A Full Week Later

[Munkustrap Etc.]

((Characters: Bombalurina, Cassandra, Demeter, Old Deuteronomy, Etcetera, Mungojerrie, Munkustrap, Pouncival, Quaxo, Rumpleteazer

Thread Summary: Munkustrap finally emerges from his den after the battle, and as he and Quaxo lie in the sun, Old Deuteronomy comes for a visit. The three start visiting, and are soon joined by Pouncival (sorry he wasn't there to help) and Demeter (jealous of Quaxo's proximity to Munkustrap and quick to replace him). Bombalurina and Etcetera join the group as well. Pouncival and Etcetera wrestle, Demeter and Quaxo hiss, and Munkustrap just gets fed up.

After Demeter leaves, Munkustrap tries to smooth things over with Quaxo. Etcetera watches, and Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer interrupt, revealing Rumpleteazer's full recovery.

Munkustrap offers Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer full membership in the tribe, and Bombalurina tells Cassandra about her fling with Macavity.))

((I skipped day six because injured cats would be resting, and therefore wouldn't be doing much, and uninjured cats would be looking over the injured cats. If you want your uninjured cats who aren't watching over the injured cats to do anything, then feel free to start day six. Otherwise, assume it's the second night since Macavity attacked.))

Munkustrap, after being put to bed by Quaxo the night of the attack, surprised almost everyone by staying in bed for most of the rest of the night, the next day, the next night, and the day after that. He would only get up to grab something to eat or drink, and it was obvious from the stiff way he carried himself that he was very achy. He would lift his head whenever visitors dropped in to check on him, exchanging a few quiet words here and there, but it was fairly obvious that the fight with Macavity had drained him. Jellylorum went so far as to give Munkustrap catnip for his injuries, to help with the pain, and that soon put an affectionate tabby into a deep sleep.

For the entire time Munkustrap was bedridden, Quaxo stayed by his side, and Alonzo guarded the yard. Munkustrap was quite proud of the way he refrained from constantly checking in on Alonzo, only asking Quaxo every time the cat went out and returned if everyone was still all right, and the yard was still safe. He trusted Alonzo to guard the yard. He just didn't know if Alonzo was completely up to the daunting task.

This evening, however, Munkustrap could stand being bedridden no longer, and, after washing his wounds and making sure there was no blood staining his fur, he exited his den and made his way to the low-lying TSE 1. He climbed onto the car instead of jumping as usual and stretched out in a patch of slowly-fading sunlight with a groan. He had missed the sun. Quaxo's magic just wasn't the same.

[[scean]]

Quaxo slid from Munkustrap's den quietly and quickly, a wide smile on his face. He'd barely come out of the little cove for the last few days, except when Munkustrap did, so he could make sure the older tom was alright. The young cat was glad Munkustrap was finally awake and moving around. Though, honestly, it hadn't taken much convincing to get him out of the den... just a little more to actually get him awake.

Quaxo leapt onto the broken car where his friend sat and smiled a little, seeing Munkustrap. The younger tom stretched out beside him, making sure not to block the sun from him. "I take it you're enjoying the sunlight for a change, Munk." he said quietly, resting his head on his paws carefully.

[Munkustrap Etc.]

"Mm-hmm," Munkustrap purred, rolling onto his back. The days he had spent recovering from Macavity's last attack had allowed his back injuries to heal more as well, and now, they hardly hurt him at all. Granted, lying on your back with your belly exposed to all enemies was not usually a wise idea, especially not for the Protector of the tribe, but Munkustrap trusted Quaxo to not let him get killed in the event of an attack.

Also, in his current state, Munkustrap probably wouldn't be all that much safer if he was lying on his side or stomach. Even Pouncival could probably take him out in a fight right about now.

"It would be nice if Macavity and Pollicles and everything else left us alone for a few weeks," Munkustrap said. "I'd like to make a full recovery before getting into another battle."

[[scean]]

Quaxo nodded his agreement, smiling at the older tom as he rolled onto his back. He leaned over, gently nuzzling Munkustrap's face before moving a little closer, draping his tail over the older cat's stomach and giggling quietly.

"Yeah... no, personally, I'd like it much better if Macavity left us alone for the rest of... I don't know, his life. He's gotta have enough enemies by now. The more enemies he has, the more likely it is he'll be caught eventually." Quaxo sighed quietly, resting his head gently on his paws once more. "Maybe this was the last attack."

Yeah right.

[Munkustrap Etc.]

"See, that's the difference between us," Munkustrap said lightly, batting at the black tail on his stomach. "You're an optimist, I'm a realist. If we're going to be wishing for the impossible, we might as well wish that a human falls in love with Macavity, turns him into an all-indoor house cat, and carts him off to the Orient." Munkustrap didn't exactly know where the Orient was, but it was far away. Cassandra's ancestors were from the Orient.

[[scean]]

"I can't help that I'm an optimist, Munkustrap." Quaxo said quietly, smiling at Munkustrap. The young cat leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before closing his eyes, his head resting gently on the older tom's shoulder and a smile on his face. "I'll let you rest in silence, Munk." he said quietly. No, he wasn't going to sleep, but he'd just rest his eyes. Quaxo had to stay alert for danger; even if Munkustrap was in no fighting condition, the tuxedo tom could attempt to help protect the tribe from danger.

[deuteronomy]

Old Deuteronomy had been to the Junkyard barely two times in the last week. There were three main reasons for that.

One was that although he had not recieved any injuries, he had been recovering as well. The power required to send a cat to the Heaviside Layer had been a massive drain on him. He was quite sure it hadn't been that bad last year... Perhaps it was simply Grizabella that had made the difference, after all, she had not technically been a Jellicle. Or perhaps it was simply another sign of his aging.

