{"sf1_id":212381,"sf2_id":"AnKyvoVe","title":"Love's Shadow Part 2","author":"Korrado-Xan","words":5461,"posted_at":"2011-01-12T08:05:00.000Z","tags":["Feline","Gay","M/M","Romance","School","Skunk","slice of life"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/212381-love-s-shadow-part-2","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/AnKyvoVe","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/3e/32/3e3219b5-e742-4459-8aeb-71570661f90d","description":"#2 of Love's Shadow","content":"\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\n\nLove's Shadow prt2. c. Grey K. 1997\n\n\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n- Love's Shadow part II,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n* * *\n\\\u003e The cavernous library, a full four stories tall was\n\nsomething of a second home to the young skunk, he spent a lot of time\n\nthere perusing through the third floor.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Each level of the old stone building was devoted to particular\n\narea(s) of study. The main level Jace had been on being business,\n\neconomic fields, law and law enforcement. The second floor was dedicated\n\nto the various arts, music and literature of all periods and languages.\n\nThe third floor, Jace's destination, was devoted to the natural\n\nsciences, Biology, Zoology, Botany, Anatomy, Geology, and a host of\n\noffshoots of all of those fields. The young skunk spent a healthy\n\namount of time immersed in the thousands of volumes on the third\n\nfloor, sating his thirst for knowledge in his favorite subjects.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The only floor that the youth seldom ventured to was the\n\nfourth floor. The area that comprised the young skunk's most vivid\n\nnightmares, the floor devoted to mathematics, chemistry, physics and\n\ntheir daughter fields. The only interest Jace showed in venturing to\n\nthe hated level was to make use of the drinking fountain or restroom\n\nthat were there. The young skunk ascended the creaking staircase to\n\nthe third floor. His sensitive nose picked up the musty smell of the\n\nancient tomes, yellowed or greying with age, interspersed with the\n\nfresh tang of the crisp, newer volumes dotted here and there.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace absently flipped a snow-white strand of hair out of his\n\neyes as he pushed through the doors to the third floor. He surveyed\n\nthe level, seeing that it was virtually empty except for himself and\n\nsomeone he didn't recognize. The other individual was heading for the\n\ndoors on the opposite side of the room, those to the fourth-floor\n\nstairs. Jace had only a glimpse of the other person before the doors\n\nswung shut. They seemed vaguely feline with long, light colored hair,\n\nseeming almost white to Jace. The skunk noticed that the other person\n\nseemed to walk oddly, really almost as thought they were limping. He\n\nshrugged, passing it off as the other person probably had an arm-load\n\nof books.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace dropped his pack and coat onto one of the reading tables,\n\nleaving them and walking to one of the tall stacks against the wall.\n\nHe wasn't worried, everything he had of value(which wasn't much) was\n\non him and there wasn't anyone else around. If the other individual\n\ncame back in Jace would hear the door. Gazing absently at the printed\n\ncard the file computer had spat out at him, Jace scanned the shelves,\n\nlooking for the proper number. He found the correct shelf quickly,\n\nscanning down it's length for the book he wanted, \"G231, 232, 233,\n\n234, Whoops..., Yes!, G235.\" The title jumped out at Jace near the end\n\nof the shelf. Jace seized the book, sliding it out of it's spot and\n\nreading the back cover intently.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; As he walked back to the reading table Jace passed one of the\n\ngigantic windows that were set around the level and allowed a good\n\nview of the campus. A small flash of light caught Jace's attention,\n\nmaking him look up and out the window, past the small streaks of water\n\nrunning down the glass from the light rain that persisted outside.\n\nThe skunk stood looking at the darker grey clouds a ways off to the\n\nnorth. Another jagged streak of lightning zigzagged down from the\n\nstorm clouds off on the horizon. Jace scowled slightly, it looked as\n\nthough the area might be in for a thunderstorm later that night.