Her name was Selene. Once a beauty in her youth, she now took an a rather disheveled appearance. Her fur was ragged and worn, dirt stains tarnishing her naturally white coat. She had fallen far from grace, from the life she had yearned for in her earliest days.

She now found herself traversing the bitter cold, in the deadest of night. The wind nipped at her heels as they sunk deeper into the snow covered terrain.

She wasn't alone.

She carried with her two bundles, her bundles. Selene had never planned to be pregnant, the thought of which revolted her. But that was not how life played out. The bigger bundle squirmed in her grasp. He was the more restless of the two, always moving, never resting. Never letting her rest.

The smaller bundle had stopped moving, not long after she had left.

He was a runt, they had told her. He wasn't expected to survive. Selene wouldn't be surprised if he was already dead.

She panted, slightly out of breath. She had no idea where she was, but had found some minimal protection from the pelting snow under an agglomeration of trees and forestry.

They will never find them here, she thought.

She placed the bundles on the ground, watching as the bigger one wailed in protest. The smaller one remained silent. Motionless.

"I'm sorry," she said simply.

She was.

But no amount of maternal attachment would prevent her from completing her task.

These kits couldn't be allowed to survive. The danger they posed...it was unthinkable.

It was a sacrifice Selene was willing to make.

She turned her back to her children. No, her burdens, and stalked away without turning back. Hopefully the cold took them quickly. She didn't like suffering, especially by her own paw. But sometimes it was necessary. And this...

This was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

#

"It's cold."

"Really Lonz? Couldn't tell."

"I'm cold."

"Just a couple more minutes."

"Why are we out here anyways?"

"The twins..."

"I know what they said. But what are we even looking for?"

Munkustrap shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Then why..."

"'I don't know,'" the Jellicle protector repeated.

Truthfully, Munkustrap didn't fancy wandering outside the junkyard in freezing conditions any more than Alonzo did. Especially this early in the morning. But the Jellicle Tribe's resident mystics, Coricopat and Tantomile, came into his den just before dawn to warn him of...something. They didn't know what, or who, could be posing a threat. Or if it was even a threat at all. They just had a feeling that something was amiss. Munkustrap, of course, was of the nervous sort and promised them he would check out the area surrounding the junkyard in case anything was up.

He was regretting it now, he thought through chattering teeth. He missed the warmth of his den. But as the protector it was his job to act as the first line of defense for the junkyard. He wouldn't forgive himself if something was wrong and threatened the lives of his friends and family, especially if it was something he could have prevented.

He sighed, looking up at his second in command. Alonzo was shivering, looking quite discontent at the situation his superior had forced him into.

"Shouldn't be much longer, Lonz," he said. "I just want to make sure..."

"I know," the black and white tom cut in. "But I'm taking a well deserved nap after this."

Munkustrap chuckled softly.

"I may join you."

The two toms continued their trudge. It was slightly warmer now that the sun was beginning to rise, but the weather was still in no condition for anyone to be making any extended field trips outside the warmth of their dens.

"Maybe we should split up," Alonzo said after they reached a grove of trees. "Cover more ground."

Munkustrap nodded silently.

A couple of minutes passed and the grey tabby saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was at that moment, however, that the eerie silence of the atmosphere was broken by the sound of...well... Munkustrap wasn't sure.

An animal perhaps?

It was quite high pitched and weak sounding.

Munk's first thought was that the animal was injured. He followed the sound, trying to make a determination if it was safe to approach. He didn't love the idea of coming face to face with a predator. The sound gradually softened.

Munkustrap tensed.

Was it dying?

Something about the sound just felt off. Actually, now that he was closer he concluded it didn't really sound like any animal he knew. In fact, it sounded just like...

No.

He ran as quick as his legs could take him.

"Lonz!" he yelled. "Alonzo!"

"What?" he could hear his second in command respond in the distance.

"I think there may be a kit out here! Can you come over to me?"

Munk looked around, sure that the noises he heard came from this area.

It has to be around here somewhere.

Alonzo came bursting through the snow covered brush.

"A kit?" he panted.

"Yes."

"But..."

"I know what they sound like, Lonz."

