Chapter 3: The Offspring Meet Again

Joshua & Rumpelteazer

The ten offspring were growing fast. Each Kitten & Pup was reaching their hunting & fighting age. Their first challenge for the offspring was to learn how to hunt, and both families taught them the basics of how their kin hunted. And with all of the training & practicing they would do, there was always at least one of the offspring that would that always mess up.

Joshua was sick & tired of sticking with his Pack Hunter Uncles, & he was most sick of keeping still & quiet. He barked too loudly, & dashed too hard, often wearing himself out during his practice chases. His siblings were much quieter, & dashed toward their prey at a much calmer pace. Joshua hated doing either; therefore, it was almost impossible for him & his siblings to catch any small prey. Rumpelteazer was having trouble following the specific directions given to her. Rumpelteazer & her siblings were much too small to hunt large prey; they were only allowed to hunt Rabbits, Rodents, Roaches, & the offspring of the larger prey of their homeland. However, Rumpelteazer was tired of hunting small prey. It made her feel weak; although her Jellicle Hunter Uncles always tried to tell her otherwise. Rumpelteazer never listened, therefore she was always tired out, & almost injured by, & being rescued from the mothers & fathers of the larger prey offspring. Both Joshua and Rumpelteazer just wanted freedom when it came to Hunting. The two offspring couldn't stand their limitations; but neither of them realized how much trouble & danger that their attitudes & eagerness were putting them into.

One early morning Joshua decided that he was going to catch prey of his own for breakfast. He waited anxiously for his siblings & Uncles to wake up.

"I'm going to be the first of my siblings to catch big prey!" He thought confidently. "That way, all of us can be satisfied! Yeah, & that would be cool!"

Ironically, Rumpelteazer was thinking the same as she waited impatiently for her siblings & Uncles to wake up.

"I'm going to be the first of my siblings to catch big prey!" She thought confidently. "That way, the whole Pride will be satisfied! Yeah, & that would be awesome!"

Once their siblings & Hunter Uncles were awake, Joshua & Rumpelteazer happily followed them out of her caves & onto the Hunting Grounds.

"And once I help everyone catch the biggest, I will be known as the best Hunter of my family!" The two middle siblings thought as they entered the Hunting Grounds.

The Jellicle Pride Hunters & the Wild Dog Pack Hunters took their offspring out to the Hunting Grounds. Ironically both of the Hunting groups & their offspring were on the prowl at the same time – the Jellicles were on the Eastern side, & the Wild Dogs were on the Western side. Once the two groups had found an Antelope Herd they prepared themselves for the hunt. Both Joshua & Rumpelteazer were given their specific hunting directions by their Hunter Uncles again, then they were placed in their hunting position. Once both Hunting groups felt like they were close enough they began to chase the adult Antelope away.

As before, the Mother Antelope protected her only offspring – this time it was from both the Jellicle Cat & the Wild Dog offspring. The Kittens hissed & snarled, & the Wolf Pups growled & barked. The two offspring groups suddenly found themselves disturbed by the others noises. The Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups looked at one another, & each was amazed to see many familiar faces.

"I remember you!" Electra said happily as she pointed to Kelly. Kelly took a good look at Electra's smiling face, & he remembered her as well.

"Mungojerrie?" Sammy asked.

"Rumpelteazer?" Joshua asked.

"Sammy? Josh?" The two tiger stripped Jellicle Kittens asked.

"What are you two doing here? And who are they?" Rumpelteazer asked as she pointed to Kyle.

"Those are my Brothers & Sisters. Would you like to meet them?" Kyle asked with a smile.

"Maybe after we get the Antelope offspring!" Mistoffelees suggested, pointed to the frieghtened large prey offspring.

"Let's work together," Victoria suggested.

"We can catch the Antelope offspring together! Sounds like a plan." Kelly agreed.

"I've got its nose!" Kyle shouted.

"I've got its tail!" Electra shouted.

