Title: A Tale of Three Kittens (1/3)
Rating: K
Notes: In which there are new arrivals to the Junkyard.

Sorry for the delay, but this one was taking me a while! I hope you enjoy it!

I do not own Cats!

Three days. It had been three horrible, horrible days since Simbol died. Grief-wails still echoed around the junkyard at times, though they were greatly diminished. Gus lead most of them, mourning for his son.

Munkustrap huddled bleakly on top of a car, watching the junkyard. He was the Protector now. He had a job to do. He needed to keep the Jellicles safe.

Beside him, Tugger was curled up, a fluffy bundle of warmth. He was asleep. This Protector business really took it out of him, he claimed, which was somewhat humorous, because all Tugger was doing was following him around and keeping him company. Munkustrap had to admit, he did appreciate the larger cat's presence. With Simbol gone…

Well, he had only felt this alone twice before – when Macavity tried to kill him, and when Tugger turned his back on him.

But now Tugger was his friend again. Munkustrap turned his head and nuzzled Tugger's shoulder. The maned cat stirred, yawning, before reaching over to drape an arm over Munkustrap in a loose hug before returning to his sleep. They had done some talking in the past few days. Munkustrap had yelled at Tugger for not caring about Simbol's death… and Tugger had revealed that he was secretly glad Simbol was dead. And then he had explained, had told Munkustrap how jealous he had been. He had explained how he was sad Simbol was gone, but at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to mourn the loss of someone who had stolen his friend. And he had apologized. He couldn't mourn Simbol himself, but he could support Munkustrap.

And that was why Tugger was here, curled up by Munkustrap, instead of off flirting with Bomba or someone else. Granted, Bomba probably would have smacked Tugger for trying anything right now – Simbol had been her older brother, after all – but still, Munkustrap was glad he was at the top of Tugger's list of important things.

Scanning the junkyard again, Munkustrap frowned. Behind the tire, where the Jellicles were buried, and where both Cattivo and Simbol had been recently interred, there was a small, pale shape. An injured mouse? That was awfully large for a mouse… Squinting, Munkustrap tried to make out what it was. All of a sudden, it became clear. Those brown patches, those pointed ears… that was a kitten, curled up by Simbol's grave. And not just any kitten… little Tumblebrutus.

Munkustrap wiggled out from under Tugger's arm and looked back as the larger cat cracked an eye open. "I won't be gone long. Go back to sleep, I'll be back soon." Tugger nodded and curled a little tighter, asleep again almost instantly.

With Tugger taken care of, Munkustrap jumped down and picked his way over to where Tumble was. It was rather cool out – not too cold, unless you were a kitten. And Tumble, even with his nose tucked into his tail, was trembling. Shivering? Munkustrap wasn't too sure. He stepped up beside the young cat and put his paw on Tumble's back. "Hey," he said softly. "What are you doing out here?"

Jennyanydots' humans had shown up in the junkyard yesterday, grabbing the Gumbie Cat and taking her away, scolding her for escaping again. They had known to find her here, because here was where she always ran off to, to visit Simbol. Munkustrap had hissed at the humans. Couldn't they see that she had a kitten who needed her? Why were they separating the already-broken family?

But his hisses had done no good, and Jenny had been taken home, leaving Tumble alone. Oh, he had brothers, but Alonzo and Plato were pretty despondent, and Admetus…

Well, Munkustrap wouldn't trust Admetus with the well-being of a kitten, even of his brother. Admetus was almost as bad as Tugger.

So Tumble had been left with Jellylorum, the resident healer and mother-of-all-kittens when Jenny wasn't in the yard. He hadn't seemed to fully grasp everything that had happened in the past few days.

Tumble uncurled a little to look up at Munkustrap, and Munkustrap quickly pulled the little kitten into a hug. Tumble's eyes were red and tear-filled, and the broken-hearted expression wasn't one any kitten should ever be wearing. "Oh, Tumble…"

Two tiny paws curled into his fur as Tumble cuddled against Munkustrap's chest. "Ametus… Ametus… Ametus said Daddy's asleepying forever…" he whispered. "Forever an' ever an' ever an' ever an' he's never ever ever comin' back…"

Munkustrap swallowed thickly and hugged Tumble tighter. "Yes… that's true," he whispered. "Your daddy died."

"I wanna wake him up," Tumble said.

"You can't," Munkustrap said. "You can't wake up a dead kitty."

"I can always wake up Daddy," Tumble said. "You just gotta jump on him. But they covered Daddy in dirt. I can't jump on Daddy when he's all dirted."

"Tumble…"

Tumble's paws tightened in Munkustrap's fur and the kitten shook with a muffled sob. "I want Daddy!"

"I'm sorry," Munkustrap whispered.

Tumble continued to cry, his tears soaking through Munkustrap's fur. Munkustrap didn't know what else he could do for Tumble, so he held the kitten close, rubbing his back and kissing him between the ears, like Simbol used to.

Eventually, Tumble's tears stopped, and Munkustrap realized he had cried himself to sleep, still holding tightly to Munkustrap. Blinking back his own tears at the state of this kitten, Munkustrap carefully picked him up and carried him back to the car top.

Tugger was awake now, sitting up and watching him. He reached out and placed his paw on Tumble's back. "Poor kid…" he murmured. "C'mere. Put him down." He laid down again and patted the car next to him.

Munkustrap set Tumble by Tugger's side, carefully working the little paws out of his fur. Tugger wrapped his fluffy tail around the smaller cat and began to purr. In his sleep, Tumble turned toward Tugger and burrowed into his thick fur.

Sitting beside the pair, Munkustrap couldn't help but give a weak smile. "You'd make a great father," he said.

"Hush, you," Tugger said, licking Tumble's ears. "You wanna ruin my reputation?"

Munkustrap laid down on Tumble's other side and sighed, resting his chin on an arm as he watched Tugger comfort the dozing kitten. "I don't know what we're going to do about him, Tugger. He's so young… and he's basically an orphan now." He shook his head sadly. "Even I had a family until I was almost an adult… Tumble's only a few months old."

"We'll figure something out," Tugger said. "You're the Protector. I'm sure you'll find a way to protect him."

Munkustrap sighed again, closing his eyes. "Or I'll fail him, just like I'll fail everyone else."

Tugger poked Munkustrap in the side. "Hey. Don't talk like that."

Munkustrap batted Tugger's paw away. "Oh, shut up. You hear what they all say, same as me."

"Nobody thinks you're going to fail us," Tugger said. "They're concerned because you're so young – you're the youngest guardian Dad remembers – but that doesn't mean they think you'll fail."

"They don't think I'm up to the task. I don't think I'm up to the task."

"Simbol trained you," Tugger said. "Simbol prepared you. Simbol knew you were going to take over some day, and he made sure you were ready for it. Now, if Simbol really was the awesome super amazing cat that you keep saying he was, do you really think he'd die and leave the tribe in the paws of someone unsuited for the task?"

"No…" Munkustrap whispered.

"See? You can do it. You won't fail the tribe… and you won't fail Tumblebrutus."