How Long Until You're Mine?
Deep in the heart of Macavity's Warehouse, where all of the dungeons were located. Isolated from all the others, a brown and tan Abyssinian tom sat. He was mostly brown, with an undercoat of tan fur. His face was mostly tan with exotic brown markings shaping his face, and under his eyes. The tom was stick thin; the hexes didn't feel the need to feed him every day. His eyes opened, and his bright golden eyes shone in the darkened cell. His head fur was a little longer on one side, though it probably had been even at one point and he had trimmed one side shorter. His longer 'hair' on the right side of his face had a tiny black rubber-band at the end of it. There was a small skittering noise, and his eyes lit up, searching for the only possible thing that would make that noise. He spotted a dusky Grey ball of fluff in the corner. There was a pause from the Abyssinian, wondering if it really was a mouse or if the isolation was getting to him and he only thought it was a mouse when in reality it was a ball of dust. Squinting his eyes, he saw near the top of the fluff ball two black beady eyes, staring at him. Grinning widely, the brown exotic tom tilted his head, his eyes never leaving the mouse.
"Hmmm...Seems like it's just the two of us." The tip of his fluffy tail curled and he almost laughed at himself, since he was essentially talking to himself. Shaking his head, he continued on. "You need a name. Oh oh! I'm going to call you Mouseketeer. Bet you didn't expect to run in to me way down here."
The Abyssinian knew the others hoped his isolation and losing the ability to communicate with others would be the first step to breaking him. But he was not going to let them beat him down. "Sure showed them didn't I?"
No, he wasn't crazy, but he did need to talk. Being isolated didn't bother him, in fact despite his normal bravado, he had always felt alone; isolated from everyone else, no matter how many others were in the same room or area with him. Snapping out of his brooding thoughts, he flicked a small pebble into the corner, and watched Mouseketeer take a couple uncertain steps at the noise, before stopping again.
"So Mouseketeer, you're small, and can go by unnoticed, and lets not forget how clever you are." He inched a little closer,"There's some keys over there on the wall. You could get them for me. Huh? It's a good plan, right? No bloody brilliant."
The mouse squeaked and scurried away, as the bigger tom moved closer to it. Thinking foolishly, or maybe he just wanted to play along, he thought the mouse was headed over to where the keys where. "That's it, go get them! No...The keys are in the opposite direction."
He paused, watching the Grey mouse flee until he couldn't see him anymore. "Fine then! I'll get them myself."
Breathing deeply in, he closed his eyes, folding his legs and appearing as if he was meditating. Concentrating, he focused all his thoughts on the image of the keys and getting out of the cell. He imagined the keys jingling when his 'mind' picked them up off of the nail they were hanging on. However, he heard a loud click, and the sound of the cell door squeaking open. This caused him to open his eyes, and in front of him, he saw a Grey and Scarlett tabby holding the keys in one paw, while his other held the door open for him.
"Well wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I'll take it." Getting up onto his feet, he gave the tom a look over, wondering if he was to be escorted to a different cell for more interrogation and torture.
"Gllenning?"
The brown exotic tom groaned,"Just call me Glen, if you must."
"Great. Found you and now I'm freeing you."
"Fantastic, guess meditation really does work. Look, buddy, not that I'm not grateful, heck I'm tempted to give you a big ol' hug, but why exactly are you helping me to escape. If you're on the opposite side of the cell, you're one of them."
"I was forced to become one of them. The name is Chaos. I might have to work for them now, but at least I can do some good while I'm here."
"Not afraid of getting caught then?"
Chaos shrugged,"I'm not worried. Slipped a sleeping herb in Otrox's food. I'll ingest some once I get you out of here and get back to Otrox. It's fine. So you coming or would you like to stay longer?"
"Oi, Of course I'm coming. Do you know what room service is like here?"
Chaos rolled his eyes but supplied one word,"Rubbish?"
Glen laughed,"Yes, that's exactly what it is, rubbish." He slipped out of the cell past Chaos and tapped him on the shoulder,"Been cooped up in those four walls for awhile, so lead the way!"
~^*^~
"Demy." Bomba called out, once she was close enough to Demeter's den. "Hope you're decent, because I'm coming in."
She only had the courtesy to tap on Demeter's den once, before she let herself in. She wasn't in the habit of breaking into the dens of other jellicles, but Demeter was her sister. If her sister had a mate or was known to flirt and bring back toms, she'd exercise a little more caution. Demeter was none of these things, she didn't even like any toms, least Demeter had told her as much last time they got together. Now that she thought about it, it had been a while since she had spent a girls night out with her two sisters, Demeter and Jemima. This was mainly due to her budding relationship with Munkustrap. And though that wasn't going to change anytime soon, she was determined to spend some more time with the only family she had left. Demeter didn't seem to be in the main area of her den, so she headed towards the back, where her sister's bedroom was. She called out to Demeter once more before entering the golden calico's bedroom.
"Hey Demy, you okay?"
Demeter's fur was messed up, as she was still curled up in her bed, and her face was a little flushed. She gave her older sister a shy, perplexed stare,"Yeah, fine. Just overslept is all."
"You look a little flushed. You sure you're not sick? Maybe you have a slight fever."
She saw Bomba begin to walk closer and she nodded her head,"Yeah, just fine. Probably just a touch of the flu. Did you need something?"
Bomba did give her sister an odd look, but halted her steps, believing Demeter. "I was hoping you, Jemima and perhaps some of our friends, and I could go out...Just us girls, What do you say? If you're too sick we can have a girls night next week."
Spending a moment to think about it, Demeter nodded,"Sure, just give me fifteen-" Demeter cut herself off, and she made a face. "Thirty minutes."
"Yes of course, Demy. Looks like you're about to up-chuck. Take as long as you need. You'll find me at Jemima's den."
She gave the Scarlett queen a smile, and watched her older sister leave. As soon as Bomba left, Rumpus cat emerged from underneath all of Demeter's blankets on her bed.
"Do you think she knew I was here?"
"I doubt it."
