Moving and Maneuvering
"Does that still mean what it used to mean?" The great Leonberger, shifting an armful of flattened empty boxes to one side, pointed to the handle of the dorm room door, grinning broadly. The well-dressed wolverine to his side, carrying his own share...
No More Monday Memos
He stuck his snow-white muzzle through the open window of the passenger side of my van, blinked his crystalline blue eyes and hesitated. "You're human," he said. "I don't mean to be." I saw him wince. "I'm sorry; that was rude." "I've already...
Casualties
_It's off._ The thought - or, rather, the feeling - reverberated in Bobby Harris' head, even as the sound of the admittedly small crowd caromed off the walls of the stadium, penetrating to his cold ears through the thick polycarbonate shell of his...
Returning
The ride back to campus had largely been quiet. At first, nether Bobby nor Malcolm really wanted to say too much, since they'd been talking all weekend, to each other, to Mal's parents, to his brothers (Daniel had insisted on taking them to lunch...
Drawn Out
Eoin McCracken hadn't done any babysitting in quite a long time. His only younger sibling wasn't so far behind him in the birth order as to need much looking after, once both had passed puberty and gotten a reasonable sense of personal responsibility...
Because You Have Wings
He always asked for me. I told myself I never really knew why. For the most part, I'm just an old black bear who can do his job well, no one particularly memorable. I like to think that I give my clients something special, even if it's not a "happy...
Escalation
Zachary flicked on the bedside light, shut off the alarm that would ring in another fifteen minutes anyway. He hadn't slept much, and it was almost time for him to meet Eoin for the morning jog. Maybe the run would help clear his head, blow out the...
Lunatics
"Why do we still want to howl at the moon?" The two young wolf cubs, their teens not yet half finished, sat on the empty dock, in the comfortable secrecy of the midnight lake. High above, Grandmother Moon smiled down upon them, full and bright and...
Voir Dire
A small, decorative china plate, balanced perfectly on the tips of equally elegant claws, bore two perfectly elegant pastries to their destination. Outside the guest room door, Benedict knocked gently. "Zachary? I come bearing the very last two of the...
A Place for the Stranger
"Food?" "Check." "Family?" "Check." "Plates, utensils, napkins?" "Check, check, check." "Appetites?" "HELLS YES!" _"Then dig in!"_ The Lamar family Thanksgiving dinner was underway. Bobby took his cue from the rest of the family...
History Lesson
"All right, class," the lady cheetah clapped her forepaws smartly, smiling. "The bell's already rung. In your seats, time to begin." With the various grumbling complaints that befitted the rebellious hormones of adolescence, the class of some...
Rejection Slip
Dear Mr. Black Wolf... Thank you for letting us read your story "In Space, No One Can Hear You Hump." After careful consideration, we're going to have to decline publishing it in "Fire Plate." The characters are good, the futuristic setting is cool,...