Promise Kept
"Hey, browncoat." "Hi!" The young tiger's heart enacted the necessary clichés of flopping about inside the chest, and he felt himself blush under his fur from tip to toes. He gripped the cell phone just a bit harder, as if to hug the lion on the...
What's Past is Prologue
The deep crimson snout that poked itself through the open front door of the less-than-modest house sniffed both purposefully and whimsically, detecting scents of Saturday on the crisp morning air and, satisfied that the morning was the correct one and...
Conversations
"Has he said anything?" "Not a word for the past few hours at least." "Did they give him too much tranquilizer?" "They had to control him just to get a blood sample. I'm betting PCP or worse. The tranq shouldn't screen anything in the system." "Are...
Amo, Amas, Amat
The young tiger felt a little fidgety, more so than usual at this time, but he couldn't really say why. It was another Friday afternoon, and he sat as patiently as possible in the small tutoring room, waiting for his charge to show up. It was unusual...
One of Those Talks
"Hey, Pris!" The female Papillion stopped, pivoted her head toward the sound, her butterfly-like ears perking upward, long dark fringe dancing in the afternoon breeze. Her keen eyes found the source of the call quickly, and she grinned. "Antonia!" she...
Academic Defenses
The cremello-colored mare's pastel blue eyes focused sharply on the crystal screen before her, studying every word, mark of punctuation, and turn of phrase of the document that she was perusing. At one point, she snorted faintly, making the student on...
Best Served Cold
"Before we dig in, just a few words, please..." The field house never smelled better, all jokes about jocks after a summer scrimmage aside. As per usual for the time of year, Head Coach Elliott Bruno Stackhouse had arranged the catering of his...
Friends of the Dragon
The statue wasn't huge, in a literal sense - even with the plinth, it wasn't quite seven meters tall - but it sort of glowered down at you. The sainted warrior atop his feral horse was dour-faced and totally intent on his business. The dragon that...
Thong Theory Explained
_ **This one's for Cheetahpaws**..._ Harlan had never thought that wearing shorts and muscle shirt would make him feel overdressed, but this particular beach sported a crowd of males (and some few females) that were as close to "fur only" as he'd...
Presents
A light snow fell outside, enough to dust the lawns, to frost the windows, to bless the rooftops with a gentle nightcap for the perfect winter's nap. Barton sat contentedly by the fireside, a cup of hot chai and a few ginger snap cookies (both of...
Depositions
Although the old grandfather clock in the hall was indeed ticking, it wasn't nearly as ominous-sounding as it had been last night. Some unknown factors were now known, some uncertainties were set to rest, backs were firm and resolves stiffened....
Preparations
Barton's internal alarm clock was frequently more reliable than the one by his bed. This particular morning, he wasn't too worried about getting up with the proverbial chickens; Malik would open the salon at nine, the rest of the crew would shuffle...