"I don't doubt that. But who would leave a kitten out here?"

"I don't know," the grey tabby growled.

He trended the ground slowly, meticulously, Alonzo doing the same. He found nothing, no sign of a kit. Of...anything.

Some amount of time passed before his companion spoke up.

"Munk..."

"I know it's here somewhere!" he interrupted. He couldn't just give up now. Not with a life at stake.

"We just need to..."

"Munk!" Alonzo repeated.

He whipped around at his friend's frantic tone.

"What?"

"I...I found him."

He looked down to find a small furry bundle lying at Alonzo's paws.

No...

He walked over slowly, afraid of confirming the inevitable. The kit wasn't moving, it's eyes closed.

"Is...is it..."

Alonzo nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry Munk. I, well I almost stepped on him. He was half buried in the snow. Must've been dead for a while. There's...nothing we could have done."

Munkustrap shook his head.

"That's not possible."

"Munk..."

The Jellicle protector grasped his friend's shoulders.

"I heard a kit, Lonz. Just now. There...there must be another one out here."

"Munk..."

"I will find it."

"Maybe we should..."

"You can go back!" he hissed, harsher than intended. "I'm not leaving."

Alonzo sighed, realizing this was a battle that he wasn't going to win.

"Okay. Let's find the other one."

And so they searched in shared silence, leaving no leaf overturned, no snowy patch of land uncovered. It wasn't difficult work, but tedious. And with every passing minute, the Jellicle protector's confidence plummeted even further.

Had he imagined the sound?

Had he...

He paused as a furry mass brushed his leg.

No, he hadn't.

"Hello, little one," he whispered.

The furry mass looked up him, large brown eyes widening at the sight of another cat. He let out a soft squeak.

Munkustrap couldn't help but smile.

The kit was...adorable. There was no other way to put it. He had the same markings as the other kit they had come across, leading him to believe they were siblings. But this one was much smaller. Too small, in fact.

The kit nuzzled Munk's leg, purring contently.

Poor thing is probably freezing.

Of course, the entire situation made little sense. If the two kits were siblings, they must have been left here together. But why is it that only one perished, especially the bigger one? Then, of course, was the fact that the bigger kit had been deceased for what looked like hours, meaning the smaller one must have been out in frigid conditions for just as long.

How is he still alive?

Munkustrap bent down and picked the tiny tux up.

"So, how did you do it, then?" he asked softly.

The kit only blinked at him, too young to communicate.

How can someone abandon him out here?

It infuriated him. He wasn't called the protector of the kittens for nothing. Every kit deserved a chance at life. A chance to grow into their own cat, to make a mark on the world. The thought of the other poor kit who didn't make it through the night saddened him tremendously.

"Munk, I uh... I see you've found him?" Alonzo asked cautiously.

He nodded.

"It seems I have."

His first officer studied the kit, who was beginning to fall asleep in Munk's arms.

"He's so...little. I mean... well, smaller than the other one. How...?"

"I don't know, Lonz. I feel as though something unnatural has happened here tonight."

Alonzo cleared his throat.

"So...are we taking him with us?"

Munk narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not leaving him out here," he responded firmly.

Alonzo took a step back.

"That's not what I meant. It's just... I mean, is he going to be a part of the tribe?"

Munk looked down at the slumbering kit.

"Yes," he whispered. "I think so."

He closed his eyes briefly, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Alonzo?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to take the kit back to the junkyard. Give him to Jenny, she'll know what to do."

"What about you?"

He turned to look at his companion.

"I'm going to bury his brother."

The black and white tom nodded solemnly as Munkustrap transferred the kit to him. The tiny tux let out a soft mew in protest, but didn't wake.

"I think he likes you, Munk."

I think I like him, too.

He knew it was unwise to get attached, but it was just part of his nature. Munkustrap loved being able to love, every kit had a place in his heart. Even after they've grown, it didn't make them less special to him. His brother would call him too emotional, which was entirely fair, but it was something so ingrained in his personality that trying to change it would essentially be trying to change who he was as a cat.

And if that happened, he shouldn't call himself protector.

He watched Alonzo head back with the kit as he began digging a hole in the frozen soil.

There was work to be done.