Into the Fire (Tanto Tugger )

[shizoo]

Quaxo flushed & felt hot & cold at the same time. He focused on Tugger & what the tom was saying. . Tugger cared for him?
A wild hope burned through him as he reached up a paw to stroke the leopard tom's face.
Quaxo's voice refused to work. He longed to answer in kind--to finally share the emotions he'd been harboring--since. . well since forever. His eyes spoke eloquently for him as he drowned in Tugger's gaze, frustrated by his own inadequate response.

Then his ears flicked & went flat in total surprise as he heard Tanto's cool soft voice. His face burned in embarrassment--how could he have forgotten the queen was there?? In the bed. . while they. . while they had. . . He couldn't even finish the thought.
Quaxo relaxed a little though as her words poured soothingly over him. She didn't mind? She thought they were good for each other? If this was a dream, the tuxedo tom wasn't sure he wanted to wake up.
Then he saw Tugger's slight wince of pain & immediately became concerned for the other tom, losing much of his shyness to his fear for the leopard tom.
"Lady Tantomile your words. . they mean much to me," he said quietly. "And Tugger. .you have always meant more than I could ever speak."
Gently his paws ministered a massage to the tight muscles in the larger tom's injured leg & shoulder. "I agree my lady, I long to return to our home in the yard--to live at your side, Tugger, if. . if you would have me, that is," He stopped a moment, to try & order his thoughts.
"but my powers. . they are just too dangerous. For my safety & the safety of those around me, Macavity has put in some sort of magic dampener here. It limits the amount of damage I can do. My den here has become my refuge--a poor one perhaps, but a refuge all the same."
The black & white male looked at Tantomile over Tugger's shoulder, "That he was able to do this, does give me hope, however. If my powers can be purged from me--only then would I feel safe in coming home. It gives me purpose. . " Quaxo drowned in Tugger's eyes again. "It gives me hope, that maybe one day soon, I will be able to come home. In the meantime though, we need to make some plans. I can help you get out of here, & I can assist Lady Jellylorum, if she will let me. "
Well acquainted with the butter queen's stubborn streak, he was doubtful as to what he could do about her, but he would do his best to protect & defend her for as long as she was here.
"Forgive me love, but you two are in far more danger than she at this point. We need to get you to safety."
Quaxo's expression pleaded with Tugger to believe him.

[Deleted]

Tugger's ears flicked when Tantomile spoke up. He was all to aware she was there, but having had relations with many partners in the past, an extra person in the room was hardly a distraction for him. Tantomile's words did touch him though. He was not as savy with words as she was, but he thought he got his point across. Tugger was more of a do-er then a talker. He bowed his head at his sister for her words.

To Mistoffelees, it was only now he understood why the tom was here. It pained Tugger more now, only because he knew Macavity would not just allow him to waltz in and see his lover. Nor did he want Macavity to know his feelings for the young conjurer. Macavity would use it against him. Tugger sighed sadly. His face showed obvious emotional pain. He would have to leave here, and he was not sure when he would see Mistoffelees again.

"I would prefer you come home now Misto. We could have helped you. Macavity will only use you" Tugger pointed out the obvious. Macavity was evil.

[X2]

[Exiting Griddlebone. And praying she didn't listen to Tugger and Misto all night long.]

[ShirQuickpaw]

Tantomile nodded somewhat sagely at all the words spoken.

"I agree with my brother, magician, the unnamed one will always try to fully subvert you to his cause, regardless of your own intentions. But I can understand your reluctance to leave with the smoldering fear of loosing control."

The dark calico queen extracted herself fully off the blanket she had slept in and almost glided silently over to the two lovers.

"Though you presence on the inside of his lair in a somewhat position of trust, does present an opportunity as you have already said in protecting and seeing to the welfare of our matron. At least for the nuance."

[Deleted]

Tugger was usually one to hide the fact that he was hurting. Yes he hurt physically but his heart hurt too. He was worried. His brown eyes looked up to his sister as she spoke. His face obviously showing defeat. He wanted Misto to be safe with him. Not here. Not this hell hole. How would he know Mistoffelees is safe? Jelly for that matter shouldn't be left here. His face begged for Tantomile to have another answer.