He lowered his head capturing her lips with his. She grinned into the kiss, but broke away prematurely.
"What's wrong?"
Looking into his red eyes, she touched his cheek tenderly with her paw. "I just wanted to thank you. With Bomba dating Munkustrap, and with no toms showing any interest in me in any way. Well, I was a bit depressed, and you...you were there."
Rumpus stared at her, with a small smile on his face,"I know you were upset...I wanted to help if I could. And I don't understand why no toms would be interested in you. You're attractive Demeter, inside and out."
Licking her bottom lip, she gave him a bashful expression,"I don't usually do this; I hope you don't think any less of me."
"I do not. As long as you don't think I'm trying to take advantage of you."
"Sounds like we're even." Demeter spoke and started to lean in towards his lips, her delicate orange fingers already threading through his long hair, hair that was no longer pulled back in his little ponytail. With it down, it seemed a lot longer then it looked when he had it up.
He pulled slightly away,"I still think we need to discuss the 'touch of flu' comment. Do I seriously make you look ill?"
Demeter giggled at that, smiling broadly, she placed a small kiss on his lips. "Not at all. But would you rather have had her find out you were here. Toms usually aren't good with awkward situations."
"Fair enough, though that would have been interesting." Kissing her on her lips once more, she responded.
"This..." She broke from the kiss, once again,"This isn't going to change anything between us, is it?"
Rumpus shook his head,"No. Like you want, the moment I step out of this den, we're back to friends. Don't worry."
Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him freely. Although, they were not and never would be mates, it felt good to feel this level of intimacy with a tom that not only made her feel protected, but she trusted him. There were only a few toms she trusted in the yard. She felt the back of her head hit the pillows. She nearly groaned in protest when his lips were not on hers, but instead she felt them on her jaw and then going down her neck. She threw her head back sighing in deep content.
--- --- ---
Gus looked up nervously at Old Deuteronomy. The two had spent time together since the 'prank', but never alone-till now. He had a nervous thought that Old Deuteronomy had picked up on his ever increasing feelings. He wasn't entirely sure why he was worried. He did have a pleasant vision of Old Deuteronomy, the night before. He was certainly old enough to know his personal dreams, from his dream-visions. And as far as he knew, Demeter was the only other one in the junkyard with a similar ability. She had asked him about it a couple times, but since then he hadn't heard much from the golden calico. Still, the dream visions didn't always come true, so that could be the cause of his anxiety. Then again, there had been nothing romantic to his vision. Perhaps all it had meant was that he'd be Deut's best friend and stand beside him till he returned to the heavyside layer. Deut gazed down at him, and Gus saw the corners of Deut's mouth stretch into a smile. The leader was actually amused by his emotional turmoil!
"Are you feeling okay Gus?"
Gus stiffened, shrugging his shoulder,"Rough night." Heavyside! It wasn't even a good lie.
Deut continued to look at him, and Gus realized he had been staring just a little bit too long. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Gus looked around, not seeing anyone nearby, he motioned for the leader to enter his den. Winter had hit full force and somehow it just seemed warmer in Gus' den then outside. Once Deut was inside, Gus felt his tail curl around his ankle. "Not really. So what brings you here today, Leader?"
"You actually. I was hoping we could talk."
Was that the sound of his heartbeat speeding up? Why did he feel like a hormonal teenager again? This was all nonsense. He probably only wanted to talk to him about the tribe and how things were going.
"Yes of course. What about?"
Deuteronomy didn't answer right away, but he did take a few steps closer. His eyes, he barely noticed, were focused on the leader, and a part of him wanted Deuteronomy to know-just to get the awkward talk over with, to bare his soul. Still, he downcasted his eyes, with every step Deut took to get closer to him.
Finally, he heard Deut breathe in,"Do you...ever think about the time we use to be involved, you know back in our teen years?"
Gus felt the heat rise to his cheeks. So Deut had come to talk to him about 'this'; whatever 'this' was. "I...No. I don't." He sighed, shaking his head, and began to turn away, but was stopped. Nervously, he looked up into the Leader's face.
He had a smile, though it seemed forced,"You know Gus...you may be able to fool others, being a good actor and all. But I've always known how to tell when you're lying."
He frowned, still looking at Deut. Shrugging out of the leader's grasp, he rubbed the sides of his face at his temples, for a moment, trying to keep himself from lashing out or crumbling.
"What do you want?" Gus asked,"Yes, I still think about it. I can't stop thinking about us back then, us right now. In fact, even after we had to break up because our relationship would never have been accepted back then, I still had feelings for you and still thought about you. I don't think I ever stopped having feelings for you. Is that what you want me to say?"
"Is it the truth?" Deut's voice was soft, gentle even.
Gus didn't want to answer, but he knew he would. Get it over with, he told himself. "Yes it's the truth." After a pause from the Leader, Gus couldn't help but hang his head. His honesty, he hoped it didn't just ruin a good friendship; one he didn't want to lose.
"If you don't want to talk to me because of this, I understand. It's not your problem anyway. I have to deal with this, with my feelings myself. I just can't stand the thought that this revelation might ruin our-"
"Shh..." Deut cut him off. "I don't find it revolting or surprising Gus. I...Well I have a confession of my own as well. I still have feelings for you too. I suppose I always did. I still mated to other queens after ...we ended things, tried not to think of you in any way but a good friend. I buried my feelings, while I mated to my other mates, but they never really went away. They came back shortly after my last mate passed away, and they've only been getting stronger since then."
Gus knew instantly what he was talking about, and knew the leader was being serious. He could be a jolly fellow from time to time, but Deuteronomy would never joke around when it came down to things like this. Deut's paw reached out, and Gus brought his own paw up. They touched paws, and they both spread their fingers to entwine them together. "Deut."
The leader shivered, smiling at his mate name. He brought his other paw up, tenderly caressing the side of Gus' cheek. The two toms purred, and Gus started to ask what they were going to do about their situation. Though he was leader, and same sex pairs were more accepted now than they were then. Deut hadn't planned on this happening, though he secretly hoped it would, when he first decided on coming to Gus' den to talk about it. He wasn't sure he wanted to rush into a new relationship, there would be consequences to becoming mates and revealing their relationship to everyone else, simply because he WAS the leader.
