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halfamoonTitle: Shades of Black, White, and Gray
Fandom: The Aristocats
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Thomas/Duchess, Toulose
Rating: PG-13/T
Summary: Duchess is horrified when she catches Thomas teaching Toulose how to hunt, which leads them to discussing things they both dread but cannot change.
Word Count: 1,821
Written For: Half A Moon Day 1 2024: Black/White/Shades of Grey
Warnings: N/A
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
Author's Note: Looks like I need a fandom tag, please and thank you -- or maybe an adjustment to the old Disney RPF tag?
"THOMAS!" Duchess screeched as she rounded the corner and caught her mate with her son and a cousin of her best friend. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, MISTER O'MALLEY?!" she demanded, her fluffy, white tail striking angrily, and repeatedly, at the early Spring air.
Roquefort's cousin, Mary, squealed and ran, quite literally, for her life, disappearing into the nearest tunnel entrance in Madame's garden. Toulose hid behind O'Malley's hind, right leg. The ginger tom's tail draped protectively over the kitten as he returned, reluctantly, to face Toulose's mother, the only female in this world whose opinion actually mattered to the former alley cat.
"Look, baby, I know this looks bad -- " he started.
"OH, YOU BET IT LOOKS BAD! THOMAS O'MALLEY! HOW COULD YOU?! AFTER ALL ROQUEFORT HAS DONE FOR US, FOR THE KITTENS! YOU WERE GOING TO EAT HIS -- "
"I WASN'T GOING TO EAT NOBODY!" Thomas yelled back at her, his own tail whipping from around Toulose and snapping into the air. He tried to calm himself. "Honestly, Duchess, I know we raised very differently, but I have respect for your beliefs -- "
"YOU'D BEST HAVE RESPECT FOR MY BELIEFS, AND FOR THE WAY I HAVE TRAINED MY KITTENS!"
"Toulose wants to be an alley cat!" Thomas spat back at her. "What happens when he's out alone on those mean streets and can't get anything to eat?!"
"I -- That is to say -- " She huffed and puffed, but quieted.
"Honestly, Duchess, darling," Thomas cajoled, rubbing his cheek against hers, "I wasn't going to let anything happen to little Bianca! Honest! You're right -- Roquefort has done far too much for us! Why, he even rescued me! I don't forget the debts I owe!"
"That's another lesson," he added, looking back over his shoulder to Toulose. "An alley cat always honors his debts whenever he's helped. There are far too few animals in this world willing to help, tiger, and even less humans. Never forget to repay someone's kindness. You never know when you, or somebody else, might need their help again."
Toulose nodded gravely. He stepped up underneath Thomas' large, muscular frame and lifted his small, furry face to look directly up into his mother's eyes. "Mister Thomas is saying right, Momma. We weren't going to hurt Bianca. We might have scared her a little, but we would never hurt a family member of Monsieur Roquefort's!"
"See to it that you do not!" Duchess demanded, bringing herself up to her full height as she sat proudly before them. Her fluffy tail curled around the base of her feline body. "If you are going to insist on chasing his family members when they visit, at least do them, and him, the honor of alerting them beforepaw."
"But if they know -- " Toulose started to complain, his face scrunching up in disgruntlement.
"It just makes the challenge all that much tougher, sport," Thomas said, gently cuffing him with a paw. "Now why don't you go find your brother and tell him what you've been up to?"
"Oh, yeah! We can practice on Marie!" Toulose sped off so fast that his back paws nearly skidded out from underneath him as he ran around the corner from whence his mother had just come.
Duchess sighed in his wake; Thomas shook his head. "Look, honey, I know it looks bad, but think about it." Taking a sit before her, and curling his own orange tail around his furry haunches, Thomas gestured with an uplifted paw to emphasize his words as he told her again, "We weren't going to hurt her. As many mice as we've chased, as you've seen me chase, how many have you seen me catch? I don't have a need to catch the little buggers anymore, and every one that comes around here is a friend or family member to Roquefort. I know that makes them your friend too. I figure it might even mean they ought to consider me a friend, or I them.
"It took a lot of courage for that little mouse to go to Scat and the gang when I was in trouble. But he did it. He did it to rescue me because he knew I was helping you and the kittens. That makes him a real friend." He stopped talking as he realized that Duchess no longer seemed to be listening to him. Instead, she was still peering off in the direction Toulose had ran, a very worried, very motherly look clouding her beautiful features. He rubbed her cheek again. "I'm gonna make sure he's fine, darling. Promise."
