Royal Punishment
When Aurora looked down at her fur, doused with the purple of the praetorian guard, she felt shame. She'd powdered herself like all the others who didn't have the rare mutation, it was part of their uniform. And it helped them stand out. In their black...
Tongue Scraper
Tongue Scraper Arz could feel the sediment of the earth below him dig into his knees. As if to mock him, the memory of his mentor whispered in his mind. 'A caught frumentarii is a dead one.' And here he was, a caught frumentarii. But not yet...
Teemo and Tristana's Date Night
Tristana was quite the mirror to Teemo's enthusiasm. This gave the scout a lot of confidence. He wasn't certain he'd get along with such a rough and tumble girl, but hoped their shared interest in ranged weapons might spark into something greater. ...
Where Silence Has Lease, Chapter 1
Cajetan never had a high opinion of elves. He inherited that sentiment from his parents, refugees from Elsteron who had fled across the water to the sea power of Port Algool. They always spoke sourly of elves, and so did many of his friends. So...
Vulturized
Rain from the night’s storm pattered against Jean’s feathers. His black plumage twitched as droplets pelted them. His epaulets, stripped of their rebel crests, collected water like grass does morning dew. The much vaunted tactical advisor was reduced...
.45 & Cosmoline
Dathunk-dathunk-dathunk. Rattling and clanking. It was the Bronx EL train rolling by. Most of what cut through the boroughs was subways, but not this one. Some genius decided to elevate the train tracks instead, spanning Gun Hill Road to South Ferry....
Where Silence Has Lease, Chapter 6
The scramble back to the safety of the orcish fort was a blur. Perhaps it was the frenzy of the facility's explosion that gave them cover. Equally as likely was Elsteron's inhabitant's unfamiliarity with sallies into their territory. With no history of...
Reverse Dance
"Are you not supposed to be helping me practice? The dance?" The twang of my bowstring clipped the end of my words, but my would-be brother by marriage could understand them well enough. Just like my betrothed, his body was powerful and...
Where Silence Has Lease, Chapter 2
The two were very buzzed, having downed quite a few shots. Okora had been cracking open and feasting upon roasted chestnuts provided by Rodwald's tab, nearly clipping off Cajetan's finger when he dared to snag one. They chatted to each other...
Cruel & Unusual
Mail, either letters, packages or other miscellaneous parcels, had to be filtered through an organizer. Boring, long, grunt work usually heaped on some recruit as punishment. Important communique usually was hand delivered by special messengers. So,...
Where Silence Has Lease, Chapter 4
"I didn't see it at all," Okora's voice whispered his desire to commiserate with Cajetan. The human nodded in agreement a moment before responding, now that the first aid was settled, it was dawning on him how such a massive thing sprung up...
Where Silence Has Lease, Chapter 3
Cajetan and Okora shared little more than a glance heading up to their rooms. The morning was no better. Tirah mustered the lot of them for a quick breakfast and got a move on. Over breakfast, Okora was as stiff and cold as when they first...