Chapter 2 - Brat and Breakfast
**Chapter 2 - Brat and Breakfast** San Francisco is a lot of things, especially cold and wet in the early mornings. The fog that rolls in across the city reminded me of the fog you'd see when on a ship moored in the harbor, but the chill from...
Chapter 1 - California Bound
**Chapter 1 - California Bound** Riding a train for the first time was like being trapped inside the stomach of a loud metal dragon. That alone might sound as though I'm having the most exciting experience of my lifetime. But in all honesty,...
Chapter 18 - Love's Labour's...
**Chapter 18 - Love's Labour's...** I'm a coward. There, I said it (or wrote it?). It's hard to say that out loud and even harder to think that I deserve such a title, but I had to, because all I've ever done in my life was running and fleeing...
Chapter 20 - Lost and Found
**Chapter 20 - Lost and Found** Running. That was about all I could do anymore. I couldn't fight, I couldn't talk my way out of this, I couldn't lean on my friends. I was alone now and all I could do was run. I made sure to be indirect,...
Chapter 19 - So We Meet at Last
**Come to Dust Chapter 19 - So We Meet At Last** Up until recently, I hadn't interacted with the nobility a whole lot. They may as well have been from a different world than I was. On the occasion I was hired to clean one of their...
Chapter 18 - What We Hide
**Chapter 18 - What We Hide** Living with Bensley was like living in a new world. I had only ever woken up in a soft bed a handful of times in my life, and not often I had to be rushed out the door to do something like work or go to...
Succession
**Succession** "Bloodlines are everything," High Arcanist Quintin spoke over the patterning rain that struck the window panes of the castle. "And magic is tied to the bloodlines of specific families." The greying white tiger walked...
Chapter 17 - Loss
**Come to Dust Chapter 17 - Loss** _"AVERY!"_ I found myself screaming at the top of my lungs. _"AVERY!"_ I tried to run to the building that had his body hanging from the chimney. I could see him, I could make out my friend, but he was so...
Chapter 16 - From the Desk of Mordecai Crossbell IV
From the Desk of Mordecai Crossbell I have always prided myself of being the master of control. From a young age I had learned that control can come in many forms and bring about many things, including blame. Being in control was not...
Chapter 15 - The Duality of Life
**Come to Dust Chapter 15 - The Duality of Life** It had been a week since Avery went missing, and I was starting to lose my marbles. Ever since I had found out that Avery hadn't returned to Alister's (Duncan's now, the churr), I had walked...
Chapter 7 - Demons
**Chapter 7 - Demons** It was a good night with my friends. We drank beers on the roof of our building and talked about random things until we all got tired and went to bed. Honestly, I can't remember a time when I was more relaxed and...
Chapter 6 - Friends Old and New
**Chapter 6 - Friends Old and New** "Will you just GO AWAY?" I was yelling to an empty room. But I was not alone. Avery sat there on the window sill, kicking one of his legs and frowning in concern. He still had his familiar hat and...