The thought, of course, had occurred to him that Toulose might run off one day, in his second or third year, without any prior acknowledgement. They might wake one morning to find that he was simply gone, determined to leave this lavish, luxurious lifestyle to get a taste of the adventures he so desperately, naively wanted. Thomas had tried many, many times to talk him out of it all. He had told him of the horrors and pains he had endured as an alley cat; he'd even had Scat and the gang relate to the bold, little kitten their very worst stories. But nothing any of them said, or had experienced, or even made up seemed capable of changing the tyke's mind.
Duchess sighed, tears creeping into her baby blue eyes and voice. "We are going to lose him one day, aren't we, Thomas?" she mewed sorrowfully. "Oh, it is going to be a black, black day -- " Her fur ruffled. She had heard Madame refer to the times when she had lost those she had once cared for, far back when Duchess had been a mere kitten herself, as black days. Only now did she understand the true meaning of the phrase. It had nothing to do with the storms in the outside world, those that filled the sky with rain, thunder, and lightning, but everything to do with storms of the heart, with the helplessness and despair brought on by losing someone you loved and being utterly helpless to do anything about it. Her tail struck the soft ground. "Oh, I cannot stand to think of it!" she wailed.
"Then don't," Thomas said, quickly closing the distance between them and pressing his nose to her cheek. "Honey, wherever he goes, whatever he does, it's nothing ol' O'Malley can't handle. Scat and the gang know his desires. There won't be a place in Paris he can go that they won't know about!" He rubbed her cheek. "And their protection, my protection, will keep him safe wherever he goes!"
"But," he continued softly, his ears folding back against his head, "if he's out there and refuses to come home, refuses to let us help him... We can keep him safe from the other alley cats, the dogs too. But we can't fill his belly if he won't let us." He hoped she didn't notice the subtle nuances in his voice or the way his own tail curled about him. She didn't need to know how much he worried and feared for the little fellow. She'd never have a restful moment again if she knew he feared Toulose going off on his own to a place where neither he nor Scat could reach him or, worse, when they had no idea he was traversing into dangerous territory. He'd tried so damned hard to convince the aristokitten he didn't want to be an alley cat, but Toulose wasn't going to listen to anybody until he'd satisfied his own curiosity and adventure lust. Thomas couldn't say too much about that for he'd been that way himself once. All he could do was try to guide and be ready when Toulose finally made his move.
"That's why I was teaching him to hunt, baby," he mewed softly. "He might need those skills one day. But you know we weren't going to actually hurt Lady Bianca. I don't kill anything I don't have to."
"Oh, I know, Thomas!" Duchess said, a hefty sigh lifting from her. "And I'm sorry I was so angry." She licked his cheek. "But s'il te plaît, try to understand!"
"You don't want them to grow up." She looked like she was about to set to arguing with him again, so he hastened to add, "You don't want them to go out into that big, horrible, mean world out there, a world you never really had to deal with except for that one time. I get it, darling." He released the sigh he himself had been holding and tapped the grass with his tail. "I do, really. I can't stand to think of Toulose out there alone on those mean streets, and Marie -- I'll fight any tom who thinks he wants to -- woo her!"
"What of Berlioz?" Duchess asked quietly when Thomas did not continue.
"He's the only one I think we might actually have a chance with," Thomas admitted. "He doesn't seem to have the wanderlust of the other two."
"True, but one day, I fear -- Oh, Thomas!" Duchess sobbed suddenly, turned swiftly, and buried her weeping face into his strong, furry shoulder. "I do fear what will happen to them when they insist on going out to seek their fortunes!" she admitted. "I abhor the idea of hunting," she continued, her tail striking the ground to emphasize her emotions, "but you are right, of course! He must be able to defend himself, to feed himself!" She brushed her tears against his coat and wished she could somehow prevent her kittens from ever leaving home, but she knew she could not.
Thomas purred reassuringly to her, rubbing the top of her head with the furry underneath of his chin. "Scat and the gang are all aware of Toulose's desires, Duchess. We will be ready to protect him when the time comes. As for Marie, no suitor will get close!"
She breathed in his scent, trying hard to compose herself. "I do hope you're right!" she meowed.
"I am," his fur fluffing out. "If anybody bothers any of the kittens, or you, ever again, they won't have to worry about Timbuktu! They'll never make it out of Paris! I'll see to that purrsonally!"
"Oh, Thomas, my sweet Thomas, you've always been our hero!" She licked his cheek, then licked him again, and again. She began to purr as his purr deepened, their voices mingling together in what she thought to be a lovely duet. Her kittens would grow up and leave eventually to pursue their own lives and interests. There was nothing she could do to stop them -- no matter how much she yearned to do so -- but purrhaps, it was time she and Thomas worked on her second litter. Madame would surely be as pleased to have a larger family as she was.