\n\n\"Great, terrif..\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace didn't mind thunder and lightning, as a matter of fact\n\nhe often enjoyed sitting behind the big bay window on the front of\n\nhis apartment and just watching the forks of colored light as they\n\ncame crashing to earth. The young skunk just didn't like the idea of\n\nmore and heavier rain accompanying the storm. Jace sighed heavily,\n\nanother cold, lonely night by himself in the apartment. He missed\n\nGary intensely. At least his former roommate had offered some contact,\n\na little intelligent conversation and the presence of another person\n\nin the apartment. That is up until the amiable human had moved back\n\nhome to Illinois almost four months months prior. The spare room in\n\nthe apartment had sat vacant since, Jace just couldn't find anyone\n\nthat appealed to him as a roommate and friend.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; He still wrote Gary often and talked to him on the phone when\n\nhe could afford the long distance bill. His human friend had promised\n\nhe'd be back as soon as matters allowed, but it didn't look like it\n\nwould be any time soon. As he stood gazing out onto the damp, cold\n\nday Jace thought of Gary and of his brother, and how he missed both\n\nof them so much it nearly hurt. Jace assumed that his being alone and\n\nlonely often probably showed to those he knew and he realized that was\n\nprobably why the rotund librarian and his other friends were trying to\n\nget him settled with someone to fill the gap in his life.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Thinking along the lines of meeting new people, Jace rolled the\n\nname that Mrs. Dewitt had given him around in his head. Patrick Lauren,\n\na nice name, and it did ring a faint bell somewhere in the back of\n\nJace's mind. But as hard as he tried he just couldn't put a face to the\n\nname at all. The young morph shrugged to himself, he knew a lot of\n\npeople in passing around campus, he had probably heard the name around\n\nsomewhere or something. Jace nodded, concluding that was probably it\n\nand continued to look out the window, watching the glistening ribbons\n\nof water cascade down the face of the glass.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; He pressed the pad of his hand against the cold pane, seeing\n\nit frost over around the outline of his fingers and palm. Pulling his\n\nhand away, Jace looked at the window curiously, seeing a fogged\n\nrelief of his palm and fingers on the glass. Almost like one of those\n\nKurlain effect photos he had seen in a magazine, Jace thought absently\n\nto himself. If it was already that cold out as it stood, things would\n\nprobably be downright frigid after dark. Having a fur coat does have\n\nsome assets but Jace still got cold some nights more than others.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Often there are types of cold that no amount of fur or number\n\nof blankets can alleviate, in Jace's case it was often the icy chill\n\nthat accompanies heart-wrenching loneliness. He had spent more and\n\nmore nights lonely and cold since his brother and Gary had left. Not\n\nthat Jace didn't have friends or hadn't had relationships since their\n\ndepartures but passing associations and meaningless sex are seldom\n\nthe answer to loneliness, and also seldom alleviate it. Coffee after\n\nclasses or sex with people he hardly knew could never fill the gap in\n\nthe youth's life that his friendship with Gary or the presence of his\n\nbrother could.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Now that those things were gone, or at least temporarily\n\nrelocated, Jace needed something or someone in his life to fill their\n\nplace. None of the individuals he had gone out with had met his criteria\n\nfor sharing his life. Jace was more than open to sharing his bed with\n\nthose who had been willing, sharing his heart was another matter\n\nentirely. The stream of idiots and jerks the young skunk had gone\n\nthrough had just discouraged him. Not one of them had been ever close\n\nto filling the gap in his existance the departure of his two closest\n\nfriends had made.