Summary
Scratch interrupts Pascal's dye experiment to deliver a rose and to invite her to dinner. At the Deaf Mule, Pascal is uncomfortable by an angry-looking beaver at the counter; Scratch informs her that he is the newly transformed Michael. Pascal regrets the first impression she made on her.
The next morning, Pascal's attempt to reactivate the experiment causes an accident, temporarily dying Scratch purple. To Pascal's relief, Scratch is not mad, and the water he bathes in can be used to finish the experiment. When they arrive at the Deaf Mule to have breakfast, Michael laughs at Scratch's new colors, and the two have a heated discussion about tolerating their differences.
Back at the lab, Pascal finds herself distracted by her animal heat, and when Scratch leaves for the day, she creates a concoction inspired by a meditative vision of plaid. While wearing ordinary fur colors, she visits Michael and tries to apologize. After some hostility from Michael, he relents and decides to begin a romance with her.
Scratch doesn't want to admit his jealousy to Pascal, so he gradually disappears from her life, as she and Michael have fun around the Keep. They prank Channing's poetry meeting with morph rings. He takes a potion to change his fur colors, just for her, with the promise that she can change him back, before inviting her to the Gnawer's Support Group. They share a bed together.
Some time later, Pascal heads to Scratch's place and apologizes. She realizes she doesn't want a commitment with Michael when he's still new to his form. She admits she wants someone who can handle her love of colors, and confesses that Michael's new colors will be coming out in a few weeks, to Scratch's delight. Scratch then tells her about his pact with Akkala, to be her servant and abstain from unholy pleasures for five years. All three of them meet again at the Deaf Mule to enjoy breakfast.
When Michael's colors do appear, he is furious. He is convinced that the lumber crew are laughing at him, just as Pascal and Scratch are laughing at him. A few days later, as Scratch is excitedly clarifying that unholy pleasures does not include sex between married couples, Pascal informs him that a tree fell on Michael because he was distracted. She tries to make it up by offering to turn it black, but Michael finds that idea even worse. They both apologize for wanting to be in love badly enough to make these decisions, and part ways on bitter terms.
Characters
Main Characters:
- Pascal: The Keep's court alchemist, a splotchy-colored porcupine morph and female gendermorph, known for getting deeply engrossed in her experiments. She goes into heat and becomes infatuated with Michael, going on a variety of escapades. For her amusement, she transforms Michael's fur color to a plaid color, which ultimately ends their relationship.
- Pascal has black-and-white zebra-patterned quills, palms, and nose. Pascal's coloring is permanent, thanks to modifying her inherent traits with Magus's help. Most of the time, she is wearing a crimson-red robe. During her lab work, she also wears yellow latex gloves and clear work-spectacles. In colder experiments, she prefers being in latex form via her morph ring.
- In addition to the animal and gender curses, she has a bit of the infant curse, giving her the physique of a twenty-five year old.
- Pascal's heat technically happened last autumn; her current heat is a response to not getting pregnant then.
- She was born in June 669 CR and grew up in the East under a different name. As a young man, he moved to the Court, and became apprenticed to M'Koy. He changed his name to Pascal on the advice of a friend.
- At 19, people mistook him for 25, and sometimes mistook him for a woman. He has never had a masculine appearance.
- Scratch: The newest arrival at the Keep, a tiger morph and Pascal's lab assistant and love interest. He watches from afar as Pascal and Michael have a passionate affair, until Pascal's heat ends, and she returns to him.
- Upon taking effect, the curse changed him nearly instantly.
- He is serving a five-year pact to the goddess Akkala, and so is prohibited from unholy pleasures. This drives a wedge between him and Pascal, until the end of the story when the terms are clarified.
- Scratch is dyed purple near the start of the story; after two weeks his skin will be back to normal, and in a month his fur will also be normal.
- He wears very colorful clothing throughout the story. In his first scene, he wears a purple and pink shirt and pants, which turn pure white after his dye-job. The next day, he wears a green silk shirt and brown trousers.