"We don't have to decide right now do we?"
Gus smirked at Deut, his tail wrapping around one of Deut's legs. "No. We don't."
~^*^~
Wandering through the darkest path he could find, Gilbert took a relieved breath. There weren't a whole lot of jellicles in that particular section of the yard. No one around to bother him or to see him acting 'oddly'. Closing his eyes tightly, he fought the urge to call himself crazy. But that's what he was, wasn't he? In his head, he could hear the whispers ghost across his thoughts. Were they even his thoughts anymore? The whispers he often heard in the corners of his mind seemed to get louder with each passing day. Was he simply crazy, did he have a condition where he had multiple personalities-heavyside only knew. Gilbert just didn't know if they were his thoughts or if his thoughts were being corrupted by the whispers; that were simply not his own anymore. What really scared him, was the thought that these voices one's he couldn't quite make out what they were saying had the ability to manipulate his own thoughts. Maybe even to the point of taking action. He stopped short, believing to be safe for the moment, and leaned against one of the objects nearby. He pinched the bridge of his nose, shuddering with each new breath. In the back of his mind, he could hear a few whispers getting closer and closer, louder each second that passed.
"Just leave me alone...Stop."
"Well fine then."
Gilbert looked up startled, and saw Mistoffelees standing there with his youngest brother Carbucketty right beside him. Buck was a little confused, but being young he bounced right back. He tugged on Misto's tail.
"I'm going to go play with Bill...Or Cagalli. They're fun." He grinned from ear to ear.
Misto messed up the hair on his brothers head,"Alright off you go. I think I'll stick around here a while."
Carbucketty gave his brother a weird look, that altered between him and Gilbert, shrugged his shoulders and then off he went. Misto took a few steps closer to Gilbert noticing too well that the tom backed away the same amount of steps that he took.The tuxedo tom knew something was wrong, something was really wrong. Gilbert had always been a bit on the shy side, he knew this, for Gilbert tried to keep out of the limelight as much as possible, but this seemed more then just pure shyness.
"Gilbert?"
"What? Didn't you hear me? Just leave me alone."
"Look, I don't know know what's going on with you, or what's wrong. And you don't have to tell me, but I think you should tell someone. We're all family here, Gil...We can help you if you let us. We're all worried for you."
Gilbert shook his head, the noise, the pounding in his head was getting to be too much. But he stopped himself from gripping his head. That would only make him look even more in distress, and the good Mistoffelees would want to 'fix' him. "I'm not your brother or your cousin, we aren't family. And no one is worried about me."
Misto frowned, his tail curling. He wanted to help, but Gilbert was a difficult one to understand. If he pushed too hard, he was certain Gilbert would completely close himself off from the rest of them and probably any future help. "Now I'm sure that's not true. There's me, and you have friends...they're worried about you too."
Gilbert didn't point out to Misto that he actually had no friends, since Misto probably knew on some level, and it was none of Misto's business anyway. "You can't help me. So please just go away."
Mistoffelees took a few quick steps towards Gilbert,"Please. I can help, you just need to trust me."
However, the quick movement made Gilbert more edgier and he jumped back. Gritting his teeth, he shook his head, ignoring everything Misto said. "Why can't you guys just leave me alone? I don't need to be fixed! And don't follow me, in fact don't even come near me again." He ran passed Misto, hoping if he could get far enough away from the tom, maybe-just maybe the voices would get a little more quiet. Right now it felt like one in particular was screaming in his head.
Misto was momentarily stunned, but even if he wasn't, it probably would have been too dangerous to try and stop Gilbert from running away. Gilbert, he wouldn't leave the junkyard, not just yet anyway. Misto didn't think Gilbert had anywhere else to go, and something had to have happened on the streets, bad enough for him to flee to the junkyard and not wish to go back onto the streets. Life at the junkyard was intolerable, in Gilbert's eyes-not yet, which was why he knew Gilbert would stay in the junkyard unless something very bad happened here. He sighed, running a paw through his black 'hair'.
"Man!" He scolded himself. "I just had to push didn't I?"
Maybe Gilbert was or would be fine, like Gilbert implied. Perhaps, being on his own, he'd be able to work out his own problems out by himself. Misto wanted to believe that, but that would be the easy way out, and he knew ignoring it wouldn't help Gilbert and would only make Misto feel guilty for not even trying to help. He would have to consult Coricopat later, maybe the older mystic tom would be able to help where he could not.
~^*^~
Victoria sat comfortably in a large pile of blankets in the den of Jennyanydots. She had stumbled earlier when one of the younger toms ran passed her in a game of tag. Jenny hadn't seen the fall but the toms had apologized constantly to Victoria, and had even helped her up and took her to Jenny's. Normally she wouldn't fix someone in her own den, that's why they had an infirmary, but she made an exception for the white queen. Lovingly, Jenny finished wrapping up Victoria's twisted ankle, apologizing for any discomfort she caused when she had first inspected the queens foot.
"You're all set, Victoria." Jenny patted the top of her paw gently.
"Thank you Jenny." She curved her paw over Jenny's and up her arm. Feeling Jenny's face, her way of seeing Jenny. Jenny smiled at the delicate features which had Victoria smiling right back.
"Victoria. You have been getting through the junkyard a lot better recently, but your still prone to fall, especially if we keep getting new members. Whether they come off the streets or are born into the tribe."
"I do not need or wish some sort of caretaker or jellicle to guide me through. I can get by just fine."
Jenny shook her head, reaching over to gently pat her knee. "I did not mean to offend, or imply that you were incapable of moving about on your own. I was just going to ask you if you've ever tried clicking your tongue. It's called echo location. You'd be able to gauge the distance of objects and other Jellicles around by the sound."
Victoria paused in thought before nodding her head,"I have not tried this. I think I will. Thank you again."
"Of course."
There was a knock on the door, before Tugger swaggered in. A flirtatious wink was given in the direction of Jenny, but he focused on the white queen in front of her.
