Title: Ritzkin (6/6)
Rating: PG
Warnings: Macavity is a mean kitty. His father isn't much better.
Additional Notes: This is the end of this story, but I have a couple ideas for more stories in this arc, possibly including the rescue of Demeter, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer joining the group, a Tugger/Munkustrap fling, a Simbol and Deuteronomy scene, the death of Simbol, and a Mistoffelees continuation, to name a few. I don't know, though, which of those I'll actually write, and which ones will just sit in my head forever. Let me know which ones you want to see, and I'll try to get those done first!

Also, a HUUUUGE thank you to all my reviewers, but especially to Sleeping Tiger, Eminems6, and -X-Loner-X-Starlight-X- for reviewing more than once! I've never done requests before, but, for the three of you, I think I'll give it a try. If you want a Cats fic, just give me characters, a prompt, whatever. If there's a certain rating you want, I can try to hit it, but I can't guarantee anything M or above (R or above) (I'd try, though).

I do not own Cats or anything involving Cats, except for a really old VHS and a much newer DVD. And the soundtrack. But that's it. I do own Simbol, though. Except not for real.

Ritzkin - Part 6

Morning came to the two cats with a scream as Rumpus Cat fell out of the light and onto one of the humans' shoulders. Tugger and Ritzkin lifted their heads and snickered at the sight before turning to each other with grins. It was real! They were both still here, together. Ritzkin was going to be a Jellicle!

The human moved into the living room after removing Rumpus Cat, grumbling about the idiocy of certain felines. He was about to sit in the chair Tugger and Ritzkin occupied, but Tugger hissed and slashed at his approaching butt. The human jumped away again, cursing all felinity in general, and 'Spots' and 'Shadow' in particular (Tugger and Rumpus' human names), when he stopped, noticing Ritzkin. Tugger stood and stretched on the couch, showing off all his claws and teeth, a veiled threat to the human if he tried to hurt Ritzkin. Ritzkin's eyes never left the human, and he tried to shrink back into the cushions. He had never been this close to a human before, not a human who knew he was there, at least, and it was rather daunting to have the gaze of such a large creature focused on him.

The human called to his mate, and eventually, the human queen showed up. The first human pointed to Ritzkin, complaining about the cat door, and unwanted strays showing up. Tugger's ears went back at that, and he growled under his breath. He'd show his human 'unwanted strays.'

The queen shook her head and reached down to pet Tugger, smoothing his fur back. She addressed him directly, which surprised Ritzkin.

"I'm sorry, Spots, but your friend can't stay with us. The house is barely big enough for two humans and two cats. Three cats would be too many."

Tugger purred and wound himself around the queen's arm, rubbing his face, body, and tail against her in a way that would be downright flirtatious, if she had been a cat.

The queen laughed and ruffled Tugger's fur. "Yes, I know you're a pretty boy, but two cats are almost too many! Three would be impossible!"

Tugger growled, laying his ears back and swiping at her hands, earning a swat on his nose from the queen. Still growling, he turned to look back at Ritz- at Munkustrap. "She says no… Ritzy… Munkustrap, I'm sorry. We can't live here. But maybe we can go live at the junkyard together!"

Munkustrap shook his head, getting to his feet. "No, Tugger, it's okay. You stay here with your humans."

"I'm not going to let you go back to the Monniks!" Tugger said, jumping in front of Ritzk- of Munkustrap when he tried to get down from the chair.

Munkustrap smiled faintly, touching his nose to Tugger's. "I'm not going back to the Monniks. I wanna be a Jellicle, with you. I don't have to live with you, though. I could live in the junkyard, and you can live here, and we can keep on playing that we have to sneak out to visit each other, 'cause that's fun."

Tugger blinked. "You're okay with that?"

With a nod, Munkustrap jumped out of the chair. A good night's sleep in a safe place had done wonders for his balance. "Yeah! I've always wanted to live on my own, and not have to share with evil Macavity." He made a face, and Tugger snickered.

"Okay… if you're sure." Tugger jumped down after Rit- after Munkustrap and sauntered past him toward the cat door. He turned up his nose when the humans tried to pet him, curving away from their questing hands and ignoring their apologies. "I'll be back later, Rumpus!" he called, before stepping outside.

First things first. If Ritzkin was to officially… Tugger shook his head. If Munkustrap was to officially become a Jellicle, he would need to be introduced to Old Deuteronomy and Simbol, the Jellicle Protector, and they would have to accept him. It was all well and good for Tugger to say Rit- to say Munkustrap was a Jellicle, but it needed an official sanction to be true.

Old Deuteronomy and Simbol seemed to be conspiring with each other to make things easier on the two young toms. They were both stretched out in the sun together on the vicarage wall, talking quietly with each other. "Stay here," Tugger whispered to Ritzki- to Munkustrap. "I'll call you out when it's time."