[shizoo]

A little hesitant, despite the glory they had just shared, Quaxo took Tugger into his arms to comfort him. Looking deeply into Tanto's eyes--his expression just as tormented as Tugger's, he simply held the leopard tom for a few moments without speaking.
His voice firm but gentle, he tilted Tugger's head so he could look him in the face. "As your sister wisely said, the cards are against us at the moment, love. Your safety & that of Tanto & Jelly are in our paws. Your brother hates you--you know that well as the feeling is more than mutual, but here he has all the power & control."
Quaxo cursed his inability to phrase things better--desperately trying to find the words that would make the stubborn tom listen. "For all of our safety you & Tanto need to go--."
The tuxedo tom stroked his paw down Tugger's cheek. "I don't want to be parted from you, but I don't want to see you dead either. From what I could see, the Lady Jelly had things reasonably in paw for now, but if Macavity becomes angry--there's no telling what would happen. Let the lady see to your wounds again & I will find a way to get you out of here safely. We can always meet later in neutral territory."
Quaxo gave Tanto a lopsided smile as she glided over.
"Macavity will try to subvert me, no question, but he has met his match in stubbornness & arrogance in Mr. Mistofolees. As Quaxo, I hold no power, therefore am of little interest to Macavity, so as long as I am on guard, I will be safe, but I thank you for your concern, my lady."
The small tom then gave Tanto a pleading look. "My lady could you check to make sure your hard-headed brother has not further injured himself?"

[ShirQuickpaw]

Tantomile quickly ran her paws over the bandages she had applied to Tugger's wounds earlier on the magicians request. She smiled gently when she noticed that the nighttime activity of her brother didn't make his condition worse. With a gentle nod towards Quaxo she eased is fears.

"My brother didn't bring himself further harm, magician. And I agree that we should seek a way out of the unnamed one's domain as our continued presence will cause you and us trouble. So if you have a plan, I would appreciate its execution, tribe-brother."

[Deleted]

Tugger felt Quaxo's arms and instinctively wrapped his around him. Tugger had always been the playboy. 'Hump and Dump' as his well less then friendly tribe mate Plato used to call it. This was different. Tugger felt something for Misto and Quaxo. He loved them both equally. Thing was....he always had, but he ran from it. The thought of them together after Tugger's reputation, and the fact that there were no male couples in the yard he knew of, he was a coward about his feelings.
Holding Quaxo, inhaling his scent. He could not speak anymore. It was apparent if he stayed Macavity would want to know why. That was something Tugger wanted to avoid. Silently he let the smaller tom go. He would not look at him until the tuxedo male forced him to. His brown eyes usually full of debonair and lust were saddened, but they showed a deep amount of feeling. He did not want to leave him.
I small smile crept on his face, this was Quaxo, the usually shy and quiet type. Tugger had shown him his true colors and love and now the small tom seemed to blossom. The smile was soon diminished though, more talk of leaving and Macavity.

"How will I get you to meet me on neutral territory? When?" Tugger was suddenly full of those questions. He wanted Quaxo to be back in his arms as soon as possible. Tugger kept his eyes on his lover as Tantomile checked his bandages.
"I'm fine" He said to his sister. He hated being fussed over. Tantomile being the older sister, took the fussing liberties all the time. Tugger gave her a blink of a smirk. It just didn't sparkle like they usually did. His ears pressed down as Tantomile yet again had to mention leaving. He really would not win this.

[shizoo]

Quaxo heard Tantomile call him 'tribe-brother' with an inner surge of happiness--well, at least he hoped she was referring to him. Deep inside, he still felt like the Jellicle magician, not like the outcast he had become. His eyes devoured every aspect of Tugger's face.
He gave him a shy smile, "We will worry about meeting in neutral territory once we have you & the lady out of enemy territory. My quarters are private, but not sacrosanct. If they come to suspect you are here, there will be hell to pay."
The tuxedo tom reluctantly got out of bed moving away from the temptation of Tugger's hot body.
Quaxo went to the door of his den & opened it silently--then he stopped short, alarmed. There was the recent scent of another cat--a female. Looking carefully around & up, he saw no sign that she was still there.
He wasn't all that conversant with the denizens of the warehouse yet as with his shyness, he didn't socialize much-so he didn't recognize it- but he didn't like this one bit.
Turning, he urgently strode back over to the Jellicles. "We need to get you out of here fast. Someone has been listening outside my door. I don't know who or why, & they aren't there right now, but they might have gone to fetch reinforcements. Come on--I know a fast way."
With that the tom went to the small closet & pulled out a ladder, placing it under the skylight. "Tugger--are you up to a rooftop scramble? It will be a lot safer than trying to go down the corridors & the sentries rarely look up during the day." He went to Tantomile, "My lady. . .my love. . shall we?"