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; As things stood, after a number of meaningless flings Jace had\n\nstopped dating entirely, and hadn't had made love with anyone for\n\nover a full two months. For some species that's not too long, but for\n\nmost morphs a week much less a month is fruatrating at best and nearly\n\nmaddening at worst. Needless to say, videos, magazines and other\n\nsimilar forms of stimulation were losing their effectiveness at sating\n\nthe healthy young skunk's physical and emotional needs.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; As Jace stared out the window, absently tapping the spine of\n\nthe book against the sill of the humongous window an arctic fox he\n\nrecognized from one of his classes strolled into view. Jace had been\n\namazed at the changes the slight fox had undergone as the seasons\n\nshifted. The male fox's fur had gradually transformed from a rangy,\n\ndusky, reddish-brown to a dazzling, thick, fluffy white, slashed\n\nwith black on his tail and ears. Perfectly suited for the weather in\n\nnorthern California at this time of year, the young fox made his way\n\nacross the courtyard hardly feeling the inclement weather.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace envied the vulpine, he carried no umbrella, and the rain\n\nseemed to just sluice off the thick, snow white fur. The vulpine\n\nhardly seemed bothered at the brisk wind that had sent Jace running\n\nfor cover earlier. Jace knew the slim fox was an open bi-sexual, he'd\n\nseen him at local hot-spots with various males and females, sometimes\n\nboth, on his arm. He had tried to strike up a conversation with the\n\nsnow furred vulpine more than once but the fox hadn't shown more than\n\npassing interest in him.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The young skunk sighed, gazing longingly at the handsome fox,\n\nthinking how nice that soft, warm fur would be to curl up next to on\n\na freezing winter's night. Jace shook his head to clear it of his\n\ndreary thoughts and pried himself away from the window and the\n\nshrinking figure of the fox. Making his way back to where he had\n\ndumped his stuff Jace pitched the book onto the table top.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; As he did so a tickling sensation erupted in his throat sending\n\nthe skunk into a spectacular coughing fit. After a few moments the\n\nwracking coughs and chokes subsided, leaving the morph dry-mouthed\n\nand breathless. Wheezing slightly the young skunk leaned on the back\n\nof a chair to gather his strength for a minute then struck off for the\n\n4th floor stair-well. Jace padded up the stairs quickly, pushing past\n\nthe doors and making a bee-line for the stainless steel drinking\n\nfountain on the opposite wall of the level.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; He gulped several mouthfuls of cool water, feeling it assuage\n\nthe scratchy sensation in his throat. Swallowing a final mouthful too\n\nfast, Jace began to hack again slightly and spat some of the water back\n\ninto the drain. He watched it swirl down through the tears that had\n\nwelled in his eyes from the new coughing fit. Regaining his composure\n\nJace straightened and gazed around the eerily quiet floor, the only\n\nsound being his rasping breath and the softly humming fountain.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace assumed that the odd individual he had seen must have\n\nexited through the alternate stair. They weren't obviously visible\n\nand there was no noise at all to indicate the presence of anyone else\n\non the level. The young skunk gazed about, skimming his eyes over the\n\nsection signs, Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry, Physics, Astronomy,\n\nChemistry, Biochemistry. Jace perked his ears thinking he heard a creak\n\nfrom the stacks devoted to general Physics. Not hearing the sound again\n\nJace shrugged, putting it off to the old building settling with the\n\ncold. He dismissed it and headed back to the doors to the stair-well.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; As Jace's raven furred hand contacted the heavy swinging door\n\nthe skunk's sensitive ears were assaulted by the sound of a loud\n\ncommotion, followed by a muffled thump and a sharp cry of pain.\n\nFreezing for an instant, unsure of where the noise had originated from,\n\nthe young skunk realized it had emanated from the Physics section where\n\nhe had heard the mysterious noise moments before. Dashing to the aisle\n\nthat composed the General Physics section Jace saw a form lying slumped\n\non the carpeting.