"Gotcha!" Pouncival giggled and knocked the old table with his paw. Etcetera peered out from the broken chair beside the table and giggled, too. She jumped onto Pounce and he struggled until he lost his balance completely and rolled on his back. Laying there he caught her tail playfully and could not stop his giggling. Luckily, Etcetera did not mind he was older than she was. In Etecetera's opinion it was just funny to play with him. She pulled her tail trying to escape from Pouncival's grip but all the laughing made her to weak to act.
"Hello Pounci!" Alonzo jeered.
Pouncival looked frightened to the much bigger tom and ducked. He was caught. Six eyes glared at him now and he still held Cety's tail. Alonzo raised one eyebrow and gave an disgusting look, Plato and Tumblebrutus smiled mischievously. Pouncival threw Etcetera's tail away and did not dare to move. Alonzo jumped down on the car and walked over to the two cats, watched by Plato and Tumble. He grabbed Alonzo by the scruff of his neck and pulled him with him, not saying anything. Etcetera watched Pouncival disappear. She did not understand.
"Look at our little Pouncy!" He is such an amusing character!" Alonzo laughed. Pouncival ducked and pressed his ears on his head. In this position he looked up to Alonzo. For Pouncicval Alonzo appeared to be very huge now.
"Gotcha! Gotcha!" Tumble yelped and it echoed in Pouncival's ears. Tumble kicked Pouncival's butt and laugheed.
"Little Cety! Oh Pouncival, isn't she fine!" Plato said with artificial joy and scratched his back. Pouncival felt the burning pain but he did neither dare to say something nor to move. Even without all that scratching and kicking the humiliating words would have been enough punishment for Pouncival. He hoped instantly that Cety did not watch all that. Was it his fault that he liked her? She was funny, looked even beautiful and had a nice character. Why did the boys judge him therefore? Only because she was not a teen yet?
After the boys had left with a last scratch he went back to the table and the chair but only her scent was left. Pouncy's heart fluttered by smelling her. He sat down to cope with all the embarrassment inside him and than began to sing with a clear and bright voice:
"Just a small kitten,
maybe grown...
Will feel love so soon.
Jellicle heaven give me the power
to feel that she might be my flower."
Munkustrap smiled about Pouncival's song. He remembered all the boys that already had developed their own songs for their girls. Plato, Alonzo and of course he himself had his own song for Demeter. All there were very special tunes.
"Did ya see that enormous jump he did after he was thrown out of the house?" Jemima grinned.
"Tugger is thrown out every day!" Etcetera yawned. Tugger was cute, very cute, but for her things weren't the same anymore. She knew, Tugger wouldn't even look at someone like her or Jemima, he was out of the kittens' reach. But Etcetera knew that she was swooning a lot.
"Meow!" Tugger slid down a pipe and landed between the surprised girls. He's so wonderful, Etcetera thought, now seeing him in his full beauty. Her heart bumped more but she did not scream or hyperventilate. She just smiled amused.
"Did anybody see Bomba?" the leopard cat asked grinning and Jemima stared at him foolishly.
"Yeah. Yes. She said she was going to the shore." Etcetera answered. He kissed them both - one kiss on each kittens' cheek and moved away. The girls stared after him. Than Etcetera sighed disappointedly. This cat was so wonderful but she couldn't feel the same for him anymore. For a short moment a picture of Pouncy, lying on his bag giggling and holding her tail appeared in her mind but it faded before she was clear what sort of vision it was.
Munkustrap smiled and disappeared without being noticed. Everything is alright, he thought and made his way.
"Hello Jellylorum." Munkustrap cleared his throat. He had entered her home without being given a permission but that wasn't that important. It only showed Jellylorum that there was something serious going on.
"How old is Cety now?" Munkustrap asked.
"Oh no, don't tell me..." Jellylorum shook her head. That weren't the news she wanted to hear. "Well, she is in the growing group, if you mean that. She will grow during the next Ball," she admitted finally, "Don't tell me she's engaged! She's a kid!"
