# Love's Shadow Part 1

Author: Korrado-Xan
Tags: Feline, Gay, M/M, Romance, School, Skunk, slice of life

#1 of Love's Shadow

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- Love's Shadow c. Grey K. 1997

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                  - Love's Shadow -

- part I :

 

* * *
\>It was a bleary, blustery day. Leaden grey clouds

hung like a smothering blanket overhead. A light drizzle had fallen

most of the late morning and the temperature had dropped to about 5

degrees C, made worse by the misty rain and the cold breeze. On the

whole, not unusual for the second week of November or for the

northern area of California close to the Oregon border. 

 

      Jace Greene slowly plodded across campus lugging his battered

back-pack. His rear was sore from sitting and he was feeling

generally worn out from the exceptionally long and drawn out physics

class. Jace shook his white haired head slowly as he walked, 'How

could anyone get into the laws of physics?' he pondered the question

sullenly. "Ye canna change the laws of physics!" Jace mocked quietly

as he walked, remembering that was Professor Haverman's favorite

saying.

 

      Jace wished that he could. At least that would provide him

with some entertainment during class time, hopefully at the stuck-up

physics teachers expense. The young morph wondered if spontaneous

human combustion could be incited without being called murder,(or

arson at the very least), and whether the class would be canceled for

the rest of the semester if Haverman went up in flames. Of course the

campus would probably hold a huge celebration, dancing around the

scorched pocket-protector and handful of burst pens lying atop a

small pile of ashes, but then the dean would just call in a

substitute. Either way it looked as though Jace would just have to

stick things out for the remaining three weeks of the semester.

 

      It didn't make him feel any better to think of all that time

off looming if there was a failing grade hanging over his head.

Needless to say Jace would have preferred the sword of Damocles to

an F(or D at best) in Haverman's class. Everyone the young morph knew

hated Haverman, even other teachers. The man was simply just

unpleasant. With everyone. Except of course those students who

laughed at all his jokes and played up to him constantly. You could

pretty much tell who had their heads so far up the man's ass that

you couldn't tell where he stopped and they started and who didn't,

those that did were all passing.

 

      Jace had tried to make friends with the prickly instructor,

finding the man cold, distant and having a massive superiority complex

over his students. Jace hated people like that with a passion. Even

with knowing all that, Jace still couldn't shake the feeling that

Haverman was still viciously gunning for him personally. Jace secretly

thought that the man didn't like anthropomorphs (being a skunk himself,

Jace often had trouble making new friends because of species

stereotypes).

 

      He felt that it was one of two things; either the man had a

problem with morphs (which could get the human teacher in major trouble

with the Inter-Species Protection Board on campus), but generally if

the I.S.P.B was breathing down your neck you and everyone else on

campus knew it right away. Jace himself had seen more than one

student get booted from the campus for violating anti-intransigency

policies. It was that or Haverman didn't like him personally. Jace

figured he knew why if that was the case, gossip had undone several

friendships Jace'd had in the past. Who knows what the unpleasant

professor had heard through the grape-vine.

 

      Jace turned his thoughts to where he would have rather been

this morning, either poking around the huge local Botanical Garden

and Greenhouses, or on his favorite bench in front of the big cat

enclosure at the nearby zoo. Plants and animals interested him so

much more than mathematics or physics ever could. Flora and fauna

were alive, moving, there, physically real to Jace's sharp senses.

The young skunk morph really couldn't care less about matter, inertia,

gravity, friction or Isaac Newton. They were so 2-D, so boring, Jace

knew that they existed, what they were, and what they did in general.

Wasn't that enough? About all Jace cared about gravity and friction

was that they held his feet to the floor and his car to the street.

That's it, the rest Haverman and his cronies could keep.

 

      A brisk wind ruffled the fur on Jace's exposed neck and face,

interrupting his thoughts and making him shrink farther into his coat.

The depressingly grey sky finally gave in and a light drizzle of cold

rain started to fall just as Jace reached the center of campus, barely

half-way to his intended destination. He cursed mildly under his breath

as a particularly big drop of ice cold moisture scored a bulls-eye on

the tip of his black nose. It had been overcast earlier that morning,

but Jace hadn't expected rain at all, having left his umbrella at home.

 

      Jace quickened his pace across the quickly dampening campus,

being careful not to slip or collide with other students similarly

fleeing for cover. He exchanged several quick 'Hi/Bye' greetings

with some familiar faces. The cold drizzle was quickly turning into

a steady light rain, soaking his coat and exposed fur. The skunk was

glad that his pack was water proofed as he felt a trickle of water

sneak down the collar of his shirt. The jet black fur on Jace's hands

and face was becoming matted with water and his hair was getting

plastered against his head and fore-head by the cold rain.

