Cosmo Candle
The buggy broke down a week after they got it, which was really the capstone on the mountain of bullshit that had been the Gold Saucer. Barret got out and kicked the tires, like that would make the engine start again. He wasn't a mechanic, but as far...
Heats Suck
Heat burned low in him when he woke, spreading as his body awakened until its feverish warmth spread all through him. Last night, it hadn't felt like anything more than a slight fever, even with the knowledge that his first heat was on him. Instead...
Lessons ch. 2
Every inch of Treno bristled with bounty hunters, all of them with bounties of their own, and the lot of them chased the rest in a big circle. There was an etiquette to it; all it really took was a good bribe to get the bulk of them off your back, but...
On the Theory of Fire
It was cool near the surface of the caldera. Lava churned sluggishly, piling in cooling shelves at the rim; forming smooth-edged floes that jostled against each other before inevitably sinking beneath, to melt and reform. The temperature was positively...
Species Recombination ch. 1
Marcus shuffled forward, staying in the shadows. The second floor balconies, or what were left of them, were in stark shadow, light splashing up from the plaza below, across the remains of the walls and out into the cavern around him. He was in the...
Barbed Lusts
Aunt Lotte was the one he recognized, stepping off the bus. She was flanked by two guys, both taller than her. Zeke, his brother, and Marcel, his step-cousin. In a sense he'd known time had passed; even on the front there were letters sometimes. They'd...
Camping Trip (pt 3)
Nao leapt from tree to tree, prowling through the forest. His muscles were tightly-coiled: each movement was like a spring releasing; a sudden surge of power coursing through him as he jumped from each branch to land on the next. His entire body bowed...
Lessons
Treno was a boring town. Half of it was slums: a bunch of rat-warren tunnels with shacks sprouting off, by the riverside; the other half was rich estates, higher up, huge rough rock buildings with gardens and plazas. Between the two of them there was...
The Lindworm (1/3)
Once upon a time, there was a queen of a small kingdom who lived in despair, for she and her husband had been unable to conceive. She had taken to walks in the forest at the edge of their kingdom, and during one of these walks there came an old...
Naoki's AI Misadventure
He was eager with anticipation when he settled down in the conductor's chair. The machinery hummed to life with a start, the whir of fans bringing the tiniest breeze to the sweltering room. Overhead, the pipes pulsed, pulling liquid through purity...
Overdose
With North Gate locked and South Gate closed, the only path to Alexandria was straight through the Mist. Below the Alexandrian plateau was the infamous Evil Forest, a thick and deadly tangle of living trees that devoured all that entered it. Amarant...
Touch of Fire
Barret stood by the stairway railing and idly tapped his gun-arm against the railing. The hollow wooden clunk echoed through the room, and below him the innkeeper looked up and scowled. Barret sighed. He figured he should just go up to his room. He'd...