Safe
_"MORLOCK!"_ The wolf pup screamed the Word once, twice, three times. It was the Word, the Word he was supposed to use, but the massive malamute on top of him kept viciously assaulting his tailhole, a tirade of filth spewing from his muzzle even as...
Future Tense
**_Sunday Evening_** I took the carefully-boxed pie out of the van last, even though I didn't have that much else to bring in. Boyce had given me a short list of things he and Brady had wanted as a stop-gap till their next trip to the grocery. They...
Preaching to a Bear
At a certain college campus in Texas, where all the tallest tales begin, a trio of chaplains ministered to the students, each to his particular religion. The priest, Pentecostal preacher, and rabbi would often meet at the quieter of the three coffee...
Tending to Important Matters
**_Sunday Morning_** I stirred gently, waking to the sounds of birds and a whisper of soft music barely beginning. Stretching, I reached over to turn off the alarm. Some years ago, I had discovered the CD called_Morning/Jewel,_and I realized that...
Ariel Ascending
_"Ariel is the name of an angel... sometimes also of a demon..."_ --Cornelius Agrippa, Occultist (1486-1535) **_Saturday Evening_** I leaned back in the old, worn, but comfortable office chair (trying not to think of myself in quite the same...
FlashFic: After the Funeral
He lies dozing in my arms, finally having cried his fill. I still pet the pup's long, silken headfur tenderly, wishing that I could take away from him some of the pain, but knowing that pain at least as well as himself. It's not an easy thing, losing...
Collar
Rain can be a blessing or a curse, a pleasure or a penance, usually dependent upon three things: How much of it there is, whether or not you have to venture out in it, and what sort of things happen to you while it's going on. On a day when you can...
Character Vignette -- Once, With Another Woman...
What follows is one of my writing warm-up exercises, sparked the line in the title. The lady in question discovered something important about classical music... and other interpretive aspects of life... * * * My mother always said that I was a silly...
Exercise -- Write About a Premonition
As I've mentioned in my profile, I'll occasionally upload things that are snippets, observations, character studies, or just a part of a story that I'm playing with. Writing exercises can sometimes provide a wonderful starting point... or even a very,...
Amphorae
I stretched as well as an old wolf can, feeling my muscles trying to explain to me, yet again, that they all wanted to be laid tenderly, horizontally, upon the comfort of my bed, rather than more vertically in the office chair in front of my screens...
Bloodline, Part 4
I didn't sleep that night. One advantage to being my age is having learned some tricks over the years, which includes how to get by with little or no sleep for short periods. I was to meet Johnny later, and I had a lot of thinking to do. I had already...
Bloodline, Part 3
I took a few seconds longer than I'd wanted to, staring at Johnny's appearance. When he shifted a little on his hindpaws, I came back to myself, holding my expression neutral. I unlocked the door and ushered him into his apartment, following in without...