Ever so slowly, the Jellicle moon began it’s descent across the night sky. It shown down on a small clearing in the forest, making the trees glimmer an eery, silvery color. The wind gently rustled the leaves, and the air smelt of smoke and excitement.
Earlier that evening, the second Jellicle Ball of the new Jellicle Tribe had begun. Now all that remained of the festivities were a few strands of Christmas lights strung throughout the trees, and a slowly dying campfire. From the middle of the Clearing came a murmuring of voices.
Three shadowy figures were sitting atop a large tire. The largest of the figures was obviously a silver and black tabby. The moonlight highlighted the silver in his fur, making it gleam. This was Munkustrap, Leader of the new Jellicle Tribe.
The second figure, slimmer and more feminine, was Arabesque. Her fur was white and grey, nearly replicating the markings on Munkustrap’s fur. Arabesque was Munkustrap’s younger sister. She bore the title of the new Jellicle Tribe’s Second-In-Command.
Munkustrap and Arabesque were alike in nearly every way. They both were strong leaders, capable of leading the Jellicle Tribe with wisdom. Both also cared deeply for the Tribe, a trait passed down to them from their Grandfather, Old Deuteronomy. They shared the same ideals, and rarely ever fought. Because of these similarities, they were sometimes called Jellicle Twins.
Not to be forgotten, a third figure sat with Munkustrap and Arabesque. This was Allegro, Arabesque’s adopted son. At the moment, he was sitting precariously atop his mother’s head, doing his best not to fall off.
The two leaders were carrying on a serious conversation about the Jellicle Ball.
“We don’t have enough Jellicles to perform, anymore,” Munkustrap muttered. “I practically had to beg Ebony to perform the solo dance!”
Arabesque smiled slightly, at the mention of her adopted daughter’s name. “Ebony’s very headstrong, Munku. But you know she wanted to perform---she loves being the center of attention,” she reminded him. “Besides, we don’t have as many Jellicles as the old Jellicle Tribe had. You should have expected to find it hard to fill all the parts.”
Nodding, Munkustrap lapsed into a train of deep thought. Arabesque stayed where she was, waiting for him to dismiss her. Knowing how seriously Munku took his job as Leader, they would be up until sunrise talking about the Tribe.
Patiently, she gazed up at the stars, identifying some of the old constellations Grandfather Deuteronomy had shown her as a kitten. ‘There is Polyisthmus, the Jellicle God of Power,’ she thought to herself. ‘And there, off to the east, is Lelila, the Jellicle Goddess of Fertility...’
Half consciously, Arabesque wondered if she would ever have a son or daughter of her own. Ebony had never been close to her. Allegro was a wonderful son and very close to Arabesque, but it wasn’t the same as having a kitten of her own.
As if reading her thoughts, Allegro nearly fell off the top of Arabesque’s head. Steadying himself, his white and black-spotted tail writhed back and forth, smacking Arabesque in¡ the face.
“Allegro!” she whispered, quietly. “Your Uncle Munkustrap is trying to think!”
The kitten bent down over her head and looked into her eyes, giggling to himself. “Mom... I wanna go to bed! It’s too boring out here...” he said.
Arabesque shushed her son, glancing over at Munkustrap. He was looking at her thoughtfully.
“You might as well take Rascal, here, to bed,” he said softly, ruffling Allegro’s fur. “We don’t need to stay up all night, anymore. Sometimes I forget that Macavity doesn’t know where we are---that he can’t disturb us.”
Looking up at the night sky one last time, Arabesque nodded. Gathering Allegro in her arms, she stood up and flexed her aching muscles.
“Good-night,” she called softly to her brother. Then she started up the path to her home.
Arabesque’s home was a hollowed-out tree, a typical form of shelter in the new Jellicle Tribe. It was located directly across the Clearing from Munkustrap and Demeter’s ‘tree home.’
The interior of Arabesque’s ‘tree home’ was dark as Arabesque and Allegro crawled behind the sheet of wood which served as a door. Arie clasped her paw over Allegro’s mouth to quiet him. She waited for her emerald-green eyes to adjust to the darkness.
To her left, Arabesque saw the sleeping form of her adopted daughter, Ebony. The kitten’s white and yellow splotched fur was tangled in a bed of leaves and grass. With a soft lick on his cheek, Arabesque laid Allegro in the bed beside his ‘sister.’ His eyes closed tiredly, and soon he was asleep.
Arabesque gazed down at her two ‘children.’ They slept calmly.
‘These two mean the world to me...’ Arabesque thought, ‘If only...’
With a sudden pang of guilt, Arabesque pushed the thought from her head.
She lay before their bed for quite a while, watching them. Then, slowly, a tear slipped from her eye.
‘If only they were really mine,’she thought, ‘Iwant a child...’
The thought was foreign and new for Arabesque. Suddenly, a sob erupted from her. She quickly muffled it, but it was too late. She heard the sound of leaves stirring behind her. A moment later, she felt the comforting touch of a paw on her shoulder.
“Arie, what’s wrong?” a soft, masculine voice came.
Arabesque turned and looked at her husband with teary eyes. The figure before her, named War, was white and tan-striped. He was slim and slightly muscular. Deep concern shone across his handsome face.
Mesmerized by his dark, troubled eyes, Arie could do nothing but look at him blankly. She allowed herself to be carried to their bed. Halfway there, she shyly whispered something in War’s ear. Surprise replaced the concern on his face, but he nodded slowly.
As she settled in the leaves of their bed, Arabesque made a quick prayer to Lelila. The Jellicle Goddess of Fertility.
Outside, the smoldering remains of the campfire died out, and all was quiet.