Argus
While most onlookers would at first glance think that the job description of Argus the rat is limited to being a librarian, he thinks of himself more as the caretaker to his own kind of aviary. Even though he's a warlock first and foremost, he also...
Spaced Out
When Fran had been a kid, she'd often stare out the window aimlessly while her mom would drive. "Come in, Huston." Every new building and landscape would become a new playground in which to let her mind wander. "Houston, we lost you." She probably...
Spare Parts
"Waste not, want not." [FLICK!] "[-'told me to be careful so the people who take the recycling out of the bags don't cut their hands on them,' the actress on the talk show had said, 'and it just hit me right then - how many of us even think of the...
Set In Stone
* * * * * * "What does she do, exactly?" Fran's best friend's story had been about a serial killer. "She never even touches them," the jackal's best friend had started. "She just talks to them. She learns everything about their lives, their...
Autopilot
'If work is so good for you, why don't the rich do more of it?' "Who said that?" "Some famous wolf writer I think," Fran's best friend had replied. "The same one who wrote AWOO." "I think that's AROO in fact," the jackal's roommate had chimed...
Still Life
Although it would've probably been considered a controversial approach to therapy at best by a lot of his peers, after having given it some thought, Mandrake had decided that it could've been a great idea to bring Diaz to the Bolgia. Then again, most...
Showtime
"Now you're going to see a real fight," Rakim told Klein on their way to their seats as they saw the next contestants on their way to take their place in the ring. But what did a real fight look like? The otter climbed up on the rope, using it like a...
Battle Bot
The bat had pretty much laughed in his face. "Are you sure you're supposed to be here?" With the crowd already cheering for them from around the ring as they sized each other up after the bell had just rang, it seemed a little late to the skunk for...
By A Thousand Cuts
"People get them without thinking." Fran and her roommate were watching her pets chasing each other around their living room. "They get them for their kids." "That's the thing!" she concurred. "They think of animals as lesser lifeforms than people for...
TransPlant
* * * "So she never got to finish it," Fran's best friend had told her. "Halfway through," the jackal had shaken her head. "They wrote the rest based on her notes," her best friend had gone on. "I hate that." "You do?" Fran had tilted her...
Die A Thousand Deaths
'Everyone has secret words that can save them. Everyone has secret words that can kill them.' (Unknown) "So they weren't slaves?" "Not technically," Fran's best friend had answered. "I'll be gosh-darned," the jackal had shaken her head....
Crosswinds
'Housewives should make $115,000 a year.' \*\*\* "'But there are no pixies!' the housewife protested. 'There's no such thing as pixies!'" Fran's mom had told her this story more times than she could remember when she'd been a child. "'It was...