo saw him differently, now, but he didn't know for sure. "So are we cool?"
Alonzo knew what he meant,"Of course, you're my younger brother. Don't worry about it. And Cettie...she's been waiting for you all morning."
He readjusted his mane, and grinned,"I'm going to go entertain the princesses. So I'll talk to you later."
He sauntered off of the tire, and headed towards the oven. Like moths to a flame, Cettie, Leccy, and Viccy were at his heels following behind him. As soon as he sat down and situated himself they crawled into his lap. Well Viccy was in his lap, Cettie was craddling his one side, and Leccy was leaning against his back. He had a huge grin on his face, and the three were obviously enjoying the Tugger's company.
"Tugger..." Electra flung her arms around Tugger's neck. He glanced behind his shoulder and gave her a brillant smirk.
He snapped his head back in the other direction when he felt a feather touch on his leg. Viccy stared at him with her big blue innocent eyes.
"Hey Tugger. You haven't forgotten about me, have you?"
He winked at her,"Or course not. No one could forget about you."
She giggled under her paw.
Just then Cettie whined, and tugged on the maine coon's mane,"TUGGER!!!"
He tightened his grip around Etcetera's waist,"Hold on there, tiger. One queen at a time."
The white tabby squealed right next to Tugger's ears. He winced a bit, but placed a smile on his face, because overall he was flattered by Cettie's enthusiasm. He was flattered by all three queens, and was just plain happy to be with them. Commotion was heard in the distance, and all the jellicle's, including Tugger, peered to the east pathway. Out from the eastern pathway, the dark twins along with Jemima, emerged. Those three were the three most mysterious jellicle's of the tribe. The true extent and origin of their power was even unknown to them as well. As the trio got closer to the oven, Tugger could tell the three were engaged in a mental conversation. The dark twins wore the same blank stare, but Jemima looked like she was frowning. However, towards the end of their conversation Jemima had turned to them, smiled, and then bowed. The dark twins kept walking down the path to Cassie and Xottie's den. The black-scarlett queen made her way to the group in the oven,"Any room for little old me in there?"
Tugger cocked his head,"'Heya Red. Come on."
She jumped up, and then was instantly on Tugger's free side. She giggled when he slid his arm around her. Alonzo had been watching his younger brother like a hawk. He was never good with the queens. In fact, he always got nervous when he tried to start a conversation. Jealousy was an understatement. He felt a paw slide into his shoulder fur.
"Good morning, Alonzo."
"Hey Munkus,"He peered over at him,"Where's Deme...Demeter?"
The silver tabby gave Alonzo a weird look, shrugged his shoulders, and then sat down beside him,"I don't think she got enough sleep last night. She's still in our den, sleeping."
Alonzo swallowed hard,"Yeah, a lot of jellicle's didn't get enough sleep last night."
"She smells like you."
Alonzo froze up at that statement. He glanced away from Munkustrap, stuttering,"She couldn't slleep...la la last night. Nothing HAPPENED!!! We we we were just talking, that's it. That's ALL! It...she...It-"
"Don't worry about it Lon,"He cut off Alonzo's nervous banter. Alonzo looked at Munkustrap wide-eyed.
**Did he just call me, what I think he called me??!!**
Munk shook his head,"I woke up this morning, and it seemed really nice. It was strange."
Alonzo grew more uncomfortable with the conversation, and tried his best to change the subject, or to act nonchalant,"I'm surprised you did sleep last night. Without your beloved curled against you." **Oh that's great Alonzo! Get further off the subject than that.**
Munk gave Alonzo a crooked smile,"That is strange, but maybe it's because I've just been exhausted lately. So how was last night?"
"Nothing happened." Alonzo fell back into his normal confident groove,"It was boring as usual."
Munkustrap smiled,"How tired are you?"
"Not that tired, why?"
"The more interesting things happen during the day. You're welcome to stay up and be sentinel alongside me."
Alonzo returned Munkustrap's smile,"Great. So you won't be getting rid of me today."
"I guess I never thought of that. Is it too late to change my mind?" Munk joked.
Alonzo just shook his head no and stuck his tongue out.
