Story name: Daylight Fading
Author: Chris Hoekstra
Publication date: January 4, 2000 (on TSA-Talk)
Date: Early September, 706 CR
Location: Metamor Keep (Rickkter's residence, Jolly Collie)
Overview
Rickkter takes Kayla out to dinner, where he stands up to a bully. Kayla discovers something that forever changes their relationship.
Summary
Kayla is doing surprisingly well against Rickkter at chess, and she asks what's wrong. Rickkter says he's been thinking about Caroline's visit with him earlier that afternoon. Kayla hopes she gets better. Rickkter says that Caroline invited her to visit this week, to plan something for Misha. Kayla asks if he's going to make a move. Instead of continuing the chess game, Rick announces he's off to dinner, and asks Kayla if she will join him. After a sarcastic remark, Kayla tells him to take her someplace nice tonight, and they set off arm-in-arm.
Kayla thinks about how lucky she's been of late, to have both Rickkter and Murikeer as friends. She admires Rickkter's body, and thinks back to several days ago, when she played with his ears to the amusement of the Longs. Rickkter notices and asks her why she's smiling. Kayla says she was thinking of when Rick dumped a pitcher of mead on Misha's head after Muri sprayed the former, an incident Rickkter is still annoyed by. He asks where they're headed, and Kayla says that she's decided to visit the Jolly Collie for the first time, but heard good things about it from the Bolva incident. Rickkter hasn't visited it either, but heard the Longs frequent it, and they joke about what sort of food Long Scouts would order.
Kayla orders an expensive meal at the Jolly Collie; Rickkter's is less so. They talk about their ages and their family histories, though Rickkter makes Kayla go first. Kayla talks about growing up with wealth and prestige in Chantry before moving to Metamor, when they lost everything in the battle. She skips over her fling with John Glass, and instead focuses on rebuilding herself after getting a job in intelligence. When the food arrives, Rickkter tries to avoid discussing his family, but Kayla insists. He keeps his history vague and changes the names, and still stumbles over Deanna. He also remembers to tell Kayla that Caroline is playing the flute, and Kayla suggests they play a duet some time.
After eating some more, Kayla asks how he's taken to being a raccoon. Rickkter says it's gotten easier with the help of friends, especially Kayla. Most of his friends are warriors and mages, but Kayla is someone different, someone pretty who freely chose to spend time with him. Kayla laughs at that, but she thinks back to their first date during the Summer festival, the first time in a while since she'd been asked out. Through him, she'd made friends with Caroline and his other friends, and ever since their date at the Tavern's Hearth, she's felt something for him.
Suddenly, there is a scream. A trader across the room has grabbed a server girl, who is resisting. Rickkter, like everyone else, doesn't think it his place to interfere, but Kayla shoots him a look, and so he gets up to confront him. At first, Rick is simple and direct; then he teases the trader for having a thing for women who used to be men. The trader tells him to mind his own business, and is shocked when Rickkter punches him in the jaw. The trader switches to his native Fassitian, saying that he'll kim him, take the serving girl and take the raccoon's smelly girlfriend, in very crude terms. Rickkter pretends not to understand Fassitian until that last remark; he says in Fassitian he just made a very big mistake, and quickly throws his head against the bar, warning him never to threaten another Keeper again before knocking him out. He tells his two colleagues that the man seems drunk and should rest for the rest of the night. Kayla watches the exchange in astonishment. When Rickkter returns, he is in an oddly quiet mood, and remains so as they finish their meal and return to Rick's rooms.
Rickkter suggests they finish their chess game, and as Rick sits and studies his next move, Kayla wanders over to a bookshelf and sees Rick's drawings. She flips with delight through them, and reaches Rick's fine picture of herself before he can stop her. A long embarrassed silence follows. She likes it, but asks why did he make it, and why of her. Rick says he just followed his muse. Kayla puts back the drawings and wishes Rickkter good night. But before she gets to the door, she stops and asks Rick if he finds her pretty. After a long silence, he says no, she's not pretty… she's more than pretty, she's beautiful. They hug, and caress each other; and Rick admits he doesn't know how to kiss with a muzzle. Kayla laughs and guides his head in. It has been too long since either of them were with someone. They kiss again, and let the world slip away. At some point, Rick remembers telling Kayla that, despite being a soldier, he was too ashamed of his appearance to visit a prostitute; Kayla told him with a kiss that he had nothing to be ashamed of.
Rickkter wakes up to find Kayla in his bed. As he watches her beautiful slumber, she stirs, and is startled awake at finding Rickkter with her. He bids her good morning, and after a long nervous silence, she smiles and greets him with a lick on his nose.
