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Post by Arya on Jun 9, 2007 19:44:07 GMT -5
Alicia was not liking being tossed around and played with. SHE WASN'T A TOY! She let out frantic strained meows trying to get mommas or pappas attention.
Mungo and Rumple, much like Etcy did not at all get Munkustraps point. "REALLAH!" They both said at once. Then they heard Tugger. How could they have not noticed him. "Tuggah'!" Said Mungojerrie jumping up. Then he jumped on Tugger, giving him a hug. And if that didn't knock the tom down Rumpleteazer doing the exact same thing sure would. "Tuggah!" Repeated Rumple.
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Post by cookingspray on Jun 9, 2007 19:48:25 GMT -5
Tugger got the drift, and was more than glad to vacate - the cramped space wasn't any better than being holed up in a Human house, and fresh air sounded welcoming.
Mungo and Rumple were ready to thwart him, however.
"Oof!" The Maine Coon's frame sagged under the weight of not one, but two, tiger twins, the impact knocking the wind out of him. Crossly, he straightened up and shook (or rather, tried to shake) the both of them off.
"Yeah, yeah, the Tugger's glad to see you too, really." He scowled and readjusted his mane.
He nudged Etcy at his feet with a knee, winding his tail around her face to obscure her view of the distracting kitten princess and gain her full attention. "C'mon, Etce, this place is getting crowded." He grinned suggestively, and motioned in the direction of Rusty with a dewclaw. "Let's go somewhere. . . quieter."
He took Alicia back into his own paws, obliging her cries, and brought him before Munkustrap in a gesture of mock-formality before winking and making an exit.
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Post by rustystarlight on Jun 9, 2007 19:52:20 GMT -5
Rusty looked around and noticied the Maine Coon exiting the closet, she gave a smile before returning to her wash.
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Post by Munkustrap Etc. on Jun 9, 2007 19:54:05 GMT -5
Etcetera swooned as the kitten was taken from her paws and Tugger's tail wrapped around her... Oh, he did so love her! And they were going someplace quieter! Together! Just the two of them! Oh, she was so gonna rub this in her sisters' faces!
After Tugger had given Alicia back to Munkstrap, Etcetera scrambled to her feet and bounded after him, falling into step beside him and purring as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. He loved her! He really loved her!
Munkustrap rolled his eyes as he accepted his daughter back. Honestly, he didn't know what was worse, the way the kittens reacted to Tugger, or the way the older cat led them on. At least he could trust the maned tom to not do anything inappropriate - Etcetera was still a kitten. There were plenty of adult queens who'd be more than happy to spend some quality time with the Tugger; he didn't need to resort to immature cats for that.
As the closet began clearing out, Munkustrap tucked Alicia in next to her sisters (and lightly tapped Apollinax's nose when the tom pulled away from Bomba long enough to hiss at him) before curling around his mate again. He licked her ears and smiled, glad that his family, at least, was safe and together.
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Post by Arya on Jun 9, 2007 20:07:08 GMT -5
(I g2g for a momment.)
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Post by cookingspray on Jun 9, 2007 20:14:01 GMT -5
Tugger stepped over the tracks with Etcy bumbling along aside him, self-satisfied and still chuckling over Munkus' expression. Really, what did he expect?
He sat on one of the ties, and motioned for her to sit next to him. Dear, quixotic Etcetera, so easy to charm. . . Aside from this, however, he genuinely did have a fondness for the silly princess. She had spirit, and he could respect that. While his intentions with her now were admittedly self-serving in partial (as he said before, it was good to be loved), he never minded spending time with her, and certainly didn't mind indulging her obvious crush in the meantime. When she got older, she'd understand the difference, but for now, this was all harmless fun.
"So, you've told me about everyone but yourself. . . what about you, Etce?"
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Post by Munkustrap Etc. on Jun 9, 2007 20:19:59 GMT -5
"Me?" Etcetera squeaked, looking up at Tugger with big eyes before turning her face down and cupping her cheeks in her paws. "Oh... me... I'm just good... I'm happy you're here!" She offered him a big smile. Really, whenever Tugger was around, all she talked about was Tugger. Why did he want her to talk about herself? He didn't need to know that she had been absolutely terrified when Macavity had taken over, or when Bomba was screaming, or when Munkstrap was sleeping in the blood, or when Macavity grabbed her and he hurt her neck with his claws, or when Macavity tried to grab Apollinax and she was trying to be so brave just like Tugger and not let go of the kitty, or when that other Monnik grabbed her at Tant'mile's house...
No, he didn't need to know how she had been so scared and almost started crying like a baby.
Etcetera curled up by Tugger's feet and purred with a bit less enthusiasm as before, as she remembered the events of the past two days.
