"No. Again and get it right." A tall, thin Tom, named Director, stood on a podium and looked over the rows of kittens. Correction; not all were kittens. In fact, some where adults and some where considered the in-between age. Director liked all of his students but they were sometimes a bit un adjusting to the music. He raised his paw and wave din in a 4 beat pattern.
The other cats raised their instruments and forth came beautiful, wonderful music. Wonderful to many others ears but not their best. The band of cats knew very well that as good as they were, they would never be as great as their ancestors had once been but they could come pretty close!
Alonzo sighed a bit. He wanted to talk to someone but he was one of the very few who even did talk. A penalty for becoming the singer. Only a few others could ever talk he'd known; Director, his now-gone mother, and his now dead brother. And director rarely said anything save when directing the band. Alonzo looked at the sheet of music on the stand infront of him and let his fingers pull the string of the lyre. Why had he been stuck with a femine instrument?
"Much better. Again." Director led them through the opening line once again. Alonzo was now frustrated. Life was so pointless. His family gone, he the only talker in the tribe of Orachtretas and he hated his interment! Yet, everyone could admit that he was wonderful at it.
Soon, practice time was up and everyone walked outside the shelter. The black and white patched kitten blinked in the bright light that reflected on the snowy peaks. He breathed in and felt his lungs struggled with the high altitude. That was something else that made him different from others; he wasn't born from the mountain breeds, just migrated before his eyes were open. Alonzo carried his lyre across the path in the snow and ran into someone.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" He looked at the cat he ran into and saw a silvery, full grown Queen. "You're new?" The Queen nodded then surprisingly said, "Yes. I'm here on a vacation. Now, where is the leader here? And who are you? Why doesn't ANYONE else talk?"
Alonzo was shocked. Another talking cat! "I'm Alonzo. Our leader is Director since he leads the music. And no one talks because we have music." To demonstrate his point, he plucked a few cords on his instrument. The new cat looked dazzled. "That. That music! It's beautiful! Play more please." The kitten played a small tune and then some more tunes. The Queen sighed happily then all of a sudden came out of her daze.
"Oh how rude of me! My name's Grizzabella. May I sing?" Alonzo clapped his paws on glee. He hadn't heard any one sing since he was a newborn. He played some note patterns until Grizzabella began singing. her voice was so smooth, silvery, and soft. She sang made up sounds and words and the two played a lovely duet. Many other cats from the tribe looked out from their shelters in the snow and watched the two.
It was quite awhile before they stopped. Grizzabella smiled, "Oh that was great. I haven't hard someone play like that in.. in ever!" She threw her arms around Alonzo and hugged him. Then Director stalked up to them. "You both must go." He quickly handed Alonzo the lyre case and grabbed the scurf of the neck.
"Go? You mean. leave?" Alonzo's eyes widened as he saw where Director was taking him. He was being taken to a big wooden shack on the edge of the cliff. The shack was really an elevator that was chunked to let the cats down to the Below. The tall Tom put the kitten in the basket and hastily went back for Grizzabella and shoved her in too. "You don't belong here. For both's best." Then he smacked a switch that le the basket/elavator fall toward the earth suspended and possibly saved by one string.
Alonzo and Grizzy screamed. The earth came closer and closer till it was right to them! Alonzo opened his eyes and groaned. Maybe it had been all a bad dream. Director exiling him and that pretty gray cat who had a voice like any player could with an instument. He knew that it wasn't. This was a living nightmare!
Grizzabella moaned something beside him. Alonzo got up and pulled away pieces of the broken elevator basket. He saw that she was mainly fine except her paw was badly beaten up. "I think I twisted it when I landed."
Alonzo shook his head. "No. A piece of wood must have speared your paw, ma'am. Because if you twisted it, it wouldn't have been cut up and bleeding." He gingerly examined her hind paw. It was not good. It was so bloodied up that parts of the bone showed through. Grizzy, he saw, was so close to tears that she bit her lip enough to make it bleed to keep herself from crying. He licked the top of her head and felt completely helpless.
"You, young man, are going to have to go get help. I cannot even stand up and if you tried to take me, I would get us both killed." She hugged him for a moment then shoved him back. "Go now. I will live."
Alonzo, being somewhat small, fell backward and tumbled down the slope, gripping his lyre case all the way. Once he stopped, he shook the show from his fur, glanced back at Grizzy and walked the only way, forward.
Hours later, the black and white kitten fell face first into the snow, again. He was practically getting no where. He was no stuck in the deep forest with no supplies, no defense, no knowledge of where to go, or what to do, and he was COLD! No, cold wasn't the word. Frozen, icy, almost frozen to death, whatever, not cold. It was beyond cold.
Alonzo sniffled a bit and tried not to cry, knowing his face be frost bitten that way. He knew this and that he probably had no chance of surviving. His mother had died in the cold and his brother had been frostbitten so badly that he'd died. Now Alonzo seemed to be next.
He picked up his instrument case and trudged on again. What else to do? He was so close to curling up and die in his peaceful sleep. But then he remembered about Grizzabella. Her pretty face, voice, and confidence in him. A Glamour Cat. But what was a Glamour Cat doing out in the mountains? She did say that she was on vacation....
A wolf howled. Alonzo yelped din fright and made himself move faster but the lyre made him slow, but no way was he going to leave it! A gray canine figure appeared and growled at him, "What'ca doing here?"
"I-I'm lost and c-c-c-cold." the kitten shivered.
"Poor excuse but I'll let you go if you repay." The wolf became curious and asked about the case. Alonzo said that it was his instrument and his only form of work. "Play it, you stupid kitten."
