03. Stupid Comments - Prompt table - CATS the Musical for 5_roses
The first notes of the song started but Demeter made no move. She noted that Rumpleteazer shot her a look, even indicated for her to get out there before she jumped up herself and took her place. Demete was glad. That year she had no place out there - not after what'd happened. What was worse was that the rose still lay in her little den, she hadn't been able to throw it out. It lay in a little water and some of the petals were curling a little black, but it was still red and still smelled sweet.
Demeter lay between Alonzo and Pouncival in he shadows, watching Bombalurina and Rumpleteazer going through the actions. She knew them all so well but now they were foreign to her as if she didn't understand the meaning behind them even though she'd helped create it all and knew all the words and thoughts behind it still.
Macavity! Macavity's a mystery cat
He's called the Hidden Paw
For he's a master criminal who can defy the law
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard
The Flying Squad's despair
For when they reach the scene of crime Macavity's not there!
But he usually was, Demeter wondered. How had that ever become a part of the song? He always liked to melt into the shadows and be the last one to leave, so he could witness all the uproar and confusion he left in his wake. He would sit there, snickering - but in silence, and then afterwards he would slip home and laze about, soaking in his own excellence of how he had once again baffled all and got away with it.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity
He's broken every human law
He breaks the law of gravity
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare
And when you reach the scene of crime Macavity's not there!
She remembered the time when it was she who would sit by his side, forced or not, and listen to him recounting the tale even if she'd heard it before or even if she had actually been there or not. He liked listing ever law that existed, human or otherwise and then answer each with something he himself had done - as if to prove his own greatness.
He didn't have to prove anything though.
She knew how great he was.
You may seek him in the basement
You may look up in the air
But I tell you once and once again
Macavity's not there!
He was though! She'd be walking home and there he would be, no matter what time or what way she chose! He wouldn't come though, if she walked home with someone else, unless that 'someone else' was Bombalurina, Mungojerrie or Rumpleteazer. They didn’t seem to bother him and in all fairness, they usually greeted him quite nicely, something which made Demeter frown. He was evil, wasn’t he?
But even she had doubts about that. Somewhere, maybe deep down somewhere, he wasn’t that bad at all…
Macavity's a ginger cat
He's very tall and thin
You would know him if you saw him for his eyes are sunken in
His brow is deeply lined in thought
His head is highly domed
His coat is dusty from neglect
His whiskers are uncombed
He sways his head from side to side
With movements like a snake
And when you think he's half asleep
He's always wide awake!
She remembered back to those few weeks when she had stayed in his den. The fur on his head was all matted as if it was all one big dreadlock and she’d set her claws to setting it right. It took hours, and at the start he tried to fight her off - not in a nasty way - he never raised a paw against her - just tried to shove her away and stuff. Probably just from embarrassment anyhow.
By the end he was lying in her lap and almost asleep. She was gentle at undoing all the knots and combing it all our, and when she started to lick it clean he was purring. Macavity, purring. No one would ever believe her if she tried to tell anyone, so she didn’t.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity
For he's a fiend in feline shape
A monster of depravity
You may meet him in a by-street
You may see him in the square
But when a crime's discovered then Macavity's not there!
He had looked so fine once she had his coat looking nice. Not like monster at all. Most of the time when she had been around he hadn’t acted like one either. Others told her different. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer had seen his anger, had even had it directed at themselves more then once. For weeks Mungojerrie hadn’t let his partner come into his den and he had limped in alone with eyes bruised and blackened, letting Rumpleteazer sit and worry outside or at home, alone.
Bombalurina had seen his temper first hand, although she wouldn’t speak as to whether it had been against her or not. Demeter thought though, if she wouldn’t admit to anything then well, wasn’t that the answer itself right there?
He's outwardly respectable
I know he cheats at cards
And his footprints are not found in any files of Scotland Yard's
He only cheated at cards when he was bored or if he hated those he was playing against.
He never cheated once when he played against her.
And when the larder's looted
Or the jewel cases rifled
Or when the milk is missing
Or another Peke's been stifled
Or the greenhouse glass is broken and the trellis past repair
There's the wonder of the thing:
Macavity's not there!
