Electra turned her head away from Admetus’ imploring eyes. She couldn’t bear to look at him. It made her hurt to think how he’d seen her only an hour before. She only wanted to go and hide. But, her mother wouldn’t let her.

“Oh, honey, dear little kitten,” Jennyanydots cooed, gently stroking her daughter’s back. Electra wanted to flinch away from the touch, even though she knew that it was kind and gentle. “Everything will be all right.”

“Oh, Jenny, don’t you know that’s not true?”

Both queens looked up, startled, at the marmalade tom standing at the window. He was dressed completely for his job at the station, but he certainly didn’t appear to be going there any time soon. He glanced at them before thrusting his paws into his pockets.

Giving her daughter a glance, Jennyanydots shook her head. A strange mixture of worry and exasperation passed over her features. “Not now, Skimble. Please. Electra’s been through enough as it is without you doing that.”

Skimbleshanks’ face softened. He knew perfectly well that their child had probably just been through Hell this afternoon, but that still didn't stop him from wanting to rip something to shreds, to scream at the top of his lungs, to do anything. Anything at all that would help. But, he also knew that by reacting violently he could very well alienate his youngest daughter and he did not want to do that. With a sigh, he approached them. “I know, Jenny love, but I won’t tolerate this any longer.” He touched Electra’s chin, tilting it upwards to study the green eyes that mirrored his own. “Not to my children.”

Electra flung her arms around her father’s neck with a choked sob, unable to control herself anymore. Jennyanydots released the kitten with a slight look of dismay, though luckily neither of the other two caught her expression. “Oh, Poppa, it was so awful! I tried to fight them off, I really did, but they were too big and...” She trailed off, nestling her face into her father’s fur. His strong arms encircled her thin waist.

“Yes, darling. I know,” he murmured, glancing up at his mate. They stared at one another for a long moment before Jennyanydots bowed her head, struggling to not cry.

She got up quickly, nearly knocking a small stack of magazines from the coffee table in front of the couch. Straightening them quickly, the marmalade queen spoke with a slightly wavering voice “come along, Admetus. I want to make a pot of tea for everyone.”

The young tom nodded and followed after her, uncertain of why she needed his help. He was quite certain that she could make a pot of tea alone, then it dawned on him that perhaps Jennyanydots did not want to be alone, but could not bear to look at her child, frightened and humiliated, any longer. He glanced back at Electra before entering the tiny kitchenette, sympathy and pity filling his eyes.

The kitchenette was crowded with little odds and ends and Admetus found it somewhat difficult to work his way through. Jennyanydots, on the other hand, began bustling around, opening cabinets and drawers for the things that she needed. Filling a pot with water, she set it on the stove, flicking the burner onto high. Admetus folded his paws in front of him, not quite sure what he was supposed to be doing. Jennyanydots glanced at him and smiled.

“Addy, dear, would you find the tea bags for me?” she asked, turning to open the refrigerator.

Admetus knew where everything in the kitchenette was. He’d been coming here ever since he was an infant. First to be babysat whenever his mother was at work, then as a playmate for Jennyanydots’ own children. He was still over at this little apartment on a very regular basis to study and hang out with Victoria.

He pulled a box of tea out of one of the cupboards and turned back to Jennyanydots. He was surprised to find her sitting down at the tiny table, a towel bunched up by her face. Her shoulders were slumped forward and he suddenly knew that she was crying.

Admetus was at a loss for words. He’d never seen her cry, not even when the landlord had threatened to evict them when their month’s rent was late. Somehow, watching Jennyanydots cry, Admetus knew that things had gotten really bad now.

He sat down next to her and placed a tentative paw on her shoulder. She jerked upright, quickly wiping her face off with the little dish towel. She patted his paw with a small, sad smile.

“I’m all right, dear,” she told him, her eyes not conveying her message at all. It made Admetus uneasy, so he dropped his eyes from her gaze.

Jennyanydots stood again and began to dig around in one of the drawers for silverware. She hesitated and turned towards the kitchenette’s entrance as a heavy knocking came at the apartment door. She glanced at Admetus, then wiped her paws on her skirt nervously.

