[Mkguild] Divine Travails of Rats - Pars III. Descensum (o)

[C. Matthias]

Short part today.

Metamor Keep: Divine Travails of Rats
by Charles Matthias and Ryx

Pars III: Descensum

(o)


Friday, May 11, 708 CR


"There is something I have to do before I ride out to the Narrows 
this morning," Charles announced as pulled his tunic over his head. 
Strange hands seem to be grasping the fabric, and the feel of the 
cloth over his short fur seemed to take as long as a shout across the 
lake, as if his thoughts were a heartbeat behind his actions. The 
strange sense of disconnect was always the most pronounced in those 
first few minutes after rising from slumber. At least he could 
recognize his wife, despite her secrets.

Kimberly had risen moments before him for the first time that week 
and so he could not slip away unnoticed as he preferred. The amethyst 
medallion she had acquired two days before rested between her breasts 
as she knelt before the trunk clad in naught else but her fur. For a 
moment, his eyes savoring the delicate curve of her hips, the soft 
tan of her fur, and the lovely turn of her scaly tail, he considered 
doffing his tunic and drawing her back to the bed for as much as they 
could before the children woke.

What is the medallion?

He grimaced as his wife turned, and his eyes scoured the web-like 
crimson lines decorating the gem. Why would she not tell him what it 
was? Each time he asked she demurred. Was even her nakedness a ploy 
to draw his mind away from her duplicity?

And yet you love her and ever seek to bring her joy. Remember her tears.

Charles sighed and reached for his red vest. "You will love the 
Narrows; I think I have found the perfect spot to build a fort there."

"Must you?" Kimberly ask as she selected a sleeveless sky-blue kirtle 
from trunk and laid it out across the bed. "Our home is here."

"The Narrows is my fief. It is my duty. It will take many years to 
build the fort, my love. The Glen and this tree will be our home for 
many years yet."

She smiled briefly though did not look at him. The witchlight she'd 
summoned on his stirring cast a pale, moonlit glow that dazzled in 
the facets of the her medallion. He winced as those shafts of light 
flickered in his eyes. Charles turned back to his attire, depositing 
trousers and his rat-head belt on his feather pillow. Both were very 
comfortable for riding, but also more presentable when meeting nobility.

"What errand are you going to run?"

"An errand of hope. I can say no more of it now. Either it works or 
it does not."

"And then you are going to spend all day in the Narrows?"

"I must."

She set out linen undergarments next to the kirtle and closed the 
trunk with a sigh. "Your children miss you. You've barely been home since..."

"I am a knight of the Glen and I have duties," he reminded her with a 
note of irritation churring in his throat. "I spent Sunday and much 
of Tuesday afternoon with them and I will do so again." Even with the 
disconnect, waning as it was, he could see the tightness gripping his 
wife's features before the words had finished escaping his tongue. 
His sudden bit of churlishness shamed him. "Forgive me for that. I 
will return early tonight. Our children need their father."

All five of them.

"And that is part of what my errand is about," he added with a smile 
even as he worked his legs into his trousers, taking care not to 
catch the fabric with his claws. "No, don't worry over it. It is 
nothing that's going to take me away from here."

Kimberly lowered her ears as she slipped a linen shirt over her head. 
After wriggling into it she asked, "What are you going to do?"

He cinched the trousers over his tail and shook his head. "I asked 
you not to worry over it. If it is successful I will tell you about 
it. If not, then it won't matter anyway." He buckled his belt and 
then stepped around the bed to where his wife focused on donning her 
clothes. The medallion was, for the moment, hidden beneath her white 
shirt, but he could still see its outline against her chest. He put 
his paws on her shoulders, though he only felt the warmth of flesh 
and the smoothness of the cloth a moment later. "I love you, my lady. 
I will see you in the late afternoon."

She lifted her snout and placed a kiss on its side. "I love you, my 
knight. Come home soon."

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May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love,

Charles Matthias
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