Characters
Main characters:
- Kayla: A skunk morph, an intelligence secretary, and Rickkter's girlfriend. Rickkter is the first, besides her friend Jessica, to have heard her life story. After seeing Rick's drawing of her, she almost leaves, but she stops and asks if she is pretty. Rick's answer overfills her with joy, and she and Rickkter make love.
- She has human-proportioned arms and legs. She keeps her tail against her back as she walks, and has thin fur on her ears. She has white fur down her chin, the front of her neck, and her whole belly. Her fur is long on her stomach, and her side fur is lush. Her breasts are not large, but ample.
- Caroline likes her friendship, just for being a woman instead of a soldier.
- She was born in late June of 677 CR. She grew up in wealth and privilege in the city of Chantry, and was primarily raised by her grandfather until his death in 696 CR. Her father then took her north to Metamor, living just outside the Keep. Then, during the attack on Metamor, raiders destroyed her home, and Lutins killed her father and her lover. After 8 months, she ran out of money and was forced to lodge with John Glass. Her only friend was Jessica, who worked in intelligence, and eventually offered her a job. She struggled at first, but eventually became one of Phil's writing assistants.
- She inherited her gift of memory from her father, and her tactical thinking from her grandfather.
- She had not been especially beautiful before the curse; most of her suitors were attracted to her money than her beauty.
- Rickkter: A raccoon morph, a battle mage and Kankoran, member of the Order of the Ebon Dragon, and Kayla's boyfriend. He tells his history to Kayla, though changes some details. He fights a bully at her request, and is troubled with emotion, up to the moment she asks if she is pretty. He declares his love for her, and they make love that evening.
- He stands a little under 6 feet tall, and is of average weight. He has human-proportioned arms and legs, as well as his former human shape and build. He has thick fur on his ears. He keeps his tail close to his feet.
- He wears a new leather jacket that he bought a few days ago on an outing with Kayla.
- He was born circa 672 CR, and celebrates his birthday in the summer. He doesn't know the exact date or year; he estimated it back in his childhood, and decided arbitrarily on summer as the season he felt older.
- He has had to explain this many times before.
- He never knew his family or his homeland. His earliest memories are of the Southlands, yet ethnically, he looks like he came from the north-eastern lands. His father taught him the basics of magic. At the age of 7, he was given to a sect of warriors to be raised by them, and never saw his father again.
Minor characters:
- A trader who assaults a server at the Jolly Collie. He is used to getting his way with young women. After he insults Kayla to Rickkter's face, Rick punches him in the gut and breaks his nose and several of his front teeth against the bar. He is warned not to insult any Keeper ever again, before he is hit in the neck and knocked out.
- He is Fassitian, and has a thick accent. He is drunk and smelly.
- He is 6 foot 4 inches, at least 200 pounds (80 pounds more than Rickkter), and is very muscular. He appears to be almost twice the server's age (late 20's to early 30's).
Cameo:
- A waitress at the Jolly Collie, a female gendermorph, not yet 18 and likely unused to her new form. The bullying trader grabs her by the arm and doesn't let go until Rickkter punches him. She is fine, though shaken.
- Two traders, dressed in similar clothes as and probably colleagues of the bullying trader. They were part of a convoy that will be leaving tomorrow morning. After the fight, Rickkter tells them to make sure the trader stays in his room.
Important mention:
- Caroline: An otter morph, a Long Scout, and a friend of Kayla's and Rickkter's. She has invited Kayla to see her this week, to plan a surprise for Misha.
- Rickkter predicts her hands will heal within a week, though her mental health is still uncertain.
- Kayla only got to know Caroline through Rickkter. For a long time, Kayla had only known of her through scout reports.
- Elijhah Tremayne: Kayla's paternal grandfather. He famously wrote a book on unconventional battle tactics. He gained wealth during "the wars", and was raised to minor nobility, but left the money to his son to manage. He disagreed with his son's career, and wanted him to join the military. He finally relented, and became the primary caretaker of his granddaughter Kayla. He died in 696 CR.
- The Tremayne household had a long military tradition. Their name was respected in Chantry, though it had little influence elsewhere.
- Andrew Tremayne: Kayla's father. He turned a small portion of his father's money into a modest fortune for himself. After his wife died, the family moved around and eventually stayed in Chantry, where he became a banker and money lender. After his father's death, he moved to Metamor with his daughter, still working as a money lender. He was killed in the Battle, and his creditors never paid back, leaving Kayla destitute.