He had given her jewels, flowers and all the food she could ever want, anything she could ever want. She had never wanted anything and when Munkustrap had offered her this or that it had only made her uncomfortable. She had known that wasn’t normal - Rum Tum Tugger gave Bombalurina things all the time after all and she loved it…
But it had felt different when Macavity gave her things. As if he had spent hours choosing, picking her only the best of the best, and then spent another few hours trying to decide how to present it to her. She didn’t think that were true at all, no, but that was all it felt like. There was no other way to explain it.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity
There never was a cat of such deceitfulness and suavity
He always has an alibi and one or two to spare
Whatever time the deed took place, Macavity wasn't there!
If it came down to it… she would probably stand up for him. If questioned she would probably cover for him, provide an alibi and… why?
Because of him she couldn’t go out anymore, she hardly visited the junkyard - she found herself a nice little human family who doted on her and played with her every chance but she still couldn’t forget, no matter how many toys or different little cat treats they gave her. She couldn’t forget.
Everyone at the junkyard had tried to speak of it when she had first returned - that was why she didn’t even bother going there anymore. So many stupid comments to try and find out why or try and make her feel better… it was so, so wrong. They hadn’t going through anything like it, how could they help?
And they say that all the cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, Rumpelteazer, Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the cat who all the time
Just controls the operations
The Napoleon of Crime!
Griddlebone… she was the reason she had left. She had been so jealous - they both had been. She was Macavity’s favourite - Demeter knew that for sure. She supposed though that Griddlebone thought the same about her though. The tall white queen has pitched a fit, and Macavity - that was when Macavity had shown Demeter how scary his true anger could be.
Demeter had left that night. She had no place there and if she stayed Griddlebone would kill her without a second thought.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity
He's a fiend in feline shape
A monster of depravity
You may meet him in a by-street
You may see him in the square
But when a crime's discovered then Macavity's not there!
All the queens were out on stage now, but not Demeter. She was still lying between the two toms but now she had her head between her paws, her eyes hidden and her ears flat against her head.
She wished he were a monster. She wished he was never there, because then it would be so much easier to simply hate and forget. Hate and forget.
She only wished she could.
<--- 02. Awkward Silence
Demeter lay between Alonzo and Pouncival in he shadows, watching Bombalurina and Rumpleteazer going through the actions. She knew them all so well but now they were foreign to her as if she didn't understand the meaning behind them even though she'd helped create it all and knew all the words and thoughts behind it still.
Macavity! Macavity's a mystery cat
He's called the Hidden Paw
For he's a master criminal who can defy the law
He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard
The Flying Squad's despair
For when they reach the scene of crime Macavity's not there!
But he usually was, Demeter wondered. How had that ever become a part of the song? He always liked to melt into the shadows and be the last one to leave, so he could witness all the uproar and confusion he left in his wake. He would sit there, snickering - but in silence, and then afterwards he would slip home and laze about, soaking in his own excellence of how he had once again baffled all and got away with it.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity
He's broken every human law
He breaks the law of gravity
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare
And when you reach the scene of crime Macavity's not there!
She remembered the time when it was she who would sit by his side, forced or not, and listen to him recounting the tale even if she'd heard it before or even if she had actually been there or not. He liked listing ever law that existed, human or otherwise and then answer each with something he himself had done - as if to prove his own greatness.
He didn't have to prove anything though.
She knew how great he was.
You may seek him in the basement
You may look up in the air
But I tell you once and once again
Macavity's not there!
He was though! She'd be walking home and there he would be, no matter what time or what way she chose! He wouldn't come though, if she walked home with someone else, unless that 'someone else' was Bombalurina, Mungojerrie or Rumpleteazer. They didn’t seem to bother him and in all fairness, they usually greeted him quite nicely, something which made Demeter frown. He was evil, wasn’t he?