The End
Fandom: The Aristocats
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Thomas/Duchess, Toulose
Rating: PG-13/T
Summary: Duchess is horrified when she catches Thomas teaching Toulose how to hunt, which leads them to discussing things they both dread but cannot change.
Word Count: 1,821
Written For: Half A Moon Day 1 2024: Black/White/Shades of Grey
Warnings: N/A
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
Author's Note: Looks like I need a fandom tag, please and thank you -- or maybe an adjustment to the old Disney RPF tag?
"THOMAS!" Duchess screeched as she rounded the corner and caught her mate with her son and a cousin of her best friend. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, MISTER O'MALLEY?!" she demanded, her fluffy, white tail striking angrily, and repeatedly, at the early Spring air.
Roquefort's cousin, Mary, squealed and ran, quite literally, for her life, disappearing into the nearest tunnel entrance in Madame's garden. Toulose hid behind O'Malley's hind, right leg. The ginger tom's tail draped protectively over the kitten as he returned, reluctantly, to face Toulose's mother, the only female in this world whose opinion actually mattered to the former alley cat.
"Look, baby, I know this looks bad -- " he started.
"OH, YOU BET IT LOOKS BAD! THOMAS O'MALLEY! HOW COULD YOU?! AFTER ALL ROQUEFORT HAS DONE FOR US, FOR THE KITTENS! YOU WERE GOING TO EAT HIS -- "
"I WASN'T GOING TO EAT NOBODY!" Thomas yelled back at her, his own tail whipping from around Toulose and snapping into the air. He tried to calm himself. "Honestly, Duchess, I know we raised very differently, but I have respect for your beliefs -- "
"YOU'D BEST HAVE RESPECT FOR MY BELIEFS, AND FOR THE WAY I HAVE TRAINED MY KITTENS!"
"Toulose wants to be an alley cat!" Thomas spat back at her. "What happens when he's out alone on those mean streets and can't get anything to eat?!"
"I -- That is to say -- " She huffed and puffed, but quieted.
"Honestly, Duchess, darling," Thomas cajoled, rubbing his cheek against hers, "I wasn't going to let anything happen to little Bianca! Honest! You're right -- Roquefort has done far too much for us! Why, he even rescued me! I don't forget the debts I owe!"
"That's another lesson," he added, looking back over his shoulder to Toulose. "An alley cat always honors his debts whenever he's helped. There are far too few animals in this world willing to help, tiger, and even less humans. Never forget to repay someone's kindness. You never know when you, or somebody else, might need their help again."
Toulose nodded gravely. He stepped up underneath Thomas' large, muscular frame and lifted his small, furry face to look directly up into his mother's eyes. "Mister Thomas is saying right, Momma. We weren't going to hurt Bianca. We might have scared her a little, but we would never hurt a family member of Monsieur Roquefort's!"
"See to it that you do not!" Duchess demanded, bringing herself up to her full height as she sat proudly before them. Her fluffy tail curled around the base of her feline body. "If you are going to insist on chasing his family members when they visit, at least do them, and him, the honor of alerting them beforepaw."
"But if they know -- " Toulose started to complain, his face scrunching up in disgruntlement.
"It just makes the challenge all that much tougher, sport," Thomas said, gently cuffing him with a paw. "Now why don't you go find your brother and tell him what you've been up to?"
"Oh, yeah! We can practice on Marie!" Toulose sped off so fast that his back paws nearly skidded out from underneath him as he ran around the corner from whence his mother had just come.
Duchess sighed in his wake; Thomas shook his head. "Look, honey, I know it looks bad, but think about it." Taking a sit before her, and curling his own orange tail around his furry haunches, Thomas gestured with an uplifted paw to emphasize his words as he told her again, "We weren't going to hurt her. As many mice as we've chased, as you've seen me chase, how many have you seen me catch? I don't have a need to catch the little buggers anymore, and every one that comes around here is a friend or family member to Roquefort. I know that makes them your friend too. I figure it might even mean they ought to consider me a friend, or I them.
"It took a lot of courage for that little mouse to go to Scat and the gang when I was in trouble. But he did it. He did it to rescue me because he knew I was helping you and the kittens. That makes him a real friend." He stopped talking as he realized that Duchess no longer seemed to be listening to him. Instead, she was still peering off in the direction Toulose had ran, a very worried, very motherly look clouding her beautiful features. He rubbed her cheek again. "I'm gonna make sure he's fine, darling. Promise."
The thought, of course, had occurred to him that Toulose might run off one day, in his second or third year, without any prior acknowledgement. They might wake one morning to find that he was simply gone, determined to leave this lavish, luxurious lifestyle to get a taste of the adventures he so desperately, naively wanted. Thomas had tried many, many times to talk him out of it all. He had told him of the horrors and pains he had endured as an alley cat; he'd even had Scat and the gang relate to the bold, little kitten their very worst stories. But nothing any of them said, or had experienced, or even made up seemed capable of changing the tyke's mind.