The ten offspring worked together to capture their target – the Antelope offspring. Five of the offspring distracted the Mother Antelope while the other five tackled her offspring to the ground. Soon the offspring's work had paid off, but not without upsetting the Mother very much. She tired to chase off the offspring, but five of them were running around her – barking, hissing, growling & snarling. Soon the Mother Antelope gave up & dashed away from her dead offspring. The Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups felt like they had finally succeeded in catching a prey animal – one that was easily much larger than one of them alone. The offspring cheered & gave each other praise for a Hunt well done. Then they shared their reward with each other; quickly & greedily chowing down on the rich, raw meat.

Mean while their Uncles were after one of the young adult Antelope. Both Hunting groups had their eye on the same target prey, & it did not take them long to notice that they were dashing alongside each other, & at that moment both of the Hunting groups stopped chasing after the Antelope Herd. The Jellicles turned, roaring & snarling at their enemies, & the Wild Dogs growled & barked back. The two Hunting Groups were just about to fight with each other, when all of them remembered that they had brought their offspring along with them. The Hunting Groups split, dashing their separate ways in search of their offspring. The Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups continued to enjoy their meal together, until they heard their Uncles calling them.

"Who is that?" Jacquie asked, as terrified as her siblings at the sound of the roaring of the adult Jellicle Cats.

"That would be our Uncles," Mistoffelees worried.

"And who is that?" Rumpelteazer asked, as terrified as his siblings at the sound of the howling of the adult Wild Dogs.

"And that would be our Uncles," Kelly worried.

"We better go, now!" Victoria suggested.

"Awe, no fair!" Electra moaned.

"But we just captured the Antelope offspring. Can't we at least finish eating it, first?" Mungojerrie moaned.

"Brother, hurry up!" Rumpelteazer hissed as the other Jellicle Kittens dashed away from the Antelope offspring carcass. Mungojerrie turned to his Wolf Pup friends & thanked them for helping him & his younger siblings catch the Antelope offspring.

"No problem," Jacquie said with a smile.

"Bye-bye, Mungojerrie." Sammy said as she waved. Mungojerrie waved at the Wild Wolf Pups, & then he followed his siblings to his Hunter Uncles' roars. The Wild Dog Hunters howled, leading their Nieces & Nephews to them. When they saw the carcass of the baby Antelope the Wild Dog Hunters were surprised.

"Hey, I smell Cats!" Psi, the Chinese Wolf, growled.

"There were Kittens, here," Kyle said with his mouth full of Antelope meat.

"Kittens?" Xsi, the Japanese Wolf, growled.

"Kyle!" His older siblings shouted.

"Let's go home, Pups." Hunter ordered.

"But we just caught the Antelope offspring, can't we at least finish it first?" Joshua moaned.

"It's too dangerous, now. We need to go!" The Wolf Pups put their heads down with shame as they followed their Hunter Uncles back to their Forest home.

The Jellicle Pride Hunters continued their search for their Nieces & Nephews. Soon the Jellicle Hunters heard the Kittens' voices. The relived Uncles hugged their Nieces & Nephews. Pouncival nuzzled Electra's nose, getting a good whiff of her breath.

"You caught the Antelope offspring?" He asked with enthusiasm.

"We did, but we had some help, Uncle Pounc." Electra shyly admitted.

"Help?" Plato asked.

"By who?" Admetus asked.

"We don't have time to talk about this right now, we have to get the Kittens home." Coricopat warned.

The six Jellicle Hunters rushed the Kittens back to the Bad Lands. Once they were inside the Kittens immediately told their Pride family about their successful Hunt. However, upon telling their Parents, the two Jellicle adults could smell that their Kittens were indeed around Wild Dogs.

"We did have some help," Mistoffelees spoke up. "Five of our friends came & helped us with the Hunt."

"Who helped you Kittens?" Their Uncle Admetus asked, but the Kittens were too scared to say.

"You mean to ask the Kittens is what had helped them with the hunt." Tantomile mentioned, giving her Nieces & Nephews a stern glance. The Kittens put their heads down; then Mistoffelees spoke up.