"Well hey there Victoria." He announced who he was before making any move on her. His fluffy tail tip ran against the inside of the blind queens leg. She shivered, flushing slightly.
"Tugger." She bit her bottom lip, shyly, though unconsciously reached up with one paw.
He took it of course, and helped her to her feet, realizing that one of them was wrapped up. He tsked her, hoisting her up in his arms. "Damsel like you, needs an escort. Come on princess, I'll take you to wherever you want to go."
She giggled in his arms. "Well if you insist. Bye Jenny. Thanks for all your help."
"Anytime Victoria."
Tugger quickly ducked his head over and planted a kiss on Jenny's lips. "When I get back I want to hear all about what's his name."
Jenny cracked a grin,"And give me all the details about your date with Kara."
He laughed at that,"Oh Jenny. So naughty."
"If you get back early, I might have a surprise for you." She purred, and he only licked his bottom lip, before leaving her den.
~^*^~
Adonis and Jagger had been outside since the afternoon scouting the queens in the yard. Both toms had gotten a few queens attention since their arrival in the yard two months ago. Jagger had already hit on a younger queen, but had been scolded by Munkustrap for the simple fact that the queen and technically Jagger were still too young. This had amused Adonis to tears. Adonis did like hitting on the queens that passed by, but Adonis wasn't as aggressive as Jagger, and probably wanted a meaningful relationship with a queen one day. Jagger was more into one night stands, especially after seeing the way Tugger was. And Jennyanydots, the queen he was apparently with seemed to encourage him to be with other queens, now that seemed like a good deal. Jagger wanted that. They had been watching a group of queens for the better part of an hour now. Among the group was Cassandra, Vimala, Jellylorum, and Seffina, but Exotica soon appeared and sat down with them. She was the youngest of the group, but the gladly welcomed her in. Jagger grinned,"Now she...is hot."
Adonis crinkled his brow, they all were. "Which one are you talking about?"
Jagger pointed,"The exotic brown queen, right there. I'd do her."
"She's....like ten years older then you."
Jagger stopped staring at the queens to give Adonis an odd glance. "She's only seventeen. Least that's what I hear through the grapevine."
Adonis nodded,"You mean the one that just joined them. Exotica I believe is her name." Adonis had known what Jagger meant by the 'grapevine'. Panthera, though peddled in mostly gossip and rumors was the best source for news and information. He agreed with Jagger. "She is very pretty. Though....out of that group, I like the mostly white one, Vimala."
Which was true, but it was a poor substitute. In truth he had a small crush on the white blind queen, Victoria. Though, rumor had it that Vimala was the older sister of Victoria.
"Let's go." Jagger grinned, already seeing what he wanted.
The two toms approached the queens, who giggled at their sudden entrance. Still, they let them sit down with them. Cassandra was the only one who didn't care for their presence, nor did she drive them off. She was just a tad too old for both of them. Jagger's arm was around Exotica in a flash, and he not so subtly, brought her closer to him. "How are you ladies doing, today?"
Adonis was closest to Vimala, his tail brushing hers. Not a very blunt way of flirting, but he realized Vimala didn't seem to mind, and even leaned in closer to him. No one seemed to mind that Jelly and Seffina were sitting closely together. The two had become quite good friends since Seffina first introduced herself to Jelly.
Exotica smiled shyly, though the queens saw it as a rouse. If she was truly shy, she would have been uncomfortable with his attention, would have felt and acted awkward. She was comfortable with the Maine Coon tom, too comfortable. She glanced up at him through thick eyelashes,"I can't speak for them, but I'm doing well now."
Grinning, Jagger seemed to lose focus on the others, besides Exotica. "Then it's good I came along."
She nodded her head shyly, snuggling closer to him. Jelly only shook her head, laughing, Exotica really could be coy and manipulative when she wanted to be. She was perfect for playing the shy girl routine. Jelly didn't think it would work if she wasn't attractive.
Away from the group, Victor headed out of the junkyard. He had seen the group out of the corner of his eye and had shook his head. He wasn't really a flirty tom, it really didn't work for him. Victor, was one of the scouts, and though he really didn't need to go out scouting, he had nothing better to do. His two friends, Admetus and Plato were out patrolling together. He wasn't sure where Mistoffelees or Quaxo were either. Victor didn't get far. A thin, sickly thin, tom approached him, with energy Victor wouldn't have had if he was that thin.
"Oi, hey there!" The Abyssinian gave what he hoped was a friendly smile. "I don't want to come across as rude, but I'm starved. Wouldn't know it from this handsome figure, right? Try to work out four times a week, but doesn't always work, get busy and distracted. Also the occasional kidnappin', and being held prisoner, but you know just the usual. So anyway, back to my question. You don't happen to have any food 'round here, do you? Past few cats I've passed on the streets either guarded their food like a life-line, openly attacked me...not that they could, dodged him with my agility. Or they spat in my face and told me to keep moving." He shook his head,"Oi would you listen to me going on and on. I sound like a bleedin' beggar."
Victor chuckled and before he could get a word in edge wise, the tom cut in with more ranting.
"Well...that's a new one. Laughing, not as bad as getting spat on, though."
Victor shook his head,"No, I didn't mean to sound like I was laughing in your face. You just ....well you strike me as a bit odd, but the funny sort. I'm Victor."
"Gllenning. But I prefer Daisy....don't look at me like that. I also will accept Glen."
"Alright, Glen. Come on, I'm sure Mungojerrie is still hording sweets in his den. I'm sure he'll give you some. Have to say, you look way too thin."
"Thank my ever so kind jailers. I don't think they believe in feeding those they imprison. Would be faster to kill us. Why take the time to knock someone out, bind them, then drag them back to their old dreary warehouse?"
"Warehouse....You were imprisoned....by the Hexes?"
"Yeah, you know that lot, huh?"
Victor nodded, shuddering. "All the jellicles do."
"Hmm....Jellicles. Sounds familiar. Think that bloke Chaos mentioned something about you folks. So once I get some food, you'll just send me on my way, right?"