“Just a moment,” she called.

Admetus followed her to the door, glancing into the living room. Electra had snuggled up into her father’s arms and had pulled the quilt Jennyanydots had made years ago around the two of them. She had her eyes closed and her mouth was slightly open, making Admetus realize that she had fallen asleep.

Jennyanydots stood on her tiptoes to peer out the peephole, then began unlocking the door. She opened the door, a nervous look on her face.

“Did you find them yet?” she asked.

“Yes, Mama, we did,” Victoria replied, kissing her mother’s cheek. “They’re safe, but Munk thought that they should stay at Aunt Jelly’s for awhile.”

“I suppose that’s good,” Jennyanydots said, looking from her daughter to the young Jellicle couple standing before her. “Come in, come in. Skimble’s been expecting you, Munk.”

Munkustrap smiled wearily at the Gumbie cat. “I imagine he has.”

~*~

Victoria frowned and sat heavily on the end of her bed, which was decorated with a white comforter with pale pink roses. Admetus sat on a chair across from her and rested his chin in his paws, his eyes locking onto hers.

“I wanted to help, too,” the white queen scowled. She brushed the fur back from her face, her blue eyes angry. “Why is it that nobody ever lets me do anything? Is it just because I’m a girl?”

“No,” Admetus said softly, giving his head a slight shake. Victoria arched an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. “The adults just didn’t want us around them. It’s only about being ‘kittens’ still.” He put the word kittens into air quotes. “Besides, they even got Electra out of the room while Munk and Deme are here. They put your sister to bed, remember?”

“That’s not the point,” she replied, eyes wandering down to the wooden floor of the bedroom, which she shared with her sister. She eyes raised to the more tomboy-ish bed of Electra, blue comforter and sheets completely the nearly opposite appearance between the sisters' sleeping areas. Then she shook her head and looked out the tiny window in the room. “I really hate this place.”

“Yeah, so do I.”

Victoria turned sharply, ears perking up and her pale eyes narrowing hostilely. “But, not like I do, Addy. Not like me at all. You...” She laughed coolly, returning her gaze to the window for a moment. “You can leave whenever the heck you want to. You can go out and get a job in a new town. Or whatever. But, I can’t.”

“Why not?” He looked her over carefully. “I don’t see why you couldn’t, too.”

“Because I’m a girl!” She spun away from him, her blouse tightening on certain areas of her torso that Admetus nearly blushed after realizing he had noticed. “The only way I can leave here is to get married and move away.”

“You know that’s not true,” he insisted, dropping his eyes from her.

“It isn’t? Tell me then- why didn’t Momma leave? Why didn’t your mother leave? Hell, why didn’t Demeter leave when she married Munkustrap?”

Admetus shrugged, even though her back was turned and she couldn’t see him. He was almost; he could feel a blush creeping onto his face. “Because the toms they married live here.”

“Exactly.” She finally turned back to him and clasped his paws in hers. Admetus offered her a slight smile of reassurance. “Oh, Addy, don’t you see? I have to find someone that’s not from around here or else I’ll never escape.”

“I don’t know why you thought of this,” he murmured. “You’re still in high school, Vicki.”

“You’re right,” she replied, pulling away from him. "You're always right, Addy. Nevermind about that."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Victoria sighed. He looked up at her, his eyes questioning.

“What?”

“What do you think the adults are talking about?” she asked, her blue eyes suddenly looking a little certain. Though he was certain he didn't like the fierce, angry gleam that was in them before, he wasn't too sure he liked this look either.

Admetus shrugged. “Probably trying to figure out a way so that this doesn’t happen again.”

Victoria rolled her eyes, the nearly vulernable look fleeing for one of exasperation. “I don’t know how they’re going to manage that, Addy. We’re kinda stuck with the humans, ya know?”

“Unfortunately.”

She shook her head, looking away for a moment. Then she snapped her fingers as though suddenly remembering something. Admetus’ mouth turned upwards into a smile.

“Admetus, while you’re here, do you want to work on some homework. I have a ton of it tonight and I can’t stay home tomorrow. I’d miss too much.”

