Part 2: When Will Time Flow Away

When Michael came to, he found himself in a large, open green field. For some reason, the trees and sky seemed much larger than they should to him. After a moment, he realized that he didn't know why it *did* seem larger to him. Then, it dawned on him. With each passing moment, more of his memories as a human were fading away from his consciousness, being replaced with different, more primal memories and recollections. It scared him more than he could say.

Staggering to stand upright against a boulder many times his size, Michael looked at himself, and received a further shock. His hands, lower legs and feet were black, like his costume, he was beginning to grow silver-gray fur with dense black stripes, and he was growing quite a bit of fur on his shoulders, lower arms and lower legs. He felt behind him to find a tail fused to the base of his spine, he felt his face where his nose and mouth was and felt his face forming a muzzle, and he felt his head to realize his ears were no longer on the sides of his head, but rather, on the top, like a cat's ears.

A groan from one of the other actors got his attention, and he went over to help Jason to his feet. Blinking, Michael suddenly realized that it was very dark, possibly midnight, in fact, and yet, he could see as if it was the sunniest day. A vague part of him began to wonder if Jellicle Cats, which they portrayed, really could see in the dark.

As the others came to, they all got the same shock that Michael did. And everyone came to the same conclusion, that, for some reason or another, they turning into the very cats they portrayed.

"This is crazy! We're being turned into cats, into the ones we play, and don't even know where we are or how to get back to civilization. Do you see any sign of helpful life out here?" Jason waved his hand...paw, at the darkness.

Michael tried to tune out the noise as Jason and Fergus began arguing, it happened all the time, basically. He looked around and saw Bryn quite a ways up a nearby tree, staring intensely into the distance.

"Bryn! Do you see anything from up there?" Michael called to his friend.

"Yes! There's a campfire over there, about a mile away! And I see people, or living creatures, at least, and tents around it." Bryn shouted after a moment of brief silence. Climbing down the tree, Bryn then let go halfway down and landed on all fours.

"One way's as good as another. And if they're people, they'll more likely take us back to civilization, maybe even feed us." Fergus said. Jason glared at him and was about to open his mouth, but a glance from Veerle made him change his mind.

At the rate they were walking, Michael guessed they would reach the possible campsite in about twenty minutes. Along the way, his ears kept twitching, and at one point, something rather strange happened to him. He looked into the surrounding trees and saw two of the strangest canine creatures he'd ever seen.

They both had an anthropomorphic appearance, like him and the rest of the cast, but they were canine in appearance instead of feline. One looked a lot like a llama with a short neck, floppier ears and a canine muzzle, he recognized the 'breed' as a Brittany spaniel. The other was smaller, and looked like a furry fox or a wolf, he guessed it was of the Pomeranian 'breed'. ,p> He wondered why he was beginning to think like that. Then again, he could feel his human memories getting further and further from his mind with each passing second, he began to wonder if he, and the others, were going crazy.

As they approached the campsite, they were all startled to see that the people there were really Cats, just like them. Intermingling with them were several canine creatures, the term Pollicles popped into Michael's mind. One queen, a black one with a white facial and head pattern like the one Rebecca now sported, and a golden chest, sniffed the air. Michael was afraid of what these creatures might do if they found them.

"I smell others. Not Taurin. But like us." This strange queen had a voice like Leah's, though it sounded deeper and lower.

"Prrruh, prrruh. Rrrrh?" A part of Michael's buried human mind remembered this new queen as the one he'd seen in his apartment one night. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to incite a feeling of fear towards this queen, despite the fact that they'd been spotted.

"Please, come. We won't hurt you." This Cat was a tomcat, who looked surprisingly young, and was essentially a male version of the form Susan now wore.

"How do we know you're not going to kill us or something?" Fergus asked with clear distrust. The Cats and Pollicles present began to laugh. "We have Pollicles and tribe members who have at least one human parent. We don't mind strangers, and company is always more than welcome. Please, come, perhaps we can even give you something to eat and drink if you need it." said the first queen they heard.

Now, no one had much trouble believing that these Cats and Pollicles were harmless, though the guys were very cautious.

