The Fighter Part Three

The Fighter - Part Three

If there was ever a season for time to pass quickly: it was summer. The air hung hot and dry as Munkustrap busied himself in preparing for that year's Jellicle Ball: the last full moon before the warm season gave way to fall. But never fully out of his mind was that strange Demeter. She rarely spoke to him, or anyone, now that he thought about it. She was forever nervous: shifted her weight from paw to paw, her tail flicking back and forth incessantly, always low to the ground, as were her green eyes. But...what Munkustrap found most disturbing...she would let no one touch her except Bombalurina, especially a tom of any age. She hugged the older red queen's side like a shadow, never straying from the protection she sought. If anyone tried to talk to her she would go rigid, not a hair on her body moving, until they moved away. And woe to the cat who laid a paw on her. Already three different toms and one queen were sent away with marks to show. And Munkustrap knew this was a delicate situation. He knew it well. It had only been a week after she appeared that Munkustrap saw the extent of her paranoia.

Demeter lay dozing in the sun on top of an old bus, where Bombalurina thought she would be safe if she left her alone for a few minutes. Demeter hadn't said anything, but did as she was bid. The sun was warm on her back, making her ever-tense muscles for the moment relax. Her eyes shut, and her tail tip began to slow its twitching. She was half asleep before she heard someone behind her.

With a yeowl she leaped to her paws and whirled, bristling, to face the five toms that had approached her from behind. Her green eyes slitted as she visibly cringed, backing away a step. Her lips parted a moment to show her white fangs. "What d'you want?" she hissed, barely audible.

The smallest, but seeming to be the leader of the small pride, grinned widely and took a step forward as she backed away. He was probably her age, with fur of gold and brown shades, one black eye and one white. "Nothing. We just wanted to know if you needed some escorts for the Jellicle Ball?"

Demeter perked her ears, slightly. "The what?"

"The Jellicle Ball," another larger tom, mainly white with a brown patch over one eye, lashed his tail, stepping up toward leader's flank. "We do it every year."

"Yeah," an smaller white tom, much like the second save the brown spot over his eye was a slash rather than a patch, jumped up to join the two. "If yer 'at that age' ya gotta--!"

"Hey," another interrupted, flattening his ears. "She doesn't hafta hear that." He was the tallest of the lot, with scruffy silver-brown fur, but the way he skulked at the rear suggested he was the lowest-ranking.

"Why not?" the last--a plain white with brown marks--piped. "It's true."

"Anyway," the leader continued, giving the four other young toms an annoyed glance. "It's this big dance we gotta do every year. I don't see much point in it. But it's fun. We wanted t' know if y'needed some fellers to dance with...maybe." He took another step forward, and Demeter took another back.

"I don't dance," she said, a little louder and steadier. But she took yet another step back as the leader began to advance, crouching so low her belly scraped the rusted bus roof.

"Aw, c'mon," he grinned widely, a way Demeter didn't like. "Everybody dances. You can't be a Jellicle if you don't dance."

Demeter was now retreating fully, keeping her face toward the advancing toms. "I'm not a Jellicle. Leave me alone." She turned her back to run away.

"Hey, I didn't say you could leave!" He growled and leaped, tackling Demeter just as she nearly leaped from the vehicle. As though a signal was given off, the four other young toms leaped to his aid. Demeter set up an awful yeowl, kicking and snapping as the stronger tom pinning her down, his paws on her shoulders. The brown patch-eyed tom whooped loudly, darting forward and yanking her supportive arms out from under her. Demeter's chest and face hit the bus top roughly, and still she struggled. The slash-eyed laughed and cuffed Demeter over the head, spitting contemptuously. The tall silver-brown, meanwhile, stood back, flattening his ears. "Hey, guys, I think someone's comin'..."

"Aw, relax, sour puss," the last white and brown snapped. "No one else is here. It's too hot."

But he was wrong. There was someone there. Munkustrap and Alonzo sat together near the crooked, leaning gate of the junkyard, basking in the hot shade of a leaning sign post, rotten beyond legibility. Munkustrap moaned, burying his face into his paws in despair.