"Our Wild Dog friends came & helped us." He said, quickly putting his head down & covering his ears. The Jellicle adults were shocked.

"We weren't in any danger, Mom. We tackled the Antelope offspring together." Mungojerrie said proudly.

"Do you Kittens realize the danger you put yourselves in?" Demeter scolded.

"Working with the offspring of our enemy?" Munkustrap scolded.

"The Wolf Pups didn't hurt us." Victoria said. "They helped us."

"Wolf Pups?" The Jellicle Parents worried.

"What are Wolf Pups?" Sillabub asked.

"They are the Wild Dog offspring." Macavity answered as he approached the Kittens.

"And they had helped us, Sire." Mistoffelees said, quickly putting his head down again as Macavity gave him concerned look.

"Do you Kittens honestly believe that they were helping you? What if they were planning an attack on you?"

"Planning an attack on us?" Electra asked with fear.

"And what if the adults had come?" Victor asked.

"They could have attacked you Kittens." Plato added.

"They wouldn't hurt us, Macavity. We're just Kittens." Rumpelteazer said with confidence, a confidence that nearly shook the whole Jellicle Cat Pride.

"That would be the main reason why the Wild Dog adults would harm you, dear." Munkustrap warned his middle Kitten.

"They would harm us?" Electra asked with fear.

"Since you Kittens are still young & small, the mutts would believe that you are weaklings."

"We're not weak, Macavity!" Mungojerrie loudly interrupted. His Parents were about to scold him when Macavity lifted his paw.

"No, you are not!" Macavity said with enthusiasm.

"The Wild Dogs know what it takes to expand a Creature family. You Kittens must stay away from them so that you can grow up & become healthy Jellicle adults." Demeter said.

"And become the future of our Pride." Jellylorum added. The Kittens gasped.

"I won't let anyone harm me Brother or me Sisters!" Mungojerrie said with confidence. "But," he added, "The Wolf Pups didn't hurt any of us."

"In fact, they helped us scare away the Mother Antelope." Rumpelteazer added.

The adult Jellicles started to hiss under their breath, shaking their heads at their Kittens. Macavity glared them, frightening the Kittens & making them keep their heads down.

"Listen, & listen good, Kittens. You must stay away from all of the mutts, including their offspring." Macavity warned them.

"But Sire, we…" Mistoffelees interrupted, only to have Demeter quickly placed her front paw on his mouth.

"The Wild Dogs can be very dangerous." Munkustrap warned.

"They are very dangerous, Munku." Macavity reminded him. The Jellicle Father sighed softly.

"If they were not so dangerous then perhaps it would be safe for you Kittens to hunt with them." Macavity hissed at Munkustrap's comment.

"But they did hunt with us, Dad." Mistoffelees reminded him. "They helped us hunt the Antelope offspring."

"Son, I was just saying that…"

"You should have been there, Dad. With all of our strengths combined, & we were able to tackle the Antelope offspring & kill it quickly." The Tom Kitten said with enthusiasm.

"Much quicker than ever before, on our own." Victoria added.

"We worked as a team," Mungojerrie said proudly.

"You Kittens are already a team." Macavity said, trying to hold back his temper.

"But our friends helped make us a better hunting team." Electra happily admitted. Macavity's back hairs stood with rage. The other Jellicle adults hissed, shaking their heads with disbelief at their Kittens' dangerous behavior & attitude toward the offspring of their enemy.

"All ten of us were chowing down in no time." Rumpelteazer said proudly, licking her lips.

"And the Wolf Pups shared with us, too." Victoria added. And it was then when nearly every adult Jellicle Cat hissed in unison. They were worried & upset that their Kittens were becoming too attached to the offspring of their enemy. It was all a disaster waiting to happen. Macavity, still forcing himself to hold his temper, turned away from the Kittens. He tried to think of a way to make them frighten them, making sure that the Kittens would never want to see the Wolf Pups again. He turned to them with a conniving smile & spoke.