Munkustrap nodded, pressing himself back in the shadows. Tugger's sharp eyes caught a faint trembling in his friend's paws, but he didn't say anything about it, and Ritz- Munkustrap's glare dared him to comment. Tugger was sure he'd be shaking like a leaf if he had to go and meet Leviticus, even if Ritzkin said it was okay.

"Dad?" Tugger jumped up onto the wall, using a conveniently-placed trash can to get up there. He wasn't big enough yet to make the jump in a single bound. "Can I talk to you? And Simbol?"

Old Deuteronomy lifted his head, smiling at his youngest son. He nodded, but did not stir from his reclining position. The sun felt too nice on his old bones, especially now that the days were cooling off.

Simbol sat up, though, looking down at Tugger with a fond smile. The white and gold tom was large and solidly built, and he had been protecting the Jellicles for eight years now. Some people thought he would retire soon, and pass the job on to a successor (though he hadn't really been training one), while others thought he was going to keep going until he died, either killed in the job, or from old age.

"What can we do for you, my son?" Deuteronomy asked, touching his large paw to Tugger's smaller one.

"Um… I was wonderin' something." Tugger looked between Simbol and Deuteronomy, and then down at the stones of the wall. "If there was a kitten that wanted to be a Jellicle, you'd say yes, right?"

Deueteronomy's ears perked up at that, and he exchanged a glance with Simbol. "A kitten, you say? Do you know of any kittens like this?"

Tugger nodded, his story beginning to spill out. "I have a friend, his name is R-Munkustrap, and he…" Tugger had to think fast, the 'My humans saved him from the pound' story wasn't going to work anymore. "His humans tried to drown him!" That was even more horrific than the pound story, the declaration of a human cruel enough to kill kittens. Tugger let his head, ears, and tail droop in sadness as he continued to spin the tale. "Him and his brothers and sisters were all together in a bag, and they were crying, but the human laughed and dumped them in the river, and they were all fighting to get out, and one of them scratched Munkustrap on accident, and when I found the bag, only Munkustrap was still alive and crying and I helped him out and then I told him he could be a Jellicle… so can he?" Tugger looked between the two older toms. "Can he be a Jellicle with us?"

Simbol and Deuteronomy exchanged another look, and then turned to Tugger together. "Probably. Why don't you bring him up here, and we can talk to him and decide?"

Tugger nodded and jumped down from the wall, running to fetch Rit- Munkustrap. He quietly filled him in on the drowning story as they returned to the older cats' sides. Ri- Munkustrap's paws were definitely shaking, now, and he was pressed against Tugger's side from shoulder to hip, but he looked like he was trying to be brave, and so Tugger just patted his paw and smiled at him. "Dad? Simbol? This is Munkustrap, my new friend."

Deuteronomy looked at the little silver tabby and smiled warmly. Simbol walked over to Ritz- to Munkustrap and began circling around him, asking him questions. "What is your name?"

"M-Munkustrap." There was a slight quiver in the kitten's voice that matched the tremble of his paws.

"Who is your father?"

Ritzk- Munkustrap pressed closer to Tugger and shook his head. "I don't know…"

"Who is your mother?"

"Her name was Burelle."

"Was Burelle?"

R- Munkustrap hung his head and again pushed closer against Tugger. Tugger staggered slightly, but kept his footing, pushing back a little to let his friend know he was there. "I don't know where she is now," the tabby said quietly. "The human tried to kill me… he might have tried to kill her too… I don't know, I don't know!"

"Hush." Deuteronomy rose to his feet now, padding over to Tugger and Munkustrap. He bent down, licking Munkustrap between the ears a couple times. "Be at peace, kitten. You are safe here. We will not take you back to your human, though we will try to find out what happened to your mother."

Munkustrap looked over at Tugger before closing his eyes and nodding. "I can stay?" he asked quietly.

"I don't see why not," Deuteronomy answered. He looked over at Simbol. "Do you have a problem with this?"

Simbol shook his head, lying down again. "I do not. Welcome to the Jellicle tribe, Munkustrap." He smiled warmly at the kitten.

Tugger let out a whoop, jumping into the air. "Yeah! You're a Jellicle! I told you it would be all right!"

Deuteronomy chuckled, resuming his position in the sun. "I am sorry, Munkustrap, but you will find that the only toms your age are my two sons, Tugger and Skollus… and they are quite a handful indeed."

Munkustrap offered the Jellicle leader a shy smile, reaching out to touch Tugger's paw. "That's okay, Sir. I think we'll be friends anyway."

To Be Continued in 'Future,' Number Two in the Ritzkin Arc!