"Two weeks," he growled. "Two weeks until the Ball and all that play's good for is a laugh."

Alonzo was busy licking his tail, spitting dirt and hair. "What'd you expect? Yer lucky enough to have just gotten that lot t' agree to it." Glancing up, he saw the pointlessness of his words. "There's always next year." He tried to grin, his half-black half-white muzzle contrasting in the shade.

"I'd much rather see it this year."

A silver and mud-brown face turned simultaneously in response to the deep, kind voice that emitted from beyond the gates. The face that greeted at them was flat, furry, smiling in genuine warmth.

"Deuteronomy!" Alonzo exclaimed, rising to his paws out of sheer respect. Munkustrap did likewise, his features reduced to that of a kitten in awe in the presence of his ancient father. The old cat's slow, shuffling steps stirred up dust as his enormous paws carried him with a majestic air. Munkustrap dutifully padded forward to take the old one's paw, guiding him to a seat in the shade.

"What brings you here so early?" Alonzo finally sat on his haunches, resisting the urge to go back to his licking.

"The drought," Old Deuteronomy said after a moment, remaining very still in the heat. "I wanted to make sure the tribe was faring as well as I expected."

Munkustrap returned the smile his father gave him, knowing he was just being kind. Simply saying 'to make sure the tribe was faring well' would be an insult to Munkustrap's protective abilities, though he knew as well as Deuteronomy he had not yet the experience to bring an entire tribe safely through a major drought. He was glad for his father's presence. "We're doing well, Father. But I've been worried."

"And not just about the drought," his friend giggled. Munkustrap shot him a glare.

"You expect too much of yourself, my son," Deuteronomy spoke softly, setting a gentle paw on Munkustrap's silver-gray shoulder. "The play can wait until next year."

Munkustrap let his eyes fall. "As you say."

Deuteronomy nodded approvingly, then jerked with stiffness. "Oh, Alonzo, there's an itch halfway down my tail. Would you mind?"

Alonzo bounced toward the old one's fluffy tail with all eagerness. Deuteronomy sighed. "Ah, that's better."

It was quiet for a long while, Munkustrap and Alonzo exchanging knowing glances. The mud-brown tom nodded with urgency to his younger friend, disguising it as sneezing among the stiff bristly fur. The gray tabby drew a breath.

"Father, about a week ago Bombalurina and I found a queen on the beach."

Deuteronomy's white and brown face looked watchful. "Oh? Was there something special about her?" He raised an eyebrow. His mind had been pondering the concept of his oldest son and queens for awhile now. He had his expectations.

"Sorta. She...um...well, there was this big dog that attacked me and Bomb--"

"Bomb and I."

"--Bomb and I...and she came out of nowhere and helped fight it off. Heaviside, she couldn't have been older than Pouncival, and was thinner than a dog living on lettuce. She collapsed right after, and we brought her here." His eyes remained on the ground. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not." Alonzo spotted a twinkle in the old cat's deep brown eyes that was hard to place. "What is her name?"

"Well, that's what's odd. She doesn't know. She says she doesn't know her name, or where she came from. In fact, she doesn't seem to know anything about her than before the beach. Bombalurina named her Demeter."

"Hmm. I shall have to meet this strange cat."

"Indeed, you should. But you shouldn't touch her, no matter wha--"

Suddenly a horrible caterwaul cut the air, and Munkustrap was on his feet in a flash. "Over there!" he crowed, darting away at top speed without bothering to wait for the other two. Alonzo chuckled out loud as a silver black-tipped tail vanished around a corner, then helped Deuteronomy along through the summer heat.

Munkustrap was hot and panting when he saw the feline shadows atop the bus, darting among the simmering heat wave radiating from the rusty top. Sounds of a struggle reached his ears, and with the speed and power of a prime tom he dashed up a series of boxes and leaped onto the bus top, his pads burning on the hot metal, and dashed forward for sake of keeping them from remaining in contact with the metal for long.

