She moved her paw over her head one last time before going back to the pond to see the end result. She smiled in pride as she looked at her reflection. The pearls no longer looked out of place on her fur. She gave it the first proper cleaning in almost a year. It was now shining and well groomed and complemented her pearls rather well.

“Well, that was an hour well spent,” she told her self as she continued to walk around the park. She looked around curiously, humans were everywhere. She wasn’t used to being around them; they were usually out of the house when she was making her rounds. She felt herself walk into something; she looked up and saw herself face to face with a rather large goose. The goose quacked at her while she meowed back. It quacked one more time, this time fiercer, and spread out his wings in a rather threatening way. Rumpelteazer quickly turned around and ran as the goose followed. She jumped on to the closest tree branch she could find as the goose closed in. She heard several hisses; that surely didn’t come from her self. She looked down and saw a cat chasing the goose off.

“He sure did scare you good Mungojerrie,” the cat laughed. “I've never seen you run so fast in my life.”

“I’m not Mungojerrie,” Rumpelteazer said as she jumped down from her branch. “I’m not even a tom.”

“Oh,” the cat, which she now could see was a silver tabby, was taken rather aback. “Terribly sorry about that then. You do look a lot like him though. I don’t believe that you’re his sister, although you could easily pass for it. Who’s you mother?”

“She was an orange tabby,” she told him softly, trying to go against her usual instincts to attack. ‘You don’t work for Macavity anymore’ she mentally reminded herself.

“Ah, I see. Then, no, my friend’s mother is a calico. I’m Munkustrap,” he introduced as he offered his paw.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get that; Monkey’s Trap?” she asked, knowing that she was making a fool of herself.

“Munkustrap,” he repeated for her, slower this time.

“Rumpelteazer,” she purred as she shook his paw.

“I don’t believe that I’ve seen you around here before Rumpelteazer, are you new?” he asked.

“I suppose that you could say that,” she nodded.

“Do you have anywhere’s to stay?” Munkustrap asked her as her face dropped in realization. “Would you like to come with me then?”

“Depends. Where to?” Rumpelteazer asked, as she cocked her head to the side much like Macavity would always do.

“The Jellicle Junkyard,” the tabby said as her eyes light up. “If you wish you may meet Old Deuteronomy and join.”

“I’d love to Munkustrap,” she breathed. He began to walk off, beckoning her to follow. He led her out of the park and down a few blocks; she began to notice that he was a rather handsome looking cat. He ushered her across the street and into the junkyard. It wasn’t as splendid looking as she thought that it would be though. She looked down at her pearls reminding herself that if it wasn’t right, she could always go back.

“Here we are,” Munkustrap said as he stopped her in front of a rather large wooden crate. “This is where Deuteronomy stays when he’s not at home.”

He knocked on the crate and waited for the reply from inside. Rumpelteazer got the sinking feeling that she was joining someone much like Macavity again. Once she saw the old cat though, all thoughts went out the window. An old, kind looking cat smiled at her and Munkustrap as they entered. He was bigger then the usual cat, giving himself a friendly appearance.

“Hello Munkustrap,” he greeted with a nod. “Who is that you have with you?”

“Hello Deuteronomy,” he smiled as he pushed Rumpelteazer forward. “This is Rumpelteazer, she wishes to join the tribe. I was wondering if you could give her the test to see if she was fit to join.”

“Certainly,” the cat said as Munkustrap left. “Now, Rumpelteazer. Are you blind when you’re born?”

“Yes, sir,” Rumpelteazer said.

“Can you see in the dark?” he asked as Rumpelteazer thought for a moment.

“No, not quite. It can not be entirely dark; there must always be a bit of light so that a cat may see.”

“You’re a smart one,” he complemented as they continued. Almost five minutes later Old Deuteronomy nodded in approval. “Well, you passed the test Rumpelteazer; you may join unless there’s something you need to tell me.”

She stared at him in disbelief; did he know? She pursed her lips together, contemplating. She sighed as she nodded. “Yes, there is something that you should know.”

Deuteronomy sat down as he waved his hand to her, signaling her to begin telling the story.

