Work Text:
Now Tugger didn’t need to patrol the neighborhood. He wasn’t a protector, even the thought of that made him antsy with rebelling. Him, uptight and risk-averse like Munkustrap? What a joke.
Still, he patrolled, perhaps some ancient instinct from the lion ancestors he surely had.
He’d just finished surveying the interiors of a butchershop, promptly trotting out once he saw the butcher notice him. To finish his escape plan he jumped from a fence to a low roof, but a wrinkle appeared in his plan as he ran into another cat.
“Sorry, didn’t hear you there!” Tugger said instinctively, and realized that he wasn’t talking to a Jellicle.
The stranger had jumped back a bit and poofed up, resembling a feather duster more than a cat. Their fur was mostly black, with only a white face and chest and… Glitter sprinkled on their shoulders?
“Oh come on now, did I scare you?” He rolled on to his back, a grin on his face. The strangers fur lowered, but they didn’t answer.
“Can I at least get a name? I’ll go first: hello, I am the Rum Tum Tugger, but friends call me Tugger. Call me Tugger,” he got up to strike a pose.
“Mistoffelees,”
“Well, Mr. Mistoffelees, mind telling me why you’re trespassing on my property?” He tried to sound like he wasn’t actually mad, because he wasn’t, he was just awfully curious, nosy, even.
Mistoffelees looked at him with a slightly skeptical expression. Tugger realized it was entirely possible he saw him run out of a butcher shop empty-pawed.
“I’m simply looking for the Jellicle tribe, that’s all,” his voice was quiet and soft, probably not used much.
“The Jellicle tribe? Oh Mr. Mistoffelees it’s your lucky day, I happen to know exactly where you can find it,” he gestured Mistoffelees to follow and took off, it was nice he’d met him when he did, he was already heading back anyways.
Looking back, he saw Mistoffelees follow, with perhaps the most silent steps he’d ever heard.