#Also I've discovered I need to write more about his and Electra's friendship.

[theimpossiblescheme]

(Kind Of Not) A Big Deal

(My next entry for Carbucketty/Pouncival’s day of @flame-x‘s Kittens Week--I hope everyone enjoys!)

This whole thing was stupid, really.  It wasn’t like Macavity had really pulled his arm off or anything.  It was just twisted around a little–it was Carbucketty’s own fault for getting so close.  It would heal on its own, it was fine.  Honestly.

Jenny and Tanto didn’t seem to think so.  The former kept saying stuff like “Lucky you weren’t killed” and “What made you think you could take him on like that?” and “What were we supposed to do without you?”, all while shoveling spoonfuls of something that smelled like rotten fruit down his throat “for the pain” (what pain?  He felt fine, truly he did).  And the latter wouldn’t stop looking at him with those big, spooky blue eyes as they wrapped his shoulder in bandages that smelled like tea and dirt.  And now here he was, stuck in the healers’ den until they decided he was well enough to leave.  It hadn’t been so bad while Munkustrap and Alonzo were still here–at least when they fussed over him, they mentioned how brave Carbucketty had been to stand up to Macavity, even if only for a few seconds.  They appreciated him, being a future Protector like them and all.  But once they were healed up (and how unfair was that?  They were older, shouldn’t that make them slower to heal or something?) Carbucketty was left alone once more.  In the single most boring place in the Junkyard.  Probably without even a cool scar to show for his time, like Electra was gonna have.  Why didn’t she get sent here, too?  At least with her around, he’d have someone to talk to.

Whatever Tanto had put in his bandage was making him sleepy, so mostly he just napped to stave off boredom.  Half the time he’d wake up without any idea how long he’d been out, and Hathor would confirm for him that he’d missed most of the day.  And every single time he was horrified–what kind of Protector slept most of the day?  They needed to be alert at all times, sharp enough to hear a Pollicle coming halfway down the street!  If they slacked off, the whole Junkyard might get eaten or killed or worse (he couldn’t actually imagine what could be worse, but other cats said that all the time)!  He couldn’t keep laying around like this–he needed to get out of this den and back on duty!

So when Pouncival came to ask if he wanted to watch the morning patrol come in–”Maybe they’d let you walk them back to the gate”--of course Carbucketty said yes.  Even if watching was all he could do, that’d be enough to prove he was ready whenever they needed him.  He’d be like the wounded hero watching the army march home to victory.  Maybe then he’d get more appreciation out of the rest of them.

“Help me up onto the wall,” he said, bounding to his feet and rolling his shoulder to prove it still worked.

Pounce nodded, but looked a little dubious–oh, Everlasting Cat, not him, too!  “Or we could just go over to the gate and you can see through the bars.  Wouldn’t that work, too?”

“Yeah, but it’s not as cool, and I won’t be able to see them coming from very far.”  Pounce seemed to see the logic in that, nodding more vigorously this time and motioning for Carbucketty to follow him.  Right along the far wall of the healers’ den, there was a seam in the tarp that never closed all the way–they could sneak out through it.  Squeezing their way out, Pounce pulled over a stack of cardboard boxes and held out his paws for Carbucketty to climb up first.  Stepping up was no problem, but as soon as Pounce’s paws began to lift he felt his head start to float over his neck and a slight stinging in his shoulders…

Oh, right.  There was the pain.  Well, too late now.

He managed to stay upright all the way to the top of the boxes–he couldn’t just topple backwards and make Pounce fall, too.  Once he’d made it up onto the solid wall and could see out into the nearby alley, where Alonzo and Plato were leading back a group of Trainees with Electra and AJ bringing up the rear and laughing over a tiff with a particularly avid birdwatcher, Carbucketty felt the pain continue to shoot up through his arm and figured he’d better do the smart thing.

And fall forwards.

He heard Pounce’s panicked yelp and Alonzo’s equally panicked and very loud curse right before his jaw collided with someone’s shoulder.  It took him a moment to realize that Plato had caught him on his back and was now giving him a look of horrified concern.

“What are you trying to do, dislocate your other shoulder?” Alonzo demanded, giving him very much the same look.  “Aren’t you supposed to be in the healers’ den?”

His entire upper body felt like somebody had stuffed it with rocks now, but Carbucketty at least tried to shake his head.  “I j’st wanted to wait for you guys,” he wheezed out once his lungs were cooperating again.

As Alonzo squinted over the wall–and Pounce quickly made himself scarce, the traitor–Plato lowered Carbucketty to the ground as gently as he could and Electra came running over.  “You okay?” she gasped, paws hovering indecisively at her chest like she couldn’t decide to hug him or dust him off.  He probably would have batted them away anyway–his head hurt too much to care.

“He’ll be all right, he’s gonna walk back with us.”  Plato craned his neck down to look Carbucketty in the eye.  “You think you can make it?”  When Carbucketty nodded, Plato gave him a quick smile and motioned with his tail for everyone to keep going.

“I thought Jenny and Tanto were making you rest,” Electra said, refusing to leave his side even as he kept his eyes fixed in front of him.  “After that whole thing with Macavity throwing you.”

Carbucketty shrugged.  “I dunno, I just… didn’t want to let it get to me.  Figured it was the brave thing to do, right?”

At that, Electra gave him a very familiar Look.  The “All That’s Keeping Me From Punting You Across London Is The Fact That You’re Already Hurt” Look.  But somehow affectionate at the same time.  “You didn’t have to fall off a wall to make us think you were brave,” she drawled, the Look slowly softening.  “You already pretty much proved that a few nights ago at the Ball.”

He just shrugged again, but he still couldn’t help the little bit of pride swelling up in him at the recognition.  Especially from Electra, who was closer to his age and knew better than most adults about what really counted as a Big Deal.  It wasn’t his shoulder, really… it was more about how it had gotten that way.  About something other than a scolding for getting in trouble, because it wasn’t really trouble if it was for a good cause, right?  The sarcastic little smile on her lips, right where the edge of her scar faded into the fur, said she understood.

She knew who he’d done it for.  Not for himself, but for everybody else--the ones he cared about and all that sappy junk.  That counted for something, too.

Just for that, he wanted very badly to give her a little shoulder-check for old times’ sake, but all he could manage now was a mild tap.  She snickered and gently swiped at the back of his head.  They’d have time later.

And as soon as they got back to the Junkyard, he was asking her to put Pounce in a headlock for him.