[Deleted]

Tugger's face showed alarm when Quaxo said someone was listening. 'Hope they enjoyed the show then' He thought sarcastically to himself.
"Maybe we should not leave then, if they are bringing back reinforcements. " Tugger was not keen on leaving Quaxo here alone. Especially now that someone may be coming. He was not given the option to be prolonging their stay though. He was ushered out the door.

When Quaxo found a ladder, Tugger looked doubtful. He could barely support himself on his leg let alone pull with his injured shoulder. He refused to show weakness on his face infront of Quaxo. 'Man up' He scolded himself.

"Tantomile you head up" He told his sister. He was in no mood to argue. He did not want to slow her down and have her stuck behind him.

[ShirQuickpaw]

Tantomile looked frowning at her brother, when he told her to go first up the ladder. She raised an eyebrow on such a typical way, that it said more than any words "Who are you trying to tell a story?". She took a deep breath and shook her head.

"As much as I appreciate your chivalrous gesture, brother and though I can guess your reason for letting me go first, I would not be of any use to you, should your wound make the progress slow. behind you, though capturing me with you, I might and should be able to aid your progress, especially on the ladder."

She reached up and ran a paw over Tugger's cheek.

"Now follow your own advise and hurry up the ladder, I will be right behind you."

She gave gave the tuxedo tom a rueful smile as she waited for Tugger to start climbing.

[shizoo]

Quaxo gave Tantomile a grateful look--giving her a hidden wink. With Tugger's injuries, it was safer for all if he went first, but with his legendary stubbornness. .well, that wasn't likely without a fight, but the tuxedo tom had an idea.

Cocking an eyebrow, he gave Tugger a worried thoughtful look. "Hmm. . maybe I should go first my lady? Just in case that eavesdropper is up there. .After all, we don't know if she is dangerous."

Actually the more he thought about it, the more he thought that might be a good idea. The last thing Tugger needed was to confront someone trying to win points with Macavity by bringing him his brother's head.
Determined, the slender graceful tom headed for the ladder.

"The safest will be for me to go first I believe--that way, if I am attacked, you can bunker in here." He gave a sardonic smile, "One of my qualifications & one of the side effects of the shielding on my room is reinforced walls & door. No one short of that huge enforcer, Cobalt or Macavity himself can break in if I don't want them to--plus I have some nasty surprises for anyone who dares & succeeds. It's why. . it's why I teleported you two here to begin with. C'mon, let's get you out of here while we have the advantage."

[Deleted]

Tugger was less then thrilled with Tantomile's response. He was about to argue with her when Quaxo piped up.
He was getting frustrated that progress was not being made. He was rather impatient. His thoughts drifted to the view he would have going up.
"Fine, after you" He said. As Quaxo passed him, Tugger made a swift movement with his good arm and firmly cupped the slender males buttock. He leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"I would very much enjoy the view" He practically purred in the little males ears.

[ShirQuickpaw]

Tantomile was ready to face Tugger's anger at her suggestion when Mistofelees offered his solution. The dark calico queen had to hide her grin at the almost typical Tugger reaction to that plan and outlook. She covered the grin with a lopsided smirk as she pushed her brother carefully towards the ladder when he was still conversing with the magician.

"Yes, yes, yes. And I will enjoy the rear-view of two males above me... Now get going both of you! We really should get going sooner than later. Our wayward older sibling will otherwise get his satisfaction in seeing us die here."

[shizoo]

Quaxo stifled a grin at Tanto's rather acerbic comment. "Somehow my lady, I'm not sure my behind is all that great a sight, but I thank you for the observation anyway."
The tuxedo tom gave them a rather florid bow, with a special soft look at Tugger's aggravated face, then gracefully ascended the ladder--ignoring the way his hands stung & burned.
At the top of the ladder, he dialed a small padlock & slowly opened the panel. Quaxo looked out on the roof squinting at the sunshine, carefully surveying all directions. Seeing no one, he climbed out onto the roof taking a defensive stance. When he still didn't see anyone he looked back to his companions.
"It's clear," he called softly. Then he waited for them to climb up-ready to assist them if needed.