"Look out!" one of the five toms yelled. Munkustrap was among them in a whirlwind, slashing with his claws. The toms scattered like flies in every direction. Taking a moment's pause when they'd gone, Munkustrap bent in concern over the queen.

"Demeter! Are you alright?"

The queen was curled into a tight ball, whimpering piteously. Munkustrap was afraid to touch her, but even more afraid to leave her as she was. Gently, his paw brushed her shoulder. True to expectations, she snarled and leaped to her paws, dashing away from him and leaping from the bus roof in a flash of gold. Munkustrap himself jumped off, his pads in agony, to stop in the shade of the bus and lick at them. He stopped when gold and red fur caught his eyes, and saw Demeter sniffling and whispering to Bombalurina, who held her protectively. A scruffy tom lay sprawled prone at the feet of the two queens, covering his head with his paws.

"Shh, shh," the tall red female whispered, gently stroking Demeter's gold mane. "It's alright." Her flashing dark eyes met Munkustrap's as he limped over to them, remaining a good distance away. "Can't trust these toms anymore, can ya?" she snapped, kicking the tom on the ground with a clawed black foot. The scruffy silver-brown tom growled unhappily, and gulped in fear as he was suddenly hauled up by a strong black paw.

"Plato," Munkustrap rumbled, glaring. "What do you think you're doing?"

"It wasn't me," Plato whined, swiping at Munkustrap's iron grip. "I swear t' Heaviside, I told 'em not to!" Despite his unusual height, Munkustrap had him off his paws.

"Who was it?"

"Pounce, Brutus, Carbuck, an' Metus," Plato quickly short-named the four, trembling at the sight of Munkustrap's white claws.

"You be sure and tell them they'd better not let me lay eyes on them for the next week! If I do, there's going to be some fur flying!" He released the near-adult tom with a shove, who went scrambling away out of sight. The silver tabby snorted and turned back to the two queens just as Alonzo arrived, supporting Deuteronomy.

"What happened?" Deuteronomy asked, his eyes settling on the trembling Demeter. The golden queen met his gaze with uncertainty, but then something seemed to wash over her: a wave of reassurance under the old one's loving and wise gaze. Her tears halted and her fur relaxed, but not her close proximity to Bombalurina. "Ah, I see you're Demeter?"

The golden queen nodded slowly, not saying a word. Deuteronomy's eyes roved over her frail figure a moment, and gently he extended one of his large paws. To all three of the others' surprise, Demeter's eyes remained fixed as her own tiny paw reached out, settling in his. Deuteronomy smiled warmly and gently pulled her close, wrapping a comforting shaggy arm about her narrow shoulders. For once she looked content in his protection, gazing up with the respect and admiration any Jellicle would show the old cat. When he spoke, it was a tone gentle as kitten down.

"Are you alright, Demeter?"

She nodded, blinking once. "Yes sir."

"I am Deuteronomy. I've been told you are new here. Have you been taken proper care of?"

"Yes sir."

"And I understand you do not have many memories?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well. Forget the incident today. It will never happen again, I assure you," Deuteronomy whispered as he released her back to Bombalurina's care. The red queen gently led the younger female away, speaking softly. Munkustrap looked after them, and was speechless.

"There's something odd about that girl," Alonzo hummed thoughtfully. "I don't just mean the way she acts, either. Can't put my paw on it."

"Indeed." Both younger cats looked up to Deuteronomy as he nodded his furry head. "Demeter has no past that we know of...yet the way she carries herself suggests she has been through things that would have a killed a lesser cat." He spoke as though he had known her longer than they, a thing Munkustrap couldn't comprehend.

"No past..." the tabby echoed. "That's strange. What could happen to a cat that would make them forget everything about them?" Blinking distractedly, the silver-striped tabby gazed across the open junkyard ground to where Demeter now stood with Bombalurina, the taller offering the younger a dish of cool water. Alonzo pressed his whiskers forward in the same direction.

"Poor girl."

Munkustrap rose to his paws, his voice solid with determination. "What can we do to help her?"

Deuteronomy smiled at his oldest son's concern. "All we can do: be here for her when she needs us. Give her food, care, and love. Until her true identity can be found, she can call herself a Jellicle."