“I... I used to work for Macavity,” she hung her head as she looked at him, his face remained kind but his eyes were piercing. “I was brought there as a kitten, by my mother. I was an escort; I brought the released cat off the grounds and gave them directions to the general area where there home is. I was a thief, which I enjoyed doing, except for the occasions when I’d come across a Pollicle, and a guard. I was to watch his guests, that’s what we called his hostages and prisoners. It made them feel more relaxed and a little less scared. I was also supposed to break their spirits so Macavity could have an easier time getting through to them.”

She looked at Deuteronomy who requested that she continued. “One night though we got a new guest, nothing unusual. She wouldn’t talk though; not for the first few nights. But one night she did. She told me about where she grew up; it was wonderful, and it was here, actually. She had a rather good life by the sounds of it. I didn’t want her life to be ruined by Macavity. So the next day, when I reported back from a raid, I made a deal with Macavity. I told him that I’d take the queen’s place if he’d let her go. He accepted it and I became his new... play thing. A week or so later, I was told to go see him. He gave me my pearls, saying that he was going to give me a chance to see the world. As long as I had the pearls, my contract wasn’t valid. Although I could turn them in and go back to my old life. So he gave me back my name and sent me off.”

“He gave you back your name?” Deuteronomy asked curiously.

Rumpelteazer sighed. It always confused cats. “We’re given a different name while we’re in his employment. We don’t get our birth names, if you will, until we’re retired.”

“I see, and what was the name of this cat you spoke of?” he asked as he gave her a searching look.

“She said that her name was Demeter. I don’t know if that was a cover up or not. She said her sister was Bombalurina. I recognized that name though; I was her escort for the two days she was there.”

“Very well. Do you suppose that either of them will recognize you?” he asked, concerned of the Jellicles well being.

“I doubt it Sir; all his employees wear black cloaks to hide our fur. Anyways, my fur wasn’t in the best of shape until this morning, when I finally cleaned it. And I just got my pearls and name too.”

“Well Rumpelteazer, unless you go back to working for Macavity, you are welcome to join us,” he told her with a smile.

“Thank you so much Sir!” she cried as she gave him a hug. “But please don’t tell anyone about... it. I know that there aren’t a lot of cats fond of him or his workers.”

“I won’t tell anyone as long as you start calling me Deuteronomy. None of the ‘sir’ business,” he said as he opened the door so she could leave.

“Well?” Munkustrap asked politely as she came back into the sunlight.

“I’m a Jellicle now.” She smiled cheekily.

“Wonderful!” he cheered. “Would you like to be shown around?”

“I’d love to,” she said as they started their way around. He led her to what appeared to be the center of the junkyard. He brought her on top of the tire and began pointing in various directions.

“Over there is where the kittens are; that’s Jennyanydots’, she our nurse; that’s the pipe to the fallout shelters; this is the tire which goes up to the Heavyside Lair, but only during the ball,” he added after Rumpelteazer gave him a look like he was crazy for having her on it. “And this is where we have our Jellicle Balls.”

“I see,” she said as she tried to remember everything she was told. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s Mistofelees,” he said as he waved to the tuxedo cat. “You should meet Jennyanydots and Jellylorum. They’ll love you.” Munkustrap jumped off the tire as she followed him up to the top of one of the piles that was flat on the top. Sitting up there was a mainly white calico queen and a larger tabby queen, with tiger stripes and leopard spots, who were knitting.

“Hello Dearie.” The tabby smiled as she saw Munkustrap. “How are you today?”

“I’m fine Jenny. I’m just showing the new cat around,” he added before helping Rumpelteazer take the last step so she could see them better. “Jellylorum, Jennyanydots, this is Rumpelteazer.”

“Would you look at that?” the calico cried. “She’s the spitting image of Mungo. Brown eyes and all. Although her stripes are no where’s near as thick as his.”

“That’s true,” Jennyanydots agreed. “Where did you come from dear?”

“The streets,” Rumpelteazer said slowly.

