Collar 8 -- The Calling
The vicarage was rarely so quiet as it was in those moments after Fletcher's release. I heard the pup's panting breath gradually slow as he collapsed in my arms, falling into a light doze that I was loathe to disturb. All around, stillness gave us a...
What It's About
"Why do you suppose no one's written porn about us?" The young meerkat nearly dropped the bar of weights that he was trying to bench press. He was saved from an untimely crushing of his chest by the intervention of a large, black, silver-striped...
Attar of Blue Roses, Part 1
"If you value your life, drive." A fury of feathers and feathers, of wings and hooves, of two or more shades of white and a spun white-gold of mane and tail, of speed and desperation, earth and wind in fear-full motion. The large side door of the...
The Stag and the Ocean
The gray-muzzled black wolf looks up from his pages of scratching to see his friend, and he beams at him warmly from within and without. "zeryx! welcome, my lovely."
Attar of Blue Roses, Part 2
It was a long time before the sobbing became the hushed tears of relief, and from there came the quiet moments of recovering from both the pain and the ebbing of pain. Through it all, Regan simply held the Pegasus close to himself, offering warmth and...
Jumping Mouse, Part 1
"Mrs. Peel... you're needed." I'd have jumped out of my fur entirely, if I hadn't caught a whiff of wintergreen a few seconds earlier. As it was, I pivoted in place and looked at the tall, lanky figure leaning against the coat closet door of my condo,...
Bloodline, Part 1
It had been about two months since that first night with Abram. For a long while, what I felt most was a peculiar kind of emptiness, a sensation of a large hole in my spirit. When that image finally came to me fully, I realized exactly what it was that...
The Second Door
Zachary Parker took in a huge breath, letting it out slowly at first, and then the rest with a wry chuckle. "What am I doing that for?" "To calm yourself, I would expect." The young Akita looked at the great crimson dragon sitting next to him....
Gaming the System
I left the employment queue, keeping my anger in check. It was bad enough that they weren't going to give me a job at this high-and-mighty office complex; I wasn't going to give them the excuse to have me incarcerated as well. Just as well that it...
Crime Scene
_ Tuesday, April 2 Winchester Heights_ A lot of things may be said to swarm. Bees do it, as the old song goes. So do football fans at the stadium gates. Groupies at a rock concert. Relatives at a will reading. The swarm that I see most...
Collar 10 -- Glory
Mrs. Whitson escorted me back to the vicarage, her arm wrapped in mine in the perfectly continental style of good friends walking together on a fine summer's afternoon. Speaking for myself, I needed the support. My emotions continued to war within me,...
Ring In the New
"Happy New Year, GMT!" Laughter rang with the clinking of glasses filled with sparkling cider, toasts were drunk all round, and then began the joyous abandon of kissing in the new year. Eoin snagged Zachary for his first and warmest kiss, and for a...