"Just think of when you Kittens grow up. You will be adults, & you will have to fight for your food."

"We don't really have to fight for our food now, do we?" Electra asked.

"Yes you do, Kittens," Pouncival interrupted. The Jellicle Kittens put their heads down with shame, making their Uncle Pouncival feel guilty for speaking up.

"Your Uncle Pouncival is right, Kittens." Their Uncle Tumblebrutus said, placing his front paw on Pouncival's shoulder. The gray Jellicle Tom smiled shyly at Tumblebrutus.

"And it will only get worse as you get older." Their Aunt Jemima added.

"Those mutts won't be willing to share their kill." Their Uncle Gilbert added. "In fact, those mutts would be more willing to kill you."

"And you Kittens might have to fight against those mutts for food, too." Their Uncle Genghis added.

Hearing all of this from his Pride members made Macavity very happy. But the Kittens became more worried about their futures with every word of advice that their elder Pride members would give. But none of the Jellicle adults knew the truths of each & every Kittens' futures better than their Uncle Coricopat & their Aunt Tantomile.

"Our Nieces & Nephews must know the truth right now." Tantomile telepathically said.

"There is no better time than now." Coricopat agreed.

"But for now I am glad that we were able to get some help to catch our food." Mistoffelees said proudly. The Jellicle adults disagreed with the Tom Kitten's statement, but most of them laughed at Mistoffelees's cuteness. Macavity was the only Jellicle adult who was not laughing.

"Those mutt offspring have brainwashed our Kittens yet again! They must see what kind of evil deeds those mutts have done."

Macavity left the Kittens & entered his room. He lay in the middle of his room floor, taking deep breaths as he tried to cool off his rage. The Jellicle Parents walked their Kittens into their room, while the rest of the Pride went back to their areas of their cave home. Asparagus had an odd feeling of guilt for not speaking up for this Grandkittens. The elderly Tom stepped into his Pride Leader's room to talk with him.

"I need to be alone, Asparagus." Macavity warned, but the elderly Tom stood in front of him instead.

"Sire, I must speak with you." He said nervously.

"If this is about the mutt offspring I will not hear it."

Hearing these words made the elderly Jellicle Tom shake, but he continued to speak up. "But you must, at least try for the Kittens' sake…"

"Asparagus, you must leave my room, immediately!" Macavity snarled. Asparagus bravely stood his ground, right in front of his angry Pride Leader. Macavity glared at the elderly Tom. He quickly stood on his feet & pointed to his room opening. Asparagus stared into his Leader's fiery brown eyes. Then he turned & began to leave the room.

"Word against your Leader can have serious consequences, Asparagus!" Macavity threatened. "Think before you speak, for it could be the last time you do!" Asparagus's back hairs stood with rage & fear. He quickly left his Leader's room & dashed into his.

Asparagus lay on his room floor, with millions of thoughts racing through his mind.

"In do time, perhaps, my Grandoffspring may indeed play with the offspring of Wild Dogs." The elderly Tom thought to himself.

Later that day the Jellicle Kittens entered their Grandfather's room. The Kittens began to play with him, putting a smile on Asparagus's face.

"Grandpa, I have a question." Electra said.

"Yes, dear?" Asparagus smiled. The Feline Kitten took a deep breath & exhaled, then she asked her question.

"What do you think about our friends? Do you like them?" All five Jellicle Kittens sat in front of Asparagus, attentive to their Grandfather's every expression & deep breath. Asparagus smiled & laughed softly.

"I will say this, about your new friends of the Forest. I am happy that you Kittens have made new friends. However, I will say that you have made new friends who live quite far away from your homeland."

"But the Pups don't live too far from…" Before the loud Electra could finish her sentence, her Grandfather quickly & gently placed his paw onto her mouth.

"Keep it down, dear. Speak quietly."

"Sorry, Grandpa." Electra blushed, a little shy to speak after being hushed.

"Go ahead." Her Grandfather quietly encouraged.