“Of London! That’s no place for a cat, especially with that horrible Macavity around. You should thank your lucky stars that it was Munkustrap that found you and not him. It’s funny that none of us had seen you though,” Jennyanydots rambled.

“I never really got out much. I lived with this tom that used to take care of me. I would only go out to get the food for us. He was killed by Pollicles last week when they attacked,” she decided quickly as another tablico popped his head up from the other side of the pile.

“Did you say me name Mom?” the tom asked as he walked over to Jellylorum.

“I did actually. I didn’t think that you’d come though. Where’s your sister at?” his mother said as she looked around.

“She’s down in the kitten area. Is that all you wanted to know?”

"Mungojerrie," Munkustrap said as the tom’s head perked up. Munkustrap stood behind Rumpelteazer and pushed her forward. “This is Rumpelteazer.”

“Hello,” Mungojerrie said as he looked at her.

“Hi,” Rumpelteazer said shyly.

“Do you think that you could introduce her to the others for me Mungo? I have to go back out,” Munkustrap asked.

“Sure,” Mungo smiled as if he just won the lottery. He offered her his arm. “Shall we?”

“Sure,” she said as she linked her arm with his and proceeded down the junk pile. He sat her down at the foot of one of them, across from a crowd of queens around a Maine Coon tom.

“Let’s see here; snobby, slut, paranoid, quiet, little sister, white, show off, tom whore,” Mungojerrie said as he pointed to the cats. “Pawsome,” he said as he pointed to himself. “Cutie,” he added as he pointed to Rumpelteazer.

“You’re so nice,” she said through her giggles. “Now let’s try it with names.”

“Alright; Cassandra, Bombalurina, Demeter, Electra, Etcetera, Victoria, Jemima, Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer,” he said as he pointed to each cat again as Rumpelteazer continued to giggle.

“Well, hello there,” a tom purred. Rumpelteazer looked up and saw the Maine Coon strutting over towards them. “Who have we here?”

“This is Rumpelteazer, Tugger. She just became a Jellicle this morning.”

“Rumpelteazer, that’s a beautiful name,” Rum Tum Tugger purred as he kissed her paw making her giggle.

“Bug off Tugger,” Mungojerrie growled. “It’s bad enough you’re like this with me baby sister; don’t need to start on Rumpelteazer too. Now go back over to your group before they start to leave.”

Tugger seemed to take Jerrie’s advice and made his way back to the queens after winking at Rumpelteazer. She waved at him while quietly saying, “See you around Tom Whore,” as she and Mungojerrie broke out into a fit of laughter.

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“So is that everyone?” Rumpelteazer asked as she tried to keep the faces with the names. She and Mungojerrie plopped down on a pile of rags in the center area where Munkustrap brought her.

“Everyone but Skimbleshanks. You’ll see him tomorrow though, when he gets back from riding the trains. And Bustopher Jones will be by sometime this month,” Mungojerrie said as he stretched out in the sun. “Shoot.”

“What’s wrong Mungo?” Rumpelteazer asked as she watched him stand back up.

“I’m supposed to get the supper for tonight, I should get going.”

“Can I come?” she asked as she looked up at him, much like Jellybean would do to her. Jellybean. Rumpelteazer began to hope that she was okay. She was sure that Aconite would be taking care of her.

“Sure, if you want to I suppose," he said as she stood up. “You good at mousing?”

“We’re going mousing?” she asked, shocked.

“Yeah, why you got a better idea?” se asked her as a smile came across her face.

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The two walked over to the fish market at the waterfront. Rumpelteazer put down the plastic bag and the long stick she insisted on bringing.

“See that guy over there wrapping the fishes in paper?” Rumpelteazer whispered to Mungojerrie.

“Yeah, what about him?” he asked as he looked at him.

“I got him wrapped around my paw.” She giggled. “Ever since I tried to steal a fish from him, he felt sorry for me. Now he gives me one whenever he sees me. Come on; he just started on the big ones, now’s our chance.”

She led him through the crowd to the tall man, smelling strongly of fish. She began to rub against his leg, mewing hopelessly. The man reached down and picked her up in his arms.