Admetus shrugged. “All right. If you want to.” He bent over to retrieve his bookbag. “What do you want to start with?”

Victoria bit her lip thoughtfully. “How about math? There are some really tricky problems that I just can’t figure out.”

He grunted an affirmative response, retrieving his math notebook. He looked back up at her, his breath catching in his throat. He swallowed roughly.

Now, this is perfect, he thought bitterly, adverting his eyes from his friend, a dark blush creeping under his fur. He could quite clearly see down the front of her blouse as she bent forward and it suddenly renewed the uneasy feelings he had been having recently. Then, much to his surprise, Admetus suddenly realized that it wasn't simply embarrassment at finding her attractive- it was the fact that he was suddenly feeling a rush of desire and lust for his best friend. His freakin' best friend.

"Bast..."

Victoria looked up, her eyes imploring. "Hm?"

Quickly, Admetus shook his head, forcing a smile. "Nothing." He felt the blush increasing as she gave him a spectulative gaze for a moment, doubting that it was "nothing," but deciding not to investigate.

Opening his notebook, Admetus looked away from her, not wanting to continue looking into her eyes.

“How about we start with number 17?”

~*~

“I have no idea what you want me to say.”

Skimbleshanks threw his arms up into the air and practically stalked over to the window. The other felines in the room shifted uneasily, Demeter touching Munkustrap's thigh lightly. Skimbleshanks glared out the window as though some personal enemy awaited him beyond the glass.

“You do so. I want you to say that we can do something.” He swore, making Jennyanydots blush uncomfortably and Demeter's ears fall back against her head for a moment. “I want to hear from someone that we might actually stand a chance against those damn humans!”

Munkustrap took a sip from the cup of water that Jennyanydots had given him instead of tea. “Do you just want to hear it or actually have it mean something and be true?” His eyes followed the marmalade tom cautiously, as though expecting the railway worker to attack him for the question.

“The latter,” Skimbleshanks mumbled, his shoulders slumply defeatedly. He shrugged helplessly. “There’s really we can do, is there?”

“There has to be,” Demeter said quietly. "We're not savage animals..." Munkustrap glanced at her as she trailed off, reaching down to retrieve her cup of tea and press it to her lips.

“Like what, Deme?” he asked gently, green eyes holding her golden gaze for a moment. “Heavyside knows that we wouldn’t stand a chance against them if we tried anything too drastic.”

“Like that revolt in New York City three years ago,” Skimbleshanks said softly, a shiver running down his spine.

The other Jellicles fell silent, remembering the revolt that he’d mentioned. Started by a few young Jellicles, it had quickly engulfed the entire city. They had only wanted equal rights as their human counterparts had and arranged several protests. Unfortunately, the humans had seen them as a more serious threat and had attacked them.

Two of the four ringleaders had been captured by a radical human group and were tortured before their murders. The other two had managed to escape and went into hiding. One was eventually found and would’ve been sent to trail had a crazed human not snuck into the jail and shot him to death. The fourth, a young queen only called Chi by the humans, the Jellicles knew her as Nightshadow, was never heard from again.

“Bast,” Jennyanydots mumbled, her face paling. “We can’t let anything like that happen. We have to think about our kittens.”

“Jenny, dear, nobody said that we were ever going to go to that extreme,” Munkustrap answered, his own face looking almost ill at the memories Skimbleshanks' remark had brought back. He had known fear all his life, being a freak, a Jellicle, but those were days when he had been almost certain that he would not return home to his beloved mate or that he would find her murdered, probably in cold blood.

“That still brings us back to our original problem- what do we do now?” Skimbleshanks demanded, his face returning to a more determine look. The question brought Munkustrap from his thoughts quickly.

Demeter set the porcelain cup down on the coffee table in front of her. only Munkustrap noticed that she set it down a bit harder than needed. “If only there were some way that we could get into the human system and change things,” she said rather absently.

“What?” Munkustrap asked, perplexed by her strange comment.

“If we could change things from the inside, I mean.” She shrugged, looking around her. “But none of us have that power.”

Munkustrap’s face lit up, hope dawning in his eyes. “Not yet, at least.”

