Cats Onwards

Chapter 2. Bombalurina.

The red queen watched in amusement as her sister's three very young kittens scampered into the main den, even though they had been instructed not to. Beside her was Jennyanydots, the Gumbie Cat. The older cat was humming along to the tune of her Jellicle ball song whilst she sewed a small shirt for one of the other cats.

Across the yard, the Rum Tum Tugger was teasing the other female kits, Jemima, Electra and Etcetera. His tail was curled around Electra's chin, sending the adolescent kitten crazy. Jemima however, was not falling for the tom's tricks anymore as she suddenly stalked away.

"Well, it looks as if Jemima has grown up a bit." Jenny chuckled beside Bombalurina.

"How so?" Bombalurina questioned in dismay, her attention was fixed on Tugger as he pranced about causing the kittens to squeal.

"Well, for a start she just stormed away from the fellow, and recently it looks as if his company is not as exciting to her as it used to be." The older cat mused. "It's funny really, not many young cats can resist that tom's charms." Jenny meowed as she shot Bombalurina a sideways glance. The red and white cat caught the glance and whipped her tail irritably.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" She hissed defensively. Jennyanydots chuckled to herself and placed her sewing down.

"Bomba, my dear, perhaps he's unaware of what he already has. Maybe you should see what happens if you pay no attention to him." Jenny explained. Bombalurina sat dumbfounded for a moment, thinking that her friend was speaking in riddles.

"But if I pay no attention to him, then he'll forget I even exist." She sighed. Jennyanydots patted her friend's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Just trust me, dear." She prompted with a sincere smile. After that she rose from her seat on a shoe box and padded away with her sewing clasped in her mouth.

Just as the red queen was about to retreat to the den where her nephews and niece were, Tugger strolled past, his gloved paws tucked into his metallic belt. It would usually be at this point Bombalurina would strike up a conversation with a flirtatious comment but this time she stuck up her tail and pounced from her perch before strutting into the dim den.

The den was empty now, she had obviously missed the kittens, Victoria and Plato leaving so taking advantage of the peace she curled up at her usual spot, hiding her face with her tail.

A while later, the sound of shuffling in the den pulled Bombalurina from her not-quite-asleep state, her eyes flickered open to reveal through the darkness, her younger sister Demeter.

"Oh there you are!" Demeter grinned.

"Here I am." Bombalurina purred quietly. The slightly younger queen padded in further before plopping down in front of her sister.

"Jenny thought that I should come and speak to you." She meowed informatively. Bombalurina rolled her eyes before shuffling over to face away from her sibling. "Bomba, we've all noticed how different you're acting these days." Demeter hummed.

Suddenly, Bombalurina's eyes snapped wide open, her ears twitched in anger.

"What about then?" Bombalurina hissed. "How am I any different then?!" Demeter flinched, startled by her sister's snappy manner.

"Well...it's just that you tend to stay away from the others now...you're also more skittish." Demeter explained, wary of Bombalurina's response. The red queen stayed silent as she thought of her answer however nothing came to mind. "Please talk to me, Bomba!" Demeter yowled impatiently.

"You don't need me anymore, Deme..." Bombalurina finally answered. "You have a mate now to look after you. Deme, I always used to look out for you! But after Munkustrap saved you from Macavity last year, it has all changed." The feline meowed sadly. Before Demeter could respond, cats began to crawl into the den, ready to rest for the remaining hours of the day, ready for the Jellicle ball.