Grizabella tried to stay close to Demeetar and the Coricat posing as Munkustrap during the feasting. Demeetar was so happy that her mate was all right and Macavity was reveling in the attention he got from her. Grizabella feared what would happen if her younger kitten made some slip that would alert Demeetar to his identity. Dear Everlasting Cat, I only hope Munkustrap is able to blend in with the Tyghurss, she thought.
Macavity looked around smugly at the Jellicles. Some of their names he knew, the rest Grizabella introduced mentally. I guess I'm lucky Mama came back to her old tribe, he mused. Vyktorea must be helping Munkustrap, assuming he survived the transfer, that is.
Macavity stiffened as that innocent little thought hit home. Oh Everlasting Cat! If he died in the transfer, then my body will be dead, too. I could be stuck in this body! What can I do?
He started violently when Demeetar rubbed her head against his shoulder and murmured, "What's wrong, darling? You seem so pensive."
"Nothing's wrong, love," Macavity whispered, inhaling her scent. Was it his imagination, or was she very close to her season?
Demeetar nuzzled him under his chin and purred, "The music is starting, Munkus. Do you want to dance?"
Macavity grinned and stood up, bringing her with him. "Nothing would give me greater pleasure," he said earnestly. Well, almost nothing, he thought evilly to himself.
As he whirled around the hall with the lovely Demeetar, he thought carelessly, If I don't have a body to go back to then I guess I'll stay here and be Munkustrap. The Tyghurss can look after themselves.
Two pairs of eyes followed Macavity's movements carefully. One pair was green, as his currently were. The other pair was golden brown and belonged to Old Dutironomy, who sat beside Grizabella, owner of the green eyes.
"Munkustrap seems…different tonight," Dutironomy commented to his oldest daughter.
Grizabella turned a searching stare on her father, but could read nothing in his benign expression. "How so?" she asked finally.
"I'm not sure," Dutironomy admitted, "but I'd be willing to say that he is…not quite himself."
Grizabella could feel her heart pounding in her breast, but she kept her voice level as she asked, "What makes you think that?"
Dutironomy shrugged. "Just a feeling I have," he said, turning his steady gaze on her.
Grizabella's heart caught in her throat. He knows, she thought. But how can he? What slip has Macavity made? "Papa…" she began.
Dutironomy put up a paw to silence her. "You don't need to say anything, Bella," he told her, not unkindly. "I can tell that it's not Munkustrap because his aura is wrong."
"Do you think anyone else will notice?" Grizabella asked nervously.
"I doubt it," Dutironomy shook his head. "Not even Mistoffelees. The ability to ignore what your first five senses tell you and listen to the sixth one only requires a certain skill that takes years to perfect." He studied her carefully. "But I am a little puzzled as to why you're trying to protect Macavity. I assume it isn't residual devotion to your adopted tribe."
"No," Grizabella whispered, looking down at her paws in her lap.
"Macavity must be very dear to you in some way," Dutironomy deduced. "Come to think of it, he does look rather a lot like Martus, except for the black stripes."
Grizabella started guiltily upon hearing the name of her long dead mate.
"Is Macavity your kitten, Bella?" Dutironomy queried, already knowing the answer.
"Yes," Grizabella gasped, fighting back the tears that pricked at her eyelids. "But I beg you not to betray him."
"I promise," Dutironomy assured her, caressing her face with his paw. "But we must soon find a way a way to get him back to his own tribe."
Grizabella nodded in agreement, then turned back to look for the disguised chief. He was now dancing with Rhimara, whom Alahnso had traded to him for Demeetar. As soon as he took her paw in his, Macavity was almost overwhelmed by the scent of a female in season. Despite this, the tiger-striped cat seemed a little distant.
I wonder why I've never noticed her before, he thought. She's almost as attractive as her sister. I wonder if she has a mate.
He tried to draw her out by licking her face along the black stripes. She gave him a shy smile and rubbed her cheek against his.
Ah, she's warming up to me! he thought gleefully, then almost immediately began chastising himself. No, you idiot, she's warming up to Munkustrap. If you were in your own body, she'd run from you screaming.
As he thought this, Rhimara suddenly stiffened, then gave every indication that she wanted to be free of his embrace. At first, he feared that she had somehow read his thoughts and guessed who he was. But instead of growling or hissing, she looked at him beseechingly, then stared at something over his shoulder.
Macavity turned to see, standing at the sidelines, the great grey and white hunter Admeetus with his equally impressive mate, the beautiful red, white, and black Bombalurina. Standing on Admeetus' other side was a large, almost all-black male that Macavity had never seen before. The latter had apparently attracted Rhimara's attention.
As they watched, Bombalurina grabbed her mate and pulled him into the middle of the dancing, leaving the giant black Coricat to stand alone. Rhimara began to mrowl low in her throat and Macavity automatically released her, knowing there was no point in restraining her unless he wanted to get hurt. Now free, the orange and black striped female advanced purposefully toward the black male.
Macavity watched them as he backed toward the sidelines. Mama, he called, who is that big black cat that Rhimara's after?
