If you still haven't gleaned enough insight into the life and dangerous romance of the Kites, here's a bit more about them.
Alexander Kite [A.K.A. Capt. Alexia von Drachen]
Hair: Light blonde
Fur: Light brown
Eyes: Blue
Breed: Norwegian Forest Cat
Sex: Male
Important features: Alex wears an eye patch.
His right arm is a brass prosthetic, which he keeps hidden in normal life as Alexander, thanks to a colleague's invention of synthetic flesh.
He occasionally smokes a pipe, but he can quit any time.
Personality:
Though he's a mad inventor and a swashbuckling, piratical daredevil, Alexander appreciates the sense of calm he gains from Zoe's strong guiding hand, and it also calms him to indulge his feminine side in frills and finery.
Random facts:
His favorite colour is blue. His fondness for rollicking merriment aboard the airship Zanthus or in a good pub make his Piratess disguise the more comfortable of his personae, but he delights in the deception he can practice by putting on a fine lace frock and fancy manners for a night at the opera.
Zoetrope Kite [A.K.A. Stella Meowris or Admiral Somerset]
Hair: Pink
Fur: Very light brown; pink sealpoint
Eyes: Light blue
Breed: Siamese cat
Sex: Female
Important features:
Stella's facial tattoo of a red star is actually a removable beauty spot. She appears as Mrs. Zoetrope Kite or Admiral Somerset without the tattoo, and as Stella Meowris with it.
Personality:
Raised to be a demure Victorian lady, Zoe can play that role, but she's the power behind the throne and is not at all adverse to wearing the pants in the family.
Random facts:
Her favorite colour is dusty rose. She dances divinely, and is finicky about her food, preferring delicate fish and cheeses to those of greater pungency. Her ability to both adventure with, and rather dominate, her dashing spouse is a satisfaction to her, after escaping her childhood home of endless stern governesses and aunts.
The Story of Alexander and Zoetrope
Those shocking Kite kitties! Alexander was an uncontrollable rake from the get-go. His parents despaired of ever seeing him follow in the footsteps of his litter-mates, who were already settled in respectable careers, while Alex divided his time between building bizarre contraptions in the summerhouse, and disappearing like an alley cat for nights on end, coming back scarred but smug. Imagine their delight when this knavish son settled into professorial duties at a respectable univerity, albeit in the menial-sounding discipline of Mechanical Engineering!
Young Zoetrope had a similar habit of disappearing, but in a large household of sisters, aunts and cousines, her absence on circus nights had not been remarked by the governesses. One night as she performed her aeronautic feats, having ballooned into the fairgrounds and while exiting her balloon via highwire, her eye was caught by the gleaming blue eye---yes, just one gleaming blue eye, as the other was covered by a black patch---of a wild-piratical wench in the crowd. No word or sign passed, but there was a feeling of immediate understanding between the two naughty pusses.
Though she kept a sharp eye on her audiences thereafter, Zoe didn't catch sight of that gleaming blue eye again until one afternoon, taking tea in Oxford. Amid a group of professors who entered the teashop, there it was, that bright blue eye, and the other covered by the black patch. Being a mistress of disguise herself, Miss Zoetrope Henderson did not fail to recognize, and wheedle a proper introduction to, Mister Alexander Kite, Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
While their courtship spun out in the approved genteel manner, with Thursday afternoon calls leading gradually to carriage rides around the park, their secret lives became ever more inextricably intertwined. They became, as it were, implicated in one another's most daring escapades. By the time Mr. Kite asked Mr. Henderson for the hand of his daughter Zoetrope in marriage, Alexia and Stella were already inseparable partners in crime.
The charming pair were the talk of the town meadows in Rochdale. The Hendersons found the match eminently acceptable. The Kites breathed a sigh of relief, as it seemed that their wild Alex had finally found the miss who could manage him. Their honeymoon on the Airship Zanthus, where they went, what they did, and whose treasure was the lighter for it, was the newlyweds' own business... but it certainly set the tone for their entire marvelous marriage.
And to think the Hendersons, of Church of England upbringing, were only worried about their daughter marrying a Catholic ...
Wiffenpoof!