Mungojerrie looked down, following the paw prints in the snow. He went to tell Old Deuteronomy that the kittens were born but the cat wasn’t at his perch on the Vicarage wall. Luckily, there was a lovely trail that was made when he left. Mungo had been following it for the past five minutes and ended up finding himself outside of a parlour. The walls were made of wood and it had a rustic, homey feel to it. The prints lead in but there was no kitty door to go through. Mungo scratched at the door, meowing forlornly. The door opened and a woman poked her head out, seeing him in the snow, she scooped him up and carried him in. He was brought past groups of round tables to beside the kitchen door. She disappeared for a moment, returning with two saucers of milk. He began to drink his, wondering who the second was for, when Old Deuteronomy came from out back.
“Good afternoon, Mungojerrie,” he smiled, taking a lick of his milk. “May I ask why you’re here in such weather?”
“Rumpelteazer had her kittens last night,” the old tom perked up, “I’m a father!”
“Congratulations, Mungojerrie,” he smiled to the grinning calico, “How many?”
“Twins - two; a queen - Doe Wynne, and a tom - Cookie Tynan. They’re at the vets right now with Rumpelteazer.
“Cookie and Doe,” Old Deuteronomy shook his head sympathetically, growling slightly, “Trust humans to give such ordinary names to such fantastic creatures.” He regained his composure as he went for another drink, “I trust that Rumpelteazer is pleased to see her feet again.”
“Yes... How did you know she missed seeing them,” he licked the cream from his mouth.
“Mungojerrie, I’ve had more then my share of pregnant mates, they all miss their feet,” he groomed his paw and wiped it over his face. “If you’ll excuse me I’m going to resume my nap.”
“Sorry for disturbing you,” he apologized, standing up.
“I don’t mind. Get all the sleep you can; you’re going to need it.”
/\\//\\//\\/
Mungojerrie opened his eyes, or tried to at least, coming to view a mass of fur. His nose twitched, tickling the small stomach that covered him. “Teazer... Pst, Teazer.”
“Go away,” she grumbled, “It’s still early. Mommy doesn’t want to wake up now.”
“Can’t Mommy help Daddy see?” He heard her moan, obviously unhappy that she had to wake up before the kittens. She picked up Tynan by the scruff and gently lifted him off of Mungojerrie’s face. She placed him back down next to his sister and looked up at him, “Thank you.”
“Was it so hard to do that you needed me to do it,” she asked, climbing over him to the food dish.
“Obviously, yes,” he said, following her. “They’re easier to get off when they’re still small, but when they’re three weeks... and I didn’t know what position he was in or where his neck was.”
“Save it for when I’m more awake and will actually care,” she advised, taking a bite of ‘breakfast’.
“Why are you in such a bad mood this morning,” He asked, sitting across from her.
“It’s the kits. I mean, everything was fine when they were still blind – they’d stay in a spot, want food every now and then. Now though, they can see and move about and they’re running so much that they get hungrier faster so they want to eat more. And they keep ending up in the most asinine places. I can’t keep track of them and...”
“Shh,” Mungojerrie whispered, nudging her, “Its okay. You’re just not used to kittens, none of us are. We’re going to learn though. Before you know it they’ll be eating solid food and you can sleep all you want.”
“Really,” she asked hopefully as he nodded.
“Momma...”
“Just not now,” he apologized. “Soon, though... soon.”