Eliot slept much of the next day (delayed reaction from the sleeping elixir), so Jabez and Pavel elected to take the day off from repairing the Phantom. Pavel was an expert technician and Jabez was pretty good in his own right, but Eliot was a very inventive and resourceful engineer. He knew his ship upside-down and inside-out, and had done so much jerry-rigging with her in the few years since Pelh'Su had left her to him, that his crewmates wouldn't dare try to repair her without Eliot nearby.
They watched as the hunters gathered, along with some of the kittens to see them off. Munkustrap greeted each Coricat as he or she arrived. Alahnso was first, of course, followed by Rhimara, Coricopat, and an older male. The latter had a fur pattern similar to Alahnso's, but was dark brown where that cat was black, though he had the same deep blue eyes. He was Carbukety, Alahnso's younger brother.
Admeetus and Bombalurina were the next to show up, with their three kittens trailing. The two older ones were called Tumblebrutus and Pouncival, Tumblebrutus being the elder by only a few years. Both were white with brown stripes, but Tumblebrutus had a brown patch over his right eye while Pouncival had a similar patch over his left eye. Also, Tumblebrutus' eyes were blue while Pouncival's were green.
As they approached the hunters' meeting place, Pouncival whispered something to his brother, who grinned and nodded. He stepped up behind their little sister and grabbed her tail. Etsetera squealed and turned to swipe at him, only to have Pouncival spring on her from the other side.
High-pitched shrieks and yelps filled the air as the two kittens wrestled. It ended with Pouncival sitting on top of his sister, licking her head roughly. She didn't want to be licked, however, and struggled to get away, with much mrowling and hissing. Admeetus and Bombalurina were ignoring the antics of their young kittens, so Tumblebrutus took it upon himself to rescue his sister. He batted Pouncival aside and gave Etsetera a conciliatory lick. Etsetera just swatted at him and ran to her father's side; Admeetus obligingly put a protective arm around her.
Completely unfazed, Pouncival scampered over to Mungojery and Rumplteezer, who had just arrived with their big brother, Plaetoh. The brightly striped twins were tussling, as usual, until Pouncival landed on top of them. For a moment there was just a flurry of white, red, orange, black, and brown fur emanating ear-grating screeches and yowls, then suddenly all three kittens ran off in different directions. They soon returned to the group, behaving as if nothing had happened.
The last to arrive was Tughar, strolling up casually with a bola swinging from his hand. Munkustrap spotted him butting Plaetoh and roughly pulled him aside. "No, Tughar," the chief said sternly. "After your unprovoked behavior last night, you cannot hunt with us today."
"Unprovoked?!" Tughar sputtered. "If you mean the way I took down that girl-grabbing little--"
"Quiet, Tughar!" Alahnso interrupted him. "There was no justification for what you did. You have got to learn some decorum! You can't just fight anything that gets in the way of what you want."
"That's what Old Dutironomy would say," Tughar said disdainfully.
"Precisely," Munkustrap growled menacingly. Tughar lowered his head, not in shame, but to hide his sullen scowl. "You can reflect on that while we're gone," the chief told him.
As the hunters prepared to set out, Plaetoh spoke up, "Papa, I'll stay behind today. Tumblebrutus can go in my place."
The brown and white kitten's face lit up as Plaetoh handed him his bola, then fell when Munkustrap said, "That should be Admeetus' decision, not yours, Plaetoh."
Plaetoh looked abashed and started to take back his weapon, but Tumblebrutus turned to his father and said, "Please, Papa! I think I'm ready."
Admeetus glanced at Bombalurina, who turned her head away, then put a protective arm around his kitten's shoulders and said, "I would have thought you too young, but I suppose you have to start sometime."
"Oh, thank you, Papa!" Tumblebrutus purred, rubbing his head against his father's neck and shoulder. He accepted Plaetoh's bola and the hunters departed.
Plaetoh turned to Tughar, who turned away, but not before Plaetoh saw the look of angry frustration on his face. Plaetoh started to butt his friend, then stopped, deciding to let Tughar make the first move.
When he could stand the silence no longer, Tughar asked, "So why didn't you go on the hunt? I won't believe you if you say 'so Tumblebrutus could have his first chance.' "
Plaetoh nudged Tughar in the back with his head. "I thought you might want some company," he said.
