Cats Fanfictions

The Jellicle Protector

Summary: Pouncival wants to be the next Protector, following in Munkustrap's footsteps. Jemima does not. Hijinks ensue. 

On any regular day at the junkyard, the kittens all loved to play games. They would play pretend, climb all over and play-fight with each-other to their heart's content. Jennyanydots would supervise them most of the time, always getting the kittens out of trouble. She was the unofficial guardian of most of them, all the kittens without strict parents would end up staying in a room of Jenny's den until they grew mature enough for a den of their own. Some kittens were more well behaved than others, but all of them have been scolded at one point or another.

Except for one. You see, Pouncival was not quite like the other kittens.

While the other kittens liked to play, Pouncival preferred watching a certain cat go about his day; that cat being Munkustrap. Pouncival looked up to Munks, and always imagined himself as the future Jellicle Protector. He would usually watch from a far distance, being too shy to get close enough for him to possibly be spotted, but in his mind it didn't matter. He would spend the day copying the tabby, often sneaking away from everyone to practice his Munkustance impersonation in private. At night, he and his best friend Tumblebrutus would play pretend. Pounce would line up various pieces of junk in their shared room in Jennys den, playing the protector as if each piece was a cat he needed to protect. Tumble would often play the monster of sorts, whatever kind of monster he decided to be depending on the night. The two would tackle each other and Pounce would use the opportunity to practice his hissing and scare tactics. Tumble, being the only cat who knew about his aspiration, would cheer him on after dramatically scurrying away as the monster in their game.

Pounce may not have gotten into trouble with Jenny before, but that doesn't mean he was a saint. After all the kittens had gone to bed and Tumble had fallen asleep, he would often sneak out the window of his den, watching Munks do his patrol every night. Mungojerrie taught him how to be sneaky after a close call, Munkustrap almost catching the kitten up way past his bedtime.

One night, after the two had finished playing and had curled up for the night, Pouncival got up a little too early to sneak out. Tumble hadn't fallen asleep yet, and he opened his eyes and turned towards him once he heard the ruckus. "What are you doing?" he questioned. "Shh!" Pounce began, keeping his voice to a whisper. "I'm sneaking out, to go watch Munkustrap on patrol. Just go back to sleep, it's fine!" Pounce turned away again to climb out, but he stopped once a small light was turned on. He looked back to see Tumblebrutus, sitting up and stretching. "If you want to come with me, you need to promise to be quiet." "I'm not interested in coming with you, but we do need to talk." Pounce tilted his head in confusion, closing the window and sitting down on their bed again. "What do you mean?"

Tumblebrutus sighed, rubbing his eyes with his paws and slumping his shoulders before admitting "Pounce, you know you can't really ever *be* the next protector, right?" Pounce was taken aback. "What are you talking about? Why not?"

"Haven't you noticed that the role of the protector is always given to the child of the leader?"

"Well sure, but what does that got to do with anything?"

"It's tradition. If Munkustrap is the protector now, then Jemima is gonna be the one to become it next. He's her dad, it makes sense."

Pounce was shocked. He sat still for a moment, really considering what Tumble said. His ears pinned back to his head as he realized what his words meant: his dream would never come true. He glanced at the window before dropping his head, staring at the floor. "oh." Pounce laid back down on their bed, turning away from Tumble and shutting his eyes tight. "Are you okay?" Tumble asked, but after no response he didn't push. He laid back down as well, turning off the light and trying to fall asleep.