                                                                                                      ****
Tantomile and Coricopat walked down the path, just as Plato emerged from his den. He yawned and stretched out his back legs. His ears flicked and he glanced in their direction. A nervous laugh fell from his lips, since he didn't know the twins were there. He wasn't sure why, but he was always nervous around them. Something deep down inside of him kept him from trusting the dark twins. They weren't reading his mind, but they could tell what he was thinking by the look on his face. The two gave the white-ginger tom a sympathetic look, then directed their attention to Cassandra's den. Tantomile started the climb first, since Coricopat was ever the gentleman. As she got up there, he too, climbed up alongside her. Once they were both up there, they knocked on her den, simultaneously.
A frustrated groan came from inside the den,"Who is it?"
"Coricopat and Tantomile."
"Do you two need something?"
The twins sighed,"We need to talk to you, if that's alright. So may we come in?"
There was a long pause of silence. "Come on in."
They entered and climbed down the box steps and into Cassandra's den. She was still cleaning herself as the twins sat down comfortably.
"Good morning Cass."
She continued licking the fur on her shoulder, but did give them kind eyes in response to their morning gesture.
"So what brings you both to my den? And this early in the morning..."
Tantomile and Coricopat looked at Cassandra with knowing eyes. "Is there anything you want to share with us first?"
"Not that I can think of, why?"
"The young Jemima paid us a visit last night."
"Jemima? Oh, what for?"
Tantomile's eyes glowed, as she looked at Cassandra,"She wanted to tell us about you."
"Yes, apparently she sensed something."
The burmese frowned,"Oh. What was it exactly? I mean I woke up last night, and I haven't been getting enough sleep, but I'm not really sure why."
"Jemima believe's that it has something to do with your sister."
"My sister? But I know where she is, so why? Why would it have anything to do with her?"
"You might know where she is, but you don't really know if she's alright."
Coricopat had figured it out,"I've got it! You are worried that the next time she leave the yard will be her last time, and you'll never see her again."
Cassandra put her bath on hold and looked at the twins with a grim look on her face. She appeared to be in deep thought, but the twins refused to pry into the burmese mind. She remained silent for a real long time, and the twins patiently waited with nothing but respect for Cassandra. Terminally, she gave out a long sigh, then gazed directly at the dark twins.
"I'm not going to lie to you. What you said Coricopat...well that's been on my mind a lot lately."
The twins nodded in unison, but Tantomile spoke out,"So what can we do to help you, Cass?"
She shook her head at a loss of words. Coricopat nudged Tantomile.
**What bout a mind link?**
Her eyes filled with glee, and Cassandra knew that the twins were plotting something.
**A mind link, it just might work.**
**Hey Cass, would you agree to a mind link?**
**Yes of course, why didn't you two mention this sooner?**
**Although the process is very easy, all three of our minds would be linked, and we would lose our individuality, until we severed the link.**
**Not only that, we are not sure that this will even work. We could try it, but you might not get ahold of your sister.**
**Maybe, but if I could talk to her, I wouldn't be so worried anymore.**
**So you definately want to do this?**
**I do Tantomile.**
**Alright, just close your eyes, and relax. Tantomile and I will do the rest.** She obeyed Coricopat's command, letting her entire body relax. The twins titled their heads back, closed their eyes, and steadied their breathing. Once their breathing was in unison, they concentrated their thoughts to be completely in sync. As soon as that happened they grabbed each other's paw, and the were no longer two different jellicles. Now with one mind, the dark twins reached out and grabbed onto Cassandra's two paws. She gasped as her mind connected with their's into one mind. Their mind opened up as they attempted to find Exotica. Since that wasn't working they called out on a common wide range frequency.
**Exotica?!**
                                                                                                      ****
Bombalurina emerged from her den, with a cmile on her face. She raised her arms above her head, yawning.
"Did you have a good dream?"
The scarlett queen looked over at her friend, Demeter. She smirked at the golden queen,"You betcha."
Demeter shyly smiled,"Dreams must be good for you."
"Oh Demeter, you have some really great dreams, granted you get some very scary one's as well."
Demeter's tail curled in delight as she thought back to some of the dreams. Bomb noticed the faraway looke in her friends eyes and couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. At once, Demeter stood stone-still, her face was obviously blushing, too. This only made the scarlett queen laugh harder. She thought of something to counter Bomb, but she waited until the taller queen calmed herself down first. Bomb wiped the tears from her eyes and returned to smirking at Deme. Demeter had a grin on her face, as she looked up into Bomb's face. The scarlett queen raised her eyebrow out of confusion, and curiousity.