 

      "Shit," he muttered, once again picking up the pace, seeing

the huge library loom up in front of him as he ran. Finally reaching

the safety of the covered walk-way outside the main doors to the

library, Jace stopped, having to lean on his knees and panting

slightly at his run. He felt mildly irritated, back in high-school

when he was running track a medium sprint like that wouldn't have

worked him over so bad. The young skunk cursed inwardly, thinking

that he was letting his edge slip here in college by not restarting

his track career.

 

      His physique was still as good as it was in high-school, Jace

just assumed his fatigue was from him not having run a sprint in so

long. Jace had quit running for good his junior year in high-school,

he had found the competitions boring and bothersome. The skunk had also

found the awkwardness, embarrassment, distractions and sometimes malice

with the other athletes and in the locker-room hurtful and tiresome.

 

      As if in some grand joke while Jace recovered his breath the

rain eased back into the steady grey mist. "Friggin' figures!, Damn!"

Jace shook his head, tilting it to one side to clear his ear of a

trickle of rainwater. As the young skunk entered into the warmth of

the heated library he saw his fur steaming slightly from the sudden

change in temperature. Jace looked around, seeing that the cavernous

building was almost empty except for a few foreign faces milling

through the stacks.

 

      He saw the librarian seated at her desk as he passed into the

spacious lobby. A portly, congenial black woman, Jace liked the

librarian a lot. She had known his older brother, Thomas when he had

attended the college and the two often spoke of him. Jace gave the

librarian updates on Tom, who now lived and attended school in

Washington state.

 

      The large librarian looked up as Jace approached, smiling as

she recognized the young skunk. "Jace ?, Honey is that you under all

that wet fur?" Jace nodded, using the motion to flip a wet strand of

white hair out of his eyes, "Yeah it's me. Hi Mrs. Dewitt." Mrs.

Dewitt stood, appraising the youth and stating the obvious, "Goodness,

your soaked to the skin." Jace smirked wryly, "Yeah, either it's

raining or I have a very serious drinking problem."

 

      The comment went right over the librarian's head, she just

looked at the skunk oddly for a moment then continued as if he had

never spoken, "Well, here, come in back and get dried off a little."

The rotund woman lifted the counter divider, allowing Jace access

behind the check-out. She took him gently by the arm and led him to

the staff break room/lounge. Standing the skunk next to a heating

grate Mrs. Dewitt retrieved a towel from the bathroom, handing it to

Jace.

 

      As the librarian stepped close Jace saw the barely noticeable

wrinkling of the woman's nose and brow. He smiled as she stepped back

quickly, looking slightly embarrassed at the being caught in the

skunk's scrutiny. Jace looked at her, not bothered at all, "Sorry, I

hardly notice it but I know wet fur bothers some people." The

librarian sighed, looking relieved, "That's OK Hon. You just get dry.

Oh, you're dripping a little on the linoleum, careful not to slip."

 

      Jace nodded at the woman, shedding his wet coat, exposing his

bare arms and tail to the warmth in the room. He looked around, seeing

that only the tip of his bushy black and white tail had gotten wet

where it stuck out below the hem of his long coat. Jace flipped his

tail back and forth, shaking it to free it of excess moisture and to

get it to fluff back out more normally.

 

      He turned at hearing the librarian snort slightly, trying to

stifle a laugh. The large woman caught his eye, "Sorry. You just

reminded me of a cat I had when I was your age, she used to do the

same thing when her tail got wet." Jace shared the librarian's

amusement as he continued to dry his lower arms and neck, finally

finishing by rubbing at the short fur on his face and the white and

black streaked hair on his head.

 

      Slinging the towel around his neck, the young morph fished a

small brush out of his bag. He used it to smooth the fur on his arms,

neck and face, then brushed his hair back out of his eyes. "There."

He pronounced, shaking his head slightly to get his white hair to

relax a little better. Putting the brush back and draping the towel

over the back of a chair to dry, Jace settled himself across from Mrs.

Dewitt at the small break-room table.

 

      "Feeling better ?" she asked, seeing Jace nod. Other than being

a little cold Jace did feel better. Almost as if reading the skunk's

thoughts the librarian asked, " You want some coffee or tea, Hon?" Jace

perked his ears forward at the mention, "Uh, tea., Please., Thank-you."

Jace liked coffee well enough, but not the instant stuff they would

most likely have there.

