electra hadn’t been back for a bit, but she did spot pouncival walking around the streets, when she spotted him she decided to follow him. she didn’t think she’d end up catching him cheating. or that she could be so quiet. once he was distracted for a moment, electra threw herself towards the boy she was meant to be ignoring to tackle him. "i knew you lied to me!" she whispered and looked down at him. ( ask--electraa )
Pouncival looked up at her. Between his jaws was a string of black pearls. Pearls were more Teazer’s style, but these one had caught his eye. Instead, he had to spit them back out and glare up at Electra. At first, he had thought she had been some other cat, but it had been her voice. And it was definitely her looking down on him, though he couldn’t say he was used to her looking older yet. It was one thing to imagine it; it was another to actually see it. He hissed at her, “Are you crazy? There’s a pom downstairs!”
@ask–electraa
she rolled her eyes and kept staring down at him. “why should i care? you’re the one robbing in the first place.” she chuckled. she was still a bit embarrassed from earlier, the embarrassment causing her to want stand up and take a step away from him, but she didn’t. “i can’t believe you’d lie about something so silly.” she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. she would’ve at least had liked to know. she kept her eyes trained on his as she leaned down to him again. “i get you wanting to avoid me or . . not knowing me enough again but . . it isn’t the worst thing to be doing. i’d simply worry for your safety which apparently i’m right to do, since there’s a pom downstairs.” she hissed lightly. she wouldn’t be too loud but she was glaring at him.
As soon as he could, he sat up straight. He huffed, and leaned down getting the pom around his neck, “Well ya spent so long away I didn’t know what ya’d think.” The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint her. His ears flicked back and forth. Lucky for them, the pom wasn’t barking. He sighed, “Pom’s not so bad. Even kind of stupid. The humans will take us to the pound if they catch us. And they only catch us if the pom barks.” He sighed and looked around for anything else he wanted, “I’m not a clumsy kit anymore yanno. Ya don’t gotta worry about me.”
“clumsy isn’t why i worry.” she stood and crossed her arms. “i worry because i care about you, pounce.” she insisted and looked away. she felt embarrassed still, even if it was taking a lot to not just kiss him again. she was quiet for a moment. “i’m sorry, okay? i just . . left and now i’m just confusing you like i used to.” she sighed. she felt terrible about it all. she felt . . bad about it all. she felt guilty and bad. she moved her hands to her hips as she looked down at the ground. she would stay out of his way but she wasn’t about to leave. she was going to get an apology. “it . . felt natural.” she whispered even quieter as she faced away from pounce.
She really wanted to talk about this right now. Instead of replying, he sighed and jumped up on top of a dresser to sort through the rest of the woman’s jewelry box. Originally, he had just come for the pearls but now he was annoyed and figured he would grab something else that she wouldn’t miss. She was the meaner of the human’s anyway. As he nosed through the drawer, he listened to her. After a moment, he replied, “A-course it did. We… dated as kits. But we grew up yanno. I’m not the same kit. Neither are ya.” As he dug, he found a lovely golden necklace. Normally, he’d ignore it, but it was small like a collar and had golden flowers embedded on it with bright red gem centers. He stole a glance at Electra. She had never worn a collar, but he wondered how it would look on her. There was no going back now that she knew he was thief.
“that may be true but . . i . . it was really nice to— ignore me.” she wanted to say something but she wouldn’t. pouncival was a cute kitten and grew into a very handsome tom. she thought he was handsome t h e n too so it wasn’t as if her opinions were changing. she sat up on a bedside table and watched him a small bit. she decided to ignore him while her thoughts were all muddled. she did love to kiss him, loved how it felt to kiss him and she wanted to do it again and again, but no — pouncival insisted that was just them being kittens. she wondered if her feelings were silly because of that. she wasn’t a kitten anymore, she knew who she was and how she felt, and once she saw pounce again . . she knew. she knew she felt connected to him still in some strange foreign way, but she wouldn’t admit that. her arms wrapped around herself. she was a bit cold, but it was fine.