Skimbleshanks looked at him curiously. “You have an idea, lad?”

“I think so,” he said excitedly. He stood up and began to pace. Demeter almost rose with him, uncertain of what he was doing, then sunk back against the couch when she saw that he was merely agitated by some thought that her comment had obviously encouraged. “Deme’s got a point. We could find a way to get into human government.”

“But... how?” Jennyanydots wondered, shaking her head a bit. She turned her eyes up to Skimbleshanks, who shook his head in response.

“I... an election!” Munkustrap cried, throwing an arm in the air, looking strangely like a rebelling human. Demeter smirked at the image of her mate as one, then feel a wash of unease flow through her body. Rubbing her forearm nervously, she looked away from the silver tabby. “Of course! How could we have not thought of this before?”

Skimbleshanks cleared his throat, skepticism written on his face. “Only one problem with that, Munk.”

“What?”

“The humans don’t exactly like us. None of them would vote for us.”

Munkustrap started to respond, then the words sunk in. Crestfallen, the younger tom sank back down onto the couch beside Demeter. She touched his leg reassuringly before turning her gaze to Skimbleshanks.

“Not necessarily. Besides, if we have a peaceful election, we just might draw sympathetic humans to our cause. And not all humans hate us. Maybe they’ll feel bad about everything and help us out.”

“Peaceful?” Skimbleshanks asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow at her comment, which he regarded as the comment of a naive kitten. “Since when have the humans ever been peaceful creature?”

“Some of them are,” Demeter said firmly. "They can't all be bad, can they? Just like not all Jellicles are bad or... good."

“Name one.”

“Let’s not argue,” Jennyanydots broke in, knowing as well as the rest of them that Demeter would have to scramble for a name. She felt as though she owed to the gold and black queen to spare her that. “They’ll tear us to pieces if we start fighting amongst ourselves.”

“Jenny has a point,” Munkustrap agreed, refusing to allow himself hostility towards the marmalade tom, despite the extreme dislike he habored for anyone who challenged his mate in any way. “Of course, we haven’t even considered all the things that go into an election.” He held out his paws. “We’ll need money, we’ll have to do a petition beforehand, transportation, protection for the candidate... what else?”

Skimbleshinks lips curled into a sarcastic smile. “You left out the most important part.”

Munkustrap blinked at him, startled. “What? I thought I mentioned everything.”

“A candidate.”

The silver tom blinked, then shook his head. “A candidate! How could I have forgotten that?” He paused and looked around at the other Jellicles. “Who, though?”

Demeter shrugged, touching his leg again. Munkustrap glanced at her for a moment, curious as to why she seemed so jumpy this evening. Well, excluding the events of the afternoon. And, the fact that what they were talking about right now could very well be considered treason by the humans.

“It has to be somebody that the humans will take to, you know? And someone that most of the Jellicles like,” Demeter answered him, giving him a small smile, as though to reassure him that she was all right.

“Wait!”

“What?” Demeter asked, startled.

“What position would our candidate be running for?” Jennyanydots asked in return. Both queens turned to Munkustrap, who had let out a laugh.

“Mayor,” he replied immediately. “It’s power, but not too much for the human’s dislike.”

“Any power in our hands is too much for them,” Skimbleshanks mumbled, but Munkustrap didn’t hear him.

“Then we can move up from there.”

“A Jellicle mayor,” Jennyanydots said, shaking her head. “What a world!”

Skimbleshanks nodded. “Good. Fine. A mayor. But, who?”

“Old Deuteronomy?” Demeter suggested. “All of the Jellicles love him and he’s so sweet and smart.”

“But, he’s also old.”

“Munkustrap!” Jennyanydots admonished, her face shocked. The young tom shrugged.

“But, Jenny, we have to take into consideration age as well. The humans might think it were a joke if we nominate an old man. I love Old Deuteronomy just as much as any Jellicle, but we can’t nominate him. We have to chose a younger tom.”

“Or queen!” Demeter snapped, glaring at him.

“Or queen,” he added, swallowing.

“What about you, dear?” Jennyanydots asked.

Munkustrap flushed. “Me?”

