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Mistoffelees wakes up in Tugger's den, at first he doesn't know where he is or what's happened. The first thing that occurs to him is how absolutely empty he feels. It.. it reminds him of- no!
Mistoffelees shoots up in a panic, his eyes wide and terrified. He immediately scratches at his wrists and ankles, looking as if he's trying to tear something off of them. After that doesn't work, he gets up and immediately runs out of the den.
Mistoffelees is a kitten, something is different about him and he knows it. Everyone knows it. His mother especially. When he gets excited lightning will shoot out of his hands, it scares him. Not only because of his ability but because of how mad his mother gets. At first she was nice about it, she would sit Mistoffelees down and explain why Mistoffelees needed to hide this, needed to put all of this energy in a box in his chest and never let it out, needed to cover it up and hide it with all his might.
Mistoffelees never understood this, he tried his hardest to do this, tried his hardest to make his mother proud. Though every time he'd fail. Every time his powers would get stronger and more noticeable. He could move things with his mind, it made him giggle. He would move about pieces of trash and other meaningless objects. At this point, his mother decided to forgo being gentle about it and began to scream at him about this. How dare he not listen to her. How dare he not try hard enough to stop these powers. Mistoffelees didn't understand what the issue was. All he got from this was that he was different. Not different in an interesting way. Different in a freakish way. He was not supposed to be like this.
His mother began to tie tight pieces of thread around his wrists and ankles, hoping that the pain would double as both a punishment and a way of distracting him to the point he couldn't use his powers. It worked for a bit. But once it stopped working, his mother would simply injure him till he was too tired to use his powers. That worked more than the thread. It was right before another one of these beatings, right when his powers came back to him for a pitiful moment before becoming so incredibly empty, it was right before this when he decided to run. He ran and ran and didn't look back. He didn't stop running till he eventually passed out.
Tugger had seen Mistoffelees suddenly run past him. Tugger had only left his den- the den Mistoffelees had been in for a moment to get him some water for when he woke up. Though the water was forgotten about when Tugger saw Mistoffelees. He didn't even realize it was him at first and that moment of hesitation meant that Tugger had no idea where Mistoffelees had gone. Tugger's first thought was to employ the help of Munskustrap to try and find Mistoffelees, knowing that he'd be easier to find with two people looking.
Munskustrap saw as Tugger ran up to him, out of breath and obviously startled “What-?” Munskustrap was cut off by Tugger “Misto’s run off. He's run off and I took too long to notice what was happening and now I don't know where he went and-” Tugger wasn't the person to panic like this. He never panicked like this. Munskustrap knew it was serious now, he placed a hand on Tugger's shoulder “Take deep breaths, where did you see him last?” Tugger took Munskustrap over to where Mistoffelees was last seen and that's where their search started
Tugger eventually found Mistoffelees, curled up on the floor, unconscious. Tugger knelt down next to Mistoffelees and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his belly moving up and down, an obvious sign of life. Tugger yelled for Munskustrap and the other tom quickly came over. Mistoffelees began to stir, awoken by the yell. He looked up at both Tugger and Munskustrap, his eyes wide and pupils tiny.
Tugger gently placed a hand on Mistoffelees shoulder “What happened?” He asked softly. Mistoffelees tried to respond “I didn't- I felt..” Though his efforts fell flat when he began to cry. Munskustrap helped prop Mistoffelees against a wall before kneeling down next to him too. Mistoffelees immediately pulled his knees up to his chin and covered his face as he sobbed and sobbed. The two brothers sat with Mistoffelees, Tugger had his hand on his shoulder while Munskustrap ran his fingers through the fur on Mistoffelees’ head.
Eventually, the sobbing started to slow and became soft hiccups and whimpers. It was at this point Mistoffelees was finally able to talk. “My- my powers won't work. I overexerted myself bringing back Old- old Deuteronomy. When I woke up, feeling so empty, it scared me. My- My mother would-” He was cut off by a sob “I- I thought she was still there- I had to run. I thought she'd hurt me again” Mistoffelees sounded so young as he explained this. It broke the two toms hearts. They didn't say anything in response for they didn't know what exactly they could say. So instead they pulled the younger cat into a hug. Which incidentally was better for Mistoffelees than any words they could've said
Eventually, Mistoffelees, exhausted from his magical act the night before and from all the running, fell asleep in the two cats arms. With a soft chuckle, Tugger picked Mistoffelees up and they both wordlessly went back to Tugger's den, where Mistoffelees was laid back down and covered in the softest blankets in the den. Afterwards Tugger and Munskustrap both sat down in front of the den for a moment. Both wanting to make sure Mistoffelees was okay while he slept and both too stubborn to allow the other cat to tell them to leave.
Eventually Munskustrap chimed in, softly “I know you were probably too young to remember specifics, but I remember when Mistoffelees was found” Munskustrap said “I remember when one of the kittens found him in a corner outside of the junkyard. He was so tiny. He looked so much younger than he was. We… we didn't think that he would actually wake up. But Jenny was adamant that we keep going, keep trying to save him and eventually, he woke up” He said with a sigh. Tugger listened to what Munskustrap had to say “I.. I didn't know the extent to what had happened to Misto. I thought you guys just found him and he was perfectly fine. I.. he was just a kitten-!” Tugger murmured, turning back to look at his den, he saw Mistoffelees sleeping soundly in there, looking perfectly comfortable under all the blankets.
“I refuse to let anyone hurt him like that again.”