Veerle slowly came out of the shadows and extended a small black hand to the other Cats. One queen from the other Cats moved forward to meet her with an extended hand of her own.

This queen looked very unusual. She was white with an orange mask over her eyes, her cheeks, right hand and left hindpaw were golden, her left hand and right lower arm were red, like the patches that covered her body, a purple stripe extended from her nose to the tip of her tail, she had black markings that looked like crescents, asterisks, lightning bolts, exclamation points and hearts, and green eyes like emeralds peered out from her face. When Veerle touched the queen's hands, she rubbed her face gently on them before the queen returned the gesture and motioned for the others to come into the light of the campfire.

"I can understand your concern, but I assure you that the Taurin tribe means no harm to anyone, especially not another tribe. By the way, my name is Cheezey." the queen said.

"I am Old Deuteronomy, the leader of this tribe." Ken said. "Munkustrap is the second-in-command," here, Ken motioned to Michael before he gestured to Veerle, "and this young kitten is Jemima."

"She's rather adorable, if you don't mind my saying. And Munkustrap reminds me of a few of my kin and friends." Cheezey said. "Ah, well, I'm sure you won't mind other introductions over dinner. The Pollicles caught fish from a river nearby, got water from the same place, and if you don't like meat, my half-sisters Mittens and Gato should be back from gathering fruits and such soon." Cheezey led them to the campfire.

Over their meal, the cast learned that the first queen they heard speaking was Orix, the oldest of seven queens fathered by a Cat much like themselves and mothered by a human-formed princess. The Susan-like tomcat was named Grovester, getting him much teasing from his tribe, and the queen who couldn't speak in words was Colleena-Coreena.

Halfway through the meal, a queen who bore an uncanny resemblance to Michael, or, as everyone, including himself, now called him, Munkustrap, came up to him and began flirting mercilessly with him. Try as he might, she'd keep sitting next to him and flirting. It wasn't until he sat right next to Cheezey that the queen seemed to get the idea.

"Mira, stop it right now! He clearly doesn't like you, and for all you know, if you breed with him, you'll have to do the same thing that Tia did." Cheezey told the queen.

This queen looked a lot like Munkustrap, in fact, the only differences were that her left leg and right arm were orange, she had a golden version of Cheezey's purple stripe, and her eyes flashed blue-violet in the firelight.

"I don't care who he is, I'll mate with whoever I please. Cheeseball." Mira sneered at the other queen. Cheezey's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, and Colleena-Coreena hissed at Mira.

"Never mind that Tiamu-ri had her kitten mated off to some stray, and that she almost killed Khesala's father when she learned he wasn't actually dead. That tom was always nice." Orix said thoughtfully.

"Yes, Tia's hotheadedness is what's going to be her death, mark my words." Cheezey said. By now, Mira had stormed off and disappeared somewhere into the darkness of the surrounding forests.

"Mira and this Tiamu-ri sound dangerous. Should we be careful about them?" Femi, or rather, Exotica, asked cautiously. Despite the firelight, she would have blended into the darkness if the fire wasn't so large. "No, no. Mira just doesn't like it when people are concerned about her, and Tiamu-ri's impulsive, they're no danger, just annoyances." Cheezey assured them.

"HEY, CHEEZEY!"

Rumpleteazer, Mungojerrie, Mistoffelees, Victoria, Jemima, Pouncival, Electra and Etcetera all jumped and shouted in surprise at the sound of the voice. Alonzo took up a defensive stance while most of the cast, rather, the Jellicles, could only look up in surprise.

"Stand down, Jellicles. That's just one of my half-sisters, Mittens. She's usually not too loud, but I guess she saw you guys. Don't worry, you'll like her." Cheezey assured them.

The queen who stepped into the light bore little, if any, resemblance to Cheezey. Mittens was an orange queen, with yellow forepaws and a yellow version of Pouncival's eyepatch over her left eye, her right hindpaw was black, while her left hindpaw was the same gray color as the rest of her legs, and she has a white face that looked otherwise like Munkustrap's, though with orange markings instead of black.

"Hey, Cheezey, where'd you find all the toms and the other queens? Any of them joining the tribe?" Mittens asked. Cheezey smiled and laughed. "No, no, they're just visitors. We're going to help them get to London, as they seem to have lost their way around here." explained the green-eyed queen.

