Kani’s story, part 2

The clouds had started to break during the time Kani was in the coffee shop, drizzle replaced by sunbeams, the air strong with pavement-after-rain scent. The coyote took a circuitous route to the burger place the barista had mentioned, following a wider avenue with a light rail line running down the median for a few blocks. It all looked new, almost suspiciously clean, a public transit project pushed through with a “build it and they will come” hope rather than meeting an overdue need. Kani bet it only ran through the downtown shopping and business districts, without truly reaching neighborhoods anyone lived in. Or the campus.

On the flip side, though, everything was clean, a goal ever-fewer cities in the whole Port Clarita metro area could hit as income disparity widened and the homeless population skyrocketed. The city had become a cautionary tale to residents of other metro areas; discussion boards in the tech news space echoed a constant “why would anyone live there” refrain. Kani had grown to find that both true and more than a little irritating, though. When they’d moved out a decade ago, it was for the simple reason that when the company over in Palmetto City folded, literally no one else in that city of 200,000 wanted a Unix web developer for anything more than short-term contract work. Port Clarita was a mess now, yes, but it was a victim of its own success.

Mensura, though… hmm. It reminded them a little of Santa Angelita, the state capital a couple hours northeast of Port Clarita, and a little of a northwest college town they’d visited a couple times. It seemed nice. But it didn’t seem like a town that would have jobs for…

The coyote stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, brow furrowing. Jobs for what? This was the question they’d been avoiding seriously engaging with on this walkabout. Maybe I could start a craft brewery. Maybe I could run a coffee shop. This town could use a good tiki bar! Are all museum docents volunteers? You always wanted to work with a wildlife rescue group. Nothing that seemed realistic, let alone actionable. Then again, maybe those weren’t the right criteria.

Sighing, Kani shook their head and continued on. Burger Stand stood just ahead. It looked a little more dive bar than they’d expected: dim lighting, dark wood everywhere, loud music. A lot of college-age kids, although more than a few folks the coyote’s age and older. Also a couple shirts emblazoned with “RCC” and something that looked like a college logo, but nothing with Mensura College. Hmm.

A quick look around showed it was a counter service place, and right now there was no line, just a single squirrel finishing her order. The goat had been right: it was a kind of crazy menu, as many veggie burgers as meat. The “Fire Burger” was topped with avocado, greens, and habanero-cactus jam. Kani ordered that and an alcoholic shake with the dubious name of “Cinnamon Toast Crunk,” and headed to one of a few long community tables.

The group with the RCC shirts was at the same table, toward the opposite end. They looked like jocks, two tigers and a fox, all well over six feet, shirts stretched tight over wide chests. Kani didn’t mind that look, not at all, although it was just about the polar opposite of the coyote’s willowy build. (Well, the last half-year or so in Port Clarita they’d gotten decidedly non-willowy When their conversation hit a lull and one of the tigers glanced in Kani’s direction, the coyote nodded, then tilted their head. “What’s RCC?”

“Redwood Community College.”

“The only college in Mensura,” the wolf added. The others laughed.

Kani grinned. “Cross-town rivalry?”

“Nah, not really.” The first tiger shrugged. “They don’t play sports there, and most of them don’t ever come into town ’cause they don’t wanna deal with the muggles or whatever. I don’t think they can even study anything real like communication or business. It’s like… magic shit.”

The wolf snorted. “Major in magic shit, minor in looming.” That got another round of laughter.

“Hey.” The tiger who hadn’t spoken yet gave Kani a searching look. “You a guy or a girl?”

The wolf punched the tiger in the shoulder. “Don’t ask shit like that, man.” Despite the admonition, all three pairs of eyes locked on the coyote.

A little knot formed in Kani’s stomach. They’d had maybe two confrontations over their appearance in three years in Port Clarita—and another two just on this month-long trip. Now three. A curt “I just have long hair” was at least true, and didn’t make the coyote feel like they’d lied to avoid a fight. It didn’t make them feel good, though.

“Kani, your order is ready!” came a chirpy voice over the speakers.

“I’m a coyote,” Kani answered, hopping up and heading to the counter without giving them a chance to respond.

The burger looked sloppy, but smelled delicious. Kani picked up the tray and glanced around for a different seat, then sighed inwardly. There might not have been a line, but there weren’t any open tables, either. There was another community one on the other side of the room, more crowded but with fewer jock types.

Kani headed that way, pausing when a squirrel sitting there looked over. She wasn’t sitting quite at the end, but one seat down; the coyote hovered by the end sat on the opposite side. “Is this taken?”

