Rumpleteazer and Mungojerrie both swaggered down the alley. Rumpleteazer was a tabby with ginger, black and light brown stripes. Her stomach was white and she wore a pearl necklace.
Mungojerrie was the same, his colours only a little darker then Rumpleteazer's and he had no white patch on his stomach. Pausing to admire a pile of rubbish they almost didn't see the bundle of light coloured fur come hurtling around the corner and toward them. They blinked in surprise, turning their faces to look at each other as three large dogs came around the corner toward them.
"Run," the cat whispered. Though her voice was soft Rumpleteazer's and Mungojerrie's over sensitive hearing picked it up easily. Not that they were going to hang around and wait for the dogs. They were already turning as the cat spoke.
The little cat was fast and pulled ahead of them easily, leading the way. Suddenly the cat shifted course, heading down another side street and straight into a large trash can. Rumpleteazer and Mungojerrie followed, glad to be in a place where all the other smells would off set the dogs. They waited, each cat not daring to breathe as the dogs passed. And then they were gone.
Rumpleteazer let out a grateful breath of air and looked to the running cat. And she stopped in surprise. The cat before her she knew, but she had changed much since she last met her. She was just as small as ever but she seemed tinier because now she was scrawny, as if she hadn't had a decent meal in months. Her coat was a mess, dirty and scruffy with patches missing from many fights no doubt. And those murky green eyes were mournful and sad.
"Oh Thistle luv," Rumpleteazer cooed, reaching forward and taking the banana peel from off her head. "What happened?" Thistle shrugged and smiled lopsidedly. "I guess territories have changed since I was last here. This all use to be cat territory." Rumpleteazer and Mungojerrie exchanged glances before turning back to Thistle. "Yea, a lot of stuff has changed."
Thistle's smile grew, "but obviously not you two, you're as inseparable as ever." They both grinned, "of course." Mungojerrie nodded, "we never change, we'll be still nicking things together when where old and crabby, right Teazer?" He gave her a playful push. "Speak for yourself Mungo!" she puffed up like a peacock, making a cute face. "I intend to stay young forever."
Thistle smiled. She had never had a problem with these two, Rumpleteazer and Mungojerrie had always been carefree, and in trouble all the time so Thistle had always felt at home with them.
"Umm… are you going to the Ball tonight luv?" Rumpleteazer prodded softly. Thistle ruffled her fur in an effort to shake the dirt and grime out of it. She had no luck. "Yes," she whispered, crawling out of the trash and sticking her head over the edge of the can. There was no one there. "So I'll see you guys there, right?" She didn't wait for an answer, jumping over the rim she landed easily on the ground. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer both stuck their heads over the rim and watched Thistle look right and left at the end of the alley and go left.
They both looked at each other. "Well," Mungojerrie drawled, "this is going to be one interesting night…"
Thistle trudged through the streets toward the junkyard. She hadn't been here in three years but still she remembered everything. It was like this place was etched in her soul. But fate, being not without a sense of irony, had other ideas. Even though she felt just so right for this place, she had never before felt so wrong. In other towns and cities she felt… excepted by its inhabitants, but she couldn't settle down in the environment. While here she felt shunned but at ease in the setting. Sighing she shook her head, looking down a familiar alley. It was still there. To the untrained eye it was just a wooden create over hung with tarp and filled with old rags. But to Thistle it had been a fortress, a place where she had hid from the Timon's children and from both Demeter and Bombalurina scornful faces. Thistle stood straighter. But she wasn't a little kitten any more. Looking up to the clear sky, dimming as the sun made its decent and the sparkling pinpoints of stars appeared Thistle made a decision. Tonight she would make her choice; would she stay here, or continue to move, becoming a rogue cat. She shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. Time would tell…
Munkustrap looked lazily at the three cats before him. The junkyard was just nice for this time of day, but Munkustrap new it would get colder during the progression of the night and he was glad to have a fur coat. His coat, a blue grey striped assortment would keep him quite warm. "So what do you want me to do about it?" Rum Tug Tugger gave a customary shrug but both Demeter and Mistoffelees spoke at the same time. "Nothing," Mistoffelees muttered. "Something," Demeter cried out. The two cats glared at each other. Munkustrap sighed, rubbing his face with one of his paws. "And here I was thinking it was just going to be a normal day," he muttered. Mistoffelees looked at Munkustrap, "she hasn't done anything wrong, you know that." Demeter snorted, "she hasn't been here, she's not a Jellical cat anymore." "Look," Munkustrap stood up, "I know Thistle hasn't been here for three years and whether she's in the right or wrong, it has nothing to do with me. Talk to Old Deuteronomy, not me." He turned to leave but turned his head to Demeter, "and you'd better get a hold on your jealousy before you do." And then he was gone. Mistoffelees looked to Demeter too, and he didn't understand. "Why do you hate her so much?" "I-" she started but was interrupted. "Oh Luvs you just won't believe who we just bumped into," Rumpleteazer, followed closely by Mungojerrie, came skipping up. "Thistle's back," Rumpleteazer was bursting with energy and Mistoffelees could tell that she couldn't wait for the Ball tonight. "We know," Rum Tug Tugger muttered, obviously bored. Rumpleteazer's bubble of delight deflated a little. "Well, oh mighty Tugger, I bet you didn't know she was coming to the Ball." "She is?" Demeter jumped in quickly. "Ah huh," Mungojerrie answered, "last time she spoke to us anyway." Demeter looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled, "well, I gotta go find Bomb, see you all tonight? Ciao."
