Carbucketty

“Hey now…” Carby took a small step back, deciding it was best not to invade his personal bubble. “I’m sure you’re just having a bad day! You’ll be back to your normal tricks in no time, I bet.” He said positively and there was no doubt in his mind.

“I should be able to…” he began, though he trailed off mere moments later as he shook his head in a most frustrated manner. The usual sparkle in his pelt, which came during of his use of magic, seemed muted.

Carby was a lot more observant than people gave him credit for, he noticed every little moment Misto was making, and how nervous it made him feel. However cheerful was the mode he had chosen, and honestly his default, so he was going to stick by it.

As concerning as this might be, it isn’t even the worst of it. The less contact with others the worse his mood had been getting darker and darker gradually. Once again, this would not have been immediately recognizable if you hadn’t been paying attention.

All this had come from a growing obsession with his magic, pushing himself beyond a level that he was completely able to achieve at the stage he was at. He was barely taking the time to care for himself, devoting every moment possible to the improvement of miscellaneous magical aspects, to debatable success.

Each time he hadn’t managed to achieve whatever he was working on at the time he grew more and more frustrated with himself and the world.

On such an occasion of failure, the smaller than average tom uttered an irritated yowl, which even from the secluded corner he was occupying was still faintly audible.

He roamed the junkyard looking for him, poking his head in every nook and cranny he could find, even places he shouldn’t know about. Every cat he passed claimed they hadn’t seen the magical cat anywhere before hurrying away, paying little attention to poor Carbucketty.

He was about ready to give up when he heard an aggravated yowl not too far from where he was. He picked up the pace and scrambled over various pieces of junk before he spotted him. “Misto?” Carby called, perching on top of a washing machine. “What are you doing all the way out here on your own?”

He hadn’t intended to sound confrontational, though his response of, “I’m working.” was not exactly the most friendly sounding thing a cat could have said. On top of this, there was an evident weariness in voice, a result of not even scrapping the edge of the bear minimum of sleep.

His tail was swishing irritably, which made the addition of, “And I am quite fine.” to be an obvious lie that he didn’t seem quite bothered to hide.

He jumped down to meet him at ground level, eyes glancing at his swishing tail. “I don’t think you are okay.” He said firmly, sounding a lot more sure than he felt. Right now he was incredibly nervous, worried that something was really wrong and scared that he would be the one paying for it if that turned out to be the case. Mistoffelees wasn’t an aggressive cat, but he’d never seen him like this before.

As concerning as this might be, it isn’t even the worst of it. The less contact with others the worse his mood had been getting darker and darker gradually. Once again, this would not have been immediately recognizable if you hadn’t been paying attention.

All this had come from a growing obsession with his magic, pushing himself beyond a level that he was completely able to achieve at the stage he was at. He was barely taking the time to care for himself, devoting every moment possible to the improvement of miscellaneous magical aspects, to debatable success.

Each time he hadn’t managed to achieve whatever he was working on at the time he grew more and more frustrated with himself and the world.

On such an occasion of failure, the smaller than average tom uttered an irritated yowl, which even from the secluded corner he was occupying was still faintly audible.

He roamed the junkyard looking for him, poking his head in every nook and cranny he could find, even places he shouldn't know about. Every cat he passed claimed they hadn't seen the magical cat anywhere before hurrying away, paying little attention to poor Carbucketty.

He was about ready to give up when he heard an aggravated yowl not too far from where he was. He picked up the pace and scrambled over various pieces of junk before he spotted him. "Misto?" Carby called, perching on top of a washing machine. "What are you doing all the way out here on your own?"

And it only got better soon when Tumble offered him first pick. “Me?! Gosh who are you and what have you done with Tumble?” He teased. He never got first pick, if anything he was usually last. “They coulda left us some good stuff..” He said, looking down and the few mice that remained, didn’t even bother saving them the bird he had so proudly caught.

He looked at the remains and shrugged “Our hunting is too good Pouncey. Oh well this’ll do us both for now.” He picked up a mouse and before he could reply to Pounce’s question he quickly flicked off some mouse Pounce had just carelessly spat at him.

And it only got better soon when Tumble offered him first pick. "Me?! Gosh who are you and what have you done with Tumble?" He teased. He never got first pick, if anything he was usually last. "They coulda left us some good stuff.." He said, looking down and the few mice that remained, didn't even bother saving them the bird he had so proudly caught.

Alonzo approached Jenny and Harmonia, satisfied at a job well done concerning Pounce. "You like getting into trouble too huh? You'll fit in perfectly with the rest of the kittens." He commented. Most of the kits were magnets for trouble, always getting themselves hurt, it was just part of being a kid. And then cats like himself never grow out of it. "Just try and be at least a little bit careful."

Although he should have expected his friends to come along and ruin it for him. When Etcy mentioned dating he watched Tumble stumble and he dropped his food on the ground. How did she jump to that conclusion so quickly?!

He stared after the kittens as they bounded away, taking the majority of their catch with them. “Oh boy.” He sighed and then glanced over at Tumble who was now curled up in a ball. “Hey…you okay?”