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The young morph neared the motionless form recognizing it as\n\nbeing the unknown morph he had seen earlier. They were lying quite still,\n\nface down on the floor, obviously semi or un-conscious. Jace knelt,\n\nrolling the person over and straightening their body out more\n\ncomfortably. Getting a closer look than he had earlier Jace realized he\n\nwas looking into the face of a stunning male feline. Dressed in plain\n\nclothes, a dark shirt and loose navy jeans, the male resembled a Russian\n\nBlue cat. He had dusky, blue-gray fur with a lighter gray undercoat\n\nbeneath. Jace was caught by the almost ethereal colour of the morphs\n\nhair, it's shade was somewhere between silver and platinum and it hung\n\ndown to almost shoulder level on the handsome feline.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The young skunk was almost disappointed that the felines eyes\n\nwere closed, concealing their colour from view, Jace wondered with fur\n\nand hair like the feline had what colour his eyes could possibly be. He\n\nnoticed that the amazing hair cloaked the upper right part of the\n\nfeline's face, concealing his cheek and partially blocking his eye from\n\nview. Getting past his initial awe at the feline Jace bent over,\n\npatting the feline gently on his exposed cheek, \"Hey., Hello?, Are you\n\nall right?, Hey, wake up., Come on...\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The feline stirred slightly against Jace's knees, eyelids\n\nfluttering slightly but not opening all the way. Jace gripped the\n\nmale's wrist, seeking out his pulse, and finding it strong and very\n\nrapid. The skunk hoped it was just adrenaline making it so fast. As\n\nJace gripped the feline's wrist the closed eyes finally flew open\n\nbehind the curtain of silvery hair. The prostrate male gasped, making\n\nJace jump, then pulled violently out of the skunk's grasp. Jace\n\nwatched as the feline quite nearly threw himself against the shelves,\n\nbanging his head against the access ladder in the process.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; He jumped to his feet, backing away from the feline as quickly\n\nas possible, speaking in a low tone, \"Whoa, whoa, whoa..., Hey now.\n\nCome on, calm down. It's all right, I wasn't going to harm you. I just\n\nwanted to make sure you weren't hurt.\" The feline morph's chest still\n\nheaved as he watched the skunk with slitted eyes. Jace suddenly\n\nrealized that if the male had injured his head or was somehow\n\ndelusional he might have a fight on his hands. The rational part of\n\nJace's mind, not so preoccupied with keeping things calm, idly\n\nwondered if he could control a crazed male feline nearly the same size\n\nas he and undoubtedly with larger teeth and claws.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace took it as a good sign that the feline hadn't moved, either\n\ntoward him or to get away. That he must still be rational but scared\n\nand shaken up from what-ever accident had happened. He was just\n\nkneeling awkwardly on the floor, gripping the lower book-shelves for\n\nsupport. Jace noticed that the feline's claws were still sheathed in\n\nhis fingertips, and decided to take some initiative. Bending down\n\nslowly, with his hands held up so the cat could see them, \"It's OK.\n\nNot gonna hurt you, I think you must have hit your head, you were out\n\ncold for a minute there. I just want to make sure you're all right,\n\njust stay calm. Do you recall what happened?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace lowered himself down onto his haunches, then into a\n\nkneeling position. When he was level with the feline he smiled,\n\nkeeping his hands open and visible. Jace felt better when he saw the\n\nmorph's chest slowing gradually as the cat relaxed. As he watched the\n\nfeline gently shook his head, slowly reaching up and probing near his\n\nright ear.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Ladder...\" Jace barely caught the word, \"What?\" He noticed the\n\ncolour of the feline's eyes for the first time as they flipped up to\n\nregard him. Yellow would have been much too crude a word to descibe\n\nthe feline's eyes. A pair of dazzling, utterly brilliant, golden eyes\n\nstudied Jace's face for a moment as the morph repeated himself,\n\n\"Ladder., I fell off the ladder. Lost my balance I guess.