Mistoffelees caught Demeter's wrist and turned her so she was looking at him. "You're not going to hurt her, are you Dem?" He hated to ask the question of her, they had grown up together and had become fairly fast friends since they were kittens.
Demeter looked into his smoky blue eyes and saw her own amber eyes reflected in them. She could see the jealousy in her eyes but she also that Mistoffelees, if it came to it, would stick by her. "Just keep out of this Misto, you don't want to get involved." And then she too was gone. Rumpleteazer and Mungojerrie looked at each other. "Umm…" Rumpleteazer asked, "what's going on?"
Thistle stopped at the edge of the junkyard and pondered her sanity. Was it such a good idea to come back? She knew that there were a few that liked her, but they were, as she said, they were few. And the others were more likely to side with Demeter. And so she paused at the edge of the rest of her life, either the greatest choice or worst mistake she couldn't be sure. She waited, but she didn't know what for, divine inspiration perhaps.
"Hello Thistlewait," a soft voice whispered in her ear. It took every ounce of Thistle's willpower not to scream out. And even then she couldn't suppress the surprised shudder that rippled through her body. "Mistoffelees," she returned the greeting curtly, angry with herself that she had been surprised. Usually that kind of neglectfulness would have gotten her killed anywhere but here. She lifted her murky eyes to Mistoffelees face just in time to see a flicker of surprise flash on it. He obviously hadn't expected to see her keep so composed, his antics usually always made her cry out at the very least. Or maybe it was the strength behind her lovely green eyes.
The look of surprise didn't last long. "I heard you were back," he moved from his crouched position he had used to surprise her and stood upright with his head high. Even small Mistoffelees was almost twice as large as Thistle. "You've changed." It was a statement, not a question, even though she hadn't changed physically since they'd last seen each other. "Yes, I'm not a little kitten any more," she whispered. Mistoffelees knew what she meant. "Aren't you going in?" he prodded softly. Thistle looked forlornly to the junkyard. "I don't know," she shook her head, "maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Mistoffelees smiled in the dim lighting. "Come on, we don't bite." Her head snapped back to him and she frowned darkly, remembering the life that she had lived last time she was here. "Yes they do," she took a step back, "especially-" "Thistle," a cold voice cooed from behind them. Thistle forced a violent hiss trapped in her mouth but Mistoffelees felt her stiffen beside him and could see her claws extend slightly. Very carefully she turned to the speaker. Bombalurina was as beautiful as ever. She was a tabby cat with a mixture of reds, black and white fur that she took a lot of pride in. She had had her eye on Rum Tug Tugger for quite a while if Thistle remembered rightly. Her spiked collar, much like Demeter's who stood beside her, glinted in the moonlight. "You haven't changed a bit," she whispered coolly. Thistle smiled coldly, "yes, I'm lucky to still look so young."
The air around the three girls electrified and quickly stepped in to stop the impending argument. "Why don't we join the others," he said quickly. Bombalurina forced a smile. "Yes, why don't we." She stepped forward and Mistoffelees found his arms hooked by both Bombalurina and Demeter. "Are you coming Thistle?" she asked.
Thistle was poised at the edge of the junkyard, sniffing the air delicately. Something didn't smell right, and it had nothing to do with the three cats in fount of her. It was something… wrong. Something out of place on such a night of joy. Why did she feel like she was being led into a trap…