Dancer From the Dance, Part 1
_Mozhem li my otdelit' tantsora ot tantsa?_ _ _ Some very few, very fortunate, souls are born into a real family; the rest of us have to spend a lifetime searching for it, and of those, some very few, very fortunate, actually find it. Only in this...
Trouble Shared
Benedict looked up in surprise at the knock on his open office door. "My dear Dr. Wind Runner!" he offered with quiet yet sincere enthusiasm. "Whatever are you doing in this chilly if venerable building of what we hope will be education?" The...
Quiet Voices
**_Saturday Afternoon_** Emmanuel had run at a maintenance pace for the past five or six kilometers, enjoying the fresh air of the country rather than the less-than-pleasant air of the city or the canned air of an indoor track. Running was his...
Collar 9 -- Faith
The next few weeks were a study in contrasts, from frustration and relief (careful where you go with that) to hectic and calm. I announced my guardianship at both Sunday masses, receiving a positive response from the vast majority of the congregation....
The Kiss
"I still can't believe that I let you talk me into this." "C'mon, it'll be fun, and it's for a good cause." "Good intentions pave the road to Hell." "That's not even your old self talking." The bespectacled and well-dressed giraffe, forepaws...
Waking
Lyris had slept soundly until she heard Lyal's cough, which woke her instantly. For just a moment, the doe felt a bit of panic; she was warm (which was unusual enough these days), and she was comfortable, and she smelled something other than herself...
The Stories
_By the gods, you are beautiful..._ The milk-chocolate fur of the lithe young rabbit dripped copiously as he pulled himself out of the pool, his ears directed unobtrusively behind him. He rose to stand on the cement nearby, perhaps 160cm on his own,...
Readership, Part 1
The cards that lay face up on the table were in a pattern of his own devising. He had studied and listened to his deck for several decades, and they had eventually been able to help him understand what both they and he needed in order to read properly....
Regrets
The back door to the spa banged open sharply, and the old badger looked toward both ends of the alley before running to the dumpster to check all around it. Finding nothing, he looked up to the other end of the alley, where he saw the meerkat from the...
Chip Chip, My Little Horse
I'm never sure if she's quiet because she's pensive, or because my driving makes her nervous. I hope it's the former, because I'm not likely to get that much better at driving anytime soon. I was glad to be able to borrow my mate's car, just as he was...
Collar 17 -- Revelations
Wyatt drove his late-model Cadillac with a full complement of five. In the front seat beside him, Mrs. Whitson sat the slightest bit stiffly, her clothes decked out in Sunday finery despite it being only Saturday. All of us were well-dressed, including...
Ring In the New
"Happy New Year, GMT!" Laughter rang with the clinking of glasses filled with sparkling cider, toasts were drunk all round, and then began the joyous abandon of kissing in the new year. Eoin snagged Zachary for his first and warmest kiss, and for a...