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace sighed, relaxing slightly, \"Are you O.K.?\" The feline\n\nnodded slowly, \"I think so.\" Jace stood again, offering a hand to\n\nthe feline, \"Need a hand up?\" The golden eyes narrowed again,\n\nregarding Jace's outstretched hand and arm warily. Biting his lower\n\nlip as though he were about to plunge his hand into some boiling\n\ncauldron the male feline shot out an arm, gripping Jace's hand a\n\nlittle harder than the skunk would have liked.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Flexing his muscles Jace pulled the feline upright fairly\n\neasily. Before he was even fully upright the feline wrenched his hand\n\nback away from the skunk morph. He faltered and nearly fell again,\n\nbarely catching himself on the nearby shelves. He gazed around at the\n\nfloor, evidently searching for something. Jace watched as the feline's\n\nears perked forward, turning his eyes to where the male was looking,\n\n\"Uh, w-would you mind getting that for me?\" the morph faltered\n\nslightly, gesturing over to an object half hidden in shadow. Jace\n\nshrugged, walking over to the object.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; As he neared it Jace realized that it was a short walking\n\nstaff. A glossy, black finished cane with a non-slip ferrule and\n\nknobbed grip. Jace bent down retrieving the aide from the floor\n\nwhere it had come to rest and delivered it back to it's owner.\n\nProffering it back to the feline Jace smiled warmly, seeing the cat\n\nreturn the smile shyly,\u0026nbsp; \"T-Thank-you.\" He stammered slightly not\n\nmeeting Jace's eyes as he took the staff in his hand.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace perked his ears at the feline's voice. It was pleasantly\n\nsoft, even, and slightly accented, though just barely noticeable. The\n\nskunk picked up the just slightly rounding of the T's and R's in the\n\nfeline's vocabulary, Jace thought it sounded faintly Mediterranean but\n\nhe wasn't totally sure. The male cat shifted uncomfortably, seeming to\n\nfavor his left leg as he stood, using the cane to keep it's weight\n\noff the floor. Flustered as to what else to do Jace stuck his hand\n\nout boldly at the other male, \"Jace.\" The feline glanced up at him\n\nsharply, \"Pardon?\" Jace wavered slightly, \"Uh, my name, it's Jace.\n\nPleased to meet you.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The feline regarded the skunk's outstretched hand skeptically\n\nfor a moment before slowly reaching out and gingerly grasping Jace's\n\nraven furred paw in his own. He smiled again shakily, \"Uh, P-Patrick,\n\nThank-you.\" Jace felt Patrick's smooth hand pad against his own with\n\nthe silky fur around the feline's wrist rubbing lightly against his\n\nfingers. The hand-shake was fleeting, much to Jace's disappointment.\n\nPatrick quickly drew his hand away, although less vehemently than\n\nbefore.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace watched as Patrick attempted to step over a pace to\n\norient himself better with the skunk. As the feline did so his left\n\nleg buckled underneath him, making the him cry out in shock and pain.\n\nStarting, Jace rushed to catch the feline before he could hit the\n\nfloor again, supporting him under the arms and holding him upright.\n\nPatrick allowed Jace to take his weight, realizing that the slim\n\nskunk was stronger than he appeared. Panting from the shock and\n\nsudden discomfort, the feline looked over his shoulder at Jace,\n\n\"Please, I think...I need...to.....sit...\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace nodded, helping Patrick to the fourth floor reading\n\ntables and sitting him down in one of the chairs. Concern coursed\n\nthrough Jace as he saw that Patrick's ears, nose and lips were pale\n\nagainst his fur and the feline morph was shaking slightly as he sat.\n\nLooking around himself Jace noticed a small pack laying on one of the\n\nchairs next to him, the initials P.L. were embroidered on one of the\n\nzipper pulls in bright blue thread. Jace helped Patrick to recline\n\nslightly, gently probing at the base of the feline's right ear,\n\nfeeling a small knot under the fur there.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick yelped sharply, jerking away slightly at the touch.\n\n\"Sorry!, Sorry.