“Yes, dear. The other Jellicles like you and you’re the right age for it, if you are still a kitten in my book. Besides, most of the Jellicles seem to think you’ll take over for Old Deuteronomy when he goes to the Heavyside Layer himself.” She shrugged. “I think that they’ll support you.”

“But... I couldn’t...” Munkustrap seemed flustered. Smiling gently, Demeter touched his arm.

“Of course you can, darling. Jenny’s right. Besides, you’re the one in this Tribe that actually tries to change things and make it better. Why shouldn’t you do it? Why shouldn’t it be you who becomes mayor?”

“That’s an if, Deme... a very big ‘If.’”

“Try, Munk. You at least have to do that much. Please.”

“I guess you’re right,” he mumbled. “I need to do so much, first, though. I have to have a deputy mayor and I need to have protection. I need a bodyguard, I think.”

“You’re not that famous,” Jennyanydots laughed.

Skimbleshanks nodded seriously, halting the Gumbie's laughter abruptly. “Definitely. I don’t want to scare you, lad, but we have to be prepared for anything, you know?”

The thought chilled Demeter to the bone and for a moment, she considered jumping up and refusing to allow him to continue on this course. She refused to lose him because of some little kitten...

Shame ascended on her immediately and she looked down at the floor. She could believe she was thinking these thoughts. It wasn't Electra's fault that this had happened. But, she couldn't help by feel panicked at the thought that the silver tabby might be getting himself into something that neither of them could hope to contend with.

“I know.”

Munkustrap stood and glanced at the clock. 7:51. He turned back to Demeter, his eyes sympathizing with her expression immediately and she felt a slight twinge of comfort in his gaze.

“We’d better get going, Deme. It's getting late and I'd rather leave now before it gets too late.”

Demeter nodded, following his lead and standing. Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots followed as well. The Gumbie felt a twinge of... something as the gold and black queen comfortable tucked herself into the embrace of the silver tom. She cast a quick glance at Skimbleshanks before turning her attention back to the couple.

"Yes, dears," she said quickly. "That would probably be best. I'll see you to the door."

Once at the door, Munkustrap paused a moment to grasp the Gumbie's paw in his own, holding her gaze for a long moment before dropping a kiss onto her cheek.

"Don't worry, Jenny. I'll come back around later tomorrow, after work. We can finish sorting this out," he told her, though his last comment was directed more towards Skimbleshanks, who stood a bit behind Jennyanydots and slightly to her left.

"Yes," she agreed, unsure how else to respond.

"Aye."

Demeter nodded quickly, sensing the tense air and disliking it. She, too, pressed a kiss to the Gumbie's other cheek, then embracing her tightly. Jennyanydots was startled by the embrace, but returned it within a matter of heartbeats. She was used to being the communial mother of the group that lived around this area in Penton.

"And, I'll come, too, to have a talk with Electra," she whispered in Jennyanydots' ear. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all, dear," Jennyanydots replied, breaking the embrace and patting Demeter on the cheek. She knew exactly why the gold and black queen had offered and she was a little surprised and awed by the queen's offer. "You're more than welcome."

"Love?"

Demeter nodded at Munkustrap as he drapped her light coat around her shoulders. "We can go now," she murmured. "G'night, Jenny. Skimble."

Jennyanydots smiled warmly, while Skimbleshanks merely nodded, not looking very pleased. Munkustrap could guess why and decided it would be best if they left then. Leading his mate out of the open apartment door, which he had opened during Demeter and Jennyanydots' embrace, Munkustrap nodded in return to the other couple.

Closing the door softly behind them, Jennyanydots felt a sob choke in her throat. After a hesitant moment, Skimbleshanks' paw came to rest on her shoulder, their pressure reassuring, yet making her start to cry in earnst now.

"Love..."

He turned her to face him, then brought her close against his body. She sought comfort in his strong body, his smell. In him. After a while, her tears dried and she pulled from him, wiping her eyes.

"I love you."

"And, I you."

That said, Jennyanydots found the strength to leave his side and go to the kitchen to fix a late dinner for them and the three youngsters in the apartment.


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