Duchess sighed, tears creeping into her baby blue eyes and voice. "We are going to lose him one day, aren't we, Thomas?" she mewed sorrowfully. "Oh, it is going to be a black, black day -- " Her fur ruffled. She had heard Madame refer to the times when she had lost those she had once cared for, far back when Duchess had been a mere kitten herself, as black days. Only now did she understand the true meaning of the phrase. It had nothing to do with the storms in the outside world, those that filled the sky with rain, thunder, and lightning, but everything to do with storms of the heart, with the helplessness and despair brought on by losing someone you loved and being utterly helpless to do anything about it. Her tail struck the soft ground. "Oh, I cannot stand to think of it!" she wailed.
"Then don't," Thomas said, quickly closing the distance between them and pressing his nose to her cheek. "Honey, wherever he goes, whatever he does, it's nothing ol' O'Malley can't handle. Scat and the gang know his desires. There won't be a place in Paris he can go that they won't know about!" He rubbed her cheek. "And their protection, my protection, will keep him safe wherever he goes!"
"But," he continued softly, his ears folding back against his head, "if he's out there and refuses to come home, refuses to let us help him... We can keep him safe from the other alley cats, the dogs too. But we can't fill his belly if he won't let us." He hoped she didn't notice the subtle nuances in his voice or the way his own tail curled about him. She didn't need to know how much he worried and feared for the little fellow. She'd never have a restful moment again if she knew he feared Toulose going off on his own to a place where neither he nor Scat could reach him or, worse, when they had no idea he was traversing into dangerous territory. He'd tried so damned hard to convince the aristokitten he didn't want to be an alley cat, but Toulose wasn't going to listen to anybody until he'd satisfied his own curiosity and adventure lust. Thomas couldn't say too much about that for he'd been that way himself once. All he could do was try to guide and be ready when Toulose finally made his move.
"That's why I was teaching him to hunt, baby," he mewed softly. "He might need those skills one day. But you know we weren't going to actually hurt Lady Bianca. I don't kill anything I don't have to."
"Oh, I know, Thomas!" Duchess said, a hefty sigh lifting from her. "And I'm sorry I was so angry." She licked his cheek. "But s'il te plaît, try to understand!"
"You don't want them to grow up." She looked like she was about to set to arguing with him again, so he hastened to add, "You don't want them to go out into that big, horrible, mean world out there, a world you never really had to deal with except for that one time. I get it, darling." He released the sigh he himself had been holding and tapped the grass with his tail. "I do, really. I can't stand to think of Toulose out there alone on those mean streets, and Marie -- I'll fight any tom who thinks he wants to -- woo her!"
"What of Berlioz?" Duchess asked quietly when Thomas did not continue.
"He's the only one I think we might actually have a chance with," Thomas admitted. "He doesn't seem to have the wanderlust of the other two."
"True, but one day, I fear -- Oh, Thomas!" Duchess sobbed suddenly, turned swiftly, and buried her weeping face into his strong, furry shoulder. "I do fear what will happen to them when they insist on going out to seek their fortunes!" she admitted. "I abhor the idea of hunting," she continued, her tail striking the ground to emphasize her emotions, "but you are right, of course! He must be able to defend himself, to feed himself!" She brushed her tears against his coat and wished she could somehow prevent her kittens from ever leaving home, but she knew she could not.
Thomas purred reassuringly to her, rubbing the top of her head with the furry underneath of his chin. "Scat and the gang are all aware of Toulose's desires, Duchess. We will be ready to protect him when the time comes. As for Marie, no suitor will get close!"
She breathed in his scent, trying hard to compose herself. "I do hope you're right!" she meowed.
"I am," his fur fluffing out. "If anybody bothers any of the kittens, or you, ever again, they won't have to worry about Timbuktu! They'll never make it out of Paris! I'll see to that purrsonally!"
"Oh, Thomas, my sweet Thomas, you've always been our hero!" She licked his cheek, then licked him again, and again. She began to purr as his purr deepened, their voices mingling together in what she thought to be a lovely duet. Her kittens would grow up and leave eventually to pursue their own lives and interests. There was nothing she could do to stop them -- no matter how much she yearned to do so -- but purrhaps, it was time she and Thomas worked on her second litter. Madame would surely be as pleased to have a larger family as she was.
The End
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Date: 2024-02-02 04:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-04 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-02 06:18 pm (UTC)This is so cute. I love this movie and you got the characterizations down pat.
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Date: 2024-02-04 03:15 am (UTC)And that's not even counting Erin Hunter's other series! :)