He brought out the lyre, his eyes never leaving the wolf. The big creature still smelled like blood from its last prey. He let his paws pay a small tune. But he saw the wolf was not satisfied so he did a full out work out song from memory. The song echoed through out the empty forest and the wolf's eyes softened and he laid down on the ground and closed his eyes. "That was beautiful, cat-pup. You'll pass and please, tell my family that I shall not see them tonight." With that the wolf closed his eyes and slept. Alonzo slowly moved toward to him and saw that he had died.
Alonzo went on for another hour when he ran into a handful of wolves. "Halt! Cat, who are you?" said the biggest female.
"I- I- I am Alonzo. Are you related to a big male wolf back there?" The female nodded. "Well-wel he died." "What? What did you do to him?!?" She put her nose to his face and growled. 'I'll rip your throat out-" "NO! I just played music for him and he slept and was. gone." Alonzo put his paws to his face and prepared for the teeth to bite into his neck.
Instead the female said, "Music soothes the savage beast, they've said. Your music must have been good. Please play then move on." Alonzo did as he was told and the female and her family laid in the snow and soon slept. Shortly they were dead too.
Alonzo now wanted to either cry or punch someone. He still went on. Up ahead, lights were on the horizon. City lights. Alonzo was in such a hurry that he forgot about his musical instrument and ran. Ran for a few miles before coming to the edge of the city. So many cars and people and cats! So many things! He stepped onto the pavement and then collapsed.
Munkustrap avoided from the huge feet of humans and weaved in front of cars. He dashed across the road and over to the corner lamppost. Now he wished he hadn't strayed from his mother! Where was she anyway? He heard something moan. Munku whipped around and tried to find the source of the noise. A small mound began to move underneath all the snow. The gray tabby poked it and realized it was a kitten, smaller than even him! He brushed most of the snow off of it and wrapped himself around the other kitten trying to keep it warm and keep it living.
Alonzo was afraid of the gray tabby. He was unknown and strange. But somehow familiar.... "Who are you?"
The other cat was surprised that could speak. "I'm Munkustrap. Now be quite, my mommy will take care of us" He waved to JennyAnyDots, his mother, 'Mommy! I found a hurt kitty! He need help."
Jenny hurried over and examined Alonzo, 'Oh you poor darling! I'll take you home and you'll be better in no time.' She picked him up and hurried toward the junkyard while Munku scurried right behind her.
Alonzo slowly opened his eyes and mumbled something. A big cat with tiger stripes and lepord spots leaned over his. "Oh good. He's awake. Munky, hand me the bowl there." She propped up the black and white kitten against the wall and rubbed his head fur. "Now just relax darling. We'll see if you can get this down." She was able to put a little bit of some strange tasting food in his mouth. He swallowed it but a minute later, threw it back up. He held back the urge to either punch soem one, curl up and cry, or just yell on top of his lungs. "s-s-s-sorry ma'am."
"It's ok darling. This just shows how bad things were and that you survived through them. By the way, I'm JennyAnyDots. But just call me Jenny." She was always some one who could calm a kitten down in the worst situatoin and make it feel better. "Maybe some water will helkp." She put a small bowl to Alonzo's lips and he lapped it up quickly until she jerked it back. "Not so fast! You'll get sick again." She let him drink some more and he forced himself to go slow.
After the bowl was dry, Alonzo was able to speak some more. 'I came-came to g--g-get h-help f-for Griz-Grizzabella. She is r-really hurt. And she's all alone in the c-c-cold and and.. and-" Then he burst out crying and told the entire story. All about the lonely life in the mountains with the Orcahtrates, the elvator crash, how Director had rejected him out of the tribe, the wolves, and about everything that came to his mind.
Jenny just quitely listened and nodded here and there at appropriate times. Grizzabella had gotten herself into trouble again but she still needed help. Jenny wrapped Alonzo in a blankt and he cried himself asleep. She took Munku's hand and walked outside their little shelter, through the cold widy outside over to the near by Vicarage Wall. She knocked on the door and Munku and her swept inside as it opened. Old Deutronomy sat with his long tail curled around his legs. "My good girl, Jenny. What do want?"
Jenny quickly explained to him all what Alonzo had to her. 'So we need to send help for Grizzabella." OD took a moment to consider this. "Yes, I will send some Toms out to help an I will take our little Munkustrap along. He is going to be a leader someday." Jenny grabbed Munku and pulled him tight against her. "But he's too young and even Alonzo could barely make it-" OD put a hand over her mouth. "No, my dear. He will be quite fine, he's coming with many others too. Everything will be all right, dearie."
(1 month later) Grizzabella stretched out on the bed made of pieces of discarded scraps. It fell good to be home again. She had hurt her leg worse than she thought. She would have a limp for the rest of her life but she knew she'd manage.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get here faster ma'am. And it's strange that I found your home." Alonzo stood at the edge of the bed and smiled. He had gotten help, no matter how late. She was alive at last.
"Alonzo, I thank you, honey. If you hadn't, I think I'd b gone. A world without a Glamour cat. How terrible!"She chuckled a bit and scratched under Alonzo's chin. "Hon, I think I heard that Old Deutronomy will accept you to be a Jellicle. That's good. We need cats like you more often. By the way, where's your instrument?"
He looked at his paws and felt a wave of depression sink over him. "I lost it. The others went to find it but.. But it is gone. And I feel really bad." He sighed and still wanted to cry, like a lot often lately. "My momma gave me that. And I can't believe I lost it."
"Babe, you don't have to worry. You need nothing more special. You are a wonderful young Tom and I hope someday you'll grow up to become a wonderful leader. 2nd in charge. Maybe even THE Jellicle Leader. You have the potential."
Alonzo, not exactly sure of what to say, just nodded and promised Grizzy that he'd become a leader.
And that's just what he did.