"I was going to say that our Pup friends don't live too far from our homeland." She whispered.

"But we had to cross the Hunting Grounds, Sis. Remember?" Mungojerrie reminded her.

"Well, what we did was we took down a pretty big Antelope baby for food." Rumpelteazer reminded her big Brother.

"And our Wolf Pup friends helped us out." Victoria quietly added.

"I just can't understand why it was so wrong for them to help us out, Grandpa." Mistoffelees said. Asparagus smiled at his Grandkittens.

"You all are very strong Kittens. I am very proud of you, for being able to bring down your first kill together." Asparagus then leaned forward, & his Grandkittens leaned closer to him as he whispered, "I am also happy to acknowledge that you all had some help from some new friends."

"You mean our Wolf Pup friends?" Mistoffelees whispered back. Asparagus smiled & nodded. Mistoffelees ran to his Grandfather's side, rubbing his head against his leg & purring.

While Asparagus continued to talk with his Grandkittens, the Wild Wolf Pups were trying to explain why they had Hunted with the offspring of their enemy.

"They just needed a little help." Kyle said shyly.

"We both did." Sammy shyly added.

"All they need us to do was to chase the Mother Antelope away." Jacquie said.

"Then we all shared the kill," Joshua said happily licking his lips.

"Actually, we all helped do a bit of everything for the hunt." Kelly explained. "Five of us chased the Mother Antelope away, while the other five of us tackled her offspring. Our teamwork was excellent." He said proudly.

The adult Wild Dogs were not too pleased with Kelly's statement. Alpha approached his Pups, giving each of them a look of concern. He began to lecture his Pups about how dangerous the Jellicles were, including their offspring.

"They weren't dangerous to us, Dad." Joshua said deafeningly.

"We helped each other out." Sammy added.

"We were able to catch our prey much faster than before." Jacquie mentioned.

"You Pups do a fine job on your own." Alpha said awkwardly, trying to contain his rage.

"We do, but we have never worked so fast before. With our friend's help we were really able to catch our prey." Kelly said.

"And really enjoy it." Joshua added, holding up his paw for a paw-five from Kelly.

The adult Wild Dogs growled; the mere thought of their Pups working together with the offspring of the Jellicle Cats sent shivers down their spines. Alpha sighed heavily.

"I only wish I could believe my Pups." He thought to himself. However, the horrible image of his Father just before his death was a constant horrifying reminder to Alpha of how deadly the Jellicle Cats truly were. "My Pups cannot trust them, not one lick!"

Alpha turned to his Pups & started to lecture them about the rules of the Hunt.

"Pups, you must be alert at all times when you hunt."

"We know, Dad," the five Wolf Pups said together.

"You must also be on the look out for your enemy, of any age." Their Mother, Beta, reminded them.

"But the Kittens didn't hurt us, Mommy." Jacquie said deafeningly.

"They may not have, but any adults would surely try."

"They wouldn't harm us, Mommy, we're only Puppies." Jacquie said confidently, a confidence that shocked the whole Wild Dog Pack.

"Oh, but that is the very reason why the adult Jellicles would attack you. Jacquie." Beta warned.

"It is?" Kyle asked with fear.

"Just because we are Pups?" Joshua asked with disbelief.

"Yes, Son. The Jellicles would attack you because they know that you are our future." Beta said. The five Wolf Pups gasped.

"We are?" Kyle asked inquistively. Alpha & Beta smiled at their baby Boy, silently nodding their heads.

"I want to be here for my Pack's future." Sammy said.

"I want to be here for my Pack's future, too." Joshua said proudly.

"It will take some work," Kelly mentioned, "Hunting, Fishing, Gathering, Protecting, & even possibly Leading our Pack will be pretty tough jobs." He reminded his siblings.

"But we can manage." Jacquie said with confidence. Alpha & Beta were proud of their Pups. "But I think it would be nice if we could see our Kitten friends when we get older."

Jacquie's younger siblings agreed; however, all of the adult Pack members were shocked & angered. This kind of thinking made her adult family members fear the worst for their Pups. Jacquie gave her adult Pack members a puzzled look.