Munkustrap smiled knowingly: "She matures. Just look at the signs: She looses her interest in Tugger. She isn't engaged, Jellylorum, don't be afraid. In my opinion, there is someone who'd fit to her."
"Thanks heavyside, I already saw Tugger giving up because of all her swooning and marries her and bring all this disaster to my home. Cety, grows, yes, but she cannot mature this fast. She's still a kitten, although her age seems to grow. You said there's someone for her?" Jelly shivered. Who could Munkustrap have in his mind?
"Not now, Jelly," he smiled and stroke her cheek, "I just wanted to tell you, that it is time to set her free now."
That was the message Jellylorum had expected but didn't want to hear. It was so easy said but done... She understood what the protector of the kittens meant and nodded sighing.
"RATS!" Alonzo growled smelling the typical scent.
"Get them and kill them!" Pouncival nodded. He now smelled them, too, they were near and they heard them whisper to each other in the typical, annoying sound that could only come from a rat. It was really strange what a fine nose Alonzo had. No wonder he was the chief of the boys.
"Tumble from the Left, Plato from the right," Alonzo ordered the group, "Pounce on top of the pipe."
The group did as Alonzo had told them and they waited tensed. They knew what would happen, they did that rat hunting so very often but it was every time exciting. Alonzo disappeared in another pipe.
"How many?" Plat asked licking his mouth.
Pouncival tinkled back and tried to look inside the pipe. In the darkness he could see a group of rats, he saw their shapes, how they were sitting there in the darkness, in a small puddle which seemed to be a lake for them. They could not even think about the four cats that would hunt them in a few seconds all over the yard. Pouncival felt how much he hadn't eaten a rat.
"One for each of us," he declared to Plato and Tumble after he had figured out that there were four rats. If Alonzo did a good work now, everybody would soon hunt his "own" rat.
"Now!" Alonzo yelled jumping into the rat group. Following their instinct, the rats wanted to run deeper into the pipe but Alonzo's paws were too quick. They had no choice than run directly into the yard and so into the claws of Pouncival, Plato and Tumble.
Pouncival followed "his" rat which came straight out of the pipe. He jumped down from the pipe in front of the animal which tried to run back straightly. But Pouncival's paws shoveled the black-eyed creature under his body. It neede just a second to realize that there was enough space between the cat's hind legs to flee and started to run. Pouncy hunted the rat crosswise over the yard and hit it. It swayed from site to site as if it was drunk and with a second blow from the cat's claws it fell on the ground. Pouncival waited a moment until it got up again, thinking it had a second chance to escape. He caught it again and gave it the last biteŽuntil it breathed it's last breathe, with a last scream it died.
"Uh! That's a big rat!" Etcetera laughed, "you should teach me rat hunting." She was sitting between two old bikes and with the sun's rays it was very hard to see her in front of that background. Her fur had a kind of camouflage paint. Pouncival was very happy to have a rat between his teeth so he needn't speak to her. He nodded and could not help going over to her. He placed the dead animal in front of her.
"Do...you want a bit of... rat?" he asked looking around if someone was seeing him.
"Oh yes! I am starving!" she answered putting a paw on the animal and turning it onto it's back. It was his rat so he had the privilege to take the first bite. She waited. Pouncival felt uncomfortable, he knew it was his duty to share the rat with the boys but he wouldn't leave a starving Cety here. Anyway, he took his privilege and took the first bite, than they ate together. In fact, Pouncival didn't eat that much. He wanted Cety to finish at first before he ate.
"POUNCE!" Alonzo called impatiently.
Pouncival stopped his chewing and came back to reality. He looked at Etcetera and than to the direction Alonzo had disappeared to. He knew his duty.
"Keep the rat!" he said to Etcetera and jumped away to Alonzo.
"Where's the rat?" Alonzo tapped his food impatiently.
"I l-l-lost it Al-l-lonzo." Pounce stuttered fearfully.