Mittens looked them over with her own blue-green eyes. "Yeah, they do look like houseCats, no offense, of course." Mittens nodded to Munkustrap. "None taken. But I thought your tribe were wild, almost feral, like you said, Cheezey." Michael said.

"No, no, we're just wanderers. We like to travel to London quite a bit, but we value personal freedom, as well, so we like to wander around the wilds, too. I guess it's a good thing we were doing so this time, eh?" Cheezey asked.

Several of the toms began yawning, and a mutter of "Everlasting Cat, am I tired." almost got Michael's attention, but he couldn't figure out why it seemed to sound almost alien to him.

"Hey, Mittens, did Pascal and Mavendell get those spare tents up yet, or did they manage to get into a fight with one of the queens?" Cheezey asked her half-sibling.

"If you mean Rathera, Nephrenia and Khentkaus, we put them in solitary confinement for the night, if they approach one of the Jellicles, the Pollicles get to go medieval on their tails in the morning. I wouldn't worry about them until noon tomorrow, at least." Mittens waved a hand at a distant side of the camp.

"Good, I'd hate to have to talk to those queens. They make people think queens are weak, in fact, in the Taurin, queens are on equal footing with toms, better, in some cases." Cheezey told the Jellicles. Leading them to an area of tents not far from the campfire, Cheezey and Mittens bid each of them good night.

The Jellicles chose their sleeping arrangements. Susan and Susie shared the tent furtherest from the campfire, Jo Gibb, Kaye and Rebecca shared a tent almost the same distance from the campfire, while Tommi, Jacob, Michael, Tony, John Partridge, James and Geoffrey were next door to the three women. Elaine, Ken and Sir John Mills were in the center of the area, while Karl, Bryn, Jason, Frank, Drew and Fergus were crammed into the tent closest to the campfire. Aeva, Femi, Veerle, Leah, Rosemarie, Phyllida and Jo Bingham were crammed into another tent just as close to the campfire. Despite the night of making new friends and learning they were safe, the Jellicles couldn't help feeling that something was wrong. Not that they would feel that way for too much longer.

***

"Yes, I realize I made a mistake, there were only four, not five like she told us." said one queen in the darkness outside the camp. "Rrrrrmh? Mrrrow, Mrrrow, Mrrrowh?" Colleena asked her friend. The other queen looked at her friend with raised eyebrows.

"Dearest, they only know me as Sheila. And I assure you that the spell won't affect anyone it's not supposed to. Or my name isn't SharMarali. Which it is." the other queen said.

"Rrrrrrrmh?" Colleena asked curiously.

"You're speaking in riddles again. Go get some sleep, and we'll talk more about this tomorrow night, after we've moved again." Shar told her friend.

***

Come morning, a surprising number of the Jellicles and the tribe they were staying with, the Taurin, were up and around. Mittens took the younger queens on a hike, teaching them things along the way, while Cheezey had taken the older queens to the river and forests, to show them how to fish and hunt. Most of the toms were being introduced to other Taurin by Orix, though a couple were still asleep when Mittens and Cheezey returned, things were relatively calm.

Until about eight-thirty, by the human watch. At that moment, a pair of male voices could be heard screaming, a noise that echoed throughout the valley.

Orix was the first to arrive at the tent. She was shocked when she opened the flaps and looked in, with good reason.

Bryn and Karl were standing bolt upright, backed away from the sleeping piles. While Bryn was steady transforming into the form of the real Plato, and Karl was transforming into the real Pouncival, there, on the stacks of hay and cloth were two forms of the same size as they were. One was covered with red, black, white and ginger fur, black hands and long red claws, while the other looked like a Siamese Cat.

"What in the name of Oriana are those?" Orix asked, her blue eyes the size of saucers, as she pointed to the two sleeping forms.

"One looks like...Macavity." Aeva said, with clear hesitancy. "But what about the other one?"

"Genghis. The Siamese that supposed did Growltiger in, remember?" Bryn said.

"Actually, I believe he was originally called Gilbert." Orix asked, her blue eyes still wide open.