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Post by cookingspray on Jun 9, 2007 20:39:16 GMT -5
"Always glad to please," he answered, humoring her. He sensed that something in her answer seemed a bit. . . off, however. Something. . . very un-Etcetera-like. Normally, she answered all of his questions with great enthusiasm, but this time, she seemed almost. . . apprehensive? It was very out-of-character for Etcy not to prattle on when given ample opportunity. Even if the question had been unexpected, he'd never known her to refuse conversation - it was supposed to show her that he was interested in her, too. Still, he detected no flattery. What had happened while he was gone? Surely, if he and Rumpus had had to deal with Monniks, the rest of the tribe couldn't have gotten off scot-free.
His face was set and serious by the time he heard her purr become more dispirited, and no longer in a mood for entertaining, he put a paw gently under her chin, and raised her face to look at him.
"Etcetera," he spoke seriously, using her full title instead of the nickname to carry his message. "What's happened since I've been gone?"
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Post by Munkustrap Etc. on Jun 9, 2007 20:46:42 GMT -5
"The Monniks came," Etcetera told Tugger, blinking as he tipped her face up. "And Brelle and Bomba put most of the kittens up above the piano, but then a big tom came in before I could go up there too, so I stayed with Bomba. And then Munkstrap came in, and then people started yelling and Macavity came in and Bomba had her babies, and I helped! I helped Bomba have her kittens! Momma says I'm gonna be a GREAT healer some day! And I helped heal lots of people, like Munkstrap and Cori and Tant'mile... We were at your house too." She skipped a bit there. "I was at your house! And the Great Rumpus Cat barked at me, and I barked back, and then Momma said you lived there too, and I tried to find you, but Munkstrap made us run and you weren't there, just the Great Rumpus Cat and lots of Pollicles. Are they your Pollicles, Tugger?" So maybe she skipped a chunk of time. She told him all the important stuff!
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Post by cookingspray on Jun 9, 2007 21:04:37 GMT -5
Well, at least the rambling was slightly more like the Etcy he knew. He re-positioned the paw so that it rest inobtrusively upon her head, and smiled lopsidely again. "Yeah, they're my Pollicles. . . unfortunately." He grimaced. "My Humans happen to find those slobbery creatures companionable, too. We stay out of each other's way unless we have to - well, at least I do. I think Rump needs to hang out with his kind more often; the Pollicles are getting to be a tad of a bad influence, as you saw." He sighed. "I try to culture him. . . he's just. . . weird like that."
He shut up, abruptly, realizing he'd allowed his own thoughts to wander, and had forgotten that it was Etcy who was supposed to be the one doing the talking, not him. He cursed how the toll the isolation had imposed on his social skills.
"Anyhow. . . must've been scary, eh? I'm glad to know I'm spending time with a brave girlie." He grinned again, to full effect, and scratched at her ears.
((I'm off for the night~ See all of you.))
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Post by Munkustrap Etc. on Jun 9, 2007 21:09:03 GMT -5
Etcetera wrapped her arms around Tugger's legs and sighed, closing her eyes. "Yeah, I'm real brave..." No, no she wasn't. She had been terrified. That wasn't being brave. If Pounce was there, he'd probably be telling Tugger just how wrong Etcy was, how she wasn't brave at all, and then Tugger would get mad at her for lying to him, and then he wouldn't love her as much, and then she'd have to kick Pounce's tail for that. "Tugger? Would you spend time with me even if I wasn't brave?"
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Post by orangekittencream on Jun 10, 2007 12:22:30 GMT -5
Pounce was still laughing a bit when he and Tumble left the closet. He had forgotten that it was such a small space and not every kitten, Tom, and Queen could fit in there! So he rolled on out as Tumble had said he should. He wanted to play today. And he wondered when the pirates were coming back.
The Tomkit sat down near some cabinets or something or other that Humans used for storage. He blinked and then grinned over at his friend mischeviously.
"Wonder what's up there. Wanna take a look?"
Before Tumble could respond the Tomkit was already jumping. He giggled as a few papers flew off the counter. Oops.
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Post by Munkustrap Etc. on Jun 10, 2007 12:30:14 GMT -5
"Po-ounce!" Tumble called, rolling his eyes as the tomkit took off. "Be careful!" He took off after his friend, though, trying not to make a mess. They didn't need to attract the attention of the humans. Surely there wasn't anything wrong with just looking, though, right? As long as they were quiet...
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Post by orangekittencream on Jun 10, 2007 12:34:34 GMT -5
The Tomkit laughed as he heard Tumble cry after him. He was a bit surprised, but extremely delighted when he joined him. Pounce poked at the papers and sniffed around. Nothing interesting yet. He couldn't read Human writing. It was weird scribbles and stuff to him.
"Why do Humans have the strangest things? And I will be careful, thank you very much!"
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Post by Munkustrap Etc. on Jun 10, 2007 12:37:39 GMT -5
"If we make a mess, the humans might start looking," Tumble scolded Pounce lightly as he caught a piece of paper before it slipped off. "I have no idea. You should have seen the inside of Alonzo's house! It was crazy... there was no way to see the sky above you, and you couldn't feel the ground beneath you. It was like the closet Munkustrap and Bombalurina are in, but three thousand times bigger." He examined the paper himself and frowned. "Maybe one of the house cats know why humans have these things. Maybe Tugger would know."
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