Victor gave him a puzzled look,"If that is what you want. We don't force others out unless they've committed a horrible injustice on one of the other members of the jellicles. If you wish to stay, if you have no where else to go, you should talk to our leader, Old Deuteronomy. I'm sure he'd love having a new jellicle in the tribe."
"I don't know about that. I'm told I talk too much, and that I'm quite a handful...whatever that means." He grinned as Victor lead him into the yard. "But I don't know...might be kind of fun. We'll see."
-----
Back To Year One
To Year One Fanart
"Hmmm...Seems like it's just the two of us." The tip of his fluffy tail curled and he almost laughed at himself, since he was essentially talking to himself. Shaking his head, he continued on. "You need a name. Oh oh! I'm going to call you Mouseketeer. Bet you didn't expect to run in to me way down here."
The Abyssinian knew the others hoped his isolation and losing the ability to communicate with others would be the first step to breaking him. But he was not going to let them beat him down. "Sure showed them didn't I?"
No, he wasn't crazy, but he did need to talk. Being isolated didn't bother him, in fact despite his normal bravado, he had always felt alone; isolated from everyone else, no matter how many others were in the same room or area with him. Snapping out of his brooding thoughts, he flicked a small pebble into the corner, and watched Mouseketeer take a couple uncertain steps at the noise, before stopping again.
"So Mouseketeer, you're small, and can go by unnoticed, and lets not forget how clever you are." He inched a little closer,"There's some keys over there on the wall. You could get them for me. Huh? It's a good plan, right? No bloody brilliant."
The mouse squeaked and scurried away, as the bigger tom moved closer to it. Thinking foolishly, or maybe he just wanted to play along, he thought the mouse was headed over to where the keys where. "That's it, go get them! No...The keys are in the opposite direction."
He paused, watching the Grey mouse flee until he couldn't see him anymore. "Fine then! I'll get them myself."
Breathing deeply in, he closed his eyes, folding his legs and appearing as if he was meditating. Concentrating, he focused all his thoughts on the image of the keys and getting out of the cell. He imagined the keys jingling when his 'mind' picked them up off of the nail they were hanging on. However, he heard a loud click, and the sound of the cell door squeaking open. This caused him to open his eyes, and in front of him, he saw a Grey and Scarlett tabby holding the keys in one paw, while his other held the door open for him.
"Well wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I'll take it." Getting up onto his feet, he gave the tom a look over, wondering if he was to be escorted to a different cell for more interrogation and torture.
"Gllenning?"
The brown exotic tom groaned,"Just call me Glen, if you must."
"Great. Found you and now I'm freeing you."
"Fantastic, guess meditation really does work. Look, buddy, not that I'm not grateful, heck I'm tempted to give you a big ol' hug, but why exactly are you helping me to escape. If you're on the opposite side of the cell, you're one of them."
"I was forced to become one of them. The name is Chaos. I might have to work for them now, but at least I can do some good while I'm here."
"Not afraid of getting caught then?"
Chaos shrugged,"I'm not worried. Slipped a sleeping herb in Otrox's food. I'll ingest some once I get you out of here and get back to Otrox. It's fine. So you coming or would you like to stay longer?"
"Oi, Of course I'm coming. Do you know what room service is like here?"
Chaos rolled his eyes but supplied one word,"Rubbish?"
Glen laughed,"Yes, that's exactly what it is, rubbish." He slipped out of the cell past Chaos and tapped him on the shoulder,"Been cooped up in those four walls for awhile, so lead the way!"
~^*^~
"Demy." Bomba called out, once she was close enough to Demeter's den. "Hope you're decent, because I'm coming in."
She only had the courtesy to tap on Demeter's den once, before she let herself in. She wasn't in the habit of breaking into the dens of other jellicles, but Demeter was her sister. If her sister had a mate or was known to flirt and bring back toms, she'd exercise a little more caution. Demeter was none of these things, she didn't even like any toms, least Demeter had told her as much last time they got together. Now that she thought about it, it had been a while since she had spent a girls night out with her two sisters, Demeter and Jemima. This was mainly due to her budding relationship with Munkustrap. And though that wasn't going to change anytime soon, she was determined to spend some more time with the only family she had left. Demeter didn't seem to be in the main area of her den, so she headed towards the back, where her sister's bedroom was. She called out to Demeter once more before entering the golden calico's bedroom.
"Hey Demy, you okay?"
Demeter's fur was messed up, as she was still curled up in her bed, and her face was a little flushed. She gave her older sister a shy, perplexed stare,"Yeah, fine. Just overslept is all."
"You look a little flushed. You sure you're not sick? Maybe you have a slight fever."
She saw Bomba begin to walk closer and she nodded her head,"Yeah, just fine. Probably just a touch of the flu. Did you need something?"
Bomba did give her sister an odd look, but halted her steps, believing Demeter. "I was hoping you, Jemima and perhaps some of our friends, and I could go out...Just us girls, What do you say? If you're too sick we can have a girls night next week."
Spending a moment to think about it, Demeter nodded,"Sure, just give me fifteen-" Demeter cut herself off, and she made a face. "Thirty minutes."
"Yes of course, Demy. Looks like you're about to up-chuck. Take as long as you need. You'll find me at Jemima's den."
She gave the Scarlett queen a smile, and watched her older sister leave. As soon as Bomba left, Rumpus cat emerged from underneath all of Demeter's blankets on her bed.
"Do you think she knew I was here?"
"I doubt it."
He lowered his head capturing her lips with his. She grinned into the kiss, but broke away prematurely.
"What's wrong?"
Looking into his red eyes, she touched his cheek tenderly with her paw. "I just wanted to thank you. With Bomba dating Munkustrap, and with no toms showing any interest in me in any way. Well, I was a bit depressed, and you...you were there."
Rumpus stared at her, with a small smile on his face,"I know you were upset...I wanted to help if I could. And I don't understand why no toms would be interested in you. You're attractive Demeter, inside and out."