“Why hello there princess,” he crooned. “I haven’t seen you in a while. I was getting worried.” Mungojerrie watched as she nuzzled into the man. “You missed me too, didn’t you?” Rumpelteazer meowed and began licking the fish off of his finger. “Look at that, you brought a little friend.”

He placed her back on the ground and proceeded to stroke Mungojerrie, who began to purr loudly. “You like that little fella?”

“Oh Everlasting Cat that feels good,” Mungojerrie replied as the man continued to fuss over him. Rumpelteazer giggled as she went back to the man’s leg.

“What is it?” the man asked. “Are you two hungry? Your fur looks really good by the way. Just precious with your little pearls. I bet you nicked them didn’t you?” Rumpelteazer smiled at him with pride. “You know my little girls wanted a cat for a while now. Maybe next time I’ll bring you two home with me. Would you like that?”

“Only if you keep doing this,” Mungo told him as the man began scratching behind his ears.

“Here you go,” the man said as he gave them a fish each. “Remember; don’t let anyone know I’m the one who gave you it.”

Rumpelteazer licked his face as she and Mungojerrie made their way back towards the bag. She placed both of the fishes in the bag and slid the stick through the handles. She propped the stick on to their backs so the fish bag hung in the middle of them and began to walk back to the junkyard.

“How was that?” Rumpelteazer asked as Mungojerrie’s purring died.

“That was amazing,” he said as they went across the street.

“What was? Me manipulating him or the petting he gave you?” she asked as she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Both,” Mungojerrie smiled. “If he takes us home he better keep doing that. And how did you get so good at getting food?”

“Like pearls for example?” Mungojerrie asked as he gave her a sideways glance.

“Yeah, I stole them twice. First time I gave it to the tom who was watching me. The second time was after he died. Mice took over his home and I snuck in and got them out; something to remember him by, you know,” she said as she looked down at them. “If you want, later I can teach you the art of stealing.”

Mungojerrie nodded as both of them walked into the junkyard, fish wafting through the air. They sat down the bag in front of the tire, cats starting to peak out to see what the smell was.

“Supper’s here,” Mungojerrie yelled, Rumpelteazer tried to cover her ears but failed.

“That doesn’t smell like mice,” Etcetera said as she came out of the kitten area.

“That’s ‘cause it’s not mice,” Mungojerrie told his little sister. “It’s fish.”

“Tuna to be exact,” Rumpelteazer pulled one out and laid it down several cats began to eat at it as Mungo set down his for the others.

“How did you get fish?” Jellylorum asked, bewildered.

“Rumpelteazer taught me how,” he said as he threw an arm around her. “She has connections down at the fish market.”

“And the meat market on Main Street, not the one on Reeves Street though; I have some enemies at that one,” she said sheepishly as the cats became full.

“Can you go to the meat market tomorrow?” Jemima asked as she licked her lips.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Rumpelteazer grinned.

“Wonderful supper Mungojerrie!” Munkustrap congratulated. “I see that you two are getting along well.”

“Yeah, I suppose that we are,” Mungo said as Rumpelteazer began to eat.

"Would you mind doing me one last favor then?” Munkustrap asked as Mungojerrie nodded. “I just got back a few minutes before you did and didn’t get the chance to find her somewhere to sleep in the junkyard. And since you have a rather big box I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind her bunking with you.”

“Not at all Munkustrap,” Mungojerrie said. “In fact; I’d be glad to.”

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Rumpelteazer was curled up in a corner of Mungojerrie’s box. She listened to the rain hitting the ground and Mungo’s breathing as he slept. Lightning struck, illuminating the box through the holes in the side of it. ‘I wonder if they’ll let Mitcha into Jellybean’s cell to comfort her or if Aconite will.’ Rumpelteazer thought to herself. ‘I hope someone’s there for her. I wonder if they knew I was released yet, and why. Mitcha probably found out from Aconite. Do I ever miss him. We’d always comfort Jellybean during the storms. He’d rock her and I’d sing her mom’s lullaby to calm her down. Aconite’s probably singing to her, the poor dear.’ Rumpelteazer giggled to herself as she though of Aconite trying to sing. ‘Let’s hope that Mitcha’s doing the singing.’