- Rickkter's father. Ethnically, he resembled a north-easterner like Rick. He taught his son magic, but never told Rick much about himself. When Rick was 7, he gave his son to a sect of warriors to raise him, and never saw his son again.
- Rickkter speculates his father was dying of the same disease that would later try to claim him.
Referenced:
- Misha: A fox morph, head of the Long Scouts, Caroline's boyfriend.
- Jessica (intel AR): A child morph, Kayla's coworker, one of her longest friends. They and a circle of friends are regulars at the Tavern's Hearth. She worked in intelligence before Kayla; she helped give Kayla her current position.
- Murikeer: A skunk morph, Kayla's good friend and Rick's partner.
- Llyn: A mink morph, a Long Scout who is Murikeer's lover but jealous of Kayla's time with Murikeer. Kayla thought Llyn disliked her for being a skunk, though that is clearly not the case.
- Brian Coe: A raccoon morph. His arms and legs are squatly proportioned like an animal's.
- Bolva: An evil automaton.
- Kayla's mother. She married Kayla's father in 675, gave birth to Kayla in 677, and died in 678 of an incurable disease.
- John Glass: A male gendermorph, an ex-boyfriend of Kayla's, a womanizer.
- Phil: A high-degree rabbit morph, current head of Keep intelligence. He didn't start working in intelligence until a year after Kayla started work. Because of his high-degree form, he is unable to write, and so he dictates to Kayla.
- Deanna: Rickkter's former lover, whom Rick had unintentionally killed.
- Kershaw: One of Rickkter's friends, a Long Scout.
- The owner of the Jolly Collie, who is unusually absent.
- Saroth: A dragon morph, whose picture Rickkter sketched.
- Gornul: A dragonette, whose picture Rickkter sketched.
Locations
- The Jolly Collie is a restaurant and inn that caters to all kinds of patrons.
- The main hall has a long table and several benches along one wall.
- Among the meals they serve: (an expensive) thrush in wine sauce stuffed with figs; (a less expensive) cooked pheasant. Among the drinks they serve: wine and mead.
- Chantry has a long cultured history, notable for its charming houses, and its beautiful gardens and marble temples.
Chronology
Kayla's personal history
- Circa 675 CR, using his father Elijhah's influence, Andrew Tremayne took a wife in a political marriage.
- In late June 677 CR, Kayla was born to Andrew and his wife.
- In 678 CR, Kayla's mother died from an incurable disease. Kayla, Andrew, and Elijhah subsequently moved around and eventually stayed in Chantry.
- In 696 CR, when Kayla was 19, Elijhah Tremayne died. Kayla and her father moved north to Metamor, hoping to take advantage of some new trade opportunities.
- During the Battle of Three Gates, Kayla's father lost his home, and soon after was killed by Lutins. Kayla was left transformed into a skunk morph with few possessions and little money.
- 8 months after the Battle, Kayla ran out of money, and moved in with John Glass.
- Some time after moving in with John Glass, Jessica got Kayla a job in intelligence, and Kayla was able to support herself freely, eventually leaving John Glass.
- About a year after Kayla began working in intelligence, Phil took over as head of intelligence, and Kayla began taking notes for him.
Other events
- Kayla and Rickkter had several dates not mentioned in stories:
- one afternoon, during a lunch break, she saw Rick in the gardens with his drawings. They spent so much time talking that Kayla was late from her break.
- several days ago, they were at a dinner with Misha, Caroline, and other Long Scouts, where Kayla snuck up behind Rick and played with his ears.
- a couple days ago, they went out and bought Rickkter a leather jacket that she chose.
- This story takes place at least a day or two after Casual Evening, and the same day as Balance in All Things.
Story Connections
- "That one day" when Rickkter showed Kayla around his apartment was in Somehow Here Again.
- The date during the summer solstice festival happened in Fun and Games.
- The date at The Tavern's Hearth occurred in Roses and Thorns.
- The "incident with Bolva" refers to First and Last, which was also the first appearance of the Jolly Collie.
Behind the Scenes
- Rickkter quotes "Pretty changes. Beautiful is what the mind arranges." This is a rewording of a Stephen Sondheim lyric: "Pretty is what changes / What the eye arranges / Is what is beautiful".
- He also quotes "there is no beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion", adapted from a Francis Bacon quote.
Rickkter and Kayla | |
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Stories | Stories in yellow are not part of the arc proper, but give important context for later stories. |
A Place Where There Is No Darkness · Somehow Here Again · Fun and Games · Roses and Thorns · Actions and Reactions · Dissuasion · Apologies · Casual Evening · Balance in all Things · Daylight Fading |