Licking her bottom lip, she gave him a bashful expression,"I don't usually do this; I hope you don't think any less of me."
"I do not. As long as you don't think I'm trying to take advantage of you."
"Sounds like we're even." Demeter spoke and started to lean in towards his lips, her delicate orange fingers already threading through his long hair, hair that was no longer pulled back in his little ponytail. With it down, it seemed a lot longer then it looked when he had it up.
He pulled slightly away,"I still think we need to discuss the 'touch of flu' comment. Do I seriously make you look ill?"
Demeter giggled at that, smiling broadly, she placed a small kiss on his lips. "Not at all. But would you rather have had her find out you were here. Toms usually aren't good with awkward situations."
"Fair enough, though that would have been interesting." Kissing her on her lips once more, she responded.
"This..." She broke from the kiss, once again,"This isn't going to change anything between us, is it?"
Rumpus shook his head,"No. Like you want, the moment I step out of this den, we're back to friends. Don't worry."
Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him freely. Although, they were not and never would be mates, it felt good to feel this level of intimacy with a tom that not only made her feel protected, but she trusted him. There were only a few toms she trusted in the yard. She felt the back of her head hit the pillows. She nearly groaned in protest when his lips were not on hers, but instead she felt them on her jaw and then going down her neck. She threw her head back sighing in deep content.
--- --- ---
Gus looked up nervously at Old Deuteronomy. The two had spent time together since the 'prank', but never alone-till now. He had a nervous thought that Old Deuteronomy had picked up on his ever increasing feelings. He wasn't entirely sure why he was worried. He did have a pleasant vision of Old Deuteronomy, the night before. He was certainly old enough to know his personal dreams, from his dream-visions. And as far as he knew, Demeter was the only other one in the junkyard with a similar ability. She had asked him about it a couple times, but since then he hadn't heard much from the golden calico. Still, the dream visions didn't always come true, so that could be the cause of his anxiety. Then again, there had been nothing romantic to his vision. Perhaps all it had meant was that he'd be Deut's best friend and stand beside him till he returned to the heavyside layer. Deut gazed down at him, and Gus saw the corners of Deut's mouth stretch into a smile. The leader was actually amused by his emotional turmoil!
"Are you feeling okay Gus?"
Gus stiffened, shrugging his shoulder,"Rough night." Heavyside! It wasn't even a good lie.
Deut continued to look at him, and Gus realized he had been staring just a little bit too long. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Gus looked around, not seeing anyone nearby, he motioned for the leader to enter his den. Winter had hit full force and somehow it just seemed warmer in Gus' den then outside. Once Deut was inside, Gus felt his tail curl around his ankle. "Not really. So what brings you here today, Leader?"
"You actually. I was hoping we could talk."
Was that the sound of his heartbeat speeding up? Why did he feel like a hormonal teenager again? This was all nonsense. He probably only wanted to talk to him about the tribe and how things were going.
"Yes of course. What about?"
Deuteronomy didn't answer right away, but he did take a few steps closer. His eyes, he barely noticed, were focused on the leader, and a part of him wanted Deuteronomy to know-just to get the awkward talk over with, to bare his soul. Still, he downcasted his eyes, with every step Deut took to get closer to him.
Finally, he heard Deut breathe in,"Do you...ever think about the time we use to be involved, you know back in our teen years?"
Gus felt the heat rise to his cheeks. So Deut had come to talk to him about 'this'; whatever 'this' was. "I...No. I don't." He sighed, shaking his head, and began to turn away, but was stopped. Nervously, he looked up into the Leader's face.
He had a smile, though it seemed forced,"You know Gus...you may be able to fool others, being a good actor and all. But I've always known how to tell when you're lying."
He frowned, still looking at Deut. Shrugging out of the leader's grasp, he rubbed the sides of his face at his temples, for a moment, trying to keep himself from lashing out or crumbling.
"What do you want?" Gus asked,"Yes, I still think about it. I can't stop thinking about us back then, us right now. In fact, even after we had to break up because our relationship would never have been accepted back then, I still had feelings for you and still thought about you. I don't think I ever stopped having feelings for you. Is that what you want me to say?"
"Is it the truth?" Deut's voice was soft, gentle even.
Gus didn't want to answer, but he knew he would. Get it over with, he told himself. "Yes it's the truth." After a pause from the Leader, Gus couldn't help but hang his head. His honesty, he hoped it didn't just ruin a good friendship; one he didn't want to lose.
"If you don't want to talk to me because of this, I understand. It's not your problem anyway. I have to deal with this, with my feelings myself. I just can't stand the thought that this revelation might ruin our-"
"Shh..." Deut cut him off. "I don't find it revolting or surprising Gus. I...Well I have a confession of my own as well. I still have feelings for you too. I suppose I always did. I still mated to other queens after ...we ended things, tried not to think of you in any way but a good friend. I buried my feelings, while I mated to my other mates, but they never really went away. They came back shortly after my last mate passed away, and they've only been getting stronger since then."
Gus knew instantly what he was talking about, and knew the leader was being serious. He could be a jolly fellow from time to time, but Deuteronomy would never joke around when it came down to things like this. Deut's paw reached out, and Gus brought his own paw up. They touched paws, and they both spread their fingers to entwine them together. "Deut."
The leader shivered, smiling at his mate name. He brought his other paw up, tenderly caressing the side of Gus' cheek. The two toms purred, and Gus started to ask what they were going to do about their situation. Though he was leader, and same sex pairs were more accepted now than they were then. Deut hadn't planned on this happening, though he secretly hoped it would, when he first decided on coming to Gus' den to talk about it. He wasn't sure he wanted to rush into a new relationship, there would be consequences to becoming mates and revealing their relationship to everyone else, simply because he WAS the leader.
"We don't have to decide right now do we?"
Gus smirked at Deut, his tail wrapping around one of Deut's legs. "No. We don't."
