Loud.

That's what Mistoffelees wanted right now, watching the outside world from the opening of his den. Anything to break the silence that was hanging over the junkyard. There were storm clouds hanging threateningly overhead, and Misto wished more than anything that lightning would slash through the inky blackness of the night.

To be truthful, it wasn't the weather that had caused his ill temper. It was a certain brown and black Tom. And a certain Queen.

'Why did she have to dance with Plato?' Mistoffelees had asked himself this question every day since the last Jellicle Ball. 'Why not me? I got old Deuteronomy back, I made her appear out of thin air during my song.'
He flinched as a drop of water fell on his paw, breaking his train of thought.
'Maybe she thinks I'm a freak." He thought, his stomach dropped with frighting familiarity. The rest of the tribe had thought that too, when he was only a kitten. When the Rum Tum Tugger adopted them, the tribe began to accept him but they were still wary. It seems a magical cat is just too different. 'Why couldn't she have picked me?'

And then Mistoffelees got his wish, as the sky opened up and lighting split the darkness with a bang.

%%^^%%

It had been three weeks since the Jellicle ball and Victoria was getting worried. She hadn't seen a hair nor hide of Misto in 3 weeks. Every time she approached Coricopat or Tantomile, neither of them knew where he was. She was beginning to get scared.

She had given up the pretence of playing it cool, pretending not to care about where he was, or what he was doing. But she couldn't pretend any longer. She needed to find Misto.

What she wanted was to talk. She wanted her best friend back, and she'd be damned if she'd let him hide from her for one more day. Things had gone south with Plato the minute after he had offered to be her mate. He was rude, clumsy and rather annoying to be frank. She had the feeling that he was trying to be like the Rum Tum Tugger, but seriously lacked the class or skills to do so.

She twitched as rain began to fall. She ignored it, hoping it would be a passing shower.

'Come on Misto, where are you?'

Lighting rent the sky in two, with a loud roar following soon after that sent her scurrying for the nearest den. She didn't see the figure in the shadows as she dashed into the drain pipe, and promptly ran into it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought this den was empty." She said in one breath.

"Victoria?" replied a very disorientated Mistoffelees, sprawled on the floor. "What are you doing out here?"