Pouncival hauled up a bag that he had brought with him, dumping both the pearls and the the gold necklace inside. He sighed, still not looking at Electra. There had been something when they kissed. It felt as though he was always meant to belong with her. He remembered when Plato and Victoria first got together, he had spent a week trying to stay away from her to challenge himself or find himself or something. It was ridiculous then, but Pouncival understood a little more now. Except that, he hadn’t spent his every waking moment of kittenhood with Electra. She had left him and maybe he was a bit more bitter about that than he went on. Not that he’d ever tell. Instead, he finally looked at Electra, just out of the corner of his eye, “You cold?”
she looked away and at the wall. “a little, why?” she huffed out. she still rubbed at her arms, she soon looked back at him with a softer look in her eyes. she felt a bit silly that she was even still in love with him, even without the kitten thing. he liked bomba, and she’d never be as pretty as bomba. the thought made her feel a big sick. feeling upset about the thought of it. “just . . fairly drafty in here.” she whispered out. she was always the type to sleep with others because she got too cold or scared, that part of her hadn’t changed. she could feel herself tear up but she tried to blink rapidly for it to be prevented. she would not cry, she’d be okay, but she did tear up. now her eyes felt glossy, over something pounce never heard her even say. her knees were against her chest and her chin rested on top of her arms. she was mostly staying quiet, she didn’t want him to get in trouble.
With a little wiggle, Pouncival jumped up to the top of the wardrobe that was in the room. At the top, there was a little box that he opened, “When I found this the other week, didn’t think I’d want to take anythin’ even though they don’t use it.” He plunged in and then between his teeth he held a little black sweater for a doll. The collar had a pretty red ribbon and there was a big black button in the front. After measuring the jump carefully, Pouncival bounded down and laid at Electra’s feet, “It’s nice right? Humans keep stuff like this everywhere! They never even miss it!” Teazer and Jerrie had taught him a lot. It didn’t matter what you stole, especially from humans like these. If a human was worth stealing from, it didn’t matter what you took from them. They could always get another.
electra flushed as she stared down at it. stared down at pouncival in front of her. “it is nice . .” she said softly. she reached out her paw to take it from him. looking at it for a moment. he had grabbed it f o r her and that was incredibly embarrassing. she was embarrassed because she was small enough for her, she threw it over her head and huffed. it did fit and that was the w o r s t thing that could’ve happened in her opinion, but she was getting warmer. “thank you, pounce.” she said and leaned down to fluff up the top of his head with a light giggle. she finally had her paws in her lap instead of trying to warm herself up from what she had thought was an intense cold. she didn’t exactly have short fur, she didn’t know why she got cold like that in the first place. exotica always told her it was because runts have strange patterns in how they act and feel. she didn’t know.
Pouncival groaned as she mussed his fur. He tried to fix, but smiled, “Anytime, ‘Lectra.” She looked nice in the sweater. It was hard to imagine Electra looking it bad in anything. The young Tom sighed, his ears flattening back, “I missed you yanno? When ya first left, I wouldn’t even leave the den.” It didn’t matter what confusing feelings he had, she was his best friend. She deserved to know that he cared. Had she stayed, Pouncival didn’t know who he would be. Her leaving had changed him, maybe not a lot, but just shifted who he was to become. Now she was back and he didn’t really know what to do.
electra slowly stepped down and wrapped her arms around pounce. simply holding him. “i’m really sorry i . . i never stopped thinking of you. i felt so guilty but . . everyone insisted it would be good for me because i got hurt and . . i missed you. so much, pounce.” she held him tightly, she couldn’t help it, nuzzling into his neck. she teared up again. she took a breath softly. “i . . i never stopped — loving you. even as i grew i . . i guess i just couldn’t stop thinking of you.” she admitted. it was obvious she regretted saying it though. she didn’t want things to be awkward. she didn’t want to make things awkward between them. “i’m . . sorry. i’ve changed so much probably. still a crybaby.”