Munkustrap stood silent for a moment, watching his father intently, then turned on his heel and slunk away with his head lowered, somehow feeling unsatisfied.

Another week passed. The incident was indeed forgotten. Demeter recovered with what Munkustrap could only guess was miraculous strength, for when she next saw Pouncival, she stared him down, unblinking, until he turned tail and slunk away. After that it was all behind them.

Demeter seemed to grow more accustomed to being around so many of the cats that frequented the yard. But while they greeted her warmly with all the love of family, she only returned cold stares. And never once did she stray far from Bombalurina again. She on the queen like stink on a dog, and Bombalurina did her best to make the poor past-less queen feel at home.

"Its easy," she smiled. "You just point your toe like this, and go with it." Standing at complete ease on her black paws, Bombalurina's red form swayed seductively, her hips and long legs moving to some unheard music. Keeping perfect rhythm and balance, she dropped gracefully into a series of high kicks and tail lashes. Demeter watched intently, not quite approving of the way some of the nearby toms looked at her, or even some of the older queens, like the two she had come to know as Jellylorum and the older Jennyanydots. She smiled slightly when her taller friend finished, standing in her usual posture and fluffing back her mane, ignoring the staring toms. "You try."

"I couldn't do that," Demeter shyly stated. "They'll stare at me."

"Who cares? C'mon, it's fun."

Demeter shook her head again, drawing her knees up under her chin. "I don't want to."

Bombalurina smiled, stuck her tongue out at Tugger across the yard, then in one graceful movement slid down to sit beside Demeter in the shade. Her smile never fully seemed to fade.

"I don't see why you do that," Demeter whispered shyly after a moment, flicking away an annoying gnat with her tail. "Why d'you let the toms stare at you all they want?"

Bombalurina laughed: sweet, full. "Because they know as much as me that that's all they can do. They can look, but they all know they can't touch." Her dark eyes looked across to her younger friend, and in a motherly manner she brushed back a few strands of her golden mane. "Besides, I'm used to it."

Demeter returned the warm look to the best of her ability, eternally glad she had found someone she could trust in this strange place. But... "Bal, could you tell me about yourself? I mean, I've known you for awhile now, but...y'know."

"I got'cha, kit," the red beauty winked. "Actually, I'm a lot like you. I came here with no friends an' no family. I was a Stray. The Jellicles took me in and just...kinda...became family." She grasped and squeezed Demeter's paw. "Trust me, I know what it's like t' be all alone in a strange place."

"What about before that?"

Bombalurina hesitated, turning her white face away. "Aw, you don't need t' hear about that, Dem."

Now it was Demeter who looked somewhat worried. She edged forward, staring at her friend's red and black-marked back so as to comprehend something. "Please?"

Bombalurina took another moment to collect herself, then sighed and looked back to her. "Alright, but only because ya asked. Ya won't like what y'hear." She paused, watching Demeter intently, then let her eyes fall as she spoke slowly. "I was a breeder." She thought that said pretty much it, but the blank look on Demeter's face told her the young one had yet to know the horrors of such a lifestyle. "Trust me, it's not something you wanna be. But it wasn't like I had much choice. A human took me from my mother when I was little, an' from then on it was days spent grooming, eating special foods," she spat, "and shows. They called me Pretty Trixie Kitty. At first it wasn't so bad, y'know, being recognized as the best-looking cat out of an entire bunch by stupid humans. But then I got older, an' they wanted me for 'breeding'. I know y'don't know what that is. Well, it's awful. Those humans think of it as business, an' they get a lotta money for it, but what it really is is they take some prime queen--like me--and shove 'em in a small room with this tom ya've never met before. Right at the time when you're putting off your scent, too!" She stopped, licked her tail to distract her from getting too emotional, then went on. "Anyway, I'd be locked up with those toms for up to a week. At first I fought 'em off, but I couldn't forever. An' let me tell you: some of those toms were downright evil. They didn't care what the queen thought. They did what the humans put 'em there t' do."

