The cats and the moon - I/ TWO TRIBES

26. Moongazing

The night of the Jellicle ball came at last. There was a lot of commotion in the yard as the Moonlit got ready to go. Kerry and Gemerald had licked all the kittens clean despite their protests. Anu was quite restless: as Ed had thought, she was extremely excited, but also rather worried about the entire tribe crossing most of the town to get to the junkyard. Leeko followed her as she ran here and there, endeavouring to calm her down.

Edinson was too old for Kerry to clean him off now, and though he knew she still liked to do it now and then, today was not the right moment. Today, he had to act like an adult and take care of himself, so as to ease the weight on his fellows' shoulders. He himself was rather excited. He hadn't seen Misto again since they had met more or less accidently in his secret refuge, and he was happy to see his friend again. He was very excited about showing him his dancing and seeing Misto's. This was a new feeling to him; having never had a close friend his age, he was not used to sharing so much with another cat. Nor to being this close to someone. Tiara was very nice, but they had grown close because they both felt lonely and needed a shoulder to cry on. Not that he only saw her like that - of course he really loved the ginger kitten - but he and Misto had become friends just because they got along well, and not out of necessity. And that made it wholly different.

He gave his fur one last lick, then looked himself over, satisfied. Purr-fect. He stepped out of the den to join the rest of the tribe, who was slowly assembling in the yard. Everyone was there. Even the twins had joined in, looking even better groomed than ever - and that was saying something. As he joined the group, Kerry looked up from grooming her own fur - which she was already doing in addition to watching the kittens and making sure they didn't get themselves dirty after they had just been cleaned - to evaluate his handiwork. She purred, satisfied, when she didn't notice anything worth mentioning. He gave her a warm smile and sat down next to Tiara, who as usual was watching the other kittens from a distance.

"Ready to go?" he asked her.

Tiara nodded, looking more excited than he had seen her in quite a long time. She really got along well with the Jellicle kittens, he guessed. He felt glad for her. That would mean she would need his company less; and as he needed hers less as well, with his growing friendship with Misto, everything seemed to be falling in place quite nicely. The only thing was that the Jellicle junkyard was rather far away from the old buildings, and after last week's fiasco, Anu was unlikely to let the kittens set out on their own again. It didn't matter so much for Ed; he was of age after all, although he was still young and inexperienced.

"It's a lovely night."

Edinson nodded at Gemerald, the oldest cat in the tribe after Lady Felegrine, who had come to sit next to them. The three cats looked up at the sky. The moon was shining bright and bathing the yard in its light. One by one, the cats all looked up at it admiringly. It was indeed beautiful; and it was their moon, the one their tribe was named after. It was quite a sight to see, all these cats impeccably groomed, sitting in the moonlight, looking up at the perfect circle of light shining down on them. There was no mistaking the tribe. They were the Moonlit, and they carried their name proudly.

At last, Lady Felegrine stood up to look around at her cats. The silent admiring of the moon had quieted the commotion, and everyone was very calm now. Even Anu had settled down. However, upon sensing her leader's movement, she was the first to get back to her feet and focus back on her. Lady Felegrine waited for all the cats to bring themselves out of their contemplation before addressing the tribe.

"Moonlit cats! Tonight is an important night. The ceremony we are about to attend is an important one for the Jellicle tribe. Being invited by them to attend their Ball means that they count us as trusted allies. Let's make sure to strengthen these bonds, so that in times of need, our two tribes may help, support and protect each other."

She bowed her head to Anu, inviting her to speak up if she wished to.

"In short, make sure to behave or you'll be in trouble!" the Persian queen warned threateningly.

The kittens laughed. However, they all knew that despite her mockingly threatening tone, Anu meant what she said: the first kitten to misbehave tonight would have her to answer to. And an angry Anukari was not something you wanted to see.

Finally, the Moonlit cats all gathered around their leaders. Anu took the lead, Kerry the rear. Leeko escorted Lady Felegrine. Edinson and Tiara walked side by side as usual, as did Starbeam and Moondrop. Gemerald had the other kittens gathered around him. The little procession set off under the moonlight. This was a grand night.

The Jellicle ball was about to begin.