Leave it all Behind [Open]

The Bengal-patterned tom lay atop the old car, gazing up at the evening sky. At least, it may have looked like he was gazing at the sky; but in truth, if anyone asked, he wouldn't have been able to describe anything about it - the colours, whether there were any birds flying about, any stars, mysterious human flying machines, or even what time of day it was.

Horatio was contemplating the events of the past several days, and these thoughts had brought a slight frown to his face. What did it all mean? he wondered. The Ball had been one of the most fascinating things he had ever witnessed - and indeed, the first celebration of any kind he'd ever taken part in. But the party had been tainted by, first, what seemed no more than intimidation attempts, and later, an outright kitnapping, by that... Macavity. Who was he to the Jellicles? Why were they so frightened of him? Wasn't he just like any other macho street-gang leader - scary-looking enough to be sure, but not invincible by any means? And yet, Macavity didn't just mind his own business like other gang leaders, he had attacked the Jellicles outright. It almost seemed as though he knew them from before, as though he had some sort of a vendetta against the whole tribe. Horatio could recall stories like this, ones in which a man spent years of his life planning out elaborate ways to get vengeance on everyone who had ever hurt him... But the Jellicles never hurt anyone! That was the thought he always circled back to; the Jellicles were the kindest, most wonderful group he had ever met, and he could not see how anyone would have reason to ruthlessly attack them.

Just then, a slight noise nearby interrupted Horatio's musings. He sat up, peering over the side of the car. He caught sight of another cat, but couldn't quite tell who it was in the near-darkness. But he may as well make himself known so as not to end up startling whoever-it-was. "Good evening," he called down.

Horatio recognized the tom's voice and, moving closer, now recognized his face as well - or what one could see of his face. However, he had to take a pause and rack his brains to recall the other cat's name. There was such a blurred mess of names and ideas and faces running round Horatio's mind that his pause was a long one - embarrassingly long, and he hoped Keiiji didn't notice. But there was no way Horatio would admit to forgetting the name of someone who was so quick to remember his. Keiiji. That was it.

...Now, what had Keiiji just said? He'd asked a question, sure enough, but Horatio had taken such a long time to think of his name, hanged if he could remember what Keiiji had asked. Well, at least he knew the name... "Evening, Keiiji," he replied somewhat haltingly, pretty sure he'd already said this. "Er...sorry, what was it you said a moment ago?"

Horatio's ears burned slightly at Keiiji's inquiry as to his well-being. It wasn't the first time someone had asked him a question like that or implied he was "on" something. Horatio sometimes wondered that himself - maybe he took stuff that made him so loopy that he never even remembered it. Whatever the case, he had definitely begun wondering if something was wrong with him. He could be completely focused, enough so to give an entire speech about the process of a Court-Martial - then, introduce another person or topic into the mix, and all at once things went haywire.

No way he was about to open up that discussion with Keiiji - or anyone else, really. They'd have him locked away for sure - if cats had things like Bedlam...The Funny Farm...Crazy House...Insane Asylum.

With a tremendous effort, he brought himself back to the subject at paw, and was pleased when this time he could recall Keiiji's words. "No, I haven't been here all day - just the past several hours," Horatio explained. He wasn't certain of that, but he knew he had eaten at least two meals before jumping up on the car. "I was thinking over the Ball - you heard about the Macavity attacks?" he inquired, tail swishing as all his unanswered "why" questions began chasing one another round his mind again.

Horatio frowned slightly - not necessarily in annoyance or anger towards Keiiji, but more just wondering about his reaction. The Bengal tom had not been here long, but he'd gathered that the Jellicles all worried and cared about one another to some extent. And most of them seemed to dread Macavity or any mention of him above all else. Keiiji's seeming lack of concern surprised him. But then, perhaps Keiiji was more the logical, calculating type, and didn't care to show his emotions.

"Perhaps my calling his appearances 'attacks' was a slight exaggeration," Horatio allowed, not wishing to start an argument. "They appeared that way to me because the Jellicles are such a peaceful group. But I have not been here very long, and until the Ball, only knew of Macavity by name." He glanced curiously at Keiiji. "Perhaps you have heard more about him, and what his reasons might be? I had contemplated revenge for some occurrence in the past, even sadistic enjoyment, but those are just guesses really."

Horatio's ears perked up at the words "inner workings of his mind." That was just what he wanted to figure out - how Macavity's thoughts ran, his reasonings and motivations behind his enmity towards the Jellicles. For, if they knew that, couldn't the Jellicles then figure out some way to avoid these encounters with the ginger tom, instead of just accepting them as inevitable? Every villain he'd ever read about had something - some weakness - either to convince them to change their ways, or defeat them permanently.

His enthusiasm faded somewhat when Keiiji asked if this were the topic his thoughts were bent on. Horatio was at a loss to understand Keiiji's tone. Was it disapproving? Concerned? "Well...yes, that's what I've been mulling over the last little while," he admitted, glancing sideways at the other tom. "Is that a bad thing? I know that nocat is simply born 'good' or 'evil' - they don't just do right or wrong things for no reason. Well... Unless they're mental, I suppose. It just seems that, if one were to understand Macavity's reasons, one might understand Macavity himself, and something might be done about the tensions between our two tribes. Does...that make sense?"

Horatio felt a sense of relief when Keiiji said his trying to figure out Macavity wasn't a bad thing. He didn't know why, but for a fleeting moment he'd worried that someone might think these thoughts were tending towards ill intentions - that Horatio was admiring Macavity, rather than horrified of him, or something.

But rather than continuing on the same line of thought - contributing his own speculations, making suggestions, or the like - Keiiji proceeded to suggest they do something else. Horatio sighed. He shouldn't be surprised - it never took long for anycat he happened to be speaking with, nevermind who, to become bored with a subject that Horatio would have liked to continue on for much longer.

Probably it was best to go along with Keiiji's suggestion. If Horatio insisted on continuing the conversation, Keiiji would think he was obsessed. He could always continue the line of thought on his own, later.

"Do?" Horatio repeated. "Well..." His first few thoughts centered around digging around in a scrap pile for cast-out newspapers, but that wouldn't do much good since Keiiji probably didn't read. Though he supposed he could always use the excuse that he needed them for something else. At that moment, his stomach rumbled, reminding him how late it was. "Would you like to find some supper?"

Horatio took the other tom's proffered paw, and pulled himself to his feet. He was somewhat embarrassed that his stomach had growled loudly enough for Keiiji to notice. However, this was soon swallowed up in his eagerness to continue the previous conversation.

But first, the task at paw. "So," he asked, stretching to relieve some of the stiffness from lying down for several hours, "what is it you like to eat?"

Oswin crouched behind a pile of rubbish, watching the two toms intently. She was especially interested in the bandage-covered one, whom she was certain she'd seen at the warehouse as well. A spy! was the first explanation that came to her. He must be a spy - but for which side? That was the question. Clearly both Macavity and the Jellicles trusted him...

At the last minute, she remembered to look over her shoulder to look for Oola. In her excitement, she had temporarily forgotten all about the other queen; hopefully she had followed!