~^*^~
Wandering through the darkest path he could find, Gilbert took a relieved breath. There weren't a whole lot of jellicles in that particular section of the yard. No one around to bother him or to see him acting 'oddly'. Closing his eyes tightly, he fought the urge to call himself crazy. But that's what he was, wasn't he? In his head, he could hear the whispers ghost across his thoughts. Were they even his thoughts anymore? The whispers he often heard in the corners of his mind seemed to get louder with each passing day. Was he simply crazy, did he have a condition where he had multiple personalities-heavyside only knew. Gilbert just didn't know if they were his thoughts or if his thoughts were being corrupted by the whispers; that were simply not his own anymore. What really scared him, was the thought that these voices one's he couldn't quite make out what they were saying had the ability to manipulate his own thoughts. Maybe even to the point of taking action. He stopped short, believing to be safe for the moment, and leaned against one of the objects nearby. He pinched the bridge of his nose, shuddering with each new breath. In the back of his mind, he could hear a few whispers getting closer and closer, louder each second that passed.
"Just leave me alone...Stop."
"Well fine then."
Gilbert looked up startled, and saw Mistoffelees standing there with his youngest brother Carbucketty right beside him. Buck was a little confused, but being young he bounced right back. He tugged on Misto's tail.
"I'm going to go play with Bill...Or Cagalli. They're fun." He grinned from ear to ear.
Misto messed up the hair on his brothers head,"Alright off you go. I think I'll stick around here a while."
Carbucketty gave his brother a weird look, that altered between him and Gilbert, shrugged his shoulders and then off he went. Misto took a few steps closer to Gilbert noticing too well that the tom backed away the same amount of steps that he took.The tuxedo tom knew something was wrong, something was really wrong. Gilbert had always been a bit on the shy side, he knew this, for Gilbert tried to keep out of the limelight as much as possible, but this seemed more then just pure shyness.
"Gilbert?"
"What? Didn't you hear me? Just leave me alone."
"Look, I don't know know what's going on with you, or what's wrong. And you don't have to tell me, but I think you should tell someone. We're all family here, Gil...We can help you if you let us. We're all worried for you."
Gilbert shook his head, the noise, the pounding in his head was getting to be too much. But he stopped himself from gripping his head. That would only make him look even more in distress, and the good Mistoffelees would want to 'fix' him. "I'm not your brother or your cousin, we aren't family. And no one is worried about me."
Misto frowned, his tail curling. He wanted to help, but Gilbert was a difficult one to understand. If he pushed too hard, he was certain Gilbert would completely close himself off from the rest of them and probably any future help. "Now I'm sure that's not true. There's me, and you have friends...they're worried about you too."
Gilbert didn't point out to Misto that he actually had no friends, since Misto probably knew on some level, and it was none of Misto's business anyway. "You can't help me. So please just go away."
Mistoffelees took a few quick steps towards Gilbert,"Please. I can help, you just need to trust me."
However, the quick movement made Gilbert more edgier and he jumped back. Gritting his teeth, he shook his head, ignoring everything Misto said. "Why can't you guys just leave me alone? I don't need to be fixed! And don't follow me, in fact don't even come near me again." He ran passed Misto, hoping if he could get far enough away from the tom, maybe-just maybe the voices would get a little more quiet. Right now it felt like one in particular was screaming in his head.
Misto was momentarily stunned, but even if he wasn't, it probably would have been too dangerous to try and stop Gilbert from running away. Gilbert, he wouldn't leave the junkyard, not just yet anyway. Misto didn't think Gilbert had anywhere else to go, and something had to have happened on the streets, bad enough for him to flee to the junkyard and not wish to go back onto the streets. Life at the junkyard was intolerable, in Gilbert's eyes-not yet, which was why he knew Gilbert would stay in the junkyard unless something very bad happened here. He sighed, running a paw through his black 'hair'.
"Man!" He scolded himself. "I just had to push didn't I?"
Maybe Gilbert was or would be fine, like Gilbert implied. Perhaps, being on his own, he'd be able to work out his own problems out by himself. Misto wanted to believe that, but that would be the easy way out, and he knew ignoring it wouldn't help Gilbert and would only make Misto feel guilty for not even trying to help. He would have to consult Coricopat later, maybe the older mystic tom would be able to help where he could not.
~^*^~
Victoria sat comfortably in a large pile of blankets in the den of Jennyanydots. She had stumbled earlier when one of the younger toms ran passed her in a game of tag. Jenny hadn't seen the fall but the toms had apologized constantly to Victoria, and had even helped her up and took her to Jenny's. Normally she wouldn't fix someone in her own den, that's why they had an infirmary, but she made an exception for the white queen. Lovingly, Jenny finished wrapping up Victoria's twisted ankle, apologizing for any discomfort she caused when she had first inspected the queens foot.
"You're all set, Victoria." Jenny patted the top of her paw gently.
"Thank you Jenny." She curved her paw over Jenny's and up her arm. Feeling Jenny's face, her way of seeing Jenny. Jenny smiled at the delicate features which had Victoria smiling right back.
"Victoria. You have been getting through the junkyard a lot better recently, but your still prone to fall, especially if we keep getting new members. Whether they come off the streets or are born into the tribe."
"I do not need or wish some sort of caretaker or jellicle to guide me through. I can get by just fine."
Jenny shook her head, reaching over to gently pat her knee. "I did not mean to offend, or imply that you were incapable of moving about on your own. I was just going to ask you if you've ever tried clicking your tongue. It's called echo location. You'd be able to gauge the distance of objects and other Jellicles around by the sound."
Victoria paused in thought before nodding her head,"I have not tried this. I think I will. Thank you again."
"Of course."
There was a knock on the door, before Tugger swaggered in. A flirtatious wink was given in the direction of Jenny, but he focused on the white queen in front of her.
"Well hey there Victoria." He announced who he was before making any move on her. His fluffy tail tip ran against the inside of the blind queens leg. She shivered, flushing slightly.
"Tugger." She bit her bottom lip, shyly, though unconsciously reached up with one paw.
He took it of course, and helped her to her feet, realizing that one of them was wrapped up. He tsked her, hoisting her up in his arms. "Damsel like you, needs an escort. Come on princess, I'll take you to wherever you want to go."