\" Jace pulled away, \"You've got a little bump on your\n\nhead there. Now, what happened to your leg?\" Patrick rubbed gingerly\n\nat his head, eyeing Jace, \"I think I twisted my knee a bit when I\n\nfell.\" He paused, regarding the skunk as the black and white morph\n\nglanced sidelong at the cane in his hand, \"Old accident.\" Jace nodded,\n\n\"Here, I might be able to help, let me have a look. Here lean back a\n\nlittle. There, like so.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace helped Patrick to lean back far enough in his chair as to\n\nallow the feline to place his leg on top of the table, elevating his\n\nknee above the rest of his body. He probed at Patrick's leg gently,\n\nfeeling the morph tense, looking almost panicked, \"Whoa, whoa, take\n\nit easy., This won't hurt, I promise.\" Jace felt Patrick's knee\n\nthrough his jeans, noticing that it felt oddly swollen on one side.\n\nHe reached around to the back of the feline's knee seeking out the\n\npressure points there and pressing gently. The skunk felt Patrick\n\nrelax slightly under his hands as he continued to press on the nerve\n\npoint while lightly massaging the feline's battered joint with his\n\nother hand.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; After several minutes Jace sat back. He looked approvingly at\n\nPatrick, who was staring with wide expressive eyes, one of which was\n\nstill cloaked behind the curtain of silver hair. \"Better?\" Patrick\n\nflexed his knee experimentally nodding, \"Yes, but how did..?\" Jace\n\nsmiled, \"Oh, my mother knows a little about accu-pressure and nerve\n\npoint manipulation., She showed me some techniques when I was\n\nyounger.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick nodded slightly resting his hand lightly on a small\n\nnotebook that was lying open on the table. Jace's eyes skimmed across\n\nthe open pages, seeing them covered with some kind of mathematical\n\nequations, physics equations, he realized with a start. Suddenly\n\nJace's brain did a bit of a mental back-flip and everything clicked,\n\nthe odd behavior, the Physics work, and the initials P and L. \"Patrick\n\nLauren.\" The skunk blurted despite himself, seeing the feline jump in\n\nhis seat and look as though he were about to bolt but was unsure as\n\nto which way to flee.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace grabbed Patrick's arm attempting to steady the high strung\n\nfeline, \"No!, No, no. It's OK... I just realized who you were, that's\n\nall. I thought I had seen you around before.\" Jace lied slightly to\n\ncover his own out-burst. The gold eyed morph seemed to settle down\n\nonce again, \"Yea-yes, that's my full name.\" Jace let go of the\n\nfeline's arm, settling back to a comfortable distance from Patrick\n\nallowing the cat his space. \"I hear you're good at physics.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick looked slightly taken aback, \"From who?, I-I really\n\ndon't know anyone here on campus, uh,\u0026nbsp; j-just yet.\" Jace forced\n\nhimself to look as relaxed and casual as he could, hoping that it\n\nwould rub off onto the agitated feline a little. Patrick looked as\n\nthough he had a live wire shoved up his posterior with sitting at the\n\ntable in such close proximity to the skunk. He was fidgeting and\n\nmoving constantly in the chair, playing restively with his cane or\n\na plain pencil that was laying on the table. Jace noticed that the\n\nfeline's eyes roved constantly, tracing a near perfect outline of\n\nhis body, hardly ever focusing on Jace himself, and never meeting\n\nthe skunk's own green gaze as they spoke.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace felt Patrick's short furred tail brush past the tip of\n\nhis foot as it tangled in and around both the feline's ankles and\n\nthe legs of the chair. \"I heard you were good at Physics from Mrs.\n\nDewitt, the librarian, she's a friend of mine.\" Patrick seemed to\n\nrelax slightly at hearing the portly woman's name, but still wouldn't\n\nlook Jace in the eyes at all. This rather unnerved the skunk, he\n\nusually used the other person's face and eyes to gauge them in\n\nconversations. With his eyes already partially hidden by his hair and\n\nnervous, evasive behavior, Jace wondered exactly what the fidgeting\n\nfeline was so keen at keeping to himself.