She listened as the thunder rolled, drowning out all other noise. ‘How can Jerrie sleep through this? I used to curl up with Aconite so I could sleep.’ She peered up and looked over at Mungojerrie. ‘I wonder if he would mind...’ She stood up and crept over towards him. She curled up a foot away from him with her blanket and inched over another little bit. Mungojerrie opened his eye slightly.

“Teazer, what’s wrong?” He asked through a yawn.

“I couldn’t sleep, sorry that I woke you.” She said as she wrapped herself in the blanket.

“Don’t like the storm do you?” He asked as she nodded. He pulled back his blanket. “Hop in.”

“You don’t mind?” She checked.

“Not at all.” He said through another yawn. Rumpelteazer climbed under his blanket and curled up beside him. He threw his arm around her and nuzzled in. Rumpelteazer nuzzled in to him as well. His breathing has been replaced with purrs much like the ones he had at the fish market. ‘Just like Aconite,’ Rumpelteazer thought before falling asleep.

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“Well now doesn’t that just melt your heart,” a Scottish voice asked.

“What,” Rumpelteazer muttered as she began to wake up. “Jerrie what are they talking about?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled into her neck making her giggle.

“I brought Skimbleshanks by to meet Rumpelteazer but I see that you’re both rather busy.” Munkustrap voice said.

“What are you talking about?” Rumpelteazer asked as she opened her eyes to see Munkustrap and an orange table with a vest on looking at her. She rolled over and was face to face with Mungojerrie, who was half asleep with his arm still around her waist. Her face turned several shades of red and began to shake him. “Mungojerrie. Wake up.”

“What is it,” he asked, his mouth now on her cheek, making her giggle again as it moved.

“We have company.” She said as he woke up. His eyes darted from Rumpelteazer who was still trapped under his arm, to the doorway where the two tabbies were looking in at them. He quickly removed himself from Teazer, turning red as well.

“Good morning Skimbleshanks.” Mungojerrie said trying to act guiltless. “Good time on the trains?”

“I’m sure it ‘tis a good morning lad.” The orange tabby smirked. “And, aye, the trains were fine.”

“That’s good,” Mungojerrie said nodding. “Skimbleshanks, this here is Rumpelteazer.”

“’tis a pleasure to meet ya.” Skimbleshanks said as he shook Rumpelteazer’s paw.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” She said.

“And I’m sorry about the fright lass,” Skimbleshanks apologized. “I should go see Jenny, and let her know that I’m home. Jerrie, you take good care of her.” He added before he Munkustrap left.

“Well...” Mungo said a few minutes after they were alone. “That wasn’t uncomfortable at all.”

“Oh yeah, I think I really made a good impression on him. First night here and I’m already sleeping around with a tom.” Teazer said as she rolled her eyes. “Do you think that we should have said it was because of the storm?”

“He wouldn’t have believed us anyways.” Mungo said as he shook his head. “So, feel like teaching me the basics of stealing?”

“Sure, but first we’re going to put you through it to see how much you know first.” Rumpel said with a mischievous grin.

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“You didn’t get anything?” Teazer asked as Mungojerrie came darting out of the bakery.

“Not true,” He gasped as he came to a stop and hid behind Rumpelteazer. “I got away with my life!”

“You have a lot to learn,” She giggled. “First, the art of overpowering; physically.”

“What do you-” Mungo got cut off as Rumpel tackled him. “Oh.... Ow.”

“You want to try again?” Rumpel asked as she got off of him. Mungojerrie immediately tackled her, propelling them down a grass hill. They began to laugh as they rolled down the grass, stopping with Mungo above Teazer.

“Very good,” She purred. “But don’t get distracted.”

“How would you distract me?” He asked menacingly and he leaned down towards her. A small smile crept up on her as she licked Mungojerrie’s cheek. Mungo froze for a moment as Rumpel reversed the positions. “I see.”

On to Chapter 3

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