She giggled in his arms. "Well if you insist. Bye Jenny. Thanks for all your help."
"Anytime Victoria."
Tugger quickly ducked his head over and planted a kiss on Jenny's lips. "When I get back I want to hear all about what's his name."
Jenny cracked a grin,"And give me all the details about your date with Kara."
He laughed at that,"Oh Jenny. So naughty."
"If you get back early, I might have a surprise for you." She purred, and he only licked his bottom lip, before leaving her den.
~^*^~
Adonis and Jagger had been outside since the afternoon scouting the queens in the yard. Both toms had gotten a few queens attention since their arrival in the yard two months ago. Jagger had already hit on a younger queen, but had been scolded by Munkustrap for the simple fact that the queen and technically Jagger were still too young. This had amused Adonis to tears. Adonis did like hitting on the queens that passed by, but Adonis wasn't as aggressive as Jagger, and probably wanted a meaningful relationship with a queen one day. Jagger was more into one night stands, especially after seeing the way Tugger was. And Jennyanydots, the queen he was apparently with seemed to encourage him to be with other queens, now that seemed like a good deal. Jagger wanted that. They had been watching a group of queens for the better part of an hour now. Among the group was Cassandra, Vimala, Jellylorum, and Seffina, but Exotica soon appeared and sat down with them. She was the youngest of the group, but the gladly welcomed her in. Jagger grinned,"Now she...is hot."
Adonis crinkled his brow, they all were. "Which one are you talking about?"
Jagger pointed,"The exotic brown queen, right there. I'd do her."
"She's....like ten years older then you."
Jagger stopped staring at the queens to give Adonis an odd glance. "She's only seventeen. Least that's what I hear through the grapevine."
Adonis nodded,"You mean the one that just joined them. Exotica I believe is her name." Adonis had known what Jagger meant by the 'grapevine'. Panthera, though peddled in mostly gossip and rumors was the best source for news and information. He agreed with Jagger. "She is very pretty. Though....out of that group, I like the mostly white one, Vimala."
Which was true, but it was a poor substitute. In truth he had a small crush on the white blind queen, Victoria. Though, rumor had it that Vimala was the older sister of Victoria.
"Let's go." Jagger grinned, already seeing what he wanted.
The two toms approached the queens, who giggled at their sudden entrance. Still, they let them sit down with them. Cassandra was the only one who didn't care for their presence, nor did she drive them off. She was just a tad too old for both of them. Jagger's arm was around Exotica in a flash, and he not so subtly, brought her closer to him. "How are you ladies doing, today?"
Adonis was closest to Vimala, his tail brushing hers. Not a very blunt way of flirting, but he realized Vimala didn't seem to mind, and even leaned in closer to him. No one seemed to mind that Jelly and Seffina were sitting closely together. The two had become quite good friends since Seffina first introduced herself to Jelly.
Exotica smiled shyly, though the queens saw it as a rouse. If she was truly shy, she would have been uncomfortable with his attention, would have felt and acted awkward. She was comfortable with the Maine Coon tom, too comfortable. She glanced up at him through thick eyelashes,"I can't speak for them, but I'm doing well now."
Grinning, Jagger seemed to lose focus on the others, besides Exotica. "Then it's good I came along."
She nodded her head shyly, snuggling closer to him. Jelly only shook her head, laughing, Exotica really could be coy and manipulative when she wanted to be. She was perfect for playing the shy girl routine. Jelly didn't think it would work if she wasn't attractive.
Away from the group, Victor headed out of the junkyard. He had seen the group out of the corner of his eye and had shook his head. He wasn't really a flirty tom, it really didn't work for him. Victor, was one of the scouts, and though he really didn't need to go out scouting, he had nothing better to do. His two friends, Admetus and Plato were out patrolling together. He wasn't sure where Mistoffelees or Quaxo were either. Victor didn't get far. A thin, sickly thin, tom approached him, with energy Victor wouldn't have had if he was that thin.
"Oi, hey there!" The Abyssinian gave what he hoped was a friendly smile. "I don't want to come across as rude, but I'm starved. Wouldn't know it from this handsome figure, right? Try to work out four times a week, but doesn't always work, get busy and distracted. Also the occasional kidnappin', and being held prisoner, but you know just the usual. So anyway, back to my question. You don't happen to have any food 'round here, do you? Past few cats I've passed on the streets either guarded their food like a life-line, openly attacked me...not that they could, dodged him with my agility. Or they spat in my face and told me to keep moving." He shook his head,"Oi would you listen to me going on and on. I sound like a bleedin' beggar."
Victor chuckled and before he could get a word in edge wise, the tom cut in with more ranting.
"Well...that's a new one. Laughing, not as bad as getting spat on, though."
Victor shook his head,"No, I didn't mean to sound like I was laughing in your face. You just ....well you strike me as a bit odd, but the funny sort. I'm Victor."
"Gllenning. But I prefer Daisy....don't look at me like that. I also will accept Glen."
"Alright, Glen. Come on, I'm sure Mungojerrie is still hording sweets in his den. I'm sure he'll give you some. Have to say, you look way too thin."
"Thank my ever so kind jailers. I don't think they believe in feeding those they imprison. Would be faster to kill us. Why take the time to knock someone out, bind them, then drag them back to their old dreary warehouse?"
"Warehouse....You were imprisoned....by the Hexes?"
"Yeah, you know that lot, huh?"
Victor nodded, shuddering. "All the jellicles do."
"Hmm....Jellicles. Sounds familiar. Think that bloke Chaos mentioned something about you folks. So once I get some food, you'll just send me on my way, right?"
Victor gave him a puzzled look,"If that is what you want. We don't force others out unless they've committed a horrible injustice on one of the other members of the jellicles. If you wish to stay, if you have no where else to go, you should talk to our leader, Old Deuteronomy. I'm sure he'd love having a new jellicle in the tribe."
"I don't know about that. I'm told I talk too much, and that I'm quite a handful...whatever that means." He grinned as Victor lead him into the yard. "But I don't know...might be kind of fun. We'll see."
-----
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