"Mystro is my best friend. Yes, he is a Kitten, the offspring of the Jellicle Cats, but the two of us are best friends, not worst enemies." Jacquie turned to her Parents. Her Mother gave her a look of concern while her Father glared at her.

"Why do you hate them so much, Daddy?" She asked. Alpha snorted, his eyes widened with rage.

"My Father was killed by their kind, Jacquie! You heard the story, I've told you it so many times! Why can't you understand?" Alpha began to breakdown. Beta sat close to her upset Mate.

"That story was in the past, Daddy. Now is a new time, & we can be friends with the Jellicle Cats if we just give them a chance."

Bernard was very proud of his oldest Grandpup.

"It seems that Jacquie has learned to love her enemies. The oldest usually learn the quickest." Bernard laughed to himself.

Alpha glared at his oldest Daughter & pointed her to her room. Jacquie whimpered & cried as she dashed into her room. Sammy followed her big Sister, lay right next to her & hugged her tight. Jacquie breathed hard, trying to hold back her tears.

"I don't understand this," she sobbed. Just before Sammy could say anything her Father picked her up & took her out of the room.

"Your Sister needs to be alone, now." He ordered setting her outside of the Pups' room. Sammy sadly walked away from her Father. Beta took her four young Pups to a corner of their cave to soothe them. Alpha looked into the room, watching his oldest Daughter cry on the floor. He let out a sigh, then left Jacquie alone. Later that day Bernard entered his Granddaughter's room.

"How you feeling, dear?" He asked.

"I'm mad." Jacquie sniffed.

"What is making you so upset?" Ben lay next to his oldest Grandpup.

"I'm really mad at Daddy. Daddy keeps saying that the Jellicle Cats are evil. I know that my friend, Mistoffelees, he wouldn't hurt me at all. He or his Brother & Sisters, none of them would hurt me. None of them would hurt my younger siblings, either. I don't even believe that their Parents or Grandparents would hurt me or my siblings, but Daddy does."

Bernard smiled at Jacquie.

"She truly has matured, even more so than her own Father."

"I just wish Daddy could see in them what I see in them. And I just don't understand why he is so angry at them when they didn't kill his…" Bernard quickly placed his large paw on Jacquie's mouth. Jacquie folded her ears back & put her head down with shame.

"What do you see in the Jellicle Cats, Jacquie?" He asked.

"I see them as my friends." Jacquie said with a little smile. "I see, I see us Pups & the Jellicle Kittens as best friends. I even see my other family members being friends with other Jellicle family members. Why can't they see the same, Grandpa?"

"I'm not sure why they all feel this way. I do know that your father has a hard time being friends with the Jellicle cats because of what had happened to his Father. I also understand that we Dogs may have had a bad history with the Cats, but that is all in the past."

"That's what I told Daddy, but he won't listen. He always gets mad at me, & I don't like that." Jacquie sobbed, Bernard hugged his Granddaughter tight.

Alpha peaked into his room, seeing his oldest Daughter cry made him even more upset.

"I just don't see what she does in those evil creatures!" He thought. "This kind of behavior toward them is deadly! I don't want my Pups to go through what I had to, losing my own Father, & I was only a Pup myself…"

Alpha flashed back to the horribly, unrecognizable image of his Father just before the day he died. He left the room & sat by one of the cave corners. Beta dashed to her Mate's side, soothing him with soft talk & kisses. The other Pups joined their Mother, helping their Father relax & cope with his horrible Puppyhood memory.

Later that night the Jellicle Kittens & Wild Wolf Pups were playing together in their cave homes. At the time both Rumpelteazer & Joshua were pouncing & jumping all over the place. The two hyper offspring were thinking about the hunt the whole time.

"If only we had caught an adult together," they thought to themselves.

The offspring's Parents calmed them down & helped them get to sleep. That night Rumpelteazer & Joshua were dreaming of catching an adult Antelope together.