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick nodded slightly, \"Oh, yes, Mrs. Dewitt, I-uh, I've\n\nspoken with her a few times before. She is....talkative.\" Jace laughed,\n\nstifling his amusement when he saw Patrick looked apprehensive, almost\n\nas though he were afraid to laugh at all. \"Yes she is, very talkative.\"\n\nJace personally thought that talkative wasn't nearly the term needed\n\nto describe the librarian. He often thought that if the rotund woman\n\ndidn't need to take a breath now and then she would probably never\n\ncease speaking.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick smiled slightly, then returned to neutrality again, if\n\nJace had blinked he would have missed it, \"Thus far she's the only\n\nperson I've met that seems interested in knowing me at all.\" Jace smiled\n\nat the feline, \"I'd like to., Mrs. Dewitt says you're new here., Where\n\nare you from?\" Patrick scrutinized the tabletop and his watch throughly\n\nbefore speaking, \"Uh, well, Chicago originally. W-When my father died\n\nseveral years ago I moved in with my brother in New York., Th-then this\n\nlast spring I came here to be nearer to my Grandparents.\" Jace looked\n\npuzzled, \"Chicago?, But...\" Jace caught himself not wanting to embarrass\n\nhis new acquaintance.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick surprised him by smiling again, a little wider this time,\n\n\"Oh, uh, my accent. My parents are, were, is, ach, sorry, is for my\n\nmother, was for my father, from Europe. Near the borders between Italy,\n\nSwitzerland and Austria, its kind of odd, I'm not sure exactly where,\n\nI think my grandparents moved around a lot. It's sort of a local dialect\n\ntype of thing, I don't speak it, never have. I and all my brothers and\n\nsisters were born here in the states. All of us except for a few just\n\nseemed to pick up the accent a little as we were growing up, kind of\n\nrubs off I guess. I didn't think it was that noticeable, but I seem\n\nto notice it gets heavier when I'm stressed, bizarre.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace nodded, he had noticed the feline's accent lighten as he\n\nrelaxed. He sat watching Patrick, examining his features more closely\n\nthan he had gotten a chance to earlier. The feline's soft, short fur\n\non his neck and face, the pointed ears set wide and back on his head.\n\nPatrick's facial features, a smallish dusty beige nose on the end of\n\nhis blunt muzzle, set above his mouth and light colored lips. Jace was\n\ncaught by the wide, expressive eyes with their intense, golden yellow\n\ncolor. Patrick's long lustrous hair shone like platinum in the muted\n\nlight of the library as it dipped down past his shoulders in back and\n\ndraped across his ears, neck and face, especially the right eye and\n\ncheek. Jace itched to reach forward and push the amazing hair out of\n\nthe feline's face so he could admire those golden eyes unimpeded.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Suddenly, catching himself staring, Jace twitched, feeling\n\nanxious and tapped his tail against the table leg reflexively making\n\na muted rustle. Patrick started at the motion near the floor, noticing\n\nthe skunk shifting in his chair, \"Oh!, Uh., I-I'm sorry., Am I boring\n\nyou..?\" The inside of Jace's ears reddened sharply and his nose felt\n\nhot as he realized he had been so caught up with looking at the feline\n\nhe hadn't caught a single word the other morph had been saying. He\n\nlooked chagrined, grimacing as he looked at Patrick, \"I'm sorry. I was\n\nsomewhere else., What was that last thing you were saying?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick didn't look convinced, glaring at the floor intensely,\n\n\"You were staring at me then you spaced out., Didn't hear a word I\n\nsaid did you?\" Jace felt ready to die, \"I, uh, I'm really sorry, it's\n\njust your fur is so handsome, and your hair and eyes caught me, they're\n\nwonderful.\" Patrick looked hurt, as though he weren't really listening\n\nto the skunk, \"Yeah, right, sorry, that's how it all starts. Then\n\npeople always end up staring at my fac-..\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The feline froze in mid-sentence squinting up at Jace\n\nsuddenly, \"Wait a minute, what did you say?\" The skunk looked\n\nstartled at the intensity in his new companions gaze, \"Nothing, just\n\nthat your eyes and hair are..,\" Patrick cut him off, putting a hand\n\nprotectively to his face, \"What's wrong with my eyes and hair?