The next day, after the hunters had departed, the Terran men wandered aimlessly around the Jellicle settlement until they came to a garden of sorts where the kittens and Mozu were gathered. When they saw Eliot and his friends approaching, the kittens abruptly stopped talking and Mozu nudged Vyktorea hard with her elbow. The white Coricat swatted at the Terran girl and primly got up to greet Eliot, rubbing his face with her head.
"What were you guys talking about?" Eliot asked amiably as he sat down with them. Jabez and Pavel followed suit and soon had Etsetera and Jemymah respectively cuddled next to them. "Don't stop on our account."
"Oh, nothing special," Vyktorea said demurely, smiling at Eliot.
"Vyktorea was just saying how pretty your smoky green eyes are," Mozu piped up suddenly.
Eliot blushed to the roots of his pale hair and Vyktorea hissed at Mozu. "I was not!" she protested.
"Not now, maybe, but you have been; I've heard you!" Mozu pointed out gleefully.
"We were talking about Grizabella," Elektra quickly changed the subject.
"Hey, yeah," said Jabez with sudden interest. "What's the deal with her, anyway? I mean, why are all the big cats scared of her?"
"I'm not scared of her," Mungojery said, puffing out his stripey chest. "She's just an old cat who doesn't belong to a tribe."
"Papa says she betrayed our tribe," Rumplteezer noted. "I think she was once a Jellicle."
"But how did she betray the tribe?" Pavel asked.
Jemymah shrugged. "We don't know, but I think Old Dutironomy wants to forgive her for whatever she did," she said quietly. "He always looks so sad whenever she comes."
"Did anyone else think that Munkustrap was protecting her?" Eliot asked. When he got blank looks, he tried to clarify, "I was thinking of how he stopped Cazondra and Admeetus from attacking her."
Mozu nodded. "Or how he reacted when Pouncival pulled his little prank," she added.
"Yes, Pouncival, why did you do that?" Elektra demanded. "That was mean!"
"Tumblebrutus and Plaetoh dared me to," Pouncival said defensively.
Etsetera rolled her eyes. "If they dared you to jump in a lake, or go into a pollicle's den, would you do that, too?" she wanted to know.
"I might," Pouncival grinned, his green eyes glinting at the thought of such adventure. Etsetera just shook her head at her brother's impudence.
Jelilorum came up just then, brushing dirt off her fur; she had been working in the aforementioned garden. "Are you kittens going to laze about all day?" she asked, not unkindly, in Coricus. "Etsetera, you can come help me in the garden. Cazondra will be looking for you, Vyktorea. And the rest of you have work to do, so get to it."
When the kittens had all scattered, the only one left with the Terrans was Petrah. She was smaller than even Jemymah and seemed to be the youngest, not counting the two infants. With Vyktorea gone, the little russet female nuzzled her way into Eliot's lap where she purred contentedly as he tentatively stroked her head.
"So where did everyone go?" Jabez asked Mozu.
"Jelilorum sent them all back to work," Mozu answered.
"Oh, they work, huh?" Jabez said with interest. "I was beginning to wonder what they do all day."
"Of course, they work," Mozu said. "Skimbleshanks builds things, Azperighus makes stuff out of metal, Jenienidahts cooks, Jelilorum and Tantomile grow things, Demeetar sews, and Ezotika weaves."
"And the others?" Pavel prompted.
"Well, the kittens are still learning, of course," Mozu continued. "The hunters usually just hunt."
"What about…" Jabez hesitated a moment, trying to remember who hadn't been mentioned yet, "what about Cazondra, Mistoffelees, and Dutironomy?"
"Dutironomy is the Old Wise One," Mozu explained "Kind of like a preacher, I guess. And he's training Mistoffelees to be his successor. Cazondra is the healer and Vyktorea will be her successor."
"So what do you do?" Pavel asked.
"Well, they don't ask me to do anything, really," Mozu replied, looking down at her hands in her lap. "But Demeetar taught me how to sew, and I sew all my own clothes."
Eliot observed the blue-green outfit she was wearing and nodded. It looked inexpertly sewn, as if it had been made by someone who didn't know how to sew a shirt and pants because she had never had to.
"Do you ever think about going back home, Mozu?" Pavel asked suddenly.
Mozu looked up at him sharply. "This is my home," she said firmly.
"But I mean…" Pavel wilted under Mozu's stare, which she had obviously learned from watching members of her foster family.
"What are you thinking, Pav?" Eliot asked in a menacing tone.
"I just thought," the blond Russian muttered, "that when the Phantom is ready she might want to come with us."
Something that might have been homesickness, or just indecision, passed briefly over Mozu's face. "I'm happy here," she said quietly. "What do I have to go back to, anyway? Both my parents died when our ship crashed here; I don't even remember what my real name is!"
"Sarah," Petrah yawned from Eliot's lap.
"What?" Mozu started.
"Jemymah sez you said your name was Sarah," the little kitten explained, "but we call you Mozu."
"Sarah, hmm? Not much to go on," Jabez noted.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Mozu nee Sarah insisted. "I'm happy here. I don't want to go home."
©1999 Delilah