Without even looking, Grizabella answered, Oh, that's Admeetus' oldest kitten, Rhumpus. Rhimara has a hopeless crush on him.
Hopeless seemed to be the key word. Rhimara circled the fiery-eyed Coricat, rubbing against him and mrowling as females do when they're anxious to mate, but he wasn't responding to her advances. In fact Rhumpus seemed a little intimidated by her, which was almost funny considering how much bigger he was. But his white-tipped tail twitched in agitation and his ears turned back slightly, evidence of his discomfort.
Rhimara, however, either didn't notice or didn't care. A little impatient, she butted Rhumpus hard in the chest, then looked up at him expectantly. By this time, the one-sided courtship had attracted attention and several Coricats were witnesses when Rhumpus deliberately turned away and slunk out of the hall, leaving Rhimara in shock.
Among the observers was Bombalurina, mother of the rejecter and sister of the rejectee. She turned to her own mate and hissed fiercely, "He is just like his father, only worse!" before stalking to the other side of the hall, too angry to say more.
Demeetar had also seen it. "Oh, poor Rhimara," she murmured sympathetically at Macavity's elbow. "This is the first time Rhumpus has been around when she was in season. How could he ignore her like that?"
Macavity just shook his head.
"Come on, let's console her," Demeetar suggested.
"Are you sure she wants us to?" Macavity asked skeptically.
But Demeetar was already moving toward her younger sister, as were Jenyenidahts and Jelilorum. Rhimara snapped her head up when she saw them coming and hissed. Before they could reach her, she sprinted out of the hall with a choked growl.
Macavity caught up with the three well-meaning females before they could follow. "Leave her alone," he said insistently. "I don't think she wants your sympathy right now."
Jenyenidahts looked indignant and Macavity feared he might have overstepped his bounds as chief. But Demeetar seemed to agree with him.
"You're probably right, Munkustrap," she said sadly. "Rhimara is stubborn and independent like Bombalurina. We'll leave her to herself for now."
The caslikoh song had turned melancholy. Not even Tughar's sexy antics could make the unmated cats forget what they had just seen. The music slowly faded away as the Jellicles all left the hall and returned to their homes.
All but one, anyway. Admeetus carefully separated himself from the other departing Coricats and sniffed the air. Rhimara's familiar scent coupled with that of a female in season led him to the overgrown area where the old wrecked space ships were. The Jellicle Junkyard as Eliot had called it. There he found the heartbroken female crouched in the shadow of Mozu's ship, crying despondently.
Admeetus knelt down next to her and gently nudged her shoulder with his head. "I'm sorry, Rhimara," he said quietly.
Rhimara started at his touch, but relaxed when she recognized her close friend. She gratefully allowed him to encircle her with his strong arms and lay her head on his chest, weeping softly. Admeetus rhythmically stroked her head as he purred comfortingly.
"It's no use," Rhimara whimpered finally. "I'll never find a mate."
"Yes, you will," Admeetus whispered in her ear. "You're hardly unattractive to the other males. I noticed Tughar making a play for you."
"Tughar makes a play for all the females," Rhimara grumbled disgustedly. "If Alahnso hadn't come along and asked me to dance, I really would have hurt him. Besides he's too young; all the unmated males are."
Admeetus decided not to point out that Rhumpus was also rather young for her. "The Everlasting Cat will find you a good mate," Admeetus assured her, and he began to lick her face, wet with tears.
"But when?" Rhimara wailed. "I've already lived twenty-nine winters and have never had a mate!" She looked imploringly into the grey and white hunter's face. "I just want to have a kitten before I can't."
Admeetus started to say that she still had plenty of time before she went barren, then he saw the unspoken plea in her bright green eyes. Slowly and deliberately, he nudged her with his head again, this time a little below the bosom. She butted him in the chest and mrowled questioningly. He nudged her again, a little lower still. She took this as assent and flopped on her back, myowling invitingly.
The hunters were tense with anticipation when they gathered the next morning. They had heard the familiar caterwaul of a female mating and wondered whom Rhimara had finally settled on. She was the only one in season so it had to be her. Naturally, she was the last to arrive, accompanied by Admeetus.
A hush fell over the group and a widening circle formed around Bombalurina. She stared first at her little sister, who stared back defiantly, then at their shared mate in dawning comprehension. She had thought that he'd stayed away from her the previous night because of her volatile mood.
Are you trying to make up for your son's failings? she demanded.
Admeetus bowed his head to her slightly. If that's how you want to look at it. But I don't hold Rhumpus at fault. He should be allowed to choose his own mate when he's ready.
"Mmph," Bombalurina murmured. She knew this was true, but she was still upset with Rhumpus on her sister's behalf. She turned to Rhimara and said carefully, "I'm a little surprised by this, but I suppose I can live with it if you can."
The other hunters relaxed, and Alahnso in particular, who was half-anticipating a cat fight, sagged in relief.
"If that's settled," he said, "then we should get on with the hunt." The hunters nodded and followed him into the forest.
©1999 Delilah