IN A BIG CITY, PART 4 (SEEING A SHOW)

Now that they've all had a nice dinner (or, at least, most of them thought it was a nice dinner), the tribe is off to a theater to see a musical. How exciting!

For Munkustrap, Alonzo, Skimbleshanks, and Demeter, the show is a way to relax and take their minds off the real world for a while. After all the anxiety and chaos of the evening, it's nice just to sit down next to your friends and family and be thoroughly entertained. The four of them are behaving like the ultimate theatergoers - but not everyone else is as keen on the whole "sit down, shut up, and watch the show" idea.

Electra and Etcetera are far more preoccupied with appreciating the attractive male performers than enjoying the show itself - and the same goes with Pouncival and Tumblebrutus and the attractive females. Of course, they're just teenagers; it's perfectly natural for kits their age to be enthralled with so-called "hot" individuals.

But their giggling and pointing is quickly growing obnoxious, and Jenny and Jelly find themselves shushing the kits more than once. They also find themselves trying to wake up Bustopher and Old Deuteronomy, who both very much want to pay attention and appreciate the show but are too full from dinner to stay awake. And Gus. Oh, Gus. Gus knows the director of the show personally, and he is not afraid to admit that this production is far from the director's best work. Which mainly features him pointing out flaws in the production design, places where the actors aren't acting up to par - any mistake he can find, really. But he points out the nice things, too, and gets equally as wrapped up in them as well - needless to say, the others did not pay to listen to his commentary on the show. But it's Gus, so he's not going to shut up.

Also not going to shut up are Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, who are both absolutely cackling at the good jokes and ruthlessly booing the corny ones. And Bombalurina and Tugger, well, they're not as loud as they could be, snuggled up against each other and cuddling, but they certainly aren't as quiet as possible, either. But it's hard to be intimate when you've got Gus blaring theater facts at you, hot people on the stage, and fangirls on either side of you and your date. So even though they're trying, it's not getting them very far at all.

Mistoffelees and Victoria, meanwhile, are entranced by the dance numbers, and you can see both of their minds working trying to pick up on the choreography (which, inevitably, they will have memorized a good chunk of by the time the show is over). A great deal of the jokes go over their heads, but they're still enjoying themselves quite a bit, and more than once find themselves with their heads on each others' shoulders. Victoria is infinitely thankful to see Mistoffelees finally calmed down and enjoying himself, and Cat knows he's thrilled to be relaxed as well. He's also extremely proud of himself because he worked up the *slightly liquid* nerve to ask one of the attendants for a booster seat. (So what if he's 18? He's five foot two.)

Cassandra and the Twins are quite pleased by the energy they're gathering from the others. It's still a bit chaotic, but the restlessness and discomfort has greatly died down. And now they can truly just vibe, without worrying about a thing.