"You know,"Demeter stated slyly,"Having the real thing is so much better than a dream."
Immediately, Bomb's smirk fell,"You sure know how to ruin a queen's fun."
Demeter's facial expression hadn't changed, and Bomb roled her eyes at the golden queen,"Well you don't have to be so smugh about it."
Demeter let out a small chuckle,"Alright, alright. Let's go see what Munk is up to, shall we?"
"Sure."
They walked down the path making small talk, until they reached the tire. Alonzo was making a strange face and Munkustrap had been laughing at it.
"So this is how our sentinel's behave..."
"I'd hate to imagine what would happen if the tribe was in any real danger,"Bomb pointed out.
Munk stopped laughing to clear his throat a couple of times. Alonzo, however, moved his mouth but no words or sound came out of it. Bomb had seen Alonzo mocking her, and she quickly got angry and annoyed. She didn't get angry with him, however, because a small group of jellicle's in the oven caught her attention. Her lip grew into a frown and she bit it. Not to mention, her eyes flickered with anger. All three followed Bomb's gaze to Tugger and the four princesses. Munk and Alonzo quickly looked away from Tugger, and acted as though Bomb and Deme weren't even there. Demeter pulled Bomb aside, giving the two sentinels a glare that said 'you two better not eavsdrop'.
The scarlett queen gave Deme a short glare,"What did you do that for?"
"So that I can talk to you in private."
"Dispite what you may think, crouching behind the tire,...isn't exactly private."
Demeter lightly slapped Bomb's upper arm,"Be serious."
"I thought I was." She saw Demeter's unamused face,"Fine. So what is this all about?"
"I need to ask you a question."
"So ask it."
Demeter's ears went back in anger, but she didn't act on it. "Do you still like Tugger, because it seems like it."
"No. We're over, I'm glad we're over, but I'm still mad."
"OH! And you wish you could get even, right?"
"To say the very least."
"Hmmm...the jellicle ball is coming up. How about you do something to him then?"
"What? Dance him to death?"
"No Bomb! Give him a taste of his own medicine."
Bomb stared at Deme blankly, but Deme gave her a few nudges and then winked. "Oh! ...Yeah, I think I can do that."
Meanwhile, Munk and Alonzo had been playing 'whose next' in order to stay busy. Otherwise, they would have been eavsdropping on the two queens. Munkustrap had guessed Plato, and Alonzo guessed Admetus. Out from the eastern path, Plato sauntered in, nervously.
"I knew it!"
"Oh man! Does he always come into the square at the same time every morning? If he does, then this isn't fair."
'No, it was just a lucky guess."
They watched their little brother with little interest. As they watched him they were rejoined by Bomb and Deme.
"Did you two miss us?" Bomb cooed in Alonzo's ear.
He frowned,"Aren't you still mad at me?"
"Fine. Hey hunk!" She tapped Munkustrap's shoulder.
He gave her a friendly smile, but then dragged Demeter into his lap. Her smile was brighter than ever, and even Bombalurina was smiling. Out in the square, Plato stood. He couldn't find Admetus anywhere in the square. Victor and George weren't around either. He sighed as he gazed about the square. Munk, Alonzo, Bomb, and Deme were on the tire. Alonzo and Bomb were focusing their attention on Munk and Deme. His other brother was busy trying to please the four princesses. So Plato really didn't want to bother him. Then sitting on top of the trunk was Carbuckety and Bill Bailey. The two toms were hollering towards the sun, and looked incredibly foolish. That left Mungojerrie, who sat on the bleachers of junk, looking at Plato, oddly. In the distance, beyond the bleachers, Plato saw the quad watching Rumpleteazer, Sillabub, George, and Victor play. Finally, Plato was approached by Mungojerrie. He circled the white-ginger tom, with a blank look on his face.
"Ya're pretty happy thes mornin'."
Plato smiled,"Yeah, I am."
He really was, and he felt as though he was moving passed his past with Macavity.
"Oi don' want ta be ah mood killah, but Oi was nevah told wha' happen'd, 'n Oi was jus' curious."
Plato raised his brow,"Are you talking about what happened when I was at Macavity's Empire?" The tiger tabby nodded. "Why now?"
"Well mah parents told all my siblin's, 'n meh not ta talk or ask ya 'bout it. Since it was ah bad issue wih ya or somethin' loike tha'..."