"Listen to that! Little Pouncy lost his rat. Did it bite into your
little
red nose and run away?" Tumble laughed about his own joke like an idiot
and
rolled over the three other dead rats. Than whacked Pouncivals had
roughly
but still laughing. Of course, Pounce was embarrassed. It was a silly
lie.None of them had ever lost a rat. Alonzo shoveled the three rats
together
scratching Tumble who rolled still around on the floor. Alonzo growled
and
declared:
"No rat, no food! Go to your Etcetera and play your silly catch-me game. Gotcha!"
Pouncival creeped away, again treated by the boys. When he was away
enough he felt all the embarrassment, sadness and wounds deep inside
coming up.
He sang to get rid of the feeling:
"Just a small kitten,
maybe grown.
I feel love so hard.
Jellicle Heave, give me the power
to ask her if she wants to be my flower."
"But momma!" Etcetera cried in shock. "I did never anything bad!" She could not see Jellylorum clearly now, her eyes were filled with tears. Her mother seemed so foreign to her.
"Go Etcetera! It's time for you to built up your own life. I know
you're
in the growing group, but you're still a kitten!" Jellylorum said
firmly.
She
knew how hard it was for Cety but it was, and that might seem strange,
the
easiest way for her.
"Why? I want to stay here with you!" Etcetera cried.
"You have to mature and it begins with finding your own home. It was very tough to send Cety away. She had done that with other kittens and her mother had send her away but it was still very hard for Jellylorum. Now it was time for Cety to go.
"If that is what maturing means, I want to stay a kitten!" Etcetera stopped her sobbing and had an angry glare in her eyes. She realized that it wouldn't help to speak to Jellylorum and it made her angry. She turned around and went away. Her mom had decided that childhood was over and so a new part in her life would start.
"Goodbye my little Cety..." Jellylorum said after Etcetera couldn't be seen anymore. She than turned around to her home and let her body collapse on the carpet. Tears filled her eyes. The protector of the kittens had said it was time to set her free, now she had done it.
Etcetera's feet felt heavy when she left her home. It was already dark and it wouldn't make any sense to search for a new hideout in the darkness. She would search for home after the Ball. Maybe she should look for a human? At first, a junkyard hideout was more important. For this night she decided to sleep anywhere. She didn't even know how she managed to get into the car but at least she curled up there and shivered, hoping to fall asleep soon.
Pouncival did not dare to go to Alonzo's hideout. All the boys usually slept there, curled up together. Now, after his lie about the rat he couldn't go back. He decided to go to his own hideout where he had not been for days. He wanted to clean it for the Jellicle Ball. He leaped over the junk, tables, chairs, bikes, cars, machines,... He suddenly saw something moving inside a green car. He knew the car with the broken windows but he had never thought it was someone's hideout. It was unqualified because there was a lot of wind in it and it was very cold. He wondered which silly cat would make it's home there. Or was it a stranger? That was needed to be found out! He jumped inside on the driver's seat and looked into the back of the car. Was it possible? Cety lied there, shivering. Why was she here and not at home? Pouncival saw her chest moving up and down and her body shivered. He turned to the back seat. Cety moved, Pounce stood still for not waking her up. Than he wrapped her cold body in his an began to hum his song's tune until he fell asleep himself.
When Pounce awoke the next day, he felt something rough licking his face. He had nearly cried momma when he began to remember that it couldn't be his mom, she wasn't here. He opened his eyes but the sun filled the whole car so he could hardly see anything. When he slowly managed to see, nobody was there with him in the car. It was already very late in the afternoon and he slowly remembered what had happened the day or night before. There was no Cety. He stretched and went to the window to leave the car. He hurried, the hideout wasn't cleaned yet. Before he could leave the window, he faced Alonzo in front of him.
"How was your night with Etcetera?" he grinned mischievously. His voice was awful, humiliating.
"There was nothing. I found her there and she was half frozen!" he said through his anxiety but he did not want to let Alonzo see he was afraid. Pouncival had his pride and he did not want to be treated by Alonzo.