"They won't hate us, no way! Might be jealous though cause you're so awesome." He grinned, that wasn't exactly as adult as he had planned but it was true as far as he was concerned. "Maybe we don't tell them anything, they can just guess. I bet you Jemmy already knows, she's real smart."

If Jemima did know he trusted that she wouldn't tell the others. As well as being smart she was very kind. "Come on you silly, lets go have some fun! We've done the hard bit."

Pounce couldn’t believe how well this was going, and he had gotten away with sneaking out as well. “Oh yeah! Jenny has the best food. She’s real nice.” He grinned and took Harmonia’s other paw. “I bet you can keep your box in my den, theres enough room.”

Alonzo had gone from looking after a down on her luck kitten to looking like a babysitter, not his exact job title but oh well. He pulled the two kittens (and box) along to Jenny’s den, it was the middle of the night but she’d be awake.

He let go of Harmonia’s paw and went and tapped on the door. A few moments a later Jenny appeared. “Alonzo? If you have gotten yourself into another fight or knocked up a queen I swear-”

"Looks like she has nowhere else to go." Alonzo said. "I haven't seen Munkustrap but I'm sure he'll let her stay." There was a small matter of not letting Pouncival get away with thinking he'd fooled him to attend to before he saw the Jellicle protector. "Pouncival, a word?"

"Uhh..." Pounce did not like the look on his face one bit.

"Try a different one." Alonzo replied bluntly.

Pounce shuffled over, preparing himself for being told off as he so often was. Just when he thought he had gotten away with it.

Alonzo knelt down so he wouldn't be overheard by Jenny. "I know you snuck out of the junkyard. But I'm willing to let it slide just this once." He decided not to mention the other times he'd let him get away with it. "Just don't do it again."

Pounce couldn't believe how well this was going, and he had gotten away with sneaking out as well. "Oh yeah! Jenny has the best food. She's real nice." He grinned and took Harmonia's other paw. "I bet you can keep your box in my den, theres enough room."

Alonzo had gone from looking after a down on her luck kitten to looking like a babysitter, not his exact job title but oh well. He pulled the two kittens (and box) along to Jenny's den, it was the middle of the night but she'd be awake.

He let go of Harmonia's paw and went and tapped on the door. A few moments a later Jenny appeared. "Alonzo? If you have gotten yourself into another fight or knocked up a queen I swear-"

Since Alonzo had knelt down to her height, she tried not to act nervous. “I saw the hole in the fence, and since it’s getting so cold I thought I might try to get some more blanket scraps.” The small kitten sneezed lightly, a bit of dust floating around in the junkyard causing it.

"Yes oh my gosh Lonz don't be mad at her look shes all alone!" He looked at him with the cutest face he could manage.

Alonzo shook his head but then held his paw out to Harmonia. "I'm not mad. My name's Alonzo and you're very welcome to stay." He said. He had to admit, when kittens weren't driving him crazy he quite liked them.

When the wind picked up, she fluffed her short fur to it’s limit and squirmed uncomfortably. Her ears folded down and she nervously waited for the five minutes to be up.

Then five minutes was up. His master plan was going perfectly. He made his way back to the hole, he could see Harmonia and he made his way towards her. Although out of the shadows stepped Alonzo who had been watching the entire thing.

"Pouncival, what are you doing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He thought he'd give the kitten the chance to be honest.

Pounce nearly jumped out of his fur, he hadn't expected him to be there. "Nothing! Exploring!" He said loudly. "Oh wow who is that?!" He exclaimed, looking past Alonzo to his new friend.

Alonzo sighed, of course he wasn't going to tell the truth. But he was feeling generous for once, it seemed like the kit was trying to do something good. "No idea, why don't we go and find out?" He was going to let him get away with it for now, but Munkustrap would hear of it in the morning. He knew the kittens liked to sneak out and most of the time, he let them, but Munkustrap didn't need to know that part.

Pounce let out a sigh of relief and then hurried over to Harmonia. "Hi stranger!" He beamed, winking at her. He was convinced he had fooled Alonzo.

Although he should have expected his friends to come along and ruin it for him. When Etcy mentioned dating he watched Tumble stumble and he dropped his food on the ground. How did she jump to that conclusion so quickly?!

He stared after the kittens as they bounded away, taking the majority of their catch with them. "Oh boy." He sighed and then glanced over at Tumble who was now curled up in a ball. "Hey...you okay?"

Pouncival tore his eyes away from Alonzo, there was no denying that right now he was scared of him. But he wasn’t alone, despite what he had done at least Tantomile was willing to help. He followed her to the other side of the clearing. “Thank you.” He said in a small voice, keeping his eyes on the ground. He was trying very hard to stay calm, not to just run away again, not that his body would have been up for it.

“What’s wrong with me?” He asked, finally looking up at her. He desperately wanted comfort, to be told that things were going to be okay. But the person he would have gone to was dead, thanks to him, and everyone else would probably avoid him if he dared showed his face in the junkyard again. 