She swallowed a bite of her own sandwich, then hesitated, sighed, and waved at the seat. “Go ahead.” She’d been the one in the line ahead of them, hadn’t she?

“Thanks.” They set down their tray, and the squirrel went back to her sandwich—chicken, it looked like. She closed her textbook, putting it aside, and opened a small notebook, writing in it.

Another student, then, although so far not as rude as the other RCC types. Kani took a big bite of their own burger, then coughed, eyes widening. They hadn’t been kidding about the habanero.

The squirrel looked up. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” Kani wheezed, taking a quick gulp of the shake. That had its own burn from the cinnamon liqueur, but at least it wasn’t capsaicin—and the ice cream mellowed the alcohol out. The coyote gave her a weak smile, then caught the title of the textbook by her side: Principles of Transmutational Thaumaturgy. Thaumaturgy? Magic? Their eyes widened.

Her eyes flicked down to the book, too. She tensed.

Kani’s ears lowered. Given the way the RCC students had been talking, she likely expected to get crap for being revealed as attending Mensura. Blurting out don’t worry, I’m not with the jerks would only ramp up the awkwardness, but maybe it could be established obliquely. “I just wasn’t expecting the heat. I’ve never been here before—I just got into town a couple hours ago.”

She nodded slightly. “Looking at RCC?”

“I’d never heard of it before like ten minutes ago.”

“Oh. I saw you talking with…” She gestured vaguely in the direction of the jocks.

“Yeah, they didn’t really give me the best impression.”

The squirrel didn’t smile, but she visibly relaxed. “I’m sure most RCC students are nice, but they’ve got a… bad attitude toward our school.”

“I’d picked up on that. They made it sound like Mensura has a bad attitude toward them, but there was a definite feeling of projection there.”

“Yes.” She took a bite of her sandwich again, then smiled wryly. “I’m everything they’re scared of.”

Kani grinned more impishly. “The studying magic part, or the squirrel part?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Honestly, that combination probably secretly terrifies them. Predator species tend to get really nervous around powerful prey species.” She paused, biting her lip in a suddenly self-conscious way. “Um, I mean—”

“No, I’ve seen that. Not much back in Port Clarita, but I remember it growing up on the east coast. There were a couple mice who treated me like I might gnaw off their face at any minute, and a jackrabbit who punched me a lot to ‘keep the trashdog in line.’”

She grimaced. “Ugh.”

“It was a long time ago.” The coyote gave a slight shrug. “Anyway, I don’t really care about that kind of stereotype.”

Her huge tail flicked, and she shifted to a more openly curious look. “So are you here to look at Mensura College?”

“I…” Kani laughed. “I hadn’t thought about going back to school, but maybe. It’d be a hell of a change.”

“What are you in town for, then?” She’d finished her sandwich, and licked off her finger pads. Oh, she was really pretty, wasn’t she? Lavender eyes, wavy red hair, buxom build. It wasn’t that Kani hadn’t noticed until then, but her action snapped that into sudden focus. Also, she was really ten years younger than the coyote.

“Ah.” Kani kept a level, casual voice. Hopefully. “That’s hard to explain without saying something cheesy like ‘finding the next chapter in my life.’” They flashed a lopsided grin. “But I guess I kind of am. Figuring out where I’m going to live, what I’m going to do next.” Back to the burger for a few more bites. They were getting used to the heat, at least.

“Oh.” Her eyes widened and she chewed on her lip, then laughed. “I have nearly a year to go before I have to do that. But you haven’t explained why you’re trying to find that chapter here in Mensura.”

“The barista asked me that, too. She said people who end up here are here for a reason. Although she also said the city might have some kind of enchantment on it that makes the rest of the world not think about how weird giants and magic are. Uh, at least weird out there. I guess not so much here.”

“Not so much here as wherever you’re from, at least. But giants are only common on campus. Although you see them in this neighborhood sometimes.”

“What, just walking down the street?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Her grin edged into a smirk. “There are traffic controls for them, and most drivers know not to freak out if they’re sharing the road with paws bigger than their cars.”

“‘Most,’” Kani echoed.

She giggled. “They learn quickly.” The smirk lingered. “So is it the magic or the giants, then?”

“What, that brings me here?” The coyote laughed. “Has to be one of those, does it?”

“You broke through the enchantment, though. If there is one. So what else would it be?”

Kani blinked, then laughed again. “Ah. Well, I don’t know. It could be both, couldn’t it? I’ve met a magician now, and I have yet to meet a giant.”