Tughar moved away a little, and still not looking at Plaetoh, said, "I don't need any sympathy from you!"
"Good, because I wasn't going to offer any."
Now Tughar looked up. "It's not fair!" he complained. "I was just defending what's mine, and for that I'm banned from the hunt!"
"It's just for today, you idiot," Plaetoh pointed out. "Papa won't leave you out forever because he knows you're a good hunter. He's just trying to show you that you can't do things like that without being punished."
"Things like what?" Tughar demanded angrily. "I was only…"
"Defending what's yours?" Plaetoh finished for him. "Well, as for 'defending' Etsetera, who didn't want to be defended anyway, Admeetus or Bombalurina should have done it, not you."
"But they don't," Tughar growled, and glancing at Plaetoh, added, "Just as Papa and Mama aren't protecting Vyktorea from the attentions of that yellow-furred Terran kitten."
Plaetoh's expression hardened. "Well, at least I don't make a complete fool of myself in front of Old Dutironomy by attacking him during the evening celebrations!"
For a moment the two youths sat in sullen silence, then Mistoffelees appeared beside them. "What are you two hunters still doing here?" the smaller cat asked. "You look like someone cut off your tails."
Tughar turned his back to sulk, but Plaetoh replied, "We were talking about the Terrans."
"Ah, yes, the Terrans. They are pests," Mistoffelees commented, then added thoughtfully, "except for Mozu, of course."
"Of course," Tughar muttered sarcastically.
Mistoffelees ignored him and continued, "I'd make them disappear, but Old Dutironomy seems to like them."
"He's not the only one," Tughar grumbled. "Look over there."
The other two cats followed his gaze to where Jabez and Pavel sat under a trio of kulasha trees with Mozu and most of the kittens. Jabez was talking to Etsetera as that little female nuzzled his coffee-colored skin. Another female, black and red with blue-green eyes, was making eyes at the African male. This was Elektra, Jemymah's older sister.
Jemymah was resting her head on Pavel's shoulder and purring softly. A very small, reddish brown and white female kitten crawled over on the Russian's other side, sniffing him. She was Petrah, Carbukety's little kitten. Pavel held out his hand invitingly to her, and she crept closer to sniff and then lick it. Pavel tried not to laugh when her raspy little tongue tickled his fingers.
Apparently satisfied that the off-worlder was friendly, Petrah allowed him to scratch her behind the ears, then she curled up beside him, put her head in his lap, and purred herself to sleep. Pavel gently stroked her plush, russet head as he talked to Mozu and Jemymah.
Mungojery and Rumplteezer were perched together on a low branch of one of the kulasha trees and Pouncival stood just below them on the ground, eyeing their swinging tails. "Now where do you think Vyktorea is?" Plaetoh wondered aloud.
"Probably with Mama," Mistoffelees said, "helping take care of the stupid Terran who was hurt by the pollicle we ate last night."
Plaetoh growled low in the back of his throat.
At that moment, Elektra apparently became bored, and taking a cue from Pouncival, who was now batting at the twins' twitching tails, took a swat at Jemymah's tail. At first she was ignored, then her little sister hissed at her, and when the pestering continued, Jemymah turned and swiped at Elektra. Elektra swiped back and Jemymah responded by chasing her up the same tree that the twins were in. Mungojery had just jumped down with a growl at Pouncival, who quickly got out of the way, only to bump into Etsetera. His little sister was not too happy about the disturbance and swatted at him. Jabez hurriedly moved away as Pouncival accepted the unintended invitation to tussle.
Meanwhile, Elektra's hasty ascent into the tree had dislodged Rumplteezer from her perch, and the brightly striped female landed on her twin below, inevitably starting a wrestling match between the two. And when Elektra chased Jemymah back down the tree and pounced on her, there were three squealing, furry blurs of sibling rivalry rolling around on the ground. The Terrans just smiled and shook their heads.
"I can't see what makes those furless aliens more appealing than me," Tughar snarled in disgust, stroking his own leopard-spotted ruff.
"Well, they can't stay forever," Mistoffelees pointed out, rolling his eyes at his brother's arrogance. "I think they're planning to leave once they've fixed their space ship."
"I just wish they'd hurry up with it," Plaetoh muttered. "They have long outstayed their welcome here."
©1999 Delilah