"Whoever they are, I recommend putting them in another tent for right now, just to be safe." Cheezey said.

"Um, Cheezeball?" A timid-looking brown Pollicle male asks.

"That's *Cheezey*, Pascal! Cheezey, so quit callin' me Cheezeball like Mira does!" the queen shouted at him, making the Pollicle jump.

"Sorry, Cheezey. Um, we don't have enough materials to make another tent. Sorry." Pascal said, looking sheepish.

"We can gather more stuff from the forests, I mean, that's where you'd get the stuff, right?" Fergus asked.

"Actually, I have an idea." Cheezey turned to Pascal with a smile. "Pascal, be a dear and fetch my mate, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Pascal mock-saluted her before running off.

"I thought your tribe didn't have have enough males to have mates to go around." John Partridge asked.

"My mate is also the mate of a friend, Lurenna. Most of us don't need males as mates, female pairings are actually very common in our tribe, I'm Kith's second mate, it's our choice." Cheezey explained.

Most of the toms rolled their eyes, apparently, they didn't get it. Not that it mattered to Cheezey either way, she understood it, and that was all that mattered.

***

In the forests, a few of the Jellicles were going about their own business. One, in particular, was stalking prey, making him seem like a silver tiger in his manner.

Over the past few hours, Michael came to accept himself as Munkustrap. He began to abandon the human identity and memories that faded with each passing moment, in fact, the only thing he remembered by now was a name, which he couldn't remember how he came by, or why it was so comforting to him.

Not that it mattered. Munkustrap had to admit, there was a definite advantage to being a Cat. And he rather liked it.

He'd been hunting rats, mostly, rather large ones that only took two of them to fill his belly. He remembered the Taurin telling them about the strange creatures of the English wilds, the one he was presently stalking put him in mind of a harpy, it was a black creature half the size of a human, and since this was one of the Taurin's food animals, he decided to repay his hosts in this way.

Crouching still in the foliage, Munkustrap slowly and silently made his way forward, keeping gray eyes on the creature as it fed on an unfortunate rodent under it's claws. Claws bared, Munkustrap tensed as he waited for the creature to stupidly distract itself.

When the avian creature did, Munkustrap showed no mercy in his attack. Sharpening teeth sank into the creature's neck, he held on despite the sour taste of the creature's warm blood, and his claws raked the creature's back and belly, leaving pink stripes of exposed flesh and ripping off it's black feathers as it struggled. Finally, the creature went limp, and Munkustrap released it, looking over his kill as he cleaned himself of the blood from the attack.

The harpy, as the Taurin called it, was of an impressive size, half the size of a human, with feathers, what remained of them, as black as night. He remembered seeing such a creature circling over the camp in the light of dawn, and since the Taurin tribe didn't have too many toms who were capable hunters, he knew they'd appreciate the thought.

Hiding his kill under the same foliage he'd been hiding in earlier, Munkustrap followed two familiar scents towards the river. Climbing up a tree for a better view, he had to smile at what he saw.

By the river was a pool teeming with fish, and by this pool were Admetus and Skimbleshanks. He noted quite a few fish skeletons littering the ground nearby, and saw how they killed their prey once it was out of it's element. "Let me guess, you two were so hungry that you couldn't wait until lunch." Munkustrap said, smiling from his leafy perch.

"Actually, I got hungry myself, and I guess seeing me eat made Skimble a bit hungry." Admetus said, the white of his face doing a very bad job at hiding a blush.

"Well, while you two are here, maybe you can help me drag my kill back to the camp. A little gift for our hosts." Munkustrap said.

The three toms managed to carry it back to the campsite, though most of the feathers left on the 'harpy' fell off during the short walk. And the constant feeling of uneasiness in all three of them only got worse as time passed.

***

As the day progressed, the two tribes received more shocks before they broke camp. When Admetus was resting, it turned out the same thing happened to him that happened to Plato and Pouncival, only everyone agreed that the creature, which was presumably the Rumpus Cat, couldn't be dangerous. About two hours after that incident, the same thing happened to Jellylorum, and the white Persian queen, presumably the Persian Griddlebone, that split from her was put into confinement with Macavity and Gilbert.