- Michael: A new arrival at the Keep, newly transformed into a beaver morph. He is bitter about losing his humanity, and at the start bitter at Pascal for involving him in an experiment. He falls in love with Pascal, though, enough to take her experimental potion. This causes his fur to permanently turn plaid.
Minor Characters:
- Charles Matthias: A headmaster of the Keep, and a rat morph. He appears at the Gnawer's Support Group, and is surprised to see Pascal there, and that both Michael and Pascal are naked.
- Dr Channing: A headmaster of the Keep. He holds a poetry contest at the end of the month to celebrate the beginning of spring, choosing the five most inspirational poems to read.
Cameo:
- An otter who works as a waiter at the Deaf Mule.
Important Mention:
- Magus: A powerful wizard at the Keep. He helped to make Pascal's coloration permanent.
- M'koy: The Keep alchemist when Pascal arrived. He taught her all he knew, and she soon surpassed him in ability. He died from a heart attack in the night.
- Lindsey: A fellow lumberman. After his fur change, Michael saw him wearing a plaid shirt, which he took as a mockery.
Referenced:
- Thomas: The Duke of Metamor Keep. Pascal is commissioned to make some dye for him.
- Akkala: The Lothanasi god of healing, whom Scratch is in service to.
- She commanded Scratch not to have sex, but clarifies that sex between true lovers is permitted.
- Bryan: The Keep's mad scientist, a cobra morph. He was away from the Keep during the Battle of Three Gates, but he chose to rejoin the Keep rather than stay separated from his friends. He also cynically told Scratch that he only loved Pascal because of her then-current heat.
- Raven: The Keep Lightbringer who revived Scratch and set up his pact with Akkala.
Locations
- Pascal's alchemy lab also contains her quarters, with a bed and nightstand. Among her lab equipment are a work bench with many drawers, a burner with a flint and knife for lighting it, and stools for sitting. On the west wall she has a sink. To the south is her bathroom, with a bathtub that can run hot water.
- Michael's room is next door to Scratch's.
- At the Gnawer's Support Group this month, the refreshments are carrots, celery, cheese, crackers, white wine, and ale.
- Usually ale is not served; apparently the Deaf Mule is having trouble selling it at the moment.
- The people of the "Northwest" (past the lutins) dress in plaid.
Story Connections
- The story of the tree falling on Michael is gone into greater detail in Battling a Tree.
- Pascal mentions that Michael is the second coloring she's done — most likely, Elliot was the first.
- This is the first official appearance of Scratch in canon, although he appeared earlier in the non-canonical story "From the Shadows", which had established that Scratch is staying with Pascal as a lab assistant in return for a place to stay. It also established Scratch's contract with Akkala, which is the same as Chris's in Fetish.
Chronology
- The first day, Pascal takes Scratch out to the Deaf Mule for the evening. Michael is there, but does not notice them. A royal banquet is said to be coming.
- On day 2, Pascal turns Scratch purple and pink. At breakfast, Michael laughs at them. Pascal spends the day working on a plaid potion, and then visits Michael at the Deaf Mule that evening.
- On day 3, Channing visits Pascal at breakfast. Pascal mentions that Scratch's coloring will wear off in a few weeks. Channing mentions a poetry reading at month's end; Pascal mentions that Matthias is away.
- Some time after that, a couple weeks since Michael became a beaver, Pascal gives him a three pills to change his fur color, promising it will be temporary, but will take at least a month to undo, and will take a couple weeks for the new colors to grow in. He and Pascal then head to the Gnawers Support Group.
- A day or two afterwards, Pascal's heat is over, and she returns to Scratch and apologizes for abandoning him. Scratch's fur is said to be slightly purple — this is the last mention of his purple fur.
- Another day or two afterwards, Pascal has gently broken up with Michael. His roots are starting to change.
- A week after day 8, Michael's new colors have appeared. The Timber Crew have started wearing plaid shirts.
- Perhaps a day or two later, Michael is injured from a tree.
- Perhaps a day later, Pascal visits Michael in the infirmary. Scratch tells Pascal about his pact, and suggests a solution for Michael. Pascal tells Michael, who rejects the solution, and wants nothing more to do with her.
- From the above info, this day is somewhere between April 9th and April 16th.