"It is, and always will be, but you can ask me about it. What exactly do you want to know?"
"Jus' ah general idea, ya don' 'ave ta go in ta details."
"Alright, I left the junkyard with my brother a long time ago, but I was a little younger than Sillabub, so I was really naive."
"Well tha' explains why ya left, but why did Macavity leave?"
"I'm not sure. They've told me different stories, he went crazy, he had different views and Old Deuteronomy exiled him, he lost a duel and too ashamed he left the jellicles...the list goes on and on, but those were the main reasons."
Mungojerrie looked to be in deep thought,"So wha' happen'd next?"
"Oh just did some work for Macavity for awhile, but then i saw something I wasn't okay with and wasn't supposed to see. So I, he...Macavity tortured me for awhile before letting his enforcer's hunt me for their own blood sport. Lucky for me, Jemmie's power led me here, and Jelly and my brother's saved me."
"The torture...was it bad?"
"All torture is bad Jerrie."
"Oi know, but wha' kind of torture was it?"
Plato's ears went backwards out of pain and sorrow,"Thought you wanted the gist...not details."
Jerrie had heard him, but chose to ignore the tom. "Was it just normal torture? Loike breakin' yah'r bones, or slashin' deep cuts in yah'r body,"
Plato shook his head, getting more uncomfortable with the conversation by the second. However, Jerrie didn't let up, and started up with circling the tom, again. Most of the jellicles were glancing at the two with curious eyes, now.
"Or did ya get the clamps?-"
"How do you know about that?"
"So did Macavity evah rape ya? Oi bet he was rough."
Plato fell to his knees,"Stop!"
Jerrie crossed his arms with a wicked smile,"Oh rumpus! Plee..."
Plato's eyes went wide at what the tiger tabby said. "Wha-?"
Jerrie mimicked what Macavity's face might have looked like,"Plee, yes!"
"NO MORE! STOP IT!"
                                                                                                      ****
Jennyanydots and Jellylorum sat with their two toms outside of their den. All four had huge smiles that contained an unknown secret. The four of them had a close watch on their children, but anyone with eyes could clearly see that something bigger was on their minds. Out in the clearing four of their children were playing.
"Come on George."
"It's useless. No queen is going to dance with me."
"But if they do ask you, don't you think you should learn."
"I know how to dance."
"Yeah, in a group, but not couple dancing."
"Even if I did, and even if a queen wanted to dance with me, I would still feel awkward about it. "
"George...please,"Victor presented his best smile, hoping George would take the bait.
He gave a sigh,"Fine, but only if you can find a queen willing to dance with me."
Victor thought it over a moment,"It's a deal."
He then held out his paw, and George took it. "Isn't this a little weird?"
"No weirder than you actually being nice to Sillabub for a change. Now lets see... Dance lesson number one!"
George laughed at his brother's fake seriousness, and Victor, too, began to laugh. A little ways to the right of them, Sillabub and Rumpleteazer were. Rumpleteazer was standing in front of Sillabub, who was sitting down observing Victor and George.
"Sillabub!" Teazer whined.
The golden kitten looked up into Teazer's face. "What?"
Teazer placed her paws on her hips, giving off some attitude. "Ya've been watchin' 'em all mornin', now come oun, Le's go play!"
Sillabub looked away stubbornly.
"Don' be so stubbourn." Teazer reached her paw out,"We'll evahn play ya favorite game."
"Tag?"
"Yes."
"But that's more fun with more people."
"Well we could get our parents ta join, because..." She glanced back at Victor and George. George had twirled Victor under his arm. "Those two look preoccupied."
Sillabub smiled, and grabbed ahold of Teazer's paw,"Okay!"
The two queens made their way to the quad. They stood in front of them, with Sillabub smiling beside Teazer.
" 'Ey motha Jennah, motha Jellah..." Teazer had sweetly said.
"Father Skimble, Father Gussie!" Sillabub added.
Skimble looked at his two daughters,"Ay, an what are ye two up tae?"
Sillabub chuckled, at her father's rich accent.
Teazer was caught off quard with Sillabub's laughing, but quickly recovered. "We were hopin' ya moight join in our game of tahg."
Jenny smiled as she and Skimble stood up,"Of course, sweetie, we'd love to."
Gussie stood up and kissed the back of Jelly's paw,"Jelly?"
He helped her up. "I'll be fine. I'd love to play with our daughters."