\"\n\n\"Nothing, nothing, really. They're just so amazing, really I've never\n\nseen anything like them, they're beautiful. That's all, I swear.\" Jace\n\nspoke honestly, not understanding the feline's defensiveness.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick's eyes were wide as his hand was slowly coming down,\n\n\"What?, What did you say?, You actually think my eyes and hair are\n\nnice?, I don't think I heard you right... It sounded like you said I\n\nwas handsome, and that my eyes and hair are amazing, Ha.\" \"I did.\"\n\nPatrick was deathly quiet for a moment, mulling that over in his\n\nhead, then speaking softly, \"No one's ever said that about me, it's\n\nalways been odd or weird or bizzare. I don't think I've ever heard\n\nthe term handsome or-or beautiful with my eyes or hair. That's the\n\nfirst time anyone's ever said that to me. Why did you?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick was looking at Jace with a sudden suspicious wariness\n\nonce again, the skunk held up his hands, \"I was just being honest.\n\nI've never seen anything like them before. They're so striking, I kind\n\nof got caught up looking at them while you were talking ., I'm sorry.\n\nI didn't mean to upset you.\" Patrick's gaze was softening rapidly as\n\nhe looked at Jace directly for one of the first times, \"No, that's OK.\n\nAnd T-Thank-you. You're the first person to ever say such a nice\n\nthing to me before, I thought I was hearing things for a minute.\n\nNext to Mrs. Dewitt, you're the first pleasant person I've met here.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace saw the feline's ears dip slightly, \"You seem perfectly\n\nfine to me and the people around here are normally very nice, quite\n\nwelcoming.\" Patrick chuckled bitterly, idly turning his cane between\n\nhis fingers, \"Not with people like me. Everyone looks at me like I'm\n\nsome sort of shambling abomination, some Mary Shelly type\n\nFrankensteinian monster come to flesh, some poor freak with a cane.\n\nEveryone, everywhere I go, it's never been different,\" He paused\n\nlooking up at Jace, \"That is, until now, until you. I just don't\n\nunderstand. I hope you forgive me, it's just you get used to a certain\n\nreaction., When you don't get it, it's kind of a shock.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Jace shifted in his seat a little, feeling somewhat uncomfort-\n\nable at the feline's candor, hoping he wouldn't come to disappoint\n\nhis new friend, \"Uh, well, that is... Let's just say I've had some\n\nfamiliarity with how it feels to be called a freak, or an abomination.\n\nI would never patronize or claim to know how you feel but I do know\n\nwhat it's like, and I know it hurts a lot.\" Patrick looked concerned,\n\n\"You?!, Why do people call you those things?, You're not like me, why\n\nwould they do that to you?, You're normal.\" Jace smiled, putting out\n\na hand on the table and nearly patting Patrick's arm, then drew back,\n\nnot wanting to make the feline uncomfortable. That would no doubt come\n\nlater, Jace thought bitterly to himself. \"Oh, it's nothing obvious,\n\nit's just, well, I just met you and I don't want to risk alienating\n\nyou so quickly...\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Patrick looked puzzled at the skunk's reluctance, Jace didn't\n\nnotice as he sat with his eyes glued to the tip of his tail, watching\n\nit flip against his leg, finally shrugging, \"OK, maybe you'll feel\n\nmore comfortable telling me later, after we've gotten to know one\n\nanother better. It can't be that bad, can it?\" Jace jerked as though\n\nhe'd been poked in the side, \"You'd be surprised.\" He muttered to\n\nhimself, thinking the feline couldn't hear, \"What?\" Patrick asked.\n\n\"Oh, nothing, I just said I'd like that a lot, getting to know you\n\nbetter, that is...\" Seeing Patrick nod Jace paused hesitantly, \"Uh,\n\nPatrick, would you like to go somewhere a little more relaxed than\n\nhere and talk..?, You don't have to, we can stay here if you\n\nlike...\"\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n* * *\n\\\u003e end part II\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Love\\'s Shadow","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/212374-love-s-shadow-part-1.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/212385-love-s-shadow-part-3.json"}}