Demeter drew back, eyes wide, but Bombalurina went on, hints of tears in her eyes. "Then, after about a week, they'd finally let me out. If I had a litter, great for the humans. They took those kittens as soon as they were old enough an' I never saw 'em again. Couple weeks pass, an' the same thing happens. If I didn't have a litter, then it was back with the tom for another week until I did. I musta had six litters..."

"Goodness," Demeter gasped, setting a paw of pure, undying friendship on the older female's shoulder. "How'd you get out?"

Bombalurina placed her paw over Demeter's thankfully, sniffed, and went on. "There was one tom...he was different than the others. I dunno where he came from, but he got me out. Yeah, he did what he had to, but he asked me first. He told me his plan to escape, too. That made it easier, I guess. Anyway, when they came to let us out, he attacked, and gave those humans their due. To make it short: we both got out. I guess I loved him for a little while. I stayed with him, but you know toms. In the end, he was just like the others. And he wasn't quite right...up here." She tapped a sheathed claw against her temple. "So I ran, and Munkustrap found me."

Demeter's sad green eyes met Bombalurina's, who tried to look happy despite it all, but soon after she turned away. "I may not remember my past," she mumbled. "But I hate humans. And toms."

"Same here, kit," Bombalurina gazed back out over the open junkyard. "If the other cats want humans, then fine. They can have 'em. And until further notice I've had my share of toms."

"Are the toms here like that?" Demeter didn't think she even had to ask, the events of the five who ganged up on her flickering dimly in her mind. But her friend surprised her.

"Not really. Sure, they're rowdy, and if they see a female they like they don't make much bones about lettin' her know it, but when ya get to talkin' something serious, they respect what you think. Even Tugger over there," she flexed her whiskers at the black and spotted tom play-wrestling a few kittens in the dirt. "He may strut his stuff an' act like some bigshot, but even he asks first. And he can be pretty sweet sometimes."

She was smiling fully again, which made Demeter feel relieved as well. "An' the others?"

"Well, y'know how kittens are. They think they know everything, but they're taught different, and eventually they learn. Alonzo, I think he's too kittenish to ever get serious. With all the fighting he does, I doubt he even thinks about queens. He used to be professional, y'know. Mistoffelees...well, he isn't as outrageous as Pouncival and that lot, but he's awfully sweet. Most of the older toms have mates, 'cept Old D, poor fella. He's traveled so much, leavin' females behind him, 'til he finally settles down here and finds another, then she runs off and leaves him. Now, you take a tom like Munkustrap over there," she gestured in the same direction, where the tabby was now berating Tugger alongside Jenny for messing up the kittens' recently cleaned coats. "Probably the tribe's most eligible bachelor, but a total stiff! If he doesn't learn to lighten up a little he's gonna 'responsabilitize' himself to death."

"You mean he's never felt for anyone?"

"Not in a 'male/female' sense. Some of the girls and I try t' be extra nice to him, hoping he'll loosen up a little. He could use it, too. Poor tom worries too much over every little thing." She giggled, then added as a joke: "Gumbie Cat gone male."

Demeter laughed a little, though it died as she suddenly found the silver tabby to be approaching them. He respectfully kept his distance, holding his tail high as he addressed Bombalurina more than Demeter. "Deuteronomy's going to be staying awhile because of the drought. If things get bad we'll have to move where there's more water."

"So?" Bombalurina raised her brows skeptically. "Tell me somethin' I don't know."

Munkustrap's black ears stood forward, frowning, his golden eyes darting to Demeter. With the two females sitting in the protective shade of a cloth overhang, Munkustrap stood outside of it, his coat bathed in the orange light of the setting sun. He lowered his head into the range of the shadow so as to see the two females. "Well, um...he's going to do some storytelling here in a bit. I wanted to know if you wanted to come." Now he was speaking more to Demeter. The gold queen stared, meeting his eyes. Bombalurina followed both their gazes, from one to the other and back again, then giggled.

"We'd love to," she finally said, standing up. "C'mon, Demeter, you can sit beside me. Deuteronomy tells some of the best stories! Oh, you too, Stripes."