Sillabub jumped up and down, calpping her paws together. "Yay!"
George looked to Victor with a grim look on his face. Not so gracefully, he oulled Victor back to his body. He made an 'oumph' sound as he crashed into George's chest. "Alright,"Victor said shakily,"Let's try a lift."
"A what?"
"Lift me up, George."
The butter calico hesitated as he bent his knees and lifted Victo up by his waist.
Victor's eyes went wide,"Wow, you're doing...You're good at this part."
George bit his tongue as he struggled to keep hold of Victor's waist. "Oh no.."George managed to say.
He lost his grip and his knees buckled, causing the two toms to fall to the ground.
Victor picked up his head first, since he was on top,"Obviously, I spoke too soon."
"It'd be nice if you'd get off of me."
"Sorry.."Victor scrambled up to his feet and off of George. He then helped George to his feet.
"So Victor should we continue the lesson?"
Victor shook his head and pointed in the distance. "George look! Something's going down in the square."
Quickly, the two ran to the path that would lead them into the square.
                                                                                                      ****
Exotica nervously paced outside of Macavity's office. Both Otrox and Rhade were standing quard just outside his door. Now Rhade was doing fine, he was a ver patient tom. The long haired tom next to him wasn't okay. Personality wise, Otrox was very impatient and easily bored. He had a scowl on his face, and his eyebrows were twisted in annoyance. Exotica noticed that Otrox tail was curled. It kept curling and uncurling, indicating that not only was Otrox impatient, annoyed, and bored, but that he was slightly angry as well. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. A low growl came out of his mouth, but he didn't move from his post. Exotica giggled under her breath. If there was anybody not suited to be a doorman for Macavity, it was Otrox. He looked up at the burmese with much distaste, but he knew Macavity would really tear him to shreds if he found him trying to kill Exotica.
**You do realize that I can read your thoughts.**
His eyes looked into Exotica's witha hint of surprise and fear in them.
**Bast, I keep forgetting that you've got those weird abilities just like Chaos.**
**Would you mind keeping it down, Otrox? I'm on the other side of the empire trying to work, and I can still hear you.**
Otrox growled loudly, causing Rhade to look at him, and Exotica laughed harder.
**You really know how to push everyone's buttons, don't you Chaos?**
**Of course. It's a hobby. Soon I'll know how to push everyone's buttons.**
Rhade, unaware of the mental conversation going on, opened Macavity's door. "Macavity will see you now, Exotica."
She bowed a thankyou to Rhade, and then slipped into Macavity's door. Queen Griddlebone was sitting up on the white blanket, or Macavity's bed, and Macavity was sitting at his desk, looking very proffessional.
"What do you think about this pose, Maccy?"
The ginger tom looked up and cleared his throat,"Good morning, Xottie."
The burmese gave Griddlebone a half smile, before turning her attention to Macavity,"Hiya, Queen Gridds, Maccy."
Macavity frowned,"You of all jellicles should know that you don't have to call us with such formalities."
"Sorry, I guess it sort of became a habit."
He gestured for her to sit down, and she did right in front of him,"You wanted to speak with me Maccy?"
He nodded his head,"I am asking for your monthly report early this time around."
She smiled, nodded, and stood,"This might sound strange, but I work better standing."
Macavity raised up with her,"By all means. Now be my eyes."
She smirked, and instantly worked her power into the junkyard. "I see the quad playing a game with two of their youngest. Tugger is preoccupied by four princesses."
Macavity rolled his eyes,"Same old Tugger."
"Your other two...Munk and Alonzo are with Bomb and Deme sitting on the tire."
"And?"
"Well, it seems like Mungojerrie's mission to revert and scar Plato more, worked."
Macavity smiled,"Great, that's what I wanted to know."
Exotica nodded, but added something else that she had observed. "Something's happening to Admetus."
At the mention of Admetus' name, Macavity came to Exotica's side. He raised his eyebrow in mild interest,"Explain yourself."
Exotica nodded as she looked harder to see more.
**Exotica?**
That message came so suddenly and kept resounding in her head. Exotica's power vanished, a strangled gasp escaped her lips, and she fell to the ground. With quick reflexes, Macavity caught her in his arms,"Xottie? Xottie? What happened?"
It was one loud voice, but Exotica could distinguish three different voices.
