Furnace of Stars, part 4
Here I was. Again. _Still_. Gazing out towards the earth from the little window in my cabin. It had been blue and green once, they told me. Lush, verdant, _wet._ Fertile and teeming with life. Nowadays, it was dark brown. Even the parts I knew were...
The Badlands Facility
The badlands. Hot, hostile, with nothing but scorching sun during the day, and sapping cold when night fell. No vegetation, no water, and very little shelter. Without water, the average person would be dehydrated in a matter of hours, and certainly...
The Blossoming
Chapter 1 Supposedly, every ten years, the small village that Cayden and Mara were headed towards threw the _wildest_ parties imaginable. Being in his early twenties, that was exactly what Cayden needed. The location was a little unusual, but Mara - a...
Furnace of Stars, part 5
The station was devoid of life. The quietness of it all felt almost funereal. A crypt. There was no heat, either, which left everything near freezing cold. A thin layer of frost was forming on all surfaces now that there was air that could...
No Big Deal
Three figures stood outside their unmarked black sedan at the city limits. The wind blew cold, perhaps portentous. Even here, the distant scents of the city could be picked out by the sensitive nose. Chemical-soaked industry, cars, bakeries, _sex,_all...
The Lion Queen
Once, they'd considered these vast, dry lands to be badlands. Something uninhabitable by any living thing. And yes, certainly there was an argument for it. Not much grew here, at least beyond actively irrigated areas. But the lands were vast, quiet,...
The Opera Heist
Night fell over the city. When one wandered the streets, it was difficult to notice much of a difference. In many places, the buildings were so tall that they blocked out most of the sun, and the glare of nu-neon lights ensured that nobody ever...
The Badlands Facility: Bat Country
The bat growled. She had the muscular breeder pinned down, not thanks to physical strength, but because of sheer dominance. Despite his massive size and strength, the lion was helpless beneath her, and that was before she'd even touched his...
The Fate of the Insectoids
Solinex stared at himself in the mirror. He clacked his mandibles, and his antennae - where a regular dragon would have horns - twitched in response. It wasn't fair, none of it was the slightest bit fair. In the last few days, just after coming of age,...
The Grand Academy, part 3
"Hey there, sleepy! I could give you something that might help," a giggling, melodic voice that sounded a little like a twinkling star might, echoed in the darkness. "If you promise to trust me later." Lilian floated, unformed, in a vast darkness...
New Year's Conception
Chapter 1 New Year's Eve. Alkain woke up, stretching all four of his arms in his slightly too small satin-clad bed. Buying a new one _was_ on the list, he just hadn't had time for it. He hadn't been expecting a sudden final growth spurt now that he...
Love in an Elevator
"Good morning, good morning, almost Christmas innit?" the security guard asked the otter as he checked her ID and waved her into the enormous skyscraper. It was close to a dystopian megabuilding but wasn't quite there yet; the bottom floor was...