But even she had doubts about that. Somewhere, maybe deep down somewhere, he wasn’t that bad at all…
Macavity's a ginger cat
He's very tall and thin
You would know him if you saw him for his eyes are sunken in
His brow is deeply lined in thought
His head is highly domed
His coat is dusty from neglect
His whiskers are uncombed
He sways his head from side to side
With movements like a snake
And when you think he's half asleep
He's always wide awake!
She remembered back to those few weeks when she had stayed in his den. The fur on his head was all matted as if it was all one big dreadlock and she’d set her claws to setting it right. It took hours, and at the start he tried to fight her off - not in a nasty way - he never raised a paw against her - just tried to shove her away and stuff. Probably just from embarrassment anyhow.
By the end he was lying in her lap and almost asleep. She was gentle at undoing all the knots and combing it all our, and when she started to lick it clean he was purring. Macavity, purring. No one would ever believe her if she tried to tell anyone, so she didn’t.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity
For he's a fiend in feline shape
A monster of depravity
You may meet him in a by-street
You may see him in the square
But when a crime's discovered then Macavity's not there!
He had looked so fine once she had his coat looking nice. Not like monster at all. Most of the time when she had been around he hadn’t acted like one either. Others told her different. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer had seen his anger, had even had it directed at themselves more then once. For weeks Mungojerrie hadn’t let his partner come into his den and he had limped in alone with eyes bruised and blackened, letting Rumpleteazer sit and worry outside or at home, alone.
Bombalurina had seen his temper first hand, although she wouldn’t speak as to whether it had been against her or not. Demeter thought though, if she wouldn’t admit to anything then well, wasn’t that the answer itself right there?
He's outwardly respectable
I know he cheats at cards
And his footprints are not found in any files of Scotland Yard's
He only cheated at cards when he was bored or if he hated those he was playing against.
He never cheated once when he played against her.
And when the larder's looted
Or the jewel cases rifled
Or when the milk is missing
Or another Peke's been stifled
Or the greenhouse glass is broken and the trellis past repair
There's the wonder of the thing:
Macavity's not there!
He had given her jewels, flowers and all the food she could ever want, anything she could ever want. She had never wanted anything and when Munkustrap had offered her this or that it had only made her uncomfortable. She had known that wasn’t normal - Rum Tum Tugger gave Bombalurina things all the time after all and she loved it…
But it had felt different when Macavity gave her things. As if he had spent hours choosing, picking her only the best of the best, and then spent another few hours trying to decide how to present it to her. She didn’t think that were true at all, no, but that was all it felt like. There was no other way to explain it.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity
There never was a cat of such deceitfulness and suavity
He always has an alibi and one or two to spare
Whatever time the deed took place, Macavity wasn't there!
If it came down to it… she would probably stand up for him. If questioned she would probably cover for him, provide an alibi and… why?
Because of him she couldn’t go out anymore, she hardly visited the junkyard - she found herself a nice little human family who doted on her and played with her every chance but she still couldn’t forget, no matter how many toys or different little cat treats they gave her. She couldn’t forget.
Everyone at the junkyard had tried to speak of it when she had first returned - that was why she didn’t even bother going there anymore. So many stupid comments to try and find out why or try and make her feel better… it was so, so wrong. They hadn’t going through anything like it, how could they help?
And they say that all the cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, Rumpelteazer, Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the cat who all the time
Just controls the operations
The Napoleon of Crime!
Griddlebone… she was the reason she had left. She had been so jealous - they both had been. She was Macavity’s favourite - Demeter knew that for sure. She supposed though that Griddlebone thought the same about her though. The tall white queen has pitched a fit, and Macavity - that was when Macavity had shown Demeter how scary his true anger could be.
Demeter had left that night. She had no place there and if she stayed Griddlebone would kill her without a second thought.
Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity
He's a fiend in feline shape
A monster of depravity
You may meet him in a by-street
You may see him in the square
But when a crime's discovered then Macavity's not there!
All the queens were out on stage now, but not Demeter. She was still lying between the two toms but now she had her head between her paws, her eyes hidden and her ears flat against her head.
She wished he were a monster. She wished he was never there, because then it would be so much easier to simply hate and forget. Hate and forget.
She only wished she could.
<--- 02. Awkward Silence