The second reason was that he could not stand to see his tribe injured and not be able to do anything about it. After the Ball, and after every Ball, his healing powers went into remission while his magic replinished itself. Had any of them been near death, he would not have hesitated to use his own life force to save them, but there was no sense in dying when time would heal. Eventually. His magic was still not up to its usual par, not even close, though he oculd feel it growing gradually stronger.

The third reason he would admit to no one, not even himself. Something wasn't right with his human, and he had found himself putting things off to tag after her. She had been feeling weak lately, and she had no Jellicle Moon to blame it on. He was worried she would faint with no one in the house and crack her skull wide open. The last thing he wanted was that, she was a good pet, and an intelligent one.

Still, she was a human, and his concern from her could not keep him from the tribe. Still, it was with a touch of worry in his heart that the large grey Maine Coon mix entered the Junkyard.

[[scean]]

Quaxo sensed something. It wasn't the same feeling he got when his father was around; instead, it was a feeling that he would have eternal happiness if this thing would stay around. The young tom opened his eyes and glanced around the Junkyard, his ears pricked forward and a wide smile appeared on his face as he saw what sort of cat gave him this amazing feeling.

"Old Deuteronomy," the tom whispered, lifting his head with the smile still on his face. Quaxo looked down to the injured tom below him and pressed a tender kiss to his forehead before sliding from the hood of the TSE 1, going to their leader and extending a paw, pleased to see the elderly cat was well.

[deuteronomy]

Old Deuteronomy smiled slightly when he saw Quaxo, taking the tom's paw in his own and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I thank you for making sure that our Protector is kept safe," he said, his deep voice soft, nearly a rumble. "And I apologize for not being able to do anything quite yet... A few more days, however, and I may be able to make some use of myself."

[Munkustrap Etc.]

Munkustrap lifted his head as well, rolling over to rise to his feet. "Old Deuteronomy?" He carefully made his way off the car and to Deuteronomy's side, bowing gingerly before their leader. "It is good to see you again."

[[scean]]

Quaxo looked over to Munkustrap for a moment before looking back to their leader, shaking his head in modesty. "I only did what I had to, sir." he said quietly, bowing his head a little and trying to the blush that crept onto his cheeks. Quaxo reached over, placing a hand gently on Munkustrap's shoulder.

[deuteronomy]

"It's even better to see you up and about, Munkustrap," Old Deuteronomy replied to the tabby, resting a paw lightly on his shoulder, the one that was not already occupied by Quaxo's paw. "You had all of us worried, you know."

It hadn't been hard to see what was between the two. Everlasting Cat knows he had seen it happen time and time again over the years, two cats starting to creep closer and closer to one another before they were permanently at the side of the other. He had seen it in his human as well, though (thankfully) she hadn't been looking for a mate (or whatever it was humans called their loved ones). He had found magazies stashed in her room, however, behind the rarely used encyclopedia set that had been rendered useless by the Internet. At first, of course, he had thought she was only looking at pictures of girls with very little on to see how she was supposed to look. Later she began speaking the names of various girls in her class with a little sigh at the end.

[Munkustrap Etc.]

Munkustrap inclined his head slightly with a hint of a smile. "Worrying others was not my intent. Nor was getting injured, for that matter." He gestured with a paw to the tire, Old Deuteronomy's usual seat. "Shall we sit?" The old cat probably would welcome a rest after walking (though Munkustrap would never say that out loud!), and Munkustrap himself would also appreciate lying down again. Then there was the fact that if they were seated side-by-side, Deuteronomy was less likely to look at him in that way that seemed to say, I know all your secrets, you can hide nothing from me. For all Munkustrap loved the Jellicle leader, Deuteronomy's wise eyes always put him slightly on edge, and made a spark of guilt flare up within him for lying so long.

[deuteronomy]

Deuteronomy nodded, much for the same reasons Munkustrap had asked. His energy had fleed with his magic, and his sleep since the Ball had been troubled. He supposed he could thank Macavity for that. Or his human. Or rather, whatever was wrong with his human... Not that there was anything wrong with her, of course! And, of course, although Munkustrap was up, it meant that he had further to fall if his strength gave out. The silver Protector had done so much for the tribe...

The grey tom sat on the tire, mind flickering back briefly to the first time he had stood on it as a leader. He hadn't been old... No, not even Munkustrap's age. Not Quaxo's age, either. His father had died so unexpectedly, so shockingly, and there had been those two weeks where the fate of the tribe had been tossed around like a toy.

"It is the fact that you were willing to be injured, Munkustrap, that makes me so certain that you were the correct choice. Since you've become Protector, you've shown nothing short of selfless devotion to the tribe."

[[scean]]

Quaxo pulled his paw from Munkustrap's shoulder, biting the corner of his lip softly and glancing over to his friend before backing away a step. He too felt like Deuteronomy could read minds, know secrets, but he tried to hide it as best he could. The young tom thought if he hid the fact that he was slightly nervous around their elderly leader, then maybe Old Deuteronomy would think he was wrong in thinking of the secrets Quaxo held inside.

The tuxedo cat turned when Munkustrap suggested they sit, agreeing silently and running his paw down one of his sides to smooth his fur from where he'd previously laid. Quaxo listened to their leader's words as he followed the pair to the tire with graceful steps, making not a sound as he carefully leapt onto an old tin box beside the tire, sitting there as he listened to Old Deuteronomy compliment their protector with a smile. The young tom heaved a sigh and closed his eyes, leaning his head back. Maybe he should go to his den and rest. He hadn't gotten much sleep within the last few days with trying to keep an eye out for Munkustrap.