During the walk towards what the Jellicles assumed was the direction of London, SharMarali and Colleena-Coreena pulled aside a few of their tribe to speak with them.

"Coriano, I know we've never been on the best of terms, but I'm asking for the help of you and your pupil for the sake of the Jellicles. You're the closest thing we have to an astrologer, and probably the most best at using your talents that we know of." Shar told the older Pollicle, who was of the 'breed' of Cavalier King Charles spaniel.

"Sol Bianca is a *student*, Shar, I'm not even sure if she can do half the things I've tried to teach her. You know she couldn't sit still if her life depended on it, and she has the seriousness of the Rumpus Cat, which is a negative number." Coriano told the queen, rolling round brown eyes and twitching a black olive-like nose.

"Did you at least try to do what I asked, find a pattern in their rates of transformation, so we would know when they're fully transformed into their new selves?" Shar asked.

"Rrrrrr-owr." Colleena added her two cents in.

"Yes, I did, and at the moment, it seems accurate." Coriano looked carefully around, before reaching into the belt around his waist and pulling out a white, relatively new scroll of paper made from leaves and other such litter he'd found. Shar took it and unrolled the scroll, carefully reading it.

"So far, yes, you're right. The four splits happened at the calculated times, but to be safe, we'd best find a place to camp by two this afternoon. That's when we can expect the first full transformation to be completed." "I've passed the word on to Aristalorum, and she's passed it onto Grovester." Coriano couldn't help snickering. "That tomcat's name is going to be the death of us, from laughing."

"It's his mother's fault for naming him that, not his. Besides, we've also got to think about what to do with Macavity, Gilbert and Griddlebone, remember?" Shar asked.

"I'd say we dump them somewhere, those three can only be trouble. Besides, you just wait until they're fully developed into their new selves, they'll be so much trouble that Scotland Yard wouldn't put up with them." Coriano said.

The group stopped at around one. While the tents were being made, the Jellicle toms finally got a chance to meet Cheezey's mate.

"Kith, be a dear, and help with the tents, will you? It seems we'll need a few more than we thought, and you're best suited for making more things." Cheezey asked him.

"For you, love, anything." Kith kissed his mate on the cheek before leaving to help. While the tom looked almost exactly like Mungojerrie, he had an orange-and-white version of Coricopat and Tantomile's face, even down to the white markings around their eyes.

"Does he have any siblings? Or is he an only kit?" Alonzo asked.

"Actually, yes, Kith's the youngest of three, Apachetress and Menectra are his sisters." Cheezey said with a smile.

Apachetress looked just like Kith, they could have been twins, while Menectra looked just like Tantomile, only with red-orange instead of ordinary red. Alonzo suspected that if, Heaviside forbid, Mungojerrie and Tantomile ever had kittens, these three would possibly resemble the kittens. Of course, the cat burglars and the twins usually just ignored each other, no hostility, but not any sort of friendship, either.

"Nice thought." Alonzo muttered to himself.

Otherwise, the day progressed without much unusual happening. Except perhaps for having to fish one of the Taurin out of the nearby river, it turned out that Nephrenia couldn't swim. At nightfall, there was much activity, the Taurin were a joyful tribe for the most part, like the Jellicles perhaps were meant to be.

By now, several Jellicles had completed their transformations, Aeva May, Bryn Walters, Jo Bingham, Femi Taylor, Jo Gibb, Kaye Brown, Karl Morgan, Jason Gardiner, Veerle Castelyn and Frank Thompson were now Demeter, Plato, Etcetera, Exotica, Rumpleteazer, Tantomile, Pouncival, Alonzo, Jemima and Admetus, while Gilbert and Macavity had also completed transformation. The two doubles had become so unruly that the Taurin seperated them and they were now in solitary confinement each.

Munkustrap didn't know why or how, but he somehow ended up fussing with a knife he'd gotten his paws on and managed to carve a strange little cat-statue out of a bit of wood, though not without several cuts to his black hands. Hissing, he licked the slight bit of blood from the wounds. "Cut *away* from you, Munkustrap. Trust me, it's happening to all of us in one way or another."