 

      Jace was one of those morphs that felt no matter what the

administration people said he could definitely tell the difference

between freshly ground and brewed coffee and what-ever the Hell it

was that came out of the machines around campus. If given a choice

the skunk preferred a substance that was meant to be dried and

packaged then brewed, not something that was ground up, treated with

a myriad of noxious chemical preservatives and then freeze dried to

be stored on some shelf for God knew how long. He didn't want to be

involved with any type of 'coffee' that required a can-opener, had

a screw top lid or included an expiration date or the words 'instant'

or 'vacuum sealed for freshness' anywhere on the packaging.

 

      Mrs. Dewitt stood, venturing over to the coffee maker and

rummaging in a cabinet above, "Orange Blossom or Ginger ?" she asked

looking back at Jace. "Uh, Ginger I think, please." A few moments

later the woman came back with two mugs of steaming liquid, one fresh

tea for Jace and the other a rather noxious substitute for coffee that

the skunk was glad he had passed up. He couldn't help but grimace as

the librarian sipped at her mug, apparently oblivious to the quality

of the beverage that Jace had picked up on. The young skunk often

wondered how humans had survived so long with such poorly developed

senses of smell and taste. He thought it was a wonder they didn't all

die of chemical poisoning if they drank things like that which the

librarian was drinking.

 

      Jace dismissed his thoughts as the librarian began to speak,

"So, how are things with you?" Something about the tone of the

librarian's voice made the fur on the back of Jace's neck itch. He

shrugged slowly, suspicious, "Oh, you know. Doing the best I can and

all that." The librarian nodded slowly and it was all Jace could do

to keep the fur on his tail and arms from standing up, what ever she

was getting at Jace sensed discomfort ahead for himself.

 

      "Uh-Huh. Good, good, but..." 'Oh shit,' was the only thought

that sprinted screaming through Jace's brain, "Here we go.", he

muttered without moving his lips. "Grape-vine says you're not doing

so good in Haverman's class." Jace choked slightly on a mouthful of

tea, feeling like he had been round-housed in the gut. He hadn't been

expecting that one particular topic at all, "Who's the narc?!!"

 

      "Never you mind, you know I'm worse than the FBI around here.

If something's going on I hear about it." As the librarian finished

Jace heard a new voice from behind him, "Actually it was me Jace."

Jace turned seeing Tracy, an old friend who shared some of his

classes (including Haverman's) and who often helped out in the

library as part of her work-study.

 

      Jace stared at the sleek otter morph looking hurt, "Et Tu.,

Tracy? What?, Do I have a target painted on my back, that says

'Place knife here'?" Tracy shook her stream-lined head, "No, but we

all know your brother, he would come back down here and kick all our

asses if we let you slip and lose your funding." The large librarian

was nodding, "I promised Thomas I would look out for you after he

left. I know facts and figures aren't and haven't been your forte but

you can't afford to fail a general ed. class so soon."

 

      Jace stared at the cooling mug of tea in his hands sullenly,

"I know, it's just that Haverman hates me and he doesn't have any

patience at all for people that aren't physics majors. He just stands

there and talks like you're supposed to just know exactly what he's

saying." Tracy had disappeared again and the librarian was nodding at

Jace, patting his hand amiably, " I know, it's hard for a Bio buff

like you to get saddled with all those numbers and equations, things

that only sit there on the paper. Have you ever thought about a

tutor?"

 

      Jace shook his head, "No., That's too embarrassing, you look

stupid in front of people who actually know what they're doing." Mrs.

DeWitt looked at Jace knowingly, "I know honey, but sometimes we need

to do things that pride wouldn't normally allow," she paused thinking,

"Now that I think of it, I might know someone. He's new here, 19, the

same age as you are. He's a Literature major but he's good at math and

physics. He might be willing to help you."     

 

      "But...." Jace started to protest, closing his mouth when a

glare from the librarian indicated she wasn't finished, "As, I was

saying; He's new here, doesn't really know anybody on campus, much

less you. Kind of an odd boy, elusive, hard to pin down and talk to.

Kind of jumpy, skittish. I haven't been able to find out why., No one

knows him, and he really seems to keep to himself.

 

      "His name is Patrick. I'll see if I can talk to him and get him

to think about tutoring you in time for the last few weeks of the

semester. You definitely need the help and he really seems to need a

friend." Jace shrugged, knowing better than to protest, the matter had

been settled regardless of his opinion. Still the skunk really didn't

want to play up to some psycho the congenial librarian had befriended,

and planned on avoiding or slipping out of the arrangement as soon as

possible.