"Oh, sure! Pouncival the volunteering warm-keeper. You are still a kid! Did you play your funny Catch-me game wit her?" The black and white tom sniffed and walked away. Before Alonzo was completely out of sighed he turned around again:
"You needn't come back to the boys again. Join the kitty group!"
Now Pouncival was even banished from the boys. Could life become worse for him? He shook his had disappointedly. Than began his tune again. He hummed it, he didn't dare to sing the text, maybe Alonzo was still near.
"What song are you humming, Pounce?"
"Oh, Munkustrap. Pouncival looked up to the gray protector with very sad eyes. Munkustrap pretended not to notice.
"The tune is nothing, just appeared in my mind." Pouncy lied.
"I like it." Munkustrap tried to sound friendly, "you'll make it to a great singer. I see, or hear, your voice becomes brighter and brighter. It becomes clear and matures. I think you should sing this tune at the Jellicle Ball."
Pouncival's heart beat faster. Not because of Munkustrap's complement, but he could never sing this tune in front of the Jellicles, Alonzo or Etcetera!
"n-n-no! See, I have no text a-a-and I don't want to sing!" he said with a final breathe.
"Just wait for the right moment, son," Munkustrap completed his matchmaking.
Pouncival was asleep in his hideout when he heard Mistoffelees' voice: "Jellicle Cats come out tonight,..." Punce slapped his head! He had missed the "Naming of cats"! Hopefully, nobody had noticed but he really did not feel for a ball. How could he rejoice tonight? He felt his duty again and joined the ball and tried to rejoice, but it was hopeless. He missed all the fun he usually had with his friends and it became even worse when they came to the "Pekes and the Pollicles". He did not want to march with the dogs, which weren't his friends anymore. Short before the beginning, Munkustrap, pinched his side softly and said:
"Now it is your turn!"
Pouncival did not understand. Until Munkustrap cleared his words:
"YOU sing Pekes and Pollicles!"
"No!" Pouncival refused.
"Yes!" Munkustrap nodded and pushed him between all the Jelllicles. Pouncival tried to find out what was more embarrassing, retreat or sing. At least he though, retreat was more embarrassing. He just saw the envious looks of the other boys, especially Alonzo. Nobody had ever received the privilege to sing this song. Now, his relation to the boys seemed to be over forever.
"The Pekes and the Pollicles, everyone knows, are proud and implacable..."
He managed it through the whole song and nobody seemed to be angry or annoyed by his singing. For the first time in his life he received that much respect. The cats even seemed to like his singing. Could it be possible? Pouncival was a respected singer? He could not believe what he was doing, but he made even more out of his voice.
"Why who should stock out but..."
"...the great Rumpuscat?"
"His eyes were like fireballs..."
At the end of the song he got a lot of applause. For the moment he felt happy but the envious looks of his "friends" bothered him.
At the Jellicle Ball he was in his old feeling again. When all the
cats
went down to the floor he noticed that he was the last one standing.
Etcetera was already bending down to lay down but Pouncival grabbed he
paw. Now or
never! She stopped her movement and turned around, smiling shyly.
Pouncival
began to sing:
"Just a small kitten,
maybe grown.
I feel love so well!
Jelllicle heaven gave me the power
to ask her if you, Etcetera, if want to be me flower!"
Etcetera closed her eyes for a moment and sniffed his body, shyly at first but than came closer and closer to him. It wasn't important that everybody was watching them. She continued his song:
"Just a small kitten,
matured enough.
I feel love like you.
Jellicle heaven gives me the power
to answer you, yes, I want to be your flower!"
The song came from deep inside and without effort. It was her tune. And her voice seemed to be bright and clear. She had never known herself, that she had this voice. Jellylorum now knew that Munkustrap had been right, and she was happy to see Cety in Pouncival's arms.
Plato whacked Alonzo's head and he and Tumble stared angry at the black and white leader.
"Idiot! He loves her!" Plato hissed.
"How was I supposed to see that?" Alonzo tried to defend.
"With your own very eyes!" Tumble declared, "Never disturb one's love!"
THE END