“Just go to campus.”

“For the ‘Mixed Size Single Mixer?’”

Her smirk slipped away into confusion. “The what?”

“A poster I saw at the coffee shop.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’ve seen those around. I think it’s a monthly thing at the Beanstalk. But I just meant anywhere on the campus.”

“I should. I probably will.”

She lifted both brows. “What’s the ‘but’?”

“But it sounds just a little terrifying?”

“Oh, the first time a giant leans down and talks to you, you’re probably going to feel like you’re having a heart attack.”

“Great.” Kani finished off the burger and took another sip of the shake. “At risk of being leading, it would be nice if I had a friend there who might introduce me to a giant rather than going in cold.”

After a moment of hesitation, she held out her hand. “I’m Jillian.”

Kani took her hand. “Kani.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Jillian.”

She smiled, but Kani saw another moment of hesitation in her eyes. Kani? Connie? Feminine? Masculine? Now came the awkward part, explaining about pronouns, although maybe—

“I hope this isn’t too forward or way off-target, but are you nonbinary?”

Kani stopped and stared, slightly open-jawed.

“Sorry.” She held up her hands.

“No, no! Don’t be sorry at all. Yes. I am.” They took a deep breath. “It’s just… you’re… I think you’re the first person who’s just looked at me and… asked that.” Kani realized their voice had started to shake a little.

Jillian smiled, looking self-conscious again for a moment. “It just seemed right.” She cleared her throat, sipping her own drink, an amber-colored beer. “How long do you plan to stay in Mensura to see if it’s your next chapter?”

“At least three nights, since that’s how long I have the hotel room booked for.”

“Okay. So.” She leaned forward, focusing more intently on the coyote. “I should show you a giant.”

Kani grinned. “That shouldn’t wait for the mixer?”

“I guess we can go if you want.”

The coyote picked up the shake, keeping a straight face. “What’s the ‘but’?”

“Are you looking to date a giant?”

Kani paused mid-sip, setting the shake down again. “Date? I…” They ran a hand through their hair. “I don’t even know how that would work.”

She giggled. “You’re the one who keeps mentioning the singles mixer. It’s not like you’d be the first little interested in giants that way.”

“I was mostly joking.”

“Mostly?”

“I swear I hadn’t even thought much about giants before I decided to come here.” They raised their hands in surrender. “Let’s just stick to introducing me to a giant, not setting me up with one.”

She grinned and pulled out her phone. “I have a class I need to get to, but why don’t we meet at the… hmm. Actually, at the campus’s main entrance at six o’clock, and I can walk you to the Beanstalk.”

“All right.” Kani finished up the last of their shake, then glanced at their watch. Not quite two.

“Send me your contact info, and I’ll send you mine.”

Kani grinned, getting out their own phone and tapping on it. “You’re kind of a take-charge type.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I’d say that.” She looked at her phone as Kani’s contact info appeared, then sent her own info back. “I just believe in going for what I want. Like…” She put her phone away and smiled. “A date with a cute coyote I met at the burger place.”

Kani blinked.

“Oh wow, you’re even cuter when you’re flustered.” She covered a giggle, and headed back toward the restaurant’s exit.

The coyote followed, just beyond the range of her huge tail. “I mean, I’d love to go on a date with you, but I thought this was just about introducing me to a giant.” Outside, the sky had completely cleared, but the temperature had dropped.

“I said show you a giant.” She turned around, flashing a devilish grin. “I can introduce you to a giant right now.”

“What?” Kani looked around, ears skewing. “How?”

She took their hand in hers. “Hi. I’m Jillian.”

What? She didn’t—but she wasn’t— Kani blinked again, feeling their ears skew. “You’re… you… you change size?” The coyote’s voice squeaked, which just made her grin widen.

“Mmm-hmm.”

“You’re serious.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“You can magically become a giant.”

The squirrel sighed melodramatically. “No.” She leaned close to the coyote, putting a hand on their shoulder and speaking softly in their ear. “I have to use magic to become this tiny.”

Kani’s eyes widened. Their mouth opened, but nothing came out but a near-voiceless yip.

Jillian stepped back and literally bounced with glee. “So, so cute. Promise me you’ll show up.”

After a couple unsuccessful tries at making a noise, Kani just nodded their head.

“See you in a few hours, Kani.”

The coyote watched her scurry off, then took a deep breath. “Three Lords, what am I getting myself into.” They ran a hand through their hair again, then headed back toward the hotel.