Cats Forever

Chapter 5. A job done right.

"He should have been back hours ago." Demeter fumbled with one of the silk gloves from her paw. A golden thread had come loose at some point and she absentmindedly twirled it between her claws.

"He'll be back soon dearest, don't worry." Bombalurina sighed from her spot in the den. The sun had set and the darkness of the night was quickly painted across the sky. Some Jellicles had already retired to their dens, like Deme and Bomba, however others would stay up for hours more. That morning Munkustrap had taken over Tugger's patrol since the maine coon had been careless enough to miss it. But the silver tabby should have returned by now. 

"Maybe he's spending the night in his human home?" Callus suggested nonchalantly, flicking away some dirt from underneath his claw. 

"He would have come back to tell us that!" His mother snapped. The young tom raised his arms in surrender before slinking out of the den, not wanting to experience anymore of his mother's wrath. 

Outside, the younger toms and queens lazed around in the warm nighttime air. The queens still adorned by their beautiful new 'collars'. Mistoffelees had conjured a luminous ball of purple light which Zelda was highly amused by as she chased it around. Nearby, Victoria was helping Hariena practice her ballet for the next ball which was to happen later that summer. Up on the trunk of the car, Cassandra sat with Admetus and Alonzo either side of her. 

"Would you two back away for like...five minutes?!" She screeched in frustration. Admetus slung his arm over his mate's shoulder and cracked a smirk. 

"No can do Cassie, love." He chuckled. 

"Cassie, heh, that's good." Alonzo snickered as he ruffled the fur between her ears. 

"Bloody hell! You two can be so annoying!" The Burmese shrieked as she jumped up. Playfully, the toms pawed at her slender legs like kittens until she hopped away cursing, leaving the pair in stitches. 

"Wasn't Tugger supposed to be on duty today?" Admetus asked once the laughter had died down. 

"Yeah...Munkus took over. Speaking of, he should be back by now." The black and white tom frowned. In fact, now that he was really thinking about it the second-in-command should've been back ages ago. "C'mon Admetus, let's go find him." With a firm nod from the grey tom they leaped up and left. 

Easing down next to Jemima, Cassandra draped her arm over the smaller queen's shoulders. "Our mates can be really irritating." 

The red and black queen let out a light giggle. "I know." 

*   

Bathtime had come around all too quickly that evening for Hariena's liking. She glared over at the dreaded deep metal tub which had been salvaged from the yard many years ago and dragged into the nursery. It sole purpose: to torture a kitten. 

Of course it was not really used to torture a kitten, it was just for bathing. This evening the tub was filled with warm soapy water to wash the muddy coats of George and Hariena. 

"It'll take five minutes, dear." Jellylorum cooed with a struggle as she pulled on Hariena's paw.

"Noo! I'm not getting into that thing!" The female kitten roared. On the other side of the room George was sitting in a grump as Jennyanydots brushed through his dusty coat. 

"Hariena you can't walk about with mud hanging off of you!" 

"Yes I can!" 

"Jelly!" It was Alonzo's voice which interrupted the bickering. Jelly's eyes darted to the entrance of the nursery to see Alonzo and Admetus carrying an unconscious Munkustrap between them. 

"Dad!" George and Hariena cried simultaneously. Letting go of the kitten's paw, Jelly hurried over to the toms whom were lying the protector down onto an old mattress. 

"Oh my goodness, what's happened?!" Jenny screeched, already getting to work by dampening a towel. "George, Hariena, please go fetch Mistoffelees." The kittens scampered away leaving the adults to deal with their father. Munkustrap laid still, blood poured like a river from open wounds all over his body. 

"He was outside the yard, by the human gate." Admetus explained as he noticed Alonzo's lack of words. The third-in-command was speechless as he stared at his unconscious friend. Jellylorum knelt beside the silver tabby and began to dab around the open wounds with the towel Jenny had prepared. She knew just by observation that Munkustrap's injuries were beyond anything she could fix, he was alive...just about, Mistoffelees' magic would be the only help here. When the magical tom himself skidded inside with Caligo not too far behind, Jelly sprung up and held out a paw to the newer queen. 

"I'm sorry, we must give him some space." She mumbled coldly. 

"What?! Mistoffelees needs my help! Ask one of the guardians to leave!" Caligo spluttered in shock, she could feel the adrenaline mixed with anger begin to run laps around her body. 

"Miss Caligo, it is in Munkustrap's best interest." Jellylorum persisted, her eyes narrowed to slits as she focused on the dark queen. Before Caligo could snap back, Alonzo rose to his feet and respectfully left with Admetus in tow. Misto ushered Caligo over for her help. Jelly stepped aside to let the queen pass but she folded her arms tightly across her chest, Jenny gave her a light pat on the shoulder. 

"Broken bones, everywhere..." The magical tom croaked. Caligo reached over and took hold of her friend's paws, as she gave them a squeeze their magic mingled in a mist of violet and green sparkles. 

"We can fix him up together." The queen assured. Caligo gave a soft smile to the tom which he returned weakly. "OK, start by healing the internal wounds." Just as the tuxedo tom had been taught before, he levitated his paws over the Jellicle guardian and let the violet sparks cascade over the body. Munkustrap was engulfed in a cloud of purple, his body seemed to have relaxed slightly as the magic coursed through him. A new sensation tickled at Misto's paws as the internal damage was reversed. When the blood vessels fused shut he could almost feel the suction of the liquid back into place, organs were repaired and muscles sewn back tightly. After a moments more, the Magical Mister Mistoffelees slumped back, utterly drained from the task. 

"I think...the internals are fine." He breathed. 

"Excellent work my friend!" The magical queen applauded. "I'll take care of any major bone breakages." The once Stranger Cat set to work , her own green sparks sprawled over the tabby. Jelly and Jenny watched on in concern, as the nurse and midwife of the tribe they felt like their skills had been discarded; especially Jelly, she was always there to help a sick or injured Jellicle. The dark queen's face screwed up as she felt the bones knit together, the ones that were dislocated caused Munk's body to jolt as they were slipped back into place, sending and interesting cracking sound through Caligo's mind. Once the large breaks and fractures were taken care of, Caligo rose to her feet with ease and helped Misto up. "We have done what we can, there are some minor rib fractures remaining, Jelly I trust you can manage them." 

"Yes, thank you." Jellylorum responded bitterly. With a curt nod of respect from the younger queen, the two magical cats strutted out of the nursery.