**Cass, Tomie, Corie...**
Once the link was established, their wide-ranged message desisted and the voice was now quieter.
**Exotica! It worked!! Are you okay?**
**No. I've got a splitting headache, and if I don't think fast I might be discovered by Macavity. Probably every mystic in this empire heard you...**
**I'm sorry, I'm just really worried about you.**
**I know, but hey that was really risky what you did. That was very cool.**
**Really?**
**oh yeah, A mind link...Thanks Cass.**
**You're welcome.**
**I'll see you at the jellicle ball.**
**Alright, bye.**
**Bye.**
She gripped at her temples and had quickly jumped up, when she saw Macavity holding her,"I'm so sorry!" She bowed her head,"I guess I over exerted myself. I didn't mean."
"Xottie, relax. I'm not angry." She let out a sigh of relief. "Now tell me, what's going on with Admetus?"
                                                                                                      ****
Admetus had walked out from behind the tire, just as Mungojerrie spoke the word Plee.
He looked to the two sentinels,"Whose Plee?"
"It was Macavity's nickname for Plato, when they were both still living here. Plato was just a baby a kitten then, and it was cute."
Alonzo frowned as he observed Plato,"But over the years, I think Plee has changed in meaning to Plato."
Admetus, too, frowned,"Any idea of what the two are arguing about?"
"NO MORE! STOP IT!"
Without gettting the answer to his question, Admetus raced to the two toms.
Mungojerrie groaned,"PLEE!"
Plato could feel his eyes start to water, and he forced his paws over his ears. Desperately trying to block out all sound, especially Mungojerrie's voice. The tiger tabby couldn't go any further with his plan.
Admetus grabbed Jerrie from behind and tossed him across the square,"What do you think you are doing?"
Jerrie sat up, rolling his eyes,"Havin' ah conversation, what else does it look loike?"
"Well your 'conversation',"Admetus had done the air quotes,"Is getting way out of hand."
Jerrie jumped up fully peeved and annoyed," 'N wha's wrong wi'h bein' called Plee?"
"I don't think this is what it's all about."
Jerrie growled as he charged Admetus. He had rapidly dodged Jerrie's attack and grabbed Jerrie's tail. Jerrie let out a hiss, as he kicked Admetus' legs under. He fell onto his butt, quite angry himself. The white tiger tabby then jumped onto Admetus with his foot jagging into the silver tom's stomach. However, Admetus caught Jerrie's foot and twisted it. Jerrie, too, landed on his butt, gripping his injured foot. The two sentinels were keeping Bomb, Deme, and the two toms on the car at bay. Tugger had a good grip with his four princesses and urged them to stay away from the jellicle's fighting. It was at this moment, that Victor and George entered the square. Instantly, Admetus was on his feet. He roughly took hold of Jerrie and lifted him up.
Both an intimidating growl and an angered hiss came from Admetus' throat,"Don't ever pick a fight with me again. And I better never see you bothering Plato, again." Jerrie winced, when Admetus dropped him. "Go back to your den, and think about what you've done."
He saw Victor and George help him back to the quad's den. His attention was back on Plato as he slowly approached. He didn't want to alarm the tom, so he lightly graised Plato's arm with his tail. Plato gasped and looked up into Admetus' face. He gave Plato a warm smile, yet still didn't move to touch him. The white-ginger tom shakily stood on his two feet. He slowly placed an arm around Plato's shoulder, smiling bigger when the tom didn't pull away, he did flinch though.
"Admetus..."
Both Admetus and Plato looked back. It was Munkustrap and Alonzo. Munkustrap had retook his seat on the tire. Alonzo got to Admetus' one side, but still looked to Munk. Munk nodded his approval, and Alonzo lead Admetus and Plato to face Munkustrap. All the jellicles present had gone completely silent and watched what was taking place.
"Admetus, over the past several monthes, this tribe has gotten to know you. You have had some suspiscion, but everyone in this tribe believes how loyal you are to this tribe, it shows in how loyal you are to Plato. Not only that, but you've proven to Alonzo and I that you have natural leadership and bravery. I know Old Deuteronomy would agree with Alonzo and I. So I am bestowing you as the Yard Guardian, only if you accept. Do you accept?"
Admetus smiled,"I accept."
"You think you can handle all this new responsibility?"
"I'll manage,"He was glad he stayed at the yard. This was his true home.

***FIN

-Year One Illustrations By Extwo