Munkustrap looked to his side to see Mavendell sitting next to him. This tomCat looked a lot like the Tugger, only, like his sister, Tarinateazahsam, he had a cream base coat with orange, red and black stripes, still, he had the same hands, feet, leopard spot pattern and face as the Rum Tum Tugger. Like all Taurin, it was a total mystery how such a noticable tom could come and go without a sound to Munkustrap.

"You're still getting used to all this, aren't you? I could see the same thing in your friends, before they completed their transformation, I guess it's normal." Mavendell said with a sly grin.

"You mean you didn't go through this before you were..." Munkustrap nodded his chin at Mavendell, who just laughed.

"No, no, I've always been this way, I was born like I am. Most of us were, except for, I believe, some of the queens, and perhaps the Oriana sisters." Mavendell said. ,p> "Oriana sisters?" Munkustrap raised a black eyebrow at the Tugger-like tomCat.

"Orix, Feliana, Elixana, Oriana the second, Musette, Renoir and Eternity, they're all littermates, the daughters of a tom like ourselves, and an otherworld princess, a blond who was rather smart, I might add. If you think about it, it's rather obvious, they look unusual for queens, don't they?" Maven asked.

Munkustrap thought carefully. It made sense, for the Oriana sisters, each looked stranger than the one before. He had to admit that, before seeing them, he'd never seen a Cat with blue, green, pink, magenta or aquamarine on them anywhere.

"Purrowr, Mrrrowr." Colleena-Coreena butted Mavendell in the knee, her strange fur puffed off and her pupils barely slits in her colorful eyes.

"What, girl? What is it?" Mavendell asked the wordless queen. Munkustrap caught a whiff of something in the air and stood up, dropping the knife and the wooden carving as he listened carefully.

"MACAVITY!" Demeter's voice rang out in the camp.

A crash of thunder and a flash of lightning confirmed their worst fears. Macavity was indeed here.

Several Jellicles and Taurin came into the clearing. Green-eyed Kastamine, who looked like Coricopat, only brown instead with black, with a darker tan face, and her look-alike mate, Aristarachus, hissed and leapt at the flickering shadows at the edge of the ring, only to come flying back and end up being slammed into Jemima and Alonzo.

"Well, I guess I should thank you for letting me live, all of you. I'd normally expect you to kill me, but then again, you always were pathetic, especially Jellicles." Macavity said, smiling to show pearl-white fangs. Colleena hissed and tackled the large tom, moving with a speed that even feline rarely had. Macavity was taken by surprise and a savage fight started as he tried to escape the claws of the feral queen.

"You idiots! I told you we should have dumped them in the forests when we had the chance!" Coriano shouted at Shar.

"I told you, Coriano, it's the way it's supposed to be. No one's going to die, I know that, perhaps be maimed badly, but no deaths. And at least he'll leave us alone, now that he can find his own way to London." Shar shouted back.

Coriano growled, a gesture returned with a hiss from SharMarali, and another savage fight started as the Pollicle and the queen began biting and clawing at each other.

Macavity finally got away from Colleena, after fighting off several Jellicle toms. Gilbert reappeared, with the white Persian queen, Griddlebone, slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and the trio disappeared into the forests after Macavity put the fire out.

Despite the darkness, those present managed to get things back under control. It took ten minutes after Macavity left, along with five Jellicle toms and four Taurin queens, to seperate Shar and Coriano.

"Tonight, Coriano. I'll want to talk to you tonight, at midnight!" Shar shouted, shaking a white forepaw at the Pollicle elder.

"Nice going, they get to see the crazy members of the tribe, Cheezeball." Mira said to the eccentric queen.

"Shut up, Mira." Cheezey snapped at the gray queen. Snorting, she walked after the toms who took SharMarali away, hoping to be able to speak to the magical queen.

"Crazy, huh?" Tumblebrutus asked Munkustrap. Munkustrap crossed his arms as he watched Cheezey leave.

"Somehow, 'crazy' isn't the first word that comes to mind. More like insane, really." Munkustrap said. He still wondered exactly what he was getting into with those beings.

***

"Now, explain to me exactly *what* the bloody blazes you two were thinking!" Cheezey shouted at the golden queen.