—

Tugger was taken aback. “But he never left, it can’t have been him.” He replied, desperately trying to dig himself out of a hole. He’d been keeping a safe distance from Mac in case he discovered that he had helped Rumple and Pounce escape, but he still watched him, not wanting him to go after them.

“I just wanted to see if you made it back alive. You wouldn’t have got back at all if it wasn’t for me.” It was a terrible excuse and he knew it, they would have never have been in that situation if he hadn’t lead them straight to Macavity.

“Where’s Pouncival, is he-” He was cut off by the arrival of his brother, the very cat he had been trying to avoid. He flinched when he said his name, how on earth was he going to talk his way out of this one? This was no simple matter of accidentally breaking a kittens heart, this was betrayal and from the looks of it his actions had done a lot of damage.

Tantomile watched him carefully, mindful of the emotions radiating from him. They were easy enough to read; it was almost as if he was yelling at her. She took a deep breath. “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure yet. Macavity clearly has some kind of control over you; either that or there’s some residual effects from his earlier invasion.” She paused and regarded him for a moment, unsure of how receptive he would be to her suggestion. “What I would like to do is sort of… look inside your mind. Feel around, see what presences and motives are in there. See what can be done to get rid of any outside influences.”

She leaned back, clasping her hands neatly. “You wouldn’t enjoy the feeling. Having just had somebody in your mind, controlling you, taking away your agency and doing terrible things with your body… it will feel similar. And it would be very scary for you. But I would never take away your control like he did. If you asked me to stop, I would immediately, and we could figure out what to do from there. This is to help you, and I don’t want to hurt you any more or make you feel you can’t trust me. And you can. Because I trust you- maybe the others can’t yet, because they can’t see you like I can, so they don’t understand. But I do.”

—

Munkustrap felt as though he’d been kicked in the stomach. He forced himself to close his eyes, take a slow breath. Push away his feelings, sort his questions into most to least important. Later he could think about reacting, punishing- but right now they were in the middle of an emergency and he couldn’t afford to drive Tugger away before he’d even understood what was going on.

“What happened,” he said slowly, “after you left, was that we noticed they weren’t around. The twins said it would be smart to look for them. We found them, on the run, hurt, from Macavity’s henchcats. We fought them off. Came home. Rumple and Pounce went off for what- for five minutes? And then I heard the screaming.” He closed his eyes, unable to look Tugger in the eye- he was too angry. “Macavity had taken Pouncival over somehow. He made him- he made him kill Jemima. She’s dead. Never had a chance. And he was about to kill Rumple. We had to choke him, until he was unconscious… Tantomile knocked him out properly.” 

He clenched his paws into fists, trying to will himself into calming down. Tantomile was safe, it was as she said, she wasn’t going to hurt him. And honestly, it was the only chance he had. “Okay..” He said quietly. “Just do it quickly and…” He looked up at her “if you can’t get him out please…please kill me.” His voice was barely above whisper. If he wouldn’t be free of that monster he couldn’t go on. How could he? Tantomile may have trusted him but he did not trust himself

—

Tugger filled with dread hearing what had happened while he was gone. How could it be? Jemima was dead. That sweet kitten, who couldn’t hurt someone if she tried…because of him. A look of pain crossed his face, his chest hurt, he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could hear.

“No…” First Jemima, Rumple was half dead and Pouncival was gone. It felt like everything was falling apart, he thought they would’ve been fine after escaping. He had broken the tribe, and for what?

He stared and Munkustrap until he met his gaze, if looks could kill he’d be dead ten times over. “I…” It all seemed so stupid now. His reasons weren’t good enough, not for what had happened because of him. “Because he listens to me…” He dropped his gaze. “Because I have always been over shadowed, nobody ever thought I was anything more than shallow and reckless! Dammit you’ve never listened to me and he did! He understood just what it was like to feel like an outcast!” He was shouting now, forcing himself to look at his brother, desperately trying to defend himself.

He felt sorry for her when her stomach growled, he may have not been this master hunter as he’d said but he still managed to eat well. “That’s okay, once we get back and put your box somewhere my friend can’t find it and squash it we can go and get food!” 

Her box was balanced on her back and she walked on all fours, which was much quieter then how she normally moved. “Who’s munkustrap?” She whispered curiously. “And are there other kittens at the junkyard?” Harmonia said.

"Oh yeah loads of kittens and we play all the time! You'll get to meet lots of cats when you get there, I'm sure they'll like you. Maybe Jenny will look after you, shes sort of everyones mum." He smiled.

He was impressed with how quietly she walked even with a box on her back, even he wasn't that quiet walking with nothing. "You're real good at sneaky! Gosh, Rumple and Mungo are gonna love you. They're my friends although they're older." He said proudly.

"Thats a rubbish idea." He replied, wriggling away from Tumble patting his head, but instead he lent his head on his shoulder, returning the hug. "We can just cuddle?" He asked quietly. They always cuddled but this was different.

He felt sorry for her when her stomach growled, he may have not been this master hunter as he’d said but he still managed to eat well. “That’s okay, once we get back and put your box somewhere my friend can’t find it and squash it we can go and get food!”