 

      Seeing the young skunk dropping quickly into gloom the large

woman decided a quick change of topic was in order, "So, how is

Thomas?" she asked seeing Jace's ears and tail return to a more neutral

orientation. "Oh, he's fine, I talked to him last week. He's really

getting to like it up there and I guess he started dating someone last

month." "Did he?, What has he said about 'them'."

 

      Jace hated when Mrs. Dewitt did that, "Thomas said that HER,

with Tom it's always HER, name is Jenna something-or-other. I forget

what her last name is right now, and that she's really nice. I guess he

met her in school and they've had dinner and such together. Evidently

he's had dinner at her house more than once., Tom was saying she lives

in a big house with some of her friends. He hasn't said too much about

them yet."

 

      The rotund woman was nodding her head and smiling, "Any

pictures yet?" Jace nodded, "Just this one, so far." He reached for

his wallet, pulling out a small photo of his brother, Jenna and

someone he couldn't identify, he assumed one of Jenna's room-mates.

"I guess they had a bar-b-Que with Jenna's room-mates." He handed the

picture to the librarian, who peered at it approvingly. "You are the

spitting image of your brother. Only thing different besides size and

hair is that little white mark on your brother's fore-head. The girl

looks nice enough. Calico huh? Very pretty, but who's that other,

uh..., fellow off to the side there?" Jace assumed that she was

talking about the as of yet nameless morph he wasn't familiar with.

 

      The librarian's cause for hesitance when discerning whether

or not the morph had been male or female was obvious, Jace himself

had to look carefully before he was sure that the morph was indeed

male. The nameless morph was a stunning cheetah, looking about

average height and size, with a full, slightly muscular build

concealed beneath his clothes. The only thing more eye-catching than

the morph himself was his hair. Jace noted from the picture that it

hung down to almost waist level on the cheetah. It was thick, lustrous,

wavy and, to Jace's surprise when he had first seen the picture his

brother had sent, a light, eye-catching green color, with sharper

green highlights. Needless to say not something one sees every day.

 

      The young skunk looked forward to his next visit to his brother

if only to meet his new girlfriend and her alluring green haired friend

up close. "I really don't know, Tom didn't get real specific with

names in the note he sent along with the picture." Mrs. Dewitt shook

her head still looking at the cheetah, "Land-sakes, if that hair isn't

the damnedest thing I've ever seen on someone's head. Funny thing is

that it doesn't really look that outlandish or silly like it should.

The boy really seems to be able to make it work for him. Handsome too.

Would look better with normal colored hair but not too bad either way,

Hmm?"

 

      Jace chuckled dryly, the librarian had been trying to find out

what Jace liked for months, trying to set him up with various people.

Thus far it hadn't been working too well for either her or the skunk.

"Yeah, but it seems like he's taken, look there." Jace pointed to the

morph's hand, where a complex looking ring encircled the cheetah's

finger.

     

      The librarian raised an eye-brow, "I see what you mean, oh

well..." she paused, "Hmm, that ring looks a lot like the one here on

this person's hand, who-ever he's talking to off side here." Jace

looked, seeing that the librarian was right. Whoever had done the

photography had cut most of another individual at the table out of the

photo. The person was sitting across from the cheetah, it looked as

though the two were conversing about something. The other person's

hands were gesturing to the cheetah.

 

      As to what the other individual looked like, however, was of

some debate. All Jace had to go on were their hands and arms below the

elbow. The fur on their hands was black, slowly shifting to an eye

catching scarlet on the arms at about mid-forearm. A ring almost

identical to the one the cheetah wore rested on the person's hand.

This led the young skunk to believe that the two were either engaged

or married. But with not knowing what species the other person was,

much less their gender, Jace didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

 

      "Looks like maybe a fox to me, but you're the wildlife

expert." Jace was stirred from his thoughts by the woman's words,

"What?" he asked. Mrs. Dewitt gestured to the picture, "The hands,

the red and black markings on them look like whoever the cheetah is

talking to is probably a fox. I don't know of any other species that

has markings like that and is that size. A wolf would be larger

normally, and I've never seen a feline with markings like those

before." Jace nodded, realizing that the librarian was most-likely

correct in her assumptions. "I think you're right, it's probably a

normal red fox he's talking to."

 

      Mrs. Dewitt nodded and handed the picture back to the young

skunk, "Your brother sure is meeting some interesting looking people

up there. If they're half as fun to be around as they look we may

never get him back here for good." Jace smiled, looking at the

picture for a moment before putting it away, " Yeah, I'm looking

forward to visiting Thomas as soon as I can, even if only to meet

these people face-to-face." The librarian laughed softly, "I know

you, you're just hoping your brother will introduce you to that

cheetah. Aren't you a little above being such a lecherous, hormone

crazed adolescent?"