"Coriano's a senile old Pollicle who never listens to a word I say." Shar said, pointing to the spaniel Pollicle.

"Well, at least I'm not a senile old queen who doesn't listen, period." Coriano returned. Shar's fur puffed up.

"I'm not old, and I sure as heck am not senile!"

"ENOUGH!"

Both Taurin and Pollicle were stunned by the volume of Cheezey's voice when she said that single word. The purple stripe on Cheezey's nose and face seemed to glow, as did her green eyes. When they were silent and still, the glow seemed to go away.

"We're trying to work together to get the Jellicles to London, and settle them into their new lives so that their tribe continues. Who here remembers what happened those two other times involving Miss Nadia?" Cheezey said. The pair hesitantly raised a paw each. ,p> "Or what about when *someone* tried to bring over Elaine, Femi and Susan, only to have those versions killed upon arrival?" Shar hung her head at the mention of that particular failure.

"Look, we're only half a day away from London. *Try* not to kill each other, at least until they're gone. Am I understood?" Cheezey asked. The Taurin queen and the elder Pollicle male nodded.

"Very well. You're dismissed, then." Cheezey told them. The pair immediately ran in opposite directions.

As soon as they were out of sight, Cheezey sat down on a log in the clearing, put her head in her hands, and sighed.

"Why did this have to happen to me? Why couldn't someone else have be put second-in-command, like another of the elders?" she asked the moon above her. The moonlight illuminated the clearing and provided enough light for even someone with the weakest eyesight to see.

"Maybe Bast just wanted to. After all, does She really need a reason for anything She does?"

Cheezey swiftly got up and turned around to see Mavendell reclining in the fork of a tree, with his hands behind his fuzzy head and a smile on his tan, black and white face. He looked rather smug about something. "I don't think I was talking to you. Besides, since when did you care about those two?" Cheezey asked him.

Mavendell jumped down from his perch and stood face to face with the queen, a smile still on his face.

"I dunno, just listening in. Besides, if we get the Jellicles to London, they can continue on with their lives, as it were, and that way, I know for sure those of us from the other world won't be born here. Imagine the Tugger having kittens with...oh, about five queens." Mavendell said, fussing with the black belt that hung on one hip around his waist.

"Eck. The mere thought of that tom being able to sire that many kittens is sickening enough, Maven. Thank you for the thought, now kindly *go to bed*." Cheezey said, pointing a shaking finger in the direction of the tents.

"Nah, besides, there's something you'll want to know about. I was snooping around, and it looks like we won't have to worry about the Jellicles when we get to London tomorrow." Mavendell said, again grinning. Cheezey was suspicious.

"And just what is *that* supposed to mean?" Cheezey asked. Maven took her red forepaw and pulled her along with him.

Near a mass of tents, Cheezey's white ears perked up at a sound that was entirely alien to her. Maven put a clawed finger to his lips as she followed. In a mass of tents, the moonlight was shining in such a way as to create a silhouette of those inside the tent, it also indicated that it was about two in the morning now. They passed by three tents in which there were more or less identical silhouettes, and sounds that were likewise alien to Cheezey's ears.

"Now, what was that all about? Again?" Cheezey asked when they were out of earshot of the others. Mavendell smiled again.

"Dollars to donuts says that in nine weeks, that tribe's going to have a whole new generation added to it, at least three litters of it." Mavendell said. Cheezey's expression was one of sheer confusion, making Maven sigh as it tried to explain it again.

"Kittens, Cheezey. They're making kittens, the way toms and queens normally do." Maven told her. Cheezey's green eyes became the size of saucers.

"They were *mating*?! Maven, you know that doesn't apply to our tribe, we can create kittens with two toms or two queens. You could have just told me." Cheezey told the Maine Coon/tabby tom.

"I know, but at least I didn't have to explain it to you."

Cheezey growled and proceeded to chase a hysterically laughing tomCat through the surrounding forests, stopping only when he climbed to the highest possible point in a tree and fell asleep there. Grumbling in defeat, the queen walked back to the camp, muttering about how she was glad the queens outnumbered the toms in the Taurin tribe. She then went to her own bedding, hoping things wouldn't be as ridiculous in the morning. In the morning, they were going to reach London.

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