Pouncival hugged her back just as tight. He pressed his face into her fur and sighed. Gently, he rubbed her back, stroking her soft fur. A soft purr began in the back of his throat, “I missed you too. I thought about you all the time at first and it hurt so… so I made myself stop.” Stealing had happened first. It had been easy to forget when he was sorting through things that he wanted. Then came Bomba as he got older. He chuckled, “You just look more like a queen, but uh that’s okay. I like queens!” Pouncival suddenly wanted to shrink up and die.
“i . . i did the same but . . i never did kiss anyone else. felt like cheating.” she admitted, a flush settling on her face, she was embarrassing herself. “i . . i don’t look like a queen, i look silly! you . . look like a handsome tom. i knew you would.” she said shyly. now she was embarrassed too. she guessed they’d simply embarrass themselves till someone was able to admit something. she knew what it was, deep in her heart, she could feel her heart pounding. . but she ignored it. with a . . what if he would never like her again? it was silly. she knew it was. “i’ll never want to kiss any other tom.” she said softly, she was thankful that she was looking away from him, her chin resting on his shoulder and her head looking into the opposite direction.
“You could-a kissed someone. I would-a understood,” he told her. She had been away for so long. It wouldn’t have surprised him if she had fallen for some handsome Scottish tom. He wouldn’t have blamed. Pouncival had fallen for the very much unattainable Bombalurina after all. In fact, he still like Bombalurina. The black pearls were actually for her, after all. He still blushed at her words, “I’m sure you could. I mean, you’re really beautiful. I don’t know how ya don’t see it. I’m still pretty clumsy and-and I steal. I’m more lanky than handsome.” He scratched nervously at his nose, refusing to look her in the eyes.
“i . . i know you’d rather have a different queen.” she said softly. she would try not to cry. “even though you insist i’m beautiful . . i’m not as beautiful as who you probably like, and you’re too handsome for me.” she laughed. she couldn’t help but admit everything that was deep inside her heart. “i never grew up, i guess, and you have.” she promised she wouldn’t, and she never did. she was older but she was still as sensitive and silly as she was before, but a bit calmer. she looked older too, but that’s all she had. all she had was herself. she pulled away and wiped away at her eyes. she didn’t climb back the table she simply just stepped away, she looked away, and she tried to breathe as she tried to cry silently. just . . let him carry on with what he needed to do, she guessed. without her. all the toms around her age had seemingly found their match. she wouldn’t.
Pouncival winced. Of course she though that. All he had done was make her cry again when like when they were little. Pouncival sucked gently on his lower lip before reaching into his bag and pulling out the golden choker. Quietly, he stepped up behind her and placed it around her neck. As he fastened it, he said, “Nah, I never really grew up. You’re the one who went and saw a whole other place. I just stayed here. Only thing I got was less clumsy.” He kicked the floor, his claws scraping at it loudly. His paws pulled Electra to him as he listened for the pom, but they avoided it barking again. After a minute, he let his arms slip around her in a tight hug, “I was just hurt ya left even though everyone knew it was good for ya.”
she flushed at the choker — it was very pretty. she turned to look at him after it was fastened on. she barely even noticed the fact there could be a pom down stairs. she wasn’t too loud anyway. she nervously hugged him back and rested the side of her head against his shoulder. “i . . i didn’t want to go. i wanted to stay with you. i even cried to skimble, but him and exotica insisted it would be good for me.” she whispered. “i would cry out that . . i wanted to be with my m a t e. it’s a bit embarrassing to think about now.” she giggled softly. she wouldn’t even talk for the first day. she found a place to hide and then pouted to herself. “i . . wanted nothing but you then, and i was so happy to see you again . . i would’ve never kissed no scottish t o m. i was missing you.” she chuckled.
Pouncival flushed, his ears going back, “I could kiss ya now if ya’d like.” He wouldn’t mind that. The young tom would be a fool to go through all this all over again. Electra was right there and for some reason, she loved him. For some peculiar reason, she had never stopped loving him. Underneath all the hurt and the lies and the trying to grow up, Pounce still loved her. That was a surprise. Earlier he had buried it under so many memories, but it had all come back to him. They could be together. It would be harder now, that was the sad part. Being mates as kits was like playing house. He hated that things were different now, but the two of them had always worked it out before, “Ya supposed to love ya best friend. That came out wrong…” He meant it romantically, but it hadn’t sounded it. They were best friends, but that was the beautiful part of being more than that.
“a — ah! don’t say it like t h a t!” she huffed out. she flushed before putting her paws onto his cheeks. she took a breather before laughing at his second comment, lightly. she hadn’t forgotten about the dog. “i get what you mean, pounce.” she insisted before tilting her head slightly. she was soft with it. slowly leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips. her paws went down to grab his. she wanted to hold him. she felt content to just stand there and hold his paws and keep her eyes closed. she moved her arms around his waist and moved her head away when she was done. she didn’t say a word, simply looked at him. it was obvious she was content with it. “what about rina. thought you liked her.” she asked, softly. she took it seriously.
He squeezed her paws back tightly, chuckling under his breath. She really was so cute. And the kiss was lovely, much better than any chaste mess they had tried as kittens. Her lips were soft and her paws felt nice as they wormed their way around his waist. He rested his own, now free, on her shoulders. His eyes came up half-lidded when she pulled away, a goofy crooked smile painting his face, causing the stripe on his face to turn upward. He sighed, “I-I really only like Rina on account I know I could never have her. That way no one else would like me while ya were gone, but it didnt– Havin’ a crush on Rina made it hurt less.” He had missed her sorely. Unearthing old wounds made them bleed it seemed.
“p o u n c e—” she frowned and held him tightly again. nuzzling into his neck and sighing. “i could never stop loving you.” she whispered softly. she couldn’t help but hold him close. she did separate a small bit to look at him again. “i hope i’m cuter then rina.” she joked. she thought she looked like a baby, she was so short she had to go on her tippy toes to kiss pounce and she hated being so small next to him. “she’s way taller than me.” electra sighed. if only she could be taller like most of the queens, maybe then the height difference wouldn’t be so jarring. well, she considered demeter, she was very short next to alonzo and munkustrap. that thought made her feel a small bit better, at least. she wasn’t the only short one around there.
Relief washed over him; relief that Pouncival forgot he could feel. He held Electra tightly pressing her to his chest. She had always been small, but he had grown so much. Her frame felt dwarfed next to his. It was oddly cute. He smiled down at her, “Ya are cuter than Rina. Different kind of pretty entirely. I like your’s better.” He kissed her back, enjoying a quick soft peck. How had he made himself forget that he missed this? And it was so much better now. At least, for right now, things could be simple. He shrugged, “I like that you’re small. It’s cute.” Plus, he could do all kinds of fun things with her that he could never do with Rina’s height.
she nuzzled his chest at the compliments. her first instinct when she blushed was to hide. “not sure i like the sound of that.” she joked, softly, in response to him finding how short she was, cute. she thought it was utterly embarrassing, she predicted she wouldn’t grow. exotica told her she wouldn’t, but she was still mad and disappointed at the fact that she didn’t. she wanted to be tall, maybe if she reaching up higher she’d feel a bit happier. the top of her head barely stopped at his shoulder and . . she h a t e d it so much. now he was going to tease her and she knew she should’ve saw it coming. he loved to tease her, even if it was silly and small, but she did always like him because he was the only one who wasn’t rude. “i really hope munk isn’t upset that we’re mates as adults now.” she chuckled.
“I’m sure he’s gonna kill me,” replied Pouncival, “Let me finish up and grab some more stuff and then we’ll head back to the Junkyard…. Or we could head over to a restaurant and steal some food.” He smiled mischievously. They could always hunt, but human food was pretty delicious too. Sometimes stealing a good meal was just as satisfying as taking things the humans wouldn’t miss. Humans usually missed their their food, but they had too much to go around as it was, especially at clubs and restaurants. The young tom didn’t know if it was a good idea to bring Electra on a heist, but he’d go right home if she said no.
she thought about it for a moment, moving her foot in a circle as she thought about it. “sure.” she responded and simply climbed on top of the bedside table again and waited for him by the window. she was getting a bit hungry. she hadn’t eaten much since she got back, she’d been a bit carried away with seeing everyone again. that didn’t matter, though! she would go out with pouncival. “i could use a bite to eat.” she insisted afterwards. she simply loved spending time with pounce but she guessed that could be another reason. she was a hungry and wanted to spend time with him. it had been too long, mates or n o t. she needed some fun time with her old friend. “and let’s hope he doesn’t kill you too soon, i still wanna spend some time with you.” she giggled.
Pouncival nodded at her excitedly. Why had he been worried at all about her finding out he had be taken under the twins’ thieving wings? There were only a few things he wanted– for himself he took a bracelet that looked like the diamond necklace he had hung up (in the morning, they glistened rainbows around the den), for Electra he grabbed a new blanket, and for Teazer and Jerrie he grabbed a fancy bag he thought the two might like. Then he bounded over to window with Electra. He swung his bag around his back and smiled at her shyly, “Ya really don’t mind that I took up stealin’? ‘Cause if ya wanna spend time with me it doesn’t have to be stealin’.” It had certainly helped him develop the acrobatic skills he had wanted so badly. And this was Electra after all. He would’t want to, but he’d give it up for her.
“of course i don’t m i n d. i just don’t want you to get hurt!” she insisted and looked at him, a bit worried still. “just stay s a f e. i feel the need to remind you after how many dangerous tumbles you took as a kitten.” and worried electra. she had fun with him as a kitten of course but whenever he’d jump she’d be in shock — and a lot of fear. “we can take some food . . but i know that’s safer then what you d o.” electra wanted to keep herself safe. she didn’t want to get hurt! she cared more about pounce getting hurt, though . . she remembered him as a bit of . . a dummy in those contexts. “i know you can tumble way better and stuff now but . . you will always be my clumsy pounce.” she giggled and gave him a small grin. she was simply just teasing him but it was how she remembered him. not clumsy anymore . . not as s i l l y, but just as lovable as he always was. still made her flush and giggle like she was a kitten again.
He scoffed, “I already grew into my paws. I’m fine.” Though, he knew better than most that he had never fully grown out of being a clutz. It wasn’t as bad as it used to be, but he’d never have the natural talents for tumbling and jumping that Tumblebrutus had. All of those tricks tended to be simply too easy for Pouncival to mess up. He could still do them and he was learning other things. It turns out if you fake falling, people think it’s rather funny and took a lot of skill. He was having fun with that and scaring Jellylorum. He cupped her head with his paw and gave her forehead a lick, “And your my silly Electra.” He nuzzled her, nose to nose and smiled. All of this felt like eons ago, but the memories of love were thriving in him now. Of course, he loved her. Though, they’d have to relearn what that meant. Kittens, they were no longer
she nuzzled him back and stuffed her forehead into his neck for a moment, simply taking a deep breath before picking her head back up. she knew she loved him . . she knew she’d always end up with pounce in the end — even if she had no clue what she was doing anymore. "pounce . ." she whined softly. "help me back out, i’m barely sure how i even managed to get in here. i’m still very small." she giggled softly too. she brought a paw to his and grabbed it tightly. "looking up at you is so annoying." she said plainly and simply looked away from him. "always knew you’d grow but . . i didn’t anticipate that you would be a tree." she joked slightly. she still joked around and everything, she was simply more mature though, but never too mature to not tease her best friend . . her mate, she swore herself to him as a kitten but, she guessed she could keep the promise anyway.