 

       The young skunk's ears reddened above his pained expression,

"You're the one who's been encouraging me lately." Jace tried to

needle the librarian a little, she didn't take the bait, "Yes, but

only because I think it would be in your best interest to find one

person, settle down and put your attentions toward them." The portly

woman paused, leaning back a bit. Jace was familiar with her body

language, she was getting ready to pull a wicked punch in exchange

for the needling he had given her.

 

      She frowned and looked at him seriously, "Like I was saying

you, should find one person instead of having a new bed-toy every

couple of months. If your brother could only hear some of the things

I've heard about you floating around campus. Accepting as he is, he'd

die." It was score one for the librarian, Jace felt his ears getting

hotter, "Oh come on!, I'm not that bad!, It's not my fault the last

few people I've seen have been brain-dead jerks. I didn't even make

it a full date with this last one., He was just plain ridiculous.

Why is it that the ones I pick look perfectly normal till they open

their mouths? I got him home and he was re-arranging my furniture

for Christ's sake!

 

      "I finally kicked him out when he suggested my living-room

could use more PASTELS!, For the love of God, you know I'm not like

that! Who am I, friggin' Martha Stewart?!, I hate that kind of shit!

People just make wild assumptions that because of who I am, I'm into

crap like that. The general public watches too many movies! Not that

a lot of them haven't been positive, but I'm nothing like people think

I should be!, Thank-You Hollywood, Aghh!, Christ!"

 

      The librarian was smiling in a resigned manner, letting the

youth vent his frustrations. She often thought that the skunk didn't

allow himself to vent his feelings often enough. The woman understood

that under the circumstances he had to be careful about what he said

and who was in ear-shot when he was on campus. Unfortunately not

everyone was tolerant as she about the young skunk's personal life.

 

      "I know, it's tough being your age." They both knew that age

had nothing at all to do with what they were discussing, but it seemed

like the thing to say at the time. "And it's even harder without your

brother around for support. You just need to find someone special." 

She tried to maneuver the young skunk into the right topic to get him

out of his frustrated mind-set. She thought she knew what might do the

job, "Speaking of your brother, when do you think you'll go down for

a visit?, Christmas is coming up soon."

 

      It worked. Jace calmed down, trying valiantly to remember what

day it was, "Oh..., I don't know. We've got what, like three and a

half weeks left on the semester, probably not for ThanksGiving. Maybe

for a week or so around Christmas." The rotund woman nodded, "That

should be nice. Will you need someone to watch Cherokee this time?"

Jace blinked, "Oh, yeah. I probably will, I forgot that Gary watched

Cherokee last time I went out of town. If I do go see Tom, do you

think you could watch her for me? She seems to be a handful with

anyone else but you and Gary, not even William can handle her for

too long."

 

      Mrs. Dewitt nodded, "She's not that much trouble, I'll watch

her for you when you go." "Thanks, I'll let you know." The librarian

nodded again leaning back in her chair, "So, what are you in for

today. Last week it was something on the growth patterns of rain-

forest hardwood trees." Jace laughed, surprised at the librarian's

recall, "Yeah, that one was real exciting. Professor Duran was telling

me about a new book that you just got on inter-tidal eco-systems."

 

      Mrs. Dewitt nodded, fiddling with the cold coffee in her

hands as she recalled the book Jace was referring to, "Oh, yeah, we

just got that one in last week. I think it went out into the stacks

yesterday. I'm pretty sure no one's checked it out yet. If you hurry

you might luck out and be first." The young skunk stood, stretching

out to his full height of nearly six foot, stifling a yawn as he did

so. He was beginning to feel how long a day it had been.

 

      The large librarian stood as well, patting the youth's arm

amiably, "Well thanks for the chat, you better go and get your book

before someone beats you to it." Jace nodded, "Thanks for the dry off

and the tea, I'll see you later." "Bye Honey, and I'll keep my eye out

for Patrick., His last name is Lauren if you happen to hear of him or

run into him yourself."

 

      The young morph cringed inwardly as he pasted on a weak smile

and nodded over his shoulder at the rotund woman. Then he collected

his pack and drying coat, venturing deeper into the cavernous building

heading for the library filing computer........

 

* * *
\> end part I

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/XekWy4Me
Part of the series Love\'s Shadow
Next: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/212381-love